Subdivided Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
cyclists) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
subdivided2019-07-28 09:09 pm
cyclists) wrote in subdivided2019-07-28 09:09 pm
week eight: mingle
Week Eight
9 in Competition
9 in Competition
As the sun rises on Monday morning, all participants will find themselves awakening with a sense of purpose. Regardless of where they slept the night before, they’ll find themselves compelled to return to the main meeting hall first thing in the morning.
Approaching the hall, however, they will find three large, swirling masses grey in color looming near the sakura tree. These swirls cannot be approached just yet, but seem to be locked and waiting for something more. Later in the day, if those in the village approach the third mass they will find themselves in a version of their home world. This world is completely void of people, but seems to be just as they last remember it. No darkness will be found in this world as well.
As the last member of the village enters the hall, they will find Lune and Sol at the head of the room. They don't speak immediately, but wait for all to settle.
Welcome to your week eight mingle! We have now hit endgame week.
In addition, ensure that all of your week seven private conversations were reported on the page. If you'll be taking anything from locations, please report that as well.
Approaching the hall, however, they will find three large, swirling masses grey in color looming near the sakura tree. These swirls cannot be approached just yet, but seem to be locked and waiting for something more. Later in the day, if those in the village approach the third mass they will find themselves in a version of their home world. This world is completely void of people, but seems to be just as they last remember it. No darkness will be found in this world as well.
As the last member of the village enters the hall, they will find Lune and Sol at the head of the room. They don't speak immediately, but wait for all to settle.
Welcome to your week eight mingle! We have now hit endgame week.
In addition, ensure that all of your week seven private conversations were reported on the page. If you'll be taking anything from locations, please report that as well.
no subject
but he thinks that the fire has a change of getting in his way. a number of swords were felled by flames, left without memory - and what is mikazuki to do if he were to ever lose his memories?]
Do you ever wonder what it is that you miss, what makes you less effective, when you do not pay heed to others?
The people you might have saved if you just paid attention?
[but it's just a taunt, the same badgering he'd been delivering this entire time without the gentle, elderly fondness.
it's what he intends to be the last words for ookurikara to reflect on as he doesn't pay heed to shess, not just yet, because mikazuki is focused on allowing his blade to come down, intending to slice through ookurikara's skull.
if he doesn't use his brain to think past his orders, does he really need it?]
no subject
but he can't fall yet, not with only a glancing blow to show for it, and certainly not when mikazuki is trying to distract him with that.
ookurikara has only a quick moment to wonder at mikazuki's question - has he failed someone here, after being this way for so long? he refused to let anyone close for fear of losing them, but even out of those who'd forced their way into his heart despite that, he couldn't save any of them. when they were corrupted, he didn't even recognize it. what else could he have done?
...but that's past. he can't afford to let mikazuki distract him, so he forces it to the back of his mind to haunt him later, after he's broken. there is still a mission to accomplish.
whether or not his sword is fast enough to block, ookurikara retaliates with a wave of fire. even if his sword won't cut, the flames may catch on mikazuki's battle attire, and that will at least give shess a better chance - even if this blow breaks him before he can really be of use.
mikazuki had taught him to use his power well, after all. ]
no subject
he already knows. after all, he is a sura, and there is a reason the world has branded them as "evil".
admittedly, this is a somewhat different scenario than what he had in mind. were it any other, he would use it at full force, without hesitation—no matter how cruel of a death that may be. if it were just an enemy...
and truth be told, it would still be so easy, to use it even knowing it would kill kara. in the end, they all have to die here, sooner or later. still, shess came here to assist kara in his role, not his own, and until it's shess's life in danger, he'll continue to honour that.
it's why, when mikazuki and kara feel the sudden pressure, it's not a force to meant to destroy them both. however, shess certainly means to slam them both to the ground, so as to prevent mikazuki's strike from being fatal.]
no subject
he hates it.
perhaps spitefully then, as if he will still make use of his downward momentum, mikazuki's blade shifts and he can only minutely guide it - to slash painfully against ookurikara's right eye, blinding him. mikazuki wonders if it might be able to help him see the world as the master that he so adored. could that make him a bit more tolerable?
but he can do nothing but succumb to the gravity after that, falling to take a knee even if the feeling of bowing his head against his will sits poorly with his pride. to fail to exercise his own will... it grates at scars that mikazuki didn't know he had.
maybe it's why the very second that the pressure alleviates even a fraction, he'll adjust his grip on his sword to slam it brutally through shess' abdomen, running it through his gut.
even as blood runs and drips onto the ground, mikazuki's smile is perfect.]
