♠ I come with knives.

“A toast, then, for those sacrificed in the second Nonary Game.”

“Hm, November First.”

Akane stumbled backwards after being shoved away from him, awkwardly shuffling so she wouldn’t fall down and make herself too vulnerable. No- why had she done that, she hadn’t wanted to do that. Well she had wanted to do it, but… she’d wanted to keep it inside instead of lashing out like that.

The blazing anger in his eyes said everything she needed to know- she’d messed up. It was a huge mistake for her to have touched him at all, despite Nijisaki’s taunts.

No, she wouldn’t listen to them any more.

Her mouth opened and closed a few times, trying to find the words to say… but were there any?

“I-I… Shut up.” Akane snapped at Nijisaki, the heat in her head making it even harder to concentrate, and she began to sweat, “Leave me alone- both of you. Why won’t you both just go away and leave me alone? Or j-just… get it over with already and let me be on my way. I don’t want to play anymore.”

Hongou wanted to reiterate that this wasn’t his fault, but he still felt something physically holding him back, like a cold hand on his shoulder. Or -- wait, no, that was literal now. Nijisaki had a hand on his shoulder, the icy feeling sending a chill up his spine. Swallowing hard, Hongou tried to pull away, but the fingers gripped him tighter and prevented him from moving - or, perhaps, he was too afraid to.

He wasn’t even sure if this Nijisaki was real, or just an illusion - but the chill felt real, and the TERROR was also real. 

Nijisaki smiled, his eyes growing dark as he stared at his former boss. 

“Now, now, Akane - it’s like Hongou said, don’t blame him. He only murdered the only people who gave a shit about him to escape his sins.”

There was truth to his angle, which bothered Akane the most. The concept of the Nonary extended far before either of them, all the way back to Gordain. But this… none of this would have happened if Hongou hadn’t dragged her back into the incinerator and let her die before him. That one mistake had condemned them all- if only he’d let her be set free, if only he hadn’t killed her.

Arguing with a monster was pointless, but she had to defend herself from his attacks and accusations. She had to protect her image- she wasn’t a monster.

“Stop trying to group us both together! That’s a damned lie and you know it- you can’t… keep trying to… I am not a killer- I am not-”        But you are, Akane. 

Horrified, Akane hadn’t realized what she’d done until after it was too late. Her hand stretched out to strike Hongou across the face, stinging and burning from the strike. As if it would make it better, Akane brought her hand to her chest, holding it to her tightly in anticipation for what this would bring.

“I hope… you’re happy.” She whispered to herself, cursing herself.

Her palm swept across his cheek, and the subtle stinging didn’t register at first. The motion was quick, and she reeled back afterwards, realizing her mistake. Hongou’s eyes blazed, wide and feral, as he reached out and seized her arm, twisting it to keep her subdued. 

“Do not EVER lay a hand on me again,” he hissed, words dripping with venom, shoving her away after giving the warning. 

Nijisaki chuckled and clapped, his face lighting up as he watched the scene. 

Akane bit her tongue only to keep herself from lashing back out at Hongou. This was no good- she was too emotional, too hot. Her patience was wearing thinner each degree, feeling her arms begin to flush in frustration. She’d put the bomb in Nijisaki’s stomach. She’d made the game. She’d even dragged everyone together personally for this reunion. She’d done all those things, but she was not this sadistic killer like Hongou tried to accuse her of being.

“I-” No. Claiming victim was unwise, calm down Akane. Her voice cracked awkwardly as she stepped closer to Hongou, wagging her finger at him as she went, “I may have set the experiment, but the rats played along. I might have set the conditions but the rest was entirely you, Hongou.”

Between her fever and the friendly chat, Akane was beginning to lose her cool- both literally and metaphorically. She wasn’t going to sit and tolerate being belittled by Hongou of all people. 

She wouldn’t.

But Nijisaki was right- Akane didn’t trust him to keep the truce for long. It was too idealistic even for Akane to believe. And yet, she refused to be the one to break it off and ruin the peace. She’d be the bigger- better- person.

“… Of course I do.” She frowned, voice shaking, “That’s to be expected.”

Hongou fought the urge to roll his eyes at the stupid girl; somehow, she was still claiming her innocence, and blaming him for all of it. No matter what he tried to say, she refused to see the darkness inside her, refused to acknowledge that the BLOOD spilled wasn’t at least partially on her hands.

“You set the stage, and watched us all play our parts. Just as I did nine years prior, and Gordain even further back then that.” He took a step forward, eyes blazing though he was petrified. “This is a cycle, it will not end. A killer can’t be anything more than a killer.” He wasn’t quite sure where these words were coming from - his own mind, or something more instinctive? Did he truly believe those words - that he was forever marked as a man who’d killed, and nothing more?

Nijisaki snorted, pointing at his former boss with scorn. 

Akane wanted to recoil, to push him away from her ear as he whispered so intimately into it. It’d been a long time since Akane’d last heard his voice but just like the other’s voices it was just as memorable as it’d been 10 years ago.

Did she dare grace him with an answer? Explain why she’d kept Hongou alive? 

No. She didn’t make that choice- she would have kept them all alive.

Would she?

Akane’s eyes slimmed, feeling the heat inside begin to rise just at her uneasiness. It was a grim reminder of the past, just as was their faces.

“I don’t owe it to either of you two to explain my methods nor my reasons for doing anything I’ve done. You lost that right the moment you decided to host a game. That’s all you’ll get from me… but your death was conditional on the decisions of someone else,” 

Akane looked over to Hongou with shaken, uneasy eyes, “Would he go as far as killing a seemingly innocent person again to escape safe? Would he blindly kill again? He’s who you need to discuss this matter with. Not me.”

