towerofanimus | OO6 >> How do you measure the distance between two people?

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OO6 >> How do you measure the distance between two people?

Characters: Hidetoshi in his early twenties, and YOU!
Setting: Various (floors 48, 1, 6 and the dormitory levels) set throughout the week.
Format: Stating with actionspam but prose is perfectly fine by me. As always, just remember I'll be slower to reply to prose.
Summary: Hidetoshi is affected by the event (further details and tl;dr can be found here) and firmly believes he has been in the Tower for over a decade, and is acting accordingly. Surprisingly, he remains quite sane.
Warnings: Do mentions of animals getting electrocuted to death count as a warning... Oh, and Hidetoshi being weirdly mentally stable for the environment he grew up in.

[ SCENARIO A || FLOOR THIRTY-EIGHT ]

[ There's a reserved-looking man in his twenties that cuts an imposing figure and dark gray hair tied neatly back into a spiky ponytail, reclining in one of the beanbag chairs situated in the lounge, a thick book plopped open in his lap, several other tombs stacked next to him with a cup of coffee placed on top and occasionally he makes a remark to thin air. Like so; ]

That's a fucking farcical and erroneous assertion.

[ Don't be a smartass, you've already read the end of this novel, why read backwards. You already know what the ending is. Spoilered. Cheating.

Hidetoshi wrinkled his nose slightly, took a cocky sip of his coffee. I don't recall asking for your opinion. If I want to believe that for once in this story, the protagonist wouldn't be an ignoramus, then I will.

Are you truly going for that angle of argument? Delusion. Pointless. Flawed reasoning. Tut tut.

A familiar presence shifted in his mind, jostling for attention. Hidetoshi turns a page and sniffs. Shut up, you're just as engrossed as I am. Of course, he speaks very softly, so if you're hanging out in the lounge as well, you're fully capable of easily ignoring him. This floor is very quiet and calm, quieter than the flashy media room at least. A good place to take a breather and escape from the craziness of what Hidetoshi assumed to be a sudden wave of newcomers for the first time in ages, and the latest experiment. ]

[ SCENARIO B || FLOOR SIX ]

[ —Thunder Reign!

Faintly heard, through the forest, he calls out a spell's name and his persona flickers to life to cast it, scorching black patches of the ground and whichever mutated animals dared attack him. Some survived and fled, others died after a few more spells.

He's standing under the shelter of a tree, calling down thunder attacks. In front of him hovered a heavily armored persona dressed in a cloak of shades of dark gray, regal yellow, and with ribbons knotting the fabric together. Its face was featureless and smoother. A black stripe of colour over the blank space where eyes would normally would be and a crown-like crest that rose from its brow, and long wide sleeves covered its arms. One of its hands was a stump with a gleaming sword portending from it.

There's no reason for it; Hidetoshi had felt the desire to indulge and seen no harm in doing so here.

One of his longer swords was out, held confidently in his hand, the blade's edge sharp and well-cared for. He handles his movement with more grace than a scrawny twig of a teenager did. He's alert, that fact displayed in the terse tightening of his lips, the slight drawing of his eyebrows, the way he casts his gaze—unafraid and observant—across the surrounding area while his face stays calm. ]

[ SCENARIO B || FLOOR ONE ]

[ Someone has dragged a dead deer (bearing the signs of being cleanly shocked to death) from the forest into the kitchen and is skinning it (~~disclaimer: the mun knows jack shit about skinning animals~~) with the ease of old practice, out of the way and being very tidy with it, keeping the blood to a minimal. He's already thinking of how he wants to cook it—Lancer preferred meat, and he doubted Minato or Nesir would say no to decently cooked food. Whenever he tracked down Togami-kun after he was done being a fool for the day, he'd see if he could stuff some of the meat onto him. Then he paused, and glanced down at the partially-skinned corpse in front of him.

Y'know, when he was growing up, this was not a skill he'd ever thought he'd learn. Nor was... this the sort of life he'd ever would have believed he would lead. Not exactly the successful, credit-to-society existence he'd dreamed of as a teenager. Strange thought, that.

Twelve or something years, huh...

Man, it's been a long time. Over a decade. Hidetoshi almost chuckled. ]

[ SCENARIO C || DORMITORY LEVELS HALLWAYS ]

[ If you meet him in the hallways, he's probably just pacing back and forth, lost in thought over the odd changes that seem to have overtaken the Tower for this experiments. After all, he could recall no experiment where the entire upper fifty floors had simply vanished. He looks bored and restless, and can be bothered at will. Or he's napping in his room, and for some reason, you want to come in and bug him. ]

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[So aggressive, Lancer. There's that odd flicker of pity again because now he's a little worried the Servant's identifying with a couple uneatable chunks of deer meat who would want to eat. He moves a step to the side, allowing the man access to the skinned deer.]

