Realistic or Modern Killer's Court | Private

[Sei Shonagon]

Ohta Emao
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He drew her in with enough carefree glee to make her feel safe and then he withdrew it without a word and replaced it with cold vindictiveness. How quickly dumb comments turned on their heads and brandished blades; as if his musings had just been concealed daggers all along. Emao didn’t know how to defend herself against jabs that came unprompted and much less the ones that hid under the guise of something else.

Like the footfalls that descended on kitchen marble, echoing her nightmares while they sidled up somewhere completely different from expectations: her back. He leaned in and his warmth radiated off him in buckets of ice water that trickled over her nape. "...Are you feeling guilty, Old-san?" Not warm at all but rather cold enough to send shivers darting down her spine.

"Or are you just offering out of fear?" His face hovered close and a whiff of his shampoo brushed over her steeled features and through stifled breath. It was as impossible to ignore as his voice, "You can just reward me for being good, right? Like-" hinging between toe-curling and nauseating while bristling up to her ear.

The blood that rushed to it was a betrayal of what little dignity she had left. Emao pressed her lips together, ready to practically combust if he took it any further.

The pit in her stomach argued the same: yes she was feeling guilty, yes she was offering out of fear and yes- His body shifted to the floor beside her with the most ridiculous expectation spoken out loud. The air left her then, if it was in a stutter or a silent wheeze she didn’t remember. All she remembered was that her hand moved, and that she planted it in an awkwardly stiff cap on top of his head. The fluffy hair rebounded against it and she ruffled the strands around, lips trembling in their set line and eyes darting pale away as she did it.

"Like this?" Her cheeks were anything else but pale on the other hand. Who was she to deny him his request? Just a dumb sponsor, that was it. The torn ridges on her mouth stung painfully alongside her pride.

 

[LONELYRAIN]

The little tremors of fear and bewilderment on his silly Old-san was always a joy for him to view, although his expression was more so in the vein of expectation upon baited breath of what she would do next. Would she combust? Or would she show him more terror or distrust of his dumb request. His tongue already was preparing his usual playful complaint of her being so mean, and like clockwork would withdraw to his side of the table and blabber about nonsense just to see more expressions on her face. He was not expecting any physical contact from her, for why should he? No, this was all a game for Koto where he pushed her buttons without coming into contact with her to see how much her expression would change.

These thoughts were halted in his chest as the woman raised her hand, Huh? Koto's heart stopped beating for a moment, his body immobilized on the spot as gray eyes watched in stunned bewilderment at the approaching hand.

Wait, this isn't right.

The hand was descending upon his head.

You're not supposed to actually-

The playful taunt had become reality as the pressure of her small hand on his head had truly made the boy go absolutely still. Human warmth, awkward in the touch but ruffling the fluffy strands of his hair as he now couldn't do a single thing to stop it. Had he... had he ever felt such a gentle touch before? No, he quickly decided he didn't, and even if he had, he wouldn't be able to remember. Emao's voice echoed above him, as if waiting for confirmation if what she was doing was okay.

No it certainly wasn't okay! A crimson flush begin to overtake pale skin, creeping up from his neck and overwhelming his face and ears until it seemed like the boy had just been sunburned, his skin radiating the heat of his embarrassment as his mind was struggling to process this situation at all. Lips trembled in their place as embarrassment sparked the life in full upon the now melting composure as he was beginning to tremble under her hand. This was too much! But it felt... it felt warm, it felt good-

AAAAAHHH! He couldn't take this anymore! In a flurry of movement, Koto jerked his head away from the warm palm, eyes wide and expression all too innocent in the sheer amount of red that had overtaken him as his hands flew to conceal his face, granted in doing so in the boy's haste to get away, his body had fell back, his head smacking against the floor to provide him some much needed reality to knock some sense back into him... though one would expect him to immediately get back up and settle upon flinging his usual carefree comments, Koto did not.

