A/N: Yes, my relationship with the universe is getting better and better! Life is soaring to new heights! Oh, speaking of which - new book recommendation! The Art and Science of Connection, by Kasley Killam. This book is new, published this year (2024). It's written to open a new frontier of health, called social health, with science and anecdotes to explain why social health is just as important as physical and mental health (and is NOT just part of mental health, it's its own separate thing) as well as fabulous, workable, inspiring advice for how to improve your social health. By following this advice, I have enjoyed the most wonderful weekend in my entire recollection, so I can personally vouch for it. She has a website and a newsletter: kasleykillam dot com. I do not know this lady. I'm just a fan of the book.

Onto the chapter!

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Kisame

Samehada joined Kisame at work that day. She had spent a lot of time recently staying home to be with the dolls, and now appeared to miss her tankmates. Kisame pulled into his usual parking spot, got out, and circled around to open the passenger door. Samehada climbed onto his back. He entered the aquarium by a side entrance reserved for staff. He opened the texting app on his phone and set it to vibrate, asked Samehada to wait outside while he used the bathroom, then took her to the shark tank. Samehada climbed onto the wall, made her way to the top of the tank and somehow opened the door before slipping inside. She swam down to his level and waved her fins. He waved back.

This was their new work routine. Somehow, it had stayed intact even after the NPCs gained awareness. Kisame didn't expect it to last, but he was beginning to get cautiously optimistic. His phone buzzed. He checked it, then left the shark tank in order to help the gift shop manager clean up a mess.

As he worked, Kisame relaxed. He'd worried that the former NPCs might have gotten their wits together over the weekend and decided to take action with regards to the freaks. But as far as he saw, nothing had yet changed. In fact, the gift shop manager seemed to have gotten used to him. She paid him as little attention as she had before the increase in awareness. Maybe the people of this town have better things to do than think about us.

The only former NPC who expressed a significant level of concern about something related to magic was Tammy. Kisame went out of his way to pass by the stingray pool just to say hello. She greeted him in return, then asked, "Are you ever going to bring that cute little doll back?"

"They've started a daily training program, so no."

"Oh? What are you training them to do?"

"Not us, some friends of ours. They're better than we are at teaching obedience. They're training the dolls to garden."

Tammy's jaw dropped. "To garden? I have got to see this!"

Kisame grinned. "Alright. I'll ask for a demonstration of their skills and I'll invite you to it."

They both returned to work then. But an hour and a half later, Kisame again found an excuse to pass by the stingray pool. He had to wait a few minutes while she talked with visitors. As soon as she could, she went to him and asked, "What does it look like when they garden?"

"They're doing gardening-related tasks like mulching and clearing away obstacles," he replied. "That involves a lot of levitating, summoning tiny swords, and sometimes creating small fires."

She put a hand on her heart and made the face of a proud mama. "Do they enjoy it?"

"Yeah. Yeah, they do."

She lowered her hand and checked for new visitors who needed her attention. There were none, so she said, "You know, now that I've gotten used to this whole awareness-of-magic thing, I can't help but think I want a doll for myself. I've never been interested in having kids, but a cute little doll…" She sighed wistfully.

An alarm flashed in Kisame's mind. Maybe we don't have to worry about the former NPCs hating us. Maybe we should be worrying about them liking us too much. "Take some time before you make a decision like that," he told her.

She nodded. "I know that I couldn't adopt one right now. I don't know a thing about the needs of magical beings. Do you think I could learn?"

Kisame gave the question some serious thought. "I don't know. Magic isn't like having a second toolbox. It changes everything. The whole way we live, see the world, understand the world… I'm not sure it's possible to learn that."

"Alright. I guess I can settle for visiting Solis," she murmured. "Mind if I come over tonight? Since he can't come here?"

"Uh, sure. I don't think anyone will mind. I should confirm that first, though. Meet me when we get out of work. I'll tell you what's going to happen then."

Tammy grinned. "Thanks, Kis."

Kisame walked away with a light feeling, as if he was on the verge of floating. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing if people liked magic and wanted to learn about it. It'd be a lot of work to handle, for sure. But I think I might put up with that for the chance to make people smile. It'd be nice to have everyone look at me like she just did.

Itachi

"I am not sure of this," Itachi said. "The excuse that it is part of our official duties feels too flimsy."

"It's not an excuse," Clone Hidan replied. "It's factually true. If a visitor from another world shows up while I'm with Other Me, then you'll be the only deputy available to handle it. Therefore, you need to be in the loop on when I'm with him and how it's going."

"I must ask you to promise me that you will say nothing if you're ever encountering difficulty, then. It would be too painful to restrain myself from helping you."

Clone Hidan averted his eyes. "I've learned a lot about the virtues of keeping my trap fucking shut. I won't put you in that position."

He went off to track down his original and perform the apology he'd rehearsed. Itachi had heard both the apology and the explanation of why it was necessary. Yet, as he watched Hidan go, he admitted to himself, Even with the Sharingan, I don't understand his feelings. His sense of needing to apologize comes from a source that I do not understand.

