Kuroba Kaito [Kaitou Kid] (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
nowyouseeit) wrote2017-06-19 06:43 pm
nowyouseeit) wrote2017-06-19 06:43 pm
[WEEK 5: Monday evening, Room 112; Andersen]
[at some point during the day, Andersen will find himself the recipient of a discreet note from you know who: Room 112. 9 p.m. I have to tell you something important]
[well, it's now 9 p.m., so. are you here, Andersen? and are you knocking?]
[well, it's now 9 p.m., so. are you here, Andersen? and are you knocking?]
1/2
no subject
[J/K IT'S KAITO]
Sorry for all the secrecy.
[he offers an apologetic smile, and lets Andersen into his room. the smile, however, fades pretty quickly]
Today was kinda busy.
no subject
At least your priorities are in order.
[he closes the door behind Andersen. flips the lock closed, even though no one else can enter this room without a key. his gun isn't on him-- in fact, it's across the room on the nightstand, along with the knife he got from Andersen earlier. he's unarmed]
[he leans against the door and slumps, idly lifting one hand to tug at his ear]
Nothing happened. S'just. . . [a breath] D'you ever think about what'll happen to the people who have died when this ritual ends?
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[he's thinking about it more and more]
[a breath. one more. like he's hesitating-- actually hesitating-- on what to say here]
I know how to raise the dead.
I know how to save them.
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D'you remember. . . when I asked you what you would do if you knew all of the answers, but didn't like them?
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[his eyes slip shut]
Yeah.
A promise of eternal servitude to the gods who run this ritual. [a beat] Craftly made such a deal, back when he was a mere Sacrifice in this game. That's why he's here.
He sent everyone who participated in his game home.
[it's why he's so damn tired]
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That isn't your decision to make.
[he says equally as firmly]
It's a shitty deal, for a shitty ritual. But y'know what makes it even shittier?
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The offer hasn't been made for me to accept yet. And it will only be made in specific circumstances.
D'you wanna know what those are?
[stop!!! drawing!!! this out!!!!!]
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[opens his eyes again, and the look he gives his ally is firm and stone cold. there's a detached sort of aura about his expression, something Andersen probably hasn't seen before]
The offer to rescue the dead cannot be made. . . if there are more than three survivors standing at the end of the ritual.
[his hand is clenched at his side, balled into a fist, and he's trembling. slightly. out of. . .what? anger? fear? frustration? who knows. it's impossible to tell]
Saving everyone-- everyone-- and ending this ritual before there are only three survivors are mutually exclusive.
no subject
[but, you know, for as dark as this information is, for as heavy as it rests on Kaito's shoulders, it should be a testament to his poker face that he doesn't look the slightest bit broken]
It changed a lot, actually.
[the intensity of his gaze lessens, and he slumps against the door again]
The Hunters' approach to this ritual, and how we decided to deal with the Prophets. We needed a few days to digest the information, but. . .
We're going to save them. [he tilts his chin up, defiance lacing every word] We're going to save all of them.
'Cause I still refuse to leave this place without a 100% survival rate.
[every last person in this place, dead and currently living. he's already chosen-- if he has to break off a part of himself in order to accomplish that, than so fucking be it]
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It's a lot of information to process. Like I said, when myself and the other Hunters found out, we were lost for days. Given the option between ending the ritual early by killing just the Prophets or allowing it to continue until there were only three survivors, and then one of us taking the deal for eternal servitude, really threw a wrench into our plans.
[he lets out a humorless laugh and rakes a hand through his hair]
. . . but that note. . . the one posted today, by the person who refused to consider us their allies. . .
[another breath]
They're right.
We aren't your allies. Not. . . anymore.
no subject
Damn it, Andersen! You know exactly what I mean!
[-- no, no. he can't let his frustration and fear show. poker face, remember? heart and smile. reach deep inside and grab a hold of that heart, Kaito, everything you're going to do from here on out will be to save everyone]
The Prophets. We found one last week. I'll tell you who it is, but only after you hear me out and promise you won't blab their identity to another soul here.
