productions | (no subject)

Entry tags:

kill log

(no subject)

Who: Kaoru Nagumo, Beat, May Chang, Gundam Tanaka
What: The Seventh Week's Kill
When: Wednesday TBD

[She isn't awake to see her blade hit its mark. Throwing her kunai gave her no time left to brace herself; both she and the panda hit the wall hard and crumple down to the floor, unconscious.]

[Gundam is out around the grounds when the hamsters begin acting agitated. He can tell they hear the sound of something that's upsetting, and it's Wednesday, after all, so he doesn't ignore it.

He's led to the chapel, but the sight that's waiting for him there is especially horrifying. He first notices Beat, lying on the ground with blood around him, eyes open. There seems to be something in his throat, but with the way he's lying, he can't tell what it is, only that he's dead. His first thought is sadness; Beat has always been kind to him. He had hoped that perhaps...but he's also accustomed to losing things, and the pain he feels isn't overwhelming, doesn't conflict him, beyond forcing him to shove down a little more sadness in his heart before he clenches his fists with determination. He knows he must simply examine the surroundings and then summon help. He's about to send Maga-G off to do so, stepping into the chapel, when he sees another form collapsed against the wall. Two forms.

This time, he reacts with horror, heart pounding, unable to move. He recognizes May immediately, and Xiao Mei as well. He's come to care for her very much. It's not simply that he likes her, or even that he likes children - he doesn't, particularly, though he finds them easier to feel affection towards than other humans. But May is a very strong girl, but gentle, kind to animals, naive and trusting. All of that reminds him in certain painful ways of himself. She's not very like how he was as a child, but she cares about him and knows too little of the world, and he's found himself wanting to protect her very much. And there's little in the world that's more painful than the knowledge that you failed someone who was relying on you.

He shoves those feelings down, as well, however. He's become very good at pushing away feelings that threaten to prevent him from action. If this was the end, he could have quite easily continued to examine the crime scene, summon the others, and go through with the trial. Her death would have bothered him in the same way a thousand things, and several things in particular, have affected him throughout his life, but he would have continued on as he was. It would at least be over.

Instead, he realizes, as he approaches her, that she's still alive. Unconscious, but alive. And he should be relieved, and there is a part of him that is, but there is a part of him that is feeling sick as comprehension of the situation begins to dawn on him.

He goes over to Beat's body and turns him over, and...yes. The kunai. So then, did Beat attack her? He can't hate him for it. He doesn't know Beat's motivations, who it is Beat desires the power over life and death for. If he believed May Chang an easy target, he was mistaken, but guilty? He doesn't particularly care.

What's important is that the situation is different now. It's not a past tragedy that he can push away. It's an impending tragedy that he has the power to alter. And...he does know how to do that. But it isn't a decision he can make lightly. There are those relying on him. There are those who would be...hurt, by what he might do. And he himself, he wants to continue living. If he didn't, he would have abandoned doing so long ago. But even so...

Anyone who happened to try to enter the chapel now would find him sitting near the body, staring at the wall, hands clapsed together, though whether in prayer or whether he's intending to perform some sort of spell is a matter of interpretation. His expression is unusually serious as he considers his decision.]

[Kaoru, who had been hidden in the forest, listens to the ensuing battle with eyes closed. once it sounds like it's over, he makes a move to step from the trees, somber but relieved. though he had a genuine soft spot for May, it isn't enough to deter him from doing whatever necessary to pull off a successful kill.

—but then there's Gundam, and the relief immediately turns to shock. Kaoru doesn't even have time to mentally berate himself for not doing a thorough check of the grounds beforehand. his mind works quickly; he can't stay, he can't enter the chapel, he won't have time to frame Rapture - he can't even risk getting close enough to see exactly what is happening in its interior, too frightened that the hamsters might catch his scent. he can only ease back into the woods, hand over his mouth, and then turn to leave with the basket in tow. the entire way back to the manor, his mind is racing, trying to puzzle out where to go from here.]

[The hamsters do seem a little agitated, or at least trying to catch his attention, but the fact that one of them may have noticed someone else approaching completely escapes his notice. He's too caught up in his thoughts, and assumes the agitation is solely based on their ability to read his emotional state.

