mahoraga | IC INBOX (JIGOKUCHO)

[This little.]

Hmm. I suppose I should not expect such a clumsy animal to understand delicacy. They typically find me, first.

[ Oh, he's curious about what happened, but first -- how dare you insult his precious baby boy. ]

He saved your life in the past. A little gratitude is more becoming.

Do you dislike dogs, senpai? [ Just a hunch. ]

[Matoba legitimately doesn't understand this response. ... No, rather he doesn't misunderstand the concept; it's simply that exorcists who assign worth to their shiki's lives disappoint him.]

Why would I thank a mindless shiki? My gratitude is to the spellcaster which commands it. But since you are asking, I do prefer cats.

[ he is being thanked but he also feels annoyed about it. what a mixed feeling. he doesn't think his shikigami are mindless, but he also can't tell if it's his affection for them that makes him feel that way. ]

You think they're mindless? [ doesn't ... agree ....... ]

I'm more of a dog person. [ if that wasn't clear. ]

Of course, contracted shiki are not, which makes them quite useful. More troublesome than the ones you and I use, of course. Your shiki are merely parts of your own power giving life to a form, correct? Then, there is nothing to give them a spirit. They are just empty shells, obeying your will. There's nothing about them to thank. Not that I would thank a monster or tool simply obeying its master, either. Do you thank a pair of chopsticks for doing their task for you?

[This is the important part to address. If Megumi was that soft-hearted sort, then Matoba could not let it stand uncommented another moment longer. It was a dangerous and self-destructive way to live, for an exorcist. It wouldn't do to let such a talented young one keep trailing down a mistaken path this way, if there was something he could do to correct it.]

[...]

[But he adds, almost as an afterthought.]

Unfortunate.

... You've got more of an opinion about this than I expected.

[ But ... there's nothing about what he's reading that rings untrue. His shikigami are a part of his cursed technique, passed down throughout the bloodline in a more or less similar way - similar enough for him to have known about each summon before ever meeting them, probably similar in looks and temperament also. Simply a part of him, the blood and DNA that blessed him with this power.

But he's certain he can sense a personality, a bond and connection. When they perish, they don't return, and he feels like he's grieving a friend. ]

They're animals. They act like animals.

[ Even if he considers that that could be a farce too. ]

Of course. I am the head of the Matoba clan.

[And Megumi knew exactly what kind of relationship the Matoba had to ayakashi.]

If your servants were real animals, they would be able to enter samsara like even ayakashi do. They cannot even do that, I imagine? Fushiguro-kun. You should be careful what things you open your heart to. If you choose the wrong moment, you could regret it deeply later. The head of a clan doesn't need regrets.

[How many people were counting on him, Matoba wonders?]

[ Though the subject matter is harsh to take in, he can't sense any malicious intent in those words, no sneering or delight taken in telling a young sorcerer something that's difficult to hear. Almost like Matoba is imparting the wisdom he's collected over the years.

The Samsara - The cycle of life, death and rebirth. Unless it means something different where Matoba comes from, he knows about that. ]

When my shikigami die, they don't return. [ So surely that means something, that they just aren't information within his cursed technique that give rise to a shikigami when uses his cursed energy. There's no real way to know, though. ]

I won't pretend what you're saying doesn't make sense. But I've known the Divine Dogs for longer than anyone else. [ The only other creatures around back then, giving him comfort in an empty home. He trusts them more than most people. ]

Even if it doesn't make sense, I can't treat them like mere tools.

[They don’t, huh? Perhaps dispelled wasn’t the right word for them, though, but that only makes him more intrigued by the nature of Megumi’s power. Just what sort of servants were these, these shadows created from his own aura that experienced death?]

[He has his own ideas what that could entail, but he decides that simply observing would be the best course, so he won’t openly speculate.]

How unfortunate. Are they of a limited nature? Of course, one can always make new contracts with ayakashi under your servitude, but with something intrinsic I suppose that means that you are somewhat limited in your resources. I don’t blame you for being conservative. [That was a separate issue from being too kind. Matoba can only sigh to himself as he watches the same mistakes play out again.]

You lot are very foolish, you know. [Who is he being lumped in with? Matoba does not volunteer that.]

[ Though he does lose his shikigami, their essence converges with the rest of the shikigami in his repertoire, merging with them and reincarnating within them. For that reason he doesn't lose any power when they die. While he could explain it, the conversation sounds annoying, and it would only prove Matoba's point - that his animals are just information and energy.

'Conservative' is only a part of it. ]

Are you thinking about someone else?

[Matoba will absolutely be smug so he is right not to tell him]

Oh, you needn’t worry about him.

[Two someones, really. He could guess that Megumi is already aware of the first, if that’s his reply; in a way, it just makes him a little more pleased to know that he could tell. Let him be nosy if he likes, since it will only be more bothersome for him later.]

Are all of your shiki animals, Fushiguro-kun?

[ He has a sense he knows this person, and if he does, there's probably only one person that could refer to. For now, he doesn't have enough information to confirm. ]

Not all of them.

... Guess it doesn't matter now. [ Since that last one has been destroyed. ]

[He can read between the lines there well enough. Then, he already knows the result of getting too attached, perhaps...]

[Still. What a cute form.]

A tool is a tool, Fushiguro-kun. If you are not willing to use it when it is needed then it is of no use. Harboring such reluctance will only lead to inaction and endangering yourself and others. Do not regret using your power when appropriate. That isn't a bad choice of forms, though. Animals can handle almost any situation, can't they?

IC INBOX (JIGOKUCHO)

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