balance_logs | (Semi-closed) And the next step? You snipe a boy

[ Each day since the return to the moon, Alex has had a routine. He sits by the lake, he lays in the grass, he visits Erika, getting checked up as he does. Turns out though he's been healed physically, he's got a small infection or two. Not enough to be confined to the med bay, but just enough to be annoying. A near-fever, a few aches.

It's nothing he can't take care of. And not worse than the fact that his hands have been less responsive. It's nice, to be able to feel them again, but their state is comparable to his recovery back home, a month or so in, when the surgeries were complete but the doctors reminded him very sternly to do his exercises, how electrical burns could cause lasting damage to his nerves. Though Wonderland's gone, it hasn't left him unscathed. Only natural.

Still, what he's most worried about is the only other member of his team who hadn't died, yet wouldn't respond anyway. There's that on his mind, and what the Raven Queen had told him about the Director...

The point of it is, even if he could notice something, even if there was any sort of tell possible? Alex is distracted, as he walks across the quad with purpose. ]

[Ogata didn't immediately decide he was going to kill Alex. It was a though that slowly formed over the course of a few days as he poked around New New Aspen, in no hurry to get back to base. He didn't do much to help aside from an ill fated competition with that old man 76. But that gave him plenty of time to think.

If the Bureau has the ability to revive reclaimers who die, then what's the harm, really? That kid needs to learn who the fuck he's dealing with. And it will be good practice. He wouldn't want to get rusty.

When he gets back to base, the first thing he does is track Alex down. Luckily, it's not especially hard to find someone who doesn't know they're in danger. He's just sitting there, out in the quad. There's people nearby, which would normally be a disqualifier. You can't leave witnesses. Sure, he could have shot them too, but that felt more likely to put him in serious trouble.

In this case, he elects to let it slide. He doesn't know the details of the bureau's resurection magic. There might be a time limit. Witnesses meant Alex would be quickly taken care of. After Ogata "takes care of" him. He takes his position atop one of the buildings bordering the quad. One with an easy eyeline for him but no clear vantage of his position for passerby. Neither Alex nor the others near him would be able to spot Ogata from this far away.

The rest was easy. All he had to do was line up his shot and wait for his breathing to still. Wait for that moment in between heartbeats. Then you pull the trigger. In conditions like this, he can't miss.]

[ Across the quad, clenching and unclenching his hands. Alex wonders if Erika will be awake today. Time, Dr. Tank had said, his least favorite answer. He thinks Crowley and Ferran are awake by now, and he should visit them too. Is Maya still in the infirmary? Likely. Will-- ]

[Ogata remains still for a few second after the shot lands. Finally, he exhales and smooths his hair back, content. He spares another glance at the fallen form of the teenager. Sees the witnesses rush over to the body. It takes a few seconds for his brain to start moving again, properly. For regular thoughts to rush back in.

Of course, none of them spare a single moment for the thoughts or worries of the boy he struck down. He never worries about that. Why would he?

He thinks he might grab a bite to eat before heading back off base. Go investigate Neverwinter for a few days. He thinks, for just a moment that he never actually did catch that boys name.

Oh well.]

[ The bullet goes through the right side of his head, scattering it. It's precise but messy. He'd laugh if he realized just how close the shot hit to that brick that ended his life the first time, collapsing half his head to jelly.

But, Alex knows nothing, because he's dead before he even hits the ground. ]

[Ogata had felt it likely that there wasn’t much mystery in who had shot the boy. He doesn’t know the capabilities of every person on base, but figures the likelihood of another person having both the motive and ability to land such a shot was slim.

Still, he’d held off on delivering the message he intended to send until his encounter with Will confirmed it was known he’d fired the shot. It’s the early morning hours as he’s already plotting his escape from the infirmary when he sends Alex a simple message;]

I hope you learned something from that.
[Namely: Don’t mess with him again. Of course, he’s not allowed to lay another hand on him now. But he’s hoping the boy doesn’t know that.]

