#temp!muse: kashin koji

[gainprincess]

"HelLLLooOO, fAkEEE Merrrr-r-rlin."

"GAH! WHAT THE FUCK-"

Her posture immediately relaxes, then her face sours.

"Koji. Came to spoil my fun again, hm? Honestly, you're so protective of him. We're both grown, and frankly, the only one that we let worry like that is Mother. And Mother is dead."

Merlin's fault. A lot of things are Merlin's fault. Arthur's death, the decline of Camelot, Mordred's neglect, Morgan's power...

'What is WITH ME?! This human shit is for the other one!'

It's happening more frequently, and now she's frustrated about it.

"NNNNnNNoooo. Ju-ju-just don't damAAAge his R-R-ReeeEEEpPPutaAAAAtion."

And with that, Koji's gone... having ruined Merlin's prank idea anyway via giving her an existential crisis she'll have to deal with now.

[gainprincess]

"H-Has anyone seen Melt lately...? I've been looking for her all week..."

Well, she hasn't, really...She had an agent out searching for her.

What's that look for?! She can have agents! She's a major player here, you know! She has a ninja that works for her!

"PassioOoNlip-dono...I have retuRRrRnEd."

The robotic voice of Kashin Koji precludes the doll's presence, the woman dropping in out of nowhere as her spider-like metal tendrils clank on the floor to hold her in place. Her body's not all that anymore, and she sounds more like Siri than the master of illusions he was in life.

"W-Welcome back, Koji! What did you learn...?"

"BegINnnNinG report...No signs of Meltryllis-dono in designated class: ALlTer Ego. Lancer located, same position as previous repPpoRRt.

BB-dono remains secCCCluuuded...Recommendation: ExttttERminate. We are...UnSure of her motivAAATIoNs, after all..."

"No sign of her at all, then. She must be in a singularity, like you suspected at the start. We've been wasting our time there..."

It's like Passionlip's demeanor changed completely. The shy, if steel-backed young woman is no more. A calm, cool, collected woman has taken her place, and listens to her assassin's report with complete focus.

"Thank you for searching this past week for me, and I'm sorry for sending you on a wild goose chase. I'll take the matter about BB into consideration, but..."

She sucks in on her lip.

"What about the other matter I asked you to look into, Koji?"

"Nnnh? Other maAAAtteR?"

She closes her eyes, seeming to have to dig through her memory to recall an order issued to her merely 7 days ago.

"Ah- Yes, I reMmMember noWW."

A smile spreads across the spider's face as her tendrils clank and rustle in excitement.

"AaAlL is AcCOrDDinG to plan. They're A-a-a-already falling into posiTIION..."

She twitch-twitch-twitches. She'll need to recalibrate her voice box and limbs, then.

"Very good...Continue monitoring them, and let me know immediately if Avenger's routine changes. Even if she does something small."

"Of course, PAASssionlip-dooOno. I am eEvvER your faithful shinobi...Master."

Passionlip doesn't have hands. So no one would have any reason to check them for anything. Especially Command Seals.

That's why they're on her back. Three of them, in crimson red, unseeable by anyone who isn't trying to get behind lip for some inane reason.

Koji isn't 'officially' in Chaldea. She's not even Ritsuka's Servant.

The master of Assassin, Kashin Koji...

Is Alter-Ego, Passionlip.

"Hehehe...you don't need to call me that, Koji...we're friends. But, um, while you leave..."

"Can you survey the area? Make sure no one's listening in?"

"At onNCEe, Passionlip-dono."

The scuttling of spider legs echo as Kashin Koji flips herself back up into the vents, darting away to do a check on her mistress's domicile.

-

Breath, hot down your neck. The click, click, click of eight steel legs behind you, as you stare at your computer. The hissing of metal joints as they creak and groan.

A soft, warm finger gently tips at your chin, turning your eyes away from the Tumblr screen for just a moment. Just a secon-

Do nOooT OBBbSserve ThiIIngs you were not suppPPPosed to seeeEE.

You will be LEEETTTT off this time.

I am not known for second chances.

Scuttle, scuttle, scuttle. You blink. You're looking at Tumblr again. How odd.

Perhaps a trick of the light.

Yes.

That must be it, my dear reader.

A tTRIIccCCk of the ligHHhT.~

[gainprincess]

She's so tired of guard duty.

Maybe she'll go tease Merlin and his flabby belly...

[gainprincess]

She has been told it is not normal to spend time with Merlin as much as she does. Not by her beloved Master, but by Queen Morgan, a powerful Clairvoyant in her own right.

She likes Merlin, though. He's sweet, funny, smart, completely lacking in self-respect and his own identity-

Really, they're just the same.

