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[ McGillis had intentionally thrown Izou a bone, so he did expect to be found out sooner or later. He'd wanted that. To crush everything nice and gentle he accidentally built last week beneath his heels like glass and prove to himself once more that alone is how he should be.
But he hadn't expected Izou to show up on his doorstep within the hour. He underestimated the man.
When McGillis opens up, it's with an easy smile that does not show that anything is wrong. ]
Yes? Did you need me for something?
But he hadn't expected Izou to show up on his doorstep within the hour. He underestimated the man.
When McGillis opens up, it's with an easy smile that does not show that anything is wrong. ]
Yes? Did you need me for something?
[Izou's been in a generally good mood since recovering from his palace, even if he's been as shouty as ever. He'd even visibly seemed more mentally refreshed and less like a grungy murderer that lurks in dark alleys.
But now, the light in his eyes has dimmed once again. Hizen hangs heavily at his hip, still sheathed if only for now.]
I'm just answering yer summons, ain't I?
[He will at least give McGillis a chance to address the accusation. Go on, deny it.]
But now, the light in his eyes has dimmed once again. Hizen hangs heavily at his hip, still sheathed if only for now.]
I'm just answering yer summons, ain't I?
[He will at least give McGillis a chance to address the accusation. Go on, deny it.]
[ McGillis had really only feigned innocence on the off chance that Izou had dropped by through sheer coincidence - it would be quite unfashionable to give himself away when he hasn't even been accused yet.
But since Izou is throwing the glove down instantly, McGillis has no more reason to pretend. ]
And so timely, too. I'm positively surprised.
[ He's still smiling but... well, there's a darker note to it now. It makes him look like a predator.
His gun is holstered at his side, under a light suit jacket. ]
But since Izou is throwing the glove down instantly, McGillis has no more reason to pretend. ]
And so timely, too. I'm positively surprised.
[ He's still smiling but... well, there's a darker note to it now. It makes him look like a predator.
His gun is holstered at his side, under a light suit jacket. ]
[It's unfortunate that McGillis doesn't have a roommate, because it means there's no reason for him to hold back. Lots of people here seem to be under the impression that Izou is mostly bark and not that much bite. That irritates him a bit.
But more than that, McGillis has always struck him as someone who's never not been staring down at the rest of society. He'd started to think maybe this was wrong... but then he had to go say all that.
And well, it was Manslayer Izou's job to cut down men who thought they were too rich and powerful to be defied. Normally only ones he'd been assigned to do, but doesn't everyone want him to think more for himself?]
Underestimating me's the last mistake you'll ever make.
[And he draws on McGillis, blade missing his target by a hair's breadth. (9)]
But more than that, McGillis has always struck him as someone who's never not been staring down at the rest of society. He'd started to think maybe this was wrong... but then he had to go say all that.
And well, it was Manslayer Izou's job to cut down men who thought they were too rich and powerful to be defied. Normally only ones he'd been assigned to do, but doesn't everyone want him to think more for himself?]
Underestimating me's the last mistake you'll ever make.
[And he draws on McGillis, blade missing his target by a hair's breadth. (9)]
[ McGillis had been braced for the incoming attack, and true to expectation Izou's speed and form are impressive. Being inside the room while Izou is advancing at him from the door gives McGillis a further disadvantage. There might be things to throw or put between them, but there's nowhere to properly evade to. Any way you look at it, McGillis is in a sticky situation.
No surprise then that he'd draw his gun and fire.
The bullet misses Izou entirely, whirring past his shoulder and lodging loudly in a wall. (And someone who knows McGillis might think this very odd, because he's an impeccable shot.)
McGillis doesn't look fazed by his near miss though. The gun stays up, but he's not shooting again yet. ]
The last thing I ever did was try to wipe Gaelio's tears and grovel for his foolish forgiveness. The last mistake I made was betting on losing wolves. Even if you kill me here, it won't be the death that matters.
No surprise then that he'd draw his gun and fire.
The bullet misses Izou entirely, whirring past his shoulder and lodging loudly in a wall. (And someone who knows McGillis might think this very odd, because he's an impeccable shot.)
McGillis doesn't look fazed by his near miss though. The gun stays up, but he's not shooting again yet. ]
The last thing I ever did was try to wipe Gaelio's tears and grovel for his foolish forgiveness. The last mistake I made was betting on losing wolves. Even if you kill me here, it won't be the death that matters.
Edited 2024-09-13 16:13 (UTC)
[Yeah Izou is pressing forward in his attack specifically because then he can trap McGillis inside his room.