It wasn’t denial- it was truth. With it, she felt her neck warm to the touch.

Those words SNAPPED Hongou out of his trance, and he managed to take a step forward, eyes narrowed and lip curled aggressively. Whatever was happening couldn’t be explained through science or logic, so he had to ignore all his instincts telling him to analyze this. This phenomenon simply couldn’t be dissected like most things, and he had to focus on what Nijisaki was going to do now, not on why he was here.

“You speak as if you did not shove the bomb that killed him down his throat,” Hongou hissed, voice low and shaky despite himself. “You speak as though you are but an innocent victim when YOU were the one to make the game itself.” At the very least, Hongou could take responsibility for his own actions - but Akane simply refused to think she was to blame for any of it, citing herself as needing to do it. What she didn’t understand was that despite that need, it was still done.

Nijisaki, on the other hand, was enjoying this immensely. It was the spirit’s goal to pit them against each other, to BREAK the truce like chains holding them back. It was Hongou’s fear to face what he’d done in such a manner, to find someone he was so close to DAMNING HIM like this.

Akane grit her teeth, eyes flitting between both Hongou and Nijisaki. 

This had to be some sort of joke being played. If Hongou was here in the city free, there was no reason why Nijisaki couldn’t also be here alive. But the man had appeared out of thin air, leaving Akane slightly confused but mostly hyperaware of his presence. 

“I don’t know what sort of games you two are playing,” Akane began defending herself, ignoring Nijisaki’s comment entirely, “But if this is some sort of ploy to threaten our truce in some way- I won’t have it. This is a cheep trick- What do you want.”

Hongou wanted to argue that this wasn’t a break in the truce, or that if somehow, Nijisaki truly was here, he wouldn’t want anything to do with his old boss now - but he couldn’t. He was paralyzed to that spot, a crippling sort of fear creeping up his spine.

Nijisaki smiled so pleasantly, as though this was a business meeting. His feet touched the ground and he seemed to almost be tangible now, as if he really was here... perhaps he was, Hongou realized with a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach.

The specter (?) chuckled, approaching Akane and moving to stand behind her. Looking over at Hongou from her side, he murmured in her ear.

It was hard to say what exactly Akane hated most- this horrible plague of a fever she’d developed, or the man she just so happened to bump into. He always showed face at the most inappropriate times. Regardless, seeing Hongou was enough to make her want to turn around and run away with all the energy she currently lacked. She’d heard enough from him- they had to hold truce, but…

She was tired. Tired of feeling all this doom, tired of seeing his face, tired of-

“Ah-” Akane’s mouth parted slightly as her eyes shifted between Hongou’s turning eyes and the apparition of a man long since declared dead. All she could do was cover her mouth momentarily in surprise as her mind tried so hard to process- like a computer in a hot room, overheating.

“… T-This has got to be a joke.”

Inelegant of her, but she was so tired of all of this- the cruel games they played.

Well, the voice confirmed her identity - not that he had much doubt. Hongou gnashed his teeth together in frustration, angry that he had to run into her of all people. But he supposed that was just how things turned out in this wretched city - which also probably explained why someone he never expected to see again appeared behind him.

He could only recognize the man by the rose on his pocket, and the purple suit that he hadn’t worn in years. But it was the outfit most recognizable by Hongou, so he supposed it made sense that this SPECTER wore it.

“Wh-- what...?”

His mouth hung open as he stared in shock, the man floating above them carelessly moving about like he was in water. 

Nijisaki chuckled, eyes settling on both of the BASTARDS who’d killed him. 

“I imagine that’s why it’s called ‘Hive City,’ and not ‘Hive Town,’ or ‘Hive Quiet-Suburb,’ or… well, I could go on. Are you lost, sir?”

“Well, er... yes, but I was expecting it to be around the size of Tokyo - not the entire country of Japan for one city.”

With a friendly smile, Hongou held out a hand.

She was there, face blank as always, but something about her seemed... different. He couldn’t quite place it, mostly because he was preoccupied with his own churning stomach and quickening heartbeat - what was he AFRAID of? - but he recognized her through her clothes and hair, at least.

He stood there, watching her silently, WAITING for what she would do.

I think beyond all else, Hongou is afraid of his failures and weaknesses. This will manifest itself as anything from large crowds popping up randomly (as he's super uncomfortable with crowds because of prosopagnosia) to Nijisaki's ghost just floating around accusing him. It won't be fun for him, but very fun for me~!

{🍀} He was here. He was here, and by the sounds of it, everyone had known but her. It made sense, to a degree- either they’d wanted to forget about his existence, or they’d wanted to coddle her. But regardless of reason, they’d left her completely and utterly unprepared to see him here, just walking around.

The one good thing about the end of the world had been the certainty that he’d died, at least…

“I.. don’t want to talk to you.”

It was simple, and about as calm as she could keep her voice. Dammit! She was certain she’d have an advantage, purely in terms of numbers of pokemon- he couldn’t have more than one- but she didn’t want a fight. Not now, all she wanted was to leave.

“Grrrrrrghh…” Effie’s tail began to whip back and forth- he couldn’t tell why this person was making his trainer so upset, but this situation was not good for her. He would protect his trainer.

Akira faced Effie with as much animosity as he was receiving from the other Pokemon - though he was too young and undertrained to really understand why there was so much hatred in the air, he at least knew to protect his own Trainer. Letting out a low growl, he blocked the other Pokemon from getting any closer to Hongou.

The older man watched this behavior curiously, a little touched by the loyalty the Pokemon seemed to instinctively secrete. He then shifted his focus to Clover, watching her fidget and shake in his presence. A LION that had his prey ensnared perfectly and could only watch it squirm in fear; the feeling was honestly a little intoxicating, if he was honest.