heroes dress in black.

you've heard the stories of me. you know what i can do. i take the embers of man's anger. and there's nothing i can't shape them into.   shirou sonozaki, shsl busker kingslayer gabriel, shsl phantom thief.

[bdb-niji-blog]

….In This Graveyard of Dreams || Shirou

What did he mean, they had everything under control? All the cryptic answers were beginning to make him feel ill at ease. Could he really trust this guy? Did he really have a choice? He let out an agitated sigh. There wasn’t enough time to argue, or do much else but go along with what seemed like the least of many evils.

“…Very well, then.”

He lied, fully planning to attempt to take matters into his own hands later. If he wasn’t getting information here, there were surely other channels to work with.

And then, unexpectedly, what at least looked like help. He blinked at the watch. The whole story certainly sounded convincing. Something in him still wanted to believe this was a trap– perhaps it was a distrust of anyone from a government organization, perhaps it was just simple vainglory from wanting to see himself as the sole hero, perhaps both– but when he tried to think of what they had to gain from this. Eliminating witnesses? Well, there was no real point to giving a false hope then. Hesitantly, he drew his hand back, staring at the watch-like device with no small amount of suspicion. But still…

“…I see, thank you.”

He turned to Mitsuki.

“You need this more than I ever would. Listen…”

He kept his voice low, enough to foil any potential onlookers from listening in, and whispered a set of numbers to Mitsuki.

“If something goes wrong, get a phone– steal one if you have to. Tell them Kingslayer Gabriel sent you. Ask for Firebringer, give your location, best as you can approximate. They should be able to get you out, God willing.”

He drew back.

“…Be careful. Please. I’ll get in touch with you as soon as I can if we’re split up.”

He stepped back, looking around uneasily at all the people still here. There was nothing to do but wait and pray now.

[bdb-niji-blog]

Who Will Survive, and What Will Be Left of Them? || Shirou

It was at that moment that everyone else under the sun decided to show up. Dear him, how many people were going to intervene? He gave a small frown to the man he recognized as Oyesu. Yes, he truly couldn’t trust anyone who took a human-slash-robot life. And the woman had set up all this up, so she was basically complicit in all this. Close enough. There was nothing more abominable than the pursuit of perceived profit over human life.

The other person, he wasn’t sure about. He trusted nothing that involved the government, yet…Betes Noires was going to hear of this. He had to make certain– if not, everything he’d worked for would be lost.

“Pardon me. I apologize for interrupting, but I represent an…interested party in any information you might have about the Takaguchi Corporation. We’re a whistleblower group, of sorts. Anything you could give us– their subsidiaries, any other illegal activities they’ve been involved with, their associated corporate officers– will be put to proper use by myself and my associates. You have my word.”

And he was going to leave it at that, but…a bomb? Well that was certainly bad enough. Yet something about that sentence struck him as very ominous. He considered it for a second. And then realization hit him. The color drained from his face. That talk about not being able to go near water…Mitsuki was, in pure function, a complex set of electronics in the same way one could reduce a human to just a complex set of flesh. If this was going to destroy all electronics…

“I– wait. Tell me. Where did you come from? I can’t stay here. I have family in Saitama, and my friend, he’s– it’s a long story. We have to escape. If that portal is destroyed because the bomb goes off and…”

He trailed off. That was not worth considering, not after all he’d gone through. Not after all they’d gone through.

[bdb-niji-blog]

Well, Pray for Them, and Stay With Them || Shirou

Good heavens, would you look at the time. Time for everyone to explain more or less what was going on! So invigorating, he was almost tempted to do so himself. Maybe leaving out the murder part. He could let that fox-masked skeleton rot in his closet until the Judgement Day. And he would wait patiently until then.

It didn’t help, but he’d wait. It was only polite. He’d gone this far without a breach of courtesy, Heaven forbid he slip now. And yet, it still left him empty. Shirou was a simple man with simple philosophies, taken from years of observation. And at this point, he trusted nothing with “Corporation” in its title, nor would he trust anyone who’d taken a life.

(A human one, he had to append.

Robots counted too, he appended secondly.)

He didn’t trust spies, either, so where he was standing there was little left to be trusted. Anything any of these people said would be twisted through the lens of their own warped convictions. Yet still…

“Why?”

It was quiet at first, even from the usually soft-spoken Shirou, directed at Aoi.

“For…what? Immortality? I don’t suppose you care, but people died. Not…permanently, but the soul never dies anyway. Nothing can ever fix what happened here. Everyone here is going to have to live with the scars of that.”

