punch_illusions_get_harem | 5th Broken Illusion

5th Broken Illusion

[ Day 2 : Evening : Closed to deathkwondohair and heartmaestro ]

[ Touma was running around on his trashed bicycle to all the addresses he knew, but it seems most of where he had a chance to visit the places were cleared out or crawling with cannibals. He hoped that meant that people were safe and not... otherwise. But with the town being so large, he couldn't spare the time to investigate each site in depth.

Right now he dismounted to take his time walking along the road, and also so he would be making less noise as he did so. Right now, he had lost track of what street he was supposed to be on, and there are no recognizable landmarks close by, so he's taking a break by leaning on the side of a bombed-out car. Clearly, this is the safest place to rest... ]

(( OOC: Warnings on this post include cannibals, violence, possibly gore, and definitely at least one stupid shounen hero death (though we are shooting for two /o/). ))

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[There is an almost-inaudible sound of humanlike whimpering coming from the wreckage of the house beyond the car. A flash of purple goes by in the background, but unless he investigates, he could just pass it off as the wind, and stress.]

[Having recently been self-appointed the city guard, Tatsuki has been busy today. Between fighting cannibals and stealing their supplies, she's had little downtime. A shotgun strapped to her back and a fireaxe in her hands, she marches the streets of what was once Mayfield fueled by carbohydrates and gumption alone. Blood stains her ragged clothes, and none of it seems to be hers.

She stops in front of Touma, calmly resting the axe on her shoulders, not noticing their company. In time, she will come to regret that failure in observation.]

Oi, Kamijou. You really oughtta get to safety.

I should get to safety? You-- [ Giving her the once over, the concern melts to surprise. ] --seem to be doing just fine.

The hell did you get all that stuff? [ He has a baseball bat loosely taped to the handlebars, where the useless brakes hang limp. That's it. Not without his share of scrapes and bruises, either. ]

[From behind a larger piece of wreckage, a purple-haired older girl watches intently. She shivers a bit, but otherwise says nothing.]

Stole it off some of those -

[She starts at what she thinks is the sound of more cannibals approaching - one doesn't survive out here without being a little paranoid, after all - only to see a girl about her age hiding in the rubble.]

Hey! You alright back there?

[ Touma turns, too, hands curled hard into fists... which relax the moment he sees that it's a girl. ]Huh. I thought this street was deserted.

Hey, over here! [ He gestures her over. They...probably shouldn't be so loud, huh? ]

[Kotomi peaks her head up from the rubble, but doesn't dare move or speak. If anything, she's in a defensive pose.]

[Tatsuki approaches cautiously so as not to startle her, extending a hand to help her up, addressing her in the most calm, soothing voice she can manage.]

Sorry about the mess. C'mon, let's go. We gotta get you to safety.

[ While Tatsuki does the talking, Touma follows behind her, walking beside his bike. His eyes are on the surrounding wreckage of houses. It would suck if they were ambushed, but things seem pretty quiet... ]

[She opens her mouth to say something, but nothing seems to come out. She looks to her left, then to her right. The little scratches on her face, and the rips in her clothes indicates she's at least been in contact with a few of the cannibals.

With a gulp and shaky grip, she does take Tatsuki's hand.]

[In the same motion that she pulls Kotomi to her feet, she draws the shotgun strapped to her back, cocks, and takes aim.]

Run.

[Her ninety pound frame stumbles back under the force of the recoil as she fires at the back of the rubble, but it hits its target, scattering one cannibal's head like a watermelon at a Gallagher show. Immediately, the rest of the pack comes charging, armed with hatchets, blades, and shotguns.]

Kamijou, get 'er out of here!

[Within seconds, she empties her firearm into the crowd, scoring a couple more hits before a shell fired in the other direction tears through her chest.]

[ Touma doesn't have the time to ask Tatsuki what the hell she was thinking when he takes over on pulling the other girl against him and covers one of his ears just in time for the fireworks to start. ] Where the hell did they come from?!

[ He steps back and grabs hold of his baseball bat, tearing it free of the tape on the handlebars. Touma doesn't bother looking at the girl, but pushes her between him and the bike, thrusting her hand toward the bar. ] Get on!

[ And that's when he sees Tatsuki take that hit. ] Shit! Arisawa! [ Guns. Anything but guns. He's pretty sure he can take any of these cannibals one on one but not when they have fucking GUNS! ]

[Kotomi at first just claps her own hands over her ears and shivers again, but lets out a scream when Tatsuki gets hit. She does hop on the bike in a scramble, but it's more out of compulsion and the force of Touma than actually judging the situation before her.

