[Video]

[iattractmushi]

[The white-haired man peering out of the screen at you has a faintly dubious expression on what you can see of his face, like he wasn't actually sure this would work.]

Uh... hey. [A slight pause, like he's not sure what to say.] I'm not used to talking for this kind of thing... I guess... I'm new here? The name's Ginko. Looks like I'm stuck here with the rest of you for a while, so I'd really like to get to know as many people as possible.

I've been assigned to be one of your medics. Hopefully I won't meet too many people because of that, though.

[But if this is the kind of place he thinks it is, he doesn't have his hopes up about that.

Another, smaller hesitation.]

Ah... if anyone here recognizes the name Edensphere... I'd definitely like to meet you. You might know me as Cloud, in that case.

[He kind of nods to the screen, and cuts the feed.]

Comments

[notyetsore]

[After a few moments, Ginko finds his voice. He doesn't stand, but he's got his hands braced on either side of him, like he might be considering it.]

Frisk, what's...

...Who is that?

[iattractmushi]

[Well. Frisk can see... the boy, so that's a good sign. It (probably) means Ginko hasn't lost his goddamn mind.

He's stopped walking, and he cups one hand over his mouth as if holding a cigarette, and slips the other into his pocket. This... is going to take some careful handling, no matter what exactly is going on here... but for now, it's probably better if he just... rolls with it. So that's. Ginko. It's got to be; Frisk's reactions to him since he first met them, and the boy's unique coloration... yeah, no doubt about it. That's... him, as a child.

The real question is, what is he doing here if he's... already here? He's never seen anything like this, and he thought Edensphere had prepared him for everything. Is this a mistake on the part of whoever runs this place? And what's going to happen once they notice? He'll need to talk to one of the people who claim to be in charge, at some point--assuming they'll see him. But all that will have to wait until he... well. Talks to himself.]

...hey.

[Introducing himself to... himself feels a little weird, so he'll just leave it at that for now.]

[gainedlove]

Um.

[Frisk looks up at the adult Ginko, then back to their friend with an utterly perplexed expression. How did this happen? There's...you can't have two SAVEs active at once, can you? And Ginko can't even mess with those in the first place, he doesn't have nearly enough Determination!]

I...think he's you?

[Again Frisk looks up at Ginko2, before running over to Ginko1 and holding their hand out. To help him stand up, or looking for reassurance? Who knows!]

He, um. He said he just got here.

[notyetsore]

[Ginko takes the offered hand and stands up, still unable to take his eye off... himself, apparently.]

He must have...

[He's pretty sure he would have heard about this earlier otherwise. Probably, anyway.

The fingers of his free hand clutch at the fabric of his uniform's pants as he speaks again, this time addressing the Other Ginko.]

Hey.

[iattractmushi]

[He nods a little as... as Chibi stands up.]

Yeah, I just arrived. I... [Rubbing the back of his neck again.] This is the first I've heard about... this.

[gainedlove]

[Frisk holds Ginko's hand with both of their own, watching him with worry before turning back to his older self.]

You...really don't remember me? Or...or any a' this?

[That's the part that's really tripping Frisk up, in this whole mess.]

[notyetsore]

[Ginko has finally managed to tear his eyes away from the older version of him, but only to stare off into some corner for a few seconds before looking back to him...self.

He stays quiet as Frisk asks that question, though, his attention fixing even more solidly on the new Ginko.

Could that be true? Had he really just... grown up and just forgotten all this?]

[iattractmushi]

No, I... don't. I'm sorry.

[None of this was familiar, and being in space as a kid should be something he definitely remembered. Could this be the Tree's fault again? His hand shifts to his chin, rubbing his skin thoughtfully.]

...it might be a side effect from where I used to live. I spent a while there without any of my memories, so it's... possible I didn't get some of them back.

[There are other explanations, of course, but this one is just as plausible as any other, and there's no way to prove anything for sure.]

[gainedlove]

[Frisk blinks and looks up at Ginko with suspiciously wet eyes, but no tears start falling.]

But...

[That can't be right...it can't be! Surely he would remember a little bit--this isn't fair!]

[...it isn't...]

