Flip The Script

Eyes are very important to memetic creatures.

It isn't just how they "see". It is also a matter of status and indications of a creature's level of power. Angelic-based creatures always have symmetrical sets of eyes, whereas demonic ones do not. It is one of the hard and fast rules for determining what you are dealing with. Count the eyes.

Even number, angel.

Odd number, demon.

We have eyes that exist in three dimensions, but we can only see in two. The back of your eyes are flat, you see. You cannot see inside things. The use of two eyes gives you stereoscopic vision, the illusion of seeing in three dimensions when you are still just seeing the surface of things. But memetic creatures exist in the higher dimensions, of which there are a total of six. Well, theoretically there is a seventh, but let's not get lost in the weeds.

Our angel friend who is lost inside of Toshi has four eyes. Two three-dimensional ones, and two four-dimensional ones. This makes him one of the lowest-ranking angels and is a result of the need for him to interact with mortals who exist in three-dimensional space. Having a pair of "mortal eyes" is seen as something to look down upon, but since it is part of the job, and someone has to do it, Toshi's guardian angel just deals with it.

You could also have five-dimensional and six-dimensional eyes, with various combinations and numbers. At most, you'd have four sets of eyes, and if you were one of the archangels, all eight eyes would be sixth-dimensional. A creature like that is so far above the mortal realm as to be incomprehensibly powerful, although, its lack of three-dimensional eyes does present a bit of a problem when acting in the mortal realm. It's hard to focus and act with precision, hence the need for angels like Toshi's guardian.

It's one of the reasons angels usually don't interfere in the mortal world. It's just dangerous. Imagine you are trying to talk to a self-aware speck of dust floating in the air among so many other specks. Now try to interact with just one speck and you have an idea of how hard it is with someone who sees in five dimensions to interact with someone who exists in only three.

You might be wondering why I'm bringing this up. It is because when Toshi's angel reached the center of Toshi's soul, he found an object that should not exist. A perfect sphere of angelic monads.

The angel hovered there, slowly moving along its surface, trying to see if there was any part of the sphere that stood out. Not a single blemish, not a scratch, not a deformation on any level that the angel could figure out. It was large, but not insanely so. Relatively speaking, if the angel was six feet tall, the sphere would only be a mile across.

""""""Only""""""

The angel eventually circled the entire structure. It made no sense. Angelic monads did not coexist with the monads of mortals, at least not for long. One should overtake the other. This balance of an angelic core surrounded by a mortal soul was theoretically possible, but he'd never heard of anyone ever achieving it before.

~This certainly explains why Toshi has so much power.~ The angel thought to himself when he finally reached out to touch the sphere.

It opened an eye.

The angel withdrew to look at the thing at a distance. He was relieved to see that the eye was not alone. It came as a pair, but he had been too close to see both of them at the same time. As he pulled further away, he saw more pairs of eyes.

Four pairs of six-dimensional eyes.

The angel realized he screwed up. He had poked something that should never have been disturbed. They might be on the same 'side', but a low-ranking angel like him was little more than a fly to something of this power and magnitude. He immediately averted his gaze and assumed a posture of subservience. If he was going to survive this encounter, he would have to talk his way out.

"This humble mercurian is sorry to have disturbed your slumber, oh great and powerful archangel. I am the protector of the soul in which we now reside and was merely curious. I meant no disrespect."

He waited for a reply. A response. An acknowledgment. Something. Anything.

He kept waiting.

Nothing.

Eventually, the angel opened his eyes to look upon the sphere.

He was struck dumb at what he saw, unable to move or process rational thought.

What he saw was impossible... irrational... unthinkable.

For the sphere had opened yet more eyes with which to affix upon the angel.

ALL OF THEM.

~Why is Meiko here?~

Toshi and Ruri had road the taxi to the Mewn Bass Karaoke bar. Pronounced Moon Base, it was an all-ages family orientated place for people to rent a room with a small stage and hold parties. It had the theme of cats and the moon. The logo was a cartoon cat playing a bass guitar. The rooms were of various sizes with a central control room that overlooked most of the areas.

When the pair arrived, Toshi looked as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. At the front desk, they were told they were expected and escorted to the room set aside. Toshi was rather surprised by the number of people there. The crowd of people had grown a bit out of control. One person got invited, and so they invited someone else, who invited someone else. The next thing you know, two dozen people had shown up for Toshi and Abi's 'date'.

