towerofanimus | [open] two ✾ even these long days / are not nearly long enough / for the skylarks to sing

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[open] two ✾ even these long days / are not nearly long enough / for the skylarks to sing

Characters: Yukiko Amagi and YOU!
Setting: Dormitory floors, April 15, Floor 38, April 16, and OPEN for other event-related needs.
Format: Starting in prose, but I'm absolutely open to action!
Summary: General catch-all event log for Yukiko! She is in Group C and her modifications are here, with an OOC plot post comment if anyone wants to discuss anything!
Warnings: Gore, Body horror, potential for violence, and potential for serious character injury - Yukiko herself will want to stop short of killing people, though if she's commanded to do so, she won't be able to stop herself.

Dormitory Floors, April 15:

Anyone who knows Yukiko Amagi may have noticed her absence over the past week. She's back now, and at the moment, she isn't herself. She can be seen alternating between patrolling the floors very calmly and quietly and looking very upset. She can't speak, but it's in her eyes and her expression: something bad has been done, and she doesn't like it.

Floor 38, April 16:

It should be a simple enough task, to clean up the lounge. And it would be, normally, and not something Yukiko would have a problem with. But the feathers on her arms and hands seem to make cleaning the lounge windows hard. There's something else, too. She can't quite remember it, but when she was downstairs earlier, helping break down bodies, she stopped working just right. That led to a problem where she tore the body she was working on to pieces. Yukiko is covered in blood, and it's dripping off those feathers and getting all over the place.

OPEN:

For the rest of the week, Yukiko alternates: sometimes she's a good little drone, and sometimes, she has entrails in her feathers or is standing at the foot of someone's bed, as if waiting for orders. Sometimes she just looks lost, or sad. Approach? Let her be? Tell her to get back to work? That is up to you.

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People sometimes came into the lounge, and the more people there were in a room, the more opportunities there were for fights to break out and dead bodies to pile up. Tohko knew this, so she stopped into the lounge and saw Yukiko dripping blood and feathers all over the place. While she was doing her task properly, there was one thing Tohko couldn't really abide, a remnant of the Halloween event.

"After you finish cleaning here, make sure you clean up after yourself."

"..."

After...herself? There shouldn't have been anything to clean up after, so that didn't entirely check out. There was the slightest flicker of confusion on Yukiko's face as she silently ran through her checklist of things to do that day, then turned to look at the area behind her.

Now, that was odd. Someone must have pulled a prank on her at some point, dumping something gross like that onto her, and she had been too busy working to notice. She shook her head, frowning at the mess, then nodded, moving to immediately try and deal with the worst of the blood trail first.

The problem? Trying to obey the order without cleaning herself up properly meant that it wasn't so much cleaning up the trail of blood and feathers as it was spreading it.

Tohko sighed as Yukiko tried to clean up the mess of blood and feathers, but just spread it around. Really, this was her fault. She had to be more direct, plan it all out, or foolish things like this would happen.

"..You yourself are bleeding and causing the mess. I don't care about the feathers, but find some bandages and patch yourself up so that you don't bleed all over your world."

This was hypocritical of Tohko, as she did occasionally bleed from the joints in her paper body. But..it wasn't her job to clean up the mess. That belonged to other people.

There was that slightly confused expression again as Yukiko inspected her arms. She must have cut herself on something when she was working downstairs, she decided, and the cut had to be under her feathers. Either way, how careless of her!

She nodded again, looking around the lounge. There wasn't a first-aid kit that she could see, but there was a box of tissues sitting on one of the tables. The paper was flimsy, but it would work to get herself cleaned up a little, until she could get down to the infirmary to patch herself up properly. She still couldn't speak, but she communicated with her eyes as best she could: "I'll clean this up and then take care of myself."

With that done and a nod to Tohko, Yukiko started to turn, to get back to work.

Sadly, Tohko wasn't the best at reading eyes on a good day. Facial expressions, she could do, but not just eyes, and she knew that if Yukiko kept working like this, she would just make more of a mess.

"I meant that you should find some bandages in the infirmary and then get back to work. If you keep working when you're bleeding, you shall just make more of a mess."

"..."

Well, she couldn't exactly say no to that. It was a direct order, and she wasn't in any position to refuse. She was going to have to make it quick, but she nodded her head. She bowed at the waist, then made her way towards the stairs.

Tohko, however, did not return the nod, but she did wait for the girl to follow her orders and come back to work here.

A few minutes later, Yukiko returns. The blood is gone, and her arms are wrapped in bandages. She has some extra cleaning supplies with her, and she sets to work on the mess she left behind without a word.

When she returned and began to work again, Tohko nodded and smiled.

"Good. Keep up the work then. I'll be leaving you now."

And with that, Tohko would move back to the stairs and start to patrol elsewhere.

[Poor Yukiko. Those feathers look like they hurt. If Ryoji was even the slightest bit like himself, he would have tried to help her. As he is now, though, he only approaches to scold Yukiko for the poor job she's doing.]

