[It's been 10 years. That's a long time not to see someone, even if nothing interesting had happened in the gap. Even if this was coincidence -- him standing here in the shady end of the market place, pretending to browse knives when Cu is just a block away -- there would be changes. It wouldn't be the same.
Of course, it's far more altered than it could be. Nothing, he muses, is the same anymore. At least not for him. Or rather, the only thing that lingers is the longing. He took the assignment like a dog takes a fresh bone, sinking his teeth in and hurrying off to secure his prize. Oh, the years do pull at him so. Just knowing the person he's missed is close makes his blood rush and his heart flutter.
He wonders if Cu's heart will race when he sees him. He wonders how fast his blood would pump out if he cut his throat. He wonders, as he always has, how his skin would taste. He pictures fear reflected in the blades in front of him. His hands itch to break bones, and his arms ache to wrap tightly around the man who left, just to keep him where he should be. He muses over the idea of getting between his flesh and his skin and saying "I love you" like he was too afraid to all that time ago.
And meanwhile, he chats pleasantly with the booth owner, smile a picture of cheerful friendliness and relaxed good nature.
His fingers trail over a bone handle and he thinks, maybe, that he can smell him walking closer. If he turned and threw it now, just there--
But the knife comes with him only in his head, and the surprise on his face when he whirls to find himself feet away from Cu is half-faked, half the wonder of someone who wasn't quite sure it would be real after all.]
[His face in Cu's mind's eye should be blurry, and the name should feel foreign on his tongue, but even though Cu knows that it's been ten years, he just can't manage to feel that distance.
After all, he isn't the sort of guy who regrets often, and he isn't the sort to pine. There's no hesitation when he throws a friendly arm over Diarmuid's shoulder and no sense that anything has changed between them after all this time. It's simpler, after all, to simply let people linger in stasis in his memory.
Not to say that he didn't miss Diarmuid -- he did, terribly so sometimes, and he wagers that's why it doesn't feel strange to call his name: because he had to ask where his friend had gotten off to, and where he could find him. The failure never bothered him too much, of course. He could always look again another day, and Diarmuid was a sensible person who wouldn't just up and die.]
[It's been a lovely few weeks, really. Playing at old times and learning to fish junk out of the river has been both educational and relaxing. Even as far gone from who he was as Diarmuid is now, it's been oddly easy to slip into this routine, and he hasn't had to put as much effort into pretending to be normal as he thought he might.
There are even some moments where he forgets it's all a lie.
Of course, he remembers soon enough every time. He can't really forget the time passed, the blood in his mind, or the reason he's here. For every moment he laughs naturally, there are a hundred more where he feels the seething, churning anger of abandonment and the thrill of what's to come.
And now he's gathered all the information he needs, and alerted the proper authorities. They'll be here soon, but for now he's sitting and watching Cu sleep, seeing the rise and fall of his chest and picturing it quickened with the labored breathing of someone with a hand in their guts. He turns a thin, long knife in his hands, mapping out Cu's form under his blanket and contemplating where to stab him first.
His no-longer-friend will be awakened by the weight of Diarmuid crawling into his bed, leaning over him before shoving his blade into his side.]
[Cu's friendly, open, and even moreso with an old friend like Diarmuid. It's difficult to not let him right back in like no time has passed, like they were only apart for a few weeks. There's a lull between jobs, but that doesn't keep Cu from telling Diarmuid about all of his misadventures, prison breaks included. And sometimes he only barely keeps himself from shaking Diarmuid and telling him to come along with him, but only because that shit was what split them apart in the first place. He'll leave it like this for now -- it's easier, for the most part.
And that's why it feels like that blade cuts even deeper when he's jerked awake and see that it's Diarmuid holding the knife.]
[Archer might have said something about leaving early with Cu to go do something. Might have -- Shirou can't quite remember, all he knows is that when he woke up, Archer had left his customary "Don't fuck anything up." note knifed to the cabin door and no one else seemed to be home. Fine. He'll make breakfast by himself. And it'll be fucking clam chowder.
Their kitchen is less a kitchen and more a junky wood table, a basin of water, and a grill that Archer threw together, of course, but it works well enough. And when the grill falls apart, he can even fix it by himself!
Which is what Diarmuid will probably find him doing, after two of the grill feet collapsed under the weight of a fish]
[When Cu is gone, Diarmuid gets nervous. When Archer is also gone, he gets doubly nervous. He's not sure what to do these days when he doesn't have a solid goal to focus on. Left without a mission or the constant fear of punishment, he feels unstable and directionless and has a much harder time faking normal.