The guns, though...]

[She has just enough energy to spare to drop behind cover, but only just. She stares up at Touma, eyes already beginning to glaze over as she reaches into her jacket. For a second, she glanced down to see what she was doing... So, that was what her ribs looked like. Huh. That wasn't getting better anytime soon, was it?

When she pulled her hand back out, it held an extra magazine containing four shells. With her other hand, she reaches for the shotgun she dropped, ready to reload.]

I'll hold them off... I don't think I'm going anywhere soon... make sure she gets to the compound...

[ He's about to step away from the girl on his bike but notices she's not... really moving all that quick. ] GO! [ Pointing. ] Head down that street, take a left at the flipped-over truck and keep going 'til you see two huge guys mopping the streets with more assholes like these.

Don't stop for ANYTHING! [ Calling behind him as he runs and ducks behind the same cover as Tatsuki. ]

[ Now, getting a glimpse of that wound, he is glad he hasn't eaten anything in a while. ] Bullshit, I'll get you there if I have to carry you there. Understand?

[ He flinches as a wide shot leaves pock-marks all over a nearby clump of masonry. There is a fire in his eyes and the grip on the bat is so tight that the leather creaks in his hands. ] No one else is dying on me.

[She flinches at the yelling, but manages to get out a nod, before shifting all of her weight down onto the bike.

She shoots a glance back at them, tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes. But it would be worth nothing if they died for nothing. If she only got captured and killed herself. So with a gulp and a shiver, she pedals off down the street, a little bit faster than she should.]

[She smirks as she fumbles with the ammunition.] You remind me of a friend of mine, y'know. [The wound isn't as bad as it looks; the buckshot didn't have the penetrating power to reach her lungs. Still, she's losing a lot of blood, and has difficulty with reloading with her shaking hands.]

You're both idiots. He'd forget that "no one else" includes him, too.

[Her timing is impeccable. Just as one of the things turns the corner to meet them, she's loaded and able to get out a shot right in its groin. The recoil nearly launches the gun completely out of her hands, but her chest is in so much pain, she doesn't notice the toll being taken on her wrists.]

Besides, who's protecting that girl between here and there?

[ At her sentiment, he smirks right back. ] Heh. You can worry about calling me an idiot when we're outta here.

[ Another flinch; she got to that cannibal before he did, but he's not about to be idle any longer. Touma swings the bat and it connects with the wrists of one trying to round the corner behind him, causing it to drop the weapon. To answer her question: ] We are.

[ He then turns and slams the butt of it home against the temple, knocking it out. ] All this fighting is bringing them down on us instead of her, and there's no way that bike's gonna hold two people. [ Since he found out yesterday, at least. ]

[She pumps the shotgun, ready to fire again. Only one of the gun-toting cannibals is still up, but another is at least smart enough to collect the fallen one's weapon for its own use. She takes advantage of the distraction, however, blowing its head off before ducking behind cover again.]

I can get get behind that... let's jus-

[Her sentence is cut off as a hatchet plows into the side of her head, buried deep into her brain through her left eye socket. She never felt it.]

[ He ducks away at the sound of gunfire, to make sure no one was flanking them yet again when Tatsuki went for the shot.

The wet crunch and cut-off word causes Touma to turn back, slowly. ] ...Arisawa?

[ ...this can't be happening. ]

Arisawa! [ Touma has no reason to be silent, as the sight is beyond shocking, and the fight has already alerted the whole block as to their presence. ]

[ He drops the baseball bat and drops down next to her, hands on her shoulders to keep her from lilting to the side under her own dead weight. ] No...

[ But she's heavier. Heavier than an unconscious girl, even, and it somehow feels like it would be the smart thing to lay her down. Blood spills out from the wound and he stares between it and the open, blank stare from her other eye.

Touma can't look away. ] No... damn it, NO!

[ His mind is working as hard as it can to rationalize that he can help. That she'll be fine. That maybe there's some kind of first aid he can perform, or someone he can call...

...but he knows it's futile. She's gone. She's gone and there's nothing to do about it. ]

[ Nothing to do but fight on, that is. A quick look down the way shows the silhouette of the girl in the distance and, from what he can tell, no one's running after her. Why would they? Touma is now alone, and his partner with the most dangerous weapon is now down. It's the perfect time to pick him off. ]

[ That's what they think. ]

[ Touma picks the bat up and rises to his feet. There is no speech. No self-righteous monologue or lesson on life-and-death and how no human has the right to do things like this. No analysis of the dire situation that those cannibals must be in which drove them to behave this way.