Those windows aren't clean. You should be working harder than that.

[Yukiko flinched at the reprimand. She'd been trying, and it wasn't her fault that it was harder to work with the feathers in her arms than without them. She turned, her expression clearly upset, but she turned back around a little too fast when she caught sight of the scythe in Ryoji's forehead, moving to try and work even faster.]

...Are you frightened of me?

[Why would she be frightened? She had been modified just like him, and their changes weren't horrifying. They were supposed to make them more efficient, better at their jobs.]

[She can't answer in words, and the expression on her face looks conflicted. She doesn't want to be afraid of anyone here, not more than she has to. On the other hand...his appearance frightens her, and she can't honestly hide that.

She turns her head instead, refusing to make eye contact any longer. Maybe if she's quiet, she can just go back to work.]

[Sorry, Yukiko, but he can't let you off that easily. He grabs her shoulder, tugging her around to face him, the acid seeping from his skin likely burning her.]

Answer me, or I will be forced to punish you.

[She would normally have cried out when he grabbed her shoulder and yanked her around, but as it is, her voice is gone. Her mouth is open, but there's no sound save her breathing. A moment later, she winces - she can't help that; his grip on her shoulder is tight, and the acid on his skin is seeping through her clothes and it's painful.

She starts to shake as he makes that demand, and her eyes go wide. She wants to do a few things - deny that she's scared right now, shake off that grip and run (but that's impossible, she hears the programming begin, because she's supposed to stay here), do something to defend herself (but that's against the rules, too). Yukiko opens her mouth to try and say something, but again, she's unable to speak. Nothing but the sound of her increasingly panicked and pained breathing can pass her lips.]

[He glares at her, hand clamped down tightly so she can't get away.]

So you won't answer, even with a direct order too? Are you completely unable to speak?

[He doesn't sound at all pitying or worried. He's just frustrated that his questions are going unanswered. Keeping both eyes leveled on her, Ryoji reaches up to remove the scythe. It's already covered in blood, from him and from several others, and now, he seems to want Yukiko's blood on it as well.]

A unit that is unable to speak is faulty. It must be destroyed.

[It isn't a matter of being unwilling to answer. It's that she's been altered into perfect, permanent silence. She tries again, but with the same result - only the sound of her breath. Yukiko's vision blurs with frustrated, frightened tears, as she tries once again to get those words out, but even those come out as silence.

The moment she sees Ryoji's scythe, her eyes open even wider, her tears spilling down her cheeks. She tries calling out for her Persona - Come, Konohana-Sakuya, I - but the thought's cut off halfway. Yukiko can see the familiar tarot card floating behind him, but there's no way she can reach it before it shatters in midair. Her silent scream isn't directly at him; it's at the sudden surge of power being so abruptly silenced.]

[Her tears and panic don't bother Ryoji for a second. He doesn't even notice the tarot card behind him as he moves forward, calculating his next move, before suddenly piercing her stomach with his blade.

It's deep, but not deep enough to kill just yet. She'll certainly bleed out in a while, but before she is granted the peace of death, he wants to ensure she'll suffer, completely pay for her misbehavior.]

[Yukiko tries once more - Please, Konohana- - but she can't even get the thought formed before Ryoji stabs her. There is no familiar blue this time, no surge of power.

There's only red.

Her clothing was already bloodstained from the wound at her shoulder, but now the wound at her stomach matches it, darker than her sweater. It hurts, and she can't help how her body writhes in pain, instinctively twisting to try and get away.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, past the pain and past the fear, she hears the dark voice of her Shadow, mocking her: Red was always your color, wasn't it, Yukiko? Isn't that what Chie said? You embraced me before I could let everyone see you painted red, but now, you're going to die wearing it.

She tries to scream again, trying to drown out the sound of the laughter that follows, trying to call for her Persona, trying to say something, but there still isn't any sound. There isn't anything she can do except try to free one of her arms to cover the wound. And those tears haven't stopped - if anything, she's crying harder now.]

[Ryoji tears the scythe out of her, watching the blood flow out of the wound. It stains the floor and wall, and the entirety of the blade, yet, no matter how gruesome it may be, there's no expression on his face other than cold satisfaction.

So much red stained everything. He could almost see it through that black haze of death around everything. Almost...

He just needs a little more.

Still ignorant to her cries, Ryoji kneels before her, roughly grabbing one of her arms to examine her wing.]

If these were preventing you from doing your job, maybe you should have removed them.

[The changes were supposed to help, but if they weren't, she could have done something about it. It's pathetic, to see a unit so slow. It's like they didn't want to obey the administrators.

Without another word, he starts slicing her arms open to tear out the feathers.]

[Yukiko's vision dims, black beginning to mix in with the red that's everywhere. She's in so much pain, and she's so scared, but she can't do a thing about it. She's used to being able to overcome things like this, to use her power, but it's so far away now.

