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Post by mugenginga on Sept 12, 2010 1:55:00 GMT -5
After Abel had left Cain and Seth's room the previous night, Cain had finished setting up the program on the COMP. Seth had already fallen back asleep in the short time it had taken, and so Cain had stuck it on the bedstand and plugged it in. He'd fallen into a light sleep afterwards.
Kaido had been the first one awake the following morning. More truthfully, he hadn't done more than lightly napped for about an hour that night. When he'd given up on solid sleep, Atsuro had already turned in. It wasn't light out yet when he swung his legs over the side of the bed. He was rather irritated with Abel, more so then he figured Atsuro knew. The man had unplugged his COMP from the wall, jammed it in his pocket, and left the room. He'd closed the door softly so he wouldn't wake Atsuro up. The guy would try to stop him.
The man stepped out onto the fairly still street at about 7AM. It wasn't totally still, it was a major metropolitan area after all. In fact, Kaido was likely amiss for not noticing that it was more still then it should be. The streets were more or less empty. He took in a breath of the cold air, pulling the COMP out of his pocket as the temperature difference showed his exhale. He flipped it open and glanced towards the time in the corner.
He frowned at the time. 4:13 AM, and the colon wasn't flashing like usual. He glanced at the horizon. It wasn't that early in the morning, he could see the faintest traces of morning trying to creep up. He looked back at the COMP and scowled before smacking the side of it with the palm of his hand a few times. The time didn't seem to reset.
Kaido glanced back up towards the building and his scowl deepened. To hell with it, he'd get Cain to deal with his COMP later. As far as he could tell the important functions seemed in working order. He stuck his hands in his pocket, slightly regretting not grabbing a coat before heading out. Damned if he was going to go back up there and get himself caught, though. He turned and headed down the alley closest to the hotel. He'd always been more used to travelling by them, and the habits of the Bel Court had kept it the most efficient form of commute.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Sept 12, 2010 2:11:40 GMT -5
It was the rather shrill beeping sound of the clock alarm that woke Atsuro. He groaned and reached over to hit the snooze before shoving his face back under a pillow. He didn't want to get up right now. After a moment, he convinced himself to get up and sat up with a yawn. It took him another moment to reach over and check the time on the clock. 7:00 AM. He hadn't intended to set the time that early the night before, but it looked like that had what it had ended up being set to.
Out of habit, Atsuro picked his COMP off of the bedside table and opened it to check for any strange mails. Nothing. There was nothing even of note with his COMP. The time on the COMP read the same as the time on his clock. 7:05 AM.
------------------
Most efficient did not always mean most safe. Naoki had been trailing Kaido since he'd left the apartments earlier. His energy had been muted, so Abel would not sense him. Kaido wouldn't notice him, because he was sticking to the shadows today, and as long as he was in his human form, he wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb. It was only after Kaido had traveled a ways into the alleys and was far out of the more populated areas of town that Naoki finally spoke.
"You're a fool, Tadashi."
Naoki held up his hand, and the glowing markings formed on Naoki's hand before a large energy sword appeared from his hand. He held it up before slashing at Kaido. It was an attack meant to kill.
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Post by mugenginga on Sept 12, 2010 2:37:34 GMT -5
Kaido was only alive at the current juncture because Naoki had spoken first. He'd stopped at most three steps to the side from Naoki, who was concealed by shadows and throwing his voice. It was to the point Kaido couldn't figure out where it was coming from. The voice set Kaido's awareness high enough that he noted the light just in time to leap out of the way. It wasn't the most graceful dodge, but he hit the ground in a roll and was on his feet by the end. His COMP was also out of his pocket and flipped open.
"Tch. You're a coward, aren't you?" Kaido stated, his fingers moving over the COMP as the man glanced around trying to find his attacker, "If you had any balls you'd attack me in person."
He hit the confirmation button on his COMP and two demons materialized. To his left was Pazuzu, and to his right materialized Yama. Kaido was still trying to figure out where his attacker had gone. That attack had looked to be someting beyond what a basic human could do... but neither of his summoned demons were acting like they could sense a demon. Kaido has a rather nasty scowl on his face and every muscle in his body showed he was ready to react.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Sept 12, 2010 2:48:44 GMT -5
Naoki already knew who to target first. He slipped behind Yama and grabbed the demon by the back of its head before shoving it into the side of the alley. It killed the demon pretty much instantly just from the pure amount of force Naoki was using. At this point, he allowed his markings to show, though they hadn't burned through his clothes yet.