And it’s a beautiful day. I already linked that video clip last chapter. Fuck.

“Maybe it’s not as much of a shock to me…I’ve seen a lot of things. But really, I’m quite disappointed. All that you’ve done in the world will catch up with you. Maybe not now, maybe not later, maybe not for a long while, maybe not from me, maybe not from anyone in this world or our own. But it will happen.”

He wiped off his glasses and let out a small sigh.

“On second thought you can explain as much as you want. I don’t think I’ll ever understand.”

A pause. He turned to Hanzo.

“That goes for you as well. But I think you’re quite prepared to meet judgment.”

He flagged Aoiko over. He kept his voice quiet, and whatever they were discussing would be left seemingly unheard. Then, he spoke up again.

“Do you remember that conversation we had when we first met? I said that heroes dress in black.”

Aoiko passed by him, handing him a guitar case– for the few who’d ever been into his room, they’d recognize it as the one he’d kept under his bed.

“Well, some of us do.”

[♫do you have any idea how long i was sitting on this scene♫]

In one smooth motion, he pulled a length of dark cloth out from the case. For a few seconds, he was obscured. And once you could see him again, he was wearing an entirely different outfit. A black-and-gold suit, with a swallowtailed cape, and– perhaps most noticeably of all– a mask like  a bird’s skull, its back covered in dark feathers.

“Behold, the voice of Saint Gabriel, the emissary of the divine firmament, the left hand of God Himself, Heaven’s righteous judgment, the sword of the archangels, agent of the celestial spheres, knight of the Empyreal Kingdom! Let the fires of the Nine Hosts illuminate your crimes and burn your sins to ash! I am Kingslayer Gabriel!”

His pose relaxed.

“…But I think some of you know that well enough already.”

And now, he looked strangely self-conscious in his over-the-top garb, shifting from one foot to the other. Not at all like the angelic creature that he was claiming to be, and certainly not like the uncatchable phantom thief some of you might have heard of.

[shsl-phantom-thief]

Visit Original Link

I am a man of the cloth, but not without my sins I hear the Devil knock, I always let him in Temptation is my left hand, salvation is my right I wander through the darkness But I always bring the light

Though I preach the Word, I was baptized in a well I could save your wretched souls Or I could send them straight to hell A dirt road is my path My collar's stained with blood I'm chasing after locusts And I'm waiting for the flood

I wear the cloth, but my heart's as black as coal A scarecrow on the cross, I'm preaching to the crows Humbled by the Lord, I'm a man without a soul Redemption has it's price, and my cloth is full of holes

I've come to testify a war's been waged within If I was a betting man, I'd bet that Devil wins I've wrestled with my conscious I've wrestled with my soul And now I fight the Devil And that devil's got control

My soul is burning though it's cold and in the grave I guess the Lord decided it wasn't worth the save I travel in the shadows, I walk amongst the dead The outlaw is upon me and my Gospel has been read

[swordofsteel-deactivated2016060]

well, that’s me, I guess :D

[agrippinaes]

Jean Valjean in the eyes of others

[unbfacts]

The American gangster John Dillinger escaped from jail with a wooden pistol. After whittling it in his cell, in March 1934 he used the fake weapon to intimidate 33 people before getting a real machine gun. “Ha, ha, ha! And I did all this with a wooden gun!” he bragged while leaving.

[headlesssamurai]

Ned Kelly by ChrisRawlins

[outofcontexttokusatsu]

[henshin-hero-blog]

[shsl-phantom-thief]

Well, he opened up a shop At the age of nineteen Stealing anything the eye could see Said, "Gather 'round you people, Anything you need I'll put my name down on your ledger You put the word out on the streets"

And I will ride 'til my fingers They are down to the bone Wander 'til I can't remember my own home Drink until I don't know the meaning of alone Until that bullet flies to carry me home

[bdb-niji-blog]

Keep Shooting at the Devil in the Moonlight (Shirou, RE: MM Trial Round Two!)

And as the trial came to an end, Shirou was accosted by a very familiar experience. Being suddenly very aware of the fact his lungs still drew breath, his heart still beating so hard he could feel the reverberations in his bones, blood pounding in his veins so loudly it drowned out everything else, adrenaline amplifying every sensation and drawing out every moment.

It was a reminder he was still impossibly alive, the certain result of a near-death experience. That was something he was a bit too accustomed to.

