PSL (closed)

[foundfate]

[The shop had finally settled again. It was a bit of a relief, because it hadn't anchored to a world in nearly two weeks, and Watanuki's food stores had started to run low. A shopping trip would be in order, mostly to replenish his nonperishable before the shop set out looking for another world in need of his help.

Usually Watanuki could guess when a move was about to happen, but sometimes it happened out of the blue. Like this last move, which had come so soon after arriving in the previous world. That usually meant that his services were in dire need and that people's souls were calling out to him, even if they didn't quite know it themselves yet. Watanuki would just have to wait for them to come to him.

His first visitor, at least, wouldn't take too long to get there. Watanuki always had a sense of when someone was to arrive, and as soon as the shop's gates had opened and revealed itself to the busy streets of Yokohama he had felt the impending arrival of a customer. It was enough to pique his interest, because he didn't usually get a visitor on the same day after a shop move. Someone was very perceptive, it seemed.

By the time his guest would arrive, Watanuki had already set up some tea in one of the sitting rooms. The summer was at its end, and the cool breeze felt nice enough that Watanuki had decided to open the movable doors to reveal the backyard, which was still bathed in the greens of summer. They could stay cool without the need of an air conditioner that way.

From there, he waited. He had a feeling that his guest was a particularly clever one, so he felt sure that they would find their way to the sitting room on their own.]

Comments

[neverwashere]

...that's it?

[Hardly a difficult thing to let go of provided there were no emergencies.]

[foundfate]

That's part of it. You must give up your ability for one day in order to do the second half. The second half is that you must hold my hand to make use of my ability to 'see that which is not seen by others.'

[And there it was. Dazai would be able to see Odasaku, but it wouldn't be a private meeting. ]

[neverwashere]

[Wut.

Hold on.

Give him him a moment.

.

.

.

Here, let him borrow your wrist and have a proper look at it. Thin, limp, easy to hold, but still attached to an actual conscious body.]

Are you so lonely that you've resorted to third-wheeling? There are far better ways to find a date, Watanuki-san.

[plz explain how this price is supposed to make sense]

[foundfate]

[Yyyep he's pulling his hand away now. ]

As if. I have my choice of plenty of qualified candidates for such a thing. You don't even begin to compare to my former-husband.

[neverwashere]

[Well, that was one minefield he wasn't about to cross.]

Why, thank you. As a self-removal hobbyist and professional leech, I can also safely say you aren't double suicide material.

Pray tell, then: why that particular consequence and not some other temporary measure? You have a lot of junk; surely there's something else that might work?

[foundfate]

Of course I'm not double suicide material, I'm going to live forever.

[It was hard to tell just how much of that was sass for the sake of sass. It looked like Dazai has unlocked Watanuki: Salt Mode.]

I'm not going to condense my powers into an object, even temporarily. That's just asking for them to get stolen. Not necessarily by you- I doubt you understand just how valuable they are- but there are others who have been looking to get their hands on me. So if anyone wants to temporarily use my powers, they're going to channel them directly from me, with me present.

[neverwashere]

Sure, sure, have fun with that. Different strokes for different folks.

[Not his thing.

Dazai drank as he considered Watanuki's answer. There, that second emphasis on his power, rather than using an object that could make this far less personal. While Dazai initially poked this question to satisfy his need for privacy, he may just have had stumbled on something else.]

You're right - I don't understand its value beyond being an additional source of information. After all, there are so many things you could do with it: solve crime, console someone, blackmail, gather more intel. On the other hand, you are unlikely to be the first person to see spirits, or the idea of a medium wouldn't be popular.

So what makes you, in particular, unique?

[foundfate]

Because my two abilities can combine in a way that lets me 'lend out' my power to someone else, making it significantly cheaper to accomplish what you want. If I were to give you an item that let you see spirits, it would be difficult to afford. But since I can lend out my power as I see fit, the cost is almost nothing.

Besides that, I don't only see spirits. Seeing spirits isn't that uncommon in many worlds. Seeing "that which most do not see", however, is different.

[neverwashere]

Then, Odasaku doesn't count as a spirit? Or is he someone that most don't see?

[It might sound like an idiotic question, but the more time he spent with Watanuki, the more prepared he was to just toss what seemed obvious out the window in favor of actually asking.

Besides, maybe he could be excused. Dazai, after all, wasn't the expert in supernatural matters.]

[foundfate]

He is a spirit, yes. But there are other things to see besides him.

[Such a simple bit of words, but they just begged more questions.]

[neverwashere]

And I might be able to see these other beings if I took up that bargain.

[A statement of the obvious, and the consequence.

Whatever it was, Dazai wouldn't be able to go back to not knowing.

He sighed and glanced at the space next to the third cup. Any thoughts from that corner?]