"'Balls' doesn't keep you alive, Tadashi," Naoki said. His voice was a bit monotonic. He dropped Yama's body, and didn't bother to move so that Kaido could see him now. The man wanted a head-on fight, he'd get one. Might keep him alive for five seconds longer.
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Post by mugenginga on Sept 12, 2010 3:14:00 GMT -5
Yama let out a surprised sound. Or half a sound, given that Naoki was moving with enough speed that Yama was hitting the side of a building before he could get any further sound out. Both Kaido and Pazuzu had turned in response to the sound. Kaido let out another 'tch' noise as he heard the crunch.
At the moment of the sound Naoki's markings displayed. They showed through the clothes with a faint and muted light, clearly marking his entire presence. And his eyes were quite visible, the irises standing out against the markings. The form of his body was still somewhat hard to make out, but Kaido had no problem seeing him. He gave a smirk.
"I never expected to live to old age, anyways," Kaido stated, his voice somewhat bored. There was a noticable lack of fear in his aura, although traces of excitement were building. He pressed a single button on his COMP, "At least I know I'm not fighting a coward."
He pressed a button on his COMP before pulling back his hand and putting a punch forward, his aim being to deliver the Power Hit to Naoki's chest via Chaos Wave. Even before he'd begun to throw his arm forward, a significant bit of energy had gathered at the top of Pazuzu's crown like piece. The black energy that swirled up around both fighters would deliver Kaido's attack in addition to three hits from Holy Dance. This was all assuming Naoki didn't dodge... providing he even felt like bothering. The fact was that he stood at a different level then Kaido.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Sept 12, 2010 3:28:46 GMT -5
Naoki's expression didn't change. He took the hits from the Power Hit and the Holy Dance without even flinching, though they did tear holes in his fragile clothes. His bored expression remained even as he looked toward the Pazuzu and decided to kill it next. Naoki moved at an almost blinding speed and appeared behind it before grabbing it by the wings and tearing the top two off. He kicked the demon to the ground before looking toward Kaido.
At this point, Naoki stepped out of the shadows so Kaido could see him. He said nothing, but held up his hand and formed another energy blade.
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Post by mugenginga on Sept 12, 2010 3:48:35 GMT -5
Kaido had lowered his hand just before the Chaos Wave impacted. His eyes narrowed and he gave an even deeper glare then before when he noted that Naoki didn't seem like he was going to try to dodge. It didn't seem plausible the other man would just surrender. The attack impacted as expected, the wave fading into nothingness in a circle around the points of impact and Naoki was left with tatters hanging from his shoulders.
It was then that Kaido's eyes widened. The guy hadn't tried to dodge, and he now realized it was for good reason. He had to fight the urge to take a step back, and there was a sharp spike in his apprehension about the situation as the reality of it sunk in. Kaido ducked down and moved quickly to the side as Naoki all but flew past him. Pazuzu tried to dodge, but ended up getting caught by both its upper wings. With a rip to either side comparable to a child tearing paper, the wings came clean off and black blood freely flowed from the exposed veins.
Pazuzu let out an unholy howl both of pain and rage. It tried to spin around do deliver an attack directly to Naoki, but the Hitoshura kicked him down. The winged demon's face planted on the ground as Naoki moved again to stand in front of Kaido. Kaido grit his teeth, his expression the defiant expression of a person knowing they were screwed. He'd been honest about not expecting to live to old age. He'd run a gang and he served the King of Demons in a war against god. A King who he quite honestly doubted could defeat this... "man".
Kaido gave a large swallow, his glare deepening at the audible sound it made. He clenched his hands into fists and planted his feet as the blade grew from Naoki's hand. He looked over at Pazuzu's now still form. It wasn't dead yet, it would have vanished by now, but it was out of the fight. It looked back at Naoki, who still had that emotionless stare fixed on him.
"Looks like I won't be seeing you again, Mari," he said with a bitter expression.
He noted that it was funny how things worked out. It had been stupid to go out on his own like this, he probably really was a "fool" like this guy had called him. He gave a small bitter chuckle at that. Well, the least valuable player wasn't an issue anymore, now was he? And that Atsuro guy wouldn't have to deal with looking his best friend's killer in the face anymore. Kaido rotated the foot most of his weight was supported on and then launched at Naoki. He wanted to get at least one final shot it, right to the center of the guy's face...