He's completely unfazed by the gunshot. He is a trained killer after all. And he's too angry to think about how odd it is for McGillis to miss at such short range.]
Shut the hell up!
[He swings again, and only misses again because his sword catches on the doorframe.]
Just die!
[Pressing on, he strikes again and this time, he doesn't miss as he aims an upward slash at McGillis's chest.]
He's completely unfazed by the gunshot. He is a trained killer after all. And he's too angry to think about how odd it is for McGillis to miss at such short range.]
Shut the hell up!
[He swings again, and only misses again because his sword catches on the doorframe.]
Just die!
[Pressing on, he strikes again and this time, he doesn't miss as he aims an upward slash at McGillis's chest.]
Edited 2024-09-13 16:25 (UTC)
Ghgh--
[ McGillis moves back again, but not fast enough to get out of dodge for the whole length of a sword. Izou misses his vitals but still lands a real gash. The blood is warm.
And ah... How nostalgic... if one can be nostalgic for a week ago, anyhow. McGillis had paradoxically enjoyed fighting Shadow Izou and he's still singing with adrenaline now, but it's a much more bitter kind of feeling that comes along with the pain shooting through him.
McGillis has spent much of his life in pain. Excruciating pain, from the outside and the inside.
If there's one thing he's learned, it's how to push through. When he first raises his gun again it's a little unsteady. Another bullet whirls right past Izou, somewhere into the hallway. This time McGillis clicks his tongue in frustration. ]
Not to you. Not to your aimless power.
[ The second shot is much better. Unless a miracle comes for Izou, it hits right into the upper end of his sword arm. ]
[ McGillis moves back again, but not fast enough to get out of dodge for the whole length of a sword. Izou misses his vitals but still lands a real gash. The blood is warm.
And ah... How nostalgic... if one can be nostalgic for a week ago, anyhow. McGillis had paradoxically enjoyed fighting Shadow Izou and he's still singing with adrenaline now, but it's a much more bitter kind of feeling that comes along with the pain shooting through him.
McGillis has spent much of his life in pain. Excruciating pain, from the outside and the inside.
If there's one thing he's learned, it's how to push through. When he first raises his gun again it's a little unsteady. Another bullet whirls right past Izou, somewhere into the hallway. This time McGillis clicks his tongue in frustration. ]
Not to you. Not to your aimless power.
[ The second shot is much better. Unless a miracle comes for Izou, it hits right into the upper end of his sword arm. ]
[Impressive, McGillis. You found a way to make Izou even angrier! But it's not the bullet, it's the word "aimless". His eyes widen at that and the gunshot wound lands more like insult to injury.
It staggers him, but he barely acknowledges he's been shot as he simply switches to his other hand. Shadow Izou dual wielding wasn't for show, after all.]
Aimless!?
[He swings a bit wild, a bit overextended, this hand used to the shorter length of his wakizashi, and he barely grazes McGillis's shoulder.]
I ain't actin' on orders here! I'm killing you because yer the goddamn same as all those bastards sending guys like me ta fight and die on their behalf! Treating the people under'em like tools!
[Adjusting, he strikes again, far more accurately lashing out at McGillis's gun arm.]
This ain't fer me or for him! It's because you deserve it!
It staggers him, but he barely acknowledges he's been shot as he simply switches to his other hand. Shadow Izou dual wielding wasn't for show, after all.]
Aimless!?
[He swings a bit wild, a bit overextended, this hand used to the shorter length of his wakizashi, and he barely grazes McGillis's shoulder.]
I ain't actin' on orders here! I'm killing you because yer the goddamn same as all those bastards sending guys like me ta fight and die on their behalf! Treating the people under'em like tools!
[Adjusting, he strikes again, far more accurately lashing out at McGillis's gun arm.]
This ain't fer me or for him! It's because you deserve it!
[ The blade connects just below his shoulder and cuts through his flesh and muscles like butter. As time has a horrible habit of passing slowly in moments like this, McGillis experiences a moment of visceral fear at the idea that the word is going to cut clean through, but that fear is soon alleviated by the tenacity and thickness of human bone.
This time McGillis screams. Pain cuts through him all over, and he remembers how it felt to die (truly die) back on Rustal Elion's damned flagship. Anguish clouds his senses, and it pushes reason to the bottom of his mind. This isn't Gaelio. The best McGillis has for Izou is a blossoming fondness, not nearly enough to hold him back from the thing he's been doing all his life.
Survive, survive, survive. Survive through any means necessary. Only the strong can live. Weakness is fatal. Survive. You have to run, you have to lie, you have to cheat, you have to kill, and you have to live--
The core mechanism at the center of every living being.
