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Nyx Kagero C-S

C:

Nyx: Kagero. Are you the artist of these works?
Kagero: Hm? Oh, yes, I am.
Kagero: Painting is a hobby of mine, though I usually keep my pieces out of the way.
Kagero: Most who stumble upon them tend to find them...disconcerting.
Nyx: You have a rare gift. 
Nyx: What darkness must you harbor to encapsulate such pain so vividly upon a canvas?
Kagero: Erm...
Nyx: This work, for instance. 
Nyx: This, to me, evokes an inescapable darkness of one's own making.
Nyx: A curse that weighs on the body and mind alike.
Nyx: And here...the hands of the dead, grasping at your feet.
Nyx: Begging you to return to the earth in which you belong.
Kagero: (Th-that's just a rice field!)
Nyx: I am impressed with how one as young as you could produce art that speaks to one such as I.
Kagero: Er...thank you? I think?
Nyx: And this one...
Nyx: It feels as though a thousand tormented souls are reaching out to me from the canvas.
Kagero: (But...that's a painting of a cat!)
Kagero: (Am I truly so obtuse?)


B:

Kagero: Nyx. You seem quite taken by my works.
Kagero: Is there anything I could help you with?
Nyx: Ah, Kagero. Forgive me. I was merely...contemplating matters.
Kagero: Oh?
Nyx: Your ability to capture the darkness within the mundane speaks to me on a deeper level.
Kagero: That...isn't quite deliberate.
Kagero: But if that is what you take away from my art, then that is what it is.
Nyx: I have a request of you. Would you...paint me?
Nyx: I have no specific requests, only for you to paint as your heart desires.
Nyx: I'll pay you, of course. How much do you require?
Kagero: There's no need. It's rare to find another so appreciative of my work.
Nyx: Nonsense. I won't have you fulfilling a selfish request on my behalf without compensation.
Nyx: (After all...I only wish to see myself how they did.)
Kagero: Pardon?
Nyx: Hm? It is nothing to concern yourself with. 
Kagero: Very well, then. I accept your terms.
Kagero: Do let me know if you have a moment to sit down and model for me.
Nyx: ...I will. Thank you.


A:

Kagero: Nyx, I have your commission. Are you ready to see it?
Nyx: As I'll ever be.
Kagero: ...
Nyx: And there it is. The monster in all her terrible glory.
Nyx: But what is this?
Kagero: It's you.
Kagero: That monster may have been part of you once...
Kagero: But she is not who you are anymore.
Nyx: ...Do you understand what it is I have done?
Nyx: My past is not a thing that can merely be shed.
Kagero: As a ninja of Hoshido, I must gather as much information about our allies as possible.
Kagero: You were...a unique case. 
Kagero: Those who spoke of you did so only in hushed whispers and cautionary tales.
Nyx: As they should have. My hands are stained with the blood of countless innocents. 
Kagero: That may be true, but...
Kagero: I've been observing you, Nyx. 
Kagero: Everything you do is in hopes of atoning for that evil...
Kagero: Even if you consider such a thing impossible to do. 
Nyx: I... I see.
Kagero: You did, after all, ask me to paint from the heart.
Nyx: ...
Nyx: Thank you, Kagero. For not giving in to the bias of what I wanted to see.
Nyx: Perhaps a fresh perspective was just what I needed.
Kagero: Any time, Nyx.


S:

Kagero: Nyx? I've come to deliver those tomes you requested. 
Nyx: Ah, yes. Just leave them on that empty shelf over there.
Kagero: Of course.
Kagero: Ah, is that—
Nyx: ...I had hoped you wouldn't notice. 
Kagero: You...framed my painting?
Kagero: I didn't...I thought it would be best for you not to dwell on something that caused you pain.
Nyx: Hmph. "Caused me pain." As if my suffering is a fraction of that which I caused others. 
Nyx: It would do me good never to forget what I've done.
Kagero: Nyx...
Kagero: Even if you see a monster in this painting...
Kagero: I see you.
Kagero: Perhaps a bit warped, perhaps a bit stained...but still beautiful.
Nyx: ...
Nyx: That is quite enough. Why must you make this so difficult for me?
Kagero: Excuse me?
Nyx: I didn't frame this painting in order to wallow in my self-hatred.
Nyx: I did it because it was made by somebody whom I admire deeply.
Nyx: Somebody for whom my feelings were becoming too strong to repress. 
Kagero: You don't mean...
Nyx: Kagero, I love you, but we cannot be together. 
Kagero: Who said that we couldn't?
Nyx: P-pardon?
Nyx: A woman of your standing should never be seen with someone like me.
Kagero: If, as a ninja, you expect me to ever be seen...
Nyx: Hmhmm. Sharp with that tongue, aren't you?
Kagero: All I am saying is you need not worry about how your appearance may reflect on me.
Kagero: And though my duties may keep us apart...
Kagero: I would like nothing more than to return home to you.
Nyx: ...I have long believed myself undeserving of such happiness.
Nyx: But with you at my side, I feel as though one day...
Nyx: I could become a person worthy of it.