He was back in Roppongi, crashed a bit too literally for comfort on the couch belonging to his fence. The apartment was as trashy as it’d always been, a bit worse since one of the only chairs there had broken. In its stead, there was a mat on the floor, and one of his associates was sitting playing cards with his fence.

(Fence, he’d thought, was such a peculiar word, because it didn’t describe what they did at all. They didn’t exactly block anything, they were more of a bridge between the thief and potential buyers.)

“Attack with Tormented Soul, tap for two and summon Ninja of the Deep Hours in its place. You take two damage, and I draw a card,” his associate said, a triumphant smile on their face.

“I think I liked it when we played blackjack better.” They looked around, a frown on their face, before turning their focus on Shirou. “Hey. Sonozaki. Not trying to rush you out the door or anything, but I’d rather not have your sister come knocking with, uh, things as they are. Might want to think of a reason why you’re bleeding before you leave.”

He sighed and put a hand on his injured arm. “I’ll just tell her the truth. I was attacked.”

They let out a small groan. “Come on. You’re going to have to learn how to lie eventually, Sonozaki.”

“Yeah!” His associate chimed in. “What’re you going to do if the police ever came asking about me, Shirou?” Their eyes brimmed with what he knew well enough were fake tears, but he still couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt.

“Just because I won’t make something up doesn’t mean I won’t get myself or you caught.” He cast his gaze askance. “I was in a dangerous part of town. She knew that. I don’t have to tell her why I was really there. She’ll…assume I was busking. And if someone tried to get to either of you through me, I’d…” He paused. “I’d figure something out. I’m not a good liar, anyway. It’s better to just be honest.”

The fence raised an eyebrow. “Right. That’s not that encouraging. Look, think of it this way. You agree with us, right? Lying is better than losing the ability to accomplish our goals. Betes Noires can’t afford to lose anyone.”

“Besides, lying should be easy for you with all that…word-twisting stuff you do so you’re technically telling the truth,” his associate said, bright tone never betraying any hint of malice. “I mean, the trick to lying is always putting a little bit of truth in it. That way people latch onto it and think you’re being honest. Then, from there, you just have to believe everything you say!”

“Like, really believe it.” His fence leaned in, heavily-lidded eyes narrowing.

“Bottom-of-your-heart believe it!” The associate nodded, their face mock-solemn. “Seriously, you’d be amazed what people will think is real if you just say it enough times and sound confident enough.”

At the time, it had left such a bad taste in his mouth. Of course, he’d known he was taking a fairly serious burden of sin upon himself when he started stealing, and there would be certain stains he’d need to leave on his soul, but he’d never accounted for the kind of people he’d need to work with.

(And he’d certainly never imagined himself here. If he’d died, that would have been fine, it was in practice a martyr’s death, well-deserved, but…he’d have the risk of a certain someone trying to stop him. He’d have to deal with someone mourning, someone who– mistakenly, he thought– believed he did not deserve to die. He’d always imagined his death in some backalley, where nobody would have to witness his passing and nobody would have to cry. That wasn’t something he could afford here.)

Then again, nothing he said really felt like a lie to him. When you got down to it, the masterminds were the ones at fault for starting at all. So, really, the majority of the blood was on their hands, and their other captors. And it wasn’t Kumi’s first time killing so it wasn’t as if they were innocent, and he didn’t have a choice, the traps would’ve killed them all eventually and it would’ve been drawn out over probably weeks, and…

(It occurred to him this may have been what his associate meant when they’d said that he would be good at lying.)

He sighed. There were more important matters than to dwell on this.

“Well, I suppose it may have been Hanzo-san then. My apologies. But I don’t think he’s going to avoid justice for long.”

He folded his arms.

“I believe I’ve said all there is to say about Kobayashi-san. I think the evidence is condemning enough. I have however, not yet brought up some matters relating to the mastermind of my class, because they weren’t relevant at the time.”

(That, and all his focus had been spent up frantically trying to figure out how he was going to get out of this mess.)

“I am completely certain that not only Hanzo-san is alive, but in some regard the “deceased” students are as well. We…encountered each other while I was trying to explore. He was able to elaborate on some matters. He said they believed they were ghosts bound to the castle– the insinuation being that wasn’t actually true. I’m not sure if there’s a way to revive them, but if there is…I’d want to see that come to pass. Far too many innocent people have died. On a more alarming note…”

Because saying that guy everyone thought was dead actually wasn’t didn’t qualify as alarming.

