Shinjiro was definitely wary as he explored the unknown layout of this city - not certain how he’d arrived here, or why. Considering, well, what he’d last remembered …
Maybe this was a weird sort of hallucination, or dream? But he’d think he’d come up with something he’d already seen before. Not this strange place.
Either way, now that he’s here? He’d better get a feel for the place. Knowing the lay of the land in Iwatodai and the surrounding area was how he’d survived before.
Finding himself in a city after what had happened was not part of the plan, but he also wasn't going to complain. The lack of people was concerning but his first move? Finding a store to exchange his clothing for something more appropriate in case he did run into someone.
Jeans and a T-shirt later and he's back on the street, hair pulled back for the moment, heading deeper into the city to see what he can find. At least until he catches sight of someone else. There's a moment where he just pauses before closing the distance between them.
"...So are you a local or did you just end up here?"
The streets being so empty, it had Shinjiro keep checking the sky for a familiar green tinge, or the road for puddles of blood. But this isn’t the Dark Hour. For a start, the city around them still had power, the electric signs blaring.
It still set his teeth on edge.
He’s not sure if it’s a relief to run into someone at last, or if the other guy was a threat. Shinjiro kept his hands in his pockets, standing still, watching the stranger. From his neutral expression, he might seem like he’s glowering - but he didn’t mean to.
“Just got here,” Shinjiro said, and then. After a beat, checked for more similarities. “Did you also just die, too?”
“Hell if I know. You’re the first guy I’ve run into,” Shinjiro retorted a bit irritably - but then sighed. He hunched his shoulders slightly and looked down the street. The empty street.
Who knew who else might show up? If anyone? And if they’re alone here - that meant they could only really rely on each other. Shit.
“We’ve got t’ figure out if there’s anyone else in this city,” Shinjiro’s tone was subdued now with faint apology. “And if there isn’t - we should find out if there’s any food left behind, at least.”
"I passed some fully stocked stores before I found you." His robes are stuffed in the bag over his shoulder because he's not going to talk about that. Whether his skills carried over, remains to be seen but given he's still wearing Shen Qingqiu's face, he's assuming they did.
"There are restaurants back that way as well. As for other people, I haven't seen any."
“Well, at least we won’t starve,” Shinjiro sighed again and shook his head. “All right. Let’s not split up, because that’s always a stupid idea even if both of us can handle ourselves. North or south first?”
"I guess north works, we'll have to backtrack later either way." He pauses for a moment, eyes the other man before exhaling a breath.
"You can call me Shen Qingqiu." Safer in case anyone outside of Airplane turned up. He wasn't going to try to explain to any of the demons or cultivators why he was using a different name.
“Aragaki Shinjiro,” he introduced himself gruffly in turn. Shinjiro turned to walk with the him in that direction. He kept himself at a casual but careful distance, not wanting to freak the guy out.
Normally, he’d kind of roll with and accept it if he was suddenly found untrustworthy and ditched. But if they were actually alone? There’s nobody else to help this guy. That didn’t sit right with Shinjiro.
“Bad news is - I ain’t seen anyone around - but the good news is, I ain’t seen anything dangerous, either,” Shinjiro told him. “The city would be pretty damn normal if there were actually people in it.”
"Not seeing it doesn't mean it's not there." Paranoid or not, at least things are calm for the moment and he can focus on the necessities. At least as long as he's with someone else. Testing his abilities can come later.
"It does seem normal enough for the moment, though."
Shinjiro grunted. He wouldn’t argue with that. He’s not like Fuuka or Mitsuru - if there was something crawling around just out of sight, he’d never know about it. They had to stay on their toes.
Normal except for being empty save for two dead guys, anyway. “D’you happen to remember how you even got here? Cause I don’t.”
It’s not really what happened so much as how he said it. Shinjiro gave him a long look, trying to figure out if he was serious. “Wait. So you’re - not surprised, at all, cause you blew yourself up on purpose?”