Neither of us will cease until the mission is completed - isn't that another reason why we get along, my friend?
[and he'll pull his sword back, coated with shess' blood as he takes to his feet again and disappears through the portal back to the village.
at least they did manage to keep him 'a little longer'.]
no subject
it takes a moment to realize that it's his own voice, laced with pain.
but he's still alive, unbroken, and more importantly - shess is hurt, and mikazuki is on the move. this isn't over yet. it takes longer than he likes, but ookurikara forces himself to his feet, one hand over his right eye. like his former master, he won't let the loss of an eye stop him, even in the face of a foe he still admires.
he'd trusted mikazuki implicitly, since confirming it was him. he might have liked to spar, but not quite like this.
he needs to be stopped. they'd failed to keep mikazuki from the village, but battlefields are always changing. this is no different, even down to a comrade taking a dire wound after placing themselves in the line of fire. and so he heads for the gateway, running as fast as he can with this injury. shess, he trusts, will survive, and catch up. but even if he doesn't, the priority is mikazuki.
this battle won't end until one of them breaks. ]
no subject
it reminds him of the past, he thinks. the situation is so different, and yet the nature of it all, to have someone he cares about taunt and strike at him like this... well, this time around, it doesn't hurt nearly as much. he's far stronger than he once was.
kara's left. good. that spares shess from having to waste his breath telling him that it'll be fine. to go. (kara should understand, more than anyone.) pressing a hand to his wound, as blood streams between his fingers, shess evaluates the damage.
...
no. not yet. he handle this much.
it likely won't be fatal for a while. they can finish it by then. either mikazuki was sloppy or he wasn't aiming to kill shess to begin with, though given the way he's behaved up until now, shess can take a guess. the thought earns a ghost of a smile. ah...
in any case, the pain doesn't bother him. after a lifetime of being torn apart and the like—and, eventually, learning to let his regenerative abilities handle the rest—this is nothing. he's a little surprised by how unsteady he is on his feet, though; how difficult it is to move with this injury.]
Annoying...
[being reduced to a human's level, that is. how weak he feels. he's going to be a little later than kara, unfortunately.
still, he follows after.]
no subject
it is nice to be away from his home. though even now, he looks over the village and its quiet, its emptiness. ah, the days that he was allowed here were so limited compared to the rest of his long life and yet....
and yet.
he conjures up a handful of sparklers and a small rocket, and then neatly cuts away the burning pieces of his own robes. he thinks that if he had stayed put even a moment longer in front of ookurikara, he might have been burned much just worse - he's rather proud of him for all his practice he's put in. and that is his last thought as he uses the borrowed fire from his comrade to light the sparklers before neatly throwing them against the flammable pieces of the village, letting them catch flame with their dazzling light. anyone who remains will certainly catch sight of them, not unlike moths to flames.
though he avoids any location that might have animals.]
Soiya, soiya!
[similarly, he launches a firework rocket into the air for good measure, listening to its whistle and the resulting explosion just above the housing area. he tosses the burning piece of fabric aside.]
Ha ha ha. Wasshoi!
[and then he draws his blade - waiting.
it is almost time for the night to be over.]
no subject
Luckily for Mikazuki, it doesn't take long before he gains a response for his efforts. North had told Emma that she planned to stick around until the last possible moment, concerned that something could go wrong if they all died before taking care of the Signs — and at this moment? It seems like her paranoia paid off. A stream of lava makes its appearance first, quickly and without preamble. Though clearly aimed with the intent to disarm and injure, North doesn't expect it to be enough to take him down. In fact, given the current situation... She doesn't even expect it to connect.
Ookurikara had his reasons for believing that coordinating an attack on Mikazuki would be as good as planning one's suicide, after all.
... Not that knowing did anything to prevent this outcome, anyway. The village is on fire, and Mikazuki got what he wanted. North makes herself known, emerging from what little of the village remains untouched by the flames, armed and bracing herself for what's clearly going to be a bad fucking time. She keeps her distance from him, ready to move the moment he takes a single step towards her, but—
Stiffly:]
... I had hoped the other two would be enough to take care of you.