Mostly he stays in his room when they're gone, just to minimize the risk of hallucinating the wrong thing or losing control of his mood. But this morning they left early and he's hungry, so he follows the smell of fish and the sound of movement until he finds Shirou.
He stops, cautiously peeking into the room and trying to look at the person he's sure is real and not the floating fluorescent soap bubbles that probably aren't.]
[It took a lot of good behavior to earn the right to see Cu. He had to grovel, to explain and to flatter and to beg his Master and Mistress to let him come here. But after a few weeks of persistent asking and clear obsession, he finally got his reward. After all, he'd been so good for so long. He'd done everything they wanted for years, and had stopped complaining for much of it. All he wanted now was just to see the person he's always loved.
He hasn't realized it, but if he wasn't out of his mind he wouldn't have gotten this chance. It's faith in the idea that he resents Cu as much as he adores him and that he'll want to keep him locked up for his own safety that allows the people who control D to feel secure in giving him this present. Either way, he's delighted when he makes his way to the prison, and only stabs a single person for wasting his time on "protocol". He's too important for protocol.
And now here he is, letting himself into Cu's cell and immediately latching onto him. Cu doesn't get an explanation or time to react. Diarmuid just wants to cling and breathe him in.]
[Prison is not Cu's favorite place. He can't say he's unaccustomed to it, since he's escaped three times prior, but it's fucking boring, and having nothing to do but pass the occasional note to Shirou is just. Not okay.
Diarmuid said he'd visit, but Cu can't quite bring himself to care one way or the other. He's still confused and angry about what landed him here, and he's not sure what he'd do if Diarmuid ever did show up.
Hence, when his cell door opens and Diarmuid latches onto him, he can't figure out what to do. So he just sort of lets himself be hugged]
[It's been a pain getting along with business as usual with Cu gone; it's not an impossible endeavor, but it's one that forces both Shirou and Archer to handle volatile personalities they're not at all use to. Point in case is today, where Shirou's found himself staring at the back door of the church.
He's never spoken to this Kotomine guy before, but it sounds like he's the sleazy type that likes picking on Cu. Perhaps he should be more worried, but he really just has to drop this stuff off and leave. That can't go too badly, can it?]
Kirei's been waiting for a moment like this. He's known the identity of Cu's associates for some time, but demanding their presence would be far too obvious a ploy. He wouldn't ever get his hands on Emiya Kiritsugu if he went around demanding further reports on him from his brothers at the drop of a hat. Thus he's waited, and as soon as he heard that Cu was locked up again he placed an urgent order.
He only shows a faint smile as he opens the back door, towering over Shirou like a be-mulleted bear overshadowing a mentally deficient fawn. He steps out of the way to open the door farther, and holds a massive yaoi hand out in greeting.]
[He tried to sleep in his own bed, really. But then there were horrible nightmares, and when he woke up there were horrible hallucinations.
On the bright side, he is feeling sane enough to know what he's seeing is fake. But even knowing that, seeing and hearing scary things is keeping him up and making him feel nervous and alone, and so here he is trying to sneak his way under Cu's covers.]
[It shouldn't have surprised anyone when Kotomine Kirei appeared. It had been too obvious when Kiritsugu came home, perhaps, or his information network was just too good. Either way, when he arrived the best they could do was to take shelter in the hidden cargo bay of the ship, thankfully empty after a successful smuggling run. But of course they couldn't hide forever. Kirei wasn't stupid -- he'd figure out the location of the door and the catch in no time.
So Diarmuid had reminded them of his combat skill, and with a reassuring smile had volunteered to protect the rest. And why not? Who in the world could possibly hope to come up against that bloody legend and live, let alone win? It was just a matter of staying quiet, listening to the sounds of battle and waiting for the all clear.
But it never came. After some time the crashes and sounds of metal from two rooms away stopped, leaving a suspicious silence. The stillness hung for a good minute, then all at once was shattered by a blood-curdling scream, full of anger and fear and pain. The screaming continued from that point -- up until the combined heroism of the room couldn't stand it any further and they had to give up their hiding places.
Fortunately, the lot of them had managed to run Kirei off for the time being (mostly thanks to Kiritsugu staying out of the way with a sniper rifle). Unfortunately, by the time they even entered the room D had been thoroughly beaten up and pinned to the floor with knives through his shoulder and forearms, one side of his face, neck, & collar decorated in cuts & burns. Kirei had gotten creative with a knife left in the fire, leaving a pattern of thorny vines that could have been pretty if they weren't angry red wounds -- and if they hadn't been put there in an effort to draw everyone else out with the sounds of torture.
