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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Sept 18, 2010 19:37:49 GMT -5
Abel relaxed a bit as Seth opened his eyes. He nodded at Seth's words. "...I'm... sorry I alarmed you. Cain told me this would happen earlier today."
He looked over toward the dead and somehow still smirking body of his eldest brother. Something seemed odd to him and he looked back toward Seth.
"...How are you alive?" Abel asked. "That's two killing blows you've come back from. I saw that Hito-shura kill you, and that brick should have killed you just now."
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Post by mugenginga on Sept 18, 2010 19:47:03 GMT -5
Seth reached for the wall behind him and used a bit of indented wall as a support to push himself back into a sitting position. His eyes wandered to Cain's body at the same time Abel's did, although Seth's glance was in response to the words. He turned back towards Abel when he saw his king's head turn, and they were both looking at each other before Abel spoke again. Seth frowned for a moment and glanced to the side. That pain was still in his head, and he could see the blood on the brick that had hit him.
"I think..." Seth hesitated. He had to tell Abel that he'd been the one to deliver the killing blow on Cain. He mentally chastized himself for his foolishness. It was Abel's right to know as much as it was Abel's right to punish him if he was angered. He looked back at Abel, "I'm not sure I can be killed, Your Majesty. Not after I dealt the final blow to General Cain."
A lot of things had seemed to change since the last time Abel had seen Seth. He was speaking with far more deference now, from the way he was addressing the members of the Court to a shift in the Japanese he was using. It was less like a sibling and more like one of the demons that actually respected Abel's position would speak. It wasn't just that, either. The maturity level in Seth's eyes had become more like Cain's, and yet they were more focused. It didn't look like Seth was looking at something beyond what the rest of the world could perceive any more.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Sept 18, 2010 19:58:42 GMT -5
Abel's eyes narrowed at Seth's words. Not because of the information Seth had just given him. He wasn't sure why killing Cain had caused Seth to no longer to die, but the words "final blow" meant Hitoshura had been the one to really kill Cain. Abel's feelings of hate toward Lucifer and the demons now associated hadn't faded.
What had caused Abel's reaction toward Seth's words were the vocabulary he was using. Before, he'd spoken like a sibling in most cases. And here he was talking like he was nothing more than a servant.
"Why are you talking differently," Abel growled.
Seth wasn't the only one whose mannerisms had changed. With Abel, there was a rather noticeable shift to how he had acted before arriving on the island, but there also a rather noticeable lack of... recklessness. Instead his voice seemed to lack emotion. It was almost like how Hitoshura had spoken.
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Post by mugenginga on Sept 18, 2010 20:05:21 GMT -5
Seth was about as unaware of Abel's shifts in mannerisms as his king was with his. He also had a feeling he knew why, something he had known needed to happen for some time but was unwilling to accept. Beyond even that, Seth now had the knowledge Keiji hadn't had in regards of how one should function to their king, human or not. His position as Prince was a mere title, he was just a human allowed to serve in the army of a demon king. And if it was true he couldn't be killed, that position was quite possibly more precarious than before.
"It would be wrong to speak to one's king otherwise, Your Majesty," Seth said. That hadn't sounded as brave (or hell, even neutral) as he had hoped. Being damaged still hurt, after all.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Sept 18, 2010 20:30:09 GMT -5
"Your previous way of speaking didn't bother me," Abel growled. He was honestly bothered by Seth's sudden change. Had Cain known this would happen when Seth killed him? Abel honestly had no clue. He couldn't ever get into that man's head.
He stood up. "I'll take care of Cain's body. You should head back to the hotel and inform Atsuro of what's happened."
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Post by mugenginga on Sept 18, 2010 20:40:19 GMT -5
Seth looked to the side at Abel's admonishment. The way he'd spoken before was the way of speaking the person who expected Keiichi Kimura to get out of this might have had. As far as Seth was concerned, those horns were proof he wouldn't. The demon realm had proven itself no place for Keiichi, to begin with. Seth turned back towards Abel as he got to his feet and he did the same.
"You... King Abel," Seth started. It was a slight improvement, at least, "Could I have his haori? My shirt is in pieces and I can see my breath when I talk."
