[text&action]

[merelyatool]

I. Text
[ The situation is overwhelming. Maiya had never expected to wake up again, never mind in such a foreign environment. As surreal as the space around her was, she would have nearly thought this were an afterlife she had never considered—at least, until she finds the pamphlet. Her situation may have seemed fantastical, but the wad of cash tucked inside and the note telling her to get a job were anything but. The hologram waiting for her seems to confirm that thought, but it does little to clarify that matter of how she could be here.

Left in a completely unknown, impossible situation, she has nothing to fall back on but the most basic impulse engrained in her: she has to contact Kiritsugu. There's no reason to imagine he'd be here as well, or able to see whatever message she sends out, but she can see no other first step but to try. They already have a code for situations not unlike this one, should one of them ever be captured and unsure of their location. ]

hanged man

[ There is one thing she doesn't mind about her situation. Text communication can't give an unwanted listener clues about her location the way radio can. ]

II. Action (Genessia City)
[ Maiya doesn't wait for an answer after sending that message. She's still moving on instinct, and her instincts say she needs a change of clothes. Part of that is an irrational impulse born of her last memories, telling her that her position has been compromised and that she needs an outfit not immediately recognizable by her enemies. And, part of that is because her clothes are covered in blood.

So, if you're lucky enough to have chosen this particular day to shop for clothes in Genessia City, you may find yourself approached by a serious-looking woman dressed in equally serious-looking clothes, her face utterly stoic despite her jacket being stiff with her own blood. ]

Pardon me. Do you know much about what's in-fashion here?

[ She needs to look unremarkable, okay.

Later in the day, once she has something new to wear, you might encounter her stuffing her bloody clothes in a public trashcan. Because that's normal. ]

III. Text (Anonymous)
[ It isn't until she's had some time to process her situation that she tries to address the general population of of Genessia. There's much she needs to come to terms with, but— ]

Is there anyone who remembers dying before arriving to this place?

[ That's the subject that weighs most heavily on her mind. She still isn't sure what to make of the discrepancy between her own experience and the language of kidnapping. But, maybe those who have been here longer can lay her thoughts to rest. ]

Comments

private; text

[problemagus]

( When the message ficks onto his screen, he's aware of its meaning in almost an instant. Hanged man. No, this couldn't be possible. But it was. He was always aware of that, realistically. Still, for Maiya to arrive-- to be within his reach, was not something he felt he ought to have. Not again. It's all visceral. The burning sensation in his lungs, the feeling of his heart plummeting into his stomach.

She had fulfilled her obligations to him, but she was here. )

Maiya, do you know your location?

( That's it. No explanation or sentiment, but a mere acknowledgement. She was here. )

private; text

[merelyatool]

[ By the time she sees Kiritsugu's answer, she's already sitting inside a storefront a few blocks from her starting point. For her, it's completely unexpected, a miracle barely within the realm of possibility—but there's no one else that would know the answer to her cryptic message, no one else the person on the other end of the line could be. Her smart phone nearly slips from her fingers for just a second, but she isn't quite that clumsy, and she catches herself. ]

I've stopped inside a boutique on Iris Avenue.

[ For a second, there's almost relief—but then she thinks, if Kiritsugu is here, that's a greater problem than if she'd found herself alone. ]

[Non-anon text]

[erinoah]

[ Ah, this again.

It's actually been quite a while since the last person on the comms had brought up this subject. So she's not as nearly annoyed about it as she could be. Noah decided to breach her self-imposed bunny seclusion and answer this anon. ]

It happens. You're not unique.

[anon text]

[merelyatool]

I see.

The talk of kidnapping was confusing for someone in my circumstance.

private; text

[problemagus]

( That's enough for him, he thinks. Enough to know she's well and managing herself, familiarizing herself with the city, and trying not to dwell on the events that transpired before his own arrival. The brush her hand against his cheek, her fingers tracing away his tears. It was nearly enough to bring him back to that day as he reread the text on his phone.

He couldn't, though. If for no other reason, to keep Maiya from chastising him. )

I'll come to retreive you.

( He's perfectly fine, Maiya!! Can't she tell??? )

→ action I guess ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

[merelyatool]

I'll wait for you outside.