Worse than the physical damage though was the mental state he'd been pushed into. Even when released from the pin, he'd been all feral snarls and violence, trying to lunge at Kirei even with heavy bloodloss, broken ribs and a mangled leg. Once Kirei was gone, he'd stayed hysterically angry and hurt, lost in hallucinations and lashing out at anyone and anything that came close. It took a collective effort to hold him and dose him with a sedative, and only tying him to his bed kept him from hurting himself or someone else when he woke. He'd been thoroughly knocked out of the place of emotional stability he'd found, and the fever that came with healing from that much damage didn't help. Eventually it was necessary to just keep him in a drugged stupor.
But now it's been three weeks. The injuries are healing well and the fever has broken, and it's time to let him wake up and hope it's their friend that comes to and not a monster.
The first signs are good. His eyes flutter open, half-focused, and after a moment he gasps and tries to sit up. When it hurts too much he flops back, but instead of getting aggressive he just winces, tosses an arm over his face, and whines.]
[Cu has made it a point to hit Shirou upside the head every day since the incident, because he's stupid and he deserves it. He can't muster anger at anything, he doesn't have the capacity to care that much, not when most of his reserves are being directed towards Diarmuid. He wasn't happy about the measures necessary to keep him under control, and for a few days after they decided to just keep him under entirely, Cu couldn't bring himself to drop by to check in on his friend. But that discomfort wore off quickly, replaced with that stupid loyalty that made him sit by Diarmuid's bedside at any free moment he had.
Cu nearly throws his chair when Diarmuid starts to come to, but restrains himself for Diarmuid's sake]
[Sometimes he gets left alone to double-check the rough inventory Archer keeps, because Archer is a responsible adult and Shirou needs to be kept out of trouble.
He feels pretty bad about what happened, and angry with himself that he let everyone down in front of Kiritsugu. It's not okay, and he can't bring himself to reconcile what happened with the fact that, well, he still really likes Kirei for some inexplicable reason.
For now, he's sitting on the dock frowning over notebooks -- he tends to forget Diarmuid is still around when Cu and Archer are gone.]
[He's finally well enough to be out of bed. This is nice, though he's mostly stayed in his room so far. He still hasn't recovered from the mental or physical trauma, and the remains of the fever and the weeks in bed leave him worn out quickly when he's up and about.
On top of that, he can only walk a few steps on his mangled leg before the pain is too much, so he's got a crutch. A crutch which he is now using to wander about while he has the opportunity.
When Cu & Archer aren't around, however, there's little to tell him the difference between reality and hallucination or right and wrong. And Cu did give him permission to retaliate for the decisions that got him hurt so badly and left those oddly pretty scars. So when he sees Shirou, the voices whispering for violence are, for now, not at all ignored.]
[somewhere after he'n Shirou have become fuckbuddies but before he fucked up everyone ever
just chillin in his church bein' a hot priest with his hot butt on the front pew as he "prays", which is really code for "mentally goes over his to-do list of ruining everyone's lives"
[Well. He has errands to do in town today, but he, well, left early so he could drop in and see Kirei.
It's odd, because he's certain Kirei isn't the sort of person he'd normally like -- not for any particular reason, mostly because Shirou can't envision himself liking a priest much, with or without the sex.
(He'll venture to guess "without the sex" would be the most likely scenario for any other priest. Kirei is different - more progressive, he supposes, though he hardly knows enough about this thing to be certain of that.)
But he's curious more than anything, dreadfully so, curious because Kirei is a strange person whom he's developed a strange relationship with. Perhaps the sex is good, (he's not sure, because he doesn't have a point of reference, and because he's certain he wouldn't be doing this with a man who wasn't Kirei) but mostly he just can't allow himself to pass that church without going inside and inviting whatever it was that Kirei would bring him that day.
So he's here, letting himself in, pleasantly surprised that Gilgamesh isn't passed out somewhere on the floor - well, not in his line of sight, at least.]
[SO YOU KNOW WHAT SEEMED LIKE A GREAT IDEA AT FIRST? Taking a very high-paying job to go somewhere intensely dangerous and report on what could be found. "Somewhere Dangerous" being the depths of what was once a real "city". In there are unknown things, the skeletal remains of the highest skyscrapers and the deepest basements, the government buildings and restricted areas that are so full of strange old technology and chemicals (and, as rumored, living things warped to unrecognizable by it) that it's incredibly rare for anyone to come out of it alive.