Which could easily be mistaken as not respecting the dead. Seth was far more torn about the loss of Cain then he was willing to show. Especially to a demon, his older brother and king or not. The fact was Cain was dead and nothing more than a shell. The part that was actually Cain would be back in four to five years. Asking for the article of clothing wasn't just a matter of protection from the elements. Seth knew what was probably going to happen to the body. It was foolish sentimentality, but he wanted to keep something.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Sept 18, 2010 20:58:36 GMT -5
Abel looked back toward Seth at the request for the haori. He looked down before pulling the hood on his jacket up over his head. It was mainly to cover his horns, but in truth, it was to hide himself from the world. He hadn't wanted to lose K1, but the day's events had proved that he was impossible to keep.
He walked over to Cain's body and pulled the haori off of it. In a way, it surprised Abel how long it had lasted. Even those headphones Abel had worn before had been cracked and in disrepair after the events of the Lockdown and the following months. He handed the haori to Seth.
"I don't know if I'll be home tonight. If I don't come back, there are two gold objects in my room I want you to hang onto. You'll likely recognize them," Abel said. He looked down toward Cain's body and summoned a flame above his hand. With a flick, the flame fell from Abel's hand to Cain's body and ignited it.
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Post by mugenginga on Sept 18, 2010 21:18:34 GMT -5
Seth took the haori in hand, grasping it tighter than he intended. He was still only human with all his memories, wasn't he? He'd never been as brutal as Cain, and he didn't think so many incarnations without memories were to blame. He was pretty sure it was a difference of souls. There quite possibly was something to the favored child status Cain was touted to claim in the stories. After all, his former status as "back up" Messiah proved that his parents in that first life hadn't been the only ones who saw him as a replacement.
"Understood."
Seth was walking away as he pulled the haori on. He only sped up when he felt the heat at his back. He'd been in wars, it wasn't that he couldn't deal with the burning of bodies. It was just something he preferred not to when given the chance to avoid. He'd be out of Abel's sight by the time the fire had spread to Cain's entire body.
-----
"Captain Atsuro, I need to speak to you."
Seth had lightly tapped on Atsuro's door and received no response. He'd followed it up with the words and a heavier knock. Seth's fingers were still dealing with the lingering effects of cold. His left hand was holding the haori shut. It was a touch baggy, to be expected given the age difference of him and Cain. Seth's cape made it a rather disorganized appearance as Seth had flipped it over the top of the haori. His COMP was in the right pocket. Cain's remained in the left.
The Prince of Bel frowned at the continued silence. He could hear the COMP alarm. He didn't think Atsuro would simply ignore it, but it was hard to buy he could be that asleep. Seth looked to the side as he thought of how exhausted Atsuro had to be after Kaido's death. Now wasn't the time, though. He gave a final triple knock with enough force to hurt his knuckles.
"Captain Atsuro, open the door!"
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Sept 18, 2010 22:01:33 GMT -5
Atsuro had woken up at the knocks. He hadn't heard the alarm go off in his sleep. Hell, with how exhausted he'd been, he was surprised that knock had woken him up. He looked toward the COMP, which had been left open when he fell asleep, and his eyes widened. Three alerts. Strangely, two of them were for Seth... and both of them said they'd "reconnected". But that third one... that was Cain.
He looked toward the door again and his eyes narrowed. He closed the COMP, cutting off the alarm, before grabbing it and climbing out of bed. He walked over to the door, and very carefully opened it. His eyes widened at Seth's appearance. Other than the haori and cape he wore, Seth was shirtless, which was typically a pretty bad move what with what the weather was like lately. Not only that, but Seth was covered in blood, all of it human, even though he had no injuries. And then there was the simple fact that Seth's eyes were more in focus than Atsuro had ever seen them. All of this made for a very suspicious looking Seth to Atsuro.
He decided to start with the simple question first. No one in their Court had called him "Captain Atsuro" for a very long time. The fact that Seth was calling him that now was in itself suspicious. "Since when did you call me 'Captain'?"
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Post by mugenginga on Sept 19, 2010 1:47:25 GMT -5
Seth was kicking himself mentally for that as soon as Atsuro called him out on it. Abel had been upset by the change of address, and that was even with his humanity finally slipping away. Atsuro would be the same Atsuro as always. Seth hesitated a bit in response to the question before closing his eyes and hanging his head.
