night six - kill log.

[foxhounds]

Who: Killers and Kamui
When: The sixth night
Where: The jungles of Ship-Trap Island

[ It's the dead of night in the jungle. Considering the Hunt, you have to wonder if you're actually safe out here, but it at least seems quiet. Maybe you could try getting some rest, or maybe you should keep watch. Either way, that quiet may not seem very comforting. ]

Comments

[x_over]

[ After what happened today, Kamui spends most of the night alone - not sleeping, he's too worried for sleep to come easily. So he sits in a tree and thinks instead.

He thinks about his brother, the people he helped, the people he hurt, and the girl he helped kill today. It's - that's not what he wanted. Even if she had been guilty by the island's standard, he wouldn't have wanted to... but he did it because he thought he had to. And he was wrong for it.

Alone like this, it's easier to wear his feelings on his face, and he looks - sad. ]

[liberalarts]

[ Eventually, he won't be alone, since one of the swords walks nearby. His hands are tucked into his sleeves, non-threateningly, but something catches his eye and he looks up towards the tree. ]

Ah— Kamui, is it?

[x_over]

[ He wipes the sadness from his face and looks down, tilting his head. Yes, what? ]

Kasen.

[liberalarts]

Ah, good, I'm glad I found you! Goodness, it really is difficult to find anyone in this stupid jungle...

[ He waves a hand, beckoning him down. ]

You're one of Urashima's "friends," yes?

[x_over]

[ He doesn't move except to frown. ]

"Friends"?

[ He's been keeping track of who Urashima has told and - Kasen name was never on the list. ]

What do you want?

[liberalarts]

He didn't say it in so many words, but... I'm going to assume that he was a Rainsford. He told me today, since I mentioned to him who I thought we should lynch tomorrow.

[ He shrugs ]

Hijikata, as it would happe. All things considered, I think it would be best for me to explain my reasoning.

[x_over]

[ ... His pupils are already sharpening into slits, eyes taking on a yellow hue.

... he was a Rainsford.

Was. If Kasen has said anything else after that line, Kamui's already stopped listening. ]

Did you kill him.

[liberalarts]

What? No. Heaven's no.

[ Kasen seems genuinely surprised and a little offended that Kamui would suggest it. But after a moment's thought, he picks up on why Kamui would ask, and he waves a hand dismissively. ]

Ah, dear, you're thinking because I said was, aren't you? Goodness, that's a close reading even for a sword of the liberal arts! Pardon my slip of the tongue. I'm speaking a bit too floridly, I suppose.

[x_over]

...

[ Ah - still, he's wary now and even more reluctant to come down. ]

Were you. So...? Why do you want to lynch Hijikata?

[liberalarts]

[ Yeah, the fact that he's in a tree gets Kasen to pause, and he looks up at him incredulously before he beckons him down. ]

...Can you come down, please? Talking up into branches in incredibly undignified.

[x_over]

No.

[ He can sit there and wait forever, Kasen. ]

The stars are clearer up here.

1/2

[liberalarts]

Ah... Honestly, how stubborn...

[ Kasen bows his head with a sigh an a shake of his head. ]

[liberalarts]

[ —But Kamui probably doesn't expect what comes next as a result. Kasen runs forward quickly, and he's able to scale the tree nearly in a flash. He's a bit more experienced in such a thing now, and danger is much clearer. Whether he was lying or not doesn't matter, because as soon as he's within range to do so, the sword—his sword is drawn quickly to make a slash at Kamui's neck. ]

[x_over]

- ?!

[ Tch, he's fast - but Kamui has fought Fuuma, who is faster, and he's killed dozens. He's used to the danger, the violence. He knows what it feels like to be the hunter and the hunted.

The split second danger becomes apparent, Kamui's already dropping down from the tree. Too slow - of course, too slow, he's not as fast here as he usually is - and the sword misses his neck but cuts him deeply in the cheek.