[foundfate]

Yes.

[The space by the third cup was oddly quiet. There was the usual cold spot which indicated a presence, but otherwise nothing. It seemed Odasaku was either thinking deeply about the situation, or he was waiting to see what Dazai did.]

I could get you spirit-seeing powers in other ways, but those methods are a bit more permanent. And I'm sure you don't want to give up your ability forever in exchange for a different one.

[neverwashere]

[...ahh, jeez. Figuring Odasaku out was so much harder without seeing his face.]

It's not like I care whether or not I have it when I don't even notice it's there most of the time. [He gently traced the rim of his sake cup. Porcelain didn't ring as beautifully as crystal.] However, it would be inconvenient given everything else.

[Because really. Some messes were easier to clean up by shutting off their source.

(That he didn't refer to his own ability beyond pure utility was left unsaid. Its very name, after all, was ever a confession of perpetual emptiness.)]

...well. I suppose it's a matter of figuring out when to do it.

[foundfate]

[If Dazai was paying attention to Watanuki, he would see a flash of something in Watanuki's eyes when he heard what Dazai said there. That something was like recognition, like he had heard something similar to Dazai's words before somewhere. Or perhaps Dazai's situation was familiar to him in some way.

Regardless, Watanuki ended up looking down to his cup swirling it gently by rotating his wrist as he spoke.]

I knew someone like you, once. His power wasn't the same as yours, but his situation was similar. He had been gifted with a unique and sought-after power, one that people would have paid a high price to have, and yet he didn't see it as the gift everyone else considered it to be.

[neverwashere]

[Neither that expression nor the story that followed were expected.]

I know the value of my ability just fine, if you're implying the opposite. It's just that compared to others, it doesn't impact my quality of life. No transformations, no additional tricks, no fancy weapons or super strength. There's only me, my hands, and the occasional broken bone. Blocking punches can hurt, you know! Let me tell you: there have been a few times when I wondered if my arm was going to tear off my torso if I was off by even a few millimeters.

[(Still, Watanuki wasn't entirely incorrect. Dazai, no matter how selfish he was, also didn't see any purpose in sticking around as a person, in the same way that he didn't look at his own ability beyond utilitarian value.)]

[foundfate]

You have the power to stop the gods, and yet you call yourself an ordinary man.

[When Watanuki said that, it was calmly and with an interested lilt to his words. Yes, this was definitely familiar, and Watanuki was also aware of the fact that Dazai would have to figure it all out on his own. Watanuki himself hadn't listened to others' words when they had warned him. No, he had to take the long road and grow into his powers.

Dazai couldn't do that, though. He didn't have a century to learn who he was.]

[neverwashere]

That information's classified.

...so I should say, but it's obvious by now you have other sources.

[What a bombshell. Dazai's words also acted to emphasize a warning he'd given before, on Watanuki being a person of interest here in Yokohama.]

Then, by your words, that actually was Arahabaki, rather than an artificially constructed ability. Moreover, the creature my ability could not affect is still in a class of his own.

[Any bit of self-reflection, he'd nudge to the side. That wasn't exactly an activity he did in front of an audience.

(A single-person audience, on the other hand, might be exactly what he needed. There was only so much Dazai was willing to tackle on his own, parts of his mind and past remaining objects to be looked at, not dissected. Alone, his intelligence could work against him, undermining any growing pains in favor of comfort.

Even if that comfort turned out to be self-destructive in the long run.)]

[foundfate]

It was. And he isn't the only one you have met either.

[Watanuki was sure Dazai could guess who the other one was. He was smart, after all. Possibly too smart for his own good.]

No power is limitless. Even gods can be stopped. Ergo, your own powers have their limits too. But it is certainly much more than anyone realizes.

It is probably for the best that your ability blocks any Sight, because I think you might not like the attention it has drawn for you.

[But if he was curious, he did have a way to find out. Possibly.]

But a power is only as useful as the owner makes it to be. No matter what you do, you will only see what you expect. The person you remind me of, he gave up his power willingly and had to spend 100 years gaining it back. I suspect you do not have nearly that much time for a personal journey.

[neverwashere]

[He made a face.]

That's way too long. As it is, some would claim I've overstayed my welcome on earth.

[That other god might be Atsushi, if legends of Byakko and sacred tigers held true. And as for this person Watanuki was referring to...

Well, now.

Dazai exhaled and kept his hands steady as he poured another round of drinks.]

It won't be the first time I've drawn unwanted attention, thanks to my ability and other activities.

[Wouldn't be the first time his curiosity got the better of him, either.]

What other uses would you suggest, then? No Longer Human is an inflexible off switch that works in absolutes, and it's not for the lack of trying.

