jikan_rpg | [Closed] He ate my heart

[Higuchi had a bad feeling about this month. What started as a simple trip to Kyoto quickly turned sour when she found herself unable to leave the city at the start of the Sakumi Festival. Thankfully, she managed to get a mask made in time -- simple, and meant to subtly convey a butterfly which has some deeper personal meanings to herself. She was still wrapped up in a cocoon of her own self-consciousness when she first arrived in Nippon, but now-- she's finally started to emerge as a beautiful butterfly who can truly believe in herself.]

[But that's not important, because she's sent 47 messages to her boyfriend since this morning and he has not replied to any of them. So clearly something horrible has gone wrong.]

[(She's like this, sorry.)]

[But she's not worried, even as the sun sets and she's left to roam the streets alongside the Yokai. With no less than five loaded guns and her Kizuna-powered Katana at her hip, the only traces of concern on her face are born entirely from trying to find where Akutagawa disappeared off to. He didn't lose his mask, did he...? Or maybe he thought he could just use Rashomon, and it didn't work?]

[Her search eventually brings her to Tenri, the district in Nara located on the forest floor. Drawing her sword, she points the blade downward to activate its glowing ability, lighting up the pathway where Akutagawa just so happens to be. But how is he doing...? Her voice is soft when she speaks. Cautious. Something about this... feels familiar.]

Sempai...? Is everything okay? I-I've been looking for you everywhere!

[ While he wasn't entirely the most communicative boyfriend ever, he did at least try to speak with her when needed.

His phone's gone unchecked as one simple lapse in judgment had resulted in someone knocking into him and the resulting impact had knocked his slightly askew mask off. It hadn't been secured good enough when he'd put it on, and as such? The time it'd taken him to grab it was too late.

Sure, Akutagawa brought the mask with him but the changes had already happened. It'd been painful to say the least, but what was worse was the realization of what he had become. This is what had him instantly doing what he could to hide this from Higuchi, knowing exactly what happened back home and how much worse this was for him to be like this and she couldn't find out about it until it'd fixed itself.

This also meant being focused on putting distance between them instead of eating, repulsed by the idea of drinking blood as well. Something that backfired as at some point, his very thinking began to change to the point that by the time someone found him? He was... not quite in his right mind, so when a light got his attention and a voice spoke up to him?

Akutagawa stiffened a little where he stood, but not looking at her yet. ]

...H-Hi...guchi. [ Grr. His hand twitched. ] Run.

[ He instantly whirled to face her, and it should be obvious something wasn't right with him. Akutagawa's eyes were wild, somewhat unfocused with lips parted in a snarl that revealed very sharp fangs as he lunged at her. ]

[The moment the light of her sword reflects off those teeth, she feels as though she's suddenly been transported back to Yokohama. Again. Back to face that endless loop of hell, of pain, of losing the man she loved in the worst way possible. The look on her face is one of sheer terror, frozen in fear as lunges forward.]

[She knows how this goes by now. She struggles, but it's futile. His teeth tear into her throat. Pain. Fear. She screams, but no one hears her. She begs for him to stop, and he doesn't stop. The pain doesn't stop, and then it happens again and again and again and again and--]

[But on a reflex she didn't have before, she stabs her sword into the ground -- and disappears in a flurry of wind and sparkles before he can grab her.]

[She wasn't the same woman she was back then. Her experiences here in Nippon, the warm feelings of love she felt from the man in front of her-- those things changed her. She always meant to show Akutagawa how much she's improved, training in secret with the hopes of impressing him. Of course, she never imagined it would be like this, but--]

[As soon as she disappears, she reappears behind him, sword drawn and held up between them. She has only a second to catch him off-guard, raising her sword into the air -- and summoning a deluge of rain above his head so heavy, he might as well be trapped under a waterfall.]

[If he doesn't manage to move out of the way, the water will slowly begin to freeze by his feet, with the aim of trapping him in place.]

[ His body was running on instincts and he had little control over himself, but it wasn't like he was fully gone. There was some awareness to this but he couldn't really stop himself, yet the surprise when she suddenly disappeared was enough to stop him short.

Where?

Akutagawa was halfway into turning around when the water suddenly rained down on him, causing a displeased noise mixed with a growl. If he were at his best, Rashomon may have shot out to restrain her - as he wouldn't harm her at all - but this part of him, a beastly side with little thought right now other than wanting her blood? This was different.

His eyes focused on her and he took one step out, reaching out towards her throat but not able to reach it as one foot was frozen in ice. Maybe she'd notice the way recognition flashed across his feet with something pained, even as he snarled and tried to free himself from the ice. ]

[His reaction time in this state is faster that she expected -- but he didn't use Rashomon yet, so he can't be all the way there. She has a means of fighting against it (he may not appreciate knowing it was the first thing she made sure to learn), but seeing as it would leave him very vulnerable, she'll avoid it as long as he doesn't use his ability on her.]