McGillis, despite being dead already, does not want to die here.
His right arm is completely useless now, but no matter. He's never been the kind of man who has only one avenue available to him. With his left arm, McGillis reaches behind him and produces a dagger. It was one of the first purchases he made after coming to Sunset City, because he is all too aware of the threat of running out of ammo mid-fight.
At this point, McGillis has nothing to lose by getting real close and personal with Izou - it will hinder his movements after all. And so he moves to stab (4) and stab (3) and stab (10) and stab (15). He finds his rhythm easily, grimly determined to get Izou to drop his damn sword already - though he is not aiming to kill, he is also not trying to avoid it now. There is something more beastial about his mind when pain occupies so much of it. ]
'Under'?! You know nothing about what it means to be lower than someone else--! You--!!
This time McGillis screams. Pain cuts through him all over, and he remembers how it felt to die (truly die) back on Rustal Elion's damned flagship. Anguish clouds his senses, and it pushes reason to the bottom of his mind. This isn't Gaelio. The best McGillis has for Izou is a blossoming fondness, not nearly enough to hold him back from the thing he's been doing all his life.
Survive, survive, survive. Survive through any means necessary. Only the strong can live. Weakness is fatal. Survive. You have to run, you have to lie, you have to cheat, you have to kill, and you have to live--
The core mechanism at the center of every living being.
McGillis, despite being dead already, does not want to die here.
His right arm is completely useless now, but no matter. He's never been the kind of man who has only one avenue available to him. With his left arm, McGillis reaches behind him and produces a dagger. It was one of the first purchases he made after coming to Sunset City, because he is all too aware of the threat of running out of ammo mid-fight.
At this point, McGillis has nothing to lose by getting real close and personal with Izou - it will hinder his movements after all. And so he moves to stab (4) and stab (3) and stab (10) and stab (15). He finds his rhythm easily, grimly determined to get Izou to drop his damn sword already - though he is not aiming to kill, he is also not trying to avoid it now. There is something more beastial about his mind when pain occupies so much of it. ]
'Under'?! You know nothing about what it means to be lower than someone else--! You--!!
Edited 2024-09-13 17:49 (UTC)
[Unlike the so called Demon of Kyoto, Izou doesn't want to kill senselessly, being more principled than he'd admit to. Still, he does get a visceral satisfaction as his sword meets the faint resistance of flesh, in the the warm arterial gush of blood that issues out. The pained cry of his target, direct feedback that he's done what he resolved to do every time he swings the blade.
He doesn't feel guilty, because he's letting his anger drown out his conscience. When he killed people for the Kinnou-tou, he was able to justify it with what he'd been told. That is the enemy. They deserve divine punishment and you are a tool to deliver it. But now, if he stopped to think about it, he wouldn't be able to say whether McGillis was in his eyes equivalent to those men or the ones who had given him the orders.
The stabs at least draw a yelp out of him, but he's suffered far worse and won't be detered by this. He swings, but with the close range putting him at a disadvantage, he just grazes McGillis again(7) before the injuries to his shoulder make him lose his grip on his sword completely (1)]
Don't- Like fucking hell I don't! The reason I had ta take orders from everyone else is cause I couldn't have gotten anywhere on my own! I didn't have the money or status ta do fuck all, so I had ta claw my way up to a place where people'd at least see I was worth something!
[Exasperated, furious, desperate, Izou is resorting to jamming his thumb into the wound he laid across McGillis's chest, twisting to at least get the guy to back off so he can regroup.]
He doesn't feel guilty, because he's letting his anger drown out his conscience. When he killed people for the Kinnou-tou, he was able to justify it with what he'd been told. That is the enemy. They deserve divine punishment and you are a tool to deliver it. But now, if he stopped to think about it, he wouldn't be able to say whether McGillis was in his eyes equivalent to those men or the ones who had given him the orders.
The stabs at least draw a yelp out of him, but he's suffered far worse and won't be detered by this. He swings, but with the close range putting him at a disadvantage, he just grazes McGillis again(7) before the injuries to his shoulder make him lose his grip on his sword completely (1)]
Don't- Like fucking hell I don't! The reason I had ta take orders from everyone else is cause I couldn't have gotten anywhere on my own! I didn't have the money or status ta do fuck all, so I had ta claw my way up to a place where people'd at least see I was worth something!
[Exasperated, furious, desperate, Izou is resorting to jamming his thumb into the wound he laid across McGillis's chest, twisting to at least get the guy to back off so he can regroup.]
---!!