But of course they're a highly capable and stupidly brave sort of troupe, and so all four of them crept into the dark and foggy inner belly of the city.
After some exploring, they ended up several floors down, in what must have been a lab of some sort a long, long time ago. They've been hearing and seeing movements for awhile now, and they're all on edge. After all, what kind of creature (or people?) could live in a place like this? Yet it turns out they weren't on edge enough, as between one step and the next the group suddenly found itself split by the slamming of an electric door. There have been strange, dim emergency lights here and there, but this is something much higher voltage than that.
With the metal-and-glass barrier separating Cu & Shirou from Archer & Diarmuid, the two in the hall get a full view of the bizarre machine inside springing to life. It's spider-like, all spindly robotic arms and creaking joints, but its movements are sudden and precise, and Diarmuid finds himself pulled in towards the center of the thing before he can even start to fight it. He struggles, at least until a bright, pin-point light is shone right into his eyes.
At that point he ceases moving entirely, staring as if entirely captivated. The monitor on the wall suddenly comes to life with a plethora of strange moving charts and graphs, lines spiking and skittering across the screen. There's a puff of purplish gas after a few moments -- something that should make Archer feel dizzy and strange, before the room spirals out of his consciousness and is replaced with a barren, rocky wasteland of a landscape.]
[In hindsight, perhaps "incredibly dangerous," "extremely risky," and "labyrinthine and unmapped" should have raised warning signs early. Perhaps he should have insisted on sending Diarmuid in first as the proverbial canary in the mine. Perhaps he should have made any decision at all that wasn't "come down here and get inevitably fucked up."
But he didn't and that is probably why he'll never be able to disown the rest of his family and change his name - he's still fucking stupid, just like the rest of them.
Of course, of course when the wall went up, he instinctively pushed Shirou towards Cu. Of course his last moments of consciousness were spent shouting at the two in the hall to get back and find somewhere safe, and he'll take care of this. Had to be such a big, fucking hero, didn't we, Archer? Sure did.
Fucking Emiya habits.
He feels his himself hit the ground, but when he comes to, he's perfectly awake, perfectly upright, and definitely not in the abandoned fuckhouse that they'd been trapped in.
It is, as usual, a mission to kill some dudes who are dicks to help some other dudes who are presumably not dicks. Or at least less dickish than the ones he will be killing.
At the moment though he is ducking into what he thinks is an unused warehouse, because he is tired and bleeding a little from gunshot grazes and he has to make sure he gets those cleaned up before he sets off across the city for his next assassination.]
[Five years ago, Kirei had yet to settle down in his own chapel with his own pet addict - quite the opposite, he was a devout member of the church with a particularly unique job: to hunt those who posed a threat to the church and its teachings.
Perhaps he's after the same men as Kiritsugu. Perhaps it was just happenstance that the two men happened upon that warehouse, two paths that were bound to cross eventually.
Regardless, Kirei is there, waiting-but-not, one pant leg rolled up around his knee. There's a nasty gash there, the result of catching his leg carelessly on a protruding scrap of metal, and he sees it fit to tend to the injury before it interferes with his work.
Of course, when Kiritsugu enters, his immediate response is to stand and fling a knife at him.]
[He's avoided Kirei for years. It would be safer, he thought, to just stay as far away as possible.
But that was before he found out Shirou had gotten involved. Before Kirei came to their home in search of him, invited by his own stupid, trusting little brother.
Now he's decided it's best to take care of Kirei once and for all. Thus here he is at the church, sneaking up to the back door with gun in hand. He's had no sign that Kirei knows he's coming, so he hopes that when he kicks in the door he'll find a surprised priest that he can shoot and run.]
[Kirei's there, standing casually inside the door, as though he was waiting for Kiritsugu to burst in. His greeting has a smug laziness to it, and he extends a hand in welcome to Kiritsugu.]
How nice to see an old friend again. I hope your brothers are in good health as well.
[Let's do some pre-D stuff! Someone is cooking dinner because that's what Emiyas do. Even on a boat. Cu & Shirou are fishing and Archer is hoping that Cu doesn't fall asleep and leave Shirou alone, because that will inevitably end in Shirou in the river and Archer have to explain to Kiritsugu if he grows a third ear.
It's been quiet for a bit, so he peeks outside to see.]
[So Archer. It's a day when Cu is not here. In fact, Cu has been gone for a good two days and won't be back until tomorrow, which means D is all kinds of wound up.