Why, Lancer, counting your mistakes strikes me as a dull pastime. It's a little touching you have to ask if I've made more than one mistake by now. [Hidetoshi smiles, ignoring and pretends to take his words literally. In the modern time, blood was something to be diligently cleaned up or collected in small bottles, not used.] We come from different eras and countries as you are surely aware. I suppose it's no surprise that we don't enjoy the same tastes.

[Then he crouches down and briskly points out the sections of the mutated deer that modern cooks would find to be inedible for consummation, so Lancer can take them to make use of as he wants to. Polite and businesslike enough about it too.]

[Lancer rolls his eyes and gathers together the pieces of the deer that Hidetoshi has pointed out before moving across the kitchen from him and beginning to gather together a few pans and ingredients of his own. He actually smiles a little bit when he thinks about what he's got to work with. Themed meals might drive the residents of the tower mad sometimes, but for those who knew how to cook themselves, it means there is a plethora of certain items and the things that go well with them.]

I should take some to Lady Amano to thank her for teaching me...and for the books.

[The words are said under his breath and obviously not meant for anyone else to hear.]

Hopefully, she likes stew.

[And a bit of raw intestine flies swiftly and silently through the air towards the side of the kitchen where the Servant is standing and splattered with a splat onto Lancer's back, sticking there for a few moments before slowly beginning to slide down his back to the floor. Hidetoshi rubbed his bloody fingertips together idly before bending down to grab hold of the skinned deer and easily drag it over to his side of the kitchen. Obviously he heard what Lancer was muttering softly under his breath.]

Good to see you're capable of expressing your gratitude in a healthy manner.

[Oh look, the cupboard with the cooking utensils he needs. Rummaging through them. The theming of the monthly menu was an annoyance but it was helpful in that everything usually went well together in a meal.]

I'm certain she does like it.

[Lancer rolls his eyes as he looks back over his shoulder at Hidetoshi. He takes a moment to clean up the mess before returning to his work.]

If you were just going to waste that, you should have given it to me. After that, you are hardly one to be talking about expressing gratitude in a healthy manner.

[His voice drops to a mutter.]

I wonder...perhaps I should make something a little more creative than stew. I should still have all I need, though sheep would be preferable to deer, but...

Edited 2013-01-21 20:00 (UTC)

[It was a bit of lung the length of his index finger, small enough to flick easily, Lancer. Not a terrible amount of waste going on there. Smiling at the older man's eye rolling, and remarking as if in jest;]

Would you preferred I thrown knives? ... They're the only other things I have on hand. That would have hardly been expressing gratitude in a healthy manner, don't you agree?

[Yeah, you have fun yammering and muttering under your breath to yourself, buddy. Idle nod before he turns back to his own work.

Hidetoshi will be over on his side of the kitchen, expertly cooking the sections of the deer he didn't donate to the Servant's meal.]

No, had it been knives I would be cleaning your blood off the floor instead of the deer's.

[He says it nonchalantly, like he has just invited the other to breakfast instead of speaking of killing him.]

And you most certainly would have missed. Even distracted, had you threatened me I would have know.

[It's just not a cook off without boasting...]

And wouldn't that be a shame. Good thing I had spare animal intestines on hand, hm?

[And Hidetoshi answered that remark as casually as if they were discussing the finer points behind his favorite television show, utterly unbothered by the implications.]

Yes, I imagine a Servant of your caliber wouldn't so sloppy as to miss a blatant killing intent directed at them.

[Nor would it be complete without mildly threatening commentary...]

Of course not.

[Lancer smirks as he continues working.]

Well, I suppose you might consider it missing if I ignored it, but some things are just not a threat no matter how threatening they like to think they are.

And if you wish, I could give you some more--since they seem to be your weapon of choice. Of all the things you left to me, I think those I will not be using. There are uses, but we really don't have the supplies I need to make the most of them.

Lancer, are you implying I am arrogant? [He is deeply and terribly grieved by your lack of faith in his humble ego, really.

Heroic Spirits were beings created by the minds of people, and thus were beyond human; so yes, a normal human could not hope to defeat flat-out them in straight combat. But Hidetoshi sounds so amused as he works on cooking what he had slain. Knives were knives, and the blue-haired hound certainly reacted to them when stabbed with them.]

And are you threatening to toss raw intestines at me yourself? Or politely return them to me? If you have seen no use for them, I imagine Togami-san would appreciate them.

[Epiphron chuckled. Left on the way of one of his patrol routes, stinkin' to high heaven in the morning, perfect monster bait. One of these he would make his 'rival' crease his pointless foolhardiness but when it was all keeping the man going from one day to the next...]

Politely, of course. Are you seriously suggesting I would do any less?

