zackthekiller | Monday, week one. (A word of caution)

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Monday, week one. (A word of caution)

[We're murdering people now?]

[In one instance, he wouldn't have minded. He was provided familiar room and board, and he could kill anyone he wanted as long as he played nice with the other psychos.]

[This was different, though. Now his life was on the line. Along with the magical bullshit he's putting up with, he also has to keep an eye on his standings, plus he has to get enough candy so he can go put up with the familiar shit and find Ray... And if he has to get away with murder, it means he'll be put on trial if he gets caught.]

[Now, Zack has a certian M.O. that could pop up at any point, and while that would make him less likely to kill for some reasons, it would also get him punished for a crime he didn't commit. He needs someone to back him up, someone who isn't too likely to turn on him.]

[Luckily, Zack knows a certian dead eyed girl who hates being forced into bullshit. After dealing with the mystery person in the Network, he sends a private message to Miach's phone.]

Mia, it's Zack. Mind if I crash at your place for a bit? I gotta tell you something important.

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[ Even after the meaning of all that Fav has said sunk in, Miach finds herself feeling detached from the situation. She's already dead, so pushing that on her now seems like nothing but a joke. Yet, she can't help but wonder why Fav's master brought her here even knowing that she ended her own life already - was she meant to be a sacrificial lamb? Or was it because she wanted to see the world burn more than anyone? A lot of questions and no answers that are anything more than a hypothesis.

It's all ridiculous but it still leaves a bitter aftertaste in her mouth. Having a call is a welcome distraction. She is very curious how Zack is taking this after he has presumably calmed down. ]

I'm home, just come over and knock.

[ ... there is something vaguely exciting about saying this. Letting someone she met last week into her apartment with the risk of murder overhead and no computer screens warning her of anything... ]

[A sacrificial lamb. Bleh. He'd rather take his own life than die in this hellhole.]

Thanks. Be there in a few minutes.

[And with that, Zack takes that weird coffee he got from the Gacha the other day and heads over to the apartments. He remembers where Miach led him while she was moving in, so it doesn't take him too long to find it again.]

[Knock, knock.]

Edited 2017-03-20 20:01 (UTC)

[ Briefly she considers going through the motions as she's told them to her friends at school - You ask "who's there" and then you just have to take their word for it - so every time you opened the door you took a little risk - but it seems pretty pointless after their previous phonecall. Another chance will come.

The door swings open and she smiles a little. Her voice is pretty devoid of specific emotion though. ]

That was quite the morning we had.

[ Stepping back she allows him to come inside and pick for himself where to sit - there's two chairs and the bed now and anything is fine by her. ]

[Somehow, the presence of a human being who sucks at being expressive is a welcome comfort.]

... Yeah. It was.

[He walks in and takes a seat on the bed. He holds the bag of coffee (Should have mentioned the coffee wasn't already brewed) in front of him.]

I brought coffee.

[ There are many things Miach knows a lot about, but what coffee is the most expensive is simply not among those. Coffee is coffee, even to her. ]

Good thing the kitchens are astoundingly functional.

[ And with that she'll leave the room shortly to put some water on the stove to heat it. When she's back she lets herself fall onto a chair close to the bed and looks over curiously. ]

Seems like playing nice with everyone has come to an end as of today.

Edited 2017-03-20 20:41 (UTC)

[Zack hasn't read the label, but this is luwak coffee we're brewing. Not that he particularly cares unless he realizes why this stuff's so rare.]

Yep. Now we actually have to watch out for those sickos in the group... Especially that one with the leash...

I ran into someone in the chat who basically warned me that someone in this town is controlling Fav...

[It's important, but that's not why he's here.]

That reminds me... About that killing thing?

Are you prepared to do something like that?

[ She doesn't waste a second in asking that and she doesn't sound like she cares much one way or another. ]

[A small smile crept onto his face.]

Yeah.

[He'd definitely kill.]

You shouldn't be concerned about if I kill someone. You should be concerned about what kind of person I'd kill. I have standards, you know.

So?

[ Miach doesn't look impressed, but she does seem pensive. For a moment there is quiet.

She's met men who kill before, but only ever in situations were they posed direct threats to her. And while there is no telling whether or not she's in danger now, the situation is considerably more relaxed. 'Standards' is not a word she has heard those other men ever utter - not in any way that could be taken seriously. ]

I'm not concerned.

[ To make that clear. ]

But tell me anyway.

[Was that a twinge of fear she was hiding? This girl might have emotions after all.]

[But she doesn't care. That's the thing. If he's going to spill his guts, he may as well do so in front of someone who wouldn't run or scream.]

You want a story, huh?

[He doesn't want to be pitied. He just wants to explain how he thinks.]

