Maybe I'm a Lion (KnK/Prototype Crossover)

[Seika]

There really have been what seem like a few too many unrealistically improbable coincidences happening around me lately, don’t there? It’s almost as if-

“So, what have you been doing for the past three years, Senpai?” asks Kokutou, derailing that train of thought with the expert and wholly unintentional finesse I’ve come to expect from him. It’s a second or so before I fully realise what it is that he’s just asked me.

Hm. I'm watching that space.

‘Wildlife’ plus thesaurus and multiplied by imagination equals Shiki Ryougi divided by sophistry.

So ... conventional mathematics wasn't the speciality of anyone Lio ate, then?

Know what? Screw you. Seriously, I'm not sure if you're supposed to be my thought processes, my conscience (hah!), or some other weird psychological bullshit thing which makes no damn sense, but as a voice in my head who tries to influence my behaviour, my only advice to you is to take a fucking ticket and get in line.

I really love Lio doing this sort of thing. It's just great seeing him cramming all these things back in line and getting to assert his own damn will.

“That's it!” Ah, shit; I said that out loud, didn't I? They're both looking at me. Cover story. Fast. “Ah...crossword clue. Answer. Just came to me.” Nice save.

Yeah, Lio. Really nice save. -_-

All that stands in the way of me being able to enjoy my breakfast is the aggregate total of carnivorous felid evolution since the early Miocene epoch.

Challenge fucking accepted.

Yeah! Go Lio!

So it seems two can play at the 'not-quite-lying' game, eh, Kokutou's sister?

Poor Azaka. Even when Lio knows her name, he just keeps calling her 'Kokutou's sister'.

It hurts.

I force my jaws closed until my teeth feel like they’re about to break. I need to. If I don’t, I’ll spit it out. I know I will. But it just hurts so much-

Did I forget this, too?

Is this what the human experience of eating is like?

I don’t know. I don’t remember.

You know, Lio? Your life really sucks.

-their brain wouldn’t know what to do with it. You’d get raw, unprocessed ‘sensation’, without qualia or qualifier. In other words? Pain. Pain in a form removed from physical sensation, an experience of a nature only ordinarily achievable by direct stimulation of the corresponding areas of the brain. All of which is a fancy way of saying that it really, really hurts.

This is just fucking typical, isn’t it? The exact kind of Murphy’s Law-expediting stupidity that characterises the life and times of Lio Shirazumi. I’ve spent so long suppressing the Impulse’s erosion of my brain’s higher-level functions that I never noticed the lions gnawing on the roots of the tree – the basic, low-level mechanisms underpinning taste, smell, and hearing. Fucking typical.

Eeesh.

But.

Don’t lose hope.

Exactly. Everything I’ve lost, and everything I’ve left behind – I’ll take it back, every last bit of it. Just watch me.

Good man. Don't give up!

Away from the abomination I used to call Shiki Ryougi.

Oh. Wow. I wonder what's happening here.

I think I might be overusing italics in Lio's narration. Do you think so?

You're using them a fair bit of the time, but I think it works as an internal thing. Then again, I'm very much pro-italics, so meh. (Anecdotal evidence suggests that the English vary word stress much more than Americans, so perhaps that's a reason. Anyway).

One last thing: Is anyone interested in beta-reading this? Up till now I've essentially been posting first draft, and I think it might be good for future updates if I can get someone to go over them before I put them up here.

Do you mean as a full-blown beta, or as a grammar-/spell-checker? I could probably do the latter, but not the former.

[kilopi505]

Woah-woah-woah. Wait a minute. Did the Blacklight virus part of Lio just ran away screaming from Shiki Ryougi?

THE Blacklight virus, which EATS EVERY LIVING THING? REALLY?

Wow.

[SeiKeo]

Oh, no, the italics aren't overused at all, your internal monologues are amazing currently. Please, continue.

[Dullahan]

^^ The exact reason why Lio behaved like he did in this scene will be explained later. However, if you feel like doing some detective work, there are a number of clues hidden in Lio's narration in the past two updates which should let you figure out the answer.

Was that meant to be a reference to Saya no Uta?

Indeed it was.

Oh, I wonder how he's going to deal with the fact that he now hates, fears, and finds Ryougi disgusting...

Badly.

[Kyte]

I don't think you need to hurry to action, Lio's internal monologue is brilliant. You write it wonderfully.

[warellis]

Man I wonder how Lio will explain smashing through a cafe window at over 100 km/hr?

[Kyte]

I suspect he won't.

[Guardian of the Box]

Man I wonder how Lio will explain smashing through a cafe window at over 100 km/hr?

"YOU WANT EXPLANATION? TOO BAD! HERE WHIPFIST! FUCK U!"

Spoiler:

At least, I think that should happen once he realizes he's Blacklight on steroids, and he doesn't answer to no one.

[EVA-Saiyajin]

I personally look forward to Ryougi's reaction upon recognizing him. Did she recognize him, by the way? Lio's inner dialogue was very amusing.

[Seika]

he doesn't answer to no one.

Everything answers to Void Shiki.

[Dullahan]

I personally look forward to Ryougi's reaction upon recognizing him. Did she recognize him, by the way? Lio's inner dialogue was very amusing.

Ryougi didn't have time to recognise him. Kokutou will probably tell her who 'that guy who just made like a grenade going off in the cafe' was, though.

[Flere821]

This part was possibly the funniest of this update. Though Lio's analysis of Azaka and the bit about "must be from a rich girl's school. ... only there can you learn to be so rude while being so polite" was also good.

