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Intro | video | un: daozhang

[It was an uneventful morning between the man and his familiar. For one thing, the poor familiar has to drag him out of bed to get him ready, to guide him to get breakfast in the hall and it's a lot of tugging and getting him motivated. Once out of the bed, the man fumbles and bumps around corners, feeling the walls with his hands to make his way around to the dining hall, clumsily gathering food, picking up blindly and the rabbit flies around to help him gather on his tray, and get settled at one of the tables to have their breakfast.

The video started playing, but it was heavily blurred out as the camera is constantly moving. At first, the camera plays a video of a rabbit's face close-up with bright eyes, whiskers, and long ears, and a pair of feathered wings on it's back.

Once it comes into focus, the camera turned around, it started showing a man wearing white robes of oriental fashion with long billowing sleeves, his face slightly gaunt. He has long black hair, tied half-back in a simple bun with a long white ribbon and kept in place with a hair-pin, and wearing clean white bandage across his eyes. The man is blind.

There's two voices and it's clear the rabbit's duty of survival for them both is teaching his master how to use a phone properly, placing the phone in his hand. The man is speaking to his rabbit and the rabbit standing on his hindlegs on the dining table to give advice.]

I'm sorry for troubling you. You don't have to do so much for me. Oh? What is this that you put into my hand? A phone? What must I do? Speak into it? What I must say? What's a network? To communicate to others? It's recording, you say?

Hello? Hello, my name is Xingchen. I can ask others if I need anything? What's money? I'm not sure if there's a job I'm good at or if I need anything. We were foraging in the forest the other day and someone gives us free drinks at the tavern, so I guess that's something.

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[Hijikata is still in his hotel room, about to likewise head downstairs for breakfast and scrolling through the news on his phone when he gets a pop-up about a new video starting... someone livestreaming their rabbit? Okay, that's not relevant to his interests-- until the camera angle changes and he sees that familiar blindfolded face. He stops right where he is, hand already on his door handle, to watch and listen. Once Xingchen pauses he quickly video-calls him (audio would probably suffice in his case, but it only seems polite).]

Good morning Xi-- Xingchen. I'm Hijikata.

[Ugh, he stuttered right away!! When he befriended the cultivator back on Prismatica he always called him by his full name, but he needs to be careful - doing this now when he introduced himself with his given name only would make Hijikata look blatantly suspicious. He already made similar mistakes several times here, and it always really weirded the other person out, understandably. These timeline differences are a pain in the ass.]

I'm also staying at the hotel, so would it be alright if I joined you? I can try to help you get situated.

[Xingchen must have arrived recently... he seems to be on his own, apart from his presumed familiar, so he probably really could use another person's help.]

Edited 2021-03-16 11:15 (UTC)

[He heard another voice speaking to him. His rabbit becomes excited for him and tells him that a person and maybe a friend is contacting him. His rabbit is trying hard to help him make new friends]

Hello? Good morning, Hijikata. Please pardon me if I pronounce your name right.

[Alas, there's no recognition from the other world. He's arrival himself]

That's right, I'm Xingchen. It's nice to meet you. You can join me in the dining room if you wish. I don't mind company. I don't think I need help, but it's appreciated.

[He doesn't need much, but the rabbit familiar is pushing food into his hands from the muffins, the crispy buttered toast, and becoming accustomed to eating the breakfast food on his plate, which is the scrambled eggs and sausages. He isn't accustomed to eating this much]

[Hijikata expected as much. Despite recognising a good dozen off-worlders here from his prior multiverse melting pot adventure only a small fraction actually shares his memories of the experience, and while it's a little painful to have another person he cares about regard him as a stranger he tries to simply be happy that he's able to see Xingchen again in this life.]

I'll be right there. Oh, and no worries about your pronunciation! You can also call me Toshirou if that's easier.