"...You're so mean.. Old-san.." The muffled words left his lips behind his shield as the heat emanating from his face was still far too much, far too embarrassing for her to see. "I-I w-wasn't expecting you to actually.... uwaah..!" It seemed like the red flush was burning brighter as skittish eyes finally peered out from behind his shield, "...M-my heart can't take that.."

Truly, what a thing to say after he had embarrassed her before by licking her hand and speak suggestive things to her, but the moment she so much as comply with his ridiculous request, as innocent as it was... he was reduced to a blushing mess on the floor, lacking all the biting comments and confidence. In truth, it was as if Emao had broken the poor boy for a few moments, his brain struggling to process the gentle gesture that she had done toward him. It was... it was... really too much.

 

[Sei Shonagon]

Ohta Emao
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How curious it was…He didn’t look half as threatening or sinister when he was seated below her. In fact- her hand continued to stroke his head and her fingers grew a little bolder as they dug under the soft thicket of strands- he appeared almost…stiff? Her brow arched at the strange cramp that had seized the boy with an equally sickness-like condition inching up on his cheeks underneath her palm. The cogs turned and whirred in her head, was he-?

His head jerked away in a flurry of movements and she flinched, her heart immediately back up in her throat and pounding away. Her mind might have forgotten but her body hadn’t. The experiences from yesterday and the night were etched down to her bones. Emao caught her breath with her hand clutched against her chest and watched him fling himself back. A loud thud announced the severity of the tumble and she frowned, something like worry flickering past, before her eyes widened.

“Oh-” Her lips pursed with a silent complaint to his contradictory behaviour and she shifted on the chair. “Sorry…” An awkward cough followed up the words to hide just how uncomfortable she felt, or perhaps to emphasize it. It struck her that this was probably the first time she had apologised to him, and for such a minor thing too…Why wasn’t this…a little funny after all? Emao clenched her jaws to suppress the chortle that threatened to bubble to the surface.

Her lips twitched erratically under the amusement that pulled on them and her gaze scurried to some unassuming corner of the room. Somewhere that wasn’t the flustered killer that was acting like some teenage boy in the throes of spring. A couple of zaps of static echoed throughout the room before a disembodied voice blared over the strange scene.

“Contestant Koto Morioka and Sponsor Emao Ohta, you’ve been summoned to the spectator area. Please make your way over there in the next 10 minutes”.

The announcement dispersed the rest of her bridled chuckles into a pale silence. Emao wrung her head through the dread that had settled in premature rigor mortis in her limbs and let the horror seep into her eye sockets. She stared at Koto.

Was it already time?

 

[LONELYRAIN]

The irrational sensation of tingly warmth was invasive and persistent, further heightened by the woman's timid apology and the clenching of her jaws, the twitching of her lips as signs of amusement was already taking over the woman that was his sponsor. She was so mean, she really was! This sentiment strengthened as she looked away from him, his own skin igniting a deeper shade of red as a huff left his lips, "Old-san is the worst." A half-hearted complaint on his behalf, though if he was in a normal state of mind - he would have acknowledged that this whole situation to begin with was his own fault. Yet, perhaps some stubborn, unnecessary pride was telling himself otherwise, evident in hunched shoulders as he gingerly caressed the back of his head, more mumbles leaving his lips until the sound of static began to echo to life and drown out his quieter complaints as he was struggling to get himself together.

Ah, it was time.

The silence that settled after the announcement was heavy as he felt Emao's gaze upon him, the boy's back facing her as he was staring ahead. The pounding of his own heart within his chest was beginning to slow, a very much opposite effect as one should expect normalcy, an anxiety or a panic to settle in. Instead, it felt as if an icy calm would be the sole replacement for normal human reactions, the color having faded from his skin as he stood to his feet, turning to face Emao with a broad grin although the grin itself was twitching as if from excitement, though his eyes certainly didn't reflect such excitement whatsoever, "Well, we should hurry, shouldn't we Old-san?"

