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31

Cross Effects 3.0-It was good while it lasted / Re: Re: Re: Cross Effects 3.0 - The Third Time's the Charm? In Character Game Thread

« on: April 14, 2016, 11:59:04 AM »

Sakagami Kenzo

Kenzo held his chin and nodded nonchalantly. No, there was something different about his look. He seemed…sad.

“I see.”

Even as he tried to smile, he still had that gloomy look. As if he was truly sorry. They say there is only one question one can never answer by yes.

Are you ashamed?

“I guess I’d try to live a normal life, at least for a while longer. Laugh normally, love normally, start a normal family…Yes, that would be nice. I guess by the end of it, I’d probably have to hide somewhere far away, lock myself in some hole underground and never come back. Haha, you probably expected something better than that. The truth is, I don’t know. I feel like I don’t know anything anymore, and it’s terrifying. I know, it’s stupid, but I’m out of ideas.”

Kenzo looked down at Akatsuki’s feet. Why? Why wasn’t she striking him down already? He didn’t understand it. He couldn’t understand it. He wanted to cry, but he couldn’t anymore. Honestly, he felt like forgetting everything and just going to sleep forever. He was talking a lot, but at the same time, it felt liberating. It was as if he was taking a huge weight off his chest, a weight heavier than the whole wide world.

And he felt so horrible.

“Whelp. Sorry, I’m not the cool, gentle and reliable oni-chan I could have been. I’m actually a pretty bad person you know?  You’d have to be pretty messed up to associate with me, I won’t blame you if you’re sick to your stomach. Sorry, I’m rambling again.”

His free hand slipped on his Shirogane once more, admiring the simple silver blade for the last time, only to toss it at the child’s feet.

“I won’t force you to do it, you don’t have to do anything at all. I’ll find a way eventually, I’m sure of it. There isn’t a single thing I can’t do, she said. What matters is that whatever path to take is one you’re sure you can see to the end. As long as you’re true to yourself, the world will be yours. Please take that sword, it is a precious treasure forged with love. I’m not fit to keep something like that anymore, whatever you want to do with it is up to you now.”

Akatsuki

Akatsuki looked at him, then bent down to retrieve the blade. It was heavy, and its grip was warm, sensations assuring her this situation was real.

Then that meant the sadness of the man before her, the overwhelming guilt twisting his face into a look of pain, was real as well. He didn't mean to kill or hurt anyone the way he did, and he felt terrible for it.

And yet...

"Feeling guilt at one's actions does not nullify them," was something Akatsuki was once told, when engaging in practice battles with another naval base. A long discussion about abyssals had eventually torn that quote out of one of the destroyers, and even the battleships paused at it.

She didn't understand, then, why it was something that could bring such a sad look to Nagato's face.

"I want to trust you, Kenzo," Akatsuki started, just as tears started rolling down her face. "I want to trust you, that you can leave and not... do anything bad again. But..."

She remembered the mutilated body, the terrified look on his face. He didn't expect it to happen that time, so what about the next? Would his next victims be his "Normal family"? Would it be another man's family? The risk was too large. Therefore, as a soldier, as a shipgirl used to carrying the weight of a country, there was only one choice.

"You're strong, Kenzo. Too strong for me to be able to hold back, too fast for me to be able to keep up with you. So..." She hoisted the sword up, into a stance the which she'd seen so many times as a ship during crew training hours, as a girl when observing the admiral, and as a soldier when Ise, Hyuuga or Tenryuu were forced into melee combat. It was a basic kendo stance.

She closed her eyes a moment. The activated its engines to combat levels, its electrical components to match, and the air around Akatsuki crackled as her gloves sparked to life.

The heat of such things made the tears wash away faster than before. The idea of combat, the preparation for such as the fairies prepared to do their duty helped dull her heart and prepare herself.

It was the only reason she was born, the only thing she knew for real. Now that things such as reason and motivations had been dealt with, the warship Akatsuki was commencing engagement.

"Sakagami Kenzo..." She added, her voice and face surprisingly soft considering her stance, intent and the air around her. "I know what you've been asking of me, but please don't make me do it without a fight."

