[Here they are, in the library at night... Chuuya's pulled them here after deciding he's spent too much time in his office, and he still seems on edge, glancing around the nearby bookshelves before turning to Beck. When he folds his arms, the gesture exposes a familiar red ribbon tied around his left wrist.]
[the library at night sure is fine - but here's higekiri! he's stepping inside, apparently on a patrol of sorts, and he'll blink when he notices that he's not the only one there]
[She sighs a little bit at the interruption - she’d wanted to find out what was going on, but... All the same, in her book, Higekiri is never unwelcome. She gives him a smile.]
[he manages a smile in return at that - then bowing properly since he's been given permission to stay. he'll wander over closer to chuuya and press a brief kiss to his temple
and then talk to the both of them]
I am merely checking the perimeter - we're approaching our deadline, aren't we?
Are you both alright? I may escort you somewhere, if you desire.
[ - until he unfastens it with one flick of his wrist, twisting his hand so that his blade slides through chuuya's ribs from the back, the tip of his blade aiming to pierce into his heart
... I thought I'd at least tell you what he'd like to say, if he were really here.
A stupid, sentimental host to trick you all does make everything much easier.
[he doesn't think anything of hige's hand going to his sword; that's him, after all, and he's seen that sort of gesture before.
and then it happens too fast for him to move away. he feels the blade pierce him-- but he's at least improved since the last time someone stabbed him with his guard down. his gravity manipulation engages quickly, barely arresting the sword before it can pierce his heart, eyes wide as a gasp stutters past his lips.
if he were really here. fuck. fuck, he didn't think a host would come for him, he should have rejected anyone coming to see him, should have kept beck from getting wrapped up in it like she is now. chuuya grits his teeth, managing to say-]
Go--
[if she can get out of here, at least she'll know what happened. even if this stab hasn't killed him, he can tell it's bad; he's not going to be as much help as he'd like.]
[She freezes for a long moment as Higekiri pulls the sword out and sinks it into Chuuya's back, uncomprehending. Her first inclination, honestly, is to think this is a dream. Why else would Higekiri do that? It's only when she hears what he says that she understands what's going on.
She screams, but after that, she doesn't hesitate. She has time to think about what this means later, she thinks - even if the knowledge that Higekiri is gone is already tearing through her, she turns around and starts to sprint towards the exit. As she goes, she cries out—]
[casually, idly, even amidst the screams and the tension - as if it's higekiri commenting on the smallest possible inconvenience, rather than the reaction to him slicing into one of his dearest people, and frightening the other. so he'll move to reclaim the sword as soon as he can, then intending to chase right after beck, footsteps light and swift
[it's not him, chuuya knows that, but he breathes out the name anyway. beck doesn't have a chance against a sword, he's sure, and he doesn't know that he can catch up with this injury...
but he can still try to interfere. a red glow surrounds him as he activates his ability again, growling at the strain as he shoves at the nearest bookcase; as he anchors himself, the ground beneath him caves, more power emanating out than he really intended.
with gravity on his side, it's easy to make it light enough to topple easily, then heavy enough that it breaks as it slams into the ground, trying to aim it in higekiri's path.]
[She keeps running, heart pounding and tears leaking out of her eyes. She doesn’t dare look behind her, even as she pulls a rock out of her pocket. She doesn’t have to turn around to throw it; she just pivots for a half second, not bothering to aim before she tosses it as hard as she can. She knows it’ll find its mark.
After that, she turns back around, thoughts racing. Again, she screams out:]
[well the combination of things at least make it a little bit harder - higekiri is nimble, and the demon possessing his body certainly intends to take advantage of it. it becomes a new focus to get out of the way of the bookcase, dodging out of its way even if it means taking a slightly longer way around. but it's since he's focusing on dodging out of one obstacles that the other hits its mark
the rock makes his ears ring and there's a sound that beck might recognize - something closer to animal than man, almost a lion's roar, before he moves to catch up with her, hand reaching out to seize her neck]
I'm rather glad I'm not him.
He spent so much effort trying to protect something so fragile.
[ - and he'll move to draw his blade again then, going to pierce it into her chest, once again aiming straight for her heart]
[there's no reasoning with a demon, of course. so he bites back anything he might want to yell, fuels himself on how fucking angry it makes him to hear something using hige's voice to say things like this.
chuuya grabs at the books from the fallen shelf, and they glow in his hand as he weights and flings one at higekiri, a desperate shot at another distraction-- if he fails to hit, maybe he can at least make him dodge again.]