[Xingchen has no way of knowing, but Hijikata usually doesn't simply let people call him by his given name and will get huffy if anyone does, but ever since Prismatica there have been a few rare exceptions, and Xingchen was one of them. Hijikata never actually worked up the nerve to ask for it in the few months they had together before the other timeline's Xingchen was sent back to his home dimension, so he's being unusually forward about it now. He stays on the phone while heading downstairs, as if the other man might disappear forever if he took his eyes off him, and it's just a matter of minutes until he locates him at his table and beelines over.]

Alright, here I am! You have everything you need already, hm? Were you able to find the tea assortment?

[It's a miracle Xingchen is even alive at all, brought back to life by the magic and pull of this place. True, he has no memories, but it's still him in essence]

Ah, which name you prefer? Back home, we have different names for different people. For example, Xiao is my surname, but it's more polite and proper to call me Xingchen my given, but then we also have nicknames for people who are close.

[He explains the names which is exactly similar to how Hijikata]

I'll try my best to remember, it takes a while.

[Xingchen is very brain foggy as his own death is very unpleasant and unfortunate circumstance and will take him time to reorient. He listens to the sound and source of his voice and his rabbit tap on his hand to let him know where to turn his head]

Hello, I have my breakfast and my coffee and tea. My rabbit introduces me to the drinks and food here, but if you like some tea, I think they have some assortment at the counter which you can help yourself and sit with me.

[He surveys the breakfast Xingchen picked for himself and is sufficiently content... apart from one thing that's missing.]

Your familiar did a good job at helping you, but don't you want some mayonnaise to go with it?

[Sorry, Xingchen, he has a food obsession. That aside, though, he's almost glad that the other man can't see how happy he is - it would be weird for the cultivator to have a stranger this excited to meet him, surely. (But honestly, it probably carries over in his voice more than he realises.) He puts his phone away for the time being; they can discuss the matter of names in person.]

Your name order is the same as mine. I'm from Japan, so Hijikata is my surname and Toshirou my given name. Let's both use our given names, alright?

[This is truly outrageously bold for his standards. If his comrades from back home could see their "Demon Vice Commander" eagerly asking to be on a given-name basis with an ostensible stranger they'd be shell-shocked.]

The name order, it sounds like it. Of course, we shall use our given names to address each other. Toshirou. I hope I pronounce that right.

[Xingchen tilts his head. Forgive him for being curious and naive, but there aren't any condiments invented back in Ancient China]

Mayonnaise? What's mayonnaise...? Is it a type of food?

[Being addressed like this by Xingchen makes Hijikata feel overjoyed. He's so glad to not only be reunited with him but to have unlocked a new level of closeness between them, going by the conventions of his world, he hardly knows what to do with his good fortune. Of course it's not a reunion from Xingchen's point of view at all, but that doesn't diminish Hijikata's joy. He may just make things go sideways with his next move, though. Sadly he is utterly unaware of just how abnormal his love for mayonnaise is.]

Yeah, it's a sauce of sorts! I'll get you some.

[Within a few moments he returns with some satchels from the buffet, rips one open and squeezes the contents over Xingchen's food.]

Try it! It improves any meal or drink.

[He regularly puts it in his coffee... maybe in a way Xingchen's blindness truly protects him from having to witness such crimes against the natural order of the food world.]

[Poor Xingchen, he gives it a try at his suggestion and takes a bite of his food with the white sauce on it]

Huh...it tastes strange. [he meant it honestly, but by his nature, he's forgiving of such crimes, since his tastebuds are not used to the taste. Very forgiving] I imagine this sauce doesn't go well with rice and noodles.

[still good-natured and polite, he smiles] I think I preferred sugar over mayonnaise.

Oh, you have a sweet tooth?

[He has petty prejudices against people who like sugar too much - his annoying "rival"(?) back home is a proud candy addict, which colours Hijikata's perception -, but he likes Xingchen enough to not hold it against him.]

Still, mayonnaise is really good with rice and noodles especially! Do give it a try one of these days.

[He'll never learn that not everybody likes it. It's hopeless.]

Were you also dumped in the lake when you arrived? I wish they didn't do that.