"It's a... complicated story," Seth said. It wasn't exactly long, although it was quite possible it would get dragged out by justifiable reactions. Seth stepped back and looked towards Abel's door, "I'd prefer if we continued this discussion in His Majesty's room. He said he probably won't be back tonight and he wanted me to watch two things for him."
It actually hadn't occurred to Seth that Atsuro was possibly unconvinced it was really him. Or that his suggestion would make the other teenager even more suspicious. Pulling him out of his room and towards Abel's. Not to mention the "two objects" that it may have slipped Abel's mind to inform Atsuro about. When one added the change in address, one really couldn't blame Atsuro.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Sept 19, 2010 8:51:19 GMT -5
Atsuro narrowed his eyes. Whatever this was, it didn't seem much like Seth. Both Kaido and Cain at the very least were dead. And now, staring at this not-Seth, Atsuro got the distinct feeling Seth was dead too. Had died more than once, Atsuro wasn't sure how that had worked out. But that look in Seth's eyes, the way he was talking, all of it pointed to this not being quite Seth.
"I'll stay here, thanks," Atsuro growled. Considering the circumstances and the events of the day, he was pretty sure what this person, if they really weren't Seth, was trying to do. They were trying to lure him into Abel's room, kill him, and leave his dead body for Abel to find. He didn't doubt the comment about Abel not being back that night. Abel hadn't been back all day.
He kept his hand closed around his COMP. He wasn't going to let himself get killed. If someone thought their court needed to die to get a reaction out of Abel, then he was going to fight back. All this really meant one thing: he didn't trust the man in front of him a bit.
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Post by mugenginga on Sept 19, 2010 9:15:57 GMT -5
Now it hit Seth that Atsuro was suspicious of him. The Prince of Bel didn't blame him either. Hadn't he used a Doppelganger against Hitoshura? And it wasn't like it would have been the first time a demon had taken his form. He looked towards Abel's room for a minute before letting out a sigh. He looked back at Atsuro. He wanted to get to what Abel had told him he do, but insisting would only make the Captain more suspicious.
"I'm sorry, Ca... Atsuro. We can stay here if it makes you more comfortable, but could we go into the room?"
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Sept 19, 2010 9:23:54 GMT -5
Atsuro looked toward Abel's door before looking back toward Seth. His gaze was still suspicious. "Fine. But you're going in first."
He wasn't taking his eyes off of Seth for a moment. This person's personality was nothing like Seth. When Seth called Abel "His Majesty", it wasn't as confidently as Seth was saying it now. Atsuro hadn't heard anything about those two "things" Abel wanted Seth to watch for him, though it was possible Abel had just gotten them today, and Atsuro hadn't noticed.
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Post by mugenginga on Sept 19, 2010 9:40:09 GMT -5
Seth looked a bit pained at Atsuro's words, but nodded. He pulled his right hand out of his pocket so Atsuro could see it. It had been around his COMP, but at this point a show of trust was probably better. He stepped into the room and toward the wall that seperated his and Atsuro's room. He didn't sit down.
"How much do you know?" Seth said. No need to delay the point.
-----
The light in Abel's room was off, and the curtains were drawn. The angle of the moon was wrong to afford the room any pools of real shadow. Which was what made the way the darkness shifted so very unnatural. A demon that hadn't been seen by the Court of Bel in weeks stepped out of the shift, its form seeming to be constructed of black muscles. A smile seemed to somehow form on its featureless face. To think, in the time Cain had spent in this life, he hadn't thought it important to attach a function on the COMP that could sense powerful demons. Well, it served his purposes well enough.
Nyarlathotep flew over to a drawer in the room. There was a padlock around one drawer. Nyarlathotep almost chuckled at how blatent the King of Bel had been with it. Any human that was to wander in here was likely to be able to do something about a lock. It had to be a case of hiding in plain sight. Nyarlathotep wrapped its claw like hand around the lock and gave a quick jerk down. Almost no noise, and the lock snapped in two. Any demon could tell his target was there, let alone one with such an... attachment to the Items within.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Sept 19, 2010 9:44:45 GMT -5
Atsuro followed Seth inside, still keeping a careful eye on the man. He remained standing as well.
"I know Cain's dead, and that your COMP showed you as being dead twice," Atsuro said.
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