He dances back a couple of steps, flexing his fingers. He doesn't have his powers. He doesn't have any weapons. He's not as strong as he should be - he's weak here. This doesn't look good, and though his expression is still fierce, realization of an inevitable end is slowing dawning. ]

[liberalarts]

[ As the swords have been saying since they arrived, they aren't human. Technically, they are now, at least functionally, but in terms of how they think, it's absolutely not the case. They're tools of war, and that's shown in Kasen's focus, but also how he moves. There's no hesitation as he jumps after Kamui, and Kasen's grip on his sword shifts in his hands.

It's so that he can run, because as soon as he's reoriented on the ground, he's charging forward, and that sword is held to stab. He'll either run Kamui through or turn his blade to slash in an arc across his chest. ]

[x_over]

[ Kamui only has that miniscule time to decide, between the jump and the run - and it's set. He's not only weak from the limits of this place, but from hunger. (He really shouldn't have been so stubborn, after all...) He won't be getting away, there's no running. After all, Jason had been capable. And so had Royce. They, too, had fallen.

Fuuma, Urashima... he needs to - Subaru, Subaru, he's sorry.

He braces himself, and at the last second, moves into the sword, impaling himself - and, this close, with a burst of strength and adrenaline, reaches out to slash hard at Kasen's left cheek with his nails. Just two lines, it's enough to draw blood. But already he can't tell how much, and how deep. Not very, but it's done. Good. ]

[liberalarts]

[ Later, Kasen will think it's a wise move, honestly, but for now, the hot rage of a battle overtakes him instead. He was the sword of a daimyo famed for his ferocity, and even Kasen's own name reflected that sentiment. He was the sword of 36 poets, and yet it was written in blood, since 36 people were executed by his master's hand to give that name. Like all swords, his history was written into his being.

So when there's the satisfying feeling of his sword making contact and then pushing through, Kasen doesn't even flinch when fingernails dig into his face. He winces, but still storms forward, pushing, and then yanking to the side so that his sword cuts wider. It's a fatal injury. There's no doubt about it.

But before Kamui can do anything more, Kasen's foot comes up, and he kicks Kamui off his blade as he also yanks it back. He'll bleed out on the ground, most likely, but Kasen may end it more quickly than that.

He had for Tsurumaru, after all. ]

[x_over]

[ Ha, the irony of bleeding out.

Kamui lays there and lets the numbing cold wash over him. Soon it'll be too hard for him see, but still, he wants to watch for Subaru while he can. He doesn't look at Kasen; the sword doesn't matter anymore. And pain means nothing to him now. His eyes remain steadily focused on the shining lights peeking through the leaves. Somewhere up there, one of the stars is Subaru. And somewhere down here, Fuuma is safe for another night. And Urashima... He would - ]

He... he would - still... forgive you...

[ So don't hurt him. Forgive him, too, Urashima. Fuuma. Subaru... Fuuma...

Fuuma.

Ah... he does regret some things after all. But if those three are safe, if only for another night, then he can die without the weight of their lives on his hands. After all, he won't know tomorrow. ]

[liberalarts]

[ Kasen readies his sword automatically once Kamui falls, since he's ready to continue the fight if the wound hadn't quite struck deeply enough. Through his purple curls, his eyes are wild and bloodthirsty, since he's always fierce in battle, and it's only as Kamui doesn't really move at all that the ferocity starts to ebb away.

Though of course, it goes quite a bit faster when he hears those words murmured out.

He looks down at Kamui coldly for a moment, but the expression shifts to something else that's hard to read. His face may be difficult to read, but the tone carries the meaning clearly enough. It's regret. ]

...He would, wouldn't he?

[ He doesn't need to ask for clarification. There's no one else it could be, because Kasen was alone on this island now. He was bearing the burden of a certainty of corruption for the simple hope that his comrades might make it home at all. His gaze turns to his blade dripping with blood, and it's far to easy to imagine the sort of ethereal haze of a corrupt spirit drifting off instead of blood.

Eventually, it would be. But for now—

He steps forward to meet Kamui, and he turns his blade in his hands so that the point hovers over Kamui's heart. He looks down at him impassively, and that regret is gone from his voice as well. ]

I'll at least help you go peacefully.

[ It's the least he can do, he thinks. But there's no more said than that, since Kasen brings the point down with his weight behind it, and it stabs into Kamui's heart to finish him off. ]