[Shess and Ookurikara are nowhere to be seen. She respected their wishes when they said they would be taking care of Mikazuki themselves, but one cursory glance is enough for her system to register everything she needs to assess the situation. The blood on his blade. The discarded, flaming piece of fabric. The fact that he's alone. It's impossible not to assume the worst. They really should have killed him before the corruption had a chance to strike. What a shitty outcome.
For better or for worse, it's almost time for the night to be over.]
no subject
Ah, there you are.
[like he had been looking for her everywhere - like he was merely answering a summons from her, and was waiting for her arrival. the lava stream is avoided - quick and easy at it comes, no matter how it tries to touch him. it makes one wonder if the universe chose its guides based on this type of strength, or if it was something else. regardless, in comparison to her stiff tone, his is just as calm, soothing as always.
almost like he's not corrupted at all, if not for the lack of light in his eyes]
Certainly they have made their attempts - you'll be seeing them shortly.
I did not misunderstand that you wished to see this through to the very end, did I? Though you endure... You are always fighting, always caught in a war you must win, always kinder than you appear...
[one might call it being a victim of circumstance, at risk of having their thoughtfulness trampled. and yet... mikazuki can only think of the way that flowers might bloom in adversity. of a hope that rises defiantly even when victory seems out of grasp.]
Mm, you are the type of existence that I always, always like the most.
I hope you will find time to rest soon.
[it's funny - the words are without question mikazuki's.
they only lack the gentle song in his voice, that would make them more soothing rather than simply appraising.]
no subject
"You'll be seeing them shortly."
She has to remind herself that this isn't her friend anymore. Though the words are coming out of his mouth, there's no mistaking that the darkness has already reached him. Sentimentality has no place here. Now, she's just waiting for him to make his move.]
No, you didn't misunderstand. [Here, or back home. This is just how it is.] Unfortunately for both of us... I think you know me well enough to understand that I won't be able to rest until you're dead. So why don't you make our jobs easier, and stay still?
[He won't. She knows he won't. Otherwise, Shess and Ookurikara would have succeeded.
That doesn't stop her from immediately firing another stream of lava, though.
She's gotta be stubborn even when she knows she's likely going to get her ass wrecked.]
no subject
the smell of smoke hits him like a wall, stinging the wound on his face. with a grimace, he forces his feet to move again, to search for mikazuki. was this what mitsutada had seen, before the fire had damaged him? why, of all elements, would they give this to ookurikara?
can he turn that same power on mikazuki, and damage him the same way as the awataguchis? would that matter, as long as he’s corrupted?
his thoughts are interrupted when he hears mikazuki’s voice, and ookurikara breaks into a run again until he can see him through the blood and smoke. and beyond him - north? so there was one left, after all. she throws lava at the older sword, and kara dashes forward to attack with a wave of fire from behind. He hadn’t wanted distractions for this fight, and he hadn’t wanted mikazuki to take more victims, but with that decision out of his hands, ookurikara will make full use of it, and follow up with a downward slash aimed for mikazuki’s head. ]
no subject
his head is spinning. but he will not die here.
(north is here. well, that'll likely be an issue. a failure on his and ookurikara's part, but it can't be helped.)
a howl of wind picks up, swirling through the flames of mikazuki's destruction and carrying them alongs—before shess directs the rush of the gale and flames straight at mikazuki.]
no subject
adding everything else is in is where it gets fun. when the wind picks up and the temperature spikes, there's a moment where he smiles before reflecting quietly to himself:] Mm, that should be everyone now.
[excellent, excellent. he can finish it like this.
with his sword drawn, he glides away from ookurikara's fire - though not completely. it catches at the long sleeve of his kimono as their blades connect, high. the injury on his sword arm stings, but hardly registers against the adrenaline and the fact that it isn't over yet, he has no time for pain, no time to leave a single opening. he repels ookurikara off, pushing him back - though not before north's lava meets its target and another swell of wind carries some more fire toward him.
the lava licks at mikazuki's leg before he moves out of the way - but he imagines that would be quite difficult the longer he allows it to remain. he moves to cross the space between the two of them, dancing out of the way of the lava path with a performer's footsteps, eyes glinting as he grows closer to her - ]
I do wish you could've taken the time to rest.