32

Cross Effects 3.0-It was good while it lasted / Re: Re: Re: Cross Effects 3.0 - The Third Time's the Charm? In Character Game Thread

« on: April 04, 2016, 02:55:20 PM »

Sakagami Kenzo

Kenzo kept smiling gently, almost as if oblivious to the child’s tears. It was anything but that. They say that dogs only smile when under extremely stressful situations, and that could not hold any truer at this moment. It hurt, breathing, looking at her, speaking…

And yet, he answered calmly, completely detaching himself from the situation in order to make the pain stop.

"I would have eaten her and let her become one with me. That way, her death would not have been a meaningless act of violence, and perhaps that way I could buy a little more time. Then, I would have taken her soul and impregnated a sword with it. That way, she would not have to suffer the loneliness of Tasogare even in death. As for her bones, I would have given them a proper burial under a peach tree. Does that answer satisfy you, Akatsuki?”

AKATSUKI

Her eyes widened as he explained, even though her mind only truly processed half of it. What came to the forefront was one thought, and one thought alone:

"That's not what I meant!" She shouted, and then immediately caught herself and quieted down.  She pulled her hat down, shielding her eyes, and looked down at Kenzo's feet.

"I meant... what would you do right now, if I wasn't here, to prevent this kind of thing from happening again? What would you do to prevent victims?"

Her voice was so quiet, it could barely be heard over the forge behind them.

33

Cross Effects 3.0-It was good while it lasted / Re: Re: Re: Cross Effects 3.0 - The Third Time's the Charm? In Character Game Thread

« on: March 31, 2016, 12:58:53 PM »

Sakagami Kenzo

Kenzo smiled earnestly, genuinely touched by her praise. Perhaps it was because of his craving, or the fact that she reminded him of her, but the child had already grown on him. There was only one thing left to settle.

“What will you do now, Akatsuki?” He asked calmly, but with a carefree tone.

AKATSUKI

As soon as he asked the question, her expression returned to seriousness. Rather, it went from being bright to being glum. She looked at the ground, at Kenzo's feet, unwilling to look him in the eye.

That's right, she reminded herself, she wasn't here to admire a sword or look up to Kenzo. Her purpose here was far less lighthearted.

Kenzo had killed a person.

He wasn't in control when he did, but the blood was still on his hands. Left unchecked, there would only be more, and more... just like that mangled victim she found upstairs. And if she sat her, indecisive, incapable of making a decision as to how to best handle the problem... That blood would be on her hands too. A long chain of murder that would lead back to the weakness of not one person, but two.

She understood the logic behind it. She was a navy destroyer, a soldier of metal, fuel and ammunition, before she was anything else.

She knew his strength, his speed. She had no real way of incarcerating him, and knew no one capable of such. Any bonds she would make would be torn apart once he used his full power.

He couldn't be left in such a way.

For a moment, Akatsuki's face brightened. If she couldn't leave him be in such a way, then she could stay with him! Take him down by force if he were to hurt another person, and make sure nobody got hurt.

A whisper from inside killed the thought. The fight they had, the fight she won... his greatest asset, that gave him the drop on her many times, was his speed. He was beyond what she was capable of. If he truly went mad, and tried to attack a person, she wouldn't be fast enough to stop him. Likewise if he tried to run away.

...Then what? She could try to help him find a way to calm the bloodlust, but... he'd been trying for years. How could she help fix it before the next time he was hungry? She didn't know a single person in this town, other than the people she met at the hot spring. If she tried to find someone who could incarcerate him, the same problem came up: She didn't know where to start, she didn't know if he'd sit there and accept it, she didn't know anything remotely capable of holding him back, unless it was something ridiculous like abyssalized steel, or chains the likes of which should have been used on Yamato's anchors.

When was he even going to lose control again? Was it tomorrow, or a month from now?

Akatsuki bit back tears. This was too hard for her. She wished Nagato were here, to make the big decisions for her.

Instead, it was just her.

Akatsuki backed up a little, forced a sniffle away and looked up, her chin and back straight, right at Kenzo himself.

"Kenzo, before I answer... I have to ask, what would you do if I wasn't here?" Akatsuki grabbed onto her skirt with both little fists. "If you were alone, after... what just happened, what would you have done next?"

She wasn't sure how his answer would help, solely that it would. It would help her decide to go down a dangerous path, or go down the safe, assured path that used to be demanded, expected of her.

She wasn't sure how, but it would help.

She had to believe it would help.