[ No immediate reply. On Alex's end, he's swearing up a storm. ]

You fucking killed me

[Ogata isn’t entirely sure what to make of this. Yes, he did that. Did Alex think he didn’t know? No, surely not. In what universe could someone shoot another person in the head and not know it killed them? Ridiculous. There’s nothing ambiguous about a bullet to the head. So he’s just stating the obvious. Clearly he’s not traumatized enough if he’s got the nerve to respond like that.]

I did. What was it like? I haven’t experienced death myself. I imagine one like that wasn’t terribly memorable, but perhaps I’m wrong.
[He’d dropped almost immediately, after all. It wouldn’t have been a drawn out death. How much chance did his brain even have to register the pain and damage done to it? He doesn’t imagine Alex will give him much of an answer but even if he doesn’t he’s sure to get upset.]

[ That kind of response sends tingles down his arms. What kind of person... Will, what the hell did you get involved with? Who would ever willingly want to associate with this kind of person? ]
How can you even ask
You FUCKING killed me
What the hell
Do you even get what you did to me?

I served as a sniper during the war with Russia. You're hardly the first person I've killed.
It wasn't like you were going to stay dead, here. That made the decision much easier.

[This answers some questions.... maybe?]

So you don't
You don't understand anything
You just decided to fucking kill me for no REASON because you thought it'd be fine
Newsflash asshole, it's not that SIMPLE!

You sound fine to me.
It wasn't for no reason, though. Like I said, I wanted you to learn something.
It seems like it didn't take, though. Unfortunate.

Shut your fucking mouth
I know a lot more about death than you do so stop acting so superior
You lose something when you die you piece of shit
You lose a part of yourself
You took something from me I can never get back

[There's a pause, because Ogata didn't know that detail. He's not exactly familiar with the concept of happiness but that sure does make him pretty satisfied.]

And?
What are you going to do about it?

[ No response. A good thirty minutes goes by without a response, in fact. ]

Stay away from me
You are going to stay away from me

[There it is. He can feel the resignation. All the anger coming through earlier, it's just barking now, isn't it? He knows what Ogata's capable of. He can't actually fight back now, because he's afraid of what would happen to him.]

Well, well. It seems you are capable of learning , after all.
That's just fine by me.

Fuck you, you monster
You're going to stay away from me because if you try this again I know what Will will do otherwise

Don't you dare try and "teach" others like this
Especially since you still don't understand a goddamn thing

[Ah.

That's right.

He's a monster, isn't he. That's what he said. That's what he said. Just a worthless cold-blooded monster.

He can feel Yuusaku breathing down the back of his neck.

It's a few minutes before he replies.]

Enlighten me.
What exactly is it that you think I don't understand?

I was out of my goddamn mind for half of wonderland but the one thing I stand by is that if you're going to do anything here, you learn first
You didn't know a thing about what happens when people die and you still don't
You didn't know why I or anyone else would be mad that you hurt someone they care about
You may not care about anyone but you have to know that your actions have consequences
Keep going around like this and you'll have a lot more people on your ass, because killing a person and hurting others isn't something most folks around here turn a fucking blind eye to

I'm not an infant. I know that actions have consequences.
[Honestly. He's slightly insulted that Alex thought he didn't know that.]

That's a good policy to have. You aren't very good at following it yourself, though.

After all, you didn't learn anything about the deal I made with Will before coming and attacking me over it.
I'm prepared for the consequences. Anyone is welcome to come try and do something about it.

Could've fooled me you big baby

I never said I wasn't a fucking idiot, welcome to the club
Because you sure didn't learn about who was "off limits" either
You can be as reckless with your life as you want but you are not allowed to go after anyone else

[ Something dawns on Alex, and he- ...No. No, he's going to be careful. ]

Have your game with Will but no one else deserves your bullshit

[Damn... he knows about the list!! No wonder he's not being properly intimidated.]

Will should have specified who was on his list. That was hardly my fault, and he would agree with me on that.

