[he can read it, obviously, the letters are clear. asking questions isn't what she wanted, but there's multiple at the tip of his tongue. hiruma ignores them for now, cutting straight to the chase.]
hiruma almost laughs—almost. it's too dark to be compatible with any sentiment he's capable of, but he remembers himself.
he remembers his own, and how jarring it was. how beaten to his knees it made him feel. uneasy with the information, that tight feeling in his chest beginning to creep back in, his teeth set, and he tries to let it all sink in the way it'd have to.
funny.
death is the ultimate loss. loss; the one thing hiruma fears the most.]
Well, at least it wasn't after the goddamn revival machine fucked up.
[ death. what a simple concept in life. it comes to everyone. it'll come to her too, in time. she's seen enough of it in her life; by now, it's hardly a stranger. ]
A blessing to be counted, for sure.
[ so why does her chest knot up? why does the blood freeze in her veins and her mouth dry up like sand?
Whaddaya' suggest, pretending not to know when the hammer falls?
[a look at the red red knuckles he'd slammed into the wall. and here surfaces the selfishness.
except amusingly enough?]
It's in everyone's best interest if we tell them, and soon. Or else they're gonna' hear it from the wrong sort, and it'll make everything ten times fucking worse. We could use their reactions for something better than misguided tantrums. They'd go fucking berserk, but we could coax them onto the right warpath instead of letting them make their own.
This isn't a goddamn game, so why the fuck are we tiptoeing?
Right now, with the revival machine fucked and no one to return home, we're fucked if a dangerous event happens next month.
[compromise. he needs to find a compromise.]
The second that thing turns back on? I'm telling everyone.
We need to know how to direct them. We need to know where. This isn't about doing the 'right thing' anymore; we need to employ tactics in this and we need to do it right.
[ how, though? the biggest question. how to corral a scared and cornered populace into doing what they need? ]
We need a plan.
[ you have one. she knows someone like you, a mind like yours, there has to be something ]
It involves the convenience store—the worst of it comes from there. I don't know where their base of operations is, but that's probably the best bet.
[hiruma hates sharing his plans aloud. he simply expects people to follow his orders. but in light of recent knowledge...
coming together as a team is the least they can do.]
Now that their revival machine is shot, we have an advantage that won't stick around. When that machine comes back online, everyone's gonna' be at a stalemate again. They're as weak as we are right now, and with our knowledge about storage we can motivate others to rush those bastards.
[a weighty pause.]
But it's likely that a lot of people would die. Not to mention their emotions would make them reckless; unreasonable.
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Just what—
[he can read it, obviously, the letters are clear. asking questions isn't what she wanted, but there's multiple at the tip of his tongue. hiruma ignores them for now, cutting straight to the chase.]
It says "defective".
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[ there's a new note to her voice now. a new tone, lower and colder and jagged, an iceberg.
questions are bubbling up to the surface on her end, too. too many. would her stupid captain be able to answer them, was the question. ]
My thanks, Hiruma. You'll be compensated.
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[it's open-ended, but he begins with a curt question she can hang up on easily:]
That's Sakamoto?
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[ unfortunately ]
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hiruma sits back and looks at the door he hasn't opened since some odd comfort left.]
Know what happened?
1/2?
[ this doesn't bode well for the afro in question.
be right back. ]
2/3
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he hates to fight
he isn't a fighter not any more
he lost ]
Death.
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hiruma almost laughs—almost. it's too dark to be compatible with any sentiment he's capable of, but he remembers himself.
he remembers his own, and how jarring it was. how beaten to his knees it made him feel. uneasy with the information, that tight feeling in his chest beginning to creep back in, his teeth set, and he tries to let it all sink in the way it'd have to.
funny.
death is the ultimate loss. loss; the one thing hiruma fears the most.]
Well, at least it wasn't after the goddamn revival machine fucked up.
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A blessing to be counted, for sure.
[ so why does her chest knot up? why does the blood freeze in her veins and her mouth dry up like sand?
isn't that curious ]
I assume he told you about 'storage'.
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And not to tell anyone—you realize they're all gonna' fucking turn on us for keeping something like this a secret, right?
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[a look at the red red knuckles he'd slammed into the wall. and here surfaces the selfishness.
except amusingly enough?]
It's in everyone's best interest if we tell them, and soon. Or else they're gonna' hear it from the wrong sort, and it'll make everything ten times fucking worse. We could use their reactions for something better than misguided tantrums. They'd go fucking berserk, but we could coax them onto the right warpath instead of letting them make their own.
This isn't a goddamn game, so why the fuck are we tiptoeing?
Right now, with the revival machine fucked and no one to return home, we're fucked if a dangerous event happens next month.
[compromise. he needs to find a compromise.]
The second that thing turns back on? I'm telling everyone.
no subject
[ how, though? the biggest question. how to corral a scared and cornered populace into doing what they need? ]
We need a plan.
[ you have one. she knows someone like you, a mind like yours, there has to be something ]
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[hiruma hates sharing his plans aloud. he simply expects people to follow his orders. but in light of recent knowledge...
coming together as a team is the least they can do.]
Now that their revival machine is shot, we have an advantage that won't stick around. When that machine comes back online, everyone's gonna' be at a stalemate again. They're as weak as we are right now, and with our knowledge about storage we can motivate others to rush those bastards.
[a weighty pause.]
But it's likely that a lot of people would die. Not to mention their emotions would make them reckless; unreasonable.
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what is gain without sacrifice? a price of a few for the greater good? surely the cost, in the long run, is worth it? ]
Leaders. We need individuals who can unify them. There's always a handful in every group. Someone charismatic and recognizable that they'll follow.
[ figureheads. they need people who'll attract attention away from head office, so to speak. scapegoats. people to paint targets on. ]
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[a low scoff, biting. it's better to know, definitely, but the price that comes with knowing is weighty.
he can handle it.]
But it's more level-headedness that we need. The others are gonna' go AWOL.
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[ it's only talk now, but what a mess it already is. they've barely begun and it feels a little like walking a tightrope. ]
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[his brevity speaks volumes. "i'm not fucking around".]
Of course, now that we know and haven't blown our gaskets, we oughta' be counted as well.