Sempai!! I'm not going to run from you-- you're still in there, aren't you!?

[She holds her sword up in front of her face, turning the blade -- and changing the form of the water. If her control over Hi was better, she could have frozen him entirely, but she'd rather not risk a larger spell just in case she accidentally freezes the water in his body too.]

[Instead, the shape of the water changes -- moving freely like numerous tentacles, which shackle onto Akutagawa's outstretched arm and jerk him backwards. Following suit with the other limbs, he'll be pulled down toward the ground, as she aims to get him on his hands and knees, where the freezing spell can hopefully further glue him to the floor in ice.]

[ For just a moment Akutagawa froze up upon hearing her words, but only managed the barest, forced nod for half a second to her question even as his one outstretched arm kept trying to reach her.

Something that made it oh-so-much easier for those water tentacles to latch onto, and as they began going after his other limbs? It had him growling and hissing as he fought desperately against it, which considering he wasn't the same noodly-limbed man he used to be back home said quite a bit to how much force this magic was using.

He was fighting with every shred of strength he had but was still brought to his knees relatively soon enough, arms still trying to fight and rebel against the tentacles fiercely. ]

...still here... ngh... hungry...

[ That was as much as he could manage to get out, briefly even managing to look disgusted with himself for feeling this way. ]

[...]

[She hates that she kinda likes seeing him on his knees in front of her-- ahem.]

[Kneeling down to be at eye level, her eyes reflect a sadness at seeing him like this, a certain tremble just visible in her shoulders. And yet somehow, it wasn't as scary. Because this time, she was strong enough to stop him. And that matters.]

...tell me what you need, and I'll give it to you.

[She has an idea, but--]

Don't worry. I won't let you hurt me.

[ While he had little control over himself in this moment, he was still cognizant enough to know that this whole situation was his own fault. Everything that was not him having changed into this, really.

If he would have asked for help or acted sooner, or even had sent her a message? Maybe he wouldn't be this far gone.

His pride had always been strong and unwavering, to the point of stubbornness and wasn't quite a quality he was proud of. Though it didn't change the matter at hand here, still able to catch the look in her eyes and the barest of trembles in her shoulders even as he struggled to try and free his arms to little avail.

Several times he'd wanted to speak but was incapable of it, breaths sharp before he made to bite down on his lower lip enough that his sharp fang pierced it. Blood welled up and rolled down his chin for the barest of moments before his tongue ran over the self-inflicted injury.

If words wouldn't work, surely that would be telling enough. She was a smart woman and could figure this out. ]

[She follows all right. But mostly she just wishes Tsuchi had come easier to her, so she could heal that wound for him...]

[Taking her sword in hand, she stabs the blade into the ground -- and then quickly runs a finger over the sharpened edge. And yet not much more than a drop comes out. She meant to keep her word, after all -- she wasn't going to let Akutagawa hurt her, be it through biting her or blood loss.]

[She lets the drop of blood drip down towards the sword's hilt, where it stops, suspended in mid air. The hilt of the sword lets off a spark of red light, as the volume of the drop of blood begins to increase. It's a trick she learned from working with the Port Market -- using a healing spell on human cells removed from the body, allowing those cells to instantaneously multiply, essentially creating artificial flesh and blood. But it's still very much real, of course. Just created with magic instead of by her own body. It was the closest thing to legal human meat that the laws in Tokyo allowed.]

[By the time she has enough, she waves a hand to begin manipulating the blood through the air and towards Akutagawa, the scent of it quickly filling the air. If she's put off at all by any of this, she's not letting it show. Taking care of Akutagawa was more important.]

Open your mouth, and drink.

[If he obeys, she'll slowly feed the blood into his mouth, as if being slurped by an invisible straw -- but probably a little messier.]

[ Oh he's absolutely sure he knows where she could have picked up such a trick, and it doesn't really phase him all that much. Not after everything he's seen in the Port Mafia back home.

The monster in him has Akutagawa trying to free his arms, though as the scent of the blood filled the air? His maddened eyes are latching onto the sight of so much of it as she started guiding it towards him, some instincts fighting him briefly but soon parted his lips enough to allow the blood to be fed into his mouth.

He should hate it. Be repulsed by it.

Yet the taste was sweet, rich and intoxicating. A low noise left his throat as he drank it up, not even caring that the occasional blood would splatter onto his lips or onto the collar of his shirt from time to time. His eyes had fallen half-lidded, on his knees and completely at her mercy here. ]

[.........]

Sempai. If you get a boner right now, I'm stomping on it.

[VAMPIRES ARE HER SQUICK but he does look very nice... very nice...]

[ The sheer fact that he had to hear Higuchi say something like that was enough to nearly make him choke on the blood. His brows narrowed and he shot her the barest of withering looks, and it looked like the very surface of his coat glowed and rippled faintly for a second.

Not like he was going to use it, but was mostly due to feeling mildly insulted that she'd think he was into this sort of thing.