[foundfate]

[Thanks for the drink, Dazai. Watanuki nodded in Dazai's direction as a silent 'thank you'. ]

It is inflexible because you see it as such. All abilities can grow, and all abilities can become flexible.

[Watanuki looked to his other side- the one away from Dazai- and spoke to a seemingly empty space. ]

Will you bring me Doumeki's bow?

[There was no audible response, but a few seconds later one of the sliding walls opened up and then closed. Then Watanuki returned his attention to Dazai. ]

The first step, however, is being open to that growth. If you refuse to change, then your ability will remain inflexible

[neverwashere]

[Who this Doumeki was, why he had a bow, and who had brought it out of its storage were, unfortunately, questions that would detract from the other things Dazai wanted to ask at the moment.

Already, he had an inkling to what kind of growth Watanuki was suggesting. It was the same type Atsushi needed to get ahold of the tiger, and a path that needed a lot of time and investment.

In other words, it was an inconvenient long cut.]

Is this really a no spoon situation? Mental gymnastics didn't work the last time, and I make for a terrible Neo.

[foundfate]

You're not going to suddenly be able to do it just because you want to. Unfortunately, living is a journey of self-growth, and there are no real shortcuts. You can pay your way to improvement, but that involves giving up something else in an equivalent exchange. And in this case, 'buying' the skill you seek will not get the results you want. You must do this the hard way.

[Always talking about deals, this one. But hey, he did seem to be a good salesman at least? He wasn't going to screw Dazai over with a bad deal, or so he claimed.]

Your nullifying ability makes you an excellent candidate for becoming an exorcist.

[Or an Onmyoji, with a bit of work, but he got the feeling that Dazai wouldn't have the patience for the constant prayers. Watanuki wasn't about to try getting blood from a stone.]

Though that same ability makes you unable to see the spirits you would be exorcising. You would need a partner for such work, one who can act as the 'sights' for your preferred weapon, but it is possible to do. Such partnerships have been done in the past.

[neverwashere]

[It wasn't that Dazai didn't know the value of hard work. This time around, however, his tendency to breeze through most things worked against him.

The change required of him was a difficult one. Neither was it a coincidence that exorcism was involved - here, he shot another look at the space where Oda might be. If there was a more direct expression of the man's wish for Dazai to do good, this was it.]

Interesting. Are you proposing I work for you? [Don't play dumb, Watanuki, he knew what was up. After all, this was similar to the tricks he used with Chuuya and Atsushi.] Moreover, isn't being a pure spirit or something to that effect supposedly a requirement for actually being an effective exorcist? It shouldn't have escaped your notice that I'm the furthest for that.

[Not even touching on the topic of the bow yet. A gun might suit him better; Dazai wasn't about to sully the elegance of archery with his relative lack of arm strength.]

[foundfate]

I wouldn't mind it. It's been a while since I have been partnered with an exorcist. With the barrier around the shop, anything that would mean me harm doesn't usually make it in.

['Usually', because there were always exceptions. And exceptions were bound to happen, given how interesting this particular world was turning out to be.]

The 'pure' thing is a bit of a misnomer. Your action in the moment of an exorcism needs to be pure, yes. But that is more of a 'pure intent' than anything regarding how clean or dirty one person's particular soul is. And while it is easier for a 'pure' person to maintain that kind of purity in their actions, anyone can do it with a bit of training. The whole "someone must be pure at all times" thing is gatekeeping on the part of those who think the status of 'exorcist' is sullied by the presence of someone not like themselves.

[It was then that the door slid open once more, and an archer's longbow came floating out. Well, 'floating' wasn't quite accurate, it was clearly being carried by something. But that something was invisible to Dazai's eyes.

Watanuki carefully took the bow into his hands and thanked his invisible helper before turning his attention back to Dazai.]

This is not a gift. It is a personal weapon of someone who was very precious to me. You may touch it so you can hopefully feel the pull to channel your ability into it, so you can understand what I mean when I talk about weaponizing your ability. Take care with it, because I do not take kindly to special objects like this being damaged.

[neverwashere]

[Was.

Dazai knew the weight of that word. He kept a symbol of it, too: a lone matchbox, with the exact same number of sticks from the time he got it. The same number of scratches on the phosphorous strip at its side, and only the slight fading of the box art showed its age.

This bow, too, had been cared for in a similar manner, both by its original and current owners.

'Doumeki.' Dazai would certainly be looking up that name, if such a person had existed in his side of the world. Should he also be the shopkeeper's husband, Dazai figured he should at least pay his respects to the guy he was learning from, however indirectly.]

Gatekeeping, hmm? [That, too, took some of the weight off his chest. Dazai set down his sake cup and wiped his hands on his trousers before holding them up to receive the carved wood.] Good to know someone with standards that don't choke.