That's understandable. [ hua cheng sighs dramatically. ] I imagine my role as the manager of Ghost City's gambling hall will be much less appealing after this experience, too.
[ no, honestly, he'll probably love it. just the fact of being back in ghost city with xie lian would make anything else all right, casino or no casino. ]
[ that makes hua cheng laugh aloud. how childish, to say that your dream honeymoon is to go on a food tour with someone and then immediately say you want to neither gamble nor go on the food tour... hua cheng has to admire how thick rinne's face is. ]
All right, then you can go on a food trip to your own kitchen with him.
[ he makes a quiet noise, thoughtful. ]
I wish he didn't have to be here. He hates this place, and it hurts me deeply to see him suffer and have no way to protect him. But—if he's to be here, I'm glad we're here together.
[He can understand hating the place, to an extent, Rinne does hate it too. He hates it for taking them here, making them bend to its whims, with false sweetness that was only thinly veiled threats. Having sex was just the sweet sugar for the poison, to make it easier to swallow. It annoys him how little he can influence any change.
But that was all on Rinne, for choosing to taunt and poke at the holes he can find. As far as he knew, Hua Cheng and Xie Lian were the perfect image of a happy couple, even if Rinne knows better than to think that's all there is to it. Surely, they had their own problems.]
It isn't that something happened to him, it's just... he loathes this place so deeply. Every time I leave his side it feels like a betrayal. [ hua cheng sighs, then brings a hand up to rest against his forehead, closing his visible eye as if against the glare. ] Gege and I are both jealous lovers. It makes it difficult to accept the idea that anyone else touches him.
[ would that hua cheng could just burn this godsforsaken place to the ground and take xie lian back where he deserves to be, wrapped in silks and spoiled beyond belief in hua cheng's quarters in paradise city. ]
[He looks genuinely surprised at that, mostly because, well...]
How'd ya both decide to go and play the game, then? No offense, but the impression I got was ya seemed way too calm about it. 'Course, I didn't have anyone to compare ya with than myself that time.
[That time, implying this time he might have different thoughts. Well, not that surprising, given the time he spent with Hiyori, who was adamant about avoiding the game as much as possible while having a lover.]
What choice did we have? [ hua cheng opens his eye again, then rolls onto his side and props his head in one hand so he can look down at rinne. ] You know that gege is a god, yes? He is the most powerful being in our world, living or dead. His strength makes mine seem pale in comparison.
[ hua cheng's free hand comes up to touch his own neck, indicating a circle around his throat. ]
When he awoke here, his powers had been sealed by whoever it was who took him. And they are not above using the shackles on his throat and ankle to control him, if they need to—I've seen them do it. A being that powerful is nothing to be trifled with, and so it seemed prudent to play the game for now, until we can find a way to prevail against the House.
[ hua cheng, by now, knows rinne well enough to know that he's not entirely all right. it just wasn't his place to push, not until rinne brought it up himself. even this comment, this intimation, isn't a confession in itself—but still, hua cheng nods. they're just doing what they have to, in order to survive; hua cheng can't blame rinne for not being okay about it. ]
In our world, there was one being capable of harnessing gege's power. Another ghost king, a calamity called White No-Face. We killed him, but the battle drained me of all my power and fractured my soul into countless pieces. It took nearly a year for me to put myself back together again.
[ so rinne can perhaps understand why hua cheng isn't eager to dive headlong into another battle with something else powerful enough to do the same. ]
[That makes more sense. He'd wondered about it, the people who were obviously much stronger than him. Rinne himself had no illusions he can physically defeat an unknown entity that was powerful enough to bring them here, not after learning the other kind of people who appeared here. Maybe initially, when he was so sure of his abilities, but not now that he knows others can do things he can't-- magic, qi, physical enhancements, and things that didn't exist where he was from.
His village would have feared them as gods, probably, or worshiped them under other circumstances.]
Well... ain't gonna deny that's not reassuring, but I guess the world's a big place. There's always gonna be a bigger fish out there that ya can't just catch with yer bare hands.
[ hua cheng nods, then flops onto his back again and tucks his hands under his head as he looks up at the sky. ]
Even the biggest fish can be caught, if we're strategic about it.