...​

Honestly, what was Omega Corp thinking? This thought filtered through the woman's mind as she stood over the crumbled heap of blood, flesh and bone before her in the familiar area. The bright lights akin to that used in stage performances blared overhead, as a monitor displaying the health of the victim before her was grayed out - deceased. From somewhere above in the spectator's box, behind thick, sturdy bulletproof glass, she could vaguely hear the sound of someone screaming; probably whoever this poor bastard's sponsor is - or rather was. Brown eyes fixated instead on the corpse before her, nudging the stiffening stomach and eyeing her handiwork as the cheerful voice droned overhead: "Contestant Sozen Sugai has been eliminated, Sponsor Mako Kuga has been eliminated."

Truly, was Omega Corp that starved for criminals? Was this the result of careful observation and planning? This sad sack of flesh who claimed he was apart of the Yakuza, really?! Back in her season, she had actually faced a full roster of Yakuza lackeys that had been snagged, and at the very least they actually were very difficult in their own right. This man, Sozen or whatever he was called had barely even managed to lay a scratch on her, evident by the barely bloodied knife that he had picked prior to this elimination match and the light stinging of a barely registerable cut upon her arm. Maybe I should have used a less potent poison? Or should I actually use a weapon next round? The woman's eyes cast to the other side of the area where there was a compartment concealing weapons, something that would only be available to be accessed in the first moments of the match. Maybe her not getting a weapon had made this fool overconfident? That was certainly a possibility.

Her foot nudged apart the man's legs, brown eyes flickering over with mild interest only for disappointment to flare. Ah, it really wasn't a waste to kill him after all. Disappointing down there too, at least give her some reason to feel remorse over-

"Nakauchi-san!" The piercing voice raised in annoyance was one that was familiar, as well as the clacking of heels as the sliding door behind her was familiar. The cherry red of her lips turned up in a broad smile as she turned to face the familiar woman, her expression pinched in displeasure, the amber of her eyes blazing in frustration as the woman stormed up to the edge of the arena, prompting Yoi to approach, the woman slipping from the raised platform and landing with practiced ease upon the ground below, "Ah, Hironaka-san~ It's been so very long, two years right? How have you been holding up? You seem like you gained a few more wrinkles since the last time!" The woman's lips pressed in a displeased line in response to the woman's greeting, opting instead to fixate on the more obvious actions the woman had been taking prior, "What did I say about handling the bodies?" Yoi's lips pursed as her eyebrows furrowed, crossing her arms around her chest, "I wasn't even doing anything particularly wrong! Besides, it's not as if the guy is still alive, no?"

The woman waved her hand in the direction of the motionless body, "I was trying to find a reason to feel bad, y'know? But, it really seems like all of these killers that your father gathered up are pathetic, overconfident losers. I haven't even worked up a sweat yet." The complaints bounced off of the composed woman in front of her like usual, causing Yoi to approach as she flung her arms around the smaller woman leaning upon her as she heard a stiffened complaint leave her lips, though Yoi drowned it out with, "I'm so bored now... hey, you don't suppose I can borrow any of your contestants right? At least give me some reward for having to deal with all of this disappointment. Even the sponsors will do, oh they have to be cute-"

Her mouth was sealed with a steely hand as Otsu forced the woman's head away, amber eyes flaring to life with newfound loathing, "I'm not about to allow you to turn any of my contestants or sponsors into your sex toys Nakauchi-san," The hand of the smaller woman flew away from Yoi's lips as she turned on her heel, beginning to walk toward she came, the sliding doors revealing an elevator up into an opposing spectator's box which too sparked memories to return to Yoi as she swallowed down bitter disappointment, following after Otsu as she continued to nag, "I thought you said you've learned to deal with that anyways! You've been on the outside for two years-" The nagging droned on as Yoi stepped beside Otsu within the elevator, eyeing the blood upon her own clothes with disinterest, the usual long sleeved white collared shirt (splattered with her many weak victim's blood) and mirrored dress pants similar to the uptight supervisor at her side. Yes, she wasn't a contestant but now a staff member.