[ That hurts like a bitch and it's the exact kind of playing dirty that McGillis himself would resort to if pushed to that point, so he can't exactly decry it as unfair. Unfortunately, it also activates something deeply stubborn in him. Sure, it hurts so much that he feels he might see black spots dancing in his field of vision any minute now, but he's got Izou where he wants him and like hell is he letting go now.
Rather than backing away, he's using his strength to push forward, aiming to topple them both over and position himself on top of Izou. He's not losing in terms of pure muscle strength, and when it comes to height and weight he has a clear advantage that he's planning to leverage to the fullest. ]
Even-- even having the power to claw--
[ That sentence remains as a fragment because McGillis can't focus on speaking and grappling and being in insurmountable agony all at once. ]
[ That hurts like a bitch and it's the exact kind of playing dirty that McGillis himself would resort to if pushed to that point, so he can't exactly decry it as unfair. Unfortunately, it also activates something deeply stubborn in him. Sure, it hurts so much that he feels he might see black spots dancing in his field of vision any minute now, but he's got Izou where he wants him and like hell is he letting go now.
Rather than backing away, he's using his strength to push forward, aiming to topple them both over and position himself on top of Izou. He's not losing in terms of pure muscle strength, and when it comes to height and weight he has a clear advantage that he's planning to leverage to the fullest. ]
Even-- even having the power to claw--
[ That sentence remains as a fragment because McGillis can't focus on speaking and grappling and being in insurmountable agony all at once. ]
( things have surely been a bit... tense in the room. but eventually- )
Izou?
Izou?
[Very tense. Izou didn't even want to sleep in his bed because he could tell she was not happy about The Situation. At least for once the awkward bunk bed situation is nice because it means they don't have to look at eachother and also she doesn't have to see him clean his sword which he is doing since... It's been used.]
... Mm? What's up?
... Mm? What's up?
... I just... wanted to check on you. Do you need anything...?
...
( she leans over and flicks his forehead. )
"I've endured worse" does not mean "I am okay".
( she leans over and flicks his forehead. )
"I've endured worse" does not mean "I am okay".
I am. I have not denied that. I'm mad at Mcgillis, too.
That doesn't mean... you deserve to be mistreated because of it.
That doesn't mean... you deserve to be mistreated because of it.
( the worst thing about the palaces is trying to clean up afterwards. between limited stalls, limited hot water and the general exhaustion, it's going to take a while before they're all going to be ready to go.
mafuyu got a bit lucky, given that there's fewer girls on the roster of this palace, so when izou comes in from his own turn, she's...
laying on her side, curled, up, clutching where he'd stabbed her earlier. she only got mostly healed, after all. )
mafuyu got a bit lucky, given that there's fewer girls on the roster of this palace, so when izou comes in from his own turn, she's...
laying on her side, curled, up, clutching where he'd stabbed her earlier. she only got mostly healed, after all. )
[OUGH. So much had happened he'd honestly sort of forgot about it, which then makes him feel worse because obviously it's easier to forget when you're not the one being stabbed. Or also, used to being stabbed. He also forgot Sayaka stabbed him until now but also a knife stab isn't as bad and he's been stabbed way more than Mafuyu surely.]
Mafuyu...
[His voice is soft and hoarse, the way it gets when he's feeling genuinely bad. He glances around, before he remembers... There was that one thing that weird cat gave him... Mafuyu would probably like it. He grabs the apple scented rabbit and places it next to her]
Don't make up fer how bad I screwed up, but you should take it anyway.
Mafuyu...
[His voice is soft and hoarse, the way it gets when he's feeling genuinely bad. He glances around, before he remembers... There was that one thing that weird cat gave him... Mafuyu would probably like it. He grabs the apple scented rabbit and places it next to her]
Don't make up fer how bad I screwed up, but you should take it anyway.
( mafuyu shifts, blinking slowly as she rolls onto her back and...
immediately sits up faster than she wants to, the passive sadness of unfamiliar pain washed over completely with disbelief. )
... Where- no, it was Dawn, wasn't it?
( she accepts it gingerly. she knows this rabbit. she stares, vision blurring a bit- it used to be so much bigger, didn't it? )
... This was mine, when I was little... Mom threw it away...
( she hugs it close, blinking back tears. )
It still smells like the apple spray I used-
immediately sits up faster than she wants to, the passive sadness of unfamiliar pain washed over completely with disbelief. )
... Where- no, it was Dawn, wasn't it?
( she accepts it gingerly. she knows this rabbit. she stares, vision blurring a bit- it used to be so much bigger, didn't it? )
... This was mine, when I was little... Mom threw it away...
( she hugs it close, blinking back tears. )
It still smells like the apple spray I used-
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