It was also a positive sign the blood was working to help him regain a sense of self again, if anything. He'd also stopped struggling as much, which should be very telling. ]

Don't.

[Oh, she tenses when she sees his coat glow. He's been a good boy and hasn't used his ability so far -- and while she could take it as a sign that he's coming to his senses, it's not like she's put her guard down at all. If he finds a middle ground between mindlessly hungry and sane, it might just make him more calculated and more dangerous.]

[Regardless -- she'll keep feeding him the blood until it looks like he doesn't want any more of it, more being produced even as he drinks. It's gross, but-- she hardly minds doing something like this for him. Would he need this every night of the festival...?]

[ Out of sheer will, he's determined to keep a hold of himself and not go out of control again. His mind is clearing up enough and that's a promising sign in itself.

When she said that singular word in such a tone, it made him pause for a second with eyes widening briefly. Higuchi was being properly cautious here, but the tone still had somewhat surprised him but he put that behind him. He refused to attack her, not while being aware of how she felt regarding her death back home and who'd caused it.

So when instincts tried pushing back at his desire to stay still, Akutagawa's nails dug into his palms while continuing to drink the blood quietly. Remaining this way until it felt he was fully in control, raising one hand up in a gesture for her to stop. ]

[As he holds up his hand, she cuts off the blood -- and with a wave of her own, the remaining blood instead siphons down into the ground, where it dries up instantly as she draws out the moisture -- removing the smell from the air.]

[But she's not freeing him just yet--]

...Sempai? How do you feel?

...Better. Clear-minded and in control of my own actions.

[ Mostly since he hadn't gone completely to the feral side before, so that made it easier to come back from his previous state before it was too late. For now he just gave a withering look to the ground since he couldn't get up yet, and he'd never quite been the most patient man to say the least. ]

You can release me. I'm fine now.

...okay. But don't use your ability while you're like this, or I'm stripping you.

[She may be growing stronger here in this world, but she's hardly moved past her trauma from home -- she hasn't even addressed it, really. For all that she's holding herself together, she's more frightened than she looks.]

[Which she hates, honestly. She was never afraid of Akutagawa before, and yet even now...]

[She stands, and then draws her sword out of the ground and sheaths it -- and in turn, the ice immediately melts away, the water falling to the ground in a puddle around him.]

We need to find you a mask. I don't think either of us want to have to do that again.

[ There's something quietly amused on his face for a second, but he opted to just nod and get to his feet as soon as he was physically able to. ]

Agreed.

[ He raised a hand up to wipe away any stray blood drops that had gotten onto his face from before, a look of mild distaste present for a second or two as he did so. ]

I will admit this is my fault. Once I realized what I had become, I had simply wished to put distance between us out of the wish to not cause you undue harm.

[ So to say Akutagawa was angry at himself was an understatement here. ]

Only now do I see it had the opposite effect. Tch...

W-Well, at least... nothing bad happened?

And-- I got to prove to myself that I can kick Sempai's cute little butt now, so I think it all evens out, actually!

[Higuchi plz]

I wouldn't be able to face you if something did.

[ Which was the truth and he wasn't going to remotely sugarcoat it, though when she added that last part on? It DID make him scowl a bit in her direction. ]

You can take care of yourself, and I am... thankful for that.

[ He can blame this on kizuna and his comfort levels with her being his girlfriend for this next part. Also maybe a subtle revenge for that last comment. ]

After what you said before? I do not intend to use my ability for the time being, as I believe you would... prefer to strip me under less serious circumstances, correct?

[I'm sorry she's gross, her initial response is an actual hehhhehehhheheheh.]

Eheh, then maybe after all this is over, I can show you what I would have done if you did use your ability. I can strip you in under a second!

[Is this sexy?? She seems to think so but she's weird.]

[But also, this is absolutely something she must have specifically learned to do. Anti-Aku-Vampire Measures.]

Under a second? Hm... perhaps when I am wearing different clothing you may be allowed to test it.

[ He's gotten used to her being like this, so it's not quite as weird as he might have found it before. ]

You seem... strangely proud of it. I assume you spent a fair amount of time working on that skill.

Edited 2021-11-10 01:30 (UTC)

Well, I-- thought it might help if I knew how to fight you.

[Specifically, help resolve the lingering fear that was still present because of what happened back home. Even now, she still tenses up in hugs sometimes and won't let his face anywhere near her neck.]

[But she doesn't want to think about it that deeply, instead raising a hand up -- and sending what looks like a small gust of wind up into a nearby tree. But as it hits the leaves, the wind snaps quickly through it, cutting dozens of leaves from the branches in an instant, allowing them to cascade down over them.]

I don't have an ability like the rest of you. But I wonder if it feels similar to this... controlling the wind comes to me so naturally, it almost feels like I've always been able to do it.

Edited 2021-11-12 15:22 (UTC)

[Closed] He ate my heart

Closed to Akutagawa

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cw: blood, implications of cannibalism

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