Honestly, if he had to choose, being poisoned sounded like a shitty way to die. Maybe being blown up was faster? It’s still ‘part of my plan’ that’s bothering him honestly.
"As insane as dying and ending up in a completely empty city, with working power and food left 'round, not rotting or anything, like everyone just vanished?" Shinjiro pointed out dryly. "And I've seen crazy shit before this, too. Try me."
"I think it might be more insane, actually, but I mean..." It's not like there's anyone else around. "Died before ended up in a webnovel where I'm apparently fixing the plotholes of the idiot author. THen I got poisoned so basically the energy I used to do mostly anything kept getting blocked so I finally had to do something on a larger scale and ended it. But I'd found a magical plant so I set it up somewhere where it's just growing and eventually I'd have resurrected in another body.
Shinjiro blinked at him - then huffed. "Okay. That does sound pretty crazy, but - how does that stack up to being awake to a secret hour that exists after midnight, that nobody else experiences 'cause they turn into coffins? If they wake up from their coffins, it's cause they're about have their brains or souls or something eaten by a monster and become a drooling vegetable."
"I don't think readin 'bout it counts, people can make up whatever they want," Shinjiro figured, though - he allowed, "but then again, if it's a kind of story you find yourself actually living not long after that ..."
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
no subject
Maybe this was a weird sort of hallucination, or dream? But he’d think he’d come up with something he’d already seen before. Not this strange place.
Either way, now that he’s here? He’d better get a feel for the place. Knowing the lay of the land in Iwatodai and the surrounding area was how he’d survived before.
no subject
Jeans and a T-shirt later and he's back on the street, hair pulled back for the moment, heading deeper into the city to see what he can find. At least until he catches sight of someone else. There's a moment where he just pauses before closing the distance between them.
"...So are you a local or did you just end up here?"
no subject
It still set his teeth on edge.
He’s not sure if it’s a relief to run into someone at last, or if the other guy was a threat. Shinjiro kept his hands in his pockets, standing still, watching the stranger. From his neutral expression, he might seem like he’s glowering - but he didn’t mean to.
“Just got here,” Shinjiro said, and then. After a beat, checked for more similarities. “Did you also just die, too?”
no subject
"...Yeah, I did, sort of."
no subject
Who knew who else might show up? If anyone? And if they’re alone here - that meant they could only really rely on each other. Shit.
“We’ve got t’ figure out if there’s anyone else in this city,” Shinjiro’s tone was subdued now with faint apology. “And if there isn’t - we should find out if there’s any food left behind, at least.”
no subject
"There are restaurants back that way as well. As for other people, I haven't seen any."
no subject
no subject
"You can call me Shen Qingqiu." Safer in case anyone outside of Airplane turned up. He wasn't going to try to explain to any of the demons or cultivators why he was using a different name.
no subject
Normally, he’d kind of roll with and accept it if he was suddenly found untrustworthy and ditched. But if they were actually alone? There’s nobody else to help this guy. That didn’t sit right with Shinjiro.
“Bad news is - I ain’t seen anyone around - but the good news is, I ain’t seen anything dangerous, either,” Shinjiro told him. “The city would be pretty damn normal if there were actually people in it.”
no subject
"It does seem normal enough for the moment, though."
no subject
Normal except for being empty save for two dead guys, anyway. “D’you happen to remember how you even got here? Cause I don’t.”
no subject
"Not part of my plan but I can't say I haven't missed access to vending machines and modern conveniences."
no subject
Honestly, if he had to choose, being poisoned sounded like a shitty way to die. Maybe being blown up was faster? It’s still ‘part of my plan’ that’s bothering him honestly.
“What was your plan, then?”
no subject
"It's kind of a long and somewhat insane story, so you probably won't believe it anyway."
no subject
no subject
Sort of."
no subject
no subject
"But that likely isn't going to be a thing here..." Although there's no way of knowing.
no subject
no subject
"It's different experiencing it yourself, though, I'll give you that."