Maybe it's...Chara couldn't remember, neither. Not...everythin'. Stuff was different.

[They look back to the younger Ginko, their voice soft. It's not that they don't trust his older self to know these things, but...]

Maybe he's...another of you?

[notyetsore]

Another me...?

[That's... weird. And seems not great.

...If that's the case, he wonders how far back the differences go.]

[iattractmushi]

[Ginko frowns thoughtfully, not sure he likes the idea of that... but it's as plausible as his proposed notion, and he likes it a tad bit better than the idea that he's walking around without even more memories.]

If that's the case... I really don't remember this at all. I was taken to another place about... mmm, maybe twenty years after wh--when you're from.

[The last part of that statement is accompanied by a vague motion of one of his hands in Chibi's direction.]

Other than that my life was... as normal as it could be, I guess. I grew up. I did my job. That kind of thing.

ten million years later...

[gainedlove]

Your job?

[Frisk blinks at big-Ginko (they really need to decide how to think of him) and frowns a little, curious.]

What's that? Is it with the mushis?

[notyetsore]

[Twenty years? Honestly, it's hard to imagine that he'd even have lived that much longer. He guesses the part about ending up in another place would be weirder if it weren't for... well. The entire past couple years.]

It must be... right?

[What other job could he have been doing for twenty years?]

[iattractmushi]

[He nods at both of them, encouragingly. If he ignores the weirdness of talking to himself... well, it's really no different from talking to any child, is it? So he might as well treat it that way, until he could wrap his mind around this whole thing.

And he's not surprised Frisk knows about this. Chibi must have told them, of course.]

That's right, I'm a mushi-shi. Or... I was. It wasn't a bad life, really. I got to travel around and see some really amazing things, and also help a lot of people, after all.

[But it's a life he never wants to go back to, if he can help it.]

[gainedlove]

[Frisk nods and manages a small smile, though they hold their Ginko's hand just a little tighter.]

Really? That...that sounds pretty cool!

[Being able to help people, to see the world...sounds pretty ideal to them.]

[notyetsore]

[Give him a few moments, he's still trying to process... all of this.]

You...

You were helping people?

[iattractmushi]

[This seems to be going well. Frisk is calmer, and almost seems like they might be happy; Ginko's also taken note of the ongoing hand-holding, which is very interesting. If it wasn't clear from Frisk's earlier reaction to him, Chibi's ability to put up with the contact makes it blatantly obvious. It seems his younger self has made a friend, which he personally thinks is terrific.

But that train of thought, as well as his faint smile, are completely derailed by Chibi's quiet question.]

...I... well, yeah.

[It wasn't hard to remember what it was like when he'd been that age. It wasn't the kind of thing he spent a lot of time thinking about, but it wasn't anything that was easy to forget, either. Still, he's not sure what Chibi is thinking, here. Good, bad...? The kid doesn't look very happy, but he's not really surprised about that.

He fingers the bangs hanging over his missing eye, uncomfortable all of the sudden.]

I... it was... well. When I became a mushi-shi, I guess... I decided that I wanted to help whoever I could. It... wasn't a perfect life, but it's the one I ended up with.

[gainedlove]

['Calmer' might be a bit of a misnomer, really. They're smiling more, acting like the cheerful child they usually are, but it's a bit strained at the edges, and it shows in how Frisk's eyes flicker to their friend near constantly, the way their attention seems to be caught almost too closely by his older self.]

[But when their Ginko speaks up Frisk looks at him with a soft, sympathetic gaze, and rubs the back of his hand with their thumb. They want to pull him into a tight hug, but he has that lost look on his face again.]

'Course you're helpin' people. You help people here, too...you help me.

[notyetsore]

And it... it worked?

[It sounds unbelievable, but all he can think of to do is seek some kind of further confirmation. He glances over at Frisk, uncertain.]

...Maybe.

[iattractmushi]

I'm a good mushi-shi.

[He manages not to sound defensive, just stating a fact. He's back on comfortable ground now; he is a good mushi-shi, or he was. Same difference, at least until they're sent back to... wherever the ship might send them, when it does send them back.]

But I don't think you should worry about it for now. What happens back in our world... it doesn't matter as long as you're here.