red's rambles & lore

Around the late 60s/early 70s Hibiki starts spending stupid amounts of time in the Lowlands. He finds the darkness of the land more comforting than the bright environment that is the Council Realm. Besides, he can goof off in peace in the Lowlands considering nobody likes hanging down there unless they’re a “delinquent.” Crime is so rampant there because everything goes unchecked by the Council which angers the residents who can’t leave. That’s a story for another time, though.

Back to Hibiki, he’s typically conked out on whatever he can fill his lungs with. If he’s really feeling like shit, you might find him down a couple glasses of shine. There are a couple bars specifically he tends to frequent; the more hidden they are the better. He even befriended a reptilian bartender named Brock, so when he isn’t entertaining small talk from strangers about his occupation or drunkenly staring at a stripper in awe, he’s laughing with who may be one of his only genuine friends.

There’s much to be said about why Hibiki decided to start spending most of his days down there when he wasn’t working. But the main thing was how alone he felt. For years he was okay with being alone, pushing everyone away and being seen as the villain. It made the most important person in his life happy, and that’s all he cared. But at some point he yearned for some sort of connection. He had finally started to piss off TT, who mostly was okay with him, so that was a relationship ruined. Clementine was far done with his bullshit and wanted him off the Council. Chrysanthemum basically told everyone to ignore him until he “came to his senses.” In summary, the Council was very sick of his recent shenanigans and were trying to give him the silent treatment. While Hibiki still gave his all to annoy them, they had no reactions anymore, so he got bored.

To cope with this newfound boredom, drugs, alcohol, sex, and beating people up if they threatened him seemed to work great, especially the beating people up. The bar locals feared his ability to kill someone with a smile. And then some people found that pretty hot, or at least for one night. None of his sleeping around ever amounted to anything but a night of feeling adored. Until Lorenzo came around, of course.

Lorenzo treated Hibiki like a person. They ran around the alleyways like kids, played board games while high, danced at clubs, had deep conversations on the roofs of tall buildings, people watched from fire escapes of apartments they didn’t belong to, and so much more. Hibiki had never felt happier. Unfortunately he would have to retreat from his exotic life in the Lowlands to focus more on his work at the Council. There were issues the others needed his immediate assistance for, even though they tried to solve things without him. So in the coming months he saw Lorenzo less and less but still tried to make his way down to see him every couple of weeks. 

One day Hibiki goes to see Lorenzo but can’t find him anywhere. He asks Brock about his whereabouts to which Brock breaks the news that he was killed after a fight in the bar. His heart sinks, but his anger rises. He lashes out, announcing to the bar that anyone who tries to keep the killers identity a secret will regret it. After a bit of interrogation he gets a name, someone promises his presence the next day, and it’s a date. 

The next day Hibiki will find the man at the bar, who brags about the killing then insults Hibiki. Before anybody could process, he was dead. But, he wasn’t dead enough to Hibiki. The bar would witness a true bloodbath. Even though the body was mangled, it wasn’t enough. Hibiki set off for the mans friends who soon met a similar fate.

Hibiki doesn’t return to that part of town. Instead he moves his activities to the west side. Once again it’s all the same. Drugs, alcohol, sex, killing people who slight him.

Master wants to see Hibiki. It’s been a couple months since the showdown at Brock’s bar, but Master sees all. 

He talks as if a disappointed dad. 

“You realize love won’t find you from spending time wrapped up in someone’s bed, right?”

Hibiki knows. He can’t even say he enjoys it. All he wants is the attention. There is something so bittersweet about being warm in someone’s presence, even if it’s just for one night. Even if it’s just for someone else’s pleasure. 

“You act like this won’t have any consequences. The people here keep your secrets well, but what will you say when it floats to the surface?”

Kill them. Make them know who you are. You aren’t a nobody. You’re Hibiki Ishii. You do what you want. You’re Number One. Everyone here is at your mercy.

———

“Hibiki?”

The room is freezing cold, even Deja can feel that. Under a mound of blankets is Hibiki on his small bed. She sits by his side to ask what’s wrong, why he’s here and not home. As she takes his face in her hands, it’s cracked down to his neck and stained with tears. It’s rare for anyone to see him like this, even Deja. She tried to get him to talk but it all came out in a shaky mess. He tried to explain how he's felt unlovable, alone, destroyed, disgusting. There was shame coming from Hibiki’s mouth for what possibly was the first time. He’s a monster, he’s evil, he’s ruined everything for himself.

As Deja tried to calm him through his incoherent rambles of hatred and shame, it all came to a sudden halt. The silence surrounding them was intense.

“Xiyang.”

It was a low mumble that Deja couldn’t quite make out.

“Xiyang!”

The fuse was blown. Blood started to drip from his face after a few blows. Deja tried her best to contain him to no avail.

“It’s always his fault! He’s why I’m like this!”

Through loud sobs there was nothing to stop him. His nails tore through his skin.

The scrum between himself and his fists luckily didn’t last long before he was too tired to fight Deja’s restraints. Panting, tired, eyes still filled with tears, Deja dragged him from his ice dungeon to somewhere he could decompress.

____

“Xiyang is why I’m like this. He chose this life for me. It’s always his fault.” 

His head rested against the side of the bath, Deja sitting nearby. She knew he could change. He didn’t have to be the devilish being he was. She didn’t think it was Xiyang’s fault. 

“Mhm, it’s unfortunate things played out in this way for you.”

She reassured his delusions anyways. This is what she’s supposed to do, at least that’s how Boss framed it. She’s new at this whole Hibiki’s scientist thing. God forbid she gets on Boss’ bad side like the last girl did. So for now it was the “you’ve done nothing wrong” narrative. 

For a split second, maybe Hibiki could have changed. Maybe Hibiki knew he was wrong. But whenever he’s wrong, it’s never him. It’s Xiyang. Xiyang, Xiyang, Xiyang.