QT: Reborn As a Canon Fodder

1.9 - Muse

Managi met a strange girl. 

She was like a doll cut from jade - uncomfortable to hug and cold to the touch. Her emerald eyes evoked memories of his father's gaze when he was found washed ashore. It was a curious twist of fate that the green abyss mirrored the flopping of the salmon they're currently both observing while crouching down.

Those eyes would be great for his next art project.

"Aren't you going to help the fish?" Managi eventually inquired. 

Silence. That has been the answer for the past few minutes. For what seemed like eternity, the salmon that Managi was convinced to be immortal finally flopped back into the waters, swimming away like a riptide. 

"Have you wondered why that fish struggled so desperately to go back to the waters?" The Jade Doll finally spoke. "It's life is so short anyways, what's the point of living longer than it should?"

"What?"

"I forgot you're just a kid."

"HEY! I'm not just some kid!"

"Well, who are you?"

"I'm the great artist Managi! Want to see what I've made?"

Not waiting for an answer, he pulled the jade girl by the sleeve of her kimono, practically dragging her to his "art studio" where he excited flung open the doors.

The house was filthy- cockroaches seem to hiss at the demoness as she followed the kid deeper into the house.

"Here's the storage room!"

He pulled out a vase, and another, then another- the small bedroom was almost practically filled with vases.

"Aren't they great?"

Managi waited for the doll to praise him for his art, however she just silently stared at him.

"Hey, why aren't you speaking? I asked if my vases are great!"

"They're... interesting."

The gaze of the eyes within the vase met the two observers, adorned with centipedes that crawled across them resembling eyelids. As the centipedes intertwined, the eyes appeared to blink in unison.

"You know, this really reminds me of the practice of Kodoku."

"Hey! I make vases not curses! I'm just storing the materials for my future artwork in my vases, not poisonous insects and animals and force them to fight!"

He felt furious for the misunderstanding, but the Jade Doll remained eerily calm. 

"I didn't mean to offend you. Kodoku, in this context, refers to the loneliness of the artist. The isolation that comes with creating something eerie, something that others might not fully understand." 

Managi squinted his eyes, trying to comprehend what she was saying. "Loneliness? I'm not lonely! I have my art, my vases, and... well, I guess I don't have many friends, but that's because they just don't get my genius!" 

The Jade Doll nodded, seemingly satisfied with his response. "Loneliness is not always about the number of friends one has, but the depth of connection. Your art is your companion, and these vases... they are not just containers - they are vessels of your emotions, your thoughts, your essence." 

Managi blinked. No one had ever spoken to him like that about his art. He was used to people either teasing or dismissing it as strange and incomprehensible. This girl, however, seemed to see something more. 

"Maybe you're not as cold as you seem," Managi mumbled, looking down at the vases. 

The Jade Doll gave a small smile, her lips barely moving. "Appearances can be deceiving. Just like the salmon, struggling to return to the water, we all yearn for connection in our own way."