[before he moves to swing his sword, cutting once shallowly across her chest before allowing the momentum to carry him into a spin, then having his blade slice across her arm, rendering it useless and mostly severed.
the open space was a poor choice, allowing mikazuki to move further away from them and toward ookurikara's blind side, blood still dripping from his blade as he puts in only the barest effort to smother the flames that lick at his robes, somehow finding it in him to laugh in this situation.]
Ha ha ha.
You'll have me burn from the outside in.... Mm, time to do work worth my pay, I suppose.
no subject
Given the fact that North had assumed Ookurikara and Shess died while fighting against Mikazuki, she's understandably surprised when they both show up alive and — ah. Not entirely well, actually. Even through the smoke and the fire, it's difficult to miss their injuries. A missing eye and a patch of blood on the abdomen are a little egregious, after all.]
Wait, you're—
["Alive," she means to say. But there's no time to talk. Because, before she gets a chance to fire another shot? Mikazuki is already bearing down on her, moving with grace and agility that are stupidly unfitting of someone who keeps acting like he's a decrepit old man. The slash across her chest is met with mild annoyance, in no small part due to the fact that he undid the repairs she had received after Julius injured in the very same spot. As for her arm—
What a fucking bitch.
Blue blood steadily pours out of both segments of her arm, the lower half barely hanging on once Mikazuki's blade cuts through the bulk of it. It drips down the partially severed limb, brightly hued and extremely noticeable — before rapidly evaporating from the heat once it hits the ground. Despite the severity of the wound, however, North reacts very much like she's simply stubbed her toe. She recoils, hissing expletives through her teeth as she reacts to the damage. When she regains her footing, she looks more inconvenienced than anything else. Having no pain receptors has its perks, it seems.
As Mikazuki moves towards Ookurikara's blind side, North reaches for the juncture where her arm connects to her shoulder
and promptly yanks it off so she can throw it at Mikazuki like some kind of fucked up projectile.
This is followed by another bout of elemental manipulation, aimed to deter and injure — but not to kill. If Ookurikara wants this so badly? He can have it. She's just going to follow up on Mikazuki's challenge, hoping to be enough of a thorn on his side that Ookurikara is given a chance to evade him.]
no subject
that. is not a normal human reaction. but as a sword, ookurikara is the last one to judge as far as that goes, and he doesn't particularly have time to do it, anyway. mikazuki is already moving again, toward his blind side. as he does, ookurikara twists to keep his remaining eye on mikazuki and catch his blade on the next attack.
masamune's enemies used to underestimate him for his disability, too. even if he isn't used to fighting this way, ookurikara knows the way to do it. he will not shame his former master by letting this injury slow him down now, when it matters most.
"burn me from the outside in," he says. well. it's an obvious challenge, one ookurikara only has a second to wonder if it's meant to lure him into some kind of trap, but at the same time... that is one challenge he can deliver on, even here, against one of the revered tenka goken. with the village burning, he doesn't even need to exert the effort to create sparks of his own. after all the practice he's put in over these past nine weeks, it's all too easy to pull the flames closer to him, surrounding them in a circle of fire. escape is not impossible, of course, but fire is wild, uncontrollable, and it will catch on the intricate pieces of mikazuki's robes.
and then he'll shove mikazuki back, diving under his blade and going in for a jab at his heart. if there's any possibility they can end this quickly, they need to take it, no matter the risk. if ookurikara has to break here to succeed, that's fine - as long as he takes mikazuki munechika with him. ]
no subject
with one hand still gripping his dagger and the other pressed against his wound to slow the bleeding, even as shess moves, he knows he's more of a liability than help now. all he can do is summon the wind again, in an attempt to fan and amplify ookurikara's flames.]
no subject
he thinks again that ookurikara is the most difficult of opponents here, if only because both north and shess are allowing him to be. that makes him smile even as he taunts, with the smoke and fire cracking behind him - he found so many who would respect his wishes here. isn't that a blessed thing for a sword so often left behind?
ookurikara's swift but mikazuki thinks that it is still not yet time for him to meet his end - he's swift as he withdraws his blade, then swings it swiftly in an upward arc to prevent ookurikara from making a direct stab at his heart. the steel cuts into his shoulder, then continues further up, and he cannot maneuver his head far enough from the upward arc of his sword - it slices into mikazuki's beautiful face, curving into his cheek and away. slowly, slowly he grows more injured like a porcelain doll, a crescent moon carved into his cheek.
but first he decides he has to remove the opponent in front of him - and so he steals ookurikara's idea, driving his blade into his chest, directly into his very human heart, letting the uchinoke become bathed in is comrade's blood - and the tremble in mikazuki's hand as he pushes it all the way through ookurikara's body is only from adrenaline, of course.
