reapertoire | KILL LOG; MAKOTO

[Mary lets her red arms uncoil from around Ichigo to let Assassin wrap her up in his embrace. She savors the comforting affection of his lips against her forehead and touches her wet hands to his jaw, leaving little pawprints before finally standing. Her dress is stuck to her legs, slick and heavy from the weight of Ichigo's gore.

Mary, tears sailing down her cheeks, looks at Makoto. Her eyes are sad and wide and full of regret...and resolve.

She turns on her heel and darts away, away, further into the darkened shopping center.]

[It's only when Mary disappears that Assassin checks for his vital signs and declares,]

He's dead.

[Nothing he hasn't seen before.]

Didn't even put up a fight...

[He's still reeling from how easy it was. And Ichigo was so big, so strong, so ready to kill him just a few days ago. If Assassin accepted his offer back then, would he have had a different fate? Ah, it would have been a good fight, and oh, it would have been so satisfying...

But there's a pecking order, and Assassin can't waste time when he's got his sights set on something greater.]

You're his friend, right? I'm sorry. If only we found him sooner...

[makoto realizes something when Mary disappears. She should have known a lot more about what happened to Ichigo-- if not exactly who killed him. Which Makoto wonders... Could it have been her? But she takes another step, her foot accidentally stepping in the edge of the blood pool.]

Yes...

[Her head is a mess. It's different trying to puzzle out a murder-- this is the first time she's come across a body, so soon. She's almost certain Ichigo would be warm still.]

We have to go get the others-- we should talk to Mary more. About what happened.

[she's going into her investigation mode.]

[Assassin's expression is indiscernible.

He is eerily calm against the deafening silence.]

Oh, I wouldn't do that.

What?

[and there it is, her guard slams back up, her hand reaching for her mask... just in case.]

Why?

[she... feels like maybe, she already knows the answer to that.]

Because-

[Velvet appears, her blade drawn.]

You're not going anywhere!

[She leaps towards Makoto, her blade beginning to catch on fire as a result of her psych. As they fight, she'll unleash a series of punches and kicks, powerful but not very grounded.]

[ And Assassin rises from his spot, leaving Ichigo to bleed as he leisurely walks toward the fight. ]

Ahahaha... Sorry, Makki. I like you. I really do.

[ He adjusts his gloves as he watches each hit connect without pain or remorse. ]

But...

[ He jumps, his psych activates, and when there is enough distance between Makoto and Velvet, he puts all his power into a close-ranged kick. ]

Edited 2018-04-12 03:26 (UTC)

[Makoto can only dodge one thing at a time, but upon rolling away from Velvet, she places her mask onto her face, knowing that her psyche is her best chance at a defense.

Which is fine. It's fine. She's in serious danger, but it's fine]

AH...!

[the air is forced out of her, but she's still fine, rolling backwards, and then letting the momentum push herself back up to her feet.]

Why!? What are you doing?!

[she backs away, knowing it's probably better to run, to find help. Especially when it's two against one.]

Ahahaha!

[ He rips the loose apron off his torso, revealing the tattoos that marked his pride, his nature. ]

Don't you get it, Makki? We all know we're not here to make friends.

Especially not Akira.

[it's two on one, but. Makoto at least has a pair of brass knuckles to make it way less one sided than it could be, her hand sliding into her pocket, and sliding out with them on]

... You're getting revenge on Akira.

[she swallows, and steels herself, staring at his face, her red eyes hardening.

If there's one person she will defend, it's him. And-- she's going to try her hardest to escape this. Though she finds herself dodging random strikes as much as possible, even though she still feels the force of the kick from earlier.

She jumps back, recognizing her best way to protect Akira was to survive.]

You would kill me, just to strike at him...

[she forces herself to feel the heinousness she would have felt before, her voice hard]

You're horrible.

[ Beneath his bare and relaxed exterior—

Under his gloves lined with metal, his knuckles turn white. Ah, his gauntlets would be better for this, but... This is fine. This is enough.

He wouldn't be an Assassin otherwise. ]

Oh, I'm horrible? Haha, wow! That's rich.

[ He tosses Maya's magatama in the air and catches it. Then, he walks, saunters toward her, fists clenched, each name from his lips dripping with venom: ]

Maybe he should have thought twice before he killed Eleanor. And Chuuya. And Jacopo.

[ That's what his instinct tells him, anyway. ]

There's no story without conflict, Makki. I should know. And oh, how I know.

[the list of names he's ticking off is a surprise to her, she expected something different. But she knows in her heart, none of those people were killed by Akira. She feels like there may be something else there, like...

No. She can't say it, in case they are looking at this from two different angles, and she'd never want anything she said or did to be used to hurt Akira.

She'd figure it out, though she can't help but notice the magatama. The trial that caused her the most anguish of them all, the first...]

He didn't...

[her voice is soft, passionate, and she watches him. She knew that, perhaps, she should have expected as much. But she'd wished she'd never believed in their friendship.

It hurts worse, knowing that he's reduced her to a pawn in some sick game between him and Akira.]

Conflict made up of your own grievances, taken out on someone else? Without proof of anything you're claiming?

This isn't a story!

[ And he loses it.