[There is a wicked twinkle in his eyes that almost dares Hidetoshi to go ahead and suggest such a thing, though the twinkle fades a little into something more curious at the unfamiliar name.]

Togami-san? I don't believe I recognize that name.

A man like you? Doing such things, I wouldn't be startled.

[And he'll stop cooking, wipe his bright red hands with a towel and walk over to the Servant's side of the kitchen for those intestines then. Ah, Lancer and Togami probably didn't frequent the same social circles in the Tower, not that the fool tried being social very often anymore. He remarked;]

Not surprising. He's even more of a 'bore' than you have deeded myself, and rather on the reclusive side.

[For a moment the feeling in the air around Lancer changes completely becoming something dark and angry. He lifts one eyebrow at Hidetoshi, a spark of anger crossing his eyes. For a moment, that small part of him that still wants to think itself knightly rages before being smothered by the rest of him that just doesn't care.

The anger in the air disappears as quickly as it came, though it's obvious he's ignoring Hidetoshi's remark.]

After so long you would think I would know everyone--even the recluses. Oh well, If he is as boring as you say, I'm surely not missing much.

[Look at you've become.

Look how low you've fallen.

Hidetoshi is saying nothing but what his eyes see and his eyes see a pitiful, embittered, blackened man who would do those sorts of things with little-to-no self-reproach. The anger? Oh, the flicker of anger burning in Lancer's gaze is noticed just as is the following ignorance of his remark, but while he could hold his own in combat, in simple speed Lancer would outstrip him horribly easily if he chose to back off and retreat, if Lancer decided to lash out. So he doesn't back away. Hidetoshi inhales, then exhales.]

Yes. He simply busies himself with hunting the monsters that lurk within this tower. That is all he's been doing for awhile now. [He grimaces, obviously finding it foolish.] A frankly pointless excuse for a goal.

Or not so pointless if it is all that grabs his attention. Some people have lived long enough to be grateful for what little excitement they can find.

[Lancer is a prime example of that. It's why he spends so much time hunting monsters himself. Sometimes something new shows up. Sometimes something old learns a new trick. It doesn't happen often and the excitement never lasts, but for that short amount of time...]

Perhaps, I should search this man out. He and I might have something in common after all.

Tch. He's a disappointing specimen, but if you do seek him out, don't harm him.

[Or Hidetoshi will be unhappy. He will express his unhappiness via spamming Thunder Reign and Voltage Carnage.]

[It is pointless because it will never end and he doesn't seem find it exciting, doesn't find it fulfilling. It is pointless because for every monster he kills, a dozen more of them sprout up like acne in its place, and there can be no progress made nor any success gained. It is probably just Togami scraping at a job, deluding himself with the short-term, the pretense of achieving something.

Hidetoshi cannot help but see this as deplorable.

But it not a state of affairs he can change because he can offer nothing to replace it with. he knows no solution to Togami's dilemma.

So.

Are you going to give him the raw intestines or not.]

As long as he's not foolish enough to attack me, I won't hurt him. If he is a hunter of monsters, perhaps we could even hunt together.

[Lancer keeps working for a few moments before he notices that Hidetoshi is waiting for something. He cocks his head up at the other man and then smirks when he realizes why.]

Oh yes, your ammo.

[He gathers them up and then holds them out for Hidetoshi to take.]

Tch.

[And to that, Hidetoshi offers no comment, no remark.

He is silent on that front.

He reaches out his own hands and received the gathered clump of wet intestines, feeling them squash slightly under his grip. After that, he politely takes a step back from Diarmuid.]

Thank you, Lancer-san.

[Going back to his side of the kitchen now.]

[Lancer looks back over his shoulder as Hidetoshi walks away.]

So what will he use those for? Bait? To draw in the monsters? Not a bad idea, actually.

[He turns back to his food, then. It's starting to come together nicely and he can't help but smirk at that.]

[Standing in front of the countertop, Hidetoshi pulled out a bowl and deposited the cold, wet intestines into it, and set the bowl down in the sink.]

That's one use for these. All monsters love blood and rotting flesh, I assume.

[Even monsters with human faces.

Now he turns back to his meat and begins to finish off preparing it.]

[Lancer nods and continues working with is food. It's almost done and considering how well it seems to be coming out, he can't wait to prove Hidetoshi wrong.]

I hope your food is going as well as mine. I would really hate for this little contest to turn into no contest at all...

[After all, what fun would that be?]

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OO6 >> How do you measure the distance between two people?

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LOL! Hidetoshi's lucky Lancer is distracted now...

Yes, he is.

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If you decide at any point you wanna let this little food battle fade to black, let me know. :-)

Alright. Actually, I think this is a good point to end the thread with, if you're okay with that? :3

Yep, that is kinda why I asked. I'm wrapped, so post again or not as you wish.