[ he might not have a plan of action yet, but hua cheng is sure it can be done. it will just probably require most of the guests in the resort to work together, which is a tricky thing when only about half of them even want to go home, it seems. ]
[Unlike Hua Cheng, Rinne isn't exactly immortal-- and neither are the people he knows. A short lifespan means the longer he stays here, the more he misses. He doesn't have the luxury of it, not when he thinks about his friends, his family.]
... Ya know, a few months ago, I probably wouldn't have cared if I got stuck here. It'd be just tradin' one prison for another.
A year or two, maybe. Three at the most. I know that's longer to a mortal than it is to me, but it won't be your entire life.
[ he says it with confidence, although truthfully hua cheng can't know for sure. he's just estimating based on how long it took them to gain the power and intelligence necessary to defeat white no-face. surely whatever creature has them trapped here can't be that many orders of magnitude stronger than jun wu, because if it was, there would be no need to keep them here and farm them for energy. ]
[He grins, as though that made sense. For Rinne, it was everything, especially with how he grew up. It isn't a smile that lasts for long though, not when he remembers the other side of the coin.]
I got people to look out for, and I wanna see him thrive. Three years is too long. Hell, even just this long is already driving me crazy. That idiot might find a way to come here if I don't go home soon, and that's another headache I don't want to deal with.
[Rather, he would kill anyone who tries to touch Hiiro.]
[ well, that's a sentiment hua cheng understands well. obviously how he feels about xie lian is different than how rinne feels about hiiro, but the core sentiment, that no one else better touch him feeling, that's the same. ]
Then I guess you had better be ready to fight when the time comes. Or do you have a better plan?
[ better than hua cheng's plan to cultivate his power over some years and then strike at the house as soon as he can, that is. ]
[He hates admitting he can't do anything, and while he knows he hadn't exhausted all his options, not even 1% of it, he does find the lack of solutions frustrating.]
I'm always ready to fight 'em. If I stick around that long, I might start believin' this kinda life is meant for me. Ya get brainwashed if ya live too long in a place that don't wanna see the outside.
Ah, no. If there's one thing of which I'm certain, it's that this kind of life is certainly not meant for someone like you.
[ rinne is far too brilliant a personality to be held captive in a place like this. not that hua cheng has even the faintest understanding of what idols are or do, but he definitely knows that when he breaks them free (eventually), rinne had better be one of the first to go back to a life that suits him better. ]
Of course, I'll miss you terribly when we send you back to the life you deserve.
All right, I'll allow for the possibility that you may come from a world in my distant future.
[ he is almost certainly not from hua cheng's actual timeline, though, or he would have known about gods and ghost kings from the get go. even the mortals in hua cheng's world have some idea of those topics, albeit not a very detailed one. ]
Tell me about your home. If I hear of someplace similar several thousand years later, I'll come and find you.
Will hearing about the place you came from before this help me find you if we're separated by the ages?
[ there's a playful tone to hua cheng's response, though. it would be far too much of a coincidence to think that he and rinne are from the same world, so he's really more just asking for the sake of keeping the conversation going. ]
You can tell me about whatever you like. Or nothing, if you'd rather keep your secrets.
I'll just have to tie a spiritual bell on you, then. Make it so I can find you wherever you go.
[ hua cheng flops onto his back again and spreads out his arms and legs. one of his arms stretches out just north of rinne's head, and then hua cheng draws it down to rest across the crown of rinne's hair instead. ]
No, thank you. I told you this the first time we met, didn't I? That the heavens tried to ascend me and I declined. [ hua cheng snorts a derisive noise, his feelings on the heavenly capital. ] If your people are going to worship me, I'll just have to meet you in secret and not let them see me.
What, like a housecat? I don't do well with bein' domesticated.
[That's a lie, but the idea of being tied down is something he resists, despite his feelings about marriage. It's complicated, really. His desire for freedom and his desire to make others happy were not always in agreement, after all.]
Yeah, I figured ya'd hate it. You and I, we're kindred souls~
If ya ever decide to look for me, you should be an idol in Japan though. I betcha I'd be the one seeking ya out.
Should I? What's the difference between being worshipped and being an idol?