So while you're looking through bins of miscellaneous stuff in the mostly-black-market bazaar near a city, Diarmuid is staying within ten feet at all times (usually within five). He is doing a good job of not reacting to anything that isn't here and acting like a functional person, but he's also very nervous.]
[He didn't want to wrangle the crazy. Luckily for Cu, the one thing Archer wanted less than keeping an eye on Diarmuid was Shirou keeping an eye on Diarmuid, so the matter was resolved rather nicely in the end.
Still, Archer doesn't appreciate the chore.
Especially when he's busy procuring dubiously legal firearms for someone - a safe someone by his measure, which is infinitely better than that anyone he knows. Because he's surrounded, constantly, by stupid crazy people.
When Diarmuid pipes up, he sets down the rifle he had been examining and gives him a shitfaced grin.]
I've found plenty of things, just not what I'm looking for.
[They've been "seeing each other" for a couple of months now. Frankly, it's been terrible. It feels like his entire life is sliding out of course, and there's nothing he can do to stop it. The false rumors about his general sexual activity may have stopped going out, but there's no way to take back what had already been said, and now the reality of his relationship with Cyrus is there to replace what fades away.
He's tired and stressed and trapped, constantly nervous and unhappy, and it's making it hard to sleep and killing his appetite. This leads to an inability to focus, which leads to a slip in his studies, which leads to more stress, and in the end... Well, Tokiomi just feels like he's scrambling to keep his life and his image together. Of course his parents have noticed something's wrong, but he can't tell them what. The threat of family feud has become second to his personal shame, so he just keeps desperately treading water.
But now it's summer break, which should make things a little easier. Until, that is, his parents tell him that they got a very nice offer from Cyrus' family to go with them on vacation, to a summer house on the beach.
He can spend his birthday there. It'll be fun. It'll be good for his health.
He hopes one of them gets eaten by a shark.
But on the first day of vacation there are no sharks, and Cyrus' parents go into town for a fancy dinner with friends, and the two of them are left to bathe away the salt and sand and entertain themselves for the evening. So Tokiomi, of course, takes the fastest shower he can manage and then scuttles off to his room still dripping wet and wrapped in a bathrobe to hide.]
[He knows the value of suspense all too well. When Tokiomi bolts to the shower before retreating to his room, he knows how precious that time alone must seem, and how easy it would be to disturb it with nothing more than the sound of running water.
So he takes his time and slips into the shower not long after he hears Tokiomi's door close. He takes his time. He turns the water off slowly. And when he leaves the bathroom, all smiles and wrapped in a fluffy bath robe, he makes sure to give the bathroom door a little extra slam.
And then he lets himself into Tokiomi's room - no knock, no prior announcement, just the sound of the door creaking open and the sight of his horrible little smirk.]
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streetwalkers2012-11-07 01:37 am
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Of course, it's far more altered than it could be. Nothing, he muses, is the same anymore. At least not for him. Or rather, the only thing that lingers is the longing. He took the assignment like a dog takes a fresh bone, sinking his teeth in and hurrying off to secure his prize. Oh, the years do pull at him so. Just knowing the person he's missed is close makes his blood rush and his heart flutter.
He wonders if Cu's heart will race when he sees him. He wonders how fast his blood would pump out if he cut his throat. He wonders, as he always has, how his skin would taste. He pictures fear reflected in the blades in front of him. His hands itch to break bones, and his arms ache to wrap tightly around the man who left, just to keep him where he should be. He muses over the idea of getting between his flesh and his skin and saying "I love you" like he was too afraid to all that time ago.
And meanwhile, he chats pleasantly with the booth owner, smile a picture of cheerful friendliness and relaxed good nature.
His fingers trail over a bone handle and he thinks, maybe, that he can smell him walking closer. If he turned and threw it now, just there--
But the knife comes with him only in his head, and the surprise on his face when he whirls to find himself feet away from Cu is half-faked, half the wonder of someone who wasn't quite sure it would be real after all.]
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[His face in Cu's mind's eye should be blurry, and the name should feel foreign on his tongue, but even though Cu knows that it's been ten years, he just can't manage to feel that distance.
After all, he isn't the sort of guy who regrets often, and he isn't the sort to pine. There's no hesitation when he throws a friendly arm over Diarmuid's shoulder and no sense that anything has changed between them after all this time. It's simpler, after all, to simply let people linger in stasis in his memory.