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Sept 12, 2010 4:17:03 GMT -5
Naoki stood still as Kaido said his final words. When the man launched himself at him, Naoki launched forward as well, slashing at Kaido. The attack impacted this time, and an almost literal fountain of blood spewed out from the man's body. Once that fountain spewed out, Naoki knew he didn't have to attack Kaido any further. The glow began to decrease and Naoki turned to look at Kaido.
"This happened because your king refused to fight," Naoki stated. He looked down at the COMP that had fallen from Kaido's hand and stomped on it. That would bring them all running quickly enough. He pulled out the same notepad he'd been looking at before from the tattered remnants of his jacket and wrote a short message on it before throwing it down on the body. By the time the message hit the ground, Naoki was gone.
-----------------
Abel didn't want to move. His whole body was screaming with pain, with it concentrated in his skull, and he was curled into a ball shape on his bed and tightly grasping the sheets with one hand. It was this body that was causing this pain. This human body was causing it. The markings had darkened and spread overnight, and at this point had spread to his arms and legs. He just wanted this pain to stop.
The loud sound of a COMP alert made him move out of the position he'd contorted himself into and flick open his COMP. He moved it to a position where he could see the message and his eyes widened. This time it was Kaido's.
"Shit," Abel growled to himself. He didn't care about Kaido as much, but Kaido could also defend himself. How had he gotten his COMP broken? He slowly pulled himself off of the bed and walked to the door before pulling it open and heading outside. He was rushing as fast as he could, but it was still slower than usual. For one, you could see him running.
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Atsuro had actually been in the bathroom brushing his teeth when the COMP alert went off. His face blanched. Seth was in no condition to attack anyone, neither Abel nor Seth had left... oh god. He rushed over to his COMP and flicked it open for comparison between what the COMP was saying and his thoughts before officially freaking.
"No! Dammit!" Atsuro yelled as he ran outside, COMP in hand. He would run out just as Abel started down the stairs.
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Post by mugenginga on Sept 12, 2010 12:16:36 GMT -5
That launch had been all about catching his attacker off guard. Both of them knew he was dead, so Kaido was gambling that the man wouldn't expect a final bit of fight. He knew he had lost the gamble when the man ran forward at the same moment he did. It wasn't even much faster then him, the clearest sign yet his opponent wasn't putting much effort into this. The way he'd stepped forward hadn't included the intention of dodging, and as a result the attack had full impact.
His forward momentum continued as the blade formed a deep gash extending from just above his left collar bone down to his right hip. It was deep enough that the slice had cut into his heart. Each pump was weaker than the last, but brought another stream of blood. A fair amount shed onto Hitoshura as Kaido collapsed forward. The man only seemed inclined to move when Kaido collapsed. Tadashi Nikaido's eyes lifeless eyes remained open as he hit the ground, his expression frozen halfway between a reaction of pain and the bitter grimace that had tried to forms at the last words he'd ever hear.
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The COMPs had in fact begun to react a few seconds before Hitoshura had destroyed Kaido's machine. The alarm functioned on the connection being lost, whether it was via the machine's destruction or the loss of the link between user and program. That link was a rather cruel failsafe that had amused Cain when he created it. The loss of the link allowed a new user to access the COMP... providing they could survive the initial encounter, which also reset.
Seth had been awake since seven thirty. He had not idea how long Cain had been awake. His oldest brother seemed almost to operate in his own world, and one never really caught a glimpse of it unless he wanted them to. Cain was currently sitting on the bed and doing something on one of the COMPs that had been bought. Seth had noted that the man did that a lot in his spare time. Cain seemed to have a genuine interest in computer programming.
The youngest of the Bel siblings was on his own bed, reading an english book. Of their group, Cain was the only other one able to do that, an extension of the knowledge of many lives. He had wanted to go out that morning, but Cain had proven he wasn't as asleep as he had seemed at the time and told Seth it was a bad idea. It was because of the following series of questions that Seth really understood what was going on.
When the COMPs went off, Seth jerked out of his book and scrambled to get his device off the bedstand. He yanked the cord Cain had put into it last night out and flipped it open. If Seth hadn't known any better, he would have said Cain hadn't even heard it. He looked at the display and read displayed kana and english lettering. Kaido.