[ because hua cheng, he hasn't yet had the talk with jun about their idol school, and he's never actually asked rinne exactly what being an idol entails—so when he hears "idol," he thinks of an icon of worship, someone or something celebrated, with believers who prostate themselves before it, etc. etc.
...which, really, isn't actually all that different from being a pop idol, probably, so maybe he's more on the money than he knows. ]
And for what would you seek me out, were I to become an idol?
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[ no, honestly, he'll probably love it. just the fact of being back in ghost city with xie lian would make anything else all right, casino or no casino. ]
But you can still go on your food trip.
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[What a childish answer, and he knows it does, but he's stubborn like that.]
And I want it from the best chef I know. Uuugh, it annoys me everytime I think it, but yer so lucky ya got Habibi with ya.
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All right, then you can go on a food trip to your own kitchen with him.
[ he makes a quiet noise, thoughtful. ]
I wish he didn't have to be here. He hates this place, and it hurts me deeply to see him suffer and have no way to protect him. But—if he's to be here, I'm glad we're here together.
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[He can understand hating the place, to an extent, Rinne does hate it too. He hates it for taking them here, making them bend to its whims, with false sweetness that was only thinly veiled threats. Having sex was just the sweet sugar for the poison, to make it easier to swallow. It annoys him how little he can influence any change.
But that was all on Rinne, for choosing to taunt and poke at the holes he can find. As far as he knew, Hua Cheng and Xie Lian were the perfect image of a happy couple, even if Rinne knows better than to think that's all there is to it. Surely, they had their own problems.]
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It isn't that something happened to him, it's just... he loathes this place so deeply. Every time I leave his side it feels like a betrayal. [ hua cheng sighs, then brings a hand up to rest against his forehead, closing his visible eye as if against the glare. ] Gege and I are both jealous lovers. It makes it difficult to accept the idea that anyone else touches him.
[ would that hua cheng could just burn this godsforsaken place to the ground and take xie lian back where he deserves to be, wrapped in silks and spoiled beyond belief in hua cheng's quarters in paradise city. ]
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[He looks genuinely surprised at that, mostly because, well...]
How'd ya both decide to go and play the game, then? No offense, but the impression I got was ya seemed way too calm about it. 'Course, I didn't have anyone to compare ya with than myself that time.
[That time, implying this time he might have different thoughts. Well, not that surprising, given the time he spent with Hiyori, who was adamant about avoiding the game as much as possible while having a lover.]
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[ hua cheng's free hand comes up to touch his own neck, indicating a circle around his throat. ]
When he awoke here, his powers had been sealed by whoever it was who took him. And they are not above using the shackles on his throat and ankle to control him, if they need to—I've seen them do it. A being that powerful is nothing to be trifled with, and so it seemed prudent to play the game for now, until we can find a way to prevail against the House.
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[It's as close to a confession as he can muster, regarding to his own mental state. He knows how he seems to people, after all.]
Ya think this place has a god stronger than him around, or is there a way to keep him down even back in yer world?
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In our world, there was one being capable of harnessing gege's power. Another ghost king, a calamity called White No-Face. We killed him, but the battle drained me of all my power and fractured my soul into countless pieces. It took nearly a year for me to put myself back together again.
[ so rinne can perhaps understand why hua cheng isn't eager to dive headlong into another battle with something else powerful enough to do the same. ]
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[That makes more sense. He'd wondered about it, the people who were obviously much stronger than him. Rinne himself had no illusions he can physically defeat an unknown entity that was powerful enough to bring them here, not after learning the other kind of people who appeared here. Maybe initially, when he was so sure of his abilities, but not now that he knows others can do things he can't-- magic, qi, physical enhancements, and things that didn't exist where he was from.
His village would have feared them as gods, probably, or worshiped them under other circumstances.]
Well... ain't gonna deny that's not reassuring, but I guess the world's a big place. There's always gonna be a bigger fish out there that ya can't just catch with yer bare hands.
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Even the biggest fish can be caught, if we're strategic about it.
[ he might not have a plan of action yet, but hua cheng is sure it can be done. it will just probably require most of the guests in the resort to work together, which is a tricky thing when only about half of them even want to go home, it seems. ]
We won't be stuck here forever, xiao mifeng.
