cityofcoba | I come at the end of the long road.

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I come at the end of the long road.

WHO: Shura and YOU.
WHAT: A demon has found its way into Coba!
WHERE: Anywhere you like.
WHEN: Day 7?

This is quite a place Shura has found herself into. It looks like a normal, modern city at first glance, but if she stares long enough, she can see ruins and desolation everywhere. Is this an illusion? It was hard to tell. Both the modern city and the rubble looked equally real. She walks around the shopping district and stops every few steps, trying to find a clue as to what this place really is, why she is here, and whether she can find any drinkable water for her parched throat. As she travels, her stench lingers in the air long after she has left, a mix of dirt, gore, and sweat that makes it difficult for others to breathe. Maybe someone should tell her, as she seems oblivious.

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"Oh! I'm so sorry! My name's Sugar Cream. Are you aware you smell of blood and dirt and stuff like that? I was just trying to be helpful, but I see I've been rude."

"Sugar... cream...?" Shura can't help but pause. Sorry, but she thinks your name sounds like a coffee order. "I... I mean I must be, but... that bad?"

"I picked it out myself!" Sugar has weird naming sense, but she likes it. "Um. I'm afraid it's rather bad. I actually don't mind that much, but I think other people would! Besides, I'm sure you'd feel nice and clean after a good shower."

This is what happens when you let children name themselves, Shura guesses. At least, she thinks that's what happened. She might be talking to a ghost, for all she knows.

"Do people here shower with water?" You can't be too careful.

"Uh. I think so? It's kind of a strange place with how it always changes, but I'm sure we can find showers with water. Or if not, I can always take you back to my place. It's not in this city, but it's easy enough to reach and it won't take too long."

That said, she begins looking around for a pool or gym or other place that might have a shower.

A shower with water would be welcome. Her last shower had happened when a group of Oni has emptied a barrel of angel blood and sake on her. Might contribute to the stench.

"I'm... not sure about leaving." She's looking around, too, hoping for a public bath that allows tattooed people. "I'm a bad omen."

"Is that so? I'm kinda not the best omen either!"

And as they look, what do you know? There's a public bath. Sugar wasn't expecting that because she doesn't live in the areas where public baths are really a thing. But it looks like it should suffice! She gestures toward it. "Think that'll do?"

"You destroy worlds too?" she asks, not really looking at Sugar. A public bath... will they let her in? There doesn't seem to be a sign against tattooed patrons...

"Oh my! Well, I was created to destroy a world, but I haven't actually done so. It would just return into existence in a different form anyways."

She heads straight in without even worrying about the tattoo issue. It doesn't occur to her that they would be forbidden.

Shura walks in, slow and careful, making sure not to let her greasy hair touch the banners at the entrance.

The owner of the public baths, a big, meaty man with huge hands, stares down at her.

She stares back. Is she allowed in or not? If she is, she doesn't feel very welcome.

Sugar waves cheerily to the owner. "How goes it? We're here for a bath." It doesn't escape her notice that he's staring at her new friend (which she had already decided on being her new friend), so she tries to smooth things over by being friendly and to the point.

The owner stares down at Sugar, then at Shura again, for a long minute, before waving them in.

Inside, Shura finds everything is as described by the mangas she had read, aside from magical shenanigans: there's a changing room where she puts her filthy clothes, a little area where she can pick up a bar of soap, some shampoo and towels, and finally the tiled area with the cleaning stations and the bath itself. It's not coed, and Shura finds herself content at the thought, even if the few women inside can't help but stare at this woman marked from head to toes.

Shura sits at a washing station on the little stool provided, turns the water on, fills up a bucket, and dumps it on her head. Fuck, that feels good. The grime is still clinging to her skin but she feels better already.

Well, then! Sugar isn't nearly as familiar with those kinds of public baths, so she follows Shura's lead in disrobing and picking up the bath supplies. She's already taken her shower for today, but baths're always nice.

She has fun just splashing the water over herself. Such simple pleasures're still a pleasant luxury to her.

She does find herself curious about Shura's markings, but she doesn't inquire. Regardless, she doesn't judge the other for it. They're kinda pretty, besides!

Shura would be happy to learn Sugar thinks her markings are pretty! Where she's from there's a gigantic taboo against tattoos, so to be marked so visibly in a human world is kind of uncomfortable.

Nonetheless, Shura grabs the soap and begins working up a good lather to scrub her skin with. She cleans layer after layer of gore and grime and general unpleasantness off, until her skin is bright red from the intense scrubbing.

Once her arms, chest, and stomach are done, she turns to Sugar. "Would you wash my back? I'll wash yours in return."

Sugar doesn't have nearly as much filth to wash off, so her scrubbing goes rather more quickly--she's already finished most of her body. She's surprised, though, when she hears the request. She's used to washing by herself. But she doesn't mind. "Sure!"

She takes up a position at Shura's back and begins scrubbing. "Nice tattoos!" She pauses. There's been something she's been wondering about ever since Shura mentioned it. "Do I hear you correctly that you've destroyed worlds?"

Shura smiles a bit and leans into the scrubbing. "They're markings, actually. Like stripes on a tiger."

She doesn't answer the question right away, enjoying the feeling of water and soap on her body a little longer. "Well, I've destroyed one universe so far. Entirely. Just me and some demons left in the void."

"That doesn't sound good. Why did you do that?" Sugar is hoping there's some really good reason.

"To end the reign of the worst God in existence." Shura looks like she has more to say, but every time someone brings up the subject she goes on a rant, so. Yeah. She's trying to be nice to Sugar.

"Oh my, that must be quite a story. Was it truly the only way?" Sugar still isn't sure she likes what she's hearing, but it sounds like it must've been terrible circumstances.

"Yes." Shura grits her teeth. "God is the one that put in place the workings of the end of the world and the fucking battle royale world-in-waiting that comes afterwards. Then He laughs as the survivors go mad and try to create world robbing humans of their freedom of choice, because God hates that humans can choose not to worship Him!" Her voice has risen, and she's trembling with controlled rage as the small crowd of the bath looks at her fearfully.

"So you ended it all to stop this God's actions." There's a lot of questions raised by what Shura had just said, but she got that gist at least. "It seems sad to me that a world had to be ended to do that, though." She pauses. "I did come from a rather terrible world that could be said to deserve to not to exist. I'm not so sure about that myself, but it isn't a good place at all."

"It is sad," Shura agrees. "To be honest, I was hoping that a bit of world would survive, or that I could have a piece of the world to live with my favourite people, but..." She sighs heavily. "I am not a god of creation. Much the opposite."

An opening to change the subject! Shura will take it, because speaking about her own world makes her vblood boil. "Is it that bad, where you're from?"

"It's called the Red World and... where there are other worlds that are expressions of things such as pleasure and virtue, it is a expression of vice and selfishness. Everyone seeks to enjoy themselves at the expense of others, the strong hunt and torment the weak, and it is a place of much suffering."

So a Yosuga world, then, like her friend Chiaki wanted. Ugh.

"I'm really sorry you had to live there. I'm sure it's a horrible place."

"It was such a horrible place that one of the lords starved me while stuffing me full of power, turning me into a bottomless pit of hunger to devour the world. All because he despised his world.

It was only later that I came to my senses."

I come at the end of the long road.

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