i.

[guidetohell]

[He's alive. That's first.

He's in a house that he doesn't recognize. That's second.

There's a woman he doesn't know sleeping next to him. That's third.

His wounds are gone. That's fourth.

Whatever's going on, Nagi has a bad feeling about it. He was fine with dying; it meant an end to the pain, and he knew that his friends were safe. Mostly. But this... this is not exactly what he expected the afterlife to be like.]

[action for 946 Beulah residents]

...Excuse me. Please don't panic, but I, ah- I think I might be lost. Do you happen to know where this is?

[public]

Well now. I suppose I always did want to visit America, albeit not quite like this... Ah, but I'm rambling.

I'm told that we use the phones here to communicate over some sort of wireless system? Strangely high-tech for what's supposed to be the decade of the 1950's, but I suppose it's useful. In any case, my name is Nagi Kengamine, and- [it's only then that it occurs to Nagi that maybe, as an escaped death row convict, giving his real name to a bunch of strangers isn't the best idea in the world. TOO LATE NOW.]

-and I suppose I'm new here. [SWEET FINISH.]

Comments

[guidetohell]

You mean to say that this place has no death? How can that be?

[ex_bloomnobly385]

I suppose it does have death, but the reincarnation cycle works differently here. If you do die you tend to wake up back at home in your old body.

But even if you did find a way to stay dead, you'd still be in the same place as the living.

[guidetohell]

What is that supposed to mean?

[ex_bloomnobly385]

Do you see that tree in the garden?

My body is sealed underneath it, I'm actually a ghost. However there was no afterlife I had to navigate to get back here, it seems the living and the dead are all lumped together into the same place.

[guidetohell]

I... see. Well, as long as we're being truthful, I suppose I should admit that there is a distinct possibility that I'm dead as well.

[ex_bloomnobly385]

It's unlikely.

I'm not sure how but when I first arrived here they had undone centuries in the afterlife. So, it's more likely than not that you're alive too.

[guidetohell]

[there's a pause, and then Nagi has to sit down.]

I am... not sure how to feel about that.

[ex_bloomnobly385]

It's alright, it takes some time to get used to.

Would you like some tea? I'm afraid it's not particularly nice but it might help.

[guidetohell]

That would be very nice, thank you. [Nagi offers a weary smile.] I'm fortunate to have such a pleasant welcome, if nothing else.

[ex_bloomnobly385]

It's the least I could do.

[She goes to put the kettle on and prepares the cups and teabags. Even if she barely prepares anything for herself, she's learned to do this much]

If you don't mind me asking, what kind of an afterlife are you from? Or are you fresh from the jaws of death?

[guidetohell]

"Fresh", I suppose. I was dying just before I woke up here. [And he was ready to die, all things considered; it was like a long sleep he needed after being awake too long. To wake up here, to be expected to go on living... it was enough to churn his gut.

And then a thought hits him- not a pleasant one.] Actually- there was someone else with me. An enemy... I meant to drag him to Hell along with me, as melodramatic as that sounds. Do you think he...? [Ended up here?]

[ex_bloomnobly385]

Hmm... who knows. There are some people from my world here but not all of them.

[She pauses between pouring the water as a thought seems to strike her]

Which reminds me, if you see a short, half-ghost girl with a pair of swords please tell me right away.

[After preparing the tea she sets the cup down in front of him, the teabag still floating in the liquid. Maybe she hasn't quite gotten the hang of it]

But I can assure you, the afterlife is quite different from this.

[guidetohell]

Half-ghost? [This place will take some getting used to.] I will, of course...

[He takes a sip of tea, looking very tired.] Thank you. If it's all the same to you, I would prefer not to know what awaits me.

[ex_bloomnobly385]

That's quite alright. I understand.

If there's anything else you need help with I'll see what I can do.