He threw his legs over the side of the bed and ran towards the door. He yanked it open, stopping when he realized Cain hadn't even gotten off the bed. He looked over to Cain and narrowed his eyes. They were very in focus, any one could see he looking at Cain. The silver haired man lifted his head and pressed a button on his COMP to turn off the alert.
"Cain, you're not just going to sit there are you!? Kaido's in trouble!"
"Kaido is dead," Cain stated with a slight smirk. He still hadn't lifted his head from the screen.
Seth opened his mouth to object to Cain's claim. He wanted to say that his oldest brother that he couldn't know that. He wanted to, but he knew he couldn't. If Cain thought Kaido was dead, there really wasn't another option. And Seth could even fill in what hadn't been said. He'd been informed about the situation. Seth closed his eyes and turned away from Cain, his expression angry. He flew out the door, slamming it behind him just as Atsuro came out the door. He looked at the black haired teenager and his expression softened a bit.
"Cain's not coming," Seth said. He ran past Atsuro without giving him a chance to respond, his cape trailing a bit behind him.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Sept 12, 2010 15:23:41 GMT -5
Atsuro paused only because Seth stopped to talk to him. He swore before running after Seth. Of course Cain wasn't coming, the bastard. He didn't care about Kaido at all, and Atsuro knew the only reason Cain had worked with him in the past was because their interests coincided.
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Abel was the first to reach Kaido's body. He'd only gotten there first because even slowed, he was still faster than the rest of them. He was standing just off to the side so the blood from the body wouldn't stain his shoes. He turned his head toward a small crater on a wall stained with blackish blood, and then toward where a fairly large amount of blackish blood had spewed out across the ground. There was a shattered COMP on the ground next to Kaido's body, and bloodied shoeprints lead away from it.
Abel had no particular attachment toward Kaido. He'd been the one to tell him first that he was the most useless member of their group, after all. But even Abel recognized what Kaido's death was. It was a message to the rest of them. He knew who had killed Kaido, too.
It was at this point he spotted a slip of paper on top of Kaido's body. Abel bent down and picked it up, spending only a moment to read it before crushing it in his hand. His cowardice had caused this....? Then fine. He was tired of this anyways.
That was the real reason he didn't want to leave the island, despite everything that had happened to them here. There were two (now three) demons he wanted to kill on this island. Nyarlathotep was a deserter. Hitoshura had killed one of his men. And Lucifer had humiliated him for far too long.
He'd show them just how "cowardly" he really was.
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Post by mugenginga on Sept 12, 2010 15:34:00 GMT -5
Abel had gotten out of sight fairly quickly. The door had just clicked shut as Seth reached the lobby. Seth wasn't even aware Abel was slowed as a result, his observational skills not high enough to realize that if Abel had been going at full speed, he wouldn't have even seen the door click shut. The scarred young man turned back to make sure Atsuro was with him as he pulled accessed the map feature of his COMP. It looked like Kaido had been killed in the alleys.
As soon as he confirmed Atsuro was following, Seth moved forward again. Seth was faster then Atsuro if only because he was better fit. There was a fair bit of adrenaline going as well, although it was not to be mistaken for fear. The door would still be partially open by the time Atsuro reached it.
It was as Abel was crushing the note that Seth reached the alley, his breathing heavy for the sprint he'd taken to get there. He saw Abel first, but his eyes were quick to reach Kaido's body. He drew in a sharp breath of surprise. Kaido's entire upper body had been sliced open. He closed his eyes and looked away for a moment. Atsuro would be coming up behind him just as he recovered. He took a few trotting steps forward and crouched down next to Kaido. He reached to the man's face and carefully closed his eyes before looking back at Atsuro with a slightly depressed expression. He'd said nothing to Abel, the main reason being the fire he could see in his King's eyes.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Sept 12, 2010 16:06:55 GMT -5
Atsuro had stopped at the entrance to the alley he'd seen Seth enter. There was a sharp intake of breath as he saw Kaido's body before his expression fell. That alarm had meant Kaido... had died. He took a few steps toward Kaido's body, stopping when he stood next to Abel. Abel looked up from watching Seth to Atsuro.
"...Do what you want with him," Abel said. He didn't really care what Atsuro did with Kaido. Out of all of them, Atsuro was the one who had the most interaction with and any kind of emotion toward Kaido. He wanted to give Atsuro some kind of closure. Whether Atsuro burned the body or mutilated it out of revenge, Abel didn't care.