When I was a kid, my mom dropped me off at this crappy orphanage after some asshole set me on fire. Now these people running the orphanage... Also assholes. Barely cared for any of the kids over there. Some of them even died there, and they always made me bury the bodies.

[He shrugged at the awful memories. Really, they were nothing compared to whatever hell this Magical Girl thing is supposed to be. Or worse.]

So, one night, I wandered out of my room to get a drink or some shit, and the owners left the tv on, playing a horror movie. You know, the kind where the dumbass teenagers are making out, and then the horrible slasher comes in and rips them apart?

[He grins.]

I wasn't scared. I couldn't get mental scars after being set on fire and left in a shitty home. No, I got ideas.

I decided that the best thing to do... Was take the hunting knife from the kitchen... And stab the SHIT out of those asshole owners.

[He relished the memory then, lips parted in a toothy grin, with a slightly manic look in his eyes.]

[Then he relaxes.] But yeah, I've been killing people ever since.

You're safe, though. I don't care for stabbing emotionless dolls like you - no offense.

[ She listens attentively with her eyes never leaving his face for even a moment. It's a lot to hear someone admit out loud, even for Miach, but she can't say she feels any disapproval. Objectively, all of this is hideous. The 'correct' way of thinking would be to cut all contact immediately, throw him out.... but why would she? This is the ultimate form of living for himself and his own instincts. There is nothing she can blame him for in that. ]

Allow me to revise that: I'm no doll. Dolls are objects to be owned, but I belong only to myself. I'm sure you understand that feeling.

[ Though, since he mentioned horror movies... Miach hasn't seen many because she has to bypass various laws and security regulations to get to them, but she's certainly made good attempts to watch a few. ]

... well, if I was a doll, I'd be the kind that comes alive in the night to take revenge on the household that confines her anyway.

[ All of this is besides the point. ]

[He goes silent for a moment. All of the shit he'd admit to, and she takes offense to the doll part? Well, he picked the right fucked up person to confide in.]

[The killer doll joke gets a chuckle from him, though.] Yeah, I think you've made that pretty damn clear at this point.

But anyway, I meant I don't have any desire to kill people who suck at having emotions. It doesn't feel right, trying to off a person who doesn't even have the will to live anymore. It's like literally beating a dead horse.

[Granted, he was going to make one exception, but he needed the girl to help him escape death trap hell. Gotta give an incentive here.]

So you're going to make them do the work themselves. [ She pauses and smiles. ]

You could call that cruel, but it's fine by me. I've killed myself once already and I don't particularly feel like having someone else do it for me a second time.

So if it's just kill or be killed, I'm with you on the killing part of it. I won't be the means to anyone else's end.

[Eh. He isn't that poetic. Good reason, though.]

Then you shouldn't worry about me.

Just don't go prancing around like a giddy schoolgirl. I have a big problem with people who look way too happy for their own good. If I see them, I can't help but kill 'em.

Though, with that announcement earlier, I doubt that's gonna be a problem anytime soon.

Now it's time for all of them to demonstrate that their own lives are what counts the very most to them. I wonder how long it will take for that to sink in and for chaos to break loose.

[ Only 4 people out of the 20 of them... With numbers like that, Miach wouldn't be surprised if none of them end up surviving. ]

Why'd you tell me about all of this?

[...]

Fav said the murderer would get a bonus if they can get away with it. That means either of us could be framed instead.

I thought I could use a wingman in case someone tried to pin the blame on me. I may be a killer, but if I'm gonna be accused of murder I'd like to have actually done it.

[ Miach tilts her head. ]

Is this implying you'd tell me if you do commit a murder or should I just place unconditional trust in you despite all you just admitted?

[ Because this seems like a relevant question really. ]

Though I certainly think we have more in common than most of the others here, so I do not mind being your ally.

[It does, now that it's been brought up.]

... You know, I wouldn't care if I was found guilty for actually killing someone. I don't want to die here, I'm sure of that, but if I am I better go out with a bang.

[He's already getting ideas.]

I'd like to see 'em try to figure it out themselves first.

... Yeah, I think we have a lot in common too. That's why I told you all of this.

Even if I knew you were guilty, I don't see any reason to just go ahead and tell people.

[ That coffee water should probably be cooking by now, so she gets up and moves to take that bag of coffee from Zack. ]

Of course, it would be unwise of you to just trust my words in a place like this, but words are all we have right now. But "trust" is a term that only gains meaning when there is an element of uncertainty involved anyway.

[Zack sighs.] It's not like I have many other options.

[If he kept to himself, he'd probably end up getting charged for slaughtering some emotionless sap because the corpse was torn up the way he tears people up. That, and he doesn't have many friends in the first place.]

