"There's no victory in making someone kneel against their will." [ Cult Geto <3 ]
The leadership counsel keep their lips sewn shut. The tension lay thick in the air, and the deafening silence rang within its four walls. All eight members hold their breath-- doing their best to control any movement with their stiff, inflexible bodies.
The 9th member, the Publics Relations Manager Aoi Suzuki, grits her teeth. Suzuki is the only member standing, just as Master Geto asked, and she doesn't bear to look at him. Her eyes fixate on the wooden table in front of her. Beads of sweat gather on her patchy black hairline.
"Answer me, Suzuki." Geto's voice remains firm and composed. A sneer pulls taught at the corner of his lips, mocking any sense of safety and hope. His hand reaches into his yukata, seeking for something important.
"If these carefully, tactfully written letters aren't from you -" Suguru removes small stack of handwritten letters from his attire, then tosses them in front of him. Several pages slide across the conference table, some almost flitter in the wind. "Then who? Who else would tarnish the name of our tranquil abode. Why would anyone speak ill will of our liberated community? Isn't it our job to unshackle the masses, not push them away." Suguru's tone morph into a form of malignent playfullness. "Spoiling our heavenly mission -...hmm....I would say - fall under the guise of treason, would it not?"
Suguru's words sharply ring in Aoi's ears. They echoe in the corners of her mind like an ominous beating drum. She was - in fact - stealthily warning the public of Geto's cult. Suzuki has valuable connections to the media and other public outlets, an advantage Geto sought to exploit. As a result, Suzuki was personally hired by Geto to gather more lost souls to freedom. While her networking skills proved itself useful to him, but she couldn't stand by and watch people die any longer. Her guilty consciousness ate away at her psyche and health. Compliance was the flame swallowing her whole.
A devoted follower pretended to be Aoi's next business partner. A secret few that Geto has chosen to spy on other members. Suzuki told them to keep away from the group, occasionally sending a letter or two explaining why. Her aggregious mistake revealed her true intentions to Master Geto himself, and now her foolishness was coming at a price. Possibly her own life.
Suguru leans forward, resting his chin on his on his palm. Eyebrows crease harshly in a macabre display of intent, and a cold- unrelenting stare glues onto Aoi. This threatening ear to ear grin remains. "Well....?" He asks, his words icy enough to chill bones.
The 8 members glance at one another from across the table. Pupils shrink, but otherwise, eyes remain the same. All sit statuesque to avoid becoming involved in the scene. All but their visitor, a pink haired, gentle, sweet voiced woman who had the honor to sit beside Master Geto. Without her, Master Geto would sit alone at the end of the long rectangular conference table.
Suzuki's clammy skeletal palms held onto the seat, resting beside her. Shallow breath work against the pounding heart hitting her chest. Speak...speak.speak.speak idiot speak!! she thinks. Her anxiety held its grip on her stuttering voice and shaky emaciated lips. Tears well up by the mild crows feet wrinkling at the corner of her eyes. Aoi's knees grow weaker and weaker.
"I-I'm sorry!!" She cries. "Master Geto. I-I was lost!! Lost!! I didn't know wh-what I was thinking. I'm so stupid. I'm an idiot. My f-flame - Yeah!" Aoi's petite, delicate body drops to the ground. She gets on her knees and kneels low enough for her nose to press against the hardwood floor.
"M-My ailment. It's the fire. The fire w-was consuming me. M-My thoughts. Free me Master G-Geto. I promise, it won't b-be left unchecked again. I swear to you." Tears escape her nose, making her sniffle in between her words.
The cult leader's smile only pulled tighter at her display of remorse. His full menacing teeth reveal themselves for all to witness. A distorted sense of joy triggers his nerves as adrenaline pushes its way into his blood. Aoi's distress and her suffering were purely gratifying.
"Yes. Snuffing out those treasonous flames. I can do that for you, Aoi" Suguru mocks. "Any potential flame that threatens our community deserves to be smothered. For all of us."
Suguru raises his free hand and extends his open palm to face her. The moment he was about to summon a curse spirit, he feels a warm firm weight on his shoulder. He looks at the corner of his eye and sees Maeve with her hand on him. Despite the conference's unsettling foreboding energy, Maeve demeanor remains calm and helpful. The light of his soul sat beside him. How could Geto forget about her presence? Did he completely neglect the possibility of his sunshine witnessing the worst of him? Still, Maeve's warmth reels him in, presence alone with power to ground him.
Suguru begrudgingly closes his palm to a fist. A low, grumpy growl hums at his throat.
"Aoi's treason isn't to be taken lightly, however, I feel merciful today. So I ask all of you to kneel. Kneel if you seek to prove your loyalty me. My mercy is limited, so I challenge you not to spoil this rare opportunity."
A chorus of abrupt, chaotic, shuffling changes the atmosphere. Power and control was still at the forefront, but the tension and weariness from the other members morph into panic. Each of them follow Aoi's example. They scramble to their knees, palms face down above their heads, noses press against the floor.
A memory plays in Suguru's mind. Earlier within the week, Maeve had entered his study. She approached him and said, "There's no victory in making someone kneel against their will." With her words playing in his mind, he whispers to Maeve,
"This here, observe. Would you not call this a victory?"