Not to say that he didn't miss Diarmuid -- he did, terribly so sometimes, and he wagers that's why it doesn't feel strange to call his name: because he had to ask where his friend had gotten off to, and where he could find him. The failure never bothered him too much, of course. He could always look again another day, and Diarmuid was a sensible person who wouldn't just up and die.]
It's been forever, how are you, man?!
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There are even some moments where he forgets it's all a lie.
Of course, he remembers soon enough every time. He can't really forget the time passed, the blood in his mind, or the reason he's here. For every moment he laughs naturally, there are a hundred more where he feels the seething, churning anger of abandonment and the thrill of what's to come.
And now he's gathered all the information he needs, and alerted the proper authorities. They'll be here soon, but for now he's sitting and watching Cu sleep, seeing the rise and fall of his chest and picturing it quickened with the labored breathing of someone with a hand in their guts. He turns a thin, long knife in his hands, mapping out Cu's form under his blanket and contemplating where to stab him first.
His no-longer-friend will be awakened by the weight of Diarmuid crawling into his bed, leaning over him before shoving his blade into his side.]
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And that's why it feels like that blade cuts even deeper when he's jerked awake and see that it's Diarmuid holding the knife.]
H-Hey, what are you...?!
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And it'll be fucking clam chowder.Their kitchen is less a kitchen and more a junky wood table, a basin of water, and a grill that Archer threw together, of course, but it works well enough. And when the grill falls apart, he can even fix it by himself!
Which is what Diarmuid will probably find him doing, after two of the grill feet collapsed under the weight of a fish]
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Mostly he stays in his room when they're gone, just to minimize the risk of hallucinating the wrong thing or losing control of his mood. But this morning they left early and he's hungry, so he follows the smell of fish and the sound of movement until he finds Shirou.
He stops, cautiously peeking into the room and trying to look at the person he's sure is real and not the floating fluorescent soap bubbles that probably aren't.]
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He hasn't realized it, but if he wasn't out of his mind he wouldn't have gotten this chance. It's faith in the idea that he resents Cu as much as he adores him and that he'll want to keep him locked up for his own safety that allows the people who control D to feel secure in giving him this present. Either way, he's delighted when he makes his way to the prison, and only stabs a single person for wasting his time on "protocol". He's too important for protocol.
And now here he is, letting himself into Cu's cell and immediately latching onto him. Cu doesn't get an explanation or time to react. Diarmuid just wants to cling and breathe him in.]
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Diarmuid said he'd visit, but Cu can't quite bring himself to care one way or the other. He's still confused and angry about what landed him here, and he's not sure what he'd do if Diarmuid ever did show up.
Hence, when his cell door opens and Diarmuid latches onto him, he can't figure out what to do. So he just sort of lets himself be hugged]
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He's never spoken to this Kotomine guy before, but it sounds like he's the sleazy type that likes picking on Cu. Perhaps he should be more worried, but he really just has to drop this stuff off and leave. That can't go too badly, can it?]
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Kirei's been waiting for a moment like this. He's known the identity of Cu's associates for some time, but demanding their presence would be far too obvious a ploy. He wouldn't ever get his hands on Emiya Kiritsugu if he went around demanding further reports on him from his brothers at the drop of a hat. Thus he's waited, and as soon as he heard that Cu was locked up again he placed an urgent order.
He only shows a faint smile as he opens the back door, towering over Shirou like a be-mulleted bear overshadowing a mentally deficient fawn. He steps out of the way to open the door farther, and holds a massive yaoi hand out in greeting.]
Welcome, Emiya Shirou.
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Also there's room under the blankets. YEP.]
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On the bright side, he is feeling sane enough to know what he's seeing is fake. But even knowing that, seeing and hearing scary things is keeping him up and making him feel nervous and alone, and so here he is trying to sneak his way under Cu's covers.]
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So Diarmuid had reminded them of his combat skill, and with a reassuring smile had volunteered to protect the rest. And why not? Who in the world could possibly hope to come up against that bloody legend and live, let alone win? It was just a matter of staying quiet, listening to the sounds of battle and waiting for the all clear.
But it never came. After some time the crashes and sounds of metal from two rooms away stopped, leaving a suspicious silence. The stillness hung for a good minute, then all at once was shattered by a blood-curdling scream, full of anger and fear and pain. The screaming continued from that point -- up until the combined heroism of the room couldn't stand it any further and they had to give up their hiding places.
