Shin Kagami

Kagami’s eyes narrowed in on Pinball and they grit their teeth. A few seconds passed, and the only noise was the wind sweeping across the hills. Then, after a deep breath, the tension on Kagami’s face faded away with the breeze. They only wore a smile. ”I guess there’s nothing left to say then,” Kagami said. No venom, no malice, no taunts. It took only a few moments before their demeanor reverted to the time before Pinball had approached them. Just a sincere smile, as if they had just met and were complete strangers who hadn’t yet exchanged a word. After all, there was no point in putting in a

”Because stories and experiences are what connects us to other people. It’s the good, bad, and ugly in our lives that make us who we are; for the better and for the worse,” Kagami said pointedly. ”And also if you weren’t such a wet rag while I was talking to you, maybe I wouldn’t have even brought this up.” ”What I need to know is how you got enveloped in such a rage that’s enough to justify killing someone? What happened afterwards? What did the people around you think of it and how did they treat you differently?” Kagami fired question after question towards Pinball, though they weren’t

”I don’t think so, “ Kagami said as they turned their head towards Pinball with a sour expression on their face. Their demeanor didn’t bear any hint of venom or malicious glee that they wore on their sleeve not too long ago. Instead, their gaze was directed at Pinball but their focus was on something that couldn’t be seen with the naked eye. ”You’re not getting away that easily. Like I said, someone was dying so that you can tell your story. So you— go— first.” Kagami’s tone grew firmer and their face darker with every word. Suddenly, it all returned to normal. In the blink of an eye, almost a

Kagami’s eyes widened and their smile grew more animate as they reveled in Pinball’s sudden, yet reasonable outrage. It wasn’t quite the reaction they were expecting, but it only made Kagami more interested in the player in front of them. ”I’ll see you in a bit then,” they said, performing a mock salute while Pinball became one with the shadows. Kagami looked around to look for a trace of the other player but just shrugged when nothing apparent was in view. Kagami just hoped he wouldn’t bail on them. Kagami strolled back to Tolbana and the journey was wonderfully mundane as they took the

Kagami clicked their tongue while they were facing away from the young man. Four sentences. That’s it. That’s all the young man thought Kagami was worth. Not even three words since the two of them entered the forest proper. Kagami slowly turned around to directly face the young man and their fiery orange-reddish eyes narrowed into a piercing glare. They could barely see themselves reflected in his icy gray-bluish eyes. Kagami stood there grinding their teeth as a mixture of anger and frustration rushed over them. Why won’t you say anything. Do you care about anything?, Kagami thought as they c

The pair walked for a couple of minutes wordlessly. The forest had grown dark as they traveled deeper and deeper without any rays of sunlight filtered through the canopy to illuminate their way. ”I’d kill to be inside with a warm cup of coffee and a nice book with this weather,” Kagami muttered under their breath. ”But I can’t. Not if I want to ignore Dorian anyways…” It didn’t take very long until Kagami stopped to look at a few vines that had encroached up a tree. The striking green vines had almost completely covered the tree’s trunk that had grown black and dry. ”Yeah, bored, “ Kagami

”No, I don’t think that’s what you’re looking for, ” a voice stated behind Kagami. A hint of amusement and perhaps smugness seeping through his tone. But Kagami didn’t shift around or even turn the slightest bit to see the other person. Their focus stayed wholly on the grass in front of them. ”Is that so…”, their voice trailed off and plainly uncaring for whoever it was behind them. They knew the risks of being out here by themself, but it was well worth the risk to run into interesting individuals. ”Can’t say I know much about this… But I do know I’m not looking for a lecture.” Kagami de

Kagami’s eyes were fixated at the gloomy, gray sky that was just lightly obscured behind the leaves of the tree where they lay as they hummed a song to themselves to pass the time. What was the name of that song again? Kagami wracked their brain for a moment before giving up. It didn’t really matter much; it wasn’t like remembering the names of songs were important nowadays anyways. It wasn’t long before a leaf began to fall from the tree and land on Kagami’s face. Without so much as lifting a finger, they blew it off their face. They couldn’t understand why they couldn’t just stay in and