And, most importantly, as he yells and runs out from cover, striking the closest offender in the ribs: no mercy

[ But poor, stupid Touma, was not aware of his situation. The gunshots, the yelling, the change in the balance meant that others had come out of the woodwork to swarm them like beasts. The first person fell — man or woman, it was hard to tell from the pained cry as it collapsed — and three more were behind them.

Then six more to the side.

And a dozen in a loose circle, navigating the ruined structures all around.

Touma spun, blocking the strike of a crowbar haphazardly, but a wide kick from another hit the side of his leg and wrenched his knee. He screamed and collapsed to his knees, whereby another strike to the face sent him sprawling on the ground. ]

[ Touma spit blood and teeth onto the ground. ] That's it?

[ He rolled onto his hands and knees and spit more. ] That's all you got?! [ And a kick to the ribs is his answer, and it left him without air in his lungs. ]

[ Maybe it was a hammer.
Maybe it was a block of steel.
Maybe it was a brick.

It's hard to say what hit Touma from behind, but it's quite clear to him that the split-second of mind-blowing pain is all he felt before his world went dark.

But it's probably good that it ended there, because then he doesn't have to experience the cutting and tearing and biting and eating that was to follow. In a way, Tatsuki's swift end was a kindness, even if they both met the same fate in the end. ]

[She's about ready to attack. The only people she's seen around here besides her own surviving housemate, couldn't really be considered people. But she recognizes him and lowers her weapon. She lets the twisted blackened pipe drag on the ground as she approaches.]

Oh, it's just you.

[ Touma spins at the noise, but drops his defensive stance when he sees who it is. ] What do you mean "just" me? [ He sighs and looks around, then looks her over, eyes resting on the weapon as she nears. ] Looks like you've taken care of yourself this far, but is anyone with you?

[She's managed to avoid the flesh-eating mutants and hopes to keep it that way. Following his gaze, she relaxes when she sees no threats.] I'm not alone. There's one other.

Oh? [ Looking around. ] Where are they?

Probably in the basement. [Unless he was out looking for her. She wouldn't be surprised.]

--then why are you out here instead of being in there? It's safer in the basement if you've got a good blockade set up, and have some supplies. Don't just go wandering around because you've got a pipe with you!

I'm a trained fighter. I can take care of myself. [She might not have the most experience with this sort of combat, but it's not hard to figure out how to beat an attacker until it stops moving.]

I'm just trying to find what's left of the supplies before they're all looted.

Uh...huh. [ Skeptical, but he's met people claiming weirder things, so at least he isn't scoffing at her. ]

I think you're going to have a hell of a time here. I didn't even see any... bodies around. [ Touma swallows that sickening feeling in his gut, and the memories with it. ] Which basement were you in? Show me, and I'll lead you guys to a better shelter if it doesn't look like it'll hold up. The more people stick together, the better it'll be.

What sort of place have you got?

[She leads toward where her house used to be. Her new "father" isn't the worst company, but she just can't stand sitting in the basement with nothing to do and feeling useless.]

Back on Stevens Road — or what's left of it — Garviel and Sanguinius and some others have holed up in two neighboring ruins. [ Touma looks around as they walk, careful of their surroundings. ] It's not pretty, but it's the safest place I know.

Ours seems to be holding up. [She recognizes one of the names. She's not surprised he's made himself a fortress.]

You know Garviel?

Unless there's more than one Garviel, yeah. Same guy. [ Which could be; he doesn't know. ] Sanguinius is the guy in the big golden armor looking like he stepped out of some kind of 80's comic series.

Oh, and he has wings.

Wow, I think I'd remember if I've seen him before. I don't know much about comics, but wings you say? Interesting.

Heh, the main point is you can't miss them. [ Are they there, yet? He's starting to get anxious, because something could pop out of the rubble at any moment... ]

It should be around here somewhere... [She thinks she recognizes this pile of rubble.]

Well let's hurry. It's a bad idea to just be walking around like this. We're practically sitting ducks.

You're safe with me. Here we are. [She steps over a piece of wall and into the kitchen area and takes out the key to the basement.]

...it's not me I'm worried about. [ But he is distracted by not stumbling over the rubble. He leaves the bike leaning against something and follows her to the basement door. ] Looks sturdy. How are your supplies?

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5th Broken Illusion

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1/2

2/2

Re: 2/2

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/apologizes profusely

1/idefk

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Fin

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