𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐙𝐄 | ʰˣʰ

chapter vii.

A/N: 1k reads ?? oh my goodness thank u guys mwah!! <33

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Jan 8.
3:51 pm, Friday.

Confinement countdown: 19 hr 24 min

STEPPING INTO a room with twenty hours of rest ahead of you is not quite as fresh a breath of air as you'd expected.

A mini-fridge stands in the corner by a bookshelf, both fully stocked. Besides that is a bathroom complete with a shower, and two couches on opposite sides of the room.

It'd feel amazing, if you hadn't already showered earlier today before leaving the airship, and if you hadn't rested pretty well last night too, and if you'd actually had enough water or food to need the bathroom.

You're in good enough shape that this room only spells boredom for you. As it stands, there is nothing to do but read books that cannot hold your attention.

A little over thirty minutes has passed, and you have settled into a couch in the far corner of the room that feels a bit too musty for comfort, but better this than the floor.

Gittarackur sits cross-legged on the floor next to the entrance, entirely still save for the occasional flipping of a page from a book he's taken from the shelf in the room. If you knew him better you'd likely think he looks disconcerted.

You look back down at the book, A Complete History of Kakin Mythology, and stare at the illustration of the qilin on page 12 for so long that an irritation at the bookshelf's selection starts to scratch on your skull like nails on chalkboard.

A new impatience, hot and near-nauseating bubbles up from deep within you. You slam the book shut and stand.

As you're battling to shove the book back into the iota of space on the shelf you found it in, Gittarackur speaks in a mechanical thrum, "You removed color contacts this morning."

It's more a question than a statement, though not by much.

"Does it bother you?" you respond mildly. Not like you care. You finally slam the book in between two thick tomes and shove it back in place.

You did consider putting your contacts back on back in the room of riddles, but Gittarackur looks weirder than even you do, so you figure it can't stick out to him all that much anyway.

A slow rattle. He's shaken his head (When he nods the rattles are faster).

You wonder why he hides his face. Is he well-known on some level, too, or is he avoiding someone? Maybe he has a lot of enemies.

If he can ask about your eyes, you can ask about this. "And you? Why do you change your face?"

A shift in movement, the slightest moment of hesitation, and then he simply returns your words to you. "Does it bother you?"

Only if I imagine being in your place. "Is it uncomfortable?" You'll bet money on it. The large pins sticking out of his ears almost hurt you to look at.

"Not really."

Lie.

It's possible that the ability manipulates his pain receptors, but to expand the manipulation to all skin receptors or even the nervous system is out of the question. Discomfort is guaranteed with any nen technique like that. You'll bet that's why he doesn't talk much—His facial movement must be severely hindered.