He turned from the scene and walked away, his hand still clenching the note extremely tightly. Atsuro was afraid for a moment that Abel might cut his palms open with his fingernails with how tightly he was grasping it... and then the dark red blood did start trickling from Abel's palm.
"H-Hey! Abel!" Atsuro yelled. Abel paused and held his hand up before sighing and wiping his hand on his pants. There were still some rather nasty cuts on his hand, but he didn't seem to care. It was at this point Atsuro noticed the glowing lines just underneath Abel's sleeve cuff.
"I'm going back," Abel said in a low voice. He turned the corner and continued walking away. Atsuro closed his eyes and looked back toward Kaido and Seth.
"We should bury his body," Atsuro said quietly. "We can't leave it here."
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Post by mugenginga on Sept 12, 2010 16:35:05 GMT -5
Seth looked over at Abel as he spoke. It was only for a second due to the expression on Abel's face. The expession and the tone. That anger was calm... dangerously calm. He pushed himself to his feet, his eyes falling to the bit of blood at visible at the bottom of his dark grey cape. He looked at his hands with a distant expression. A bit of Kaido's blood had gotten onto them.
It was from that angle that anyone watching his hands would notice a slight shake. It wasn't as much fear as shock. He grabbed the edge of his cape and wiped his hands on it. Several times, and even after the excessive rubbing had reddened his hands and somehow managed to remove the blood, he was wiping. His eyes remained distant, but his expression had shifted to one of distress as he continued to wipe. He didn't appear to hear Atsuro's words about what they should do with the body.
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Cain had deigned to leave the apartment around the time Atsuro had gotten out of the hotel. He was now halfway to where the the COMP had indicated Kaido's body lay. He smirked at the reaction Seth had given. He knew his youngest brother trusted his assessment of the situation. There were times when he underestimated the stupidity of most humans. He had thought for sure Seth would be the first target, but Kaido's choice that morning (he had been quite aware of it despite the obvious attempts by Kaido for it to remain concealed) had cost him his life. Cain looked up as he caught a bit of rather fast movement in the shadows.
"Come now, Abel. Since when haven't you trusted your older brother?" he said with a smirk.
It would be all but impossible Abel wouldn't know he knew. Abel had two life's worth of memories of the man. He'd know more than that Cain knew of Kaido's fate. He'd also be aware, or at least strongly suspect, that Cain had known Kaido had left that morning. One could indirectly blame Cain for Kaido's death, in a way.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Sept 12, 2010 17:12:43 GMT -5
Atsuro began to look concerned as Seth continued to wipe his hands. As Seth's expression shifted to one of distress Atsuro took several steps toward him, speeding up with each step. When he reached Seth, he rather firmly grasped Seth's wrist to stop him from wiping it further. Atsuro's expression was pained as he spoke.
"Stop, Seth," Atsuro said. "There's nothing else we can do now..."
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Abel had almost missed Cain. The only reason he hadn't was because Cain had spoke up then. He glared at the man. He was well aware Cain already knew Kaido had died. That was probably why he hadn't come here until now. As much as Abel wanted to take his anger out on Cain, he didn't see a point in doing so right now. He gave a slight wince of pain as he turned toward him and glared.
"I'm not in the mood, Cain," Abel snarled.
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Post by mugenginga on Sept 12, 2010 17:22:44 GMT -5
Seth's muscles locked up as Atsuro grabbed his wrist. His eyes came more into focus and he looked up at Atsuro. His free wrist twitched as if it was going to rub his hand again. He looked down at it and wiped it on the side of his pants and nodded. He looked at Kaido's body. It was a bit better now that his eyes weren't open, but he still couldn't find words to express it. They'd gone for so long without losing a member of their group...
"It would be better to burn him," Seth stated. His voice wobbled a bit as he looked up at Atsuro. It would be easier, it would be quicker. He did sound a bit pained as he continued, "I... don't think we should leave his body laying around, even underground."
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Cain gave a very faint frown at Abel's comment. He looked at his younger brother for a moment, seeming to consider something. He then stepped forward without warning, taking Abel's upper head into his hands. The height difference allowed him to look down on him.
"I don't want you to think you can't tell me things," Cain stated. His voice was serious. He shifted the angle of his head to look Abel in the eyes, "Your headache has been constant, hasn't it?"
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