And that's incorrect. I am only disallowed from going after anyone on his list. If you want to try and protect everyone else yourself, you're welcome to try, but I don't believe you have the means or resolve to stop me.

I don't have plans to attack anyone else, though. You're the only one who's irritated me this much. I suppose you could take some pride in that.

[ Shit. ...He really can't stop him. Not...by killing him, Alex doesn't want to kill anyone.

But, he can do something. ]

Why, because I was right about you being a pathetic needy bitch?

[There's been a fair amount of time between Ogata's last responses. He was winning the conversation as far as he was concerned, so he wasn't in a hurry to respond. This one, though? Immediate.]

How could you be right about something so patently ridiculous?

I don't need other people. That statement doesn't make any sense.

[ ...Well, it sure looks like someone can dish it out but can't take it, huh? ]

Doesn't it though?
You keep arguing just because you want to be right
You don't like us or care about us, but you keep talking to us
You sure won't break your arrangement with Will sounds like, do you need him?
You want us to be afraid don't you?
And you're pissed that I'm not

[ An exaggeration. Alex is scared of this guy. But not so scared. A person is much more knowable than Death Itself, after all. ]

[He is absolutely, blazingly furious at all this, but also knows that the more he says, the more Alex will feel like his point is being proven. So after a long pause, his only response is thus;]

Keep pushing at it and you'll see just how much I don't need that arrangement.
[He'll get you, boy, just fucking SEE if he doesn't.]

[ A cold satisfaction dulls Alex's mind. Okay. He can work with this. This time, Alex is the one who's lackadaisical with his response. ]

I'll leave it there
I've got better things to do with my time

You do that.
And keep an eye out.
I can blow your head open from 300 meters away.
[This threat would be better if Alex wasn't an American teenager and thus unable to parse metric]

[ He types and deletes You won't

Because, at the end of the day, Alex doesn't want to push this any farther than is necessary. If he actually dies again... ]

Good to know
Nice chat

[Ogata would dispute the suggestion that he went off base to avoid getting caught. He had wanted to go off base anyway and it just happened to be a good time to do so. Granted, part of him wanted to just flee. He'd done so before, plenty of times. Hell, he'd even suggested to Michael he considered it a valid option. What had the Director done to gain his allegiance?

But well, he knew too much and not enough. He was curious to see how things played out. And well, if what Will had said to him before was right, they could probably have tracked him down using his bracer. So once his curiosity about the outside world is sated, he heads back to base. He needs to find out what the situation is. He suspects he'll be fingered as the obvious culprit, but he needs to head back to know for sure.

He figures after that, he'll lay low, stay out of sight, until the next mission. One month isn't that long. Once the next mission is set, everyone will be too focused on the job ahead to come after him. The first night he's back he waits until well after nightfall to take advantage of Fantasy Costco's irregular hours to stock up on supplies when there's not many people around. He's been on alert the entire time, of course. But perhap there's a moment where he's wrangling his new supplies, finding a comfortable way to have both his new bow and rifle slung over his shoulders, that he loses focus. And is open for an attack.]

Edited 2019-10-14 00:59 (UTC)

[ Lion was given one day to have nice things, but just the one. There's no official title anymore, no reason to do it, but he has to. A promise and a game first, but those can wait. A correction cannot. It is very careful - can't set off the two oaths, can't alert Maya - but underneath that surface, the switch gets flipped. Now, it is merely business.

It's hard to say where in Ogata's skittering travels that he gets spotted, but it doesn't matter. Ogata's on extreme paranoia anyway, so Will has to follow from the farthest distance. He doesn't know how far Silvanus' gift goes exactly, but he also Knows, Exactly. There's no more kind static or swirling gales. Not since Yggdrasil's death, and that short-yet-eternal trip back Home. It's a good thing. There are no lectures. He can use it without question.