There was something weird about the letters those Prophets left us back when we called them out last Monday, yeah? So when we found one, we approached them. All three of us, knowing exactly how dangerous it was. They were actually pretty easygoing and willing to give us the information we were missing.
That Prophet told us the caveat to saving everyone. Information that came from "Mother" herself.
[although, knowing her name isn't "Mother" causes Kaito to make a face when he says that word]
. . . we confirmed the information with Craftly, to make sure the Prophet was telling the truth. That's when. . . we learned that Craftly had made that very same deal, a really long time ago. S'how he became Innkeeper.
So.
. . . so. . .
[don't bow your head. don't look ashamed. hold it up high. have confidence in your choices. you're going to hurt a lot of people, Kuroba. but you're also going to save them. . . right?]
[this is the right thing to do. . . right?]
We agreed to work with the Prophets.
no subject
What d'you mean?
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. . .
I was already going to do it. [his voice is dull] Back when it was only the Prophets we had to kill.
[he understands it, yeah]
[he doesn't know if he can handle it]
[but he doesn't have a choice, does he?]
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[he obliges, looking back at Andersen and doing his best not to waver from his sternness]
I understand.
[unnecessary emphasis on that last word. he looks. . . tired.]
I'm not stupid.
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[jesus]
[he stares, expression going slack, eyes going wide, like he doesn't. really. know what to do with that? like. . .]
I altered the hand print at the trial on Saturday.
[he blurts out suddenly, like this confession will get Andersen to stop.]
[nevermind that part of the reason he is even telling him about this is because he had hoped his ally would continue to understand, continue to provide support]
I made it-- bigger, than it really is.
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Yeah.
We're keeping the Prophets alive-- for now. But. . .
They've agreed to allow the three Hunters to be the final three survivors, if. . . no one else gets to us first.
Why aren't you angry?
[he fucked up a trial?? he prevented people from finding a killer??]
no subject
[he never wanted to be a tragedy. he never wanted to be a hero, either. he just wanted that happy ending. he wanted this to end, he wanted everyone to go home, and he wanted all of that without anyone having to compromise their ideals or their morals]
[would his dad be disappointed in him now, for failing to find a third option? for giving in so easily when he learned the truth?]
H. . . ha. . .
[he lifts his arm to his face, covers his eyes, and rubs at them tiredly]
This isn't a damn tragedy, Andersen.
[he says, forcing more firmness into his words than he feels at the moment]
I won't let it be. God damn it, we won't. Okay?
[he drops his arm again and looks up, and this time-- he's smiling]
We'll steal back every single life the Unclean has taken, no matter what the cost.
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Yeah. The Unclean. She's a jerk. I really don't like her.
[makes a face]
. . . what's the condition?
[he thinks he already knows]
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You're gonna hafta fight Yukina and Jay for that.
[he can't promise that condition, unfortunately]
We can't agree on which one of us should take it. We all have things to return to back home, but. . .
None of us want to see the other suffer like Craftly has.
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[HE'S JUST SAYING THERE ARE TWO OTHER PEOPLE WHO ARE FIGHTING FOR THE MOST SELF-SACRIFICIAL PERSON IN YUGGOTH POSITION]
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[okay fine, he'll bite]
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[there's a lot he can say to that. a lot he wants to say. but if he does, he feels like they'll just argue over who is going to take the deal to raise the dead. just like he has with Jay and Yukina]
. . .
We can talk about that later.
Right now, we need to focus on the task directly ahead of us.
[that is, getting down to three survivors]
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Do you really think I expect you to go easy on me?
[just the opposite, actually. Andersen's tough love will be exactly what he needs to hold onto his conviction]
I know the consequences of the choices I'm about to make. My role as detective is over, too.
[look. look!! he's admitting to it]
Let's aim for the best possible end to this ritual, yeah?