As the group of players entered the shop, Kagami looked around the shop and surveyed the wares that the NPC alchemist had to offer. If nothing else, all the different colors were interesting to look at. The potions Kagami came across tended to come in a single color per variety, so seeing the potions that littered the shelves have more colors than Baskin Robins had flavors kept them busy while Miyukii and Euled initiated the next stage of the quest. Eventually, it was now Kagami's turn to step up to the counter and talk to Zackariah. When he asked the player to find materials before he ca

Kagami looked around and smiled as they watched Euled, Miyukii, and Eliseris as the others played around with their maps looking for Zackariah's shop. Even though Kagami spent the majority of their time in the Town of Beginnings, they never bothered to memorize where Zackariah's shop was. It seemed like one of those things everyone who took this quest had a different answer. In fact, it was more common than uncommon for something like that to happen in this game. Kagami could still remember the first time they heard other rumors about how other's Gemini quest went. They squeezed their eyes shu

"Sorry was I being too obvious?", Kagami joked and got down onto one knee in front of the group. Kagami paid no attention to their dark brown slacks getting soiled by the ground underneath them. Instead, they put on their most stoic face they could muster and looked up at the group. "It'd be my honor to serve you all since you'd have me." Not a moment later, they sprung and stood up again. "How'd I do?", Kagami said with a smirk across their face. Hopefully the group would play along. Though Kagami wouldn't blame the other players looking at them like they're a maniac. It would be quite appro

Kagami strolled around the First Floor, their boss keeping them away from their day job at the coffee shop tucked away in the little corner of the Town of Beginnings. "You need to take a break too Kofi says. It'll be good for you she says," the platinum-blonde player grumbled to themself. Why couldn't they just live a peaceful life? Preferably one in near seclusion with just the few NPCs that they'd know do her right. Maybe the occassional player entering and exiting. Maybe it was time to escape to another floor. But Kagami pushed those thoughts away, instead trying to focus on looking fo

Kagami took a peek at the boy’s journal when he flipped through to find the page with the details of his and Kohi’s deal. Notes and sketches were scrawled across the pages, and Kagami wasn’t able to catch anything except the sketch of her making Monarch’s coffee. Or should it be the french press making coffee since there was an admirable amount of detail in it compared to the rest of the shop, including her. Kagami opened her mouth to speak, then closed it and wore a polite smile. She thought it would be impolite to bring up a customer’s personal matters, as much as she wanted to. But she coul

Kagami watched the young boy with messy brown hair take a seat at one of the tables and order a cup of black coffee. She had seen the boy before and knew he was a regular at the shop, one of the rare ones, but she couldn’t recall if she had ever helped to man the front when he was here. It was probably the first time. Kagami glanced at Kofi with a glint in her eyes and Kofi shook her head and looked away. The real owner of the coffee shop had seen that look before. Last time Kagami wore that expression, she kicked someone out of the shop without any hesitation. Kagami got an earful that d

Kagami sat up on her bed and rubbed the sleep away from her eyes. The first rays from the dawn and the chirps of birds hadn’t yet reached the musty attic that she awoke in but she was already getting dressed in her usual attire. She could very well cheat and just change her appearance with the «Disguise» skill but she’d grown fond of changing into her work uniform. The apron she wore reminded her that she had something to look forward to for the day. As she finished getting dressed, there was a familiar knock on the door. A woman’s voice called for her from behind it. “Are you up yet?” Ko

Kagami’s eyes were empty, peeking behind their knees, and staring at something no one else in the room could see. Their face looked like a porcelain doll, ready to shatter at a moment’s notice. A bomb could have went off next to Kagami and they wouldn’t have flinched. The virtual reality that Kagami chose to be their true reality gradually slipped away from them, and the memories from the outside world snuck their way in. They could see the desks at the schools they attended in front of them, the cold, empty room they slept in, and their damned face in the mirror. The only thing that grou