One enters Fantasy Costco, the other waits outside. Watching on the bracer as ten minutes pass. A handful of seconds more. That should be long enough for Ogata to have found his spot. Then a moment of silence. Used it once on accident and it was nothing like how he used to Move. A whole different God would do that. But it means concentration is needed. The air is dry, canned, recycled, no movement whatever. But in one breath, it doesn't matter. There's the noise of leaves and life dissolves.

The world is Wrong like this. A failed translation. Low-quality and gray like an old CRT, but it doesn't matter. The air does quiet loops, following the automatic paths of countless air systems, monitoring faces and postures and exact locations until the right one is found.

Ogata's only warning is the strangest one. The air is still. Then, the lightest brush against his hair, there is wind.

There is no wind. Cold metal over his mouth, cold metal under his ribs, both holding him in place with a hug like a vice. There is warmth. A chin rests on his head, and he knows exactly what happened. ]

Tag.

[ Asshole. But the grip doesn't loosen. Actually, the knife twists, slightly, serrated edges threatening flesh. No leaving yet. ] We need to talk.

[The only consolation is that he knows he couldn’t have avoided this. He doesn’t truly know what happened, but he’s absolutely sure that one second no one was ther, and the next Will was. Teleporting? Maya had done something similar. How tremendously unfair.

His breath hisses out through his teeth as the knife goes in. He’s been injured before, but never quite like this. He can feel the weight of the blade sinking into his skin, the cold metal feeling like burning against the hot blood and warm flesh.

He swore he could feel the torrent of hormones released in that moment, animal instincts kicking into high gear. The thrum of adrenaline telling him to fight or flee. A baser instinct driving him to turn his head and bare his neck for this stronger individual to bite or tear out. The thought makes Ogata shiver and he almost obliges the urge.

But this is just the start. He can’t go giving up so easily. He has to struggle until he either wins or dies. That’s how this game works. That’s how the world works. He struggles to still his breathing back to its usual pace, feeling his muscles twitch and protest around the painful foreign object. But he needs to remain still.]

What’s there to talk about?
[Casually. This is a normal encounter. His hand is ready to rip his rifle bayonet from his belt just as a prank. Haha.]

[ This isn't as Wright, it's not official, he is still the person that everyone wants. He needs to be the person everyone wants. But the truest joy of Furniture is not just being used, but being useful. This is what he was made for. Not for running around on fetch quests and PR errands for some Director he refuses to obey, or being on Guardian Duty for a bunch of overly-optimistic teenagers. He is a tool for murder.

And Ogata is splendid. That single hiss is as loud as a scream, about as satisfying, but the usual instinctual reactions that should follow are kept thoroughly controlled. Muscles tense, relax, tense again for a different reason; a subtle shift in posture; a voice both perfectly calm yet infinitely strained. The hand over Ogata's mouth lowers - he didn't start screaming for help, so it's fine - but it finds purchase against his throat instead. Ever relaxed, fingers splayed against where there should be a dying hummingbird's fluttering, a pulse demanding to be alive. But there is nothing. Whatever Lucas did so many months back connected real nerves to fake, granting movement where there was none, but the sensation of touch would never come back. What a shame.

Ah, well. Back to business. The head on Ogata's tilts slightly, a low and placed hum against his scalp, drawn out just long enough to know it's not a noise of consideration. ]

"First. Keep your attempts to me and not my relationships."

[ This close, Ogata can feel everything - not tense, really, but go extremely Still. A statue in the shape of a person. A Rule was broken, no matter the motive, and he remembers the punishment that should be given for that. It sings alongside twenty others, gathering dust, written onto his very Existence that any infraction means execution.

The moment passes. He is not Wright. This is not official. There is only a Game. If anything, it's an Apology. ] I realize I never gave specifics. Can get mad all I want, but there's no grounds for retaliation. ...So I will give you the names, and it will not happen again. Right?

[For a moment all of his thoughts align in agreement, easily. How serendipitous that he’d accidentally gotten himself into this situation. This not-man, looming head and shoulders over him. A construct no longer even properly formed of flesh, as told by that firm reminder on the pulse of his neck. Some sort of inhuman monster, fooling so many others but not him. He’d drawn out these bared fangs that clearly few others on the base understood. Why would he ever need anything else?