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[Unlike Hua Cheng, Rinne isn't exactly immortal-- and neither are the people he knows. A short lifespan means the longer he stays here, the more he misses. He doesn't have the luxury of it, not when he thinks about his friends, his family.]
... Ya know, a few months ago, I probably wouldn't have cared if I got stuck here. It'd be just tradin' one prison for another.
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[ he says it with confidence, although truthfully hua cheng can't know for sure. he's just estimating based on how long it took them to gain the power and intelligence necessary to defeat white no-face. surely whatever creature has them trapped here can't be that many orders of magnitude stronger than jun wu, because if it was, there would be no need to keep them here and farm them for energy. ]
What changed?
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[He grins, as though that made sense. For Rinne, it was everything, especially with how he grew up. It isn't a smile that lasts for long though, not when he remembers the other side of the coin.]
I got people to look out for, and I wanna see him thrive. Three years is too long. Hell, even just this long is already driving me crazy. That idiot might find a way to come here if I don't go home soon, and that's another headache I don't want to deal with.
[Rather, he would kill anyone who tries to touch Hiiro.]
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Then I guess you had better be ready to fight when the time comes. Or do you have a better plan?
[ better than hua cheng's plan to cultivate his power over some years and then strike at the house as soon as he can, that is. ]
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[He hates admitting he can't do anything, and while he knows he hadn't exhausted all his options, not even 1% of it, he does find the lack of solutions frustrating.]
I'm always ready to fight 'em. If I stick around that long, I might start believin' this kinda life is meant for me. Ya get brainwashed if ya live too long in a place that don't wanna see the outside.
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[ rinne is far too brilliant a personality to be held captive in a place like this. not that hua cheng has even the faintest understanding of what idols are or do, but he definitely knows that when he breaks them free (eventually), rinne had better be one of the first to go back to a life that suits him better. ]
Of course, I'll miss you terribly when we send you back to the life you deserve.
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[He points out, and well-- Rinne isn't an idiot. He knows that was the most likely outcome if they manage to get back home. Still.]
Ya haven't convinced me we don't go back to the same place.
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[ he is almost certainly not from hua cheng's actual timeline, though, or he would have known about gods and ghost kings from the get go. even the mortals in hua cheng's world have some idea of those topics, albeit not a very detailed one. ]
Tell me about your home. If I hear of someplace similar several thousand years later, I'll come and find you.
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I can't tell ya much about it.
[He admits, thinking about it. Even if this isn't his world, he is still after all, the protector of his home.]
But I can tell ya about the place I came from before this instead.
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[ there's a playful tone to hua cheng's response, though. it would be far too much of a coincidence to think that he and rinne are from the same world, so he's really more just asking for the sake of keeping the conversation going. ]
You can tell me about whatever you like. Or nothing, if you'd rather keep your secrets.
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[Or he might and then things might happen, like a scandal or a fight or--]
They might worship ya if they find out all that you can do though.
[He says it so seriously it's probably jarring, but he isn't lying... at least.]
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[ hua cheng flops onto his back again and spreads out his arms and legs. one of his arms stretches out just north of rinne's head, and then hua cheng draws it down to rest across the crown of rinne's hair instead. ]
No, thank you. I told you this the first time we met, didn't I? That the heavens tried to ascend me and I declined. [ hua cheng snorts a derisive noise, his feelings on the heavenly capital. ] If your people are going to worship me, I'll just have to meet you in secret and not let them see me.
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[That's a lie, but the idea of being tied down is something he resists, despite his feelings about marriage. It's complicated, really. His desire for freedom and his desire to make others happy were not always in agreement, after all.]
Yeah, I figured ya'd hate it. You and I, we're kindred souls~
If ya ever decide to look for me, you should be an idol in Japan though. I betcha I'd be the one seeking ya out.
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[ because hua cheng, he hasn't yet had the talk with jun about their idol school, and he's never actually asked rinne exactly what being an idol entails—so when he hears "idol," he thinks of an icon of worship, someone or something celebrated, with believers who prostate themselves before it, etc. etc.
...which, really, isn't actually all that different from being a pop idol, probably, so maybe he's more on the money than he knows. ]
And for what would you seek me out, were I to become an idol?
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