Fortunately, the lot of them had managed to run Kirei off for the time being (mostly thanks to Kiritsugu staying out of the way with a sniper rifle). Unfortunately, by the time they even entered the room D had been thoroughly beaten up and pinned to the floor with knives through his shoulder and forearms, one side of his face, neck, & collar decorated in cuts & burns. Kirei had gotten creative with a knife left in the fire, leaving a pattern of thorny vines that could have been pretty if they weren't angry red wounds -- and if they hadn't been put there in an effort to draw everyone else out with the sounds of torture.
Worse than the physical damage though was the mental state he'd been pushed into. Even when released from the pin, he'd been all feral snarls and violence, trying to lunge at Kirei even with heavy bloodloss, broken ribs and a mangled leg. Once Kirei was gone, he'd stayed hysterically angry and hurt, lost in hallucinations and lashing out at anyone and anything that came close. It took a collective effort to hold him and dose him with a sedative, and only tying him to his bed kept him from hurting himself or someone else when he woke. He'd been thoroughly knocked out of the place of emotional stability he'd found, and the fever that came with healing from that much damage didn't help. Eventually it was necessary to just keep him in a drugged stupor.
But now it's been three weeks. The injuries are healing well and the fever has broken, and it's time to let him wake up and hope it's their friend that comes to and not a monster.
The first signs are good. His eyes flutter open, half-focused, and after a moment he gasps and tries to sit up. When it hurts too much he flops back, but instead of getting aggressive he just winces, tosses an arm over his face, and whines.]
Hurts...
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Cu nearly throws his chair when Diarmuid starts to come to, but restrains himself for Diarmuid's sake]
Sorry about that... It's not too bad, is it?
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He feels pretty bad about what happened, and angry with himself that he let everyone down in front of Kiritsugu. It's not okay, and he can't bring himself to reconcile what happened with the fact that, well, he still really likes Kirei for some inexplicable reason.
For now, he's sitting on the dock frowning over notebooks -- he tends to forget Diarmuid is still around when Cu and Archer are gone.]
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On top of that, he can only walk a few steps on his mangled leg before the pain is too much, so he's got a crutch. A crutch which he is now using to wander about while he has the opportunity.
When Cu & Archer aren't around, however, there's little to tell him the difference between reality and hallucination or right and wrong. And Cu did give him permission to retaliate for the decisions that got him hurt so badly and left those oddly pretty scars. So when he sees Shirou, the voices whispering for violence are, for now, not at all ignored.]
Hey.
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just chillin in his church bein' a hot priest with his hot butt on the front pew as he "prays", which is really code for "mentally goes over his to-do list of ruining everyone's lives"
sup]
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It's odd, because he's certain Kirei isn't the sort of person he'd normally like -- not for any particular reason, mostly because Shirou can't envision himself liking a priest much, with or without the sex.
(He'll venture to guess "without the sex" would be the most likely scenario for any other priest. Kirei is different - more progressive, he supposes, though he hardly knows enough about this thing to be certain of that.)
But he's curious more than anything, dreadfully so, curious because Kirei is a strange person whom he's developed a strange relationship with. Perhaps the sex is good, (he's not sure, because he doesn't have a point of reference, and because he's certain he wouldn't be doing this with a man who wasn't Kirei) but mostly he just can't allow himself to pass that church without going inside and inviting whatever it was that Kirei would bring him that day.
So he's here, letting himself in, pleasantly surprised that Gilgamesh isn't passed out somewhere on the floor - well, not in his line of sight, at least.]
Kirei!
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But of course they're a highly capable and stupidly brave sort of troupe, and so all four of them crept into the dark and foggy inner belly of the city.
After some exploring, they ended up several floors down, in what must have been a lab of some sort a long, long time ago. They've been hearing and seeing movements for awhile now, and they're all on edge. After all, what kind of creature (or people?) could live in a place like this? Yet it turns out they weren't on edge enough, as between one step and the next the group suddenly found itself split by the slamming of an electric door. There have been strange, dim emergency lights here and there, but this is something much higher voltage than that.
With the metal-and-glass barrier separating Cu & Shirou from Archer & Diarmuid, the two in the hall get a full view of the bizarre machine inside springing to life. It's spider-like, all spindly robotic arms and creaking joints, but its movements are sudden and precise, and Diarmuid finds himself pulled in towards the center of the thing before he can even start to fight it. He struggles, at least until a bright, pin-point light is shone right into his eyes.
At that point he ceases moving entirely, staring as if entirely captivated. The monitor on the wall suddenly comes to life with a plethora of strange moving charts and graphs, lines spiking and skittering across the screen. There's a puff of purplish gas after a few moments -- something that should make Archer feel dizzy and strange, before the room spirals out of his consciousness and is replaced with a barren, rocky wasteland of a landscape.]