[gainprincess]

🔮 Koji for Merlin

Oh, my beloved monstrosity, my dearest inhuman. How brilliantly you shine in my eye, twinkling like a most bright star...Ah, if only I could tell you how true your heart really is. Though I fear you may not believe me. After all, we've both convinced ourselves that this can't really be love, haven't we?

I will be content to watch until the day comes that we might speak truly, plainly, openly. Two monsters like us, in denial of who we are. Although...you've never actually lost who you are. I did, so so long ago.

Koji panics at times, when she thinks about love. Merlin. She is loyal to Passionlip above all things and individuals, and that will never change...but Merlin tests her single-minded devotion. It's frustrating, for a useless doll to feel such a way...but she can't help it.

She just loves him too much.

Despite herself.

[gainprincess]

How curious Chaldea is. People that can go centuries without life itself, craving life's pleasure of companionship more than anything once they've found it. Loneliness, despondence...such things are rampant through the lovebirds of Chaldea. However...they are despondent no longer.

Medea's relieved, soothed grin at the sight and sound of her beloved is nothing short of angelic, and as she wraps herself around Carmilla, she decides that she's all she needs. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Salter quickly masks her obscene glee and relief at Jalter's presence, coughing into a hammy fist as their fatty fingers lace together. A soft 'hey' in return is all Jalter should need to hear to know that she'll be staying in Artoria's room for the next while.

"GAHAHSGSHAHAKAJEHEJAKSJWISJSH!?"

Kriemhild's initial reaction to her husband's presence is an expected one, with the heavy woman blubbering very inelegantly in shock at those strong arms. She definitely has NOT been counting down the days until his return, and bothering Sieg about it every day until now, after all!

But then her face relaxes, just slightly.

"Y-you...ARE unharmed, yes?"

As much concern as she can let herself show towards him right now. But it's enough.

"Mmmm...fluffy pillow....Tammy...~"

Musashi is not very conscious or cognizant at the moment, currently dreaming about her vulpine wife and her massive tails...but this will be a very welcome surprise when she wakes up, holding her cowster of a wife like a damn body pillow.

And of course....there is no detectable response to Merlin's actions. How could there be, when Koji has still not been seen for months? But, upon his return to his own room, Merlin may find something rather curious, resting atop his unused bed.

A singular cup of English Tea, with one sugar and a dash of honey.

[gainprincess]

Scuttle, scuttle, scuttle.

Kashin Koji was not summoned normally. How could she've been, for her Master to be the Alter-Ego Servant Passionlip? Passionlip rarely leaves her 'office' nowadays, and seems to have no capability to summon a Servant herself, even if she made it to the summoning chamber by some miracle.

Who can say? Certainly not Koji, who's content with crawling in the gutters at the moment, eyeing her current mark as the woman goes about her daily routine.

Koji's not supposed to ask questions; She's a Servant, a subordinate, and a mistake as is. To question her most honorable Master would be a sin in itself, so she will not. Besides, she doubts Passionlip knows the entirety of it herself, despite her aptitude at the situation.

She's asked Merlin about it once over tea, slipping it in the middle of a conversation about flowers they had been rather spirited over (She uses them for poisons, and he adores their innocent beauty).

He had not given her a straight answer. That is not unexpected for Merlin, and it's part of what she likes about him, but the part that was unexpected was that he did have an answer.

Clickclickclick.

Whatever it is, she's confident he won't tell her until a climatic moment, or after everything related to it has been resolved.

He's a storyteller and a man of drama, that's no illusion, and she's sure that he'll wait for the perfect chapter to spill.

But until then...

"TaaAAAARget relOOCATING...FollOOWing...~"

She'll do her duty faithfully.

[gainprincess]

Only Merlin can call her a sex doll.

She has class advantage, Suzuka.

[gainprincess]

45 for Koji.

"PeeEEeeETTTT namEE? WwWWwelll...I like calling MmmeRLIN 'piggy' when he AssKSSS.'

She's not chubby herself, but something plain like 'fatso' or 'tubby' would fit fine on her end as well.

She's a very simple woman when it comes to obesity.

[gainprincess]

📕 bundle for Koji

Her bones are made of a mixture of thick clay and magically-reinforced spidersilk.

She makes her own missiles every Sunday.

She wears the lipstick that Merlin likes most when she uses his gut as a pillow. So she can leave him a kiss on it that he'll look at fondly.

[gainprincess]

"...~"

Kashin Koji never had any great love for the West in life; Their dolls, their illusions, their cultures and (assumed) barbarism...never held that much of the puppeteer's interest. Everything besides the illusions was too different. Odd.

But she made a friend here. He's a western illusion himself, you know.

