westwhere | Following Sairen [closed ]

Entry tags:

Following Sairen [closed ]

WHO: Kaneki, Hermione, Akira, Five
WHEN: Beginning of March
WHERE: Ruins near the fortune fetters
WHAT: Stalking Sairen
WARNINGS: Violence, some limbs being lost, some limbs being eaten (cannibalism), gambling. Will add as needed.

Pursuing Sairen at one point leads the group to the highly knocked-down ruins of a fortress near the fortune fetters. The stone remains now crudely host a gambling arena, with fierce thugs and associates of the revered Sairen waging bets on anything from dice throws to card games, snake fights, arm wrestling and various challenges or games of wit. The stakes range from coin to some men pledging their services, others their freedom, and a scant few even volunteering their body parts in gory, ad hoc amputations. All play and pay, to Sairen's entertainment.

The infiltrators will need to pretend to be servants or gamblers and participate in the games, to avoid arousing suspicion. They might also wish to steal some ritual stone masks from the participants already in attendance — everyone in the den is wearing such a face covering, including Sairen.

While Sairen nominally presides over the Hok-Shinn, he appears too distracted to partake of their petty cruelties and retreats in wine and the gossip of his counsellors. He sometimes passes judgement over conflicts among his generals, receives or awards gifts and is introduced to new clan conscripts.

Feel free to spend some time 'mingling,' drinking exceptionally strong swill, gambling and smoking opium by the fires — as well as perhaps overhearing or remarking:

■ Sairen's guests seem to include visitors from other villages,

■ Some guests question 'old man' Sairen's ability to keep the younger, more aggressive rising stars of the Hok-Shinn clan from rightfully taking over the fellow villages of Ke-Waiar and Ke-Waicai and 'teaching them who is truly in charge.'

■ Word is that Sairen has been... fretting about the iminent return of the the Beastmaster, who was dissatisfied with the previous, nondescript Hok-Shinn offering during his previous visit.

■ A group of drunkards whom Sairen refuses to receive into the Hok-Shinn murmur that the day will come when the entire clan falls, once it is no longer the sole custodian of a certain substance that helps revive the highly arid and infertile agricultural terrains of Ke-Waihu.

■ One drunk mutters that the white wanderer who brought the first vials of the chemical to Ke-Waihu handed it out freely, before disappearing. Since then, it has been monopolised by the Hok-Shinn, who charge an arm and leg for this substance, withholding it from any farmers who rebel against their rule.

By sunrise, the crowds start to dissipate, with some leaving their masks behind by hanging them on the branches of an ancient willow tree. No one wears their mask back into Ke-Waihu, making it difficult to figure out which villagers participated.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ The first time Five shows any strong emotion after finding him eating a hand, anger is the first one that surfaces. He's angry that he was kept in the dark by the Merchant yet again, angry that Kaneki seems so disappointed to be confronted about his disturbing diet, but most of all angry that he seems so wrapped up in hunger that he spoiled a perfect opportunity to learn something he can use.

When he's done, he scoffs loudly and shakes his head. ]

I didn't come here to understand why you eat people, I wanted to know if that's the only reason you're here. I came for information, and from what I'm hearing, you were so tempted by hunger that you ran off before you got what we came for.

[ Five still isn't sure if he's undead, but he's wrong if he thinks he has to go along with it. He's half-tempted to test how dangerous he really is before letting him get back to the group. — Maybe if he thought it wouldn't blow their cover completely. For now he just has to deal with this. ]

You want to say you're not a liability, prove it. If you want to get home, you'll be more careful.

And what I'm hearing is that you decided to run after me and complain that I'm not finding information, while you too aren't doing the same. Perhaps a bit hypocritical of you, no? [ no, of course not. Five seems like the type of child who'd believe he is always right. ] If you are that particularly upset that information is not being gathered, perhaps it is you who is lacking.

[ Kaneki throws at Five's feet the bag of coin he earned through the night while he chatted and gambled with said drunks high on opium and learned a lot about each of them and this place.]

I will make this clear: I will do what I must on my own terms. You do not set those terms. [ Kaneki pulls down the mask once again to cover his face, while walking past Five.

One thing is to discuss Kaneki's nature and how it can be an issue, but being questioned on his abilities? No, thank you. ]

[ Five flexes his jaw as he points out that he hasn't had as much luck working with this particular crowd. It's a sore spot that he can only do so much when he looks like a prepubescent child. As reluctant as he's been to work with the others, he'd agreed when he followed Kaneki's tip, and it's frustrating that he still can't rely on them for even a simple task.

He might have meant that to be the end of their conversation, but Five is still fuming when he throws the coin at his feet and starts to walk away. In a flash of blue, he blinks into his path, getting directly in his personal space. ]

You did hear something. [ That isn't a question, but he's sure of it when he stares him down, bloody mouth and all. ] You don't have to like it, but I've been around longer. I can promise that I can do more with it than you can. Tell me.