[She’s not a proud person, really. Even here, she hasn’t been hesitant to say what she wants or needs, and vulnerability is an easy state for her to slip into when she’s emotional and unsure. And now, she’s terrified, grasping at the hand that holds her throat as soon as he catches up with her. Maybe that’s why the begging starts immediately, as tears keep leaking out. She kicks out at him and tries to scratch at his hand as she starts.]
Please! Please, I swear I’ll leave and I won’t tell anybody what I saw, okay?! Just don’t hurt me, I don’t want to—
[She’s interrupted as his blade slides into her chest. She screams again, pained and desperate.]
[the book makes it impossible for higemon to remain in the same spot - pulling his sword out of beck's chest and dodging out of the way of it, the books slamming into the wall with enough force to get stuck against the surface of it. it's when he hears the pleading, that he seems to look back at her.
his eyes are cold, any trace of humanity she wanted to see again gone]
... why is this soul so angry for someone like you...
[and then he'll turn to face chuuya, flicking beck's blood off of higekiri's blade as he moves to approach him again]
Was it worth it? Breaking a rule for this body that should have been shattered a week ago?
[he curses under his breath, gritting his teeth against the pain from the wound in his back, trying to ignore the blood he can feel spreading from it. a stab like that...
being caught off guard worked too well in the demon's favor. he's failed. all he can do now is--
chuuya wants to think fight. he really does. every part of his instinct wants to fight for his life as the demon in his friend's body turns to face him once again.
...but that's not an exorcism, is it. and god, it's bullshit that it's probably interfering too, but the fact that unleashing his full power and taking the demon down with him won't get rid of it sticks out in his mind.
the best thing that he can do is die. chuuya exhales a heavy breath, expending what effort he has left to stay on his feet.]
...yeah. Yeah, it was worth it. Higekiri-- you can still hear me in there, right? You're worth it.
[She cries out again as he pulls the blade out, reaching towards her chest to try and stem the sudden and heavy flow of blood rushing out. Not even a few seconds have passed before she leans against the wall, darkness encroaching on the edges of her vision.
It isn’t welcome, the exhaustion that settles onto her like a thick blanket. From her spot on the ground, with hands still slippery with blood, she tries to push herself up. She wants to leave, she wants...]
Help...
[She doesn’t mean to whisper, but it’s barely audible regardless. This isn’t one of the fairy tales she loved as a child, though. Instead, her eyes slide shut, and it’s not long before—
[somewhere inside, higekiri thinks about the scenes like this that he'd seen before. he's a sword of samurai descent. he's no stranger to death, and he shouldn't be affected by the way that others are so fragile compared to him, only steel and sharp edges. and yet...
and yet....
the demon possessing hige's body seems to wince, a hand coming up to where the rock impacted him, frowning from that as well as - ]
... What a racket.
[and then he'll make eye contact with chuuya even as he stalks forward, casual and careless in higekiri's usual picture perfect posture]
He wants you to fight, you know. [he lets the expression on higekiri's face crumble, all open sadness and vulnerability:] 'You said you wouldn't go down so easily.'
[he extends his sword arm, letting the tip of higekiri's sword press against the front of chuuya's throat]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
...I think we'll be fine here, for a while.
no subject
...Are you sure I shouldn’t be worried about whatever’s going on? Because you seem a little - off.
no subject
Eh...?
Am I interrupting?
no subject
[ah, and there's a familiar face. chuuya relaxes just a little when he hears higekiri's voice, offering him a brief smile.]
Hey. Maybe a little, but if Beck doesn't mind, I don't.
[maybe there's something about safety in numbers? hige's killed a demon before, so that's a plus, anyway.]
no subject
Of course not. What’s up?
no subject
and then talk to the both of them]
I am merely checking the perimeter - we're approaching our deadline, aren't we?
Are you both alright? I may escort you somewhere, if you desire.
no subject
It's fine, we just got here. We'll be okay for now.
[lines said moments before disaster.]
... but yeah, we are. With any luck, this is the last week we're all stuck here.
no subject
[Another reason not to leave - this is probably her favorite room in the hotel. She smiles a little more sincerely, though, when Chuuya says that.]
Yeah. Crazy to think we’ve almost made it, right? Just a few more days to go, and we’ll be back home, as long as we pull it off.
[1/2]
Mm.
Even though it'll be sad to part with you all... I would like to return you all home safely. I hope that we will be able to meet again.
[his left hand falls across his heart as he offers that sincere statement, his other hand falling casually over the hilt of his sword]
no subject
... I thought I'd at least tell you what he'd like to say, if he were really here.