[ This is the natural way of things. In another circumstance, she would think nothing of his answer at all. But, as things are now... She can't read a text message the way she can even the subtlest expressions on his face. She's left to her own memory of his tears, and the question of what her presence could mean for his resolve.

But, that will be resolved soon enough.

She places the item she'd been looking at back on the rack and steps outside. Already changed out of her bloody clothes, she looks remarkably mundane, as if she were any normal woman waiting to meet any normal friend. The only thing that gives her away is the tension in her posture, and the alertness in her eyes. ]

[not anon text]

[erinoah]

It probably makes sense to those still living.

You're not a ghost, are you? [ Asks the solid spirit. ]

[anon text]

[merelyatool]

Of course. But maybe it should be amended, for those of us who find it hard to reconcile with our own memories.

Only in a metaphorical sense.

[problemagus]

( It takes him about 30 minutes before he even arrives, each step along the way weighed as if his shoes were filled with lead. He owed this to her; that he had no doubt, and if he were being completely honest, he wanted nothing more than to see her again. But, like with everything else in Kiritsugu's life, he would deny himself the enjoyment in it. Whatever fulfillment she derived from this encounter would be for her alone.

When he takes his place by her side, he speaks with a soft flatness to his tone, not unlike his usual conversations with her. And even though he doesn't recognize the clothes, he considers hers would have been bloodied from before, so it's not a detail that he allows to bother him. )

I see you're not unwell.

( Or at least, as well as she can be in this place. He was concerned for her, even if he was attempting not to reference her death so directly. )

[merelyatool]

[ Another person might have found their attention wandering after nearly half-an-hour of waiting in silence. Maiya has held vigils far, far longer than that, though, and she's no less alert when Kiritsugu finally arrives than when she had first stepped outside. Immediately, she turns to face him fully, meeting his comment with her own quiet reply. ]

Yes. Whatever force is at work here saw to that.

[ But her death and miraculous resurrection only concern her so much. When she looks up at Kiritsugu, it's not only to study his face. She takes in all of him, from his expression to his outfit to even the smells that cling to him, her gaze sharp and analytical in the same way it might be while studying a battlefield's map.

It's...a bit off. Not from her memories of Kiritsugu, but from the situation she had left behind when he laid her to rest. She doesn't think him unreal, but rather, it heightens the unreality of the whole situation around her, creating yet another layer she doesn't understand. ]

...Kiritsugu. The madam's fate is...?

[problemagus]

( Oh. Mentally, her question takes him several steps back, filling him with a bile ridden guilt. Perhaps on her own, he could have handled Maiya in spite of his unpreparedness for her. But to hear that, even now, she concerned herself with his wife's welfare was enough to gut him, to make him wish he would crumble away even as he stood there, making to mechanically open his mouth as he searches his mind for an answer. )

Kidnapped, it seems, by Kotomine.

( That much he was able to gather, answering her as truthfully he could. It bothered him that he didn't know - himself - about his own wife's wellbeing, even if he knew how her fate would ultimately play out. He lingers there in spite of himself, completely poe-eyed, no matter how desperately he wanted to up and walk away. )

Re: [anon text]

[erinoah]

Wouldn't disagree with you there.

Ah, that reminds me of the good old days.

[merelyatool]

I'm not sure what you mean.

[erinoah]

I used to only be a figurative ghost before I lost my body.

...though nowadays, I have so much magic that my body is physical anyway, so it doesn't make much of a difference.

[merelyatool]

[ Maiya looks away from him, her own expression drawing tight until it's nearly a scowl. It's an answer that seems at odds with what she had seen with her own eyes—but, she supposes, there's no reason for her to assume her revival was immediate. Things may have changed since she shut her eyes that final time. ]

"It seems."

[ Even so, she repeats that phrase to herself. It's as if there's some meaning hidden within it that she doesn't grasp, one that she can unlock if she just repeats it with her own tongue. ]

Do you think there's nothing left to be done for her?

[ Even as the words leave her mouth, there's a leaden feeling in her chest that she dimly recognizes as regret. She couldn't protect Irisviel, and Saber couldn't reach her in time. Even if her fate had been decided the moment the War began, the way she had confided to Maiya—the thought sits uneasy. ]

[merelyatool]

[ ...That sounds familiar. Of course, there are too many differences for Maiya to think they actually are a Servant, but it's near enough that she automatically slots that statement into her own, somewhat limited, understanding of the supernatural. ]

I see. You must be a very powerful spirit.