His lips part, a slight hitch in breathing as he swallows against the hand on his throat. Surely Will could grip tighter than that. Maybe he should play a little harder to get. Maybe he should see how much further he could push before Will lost his restraint. After all, it was his fault he hadn’t been specific in the first place. He didn’t deserve an easy agreement.]

That depends.
[He shifts his stance ever so slightly, and feels lightning shoot through his abdomen. Like that knife struck against a matchbox and lit up inside, a dull ache radiating outward. He wondered if maybe that was what dying would feel like, but all over. Maybe he could ask that boy he shot, later. Another heavy exhale escapes him before he continues.]

Are you going to be able to keep them under control? It’s your fault that boy even irritated me in the first place.
[Not entirely true. Alex had already mildly annoyed him. But it wasn’t until the physical altercation that the urge to inflict something upon him had really sprouted. But maybe saying this will upset Will. Surely something artificial doesn’t need to play at feeling guilty. He should be the only one who doesn’t bother with that, at least when no one but Ogata is there to perform for. The problem is refusing to assent to unflinching obedience of the rules. To undermine subtly, just enough to be irritating but not enough to ruin the game.

He’s done it all before, though he thinks Will might be the first one to truly understand what sort of game it is.]

[Running into Will had really thrown a wrench in Ogata's plans. Not just because of the injury. Sure, that's a big factor. He's sure he can function without one of his kidneys, but the physical trauma from the injury will still be an issue for a while.

The bigger problem is being carted the the infirmary. Dr. Tank is determined to not just let him skitter out after minimal treatment. He needs to rest!!! He is not going to rest. It's tough, because the good doctor is a whole lot more of a tough customer than Ogata was expecting. But finally he manages to slip out in the middle of the night. After all, Dr. Tank needs to sleep too. Cats don't sleep at night. They slink around the the dark.

That's the best way to lay low. To stick to the darkness. So that's what Ogata does. What that means is; during the day? He's headed somewhere he'd normally avoid. The arcade. It's loud and obnoxious and he truly doesn't see the point in the colorful arcade games. But between the flashing neon lights it's dark. And those lights draw attention away from those dark corners. That's the plan, anyway.

He hunkers down between two arcade cabinets, half conscious most of the day, slipping a few pain pills he may or may not have stolen from the infirmary before escaping. He's hard to spot, but not impossible. Not for someone who might happen to be looking for him.]

Edited 2019-10-14 01:00 (UTC)

[It's been a few days since Alex was killed. A few days since he'd woken up. A few days since he'd figured out who'd killed him. A few days since Wash had gotten the information out of him.]

[A few days since Wash had started hunting.]

[It's a big moon base, and Wash is only one person - and a very determined cat - but that's not about to stop him. There's a fucking murderer loose on the base, and Wash is damn well going to find him.]

[He stakes out some of the better-traversed spots first, just in case, but no luck. Of course not - cagey bastard would know better than to be in frequented spots. To that end, he's started looking through the less-frequented locations in the base. He knows a one-man operation doesn't have great odds, but Ogata has to get lucky every time, whereas Wash only has to get lucky once.]

[He's looking through the arcade today - because how many people actually use the arcade? - with Athena at his side. She splits off from him as he walks up and down the aisles of games; instead, she slinks into corners and harder to reach spaces, taking advantage of different vantage points. She knows who they're looking for.]

[It's from the top of another arcade cabinet that she spots something between two others. She moves closer to verify, and - yep, that's him. Cats know their own, after all.]

[Quietly, she traipses back across the tops of the cabinets until she gets to where Wash is and bats at his shoulder. Once she has his attention, she heads back to where he is - quietly, don't alert the prey - and sits atop one of the arcade cabinets next to him.]

[Wash makes his way around the side, just as quietly, and...he's here. It's him.]

