probe | Audience: Ashiya Douman

[for a moment, she doesn't reply. she leans against the wall (which is weird given she's still a hologram) and she seems to be pondering this.]

And the longer you were intertwined, the more they were taking over and changing who you really were. Right?

...

[me like OH I KNOW WHAT IRIS IS REFERRING TO OHOHOHOHO]

[Meanwhile Douman just stares at the pinball machine, sighing.]

Yes. In the beginning, after they integrated with me, it was as if...everything was okay. But then I lost my body...and my thoughts...and soon enough, they were acting like me in front of others. People I knew and worked with every day, in my life, and...no one was the wiser.

[haha.]

...something similar happened to someone I know. Or, I guess, a lot of someones I know. It's really scary because you can never really know who you're talking to when a person has the power to slip in just like a parasite or something.

A...lot of someones?

[That sounds like a very prolific terrible parasite, indeed!]

At least Limbo didn't try to possess others, but...you knew of a thing like that?

Yeah. Or, technically... [give her a second to think about this.] A long time ago, Date swapped bodies with Rohan Kumakura who used to be the leader of the Kumakura gang. From there, Date, in Rohan's body, was forced to swap places with Saito Sejima, the son of a politician. Saito knew that Rohan wasn't really himself, and he wanted to force the swap. It was pretty successful, too. After a while, Saito had access to all of Date's old memories along with his own...

...but Date in Saito's body didn't remember anything at all! All of his memories didn't transfer over and they disappeared, so he had to relearn everything. Luckily, his boss found him and gave him a new identity and a job with her.

Six years passed...and then the killings started again. As it turns out, Saito in Rohan's body wanted his own body back, but he had to plan carefully. He swapped places with Mizuki's mom, Miss Nadami. "Rohan" later died when he jumped off of a roof. From there, Saito in Miss Nadami's body contacted Mr. Okiura, Mizuki's dad and my manager. He swapped with Mr. Okiura, and then killed the real Mr. Okiura in Miss Nadami's body. Then he tried to switch places with me, too. He came to my house in Mr. Okiura's body, and he acted just like him. He had all of his memories and mannerisms perfectly...but when we got to the chemical plant he was taking me too I got scared and left.

After that, Saito in Mr. Okiura's body found another opportunity. There was a prisoner who had been arrested. They called him prisoner #89. But really, he was Rohan in #89's body. That body was Date's old one...but I knew it as the body belonging to Uncle. He was my mom's boyfriend when I was younger.

Saito swapped bodies with Rohan so that Rohan was now in Mr. Okiura's body and he was in Uncle's. Rohan died because Mr. Okiura had been in a terrible car accident not long before that, but Saito didn't care. He was now in Uncle's body and...

[...] It had been six years since I last saw him. I didn't think anything was wrong. I thought he just came back, finally, so when I got a call from Uncle I left right away to go see him. But it was a trap. He just wanted to use me and my mom to lure the real Date to the chemical plant so he could get his original body back.

That was successful, too. Once Saito was back in his real body, he started setting the stage to kill me and my mom. But Date saved us. Saito's gone now.

[this is, somehow, a very condescend version of events. also she seems more thoughtful than terrified explaining all of this, poor douman.]

...

[Sorry.]

[Sorry, hang on a moment.]

[This was all...what?]

[Body swapping? A murderer? Who switched with who? HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE SWITCHED?? THIS SOUNDS LIKE A HEADACHE AND A HALF.]

[Douman gapes for a full minute.]

I... [They just look kind of pale?] That's...horrible. I mean, what happened, but...Saito being gone...I guess that's a relief.

[WHAT DO THEY SAY HERE]

Yeah. [DON'T JUST SAY YEAH TO ALL OF THAT?] I guess the whole point of all that was to say it's also why I would never blame you for the stuff Limbo did while controlling your body and how awful it sounds to not be in control.

[YEAH DON'T JUST SAY YEAH TO ALL OF THAT]

Um. [Well, yes, that's...similar to Limbo, probably. Though they shudder to think of what Limbo might have done, being able to swap bodies at will.] Well. T-thank you. That...means a lot to me.

[it's fine.]

Of course. [...] Uncle did the swap before to protect me and my mom. I don't think he knew how bad things were gonna get. You didn't know what would happen when you and Limbo were merged together either, did you?

...No, I didn't.

[How could they? How could they anticipate that terrible fate, that monster?]

[How could they have looked in the mirror and expected to see the horrifying vision that met their eyes?]

If I could have known, I would have stopped it...but, even so...I was weak. [Douman's eyes water.] I was too weak.

It wasn't your fault. Things like that? It doesn't have anything to do with you being too weak.

[truthfully she doesn't entirely know, but given what she's been made aware of...she doesn't believe it was their fault at all.]

But it does, I...when Limbo came to me, they told me...

[And a shuddering sigh.]

"If things remain as they are, you'll never once surpass Seimei." And I just...couldn't handle it. It was at that moment that they slipped into my body. If only I had...held out longer...

...but Limbo knew just what to say to get you to let your guard down. That's still not your fault. Even if it hurt you, it shouldn't have come to that in the first place.

It was because I wasn't good enough that I was vulnerable.

[Ah, what a miserable state. Always last. Always hated. Always never good enough.]

[The people of Limbo, they live in longing-]

...Ah. [Douman wipes their eyes with a sleeve.] There's no use crying over it now. It isn't as if anything will change, now. I'm dead, after all.

...I think even being dead doesn't mean this is just it. You can still grow and change, you know? That's not a bad thing.

Can I? Or am I fated to fall to my darkness?

[A shake of the head.]

I'm very sorry, Lust. I-I don't mean to burden you with things.

Don't be silly! You're not a burden, and I'm the one who asked anyway. I should be saying sorry to you.

No, no, you did nothing wrong.

[An attempt at a reassuring smile.]

You're...someone I can see as a friend, Lust. You've been nothing but kind.

I think we're definitely friends. If you want us to be.

...Would you be? Friends with me, I mean.

Of course I would! That's why I came, isn't it? Because we're friends.

[Douman flushes, extremely touched.]

I'm...glad.

[cute...douman's so sweet.]

Don't forget it, okay? Promise.

[They smile.]

I'll promise...Light.

[Her nickname.]

[hehe. she smiles back because she does like the nickname.]

Good! [and a look at the pinball machine again.] Wanna play again?

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