A stupid, sentimental host to trick you all does make everything much easier.
no subject
and then it happens too fast for him to move away. he feels the blade pierce him-- but he's at least improved since the last time someone stabbed him with his guard down. his gravity manipulation engages quickly, barely arresting the sword before it can pierce his heart, eyes wide as a gasp stutters past his lips.
if he were really here. fuck. fuck, he didn't think a host would come for him, he should have rejected anyone coming to see him, should have kept beck from getting wrapped up in it like she is now. chuuya grits his teeth, managing to say-]
Go--
[if she can get out of here, at least she'll know what happened. even if this stab hasn't killed him, he can tell it's bad; he's not going to be as much help as he'd like.]
no subject
She screams, but after that, she doesn't hesitate. She has time to think about what this means later, she thinks - even if the knowledge that Higekiri is gone is already tearing through her, she turns around and starts to sprint towards the exit. As she goes, she cries out—]
Help! Somebody help!
no subject
[casually, idly, even amidst the screams and the tension - as if it's higekiri commenting on the smallest possible inconvenience, rather than the reaction to him slicing into one of his dearest people, and frightening the other. so he'll move to reclaim the sword as soon as he can, then intending to chase right after beck, footsteps light and swift
then light and taunting:]
Are you so scared of me again already?
no subject
[it's not him, chuuya knows that, but he breathes out the name anyway. beck doesn't have a chance against a sword, he's sure, and he doesn't know that he can catch up with this injury...
but he can still try to interfere. a red glow surrounds him as he activates his ability again, growling at the strain as he shoves at the nearest bookcase; as he anchors himself, the ground beneath him caves, more power emanating out than he really intended.
with gravity on his side, it's easy to make it light enough to topple easily, then heavy enough that it breaks as it slams into the ground, trying to aim it in higekiri's path.]
no subject
[She keeps running, heart pounding and tears leaking out of her eyes. She doesn’t dare look behind her, even as she pulls a rock out of her pocket. She doesn’t have to turn around to throw it; she just pivots for a half second, not bothering to aim before she tosses it as hard as she can. She knows it’ll find its mark.
After that, she turns back around, thoughts racing. Again, she screams out:]
Help!
no subject
the rock makes his ears ring and there's a sound that beck might recognize - something closer to animal than man, almost a lion's roar, before he moves to catch up with her, hand reaching out to seize her neck]
I'm rather glad I'm not him.
He spent so much effort trying to protect something so fragile.
[ - and he'll move to draw his blade again then, going to pierce it into her chest, once again aiming straight for her heart]
no subject
chuuya grabs at the books from the fallen shelf, and they glow in his hand as he weights and flings one at higekiri, a desperate shot at another distraction-- if he fails to hit, maybe he can at least make him dodge again.]
no subject
Please! Please, I swear I’ll leave and I won’t tell anybody what I saw, okay?! Just don’t hurt me, I don’t want to—
[She’s interrupted as his blade slides into her chest. She screams again, pained and desperate.]
no subject
his eyes are cold, any trace of humanity she wanted to see again gone]
... why is this soul so angry for someone like you...
[and then he'll turn to face chuuya, flicking beck's blood off of higekiri's blade as he moves to approach him again]
Was it worth it? Breaking a rule for this body that should have been shattered a week ago?
no subject
[he curses under his breath, gritting his teeth against the pain from the wound in his back, trying to ignore the blood he can feel spreading from it. a stab like that...
being caught off guard worked too well in the demon's favor. he's failed. all he can do now is--
chuuya wants to think fight. he really does. every part of his instinct wants to fight for his life as the demon in his friend's body turns to face him once again.
...but that's not an exorcism, is it. and god, it's bullshit that it's probably interfering too, but the fact that unleashing his full power and taking the demon down with him won't get rid of it sticks out in his mind.
the best thing that he can do is die. chuuya exhales a heavy breath, expending what effort he has left to stay on his feet.]
...yeah. Yeah, it was worth it. Higekiri-- you can still hear me in there, right? You're worth it.
no subject
It isn’t welcome, the exhaustion that settles onto her like a thick blanket. From her spot on the ground, with hands still slippery with blood, she tries to push herself up. She wants to leave, she wants...]
Help...
[She doesn’t mean to whisper, but it’s barely audible regardless. This isn’t one of the fairy tales she loved as a child, though. Instead, her eyes slide shut, and it’s not long before—
Guinevere Beck is dead.]
no subject
and yet....
the demon possessing hige's body seems to wince, a hand coming up to where the rock impacted him, frowning from that as well as - ]
... What a racket.
[and then he'll make eye contact with chuuya even as he stalks forward, casual and careless in higekiri's usual picture perfect posture]
He wants you to fight, you know. [he lets the expression on higekiri's face crumble, all open sadness and vulnerability:] 'You said you wouldn't go down so easily.'
[he extends his sword arm, letting the tip of higekiri's sword press against the front of chuuya's throat]
Maybe that makes both of us liars.