There is one thing I really hate, you know?

[ That gets her to pause on her way to the kitchen and turn her head towards him again. ]

Oh?

Liars.

[He watches her sternly for a minute.]

[ There's a moment of silence, though Miach's expression doesn't change. 'Liars', huh? It seems like an almost childish thing to despise, but Miach can't say she doesn't understand what kind of place it comes from. ]

I don't care about lying. When the whole world around me is a sugar-sweet lie, the best I can do is refuse to change myself for anyone or anything, you know?

Maybe in another time, another era, I'd have found pleasure in deceiving people. I certainly do think dishonesty is part of human wickedness.

But I'm not that person now. I'd rather demonstrate my true self until the end.

[He watches her cautiously as she explains herself. She has a point, the world is full of shitty liars. Of course, she would also have to lie sometimes. But taking pleasure in it? There's another level of fucked up.]

[But she says she's changed. He's not sure about that.]

You promise?

Sure. I promise that I haven't lied to you and won't lie to you in the future.

[ Her tone of voice is pretty casual, but she's not being dishonest here either. ]

I'm going to make us that coffee now.

[ As she leaves the room for the moment, Miach wonders if anyone has ever been so insistent about not being lied to by her. Her adoptive parents, in theory, of course, but in practice they had swallowed up any bit of untruth that made it seem like she was okay. As for her friends... maybe the idea that Miach could be lying hadn't even occured to either of them. Curious. ]

You better not...

[Or else.]

[He's sure he's made it clear to Mia that he would get revenge if she betrayed him.]

[He waits for his coffee.]

[ If Miach ever would find a reason to betray Zack, then going down at the fault of her own actions doesn't even sound so bad.

It only takes a moment for her to emerge again with two cups of black coffee - the cups are kind of chipped but clean. She'll hand Zack one - if he wants sugar or milk then.... well, that would need to be arranged. Somehow.

Miach sits down next to him on the bed this time, own cup in hand. ]

If you want to ask me anything to test my sincerity, go ahead.

[Zack doesn't care. He'll just put up with the bitterness. Besides, he's lived in worse dumps.]

... Alright, random question one. What were you like as a kid?

[He could threaten to kill her, but she doesn't care if she dies and that's not good.]

[ Miach blinks at that and then laughs a short but genuinely amused laugh. ]

I'm impressed by the fact that you managed to pick a question I cannot answer - though make no mistake, by cannot I mean 'literally not able to' not 'unwilling'.

I don't have any clear memories from before I was 8. I do think I was happy before then though.

[ She smiles wistfully as she tries to grasp whatever vague memories keep escaping her. ]

... Oh.

[So she has amnesia. Whoops.]

I had no idea. Is there anything you can remember? After you were 8?

Hell.

[ She pauses, then corrects herself: ]

Though a different kind of hell than the society I already told you about.

Another thing we have in common is that we've been put through the orphan care system. They plucked me out of a war zone, put me through therapy, layered kindness and compassion onto me like cement and then decided I was fit to be put into their perfect little world.

I went from a place made out of iron and blood into a world where nobody has ever had to see a serious injury, let alone a corpse. [ Miach shakes her head at that naivety. ]

I liked it fine at first - nobody touched me physically, I had all that I needed to live... but it wasn't long before I noticed that it's just another kind of torture. They won't touch you physically, but the clean and sterile inhumanity expected from living humans just kills you all the same.

So then I made the same choice you made: I decided to get back at the world that tried to swallow me.

[That... Got his attention. He's going to sit here quietly and listen to her story.]

So... You were alive for the apocalypse, and they tried to make you...

Damn.

I guess we do have that in common, even though you were stuck with the health Nazis while I got... You know.

Oh, the war I'm from wasn't the Maelstrom. That one happened before I was born.

Chechnya is simply one of the conflict zones left over. Most of the world is covered by lifeism but my home country is still fighting even now.

Funny, isn't it? I don't think anyone noticed I'm not even Japanese.

[ She certainly looks close enough to it - her minority doesn't have too much resemblance to their direct neighbours either. ]

... I have never heard of that country before in my life, but it sounds like hell.

[Last time Zack checked, actual Japanese people didn't have blue hair. It's possible hair dye is popular in the future, but who cares about the future of hair?!]

How'd you end up in life-land, then?

Well, I was eventually freed from Russian slavery by Chechen freedom fighters and given into an adoption program. Japan was trying to fight against the decreasing birth rate in their country - you know, how everything those days is about ensuring the survival of the community. So they had this program about adopting war orphans and integrating them into Japanese society.

That's what brought me to the Mihies.

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Monday, week one. (A word of caution)

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CW: Abuse

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CW Abuse indeed, indeed

Holy shit.

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