Itachi assumed that he would understand it eventually. In the meantime, there was an assignment for him. The whiteboard that listed their ongoing projects had one entry that caught his eye: Arrange meeting of Regional Guardians to clarify objectives and methods. Itachi sought out Clone Yahiko.

Clone Yahiko was just finishing up his meeting with the wind spirits. He stood in the backyard surrounded by a slowly rotating ball of whirling air, which looked like a good sign to Itachi. Later, Yahiko confirmed that it was. "It felt kind of tickly all over, but in a good way," he said.

"It seems that the nature spirits have accepted you as their guardian."

"Yeah, it does!"

"The next step, then, is to arrange a meeting with all of the other guardians."

Yahiko nodded. He had seen the whiteboard. He and Itachi went inside in high spirits. But soon, Yahiko's good mood faded. "Itachi?"

"Yes?"

"What sort of guardian am I if I can't protect a groupmate?"

"Original Hidan was punished as a consequence of his own actions," Itachi replied. "You played no part in those actions. You did not cause him to endanger a life. You are innocent in the matter."

"I should have protested more, like Obito did."

"You have no cause for guilt."

"I don't need a cause. My cause isn't something I did; it's something I failed to do."

"What makes you think that you should have done anything at all?"

Yahiko gave him a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"

"I mean what I said," Itachi replied calmly. "Why do you think you ought to have been involved?"

"Well… I… I don't think it. I know it, I feel it."

As I suspected. It's a matter of intuition, intuition being something I am not experienced with. I am unlikely ever to understand. Itachi shrugged. "You are not the only one conflicted. Clone Hidan believes himself to be equally as responsible as his original; apparently he is the one who urged his original to expose him to divine energies in the first place. Konan has granted him the right to share in his original's punishment. He is allowed to defy the ban by visiting Original Hidan, but while he is doing so he cannot use group resources or request aid."

Yahiko's good mood returned in full force. "That's a great idea! Do you think Konan will allow me to do it too?"

"From what Hidan told me, Konan agreed that he was partly responsible. You are not partly responsible, so she may not make the same judgment about you."

"Even so, I can ask. Thanks, Itachi!"

"Well, the banishment was Original Nagato's idea. Even if Konan is willing to let you violate it, he might not be."

"I'll ask him, then. When I have an answer, I'll get back in touch with you about the Regional Guardian meeting. Or you could organize it and post in the group chat." Itachi nodded. Yahiko gave him a thumbs up, then ran off in the direction of the stairs.

How many people are interested in violating the ban? Is the whole group prepared to join Original Hidan in banishment? Answering that question seemed to be a more urgent priority than arranging a meeting of Regional Guardians, so Itachi quickly messaged every member of the group. He sent them all private messages instead of using the group chat. Broadcasting the fact that important group members were violating a 2-week punishment on its very first day seemed like a good way to undermine the leadership.

He was both surprised and not at the replies he got. Nobody else expressed the slightest interest. They felt bad for Original Hidan, but did not believe that anything wrong had been done. What a relief! I feared that I was the only one unable to sense this mysterious wrongness that seemed so obvious to Hidan and Yahiko. I ought to take this to Konan. Knowing that the majority of the group is perfectly willing to abide by her decision might change her response to Yahiko's request. He privately messaged Konan to share the news.

While he typed out that message, a notification appeared from the group chat. He hit Send and switched over. Clone Yahiko was informing everybody that the wind spirits had given him their highest blessing. The roster of Regional Guardians was nearly complete.

Itachi returned to the whiteboard in the kitchen. He read it silently, mentally checking off everything that was close to completion. We are making good progress on most of our objectives. What does that mean? Does it mean that chaos will erupt, or that we will get a vacation?

Sasori

Two days later…

Sasori went to the bar after work. The demons had elected a representative. The roster of Regional Guardians was finally complete. All that remained to be done was to find out who the demon's representative was.

He stepped inside and took a look around, as he had before. The bar still had the same temporary layout, with the demon's section roped off and guarded by a person sitting on a stool wearing earplugs. Sasori walked up to this person and made a show of looking into the demon's section and pointing. He was waved through. As much as I've always wondered what I'm missing, I must acknowledge that there are some steep upsides to being the way I am.

The demon that he met this time was in a youthful dark-haired form. They wore black and had pale skin, with pierced ears and eyebrows. The overall impression was either goth or emo. How would the demons fare if they participated in a fashion contest like the one we held that one time? Specifically, would they get higher marks than Yahiko? I would judge this demon's assumed form to be equally as skillfully rendered as Yahiko's. But then, I am naturally biased in favor of my friends. Sasori nodded at the demon and sat down. Only after that did he realize that he hadn't flinched from the sensations that the demon's aura produced. Huh, I'm getting used to them…

"How is your prophet?" the demon asked. Nearby tables went quiet.

Wow, no sense of small talk. This must be a different demon from the one I met last time. "Still alive."

The demon blinked. "Was there any possibility that he would not be?"