He's got such beautiful colors and shines...She can't help but keep her eyes bolted on him whenever she can.

She doesn't want to make him feel odd or like she's stalking him...even though she might kind of be stalking him a little.

She'll leave him be while he's with his other self, though...

partially to try and solve the bubbling green anger welling in her artificial heart at the thought of them together.

[gainprincess]

Her Illusion Skill is the only Rank EX in the entirety of the Throne of Heroes...save for Merlin himself.

She is such a powerful illusionist that she can make you believe you are eating breakfast, when you are eating hot coals.

She can make you believe you are hugging your child, while her silk slits your throat.

She can make you think she is your friend, coming to check on you, before splitting you skull-to-groin in half, while you continue your dead conversation.

She likes using it to do party tricks for the child Servants much more. It's far, far more fulfilling to see them smile and cheer for her 'magic shows' than it is to have their skulls mount her workshop.

Anyway, to her point.

The Caster, Merlin, ought remember:

She is his only match in this regard.

And unlike him, morals do not stall her actions.

[gainprincess]

"If you pPRPRRROOOMise to be a good piiiiggy.~"

Still glitching out, but she seems far happier after a few months' solitude.

[gainprincess]

Clllliccck, clickclickclick.

She's doing her evening patrol. Doing a few extra rounds around Merlin's quarters. Thinking about him a lot.

Perhaps too much.

She's starting to become very bad at being a doll.

[gainprincess]

It takes nil.5 milliliters of her favorite poison to kill a man. Nil.7 if they're over 6 and a half-feet and have a fair bit of muscle or fat. Nil.8 if they're incredibly overweight.

It is odorless. It is tasteless. It is colorless. The only sign that your death is coming is when, days later, your heart stops dead, and you breathe your last, unaware that you have even died.

She has not recreated that poison in Chaldea. Assassin as she may be now, a doll-maker had even less use for it in his life.

She prefers experimenting on herself now.

She hopes that she'll remember why she did this to herself, one day.

[gainprincess]

💖 Blessing! for Koji: Independent Action EX to ensure that even if her contract with her Master were to be severed in some way, the Assassin would still be able to perform her duties and live on long enough to achieve her goals...

Okay yes, Merlin didn't have to grant it to her in the form of a kiss but come on! How's he supposed to resist when she's looking that radiant?!

"..."

Koji stares. And stares. And stares. Every movement of her head is a twitch, as if her programming is bugging out. Evey movement of her arms is a quick, wide jerk, flinging them about as her tendrils slot out from her back, impaling themselves into the ground behind her as she rises up to her full height, towering over Merlin.

She looks to be glitching out...because she is. Her programming, her existence has not been touched up since she came to Chaldea, and now that she's recieved something so tender, so genuine, and so precious, pressed against those false, cold lips of hers...she's coming into conflict with herself. Because she didn't expect this when she was first summoned.

She didn't expect to fall in love. She didn't expect to feel this genuine of an affectionate bursting from her chest, and it's like a panic attack through her magical circuits as she tries to comprehend the triad of intersecting emotions punching her in the metaphorical chest.

Reaction 1: Melt into Merlin's soft arms, be comforted and squished by his pudge, and never leave his side ever again. Give herself to him and finally settle the anxiety that's built in her stomach at the thought of his smile.

Reaction 2: Leave. Leave, say nothing, and break his heart. Break his heart, refuse his gift, and lose the only person she's cared about besides herself, Danzou, and Kotarou. Assassins should be alone. Monstrous dolls should be alone. But...

Reaction 3: End her own life, get resummoned. A simple, if incredibly violent and harsh, answer. Get rid of the feelings when she's summoned again, the memories, and never have to spend time with Merlin ever, ever, ever again. Though...that's probably futile. She'll just fall in love with him all over again, because he's truly her ideal man.

Only the first seems perfect, because it hurts no one. It's perfect. But...But, she can't bring herself to go for it. Because she needs to not hurt him.

'It hurts no one'.

What a terrible lie.

She'll hurt him, inevitably

She'll hurt the man she loves, because she's a terrible thing, who doesn't even know who she is.

She'll hurt Merlin.

Merlin.

Merlin.

MeRLIn.

MEEeeEEErreRRRRLLlllIINNN-

MERLINMERLINMERLINMERLINMERLINMERLINMERLINMERLINMERLINMERLINMERLINMERLINMERLINMERLINMERLINMERLINMERLINMERLINMERLINMERLINMERLINMERLINMERLINMERLIN!

"Ahahahahahaha....AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAAH!!!!!"

She flees. She can't accept the gift. She can't. She can'tshewon'tshewon'tsheshouldn'tshecouldn'tshewon'twon'tWONT!

He deserves to be happy.

She can't make him so.