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But he didn't and that is probably why he'll never be able to disown the rest of his family and change his name - he's still fucking stupid, just like the rest of them.
Of course, of course when the wall went up, he instinctively pushed Shirou towards Cu. Of course his last moments of consciousness were spent shouting at the two in the hall to get back and find somewhere safe, and he'll take care of this. Had to be such a big, fucking hero, didn't we, Archer? Sure did.
Fucking Emiya habits.
He feels his himself hit the ground, but when he comes to, he's perfectly awake, perfectly upright, and definitely not in the abandoned fuckhouse that they'd been trapped in.
He's on guard immediately, hands on his swords.]
Diarmuid! Hey!
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It is, as usual, a mission to kill some dudes who are dicks to help some other dudes who are presumably not dicks. Or at least less dickish than the ones he will be killing.
At the moment though he is ducking into what he thinks is an unused warehouse, because he is tired and bleeding a little from gunshot grazes and he has to make sure he gets those cleaned up before he sets off across the city for his next assassination.]
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Perhaps he's after the same men as Kiritsugu. Perhaps it was just happenstance that the two men happened upon that warehouse, two paths that were bound to cross eventually.
Regardless, Kirei is there, waiting-but-not, one pant leg rolled up around his knee. There's a nasty gash there, the result of catching his leg carelessly on a protruding scrap of metal, and he sees it fit to tend to the injury before it interferes with his work.
Of course, when Kiritsugu enters, his immediate response is to stand and fling a knife at him.]
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But that was before he found out Shirou had gotten involved. Before Kirei came to their home in search of him, invited by his own stupid, trusting little brother.
Now he's decided it's best to take care of Kirei once and for all. Thus here he is at the church, sneaking up to the back door with gun in hand. He's had no sign that Kirei knows he's coming, so he hopes that when he kicks in the door he'll find a surprised priest that he can shoot and run.]
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[Kirei's there, standing casually inside the door, as though he was waiting for Kiritsugu to burst in. His greeting has a smug laziness to it, and he extends a hand in welcome to Kiritsugu.]
How nice to see an old friend again. I hope your brothers are in good health as well.
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It's been quiet for a bit, so he peeks outside to see.]
If you fall in again you can drown.
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I'm not gonna fall. You should be more worried about this guy.
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So while you're looking through bins of miscellaneous stuff in the mostly-black-market bazaar near a city, Diarmuid is staying within ten feet at all times (usually within five). He is doing a good job of not reacting to anything that isn't here and acting like a functional person, but he's also very nervous.]
Have you found anything?
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Still, Archer doesn't appreciate the chore.
Especially when he's busy procuring dubiously legal firearms for someone - a safe someone by his measure, which is infinitely better than that anyone he knows. Because he's surrounded, constantly, by stupid crazy people.
When Diarmuid pipes up, he sets down the rifle he had been examining and gives him a shitfaced grin.]
I've found plenty of things, just not what I'm looking for.
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He's tired and stressed and trapped, constantly nervous and unhappy, and it's making it hard to sleep and killing his appetite. This leads to an inability to focus, which leads to a slip in his studies, which leads to more stress, and in the end... Well, Tokiomi just feels like he's scrambling to keep his life and his image together. Of course his parents have noticed something's wrong, but he can't tell them what. The threat of family feud has become second to his personal shame, so he just keeps desperately treading water.
But now it's summer break, which should make things a little easier. Until, that is, his parents tell him that they got a very nice offer from Cyrus' family to go with them on vacation, to a summer house on the beach.
He can spend his birthday there. It'll be fun. It'll be good for his health.
He hopes one of them gets eaten by a shark.
But on the first day of vacation there are no sharks, and Cyrus' parents go into town for a fancy dinner with friends, and the two of them are left to bathe away the salt and sand and entertain themselves for the evening. So Tokiomi, of course, takes the fastest shower he can manage and then scuttles off to his room still dripping wet and wrapped in a bathrobe to hide.]
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So he takes his time and slips into the shower not long after he hears Tokiomi's door close. He takes his time. He turns the water off slowly. And when he leaves the bathroom, all smiles and wrapped in a fluffy bath robe, he makes sure to give the bathroom door a little extra slam.
And then he lets himself into Tokiomi's room - no knock, no prior announcement, just the sound of the door creaking open and the sight of his horrible little smirk.]
Today was fun, wasn't it?
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