"He got jealous of other people's ability to handle divine energy without fear and tried it himself. Extensive luck was involved in not dying. He felt pretty drained that day and the next, but he's recovered now."

The silence at nearby tables was deafening. The demon raised his pierced eyebrows. "I didn't think that prophets ever got jealous."

"He was weakened before being presented with something that would send a lesser man into murderous rage."

"Mm."

The demon said nothing more after that. After an awkward silence, Sasori realized he was going to have to be the one to keep the conversation going. "So, your people have all heard about our Regional Guardian plan and chosen a representative?"

"Yup." The demon draped one elbow over the back of his chair. "How about the rest? Last I heard, you were still talking to constituents?"

Sasori nodded. "Both groups of constituents accepted their proposed guardians. That leaves yours as the last Regional Guardian to be confirmed."

"Oof. I hope we haven't missed anything important."

"There was a meeting a day ago to agree on general methods, but the results of it were mostly common sense. Nothing you couldn't easily catch up on."

"How many guardians are there, again?"

Sasori had to think about it. "Let's see… Human, visitor, ghostly, godly, spiritual, mech, vampire… Seven so far. Yours will make an even eight."

The demon sat up, looking interested in a very un-emo way. "Hold up. Mech?"

"The divisions were named by a demonic child whose priority is whether or not something is fun," Sasori said quickly. "Everybody pointed out that the name 'mech' is misleading, but he refused to change it because, and I quote, 'you never pass up an opportunity to name something mech.'"

"What does that division actually cover?"

"Intelligent living bicycles, so far, but any sort of tool or object that acts independently when it's normally not capable of doing so would qualify."

The emo demon sat back and hooked his elbow over the chair again. "Eh, I can see the name mech. Mechanical objects. It's not too much of a stretch."

Hmm. I notice he has yet to tell me anything about his chosen representative. He's milking me for information without divulging anything in return. I don't mind being milked, but why is that? "I personally disagree. The term 'mech' is commonly used to describe mechanical creations that are, in fact, built with the ability to act independently. Our definition specifically excludes robots, AI, and anything else of that sort, so using the word 'mech' to describe it seems likely to give people the exact wrong idea."

The emo demon just shrugged.

A suspicion began to bloom in Sasori's mind. "While we're here, I should take the time to ask: are there any emergencies going on among your people?"

"Nope, none. You?"

"One of our members is on temporary banishment. He's highly religious, but does not frequent bars, so I don't know how likely you are to run into him. He's our prophet's twin brother. Be nice to him."

"Will do," the emo demon replied.

Sasori sighed. "Okay, I cannot stop thinking about it. We once held a fashion contest with multiple categories. Half of them involved changing into clothes you actually owned, and the other half required the use of Transformation Jutsu. I think you would do really well in the shapeshifting categories."

The emo demon grinned. "Hehe, you think so?"

"Yes. Now that I've thought of it, I'm 90% sure other people will love the idea, so… What's your name?"

"Teknos."

"...Are you serious?"

"I would totally kill it in shapeshifting."

Different forms, different names, different personas. He's so good I can't tell whether or not that's his real name. "As long as any demon I might contact will know who I'm talking about, it'll suffice," Sasori said. "So… Teknos… I guess I'll see you on Saturday. 3 pm, mayor's house. Try not to be late."

"Mm."

He's great. The demons chose well. Sasori bid Teknos farewell and left the bar. He sat on his motorcycle and sighed. "Well, that went well. We both handled it better this time. I wonder if he'll actually come."

.

A/N: Yesterday I tried a new writing technique. I call it "answering basic questions about a story BEFORE writing it." Questions like who are the protagonists, who are the antagonists, what do they want, where is the story set, etc. Taking the time to figure out what the heck my story was going to be about turned out to be shockingly helpful. Whodathunkit?

That was a different story. This chapter was not written using that method. But in the future, I might use a variant of that method on this story. Taking five minutes to think about where I want the weekly chapter to go before writing it would be a large improvement over my current habit of taking five seconds.

Speaking of other stories, I've been getting really into Dead Frontier lately. I last played it a good five or six years ago at least, likely more. But suddenly, I found myself hyperfixating on zombie MMO action, and this time I'm enjoying the game a lot more. The developers introduced a new feature that makes it a lot easier to be a new player, and I'm better able to understand and work with the game mechanics. Anyway, what's relevant about this is, I've started writing a new fanfic. It's going to be a crossover with Avatar: The Last Airbender. I'm trying to write it in such a style that a reader need not be familiar with either of the source materials to understand what's going on. I'm describing characters' appearances, describing the settings, explaining how things work. Practicing my expositing, in other words. I might bring that practice into this fic too.

I do not believe that Dead Frontier will become an influence on this fic the way Dragonfable did. It's science fiction horror with a focus on weapons and power scaling, whereas this fic is fantasy adventure with a focus on character exploration/development. There is simply no room in the setting I've established for Dead Frontier-style zombies to exist, and Dead Frontier does not have a magic system, so there is nothing my characters could learn from it.

Let's see how that prediction holds up...

Anywho, see y'all next chapter!