[He can only hope that not only the turtles or manatees or whichever animals were on rescue duty helped him, but also the other people at the shore. It's a damn steep path up the cliff!]

Ah, money is something you can use to trade for goods and services.

[The voice that chimes in is super friendly and cheerful. Even as she hums in thought on how best to explain currency. Quite the interesting conundrum!]

Of course it's a bit more complicated than that. Usually it's assigned a set value of worth which can be affected by different things. As far as making money... well you do need a job for that. What do you feel like your good at? Or like to try and learn.

Edited 2021-03-17 19:20 (UTC)

[he heard a voice, a helpful one and he listens in. His rabbit taps on his hand with a paw to let him know he's being spoken to]

Hello, I figured that much. I'm going to try my luck finding a job later on, though that maybe hard for me because I'm blind. [He's very straightforward on his condition]

I'm afraid there isn't anything I'm good at other than sword-fighting and sparring, and I think there's a lot of warriors and teachers at the training grounds. So I'm hoping there's an easy job I can find and able to do.

Nonsense, there's always something available for everyone. Have you spoken to anyone at the training fields?

[If that's what he's interested in!]

If not there are always odd jobs posted as well.

[He rubs the back of his neck, it's close enough to his interest] I haven't spoken to much people, but I like those meditation circles and springs. I think they're more relaxing than what I used to do.

Odd jobs, you say? What kinds of odd jobs are being posted?

Hello, Xingchen. My name is Weiss.

[ That's a lot of questions! And she'll try to answer them one by one. ]

You're holding a phone, and you can do a lot of things with it. Broadcast something like this is one, and you can also access applications that can help you with your day to day business. Money is currency. You can use it to pay for goods and services, much like how trade works. As for work, I guess that depends on you? [ A pause. ] What are you good at? You can start there.

Greetings, it's nice to meet you.

My rabbit can only try to teach me so much, but it does function as you said. I have others helped me out hand's on. People here are so kind.

[he listens and he gets the gist] I got it.

I'm not sure...I think finding suitable work will be difficult for me. But I'm completely blind. I'm good at swordsmanship, but I haven't taught anyone before. I'm sure there are more capable teachers at the training grounds, so perhaps there are other types of jobs I could do.

Then... what do you usually do, when you were in your own world? If you could find something similar here, then that might be of help.

[ Swordsmanship, though. . . well, there are a lot of competitors there! ]

Some quests that require combat do give money, but I think a more stable income would be best for everyone. I mean, I need that too, and all.

Oh, that...it's a little complicated. Back home, sometimes, I help people doing odd jobs. I traveled from province to province, village to village, and just take what's available. Usually, I help the common people who can't afford a service to be free from ghosts and spirits and the undead.

[In other words, a very underpaid free-lancer wanderer]

But when I come to this world, I found my ability to do as such is gone and it's replaced with another magic. The teachers I met at the training grounds said it's cognition magic.

[With a nod]

I think so too. Have you ever tried fighting and combat? What kind of enemy you're up against?

I'm a Huntress back home. I fight monsters and protect the people of Remnant. There are a lot of bad things happening in Remnant right now, though. And being here, being stripped of my normal abilities, I haven't really done much fighting.

[ There's a pause on her end, which then turns into a soft hum as she grows thoughtful. ]

I guess I've just been trying to live life here. A peaceful one.

[ But! This isn't about her, nor does she intend for it to be. She wants to help Xingchen as much as she can. ]

I think it might be best to learn what you can do with your magic, first. Maybe then, you'll be able to help out and do odd jobs and make money?

[Her help and guidance is very much appreciated]

I think that would be best for now. The teachers at the training ground help me figure out what kind of magic I could do. I'll probably figure out the odd jobs later until I'm more settled and after I find a place to live in the meanwhile.

The inn has free lodging! You should probably find work first before you decide to live elsewhere.

[ Oh, if only she could offer job opportunities, but she's not in any position at the farm she works for. ]

One step at a time?

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Intro | video | un: daozhang

Video | UN: hijikata

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