[ The voice comes to him distant, muffled, murky as though Toshi himself is underwater. It's soft, almost sweet, something tender and relentless that chases him through his dreams. Toshi's skin is clammy, too hot to touch, mind swimming, soul drowning, throat parched.
Chizuru is on the other side of that door. What door? His vision blurs and he can no longer see it. There was light there, seeping in through the cracks, broken by the worried shuffling of her feet. Now it's gone and the ship rocks, and Toshi thinks of the last ship he boarded, alone, to the north.
He thinks of the time before that, and before that. Thinks of the man, the boy, the child that died with the bloody gurgle of his name beneath the decks. Toshi's face is wet. With sweat? With tears?
There is someone here and there isn't, half here and half gone, half human and half corruption, half present and half past.
The haphazard barricade he pushed against the door groans, and briefly, briefly, Toshi's vision clears. His teeth grind together hard enough to crack, and a low snarl rips from the hollow of his chest. ]
Stay out—
[ Stay away. It's not safe with him. He tries to leave them behind, but they won't let him. Their loyalty once made him proud, almost arrogant.
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Chizuru is on the other side of that door. What door? His vision blurs and he can no longer see it. There was light there, seeping in through the cracks, broken by the worried shuffling of her feet. Now it's gone and the ship rocks, and Toshi thinks of the last ship he boarded, alone, to the north.
He thinks of the time before that, and before that. Thinks of the man, the boy, the child that died with the bloody gurgle of his name beneath the decks. Toshi's face is wet. With sweat? With tears?
There is someone here and there isn't, half here and half gone, half human and half corruption, half present and half past.
The haphazard barricade he pushed against the door groans, and briefly, briefly, Toshi's vision clears. His teeth grind together hard enough to crack, and a low snarl rips from the hollow of his chest. ]
Stay out—
[ Stay away. It's not safe with him. He tries to leave them behind, but they won't let him. Their loyalty once made him proud, almost arrogant.
Now there are nothing but ghosts around him. ]