[ Midnight is now a towering 6'1, made of solid muscle. This, too, simply took some time.
He turns to Mr. Kitsuragi, not exactly smiling, but far from disapproving. Disappointment, but in the sense that, even across worlds, these things are far easier to divine than they ever should be. That humans are humans, and there's no escaping it. ]
It's the eyes, see. The color is very specific to my species.
[ "Pink-eyed", a memory of a word hurled at him by a drunken soldier. His companions had shuttled him off very quickly, apologized for his mouth. Assured the staff that he was harmless, really, that the drink got the better of him. ]
That was the advertising from the start. Once I got my legs under me, once I realized how to use the image... I was the Fiend. Demon King of the Eastern Night. "Ma-ou". The Devil.
[ "Devil" has the same tone as "Pink-eyed". Neither bad, individually. Not without context. Simple slips of the tongue, really.
Midnight pauses then. ]
Never once wanted to harm another person in my life. It was sort of overwhelming, really, how many people expected me to be... wilder than I am, I suppose. I still like books. I spend a lot of time alone.
[ ... Midnight shrugs. ]
I made money. More than enough. I was fortunate enough to be in a position to help others, eventually. Repay my clients' kindness, pay off debts. My parents' retirement.
[ Because he did that too, despite running from his father. A Higashinese never abandons their parents, no matter the circumstances. The culture runs deep.
They approach the bar Midnight had been steering toward. He opens the door, lets Mr. Kitsuragi in. ]
cw: fantasy racism (slurs)
He turns to Mr. Kitsuragi, not exactly smiling, but far from disapproving. Disappointment, but in the sense that, even across worlds, these things are far easier to divine than they ever should be. That humans are humans, and there's no escaping it. ]
It's the eyes, see. The color is very specific to my species.
[ "Pink-eyed", a memory of a word hurled at him by a drunken soldier. His companions had shuttled him off very quickly, apologized for his mouth. Assured the staff that he was harmless, really, that the drink got the better of him. ]
That was the advertising from the start. Once I got my legs under me, once I realized how to use the image... I was the Fiend. Demon King of the Eastern Night. "Ma-ou". The Devil.
[ "Devil" has the same tone as "Pink-eyed". Neither bad, individually. Not without context. Simple slips of the tongue, really.
Midnight pauses then. ]
Never once wanted to harm another person in my life. It was sort of overwhelming, really, how many people expected me to be... wilder than I am, I suppose. I still like books. I spend a lot of time alone.
[ ... Midnight shrugs. ]
I made money. More than enough. I was fortunate enough to be in a position to help others, eventually. Repay my clients' kindness, pay off debts. My parents' retirement.
[ Because he did that too, despite running from his father. A Higashinese never abandons their parents, no matter the circumstances. The culture runs deep.
They approach the bar Midnight had been steering toward. He opens the door, lets Mr. Kitsuragi in. ]