34

Cross Effects 3.0-It was good while it lasted / Re: Re: Re: Cross Effects 3.0 - The Third Time's the Charm? In Character Game Thread

« on: March 28, 2016, 04:09:59 PM »

ALPHA

Alpha barely had to consider it a second before answering, both for herself and for Noel.

"We're human." She crossed her arms, defending her statement before a rebuttal. "It doesn't matter what some idiot calls us, or how we were born, we're human down from the very day we starting living like it."

Alpha got up to look out the window, anticipating the ambulance.

"And that counts for you too, Mordred. It doesn't matter how much you changed since you were born. You only ever stop being human once you stop acting like one."

For some reason, for some purpose, Alpha refused to look either of them in the eye when she said this, keeping her gaze outside. Every word, however, was heartfelt in its tone and delivery.

35

Cross Effects 3.0-It was good while it lasted / Re: Re: Re: Cross Effects 3.0 - The Third Time's the Charm? In Character Game Thread

« on: March 26, 2016, 12:32:36 AM »

AKATSUKI

Kenzo cut his hand, put it on the gate and it creaked open with a rumble, letting a wave of heat escape.

As the gate opened, the heat was all Akatsuki could feel. It was different from the heat she'd feel on a hot summer's day, for it mostly lacked freshness. It was artificial, industrial, like walking into a factory in the midst of its work. Such a place was where she was built, remodelled and given power even beyond that, and yet this furnace felt foreign to her.

And in a moment, it was completely blown away.

Through the heat, Akatsuki looked inside and saw a sight that made her forget everything else for a moment. The fact she was stranded, Kenzo's entire situation and the heat she found so uncomfortable were all swept away in awe of the blade before her. The most apt comparison would be when a man sees the most beautiful woman in the world, and suddenly all else stops existing for a second, until he is jostled into reality.

A jostle she felt when Kenzo explained its creation, its purpose. Not just for the blade, but the furnace as well. He pulled the sword out and asked her opinion.

Akatsuki looked at it, almost reached out to try to hold it, and could only answer in a quiet voice.

"It's pretty."

36

Cross Effects 3.0-It was good while it lasted / Re: Re: Re: Cross Effects 3.0 - The Third Time's the Charm? In Character Game Thread

« on: March 23, 2016, 09:52:07 PM »

Noel Vermillion

Noel looked over Mordred's true form. And she wasn't quite sure what Mordred's issue was. She didn't look particularly out there. Just some sort of dragon-type beastkin. Weirding part was her ability to hide it, but this was the Nexus. She looked down at the tail. It was a nice tail. Red, scaley like a lizard, and cute. Very cute. "Heh. Mordred, you look cute, I really like the tail, it fits you. Alpha, does she remind you of Iron Tager at all?" Noel smiled as she thought about him.

Mordred

If her skin wasn't red, it would be more visible that she was a little troubled by the praise she got showered with. "I-I mean, I cannot possibly trouble mundane people who are not used to the supernatural. It's just courtesy on my part!" And keeping a lower profile was a part and parcel of her life, even if she was admittedly one of less subtle folks who tend to get dragged into violent mess like the fight before.

"I don't dislike my looks, really, but being able to pass for a normal human has its merits. But you know, if you wish so, I can let you see through the illusion. I will make an exception to nice guys like you." She smiled earnestly, actually fine with them seeing her true form. After all she was more concerned about strangers seeing her like that, than about her new friends perceiving how she truly looked.

Mordred also realized they compared her to someone they knew. "Who is this Iron Tager person? Is he or she a Changeling too?"

ALPHA

Alpha scratched her head at Noel's question.

"Well, I... kind of see it? At the same time though, she's completely different," Alpha then turned to Mordred. "Iron Tager was... well, I wouldn't know what he was for sure. He was at least two and a half meters tall, with huge magnetized hands and red skin. He was nicknamed the Red Devil, and rumors said that his DNA was fused with an actual devil to make him as big, strong and, well. red as he was. Probably all tech crap though."

Realizing she may have been giving the wrong idea, Alpha caught herself.

"Despite all that, though, his personality totally clashed. He didn't like fighting, but always followed orders without question. Every time he'd fight me, he'd bring up things like how I was too dangerous and the like. A real boyscout. Well, I wouldn't know how he is all the time, we only ever met when it was time to kick the crap out of each other."