She hardly hears Ryoji's words over the sound of the Shadow laughing in her ears - it's getting louder, in response. Look at you, you really were powerless, you were weak and scared the entire time!

Yukiko can feel the pain as her arms are sliced open, though, and some of that blood sprays onto her face - it's the only color on it, as the rest has drained right out. She looks up at Ryoji again, but at this point she's barely holding onto consciousness, face tear-stained and blood-stained, body shaking with pain, fear, and shock.

Most of the light has gone out of her eyes, though, and she still can't get out any sound. She tries one last time, but the last bit of effort proves to be too much. Yukiko only sees snapshots - a bloodstained blade slicing at her arms, feathers falling to the ground and rapidly becoming soaked in her blood, Ryoji's face, so heartless - before the combined strain of the physical and mental shocks to her system finally becomes overpowering.

The world seems to tilt and spin too fast for a moment, red and black alternating before the black settles over her and Yukiko finally loses consciousness. She can't fall completely, not with the way she's pinned in place, but her body goes limp. She's still breathing, but only just, and her heartbeat isn't much different.]

[After a moment, he pauses in his work. Most of the feathers along her arms have been removed, the few remaining sticky with blood. She's hanging by her arm where Ryoji is holding her, and though she's not dead yet, she's honestly close enough. She'll be dead in a few minutes. It's useless to waste any more time on her.

He lets go of her wrist, letting her collapse back down to the ground. He watches over her until her breath is gone and the black cloud around her disperses, then turns away. He'll find a worker unit to clean up the mess, and then he can get back to his other duties, completely ignorant of the death he just caused.]

[... No why this. Upon stepping onto the floor, Shirou notices the blood right away, followed by the feathers scattered thoughtlessly about. It's difficult not to, and so his gaze flickers ahead for danger before anything else. It's unsafe here, he knows, but when he locates the source of the blood and feathers littering the room, he falters then stops in his tracks altogether.

It's a winged, blood-covered girl who is struggling to do something to the windows of the lounge. It was an awful sight, clumsy and painful. Hesitantly he steps forward.]

What are you doing?

[Yukiko turns around at the sound of the voice, and she forgets for a moment that she can't actually talk. She opens her mouth, but no sound comes out. Instead, she points to the windows, then mimes the motion she would make when normally cleaning them.]

[The pink collars confirms what his eyes were telling him, and what her muteness increases the odds of. Another of the people who'd gotten twisted around by the administration this month. But she acted like one of the more harmless ones at least...

The girl wasn't hurting anyone. And she looked like she in the midst of a task she couldn't complete. He watches her mime an action and gesture towards the windows. It clicks easily; she was attempting to clean the windows.]

Here, let me help you. [Shirou offered instantly on instinct. Then he reconsidered, the windows could wait.] Uh, wait. You're bleeding. That means you're hurt. Sit down first?

[Yukiko instinctively stepped back at that offer, shaking her head. No, the rules didn't work like that. She had to do it by herself. If she didn't, she would get in trouble.

She just hoped that simple action would get her point across. If it didn't, she would have to take action.]

[ Sorry, he's compulsive about helping people, or what he sees as helping people. He doesn't move closer but he doesn't back away.

Shirou persists, worriedly inquiring; ]

What's wrong? Are you not allowed to sit down to rest?

[She shakes her head again. No. She's not allowed. And she has to make that clear.

Yukiko's posture shifts then, as if she was a marionette and an unseen puppeteer was tugging at her strings. The look in her eyes changes as they go completely blank - it's as if the humanity that was in them is gone, and all that's left is the shell.

The shell, and the power that it still manages to keep. She turns, raising her right hand, and casts a simple Agi spell at him.]

[Shirou's stance tightens. That abrupt change in her mannerisms, the emptiness in her stare, and the emotionless hostile that makes itself known is perfectly clear about the danger that this girl presents.

And then she send tongues of flames flickering after him.

He dodges the fire spell she launches at him, and retreats towards the staircase, uncertain of what to do in response. She was under the control of malicious forces outside her own mind, and in pain. Could he in good conscience, attack her back when they were the only ones on the floor?]

[Yukiko remains emotionless and impassive. She doesn't follow as he retreats - if Shirou stays in place, she'll go back to work after a moment, as if nothing at all had happened. If he approaches and attacks, her orders are straightforward: she isn't to hold back. The fire spell she used was the weakest that she knows.]

[ Shirou hovers by the staircase where he had retreated, torn between two opposing directions. It pained him to watch her struggle to complete her task of cleaning the lounge, but he had no inkling to how to save her or ease the load of the chore if the girl would emotionally attack him the instant he approached. To undo the administration's programming wasn't within his or any resident's abilities right now.

But he wasn't willing to leave her to it either.

He stays in place, unmoving as he attempted to work out a solution.]

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[open] two ✾ even these long days / are not nearly long enough / for the skylarks to sing

Floor 38, April 16th

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Floor 38

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Floor 38, April 16th

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