[ Normal people would probably react very differently to a child suddenly materializing themselves out of thin air right in front of them. Normal people would probably ask what the fuck and normal people would have the normal reaction of not automatically assuming said child to be an immediate threat, considering they are all in this together and they have all agreed to try to find information together.

But here is the deal: Kaneki is not normal.
Nothing about him is, and it's not just the fact that he needs to eat people to survive.

He has been tortured and traumatized hell and back. With PTSD, trauma and a heavy dose of paranoia, adding possible psychosis to the wonderful cocktail that is Kaneki's mental health (or lack of it), Kaneki is a grenade ready to go off at the slightest of provocations. And Kaneki's mind saw no difference between a threat and what Five just did, whatever the hell it was. The ghoul may not understand what it was, but in kaneki's head that was a threat thus his body automatically reacts: four tendrils come out from kaneki's lower back and all aim at Five. They are silent, but they are obvious: the tendrils are covered in bright red scales and they shine bright. Kaneki himself is frozen in place while his body prepares him for a fight-or-flight response; luckily he has the mask, or it'd be obvious that he just thought about cutting off Five's limbs, even if it only lasted a second.

But the second is all he needs: shame works very well on the ghoul. At the realization he did just think about maiming a child (sorry, Five, you are still a child in his eyes), Kaneki snaps out of his psychotic state with a quiet grunt and he feels like vomiting. He thought he had kept his own insanity under control, but Kaneki realizes it's bleeding out, towards a child - of all the people! He is very glad to have that mask indeed because under it Kaneki bits his own lip as punishment until it bleeds, and the tendrils pull away slowly like snakes ]

Sorry. I wasn't expecting you to do... that. [ he still doesn't know what that was. But just don't do it without a warning in front of a crazy ghoul, maybe? ]

[ Five has blinked in front of enough people to expect any kind of reaction, even a violent one, and that's sort of the point. He's long used his abilities to stop them in their tracks to win an argument and then fucking off before they can get a last word in. But every now and then, especially here, someone manages to surprise him.

Tentacles suddenly shooting out at him are not something he prepared for. Even his assassin-honed reflexes might not have saved him had they not suddenly frozen mid-attack. If he wasn't taking him seriously enough before, he's learning quickly, and he's seconds from using whatever weapon he can grab when he starts pulling them back.

It isn't the first time he's seen something like it, and being reminded of his dead brother does nothing to settle the sudden uneasiness he has. (Which, frankly, should have been there the second he saw him with the hand.) Ben had just as much trouble controlling them, but Kaneki clearly doesn't want to fight him.

When they slink away, Five is left to puzzle over what he just saw. He's silent for a while, not moving from his path or letting his guard slip for a moment. ]

Neither was I. [ ... ] You didn't tell me you had something living inside of you.

[ surprises all around! ]

Living... [ living inside him? Yes, there is. It's something ugly, disgusting, something that consumed him completely ] It is "me", now. [ Kaneki is now that thing living inside of him; he can no longer escape it and those red tendrils are proof of it. Two wrap around kaneki's legs while the rest stay back although they still surround Ken.

He sighs, pulling down his mask once again, while the ghoul eye is reacting now. There is no point hiding it, but at least Kaneki's expression is less... ah- dangerous. He looks back at Five for a moment before his eyes look away, ashamed at the way he reacted.

And in his shame, kaneki gives in the information he has heard. To be fair, Five is right: he has been here longer than Kaneki and most likely would know better, child or not. ] I heard Hok-Shinn has some sort of magical solution that makes land fertile, but they monopolize it completely. They not only charge incredible prices over it, but it seems that's how they can keep control over everyone. "The white wanderer" was the first to bring those vials into the villages and even handed them out for free, but that was time ago - perhaps to prove to the villagers they had no other choice.

But they believe Hok-Shinn won't have control over it forever, and the moment that happens, the clan will fall.

[ It's more of an explanation than he thought he'd be getting. That logic makes sense out of what he witnessed. Not that it's better to know how unpredictable he is, but it's better to know what he can do and keep his own hand close to his chest. Five looks from his eye to the tentacles, waiting for anything else to come out of his mouth before he goes on to honestly tell him what he's been asking since finding him in the woods.

Switching gears isn't easy, but he listens more intently as he goes on. That's actually a lot to process. They took the long road to get here, but he managed to gather something useful after all. ]

Well. [ Can he blame him for thinking he wasn't taking notes? He keeps on staring at him down, before he finally says... ] Good job. We can use this.

[ It seems insane to let him off the hook, but he can't argue with results. ]

You've got a handle on it now?

[ kaneki goes into business mode rather easy; in fact, it's the perfect time to switch to it because he just feels bad for wanting to maim Five moments ago. He shouldn't have gotten angry, but Kaneki has Issues and loses control of his own emotions far too often. Trauma, some would call it; self-preservation, Kaneki would claim.

