[Bumping into a feverish shambling guy hiding chicken carcasses under a thick trenchcoat probably wasn't the weirdest thing in Yokohama. Questionable, sure, but if the guy willingly wanted to go to the great beyond with a nauseating dinner, dead olfactory nerves, salmonella and food poisoning, who was Dazai to stop him?
Following him, now, that was the mistake. Last he heard, local cults relied on numbers and preferred renting office auditoriums instead of condemned buildings, and people into New Age stuff tended to dislike animal cruelty in the name of loving the earth and all her precious children - that's why they had a billion cats, right? But no, the guy only bothered to pluck the chickens after draining their blood, and Dazai just wasted an hour waiting for him to finish a diagram of sorts on the swept-up floor in between coughing fits, shaky hands, and general unwellness.
Dazai spared a thought for what might've pushed the guy this far for something that wasn't going to work. The man's chanting grew from hoarse whisper to pained determination - in English, curiously enough. Wasn't Latin in vogue for wannabes?
Well, at least Dazai's wait was nearly over, and he'd be able to get the story out of the guy after the inevitable breakdown. Stifling his yawns had been hard and both his legs and feet were stiff.
Then the circle glowed, impossible to miss in the dim light, and the wind picked up and carried the stink of raw poultry and dried blood. In spite of himself, Dazai's jaw dropped as he felt energy pulsing beneath his skin, an amplification of all the times No Longer Human kicked in to deactivate other abilities.
That shouldn't be possible. And the guy's words -
My will shall create thy body, and thy sword shall create my fate. Abide by the summons of the Holy Grail. If thou dost accede to this will and reason, answer me!
The next few lines were ridiculous - a vow to do good, to dispose of evil, and Dazai had no time to mock them when the guy suddenly collapsed at the edge of the circle, choking on his last few words as blinding light blasted outward.
In the face of an emergency, the flash of heat that spread on the back of his right hand was far from a priority. Dazai strode forward once he determined the building wasn't about to collapse around them, his wrist upturned as he immediately checked for a pulse, breath, pupil dilation, and oh this wasn't looking good.
Dazai clicked his tongue, the urge to call emergency services warring with memories of disposing bodies when the cleanup crew was unavailable. Sure the guy looked feverish, but he didn't think it was terminal!]
Great.
[He really started regretting this entire evening, too, when he heard a clink of metal from within the circle, and wasn't that the most sincere smile he's seen on a person since Nakajima Atsushi? It was a real damn shame he couldn't enjoy the moment and deconstruct that introduction (That armor? Servant? Bedivere?) instead of pointing at the fresh body he was crouched over, as he did now.]
You know this guy?
[The reflexive smile on his face felt too plastered on. Nothing he hasn't gotten away with before, but the past five minutes was A Lot.]
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2020-09-09 04:01 am (UTC)Following him, now, that was the mistake. Last he heard, local cults relied on numbers and preferred renting office auditoriums instead of condemned buildings, and people into New Age stuff tended to dislike animal cruelty in the name of loving the earth and all her precious children - that's why they had a billion cats, right? But no, the guy only bothered to pluck the chickens after draining their blood, and Dazai just wasted an hour waiting for him to finish a diagram of sorts on the swept-up floor in between coughing fits, shaky hands, and general unwellness.
Dazai spared a thought for what might've pushed the guy this far for something that wasn't going to work. The man's chanting grew from hoarse whisper to pained determination - in English, curiously enough. Wasn't Latin in vogue for wannabes?
Well, at least Dazai's wait was nearly over, and he'd be able to get the story out of the guy after the inevitable breakdown. Stifling his yawns had been hard and both his legs and feet were stiff.
Then the circle glowed, impossible to miss in the dim light, and the wind picked up and carried the stink of raw poultry and dried blood. In spite of himself, Dazai's jaw dropped as he felt energy pulsing beneath his skin, an amplification of all the times No Longer Human kicked in to deactivate other abilities.
That shouldn't be possible. And the guy's words -
My will shall create thy body, and thy sword shall create my fate. Abide by the summons of the Holy Grail. If thou dost accede to this will and reason, answer me!
The next few lines were ridiculous - a vow to do good, to dispose of evil, and Dazai had no time to mock them when the guy suddenly collapsed at the edge of the circle, choking on his last few words as blinding light blasted outward.
In the face of an emergency, the flash of heat that spread on the back of his right hand was far from a priority. Dazai strode forward once he determined the building wasn't about to collapse around them, his wrist upturned as he immediately checked for a pulse, breath, pupil dilation, and oh this wasn't looking good.
Dazai clicked his tongue, the urge to call emergency services warring with memories of disposing bodies when the cleanup crew was unavailable. Sure the guy looked feverish, but he didn't think it was terminal!]
Great.
[He really started regretting this entire evening, too, when he heard a clink of metal from within the circle, and wasn't that the most sincere smile he's seen on a person since Nakajima Atsushi? It was a real damn shame he couldn't enjoy the moment and deconstruct that introduction (That armor? Servant? Bedivere?) instead of pointing at the fresh body he was crouched over, as he did now.]
You know this guy?
[The reflexive smile on his face felt too plastered on. Nothing he hasn't gotten away with before, but the past five minutes was A Lot.]