QFT. That was the best part of the entire update =D

The monologue of Lio is going fine as it is, I have no problem with it. It's very entertaining As for him running away in fear... I'm guessing Lio's Origin have a instinct that told him to GTFO right now unless he want to be dot-stabbed and killed - recognizing a higher, more dangerous predator, which then leads to "fight or flight" response.

[Troika]

Shiki can't see dots. That's only the Tsukihime version.

[SeiKeo]

Shiki can't see dots. That's only the Tsukihime version.

She either sees convergences of lines that work like dots or can use lines exactly like dots, either way, it's the same thing.

[Flere821]

Either way, Shiki Ryougi = bad news for Blacklight!Lio as it currently is right now if it comes down to a fight. Dot-stab or not, Shiki Ryougi probably can tear Lio apart at this point of time right?

[Dullahan]

Either way, Shiki Ryougi = bad news for Blacklight!Lio as it currently is right now if it comes down to a fight. Dot-stab or not, Shiki Ryougi probably can tear Lio apart at this point of time right?

Good question. IIRC Shiki has a kind of 'Instinct' (similar to the Servant class ability) which borders on precognition when it comes to combat situations. However, consider this: Canonically, regular (non-BLACKLIGHT) Lio was able to stalk her for years without being spotted or noticed a single time. Take a look at their fight scene the first time they meet in Murder Speculation Part 2 - despite having (presumably) no formal training in knife-fighting, Shirazumi was able to match her on nothing but pure instinct. (Whether or not Shiki was trying to kill him in that scene is irrelevant. The fact is, she was visibly struggling to hold him off.) Now he's got BLACKLIGHT, and is stronger and faster than ever before. He's not quite at Servant level yet, but in terms of purely physical abilities - speed, reflexes, strength, et.c. - he's easily stronger than every 'human' character in the Nasuverse. The only area Shiki still has him beat in is pure skill, which can be rectified easily enough by eating a couple of Kendo masters. Facing either "Katana Shiki" (climax of Paradox Spiral vs. Araya) or "Dead Serious Shiki" (near the end of MS Part 2, where she dismembers Lio in under a second) in Lio's present state could end badly for him, although he's fast enough that he could pull out a win if he struck early and hard enough.

In summary, Lio as he is now probably actually could kill and/or consume Ryougi, although it'd be difficult as hell. Fear of being dotstabbed is a reasonable fear to have when around Ryougi, but it's not the reason why Lio nearly lost it the moment she walked through the door. Anyway, there's no reason Lio could have to think that Ryougi was out to kill him. As far as he's concerned, Ryougi doesn't know he exists. The events of Oblivion Recording haven't happened yet, so Ryougi has no reason to think that anyone other than the Capslockster was responsible for the murders of three years ago. Hell, if he hadn't freaked out, he probably would have just sat at that table, awkwardly making conversation and trying to avoid finishing his breakfast.

It'll probably make more sense next update, when I get around to describing what Lio actually perceived Ryougi as.

[xelloss]

Question.

Is the "Maxwell's daemon" mentioned earlier a reference to the nonplayable Caster in Fate Extra, or is it a direct reference to the thought experiment?

[Dullahan]

Question.

Is the "Maxwell's daemon" mentioned earlier a reference to the nonplayable Caster in Fate Extra, or is it a direct reference to the thought experiment?

The thought experiment. Seems appropriate for a family line of Fire-affinity Magi, doesn't it?

[Flere821]

Good question. IIRC Shiki has a kind of 'Instinct' (similar to the Servant class ability) which borders on precognition when it comes to combat situations. However, consider this: Canonically, regular (non-BLACKLIGHT) Lio was able to stalk her for years without being spotted or noticed a single time. Take a look at their fight scene the first time they meet in Murder Speculation Part 2 - despite having (presumably) no formal training in knife-fighting, Shirazumi was able to match her on nothing but pure instinct. (Whether or not Shiki was trying to kill him in that scene is irrelevant. The fact is, she was visibly struggling to hold him off.) Now he's got BLACKLIGHT, and is stronger and faster than ever before. He's not quite at Servant level yet, but in terms of purely physical abilities - speed, reflexes, strength, et.c. - he's easily stronger than every 'human' character in the Nasuverse. The only area Shiki still has him beat in is pure skill, which can be rectified easily enough by eating a couple of Kendo masters. Facing either "Katana Shiki" (climax of Paradox Spiral vs. Araya) or "Dead Serious Shiki" (near the end of MS Part 2, where she dismembers Lio in under a second) in Lio's present state could end badly for him, although he's fast enough that he could pull out a win if he struck early and hard enough.

In summary, Lio as he is now probably actually could kill and/or consume Ryougi, although it'd be difficult as hell. Fear of being dotstabbed is a reasonable fear to have when around Ryougi, but it's not the reason why Lio nearly lost it the moment she walked through the door. Anyway, there's no reason Lio could have to think that Ryougi was out to kill him. As far as he's concerned, Ryougi doesn't know he exists. The events of Oblivion Recording haven't happened yet, so Ryougi has no reason to think that anyone other than the Capslockster was responsible for the murders of three years ago. Hell, if he hadn't freaked out, he probably would have just sat at that table, awkwardly making conversation and trying to avoid finishing his breakfast.

It'll probably make more sense next update, when I get around to describing what Lio actually perceived Ryougi as.

Okay, so it wasn't primal instinctive fear of the MEoDP-holder on Lio's part... I've got no other guesses then ^^;

*goes back to patiently wait for the next update*

[Garlak]

It's fear of cooties, obviously.


... Well, that, or maybe allergies?