He nods softly at the small compliment, although he doesn't expect the conversation to go on. In fact, he'd be happy to just turn around and move back towards the drunk men, but Five speaks again.

Handle it? ]

... I have amazing control over them. They are part of my body, so the same way you can control your arm, I can control my kagune. [ that's what it's called. In fact, finally it disappears, fading away and turning into dust.

But.

It doesn't mean the person controlling them has a handle on themselves. And when that happens, it's as if the kagune controls Kaneki instead. ] But sometimes you pull your arm too fast, and you hit something. So it's probably best to be ware of that. [ in other words: don't approach them ]

[ Five frowns, unfamiliar with the word 'kagune' but committing it to memory all the same. He seems to be calm now, and he watches as the tentacles fade away. It wasn't a true test of what they can do, but this has been... informative in more ways than one. There's still a risk to keeping him alive, as with so many of their group, and he weighs that up until he gives him a short nod. ]

Noted. [ It's true that he did startle him and it wasn't an intentional attack, so he can cut him a break. And maybe part of his acceptance is because of Ben. He was always self conscious when his tentacles massacred a room full of people that they'd been taught were the 'bad' guys. But his brother also didn't eat them afterward.

He has an urge to make more of a threat here, but being underestimated may work in his favor someday. He clicks his jaw before relenting and taking a step back. ]

You've probably done enough gambling tonight, don't you think?

[ No, it really wasn't a test of what kaneki can do with them. They can do a lot, including killing dozens in one single go; however, if one wanted to look at it some other way, Kaneki is the one who can kill dozens in single go, the kagune is only the weapon.

But the thing is, the kagune is not the only thing about Kaneki that is dangerous. Killing him is not as easy as one would expect. Believe him, he has tried to kill himself in suicide missions many times before.

Not that Five would know unless he tried. ]

Hm. I can go back, but I think they are out of it. [ when Hermione played with them, they were so drunk and high that she even won against them - without knowing how to play.

There is a pause before Kaneki asks: ] You- was that superspeed, what you did?

[ Kaneki recovers so quickly, even the Commission might have been impressed. And in all fairness, plenty of them were deranged psychopaths, so he can't say he's never worked with worse. (Not that he was one of them...) If it weren't for the bloodstains on his clothes, Five could almost forget the whole incident occurred and ask if he wanted to go out for coffee.

His suggestion was an invitation to leave before any of them got suspicious, but he might not need a cover after all. ]

...No, it wasn't. [ He's surprised he asked about his ability, but at least he didn't call it magic, so he decides to answer. ] It was a spacial jump.

[ As if that explains it entirely. He doubts he'll follow the long version. ]

I could press our luck and get closer to Sairen, but you're better sitting the rest out. With the way they were playing, I'm guessing you don't need the temptation.

[ Spatial jump...? That's -- ] Teleporting? [ it's what it is, right? To instantaneously travel from one point in space to another without passing through the intervening space... Kankei is not a huge fan of sci-fi books, but he knows this much.

But he pauses when he hears Five wants to approach Sairen. ] Approaching Sairen is a big risk. Specially because we are the only ones not drunk and out of our minds. [ a longer pause ] You are also a child. [ LOOK! He had to say it at some point because it's true ]

[ He should have seen that coming. After Five was so understanding of his cannibalism, it's an added layer of insult to be called out for his appearance. He knows what he looks like, and how much that stands out in this setting, but anyone should be able to see past that after talking to him for any length of time. Instead he finds himself in this exact situation again and again. ]

I'm old for my age. [ He responds curtly, purposely holding in anything that could classify as a tantrum. Loudly insisting that he's 'not a child' tends to have the opposite effect. ] Teleporting. Luckily, I can blink over to get close without him ever noticing.

[ Look, he accepts that Five is not a normal child. But he still looks like a child and Sairen would take that into account, regardless of how mature the kid is ]

I understand that. But Sairen would not, don't you think? [ he isn;t trying to be insulting, simply stating a fact.

But it's true, Teleporting could be a very useful power to eavesdrop unnoticed. Kaneki hums, looking at Five, but here is the thing: even if Kaneki's instincts had told him to cut off Five's limbs not so long ago, a Kaneki who is in control doesn;'t like the idea of shoving a kid into something dangerous like spying on the clan's boss. ] It's a bit risky, don't you think?

[ With the way he's patronizing him, he sincerely doubts he understands anything. There likely won't be much more to gather, unless Sairen openly starts talking about some relevant strategy in the middle of their gathering, but that's not the point.

Five isn't the only one here who looks like a teenager, even with the mask. He doesn't need to be judged by someone who thinks he's the most capable because he has a more literal monster living inside him. ]

Suddenly that's too big of a risk for you? [ Minutes after he was ready to take his head off. Five scoffs and makes a move to turn back before his temper gets the better of him. ] Just try not to eat anybody before they're dead and let me worry about the rest.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Following Sairen [closed ]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject