Kazuma-Kami

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<<character 'Kazuma-Kami' `Story.get("Kaz").text`>> <<character 'Ryuunosuke' `Story.get("Ryuu").text`>>

<<widget "advance">> <div id="continue"><<button "Continue">> <<ctpAdvance "ctpID">> <<run $("body, html").stop().animate({ scrollTop: $("body, html").get(0).scrollHeight }, 500 /* 0 if yu want sudden snap */)>> <</button>></div> <</widget>>

<<ctp "ctpID" t8n>> You awake to the sound of the ocean. <<ctpNext>> It's not of water washing onto a beach, or striking rocks in powerful waves. You hear the other signs of the coast; of seagulls crying, a clang of bells, the bellowing horn from a ship. You hear everything except the ocean itself. <<ctpNext>> It's time to get up. <<ctpNext>> You open the door and there's wood instead of earth. Precisely cut planks, laid in parallel. Looking up, you see the ocean and the sky, the birds circling overhead. You step out onto the deck, and take in your surroundings <<ctpNext>> It's a grand steamship. One passenger stands at the top of the boarding ramp of the ship, looking out toward the dock. There's a tall trunk next to the passenger, with the label 天地無用 placed on it. <<ctpNext>> You approach the waiting passenger. <<ctpNext>> The passenger doesn't turn toward you, even when you get close enough that you know your footsteps must be audible. Gaze still held to the ship, back turned to you, you think that maybe you're being ignored. <<ctpNext>> <<Ryuunosuke>>Hey.<</Ryuunosuke>> <<ctpNext>> The passenger finally turns around. <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>Hey.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> Kazuma-Kami, the kami of justice, protection, and knowledge looks upon you. <<ctpNext>> [[> "What's in the trunk?"|Trunk]] [[> "Where is this boat going?"|Going]] [[> "We need to talk."|Talk]] <<addclass "#continue" "hidden">> <</ctp>> <<advance>>

<<ctp "ctpID" t8n>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>Not much. Travel documents, Karuma, a change of clothes, a daruma, and a pair of shoes.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Ryuunosuke>>Isn't that Karuma on your hip?<</Ryuunosuke>> <<ctpNext>> He puts his hand on the holster at his side, hanging from his belt. <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>No, this is a saber. Karuma shines with the light of righteousness.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>These belongings are yours, Naruhodou.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> He's dressed very plainly for a kami, but there's no mistaking his nature. The air around him glows in enlightened illumination, and his eyes can see right through you into the faraway distance. <<ctpNext>> His hachimaki floats behind his head like a halo, encircling him despite the lack of wind. <<ctpNext>> [[> "What's in the trunk?"|Trunk]] [[> "Where is this boat going?"|Going]] [[> "We need to talk."|Talk]] <<addclass "#continue" "hidden">> <</ctp>> <<advance>>

<<ctp "ctpID" t8n>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>It's going to Japan. It's taking you back.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Ryuunosuke>>Taking me back? I don't want to go back. I want to stay here with you.<</Ryuunosuke>> <<ctpNext>> He shakes his head. The hachimaki on his head flutters. You think the cloth might be reaching out to you. You know that it must be. <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>You need to go home, Naruhodou. This wasn't your story to tell.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Ryuunosuke>>But I came here because you wanted me to. You asked me to come with you, remember?<</Ryuunosuke>> <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>I did. I remember. But I wanted you to help me, not to take my place.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>I know you did that because you thought it was right. Maybe it was the right thing to do, for a while.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>But I came back. I was here to tell my story. You never let me do that.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Ryuunosuke>>I had to make sure the truth came out.<</Ryuunosuke>> <<ctpNext>> He shakes his head, and doesn't say anything further. <<ctpNext>> [[> "What's in the trunk?"|Trunk]] [[> "Where is this boat going?"|Going]] [[> "We need to talk."|Talk]] <<addclass "#continue" "hidden">> <</ctp>> <<advance>>

<<ctp "ctpID" t8n>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>We do, but talking means you'll listen as well.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>I don't think you're ready to listen just yet.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Ryuunosuke>>What do you mean? We hardly got any chance to talk after everything happened.<</Ryuunosuke>> <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>You didn't try.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>Susato came to me. She made her decision, and she came to tell me.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Ryuunosuke>>But that wasn't really a conversation, was it? She was just telling you what she decided to do.<</Ryuunosuke>> <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>She decided to let me know. You had the same time to come talk to me, didn't you?<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Ryuunosuke>>...<</Ryuunosuke>> <<ctpNext>> He looks out toward the ocean, where the sun is breaking the horizon. <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>You need to go now. The ship is leaving soon.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> [[> "I don't want to leave. I want to stay here with you."|Stay]] [[> "Come home with me, then."|Together]] <<addclass "#continue" "hidden">> <</ctp>> <<advance>>