[problemagus]

I wouldn't think so.

( The answer is immediate, one that could almost be considered callus were it not for his disposition. With Iri in Kotomine's hands, there was almost certainly nothing to be done. He'd almost been able to kill her once before, after all, and Kiritsugu has no reason to expect Kirei to hold her as a captive. So, that was it. If she wasn't dead already, she almost certainly would be, and that's not factoring in her impending Grailmageddon.

So up until now, he tried not to dwell on it-- of course, made impossible now by Maiya's presence. It would wear on him, that he should have afforded Iri and Maiya better. But there was no way to change that, not now or ever. )

[merelyatool]

I see.

[ What else is there to say? No apology she could give, no matter how genuine, would change the reality of Irisviel's fate. Maiya sees no value in meaningless words—but even so, she feels as though she should say something, her drawn expression softening in her uncertainty. ]

Kiritsugu, she... There is something she asked me to tell you once the War had ended.

[ Perhaps that is the most she can do for both Kiritsugu and Iri now. ]

[problemagus]

( Her words are enough to ping his interest, just barely enough to distract him from his guilt-ridden stupor. The part of him that loved Iri, that cared about her more than he could ever care for himself, wanted to listen. He didn't deserve this, to hear her words again-- indirectly or otherwise, but he would give Maiya his attention now. )

Tell me.

( His words come out in a pained croak, the first sign of emotion he'd given off their entire conversation, but he needed this. It's what his heart yearned for, no matter how much he wanted to deny it. )

[merelyatool]

[ As Maiya turns her eyes to Kiritsugu's again, she's aware of the heavy irony that drips from her every word. It's backwards enough that Irisviel had ultimately outlived her, even if only by a matter of hours, but for Maiya to be able to deliver her message in spite of that— That sense of unreality begins to overtake her again, so she puts the thought aside. ]

She told me that the hardship we've suffered shouldn't be forgotten, even in peace. That...it's important for pain to be remembered, and that it mattered. That's why...she wanted people like us to find a place in the world, even when there's no evil left to fight.

ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

[problemagus]

I see.

( He stills, pondering what he could even say to that. She'd twisted the proverbial knife. Fitting that it came from Maiya; the irony was not lost on him. Would he have ever existed in such a world? One without conflict or pain? He didn't think so. That ought to be reserved for his daughter.

But hearing this, knowing what he did now, that the Grail Wars continue-- even after him, their efforts felt all for naught. His sacrifices? Wasted. He failed them, and he would amount to nothing.

There's a painful sharpness to his breath as he remains there, oblivious to the wetness pooling at the creases of his eyes. )

II

[lancernexttime]

[Cu's just going to look her up and down for a moment. He looks out of place in his caster clothes, but, you know, it's him. He doesn't care much. But, he shrugs off his cloak and puts it over her shoulders to cover the blood.]

Kinda. Let me see if I can help you.

[merelyatool]

Kiritsugu.

[ She murmurs his name, and just like they had when he'd held her half-dead body in his arms, her hands lift to his face. Gently, she cups his cheeks, her thumbs poised to catch those tears before they've even fallen. ]

It was a wish that you would be happy.

[ It puts a blunt edge on Iri's more idealistic words—but maybe that's appropriate in its own way. Iri's sentiments in Maiya's voice, and Maiya's wishes given shape by Iri's words. It's a message from them both, like this, when neither of them should have been able to deliver it. ]

Is there somewhere you would like to go?

[ He's clearly not in a state to realize his surroundings. It's second nature for her to cover his weaknesses, though, so she directs his attention to the matter herself. ]

[merelyatool]

[ She watches him move, her expression flat even as he settles the cloak around her shoulders. Even just from the storefront displays, she can tell he isn't dressed in what this place would consider a normal style, but... ]

Thank you.

[ She is incredibly unperturbed—though that's probably no surprise after the blood. ]

[erinoah]

I'm one of the strongest.

[ Maiya might feel the pure arrogance coming from that statement. At least would have if she didn't add the following a few moments later. ]

...well, that's what I would say when I first got here, but most unfortunately there are always bigger fish.