Maniacal laughter resounds throughout the shopping center, and suddenly he is reminded of how big his stage is. It's not Shinjuku, but there are so many ways he could make this fun, so many different ways he could make this hurt. Characters like him aren't opposed to violence. It's just how they're written. ]

Didn't anybody tell you? Oh, that's right. Akira doesn't tell anybody anything.

Akira LIES!

[ He teleports once more, immediately closing the distance between them to throw a jab at her chest. ]

[She thinks first, casts stones later. Because if she's not careful with the teleporting, she'll be outclassed. Especially without Anat to protect her. She has to weave back, buying herself a little bit of time, but not much.

But that lets her look for an opening, any opening to strike.]

You don't have the right to say that! You lied to me this whole time, you stupid asshole!

Aww, don't be like that, babe. We had so much fun together.

[ She's not bad. He knew that. That's good. This is fun. Ah, this is so much fun...

A seasoned fighter, one who's sparred with him for a while longer might tell that he's not giving it his all. And why would he? The night's just getting started. Sure, he'll let her get a hit in. Between the flurry of attacks he throws at her, he doesn't expect too much. ]

After all, where was the lie? I like you, Makki. I really do. From your cute laugh to your short skirt... and everything in it!

[she may not have sparred with him... but she's fought before, and she can tell: he isn't perturbed by her. He isn't bothered by her punches.

Something... is seriously wrong.

She really, really wished she had Anat right now. But more importantly, she knows she's in trouble. Between him and Velvet, getting out of this is going to be hard, but she's got to try.]

Don't. You. Dare.

[she jumps back, knowing that any space she creates could be covered instantly. But she's got to try.]

[ Each blow that connects with his body hurts without his Master's parameters, but not by much. A spirit is still stronger than a human. But at the sound of her threat, he pauses their fight to admire her. That defiance, that grace, you're loved you'relovedyou'relovedyou'reloved— ]

Ooh, feisty! I like that. Since you're dying here and now, I'll answer your question for you.

"Is it justice if I kiss Makoto Nijima?" To that, I say yes. I think it's justice. I do. Because it's justice to me, who lost everything. Eleanor. Eleanor.

[maybe it's just the fact that the fight is wearing on her, or maybe it's that she can understand, in a weird way, how a snap like this could happen, but she punches him extra hard for that.]

I have nothing to do with Eleanor, and I am not some pawn in your grudge against Akira.

[she exhales. Anat, where were you when she needed you? was she really that helpless without a persona?]

You-- [betrayed her. for this.]

[ He hits a nearby store front, cracking the display, but staggers just a bit as he recovers. It hurts. It's good. Makes him feel more like a dead man walking. ]

Now, now, don't sell yourself short. I'm an outlaw. You're a cop. Isn't this what you've always wanted? To be yourself and die fighting. Me too. Me too.

Ah... I've tried to be useful all my life, too...

[ Suddenly, he throws a punch.

It's a feint. He sweeps down and kicks her in the gut. ]

[She feels all her breath forced out of her, while at the same time, pain radiates from her gut up her entire body. She stumbles back, collapsing to one knee.

He's so strong, and she... Doesn't want to die. Not again.

But she knows she's at a disadvantage.

She's got to get up-- got to... She forces herself to stand, but she's off balance, obviously hurt.]

You... Aren't fighting me... as myself. You're lying to me-- more than Akira ever did.

Mm...

[Well, that's because he's a professional liar. Didn't she get the memo? But oh, her tenacity is so beautiful. Like a flower blooming in the wilderness...

How strange. The doppelganger within him is long gone, but he's sure he's heard that phrase before.]

You're just like her. You try to be perfect when you're not. You feel inadequate. You are frustrated.

[A zap of light and the distance between them is zero.]

But your heart is so pure...

[A hand traces the space between her breasts, grabs her shirt—]

[Another zap.

He slams her hard against a nearby wall.]

You believe in others when you know you shouldn't. [he breathes down her neck.] You care. And you love so much...

[A thumb traces Makoto's lips, pries them open. Oh, Eleanor. When he closed his eyes, it's almost as if he can see her again.

So he does—

And kisses Makoto hard.]

[She can't breath, again, and her head is killing her now after the sound she vaguely recognizes must have been hitting the wall. In fact, she's seeing two. Her mask has landed somewhere a bit away, though she hardly recognizes it's gone.

She tries to catch her breath, when suddenly he kisses her, pushing her back against the wall, a painful sensation in and of its own right. In a panic, she brings her knee to his gut, and then to his groin.

Her hands frantically move to push him away and to fight for her freedom.

Get. away.]

[ Why does pain exist? The force he feels in each blow is a nuisance that only makes him grab her by her neck and her tongue, moaning in twisted delight, tasting every inch of what Akira must have had. And in this game, he had it all.

That's not fair.

Everything hurts when he lets go. He staggers, a little off balance, but the glint in his eyes tells her he hasn't given up.]

Haha... Let's end this.

[ He grabs her by her shirt again, right between her breasts—where Eleanor's scar used to be—and teleports once more.

This time, she's thrown onto the floor.

If her eyes are still open, she might find his raising a tight fist.

He wears a smile. ]

Sorry, Makoto. I guess justice is blind.

[ With one swift punch, he knocks her out. ]

Edited 2018-04-13 03:39 (UTC)

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1/2

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1/???

actually I'm done

screeeeams

cw: assassin