“He very strongly implied he was working on some sort of time limit. To what end, I’m not sure. Either way, we don’t have much of a choice but to work quickly here.”

And with that, he locked in his votes.

[bdb-niji-blog]

Put It All on Black, 'Til Your Luck Comes Back (Shirou, RE: Mitsuki)

Shirou waited for Mitsuki to finish speaking before chiming in himself.

“…He’s got a point. I have an…associate who plays games of chance. There’s still a strategy to them, in that you can optimize your odds. I think…if we have to gamble, it’s best to vote for one of the masterminds. I’m not sure if we found any certain evidence towards the culprit’s identity, but it does make sense it might be one of them, doesn’t it?”

I have like five minutes to go. Help m

“Here’s what I’m saying. How cagey she was in responding makes me think that they’re probably going to end up dying if they get caught, one way or the other, considering when I asked what would happen to someone who wasn’t the mastermind last time I got a much more straightforward answer. Thus, we wouldn’t be executing an innocent person, and we’d execute someone who’d have died anyways. And while I’m not a betting man, I’m willing to bet we’d be right anyways.”

I could put something serious here but there’s no time.

“Please. I don’t like the idea of gambling with people’s lives. But I think this is the best option we have.”

[bdb-niji-blog]

If You Paint Me as a Liar, You Can Count Your Breath and Watch the Steps You Take (Shirou, RE: Aoi, Shiroi)

So Aoi talked. And he listened. Terse, thin smile all the while, expression unflinching and unchanging. And after she was done, he spoke.

“If you’re quite done, I usually make it a point to not ingest strange things. I’ve found plenty of other ways to artificially shorten my lifespan, thank you.”

Please don’t sound so proud when you’re saying that.

“At any rate, she’s right. It goes without saying that this universe does not play by the rules we’re accustomed to. And yes, I did say universe. The records I found in the research facility indicate we’re in an alternate dimension. Considering there’s something akin to magic at work here, it’s not a stretch to say that demons are real…or someone could fake their death very convincingly, for that matter.”

He paused, taking a moment to flag down Aoiko, and looked ever so slightly triumphant when he got a response.

“Yes, well, that denial might have worked better if I didn’t have a witness, as I’d mentioned. As you can see, there was, in fact, a demon.”

Apropos of nothing but as I plan out this next paragraph all I can think about is how badly I want Shirou’s spoilers out. It’s been months. About a year if we’re counting when I first started planning him out. I am suffering. My crops are dying. Also he turns to acknowledge Shiroi.

“…I hadn’t found that. I apologize for my negligence. Nevertheless, I’d like to note that anyone who’s going to be involved in this sort of thing isn’t exactly going to be a pillar of morality. I work with…certain people, and I might find them distasteful at times, but we work towards a common goal. I trust them with little. But they wouldn’t betray me, it’s not in their best interests. I can believe in that much. Or, at least I’d like to. Perhaps I, too, am wrong.”

He folded his arms, tapping his fingers.

“…But I suppose that’s only idle speculation, coming from me. Kato-san…you did know them better than I did, after all.”

Before you could mistake that for an accusation, he went on.

“That….‘pyroscope’ could have been of the traps set up by the motive. I’m not sure if the culprit or Kumi triggered it by accident. However, since they didn’t look all that burned, I doubt they did. Which means it was probably the culprit. The feather I’m not sure about. I have seen shapeshifters on the grounds, but none that could turn into a black bird. Personally, I wouldn’t factor out the chance it’s some kind of..spell reagent. The sword…I don’t think there can be much doubt that was the murder weapon. It certainly does fit the bill.”

This is filler text. I’m running out of words.

“…But unless I’m reading the air wrong here, you’re suggesting that it was the Aoi mastermind who could have done this. If you have any doubts as to the evidence I’ve presented condemning Hanzo, you’re welcome to check. I did take pictures. Maybe–”

Suddenly, Shirou stopped dead in his metaphorical tracks. He put a hand to his chin in thought.

“You…don’t think there’s a chance they wanted to back out of this, do you? Kumi, I mean. If they’ve been getting…er. Close. To….certain people, they might have regretted starting all this in the first place.”

Just say they kissed, Shirou, it’s not that scandalous.

“If they brought that up to the mastermind, I can’t imagine that getting a positive reaction, especially if their plans were close to fruition. Perhaps…that’s what caused the murder itself.”