[Quick as a flash, he reaches in, grabbing Ogata by whatever he can reach, and yanks him out roughly into the hallway.]

You son of a bitch!

[Ogata hadn't been asleep, per se. He's not foolish enough to afford himself that luxury while he's still ostensibly on the run. But he was up all night and the day before, so he is tired. The enclosed feeling of being wedged between two things in a dark room made him almost comfortable enough to doze off despite the throb of the healing stab wound in his abdomen. He was just half-conscious enough to be completely disoriented when Wash fishes him out.

But reality sinks in quickly enough and he realizes he's been Found Out, Discovered by another person presumably seeking revenge on Alex's behalf. and he doesn't have a preexisting arrangement with this one, so who knows how far he'll go.

Ogata lets out a noise that's almost a hiss as he exhales sharply, scrabbling to pull his bayonet knife from his belt, his arms slightly restricted from the way Wash has grabbed him by the fabric of his cloak. Sleep deprived and completely thrown off, he's having trouble freeing the knife from his belt, but gets it loose and holds it at perfect gut stabbing level.]

Back off.
[His eyes stay wide, as alert as they're able to be at the moment. This is a cornered animal and it's prepared to bite.]

[Yep, that's a knife - or something close to it - and Wash is not here for that. He slams the heel of his free hand against Ogata's hand, breaking his grip on the knife, and lets it clatter to the floor while he grabs Ogata's wrist and twists his arm up behind him. It's a classic hold, only painful or injurious if the person being held struggles.]

[Of course, Wash then shoves Ogata up against one of the arcade cabinets, so that definitely isn't helping.]

Did you shoot Alex?

[It's not a casual question; this is an interrogation.]

[Well goddamn this metal man just absolutely made a fool of him. Being disarmed sends a shrill alarm through Ogata’s body. But somehow being smashed against the cabinet jars him out of going into panic mode. He winces as his pinned arm presses into his wounded side, but the pain there and the twinge in his arm from the hold are almost centering. Familiar. He’s coming back into full lucidity. The voice is familiar but he can’t quite just place it yet. One of the other reclaimers, it must be. In some weird suit of armor?

Anyway, he almost laughs aloud at the question. Really? We’re asking that? Well, he might as well have a little fun, then. See how serious this armored man is.]

And what if I said that I didn’t?
[He thinks it’s rhetorical, given the man’s anger, but he’s asking anyway, an edge of amusement in his ragged voice.]

[The metal man does not give a single inglorious fuck about Ogata's feelings in this matter. At all.]

[To his credit, he doesn't twist Ogata's arm. This isn't a coerced confession. Yet.]

You'd have to come up with a really good argument, given the physical evidence.

[Amazing how calm he is. Fucking amazing. It's not going to last too much longer, but still: fucking amazing.]

[Ogata's quiet for a few moments as he thinks. Yes, alright, obviously the assumption here is that he shot Alex. It's not that hard to work out. Alex himself knows by now. There's only one reason you'd need to have him actually admit it, now.]

Why, you can't get it up unless you can prove I deserved it? You need to hear me say it so you can tell the world you are Right and can do whatever you want?
[He laughs, letting his face rest against the flat panel of the arcade cabinet. Maybe this man in all his shiny armor from what he can only guess is the future will kill him. Just bash his brains in. It would be irritating to die in a place as obnoxiously lit as this, but he supposes there would be worse ways to die. Would anyone bother bringing his body to the infirmary to bring him back? He really can't imagine so. Unless they have to.

He wouldn't have a scar from where Will stabbed him if that happened, he thinks. That would be a shame.]

I'm not interested in making this easy for you.
[None of this is a confession but... it's certainly not a denial, either.]

(Semi-closed) And the next step? You snipe a boy

so he's not that good of a hero (October 10th)

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cw: headshot descriptions

Text (October 17th)

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how do I calculate my cat's HP (October 16th, Will)

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Am I safe to Smash? (October 17th, Wash)

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Disarming strike wheeeee (passed the roll)

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