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Cross Effects 3.0-It was good while it lasted / Re: Re: Re: Cross Effects 3.0 - The Third Time's the Charm? In Character Game Thread

« on: March 22, 2016, 12:03:55 AM »

ALPHA

Alpha's eyebrow twitched when Noel spoke.

"I wouldn't know, actually. You're the one who knows him," Alpha said curtly. It seemed that Alpha wasn't the only one to see Noel as a stranger compared to the person she knew. "In any case, Mordred is right. We need to get you to a hospital, get you some rest."

She walked over to Noel and sat down in the rubble to wait for the ambulance. In the meantime though, she did have one thing to address.

"I don't really know why you'd think your appearance is a problem, Mordred. It's a good look," Alpha said, remembering the red giant known as IRON=TAGER.

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Cross Effects 3.0-It was good while it lasted / Re: Re: Re: Cross Effects 3.0 - The Third Time's the Charm? In Character Game Thread

« on: March 21, 2016, 11:47:44 PM »

AKATSUKI

Akatsuki processed his story, following him into the darkness by use of a sonar. Of course she had a searchlight, but... it seemed more fitting to keep it off.

As he spoke, she looked around, eventually seeing the massive, gate-like thing as Kenzo spoke of himself as the enemy.

"Why bring me here, then?" She said, obviously delaying the issue.

39

Cross Effects 3.0-It was good while it lasted / Re: Re: Re: Cross Effects 3.0 - The Third Time's the Charm? In Character Game Thread

« on: March 21, 2016, 11:06:51 PM »

ALPHA

Alpha caught the phone in mid-flight, looked at noel for a moment too long and immediately turned around to look through it, finding the list in a short amount of time thanks to the incredibly user-friendly interface.

She made the call, but the entire time, her mind was adrift, stuck between the thought of Noel, but just a prime field device but also a murakumo, and Nu's existence in nexus. She came to two conclusions: Noel was noel, no matter where she was from, but this world's noel was by and far not the one she knew. And secondly... Well, her circumstances with Nu were her own.

She turned around again and faced Noel.

"I've made the call. Do I chase after the bloodedge?"

40

Cross Effects 3.0-It was good while it lasted / Re: Re: Re: Cross Effects 3.0 - The Third Time's the Charm? In Character Game Thread

« on: March 21, 2016, 03:15:03 AM »

Sakagami Kenzo

"Can you follow me?"

Akatsuki

Akatsuki stared at the man, crying blood and in obvious pain. Yet, at the same time, she forced herself to have no pity for him. She repeated it in her head like a mantra to stop herself from acting improperly, as a destroyer tasked with protecting humanity. Humanity, that the man before her, a kind man with a friendly disposition, had defiled in a moment of loss.

Yet, when Kenzo had asked her if she could follow him, she felt a pull at her heartstrings.

"Of course I'll follow you," she said, looking at him, then down, then back up at him. "There's no way I'm leaving you with no supervision."

She'd added the last bit, an excellent reasoning, as a manner of convincing both him and herself of his duty.

41

Cross Effects 3.0-It was good while it lasted / Re: Re: Re: Cross Effects 3.0 - The Third Time's the Charm? In Character Game Thread

« on: March 21, 2016, 03:09:09 AM »

ALPHA

Ragna, or whatever his name was, started running.

And Alpha could do nothing but see that as good luck. As Mordred, now transformed, seemed to run out of steam, Alpha ran to where Ragna was when he let loose the Dead Spike. She knew it was powerful and could eat through most kinds of projectiles, mostly with the azure released as it was, but Noel's floating gun stations seemed to have ample power of their own and sprayed it down, suppressing it no matter how enlarged it was.

She knew it was just a matter of seconds before Noel would rip through and try to take down Ragna, but... she had to stop her. This Ragna idiot wasn't what they should be fighting.

The window crashed behind her as Ragna ran out, and as Alpha stood her ground to warn Noel about Nu.

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Cross Effects 3.0-It was good while it lasted / Re: Re: Re: Cross Effects 3.0 - The Third Time's the Charm? In Character Game Thread

« on: March 15, 2016, 06:53:21 PM »

KENZO

Kenzo's hand trembled, like a wall crumbling to her impassable look. His eyes faded and stared blankly, sadness and fear mixed with something unrecognizable. And in his voice, there was nothing but grief. The sort of begging tone that spoke only of misery and desperation.

"... I can't. Not while you're looking. Please turn around, Akatsuki."

