Kinjou watches as Makishima runs their fingers over the box, their claw-like nails tracing each groove and ley-line. Makishima’s bioluminescent spots and stripes pulse slightly, betraying their interest in a way Kinjou has come to be familiar with in his dealings with Makishima. Though if he looks closely, it almost seems to mimic the glowing pattern of the box. He wonders if there’s something to that, some sort of metaphysical entanglement that’s just outside of the reach of his senses.
Being a human in the far reaches of space, Kinjou has learned that he can’t always trust his meager human senses, and sometimes needs to come to peace with not knowing everything.
“And what did you say it was, Shingo?” Makishima asks, flipping the box over one more time.
“Our ship’s sensors can’t penetrate it, so there’s no way to know what’s inside,” Kinjou says. “External readings point to it being a stasis box. We’ve gathered barely more than a handful in past century or so, that match the readings like this one, so signs point to it being Thrintun.”
“Thrintun?” Makishima laughs, the sound coming out more like a hum that thrums through Kinjou’s chest. “Right, of course. Your intergalactic… what did humans call that monster? The Bogdeyman?”
“The Boogeyman,” Kinjou says, crossing his arms. “And they’re hardly just that. As far as our archaeological studies can tell, they ruled the galaxy more than a billion years ago, using their telepathic powers to manipulate others, before they were eventually overthrown.”
“Hmm, yes,” Makishima says. They toss the box in the air — where it hangs for an impossibly long moment for something so heavy — before catching it in their hand. “From accounts found in boxes not unlike this one, I imagine. You should know better than anyone, captain, that the victors write the histories. And if your Boogeymen were defeated, then they aren’t the victors anymore.”
“So?”
Makishima sets the box gently on the countertop before them. “My point is perhaps don’t be so suspicious of the telepathic around you.”
Kinjou frowns. “I didn’t mean…”
Makishima ignores him, instead spinning the box on the countertop. Makishima’s fingers splay out around it, and Kinjou realizes that the glowing from both the box and Makishima are synced once again, both of them glowing steadily at the same intensity.
The box stops spinning, suddenly, and Kinjou is surprised to hear something like a pop. Makishima moves their hands, still not touching the box, and the top side of the cube lifts off, releasing a navy glow.
“Looks like you owe me one, captain,” Makishima says with a smirk. “Want to see what your Boogeymen left you?”
FILL: TEAM MIYUKI KAZUYA/MIYUKI KAZUYA, G
Tags: no major tags, mentions of telepathy/mind control, scifi AU, weird alien biology
Word Count: 445
A remix of
Kinjou watches as Makishima runs their fingers over the box, their claw-like nails tracing each groove and ley-line. Makishima’s bioluminescent spots and stripes pulse slightly, betraying their interest in a way Kinjou has come to be familiar with in his dealings with Makishima. Though if he looks closely, it almost seems to mimic the glowing pattern of the box. He wonders if there’s something to that, some sort of metaphysical entanglement that’s just outside of the reach of his senses.
Being a human in the far reaches of space, Kinjou has learned that he can’t always trust his meager human senses, and sometimes needs to come to peace with not knowing everything.
“And what did you say it was, Shingo?” Makishima asks, flipping the box over one more time.
“Our ship’s sensors can’t penetrate it, so there’s no way to know what’s inside,” Kinjou says. “External readings point to it being a stasis box. We’ve gathered barely more than a handful in past century or so, that match the readings like this one, so signs point to it being Thrintun.”
“Thrintun?” Makishima laughs, the sound coming out more like a hum that thrums through Kinjou’s chest. “Right, of course. Your intergalactic… what did humans call that monster? The Bogdeyman?”
“The Boogeyman,” Kinjou says, crossing his arms. “And they’re hardly just that. As far as our archaeological studies can tell, they ruled the galaxy more than a billion years ago, using their telepathic powers to manipulate others, before they were eventually overthrown.”
“Hmm, yes,” Makishima says. They toss the box in the air — where it hangs for an impossibly long moment for something so heavy — before catching it in their hand. “From accounts found in boxes not unlike this one, I imagine. You should know better than anyone, captain, that the victors write the histories. And if your Boogeymen were defeated, then they aren’t the victors anymore.”
“So?”
Makishima sets the box gently on the countertop before them. “My point is perhaps don’t be so suspicious of the telepathic around you.”
Kinjou frowns. “I didn’t mean…”
Makishima ignores him, instead spinning the box on the countertop. Makishima’s fingers splay out around it, and Kinjou realizes that the glowing from both the box and Makishima are synced once again, both of them glowing steadily at the same intensity.
The box stops spinning, suddenly, and Kinjou is surprised to hear something like a pop. Makishima moves their hands, still not touching the box, and the top side of the cube lifts off, releasing a navy glow.
“Looks like you owe me one, captain,” Makishima says with a smirk. “Want to see what your Boogeymen left you?”