(nothing else. he cannot feel anything else.)
he lets his blade remain in ookurikara's body as he backs away from him, letting the fire continue to consume his own robes. he looks ookurikara over - the right side of his face covered in blood, haggard, still holding onto his sword in a fiery battlefield.]
Mm... The embodiment of a warrior's spirit, dedicated to your pride and the mission above all else, though doomed to be nothing more than a lovely legacy.
[and he smiles, cold.]
Truly, you have inherited the spirit of the Date.
Consider it this way, my comrade - at least this way you are spared the fate of being left alone by all you love again.
[no matter his injury, no matter the burns and the scars, mikazuki's gaze remains impassive - holding only one sentiment above all else: I must end this.
no matter what sins he must commit along the way.]
no subject
[Well. It sure is unfortunate that Ookurikara is getting fatally stabbed to the tune of the Benny Hill theme song.
Which is to say, North's immediate reaction is to move before Mikazuki can even finish talking. The ring of fire is still around them, making it dangerous to approach — but doing nothing isn't really an option. And it's pretty impossible to ignore the instinctive need to do something, anything, while the corruption takes yet another one of them out. She's honestly exhausted of watching people die while she sits still, frozen in shock... and that's probably why she risks it, surrounding her remaining hand in lava so she can throw herself at Mikazuki in an attempt to throttle him.
This is surely going to go well.
(Sorry, Shess. The majority voted for him. So as far as she's concerned? Better her than him. Good luck with that wound, bruh.)]
no subject
regardless of the answer, ookurikara still wants to serve them well even now, years after being taken from them. doing so means going through mikazuki, one way or another. he's already twisting his sword in his grip to change directions, aiming to cut deep into the throat, when mikazuki's blade strikes true, freezing him in place.
he knows it's a fatal blow even before his blade begins to crack, hairline fractures spreading across his steel as his vision begins to blur. his hearing, however, is fine, and he can only listen as mikazuki steps away to taunt him, once again using his love for masamune and the date against him - the pride, the legacy, even the eye.
this is more than just frustrating, - it's infuriating, and ookurikara has neither the time or the strength to make mikazuki and the corruption pay for speaking of his master with such disrespect.
in his rage, he pays no attention to the last taunt thrown his way. as he falls to one knee, his remaining eye fixes mikazuki with the fiercest, most defiant glare he can muster, one promising that he won't be the only one to break here.
and so, the meteors begin to fall. ]
no subject
... It's over.
[in the end, isn't this the outcome ookurikara predicted?
shoving down the stab shess himself feels, more emotional in nature than physical, he glances up to the sky. (ookurikara was going to have to die, one way or another. he knows this.) as he shifts his blood-stained hand from his wound to his pocket, he then turns his attention, briefly, to north. it's probably the end for her as well.
...
he did tell ookurikara he'd do his best, but getting injured to this degree wasn't exactly part of the equation, unfortunately. it's still frustratingly difficult to move.
not much room to dodge, really.]
no subject
Ha ha ha.
[he sidesteps north when she comes - though the lava streaks across, falling onto his robes, searing into them, melting against his skin and burning his flesh. he doesn't pay that any mind, instead catching onto her arm before she gets out of reach, his other arm wrapping around her middle as he no longer has to worry about holding onto his own sword. he glances over to ookurikara, to shess, and then to the sky -
his lips curve into a grin as he watches the meteors come, and he restrains north as he reflects]
... there are none remaining in the village aside from us.