AKATSUKI

"Kenzo..." She started, unsure how to continue. THe words weren't properly coming to her mouth, in a combination of unwillingness to say them and of what words to say. She took a deep breath, collected herself, and tried again.

"If you did this, even if it was by accident..." Or rather, the thought occurred to her, especially if it was by accident. She left it unsaid, however. "Then the last thing I should do is look away."

Akatsuki tried to be as solid as possible, but one of her eyes very slightly started to water. This was not a situation she wanted to be a part of. But now that she was here... she had to do what was right, even if she wasn't sure what that was yet.

43

Cross Effects 3.0-It was good while it lasted / Re: Re: Re: Cross Effects 3.0 - The Third Time's the Charm? In Character Game Thread

« on: March 15, 2016, 06:39:12 AM »

RAGNA THE BLOODEDGE

After hitting Noel with Carnage Scissors, Ragna felt something behind him, to see the blond powering up in some way. The method eluded him, but what didn't was that she was about to attack him. Unsure of how, he threw up his barrier with a hand up.

There was a bright flash of light, no longer than an instant, and Ragna felt pressure on the barrier. If his hand hadn't been up, he may have been blinded too. He looked at her again, but it didn't seem likely she was going to attack again.

Then, a nasty sensation crept up his neck. A feeling, a hatred, a fear so ingrained within him it was his first reaction to erase its cause.

He jerked his head around to find the Kusanagi unit, that damn face, having set up some of her steins, a clear look of disdain in her eyes.

"You..." he grumbled, before it climbed all the way into a roar. "You piece of trash! You, wearing that face, using those swords... you're not going to take me down! Not again!"

He reached down with the azure, its dark power pulsating, and ripped a being out of the ground. It was massive, a monster twice his height, and half a dozen meters in length. It looked like a beast's head, made purely of darkness and teeth, and creeped forward toward the incoming barrage with its maw wide, as if it were to eat the shots themselves.

"Dead spike!" He yelled as he pulled the monster up.

He wanted to dash in after it using it as cover, as was one of his tactics, but the small, also numb part of his mind that was reason noted that he couldn't with this. The Kusanagi wasn't alone, it has support from that blond haired girl, and that...

That... spare.

Biting down the anger, the desire to destroy... Ragna ran from the shadow he'd produced, making a beeline for the store's closest unguarded exit, its glass panels.

44

Cross Effects 3.0-It was good while it lasted / Re: Re: Re: Cross Effects 3.0 - The Third Time's the Charm? In Character Game Thread

« on: March 13, 2016, 12:18:56 AM »

Sakagami Kenzo

Kenzo closed his eyes and- giggled. No, that wasn't right, but one couldn't tell if he was laughing or crying anymore. He clutched his face almost as if to pull it off.

"I messed up again. I thought I could keep it inside, but all I had to do was let my guard down for a second..." He answered with a shaky voice, only to proceed to laugh lightly. However, there was no joy in this, anyone could see this was purely to hide his emotions, to protect them. Not from her, but from him.

And then, he turned silent. And then, he spoke calmly, seriously, with a cold commanding voice.

"Akatsuki, turn around."

Akatsuki remained silent as he spoke, slowly understanding the situation.

It was Kenzo, Kenzo had ripped apart that girl, and then desperately tried to reattach her together. He'd lost control, the same way he had that mad look in his eyes in the middle of the sparring match.

By the time he turned around and gave her an order, Akatsuki's mind had hardened to the truth.

"No," she said clearly. Where there was an impassiveness in her voice before, a calm collected attitude, there was now something immovable instead.

Akatsuki Refused.

45

Cross Effects 3.0-It was good while it lasted / Re: Re: Re: Cross Effects 3.0 - The Third Time's the Charm? In Character Game Thread

« on: March 06, 2016, 09:16:54 PM »

Sakagami Kenzo
"I... I'm fine."

"You hate me, right?"

AKATSUKI

Akatsuki blinked once, then twice, then looked at Kenzo's hands and back at the body. Granted, since he was trying to stick her back together, they'd be bloody, but...

Akatsuki didn't approach Kenzo this time, didn't try to comfort him or make sure he was alright. She also stopped looking around and focused purely on him.

She put her hands on her hips and, with a voice as calm as she could make it, asked her question.

"Kenzo, what happened here?"