[bdb-niji-blog]

Boy, Decide! (Shirou, RE: Mitsuki, Shiroi, ATTN: Aoi, teeeechnically someone else)

Shirou looked at the picture of Mitsuki’s bouquet. Technically this chronologically happened after most of the stuff but when I wrote this it felt really weird flow-wise to have this giant dramatic textwall and then ‘flowers lol’ so it’s going at the top of the post.

“Well, the presence of lilies is certainly…interesting. Depending on the species and context, they can mean purity, mourning, hatred, or pride.”

He folded his arms and looked off to the side with a small sigh.

“I’m beginning to suspect someone may have been sending flowers to people they somehow suspected of being masterminds. Arai-san, because of the level of technology at work and the picture of the factory in the gallery. Myself, because I…admittedly haven’t been terribly forthcoming about myself in general. And Kobayashi-san, for reasons I’ll discuss soon.”

Shiroi had done what? Well enough people had scolded her already, so he wasn’t going to jump on that. Instead, something else she said caught his attention.

“…Truthfully, if we’re pursuing that line of thought, I can think of someone– more than one. I suppose I was implying it before so I might as well say it. We can’t ignore the likelihood that one of the masterminds may have been behind this. Possibly as some kind of double-cross. Eliminating witnesses, as it were. As such, I’m going to start from the beginning, starting with the mastermind of the other class– who I believe is standing among us today.”

I didn’t notice how much I used emdashes until I tried to proofread this paragraph.

“In all honesty, I’d suspected you from the moment I saw the painting of the forest in the library, but I’d decided to give the benefit of the doubt to you. Perhaps I was too generous. It’s in my nature, but if I’d known you were trying to summon a demon I’d have been considerably less forgiving.”

He paused, for dramatic effect probably. Thanks.

“To elaborate, I was able to gain access to the locked areas, including the cabin. Inside was some sort of…ritual circle and implements. Including some strong-smelling potions and plant matter. And a spellbook. There were some pages missing from it, so at first I wasn’t sure what was going on, until a demon appeared.”

He pulled a rosary out of his waistcoat pocket.

“…I can’t explain how I survived the encounter. All I can tell you is that I…think God must have protected me. The demon was repelled by the rosary whenever he tried to get near me. You don’t have to believe me, but I should think the fact I’m standing in front of you, alive, should be proof enough– that, and Aoiko assisted me with interrogating him. He said his name was Honoka. I…think he was a blood relation to Kumi. They had a pretty strong resemblance, and I uncovered evidence that the entirety of the royal family Kumi belonged to died, barring them. Of course.”

You might want to add in a ‘formerly’ to the end of that sentence, pal.

“I wasn’t able to get a straight answer out of him as to the mastermind’s identity, only their goal. Immortality, by way of blood sacrifice. Apparently, the more people sacrificed, the greater the likelihood of gaining immortality. I think it’s clear why it’s imperative someone who’s willing to create a situation where over twenty people die shouldn’t be allowed to gain immortality. Of course, I don’t expect the person in question to be honest about the scope of their skills or plans.”

He leveled his gaze at Aoi.

“You said it yourself, didn’t you? You do nothing but lie, Kobayashi-san. But it all fits. There’s different, more advanced equipment in the infirmary on your side of the castle. Perhaps you have some kind of terminal illness and that’s why you’re doing this. Mori fashion is closely connected with the natural world, which would explain all of this…herbology nonsense. One of the puzzle clues to gain access to the cabin involved a question about street fashion, and there were others relating to animals and plants.”

Then he clasped his hands behind his back and began pacing in a small line behind his podium.

“Now, that brings up the matter of the mastermind. I’m not sure if anyone else gained access to the hidden areas, or looked around the offices. There’s quite a bit to cover, and I’d rather save that for later, but what’s relevant is that an organization called Takaguchi Corp set this up as an experiment– just as I’d been speculating when I noticed how heavily we were being monitored. They kept records of setting this…experience up. And they mentioned hiring on a freelancer to infiltrate the class. As memory serves, there was someone who explicitly described himself as a freelance agent.”

He gestured to an empty podium.

“The observant among you may notice someone fitting that description is not currently present, and that one of the puzzles had the answer that the Aoi mastermind was not dead. There’s a good explanation for that, rest assured I’m not leading you astray. Hours before the classes met, Hanzo falsely confessed to a murder and allowed himself to be executed. For some time, the reason why he’d willingly allow himself to die over something trivial troubled me for a while. In reality, he didn’t die at all. He faked his death as part of some greater plan– perhaps to escape the observation of his employers, perhaps for something I can’t yet fathom. I’d be willing to bet he’s watching us right now, though I seriously doubt he’s going to announce his presence. Either way, he’s been using the security room, which explains why everything was still active and in use when I first looked there. A second examination showed that there were air vents, big enough for a person to fit in– and I think that’s how he was able to escape my notice beforehand.”