[they're the only ones left standing. everyone else has met their end, as they've been forced to. the signs parted ways to attend to their targets, and roxas complete his end. he was intercepted, stopped by his friends who he could not harm, and met his end, leaving mikazuki no one to protect. his friends killed one another in ways that they preferred, the ways they'd discussed and wanted - and now.
and now he picks up north himself, dashing through the flames and heading directly for the path of a meteor, as if he intends to deliver her there.
it's only as he passes that he bows his head to ookurikara - for choosing this way to end it. perhaps, the only way to end it in the way that would be in their favor, that would leave it impossible for him to survive no matter how he tried. after all, when they were very beginning, hadn't he said that he needed ookurikara's assistance still? to do what mikazuki munechika couldn't.... and yet he cannot help but think this is a more fitting way for ookurikara himself to end. he catches the fractures on his sword and is content with their meaning - the two of them will break here.
on a battlefield, completing their missions, not out of some forlorn sense of duty that would cause a sword to break itself. a more fitting end for a warrior, than a surrender to a friend.
mikazuki spares a passing glance to shess and the look on his face cannot be described as sadness - but perhaps a sense of understanding. that his hope in the past that it would not come to this was foolish, and that perhaps even now, his efforts are for naught. and yet... he hopes that shess meets an end that is fitting - with the happiness that he carries in one omamori, and the well wish held by the other. in the sentiment, the uncertainty that catches in mikazuki's heart, he wonders if he could have done better by his friend, and given him a version of events that did not involve an injury....
though it's rather too late now.
he deposits north as the meteor heads for them both, burning brightly and intensely, and sets her on the ground - though his hand guides her remaining one to rest on his arm, squeezing her fingers to close around him. she'll feel the tenseness in mikazuki's hand that does not show on his face, the way that he seems to be wrestling with every movement, even as his feet seem to want him to move. the corruption sinks its teeth into his selfish wish - a pure desire to live - and tries to urge him to leave. maybe if he were free, he would still jump out of the way, but he meets her eyes and leans his head in closer to hers, letting his voice drop in volume:]
Do make sure you won't let me get away.
I am sorry to rely on you - even now.
[and yet.
and yet....
a visit to his master's room to say goodbye to his most beloved person. a non-fatal stab wound for shess to make sure that the most popular candidate for last man standing didn't get too close to the fight so he might have the barest chance of outilving the rest. a fire to draw out north and bring the battle to her, so she might see the end as she wished. a warrior's death for ookurikara. a way to end everything, perhaps more spectacularly than necessary, but in a way that allowed everyone to hold onto their integrity.]
Splendid, splendid...
[what a funny and lonely feeling... for everything to go according to plan.
mikazuki closes his eyes and cannot help but recall - to go so long without a surprise, perhaps his heart truly died before his body.
the meteor impacts, instantly and destructively, and mikazuki angles his body so that he might take the hit first. the sword stabbed into ookurikara's heart fractures and breaks.
mikazuki munechika is dead.]
no subject
She gets it.
This is his way of fulfilling her wish, one way or another.
She holds onto his arm as tightly as she can, nails digging into his flesh as the meteor steadily approaches them, nary a care for the injuries he has accumulated. All their friends are dead. Ookurikara is soon to follow. And Shess... Well. She can only hope that the fates suddenly decide to be a little bit kinder than they have so far. It would be nice if she could witness a happy ending for once in her life, wouldn't it? She would quite like that.
North closes her eyes as well, warnings displayed on her HUD as the temperature rapidly rises with the advent of the meteor. Mikazuki is close enough at this point that, even through chaos around them, he'll be able to hear her huff out a laugh. Quietly. Softly. Almost wry.]
... I still don't understand you.
[There's nothing else she wishes to say.
The meteor crashes down upon them, quickly followed by another and another and another. The village they once inhabited will most likely be reduced to rubble once this is all done, the sheer intensity of Ookurikara's last ditch attempt at taking Mikazuki down too much for the structures to resist. If North lingered long enough to witness this, she might think to apologize to Cinnabar for the shark, and to everyone else, for... well. It's a pity, really. She did say they shouldn't keep anything in a situation like this.
But she won't have a chance to see the aftermath.