Ruri quirked an eyebrow and bumped shoulders with Toshi while whispering out of the side of her mouth to him, "I thought you said this would be a small gathering?"

Toshi started to sweat. His eyes darted about as he tried to figure things out. This seemed way too busy. This was exactly the sort of environment a horrible accident happens in some sort of Rube Goldberg fashion that gets someone killed, "Uh... maybe this isn't such a-"

That was when Mieko showed up.

"Hey." She came into view from behind Toshi. She had been carrying drinks, "I was getting worried." She looked pointedly at Ruri, then back at Toshi, "You two okay?"

Toshi blinked and stared, apparently taken off guard by her presence. Ruri spoke up, "We've been better."

Meiko nodded and furrowed her eyebrows, "Mom told me what was going on." Her voice lowered and a great deal of concern filled her voice as she leaned in to speak to Ruri, "I'm here to help. We'll get through this."

Toshi blinked some more, "She did?"

Ruri seemed surprised, but very shortly she recovered, "Your mother? Oh. Wait. You..." She eyed Meiko then Toshi and back, "You're in on all this craziness as well?"

Meiko nodded and gave her a reassuring smile, "Yeah." She balanced the tray of drinks on one hand, "Wish you got here sooner so I could keep an eye on you, but no matter what, you're getting through this." She gave Ruri a reassuring pat on the shoulder with her free hand.

Toshi was having a hard time processing this. He ran his fingers through his hair, "Wait... That's right."

Ruri eyed Toshi, "Hey. You okay?" She waved a hand in front of his face, "You seem out of it."

Toshi jumped a little, "Yeah. I'm just... distracted. I don't know why. It's getting harder to focus on the here and now for some reason. I keep getting this-" he jerked his head around to look behind him the sound of someone dropping a tray echoed in from another party.

Meiko exchanged a worried glance with Ruri then looked to Toshi, "Settle in and relax a bit. It'll be okay." She turned to carry the drinks off to the table.

Ruri waited until Meiko walked away to talk with Toshi, "You didn't mention her."

Toshi nodded, "Yeah. I forgot. Which... is bothering me. I'm wondering if I'm compromised. I feel... distracted."

Ruri Grabbed Toshi by the arm, "Well, man of the hour, let's not keep your fans waiting."

As Ruri started pulling Toshi towards the group, he felt two separate reactions at the same time. Half of him had that growing lump in the pit of his stomach that happened every time he got stuck in a large crowd. He always found being in large social settings to be rather draining. The other half of him lept for joy at the very thought of having 'fans'. The conflict was more than a little disorientating.

It was painfully clear to Toshi that at this moment, his old self was close to the surface, and this wasn't a distraction he needed right now. Everyone waved as he was dragged closer, calling out friendly greetings. Toshi smiled and waved back awkwardly. He was both terrified and elated as he mentally tried to beat his impulses down and regain some semblance of self-control.

Abi stood up and closed the distance, eyeing Toshi's grip on Ruri's arm, "Uhh... you two okay?"

Toshi tried to nonchalantly brush the question off with a shrug but wound up shaking his head instead, "No. This is... way more people than I was expecting." He chuckled nervously, "Way more."

Abi rolled her eyes and pulled him over to the center of the table that had the best view of the stage in the room they were in. There was one big main room, and a bunch of smaller rooms that individual groups could enjoy without bothering everyone else, "Well, that's the point of this, isn't it? Just relax. No pressure. Just have some fun."

Toshi stopped dead when he lost contact with Ruri. He looked back at her, "Uh... well... you heard her." He motioned for her to join him, "C'mon and sit over here."

Ruri froze, her eyes going from Toshi to Abi and back, "Uhh... This is sort of your thing I-"

With furrowed eyebrows and a dismissive shake of her head, Abi gestured for Ruri to follow, "No no no. He's right. You sit over here. We're here to have fun, right?" Abi gestured to the seat on the other side of Toshi, "It's buffet style, so it's all you can eat. Relax and do whatever." She started walking away, "I'll grab something for you two, be right back."

As she turned away, Abi thought to herself, ~We wouldn't want Toshi's security blanket going hungry, now would we?~