“< ʷᵒʳᵈˢ ʷᵒʳᵈˢ ʷᵒʳᵈˢ

“With all that being said, I would be very surprised if he actually decided to kill someone after avoiding detection for so long. Which, if we’re going under the assumption that the killer was someone who Kumi would have trusted on some level, that does leave us with one likely suspect. Kobayashi-san. I still don’t think the two masterminds were working towards the same goal, but it would make sense for them to at least familiarize themselves with our captors first and foremost. It might help explain why she’s survived so long.

[bdb-niji-blog]

Well, I Know That My Soul is On Fire (Shirou, RE: Aoi)

Shirou looked at Aoi intently as she spoke. A litlte too intently, rather, his gaze neither wavered nor did he blink the entirety of the time. He didn’t say anything for a while, instead continuing to stare, before he finally looked down, placing a hand on his chin in thought.

“I see.”

Insightful.

“If you can identify the flowers in it, I can try to give a rough translation. I’m not very good, I just read up about it in the library once I received mine, but I can try.”

He began counting off on his fingers.

“Let’s see. Monkshood, used to represent knight-errantry. That is, a knight who traveled about looking for ways to prove his virtue. Lychnis, representing religious fervor. Foxglove, for a wish.”

And here was the part he started to get visibly uncomfortable.

“Mock orange– counterfeit. And tamarisk, for…”

There was a long pause, punctuated by a small sigh.

“…Crime. What I’m implying is…whoever sent this knew some things about me I’ve been trying very hard to keep hidden. Not just for my own good, mind you. I can think of a few sources where they might have…uncovered this information. Some more unsettling than others.”

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

“At any rate, I don’t think we can count out the possibility the culprit has some kind of…botanical knowledge, or something of that nature, given the state the greenhouse was in. I mean, the pentagram aside, there were black rose petals scattered around, and there was a mortar and pestle with some kind of plant matter in it. To what end, I’m not sure, but I have my guesses.”

It’s almost three in the morning and I could make this post longer, but I won’t, because you can probably see my writing quality circling the drain.

[bdb-niji-blog]

Put the Bullet in the Barrel (Shirou, RE: Trial Start! ATTN: Everyone)

And after an eventful investigation, a slightly rattled Shirou walked into the trial room. He barely waited for Maru to stop speaking before he immediately pitched in.

“Yes, well–”

Not in the most helpful way. He took a few seconds to regain his bearings, then tried again.

“…Er. First things first. It should be noted that the fire was not the cause of death. A spinal cord transection is when the spinal cord is severed, and it’d take a sharp instrument of some kind to do that. I wasn’t able to turn up anything that could have been responsible for such an injury, but if anyone else did that could help.”

“What I did find is that there was ether missing from the infirmary, and replaced with water. Ether was once used as a surgical anesthetic, meaning that the deceased may not have been fully conscious at the time of their death. Though, apparently, it’s not considered terribly effective compared to modern anesthetics…”

He folds his arms, looking off to the side. Also that’s right kids, I have one whole sprite and I intend to use it as much as I can. It’s not like his expression changes much anyways.

“Which brings me to my next point. They were stabbed in the back, and there was no exit wound. That’s one reason I’m not convinced they were conscious– because the alternative was they trusted someone enough to turn their back to them.”

What a laugh, he thought. He’d certainly never turn his back to Kumi.

“There’s quite a bit more to discuss, but I’d rather not get ahead of myself. The last thing I want to bring up is…er. Did anyone else receive any strange bouquets? Normally I’d think little of it, but I brushed up a bit on the symbolic meanings of flowers and, truth be told, I can’t help but feel like it was a veiled threat. On a somewhat related note…”

He cleared his throat, mostly so I don’t have to type a giant wall of text.

“I can say with certainty I know the identities of the masterminds. Both of them. We have to call for a vote. This may well be our last chance. If we wait much longer, they’ll be in the perfect position to win. Passing up this opportunity is not an option.”

He did his best to keep his back straight and his voice strong, speaking with an authority he neither had nor even had the right to attain– not like this, anyway. But he wasn’t going to lose when lives were on the line.