North is dead.]
no subject
and then mikazuki munechika starts to crack, and finally he breaks, the pieces not embedded in his heart falling away. with a quiet, ragged sigh, ookurikara finally allows himself to follow, collapsing on the ground while the village falls down around them.
shess... where is shess? he'd been warned ahead of time, but there is no way to control this power once it's called upon. it would be all too easy to lose them all.
ookurikara closes his eye, exhaustion crashing down upon him. mikazuki is gone. his mission is complete. all he can do now is hope that the rest goes according to plan, and shess will take care of them all, in their absence.
it's almost funny - he's never been the one to leave someone behind. he's always been the last one, his only comrades taken away, killed in battle, or lost. since then, ookurikara has always been expected to be left alone. he'd learned to find solace in solitude, in the assurance that he wouldn't get attached only to lose someone again. somehow he'd failed to protect himself from that, here in this village. he'd always been more emotional than he wanted to admit - even mikazuki had known as much.
after so long of being left alone, being the one to leave is strange. does it always feel this bad, for the ones who go? do they always blame themselves for leaving? do they always leave promises unfulfilled, broken like a fallen sword on the battlefield? he wonders if he should apologize to tsuru, to lili, to mikazuki and to everyone who would have chosen him, for letting it end like this. they'd all known the time would come, ookurikara had come to this battle knowing he wouldn't walk away, but he'd promised -
ah, but even now, even with a human body to move his blade instead of relying on his master's hand, the choice still isn't his to make. it makes no difference - in the end, he is still a sword, still just a tool dedicated to his mission above all else.
the mission has ended. it's with this thought, the last reassurance he has, that the sword in his hand finally shatters.
ookurikara is dead. ]
no subject
still, his heart is heavy as the meteors fall, bringing with them the strength of ookurikara's determination. is he satisfied at all with this outcome, shess wonders. how would someone as prideful as his friend prefer to die—or to slay a comrade? and what of north, and of mikazuki?
but death is death, and it's naive to think that one can choose how it happens. if shess could, he would rather his come in battle, or when the universe itself finally ends, forsaken by the primeval gods. even so, he knows that there is no promise of dignity or fanfare. for all of his power, it is just as likely that he might die in disgrace and humiliation. few enemies will care for respect, after all.
this is hardly an ideal end. nevertheless, if nothing else, it'd be nice if the others could hold their heads high, even just a little.
despite mikazuki's attempts to keep him safe, shess remains within the range of ookurikara's meteors. he doesn't avert his eyes, even when the light becomes blinding. he does not feel fear, or flinch as the heat jumps to levels that would kill a human.
there's no running from this. pulling his hand away, shess stands his ground when the meteor makes its impact, as swiftly as with all the others.
a flash of pain, and then a moment of oblivion—
shess is dead.]
no subject
though the impact undoubtedly decimated him...
mikazuki once talked about the lotus, as a flower that blooms in adversity. an apt metaphor for members of other species, but really, most would think of the sura as weeds. hated by all, in a universe that only seems to have less and less of a place for them as time goes on. yet despite being an ugly, unwanted existence, they continue to survive, heedless; weaker and stronger than anyone else.
and, perhaps, among them, there are few examples better than shess.
moments after, within the crater left behind, he rises to his feet on steady legs. bit by bit, skin and bone repair itself. now active, his regenerative abilities work their way through his body, as he begins walking towards ookurikara's corpse. when all is said and done, and the last of him reforms down to his gloves, he looks just as he did the day he arrived here. undamaged.
quietly, an unsealed omamori falls to the ground.]
... That's that, then...
[he's just surprised that it took this long to finally have a reason to use it.
a torrent of wind dissipates the flames before him. reaching down, he gathers the pieces of ookurikara's broken blade. gently, as if they might shatter further at his touch. he'll have to collect what he can of mikazuki's as well, he thinks, before retrieving tsurumaru's. he made his promises. (he would've, at least, liked to be able to say his goodbyes, but it's always too late.)
dimly, it occurs to shess what he would normally do on this day, after waking up. perhaps cinnabar would shyly approach him as they did, or he, milla, and valvatorez would go over recent events and future plans. he, emma, and axel would likely discuss their findings (teasing would be involved, somehow), or he and ookurikara would talk business in a conversation bound to be riddled with awkwardness at one point. he might see mikazuki, and if he didn't, the latter would send him flowers and tea as a reminder that he's there for him.
(shess told him, didn't he? that it was better for him not to be spoiled by the other's kindness.)
this time, he wonders how much longer he has before this farce ends. he has the inane thought that he should check for any creatures that might've survived ookurikara's final attack—oh, but the farm animals should be safe. he might have to feed them, if the day passes without incident. ah, the work to do never ends...
after all, there's no one else left but him.
and as always, he will play his part.
shess is alive.]