<<ctp "ctpID" t8n>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>No. You need to leave. You need the time to think about what you should do.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Ryuunosuke>>What? I know what I need to do. I need to talk to you. I need time to talk to you.<</Ryuunosuke>> <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>Is that really all you need?<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>What good is time if you won't spend it wisely? What good is talking to me if you won't listen to what I say?<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>You had your time to speak to me. You clearly aren't ready for it yet.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Ryuunosuke>>So you're just kicking me out? You're forcing me out because you think I'm not ready?<</Ryuunosuke>> <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>I know you're not ready. You need to think about what you did, and why you did it.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>Can you even answer that, right now?<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Ryuunosuke>>I did it for the truth. I did it for you! You were looking for the truth, weren't you?<</Ryuunosuke>> <<ctpNext>> <<Ryuunosuke>>You were looking for revenge, but before that, you wanted the truth. If I wasn't there, you might have taken your revenge on the wrong person!<</Ryuunosuke>> <<ctpNext>> <<Ryuunosuke>>I kept you from becoming a murderer!<</Ryuunosuke>> <<ctpNext>> The wind picks up, billowing around him. His hachimaki snaps at you, like the angry striking of a snake. <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>No, you stole my revenge from me.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>You were the one to find my father's will. You were the one to tell my story.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>I was right there in front of you. You didn't even think to let me tell my own story, did you?<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Ryuunosuke>>It was to find the truth. Why does it matter who opens it?<</Ryuunosuke>> <<ctpNext>> He shakes his head, and the hachimaki shakes with him. <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>You think the truth is all that matters. Sometimes, the truth is the last thing that matters.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> [[> "I don't want to leave. I want to stay here with you."|Stay]] [[> "Come home with me, then."|Together]] <<if hasVisited("Together")>> [[> "You're trying to get rid of me."|Rid]]<</if>> <<addclass "#continue" "hidden">> <</ctp>> <<advance>>

<<ctp "ctpID" t8n>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>No.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> He doesn't turn away from you fully, but he looks back toward the dock. It's as if he's watching for someone. Someone here to meet him, to take him home. <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>I'm staying here because I don't need to go home yet. I shouldn't. I have more to learn here.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Ryuunosuke>>Why just you? If I need to go home, shouldn't you too?<</Ryuunosuke>> <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>You were my replacement. You were only meant to be here for as long as I wasn't. As soon as I came back, your role ended.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Ryuunosuke>>So, that's it? You're pushing me aside now that I'm not useful anymore?<</Ryuunosuke>> <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>You know that's not what I'm doing.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>Your part in the story is done. It's time for you to go home.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>My part in the story is just beginning. I can't leave until I fulfill that.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Ryuunosuke>>I thought I was supposed to be with you to the end of the story. Isn't that what you wanted?<</Ryuunosuke>> <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>Can't you see that the story didn't go as planned? That nobody planned for it to be like this?<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>We have to adapt. We have to know when things have changed. You need to learn how to adapt, Naruhodou.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> [[> "I don't want to leave. I want to stay here with you."|Stay]] [[> "Come home with me, then."|Together]] [[> "You're trying to get rid of me."|Rid]] <<addclass "#continue" "hidden">> <</ctp>> <<advance>>

<<ctp "ctpID" t8n>> You've hit a nerve. You knew you would before the words even left your mouth. You're good at that, finding the weak points where the edges in people's armor don't quite guard. <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>Do you really believe that?<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Ryuunosuke>>Isn't that what you're doing? You asked me to come with you, and now that you have no use for me, you want me to leave.<</Ryuunosuke>> <<ctpNext>> <<Ryuunosuke>>I don't understand how a kami of justice could be so cruel.<</Ryuunosuke>> <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>I'm not a kami.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>Underneath all of this, I'm a human being, just like you.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>I'm not immortal. I don't regenerate. Nothing about me is so special that nobody else could do the same.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>The only thing unnatural about me is this...<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>Thing you've made me into.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>This thing that I can't be, that you're angry at me for not being.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>I'm not a kami. I'm Asougi Kazuma. You need to realize that.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> [[> "Is this it, then? You're sending me away?"|Away]] <<addclass "#continue" "hidden">> <</ctp>> <<advance>>

<<ctp "ctpID" t8n>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>Do you really believe that?<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Ryuunosuke>>That's exactly what you're doing.<</Ryuunosuke>> <<ctpNext>> <<Ryuunosuke>>Will I ever even see you again?<</Ryuunosuke>> <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>You'll see me again, over and over. Until you understand what you've done and what you've been doing.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Ryuunosuke>>What is that supposed to mean?<</Ryuunosuke>> <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>Don't you see that this is a dream? You'll have this dream again, and again and again. But I won't come home until you understand.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Ryuunosuke>>You're abandoning me...<</Ryuunosuke>> <<ctpNext>> <<Ryuunosuke>>Maybe even forever.<</Ryuunosuke>> <<ctpNext>> You clench your fists, anger bubbling below your skin. It quickens your lungs, grips your heart, but you get no real reaction out of your visible rage. <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>That's for you to decide.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>I really need to be going. The ship is going to leave soon.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>Goodbye, Naruhodou.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> [[> "No, I'm not leaving."|Refuse]] <<addclass "#continue" "hidden">> <</ctp>> <<advance>>

<<ctp "ctpID" t8n>> Kazuma-Kami shakes his head again. <<ctpNext>> You take a step toward him, toward the ramp leading off from the ship. You know that he can't block you forever, that he needs to leave the boat and once he does, you can run right after him. <<ctpNext>> <<Kazuma-Kami>>It's time for you to go home, and for me to leave.<</Kazuma-Kami>> <<ctpNext>> He turns around and as he moves, pulls the trunk with him so that it blocks your path. You follow him, and place both hands on the trunk to push it. <<ctpNext>> It doesn't budge. The trunk is impossibly heavy, blocking your path down to the dock. You can't climb over it, you can't squeeze around it without risking a plunge into the water below. The water is inky black now, and inexplicably hostile to you. If you were to fall in, you would never resurface. Would he even help you if you fell? <<ctpNext>> <<Ryuunosuke>>Asougi!<</Ryuunosuke>> <<ctpNext>> He doesn't turn around. The ramp disappears once he disembarks, making his way to figures that are too blurry for you to see. He picks the smallest of them up in his arms, smiling fondly, and ignores your shouting as the steamship carries you away. <<addclass "#continue" "hidden">> <</ctp>> <<advance>>

You awake to the sound of the ocean.