After a few seconds, he begins to chuckle. Partially to appease them, but he also feels an overwhelming sense of relief, almost happiness. There's really no choice, not when he can change this fate so easily. And while he would have liked to go on living, the fact that he came to this point and chose is an incredible weight lifted. He did promise someone, after all, not to abandon his heart, but he hadn't been fully sure of that promise until this moment.]

Aha. Ahaha.

Very well, mastermind. It seems I am not the opponent worthy of facing you after all.

[He moves very quickly, now, as he knows he may not have much time. He directs the dark gods to act as lookouts. He unravels the bandages on his arm and pools them on a pew, and then discards his coat and button-down as well, and then takes the gun he's been keeping in the lining of his coat.

It is without any sentimentality for his fallen comrade that he picks Beat up, careful not to get blood on his undershirt, though a small amount won't matter. He carries the body to the wall, and props it up. He fires a shot into Beat's chest. With that done, he hides the gun in his boot. He picks Beat's body up again and moves it to the floor near the altar. He takes the kunai out of the throat. Blood pours onto his hands when he does this, but it doesn't matter at all. He quickly slits the throat with the kunai, and then plunges the kunai into Beat's shoulder. This will create the impression the shoulder was the true wound, caused by May. Finally, he plunged the kunai into the gunshot wound, twisting it to alter the shape of the wound. The body should be visible now from the door, so he must act very quickly. He takes his bandages and begins to wipe what he can of the blood on the ground where Beat first fell. It will not come up completely, but he drags a pew against the wall, and another into close to the old pew's place, over the bloodstains on the ground. The pew will cover the bullet hole in the wall, but the other will also, hopefully, keep the bloodstains from detection, as they lead to May. If they are found, he can only hope they will be imputed to the shoulder wound. It's not perfect. There are plenty of flaws he can see...but he has no time, so it will have to suffice. He carefully picks up May and Xiao Mei in his arms and moves them both close to the door, so hopefully they will flee before they examine the scene.

Finally, he pulls his shirt and coat back on hastily, and gathers up the bloody bandages.]

I now concede my defeat. But I did warn of the consequences of awakening what was dormant in me...still, we will see.

[And with that statement to no one in particular, he runs for the pond, leaving the scene behind. He doesn't have much time to dispose of evidence before he must return for the discovery.]

[She wakes up around five minutes later, her head throbbing. It takes her a few moments to gather her bearings and try to figure out what had happened. The last things she remembered was Beat attacking her...but why...? And where did he...

Her gaze lands on Beat's body and she stares at the kunai in his chest, horrified.]

W-what have I...

[It's not the first time she's had to kill someone to defend herself, but even with her pounding headache, she instantly realizes the consequences of her actions. Her immediate impulse is to remain by the body until they found it; she couldn't just let someone else take the fall for her.

...but her clan. Her people. If it was only her own life on the line, that was one thing, but the lives of nearly a thousand people rested entirely on her surviving and returning to Xing. The Chang clan had no other heirs and no way to appeal to the Emperor without her. They were already struggling just to get by; if she died here, it would only be a matter of time before their line perished entirely. If she was to be a good ruler, shouldn't it be her responsibility to ensure her people's survival and well-being, no matter what the cost?

...but then again, what kind of ruler would let an innocent die in their place?

There's a good chance she would have stayed there frozen in shock and horror until someone found her anyway, but Xiao Mei's frantic squeaking and pawing at her clothes snaps her out of it. Blind with panic, choked with terror and guilt, she grabs the kunai in Beat's chest without thinking and yanks it out, slipping it up her sleeve before running out of the chapel as fast as she can.]

[Gundam, meanwhile, goes to the pond. He wraps his bandages around a rock, tying them tightly in place, and throws it into the pond, where it sinks. He washes his hands of the blood. His clothes, thankfully, are clean, so he straightens himself up, keeping his sleeve uncharacteristically rolled down. He hides the gun back in the lining of his coat, for now at least; later he'll hide it in the drawing room.

He moves very stealthily through the woods, back near the chapel, and remains in the trees, instead sending the Dark Gods out to survey for anyone nearby. He waits until May has fled, and until someone else comes.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only