Kagami's eyes were locked onto Brienne. They didn't have a problem with what the Ordsean president said, and they also didn't have a problem with the Ordsean president either. Her thoughts on the territories uniting and how to walk past these incidents fell too closely in line with Kagami's. The problem was with what was left unsaid. Too many things happened behind closed doors. Too many variables and too many possible red herrings to waste their time. They didn't know how long this summit would continue for, and it felt like a waste of time to try to hold an investigation committee right here

Kagami watched as Demian took the podium and asked a few general questions. They didn’t quite understand some of the questions like the one about Braso guards helping the Srona gatherers. If it was Demian’s intent to confuse, then they were succeeding. If it was because Demian had additional information that weren’t in the dossier, then Kagami needed to work around yet another incomplete testimony. It was hard enough already gathering information from the incomplete and biased testimonies of the representatives. Kagami just hoped that the truth could be gleaned from it all. At the end of the d

“Both of them are pretty suspicious to me. Destin being absent even though this is his home territory and also helping arrange the use of this theater,” Kagami admitted while flipping through the notes. It helped that this wasn’t their first time reading a dossier or memos. All Kagami wanted was the big picture of what had led to all of this and the floor in general. Hopefully it was enough to understand what was going on in this floor. “And now, being the one to conveniently place whoever it was at the heart of each incident. All while being obsessed with how the territories were divided in t

Kagami blinked slowly and hoped they weren’t staring at a reflection of themselves. They shook her head. It couldn’t be. Maybe they shared the same love for dramatic flair, but there had to be some differences. Kagami refused to be like Raidou. Especially with how inviting that Raidou was. For one, Kagami was still rooting for the representatives. Even if Kagami thought they were idiots and shortsighted, that wasn’t their fault. All of them were blinded by the disasters that they were trying to avoid for their own territories, and Kagami couldn’t blame them for being concerned about their

A mix of emotions swirled within Kagami, but their smile persisted. They made sure of it by using their Disguise skill. A smile was definitely not appropriate given that Tiberius had just publicly condemned Ronbaru and Ordsea, but it was definitely better than the annoyed look that Kagami wore underneath the skill. They turned to face Oji and spoke softly so only the man could hear. “Hey Oji, mind if I ask for a quick favor? Hold me back if I start moving towards the stage in a few minutes, kay?” Kagami turned back to the stage and the representatives with their everlasting, artificial smile.

Kagami already decided to attend the summit on the 27th floor the moment they caught wind of it, but it would be a lie if they claimed some grand reason behind their decision. Helping with an investigation? Potentially unifying the territories towards a common cause? Maybe even a full reunification if it all went well? All great causes but they weren’t the reason why Kagami wanted to attend. No. It was far more selfish. The only thing that mattered was that the free food alone was good enough to pop their head in. But free food with a show? What more could you possibly want? Kagami fully inten

(pag main wanting to join waitlist, insert emoticons of fingers pointing at each other here)

“You should be a bit more selfish,” Kagami said. “The bounty rewards that us travelers receive are already increased… And we know the risks so no one owes anyone anything that isn’t already contracted.” It was a pointless statement to make. A redundant one at that. Kagami was already prepared for Mama Fahri to talk about how the kindness that they have received should be reciprocated in greater kindness. That lecture never came. Mama Fahri forced out a hearty laugh. “Hahahaha, maybe I should but not before the sun returns.” The silence crept back in between the two as neither of them want

The silence was awkard for Kagami full of unending eye contact full of unconditional care. Searching for any way to escape, she weighted her options. And truthfully, anything was worth trying if it meant breaking the silence and hopefully becoming free of guilt. “Yeah, you too,” Kagami said with a voice that shrank into the distance. The storylike picture became tainted with concern and the silence much more awkward with no escape in sight. But Kagami would be saved by the bell when a player entered the inn and brought the elements with them. His armor was worse for wear and his frostkiss