Interesting how this place deemed her suitable to come back... well, maybe it was because she was a "fan favorite"? It wasn't as if she was in the running for the money anyways, though as long as she was weeding out the weak, it wouldn't hurt to pick up a new man to play with here to blow off some steam. Despite Otsu's continuously nagging words, this task did little to weed out the little blossoming frustrations that settled within her chest despite being successfully "rehabilitated"... there were just some habits that she couldn't break.

She needed to release some sort of frustration before she would explode, almost akin to slowly undoing a tightly wound on top to a glass jar. Besides, there was a few new poisons she was curious about too. Well, Omega Corp wouldn't be too mad if she tested it out on whoever decided to take the bait, after all this new season of killers were just uninteresting fools. She'll get her way one way or another.

...​

The room was tense, after being led by more of the silent guards clad in white into what seemed to be a rather luxurious spectator's box overseeing the arena below, the silence that had settled in was a product of not only the one-sided slaughter that was being viewed through the thick glass, but due to the amount of uneasy people within the room. Killers paired up with their sponsors were silently eyeing each other, a tension being palpable within the eerie silence as the cheerful voice of some disembodied announcer had announced upon the death of a rather skinny looking fellow who had been the first since Koto had been seated to watch the proceedings to die.

"Contestant Sozen Sugai has been eliminated, Sponsor Mako Kuga has been eliminated."

The pale-faced man who was known as Mako had fallen forward from his chair, his chest heaving in the beginnings of a panic attack which was more so grating in the silent room, wheezing until eventually the crumbling psyche of the man had erupted in a scream as he had charged to the exit; cold gray eyes following him as his fists pounded at the door in desperation until the very same door slid open and the guards clad in white had grabbed the struggling man as he wailed and screamed, thrashed and struggled, "You can't do this to me! You can't-"

The man was dragged behind the door, the very same door slamming shut as his screams of desperation and quickly cracking psyche was fading down the hallway - a hallway that would lead to his execution. Hah, how embarrassing. To Koto, the sight was utterly embarrassing and more so painful to watch if only for the lack of dignity that the fool had faced his oncoming death with. Yet, he dared not breathe a single bit of laughter at the situation, instead studying the silent faces of what could possibly be his opponents. Koto didn't very much catch the full match below as he had been too distracted with peering around the all too comfortable room, and lavish seats, but what he did know well enough was that most if not all of the people who were designated as sponsors were as pale as ghosts. Normal, innocent people it seemed, with hollowed out eyes and shaking composure, if not worsened by the fact that perhaps another one of them were dragged off because their contestant had been slaughtered. Perhaps, this game was far more real for them now, evident by the way some sponsors were now eyeing the others in shifty glances.

It was human nature to try to preserve oneself; to survive against all odds. It made him wonder which ones would try to snap and attempt to rig the games in their favor? Would Omega Corp intervene accordingly, or was even this room being broadcasted somewhere else to observe the fearful reactions - ah, it certainly was. The glint of a camera in the corner, sneakily concealed had caught his eye, far too tiny for one to truly notice unless it was being sought out on purpose. Is this like some sort of reality TV show? Who is even watching this? A twitch to his lips was his reaction at the thoughts, turning his head as he leaned back in the plush chair he'd collapsed on dramatically as he entered, though his eyes flickered over to Emao if only to check her condition. Old-san was very silly after all, so it wouldn't put it past him to see her break down-

The opposing side of the room had suddenly opened revealing once more Otsu who had left suddenly, her face once more settled in a professional smile as a taller woman was at her side, her brown eyes scanning over the room akin to that of a predator's gaze. The sensation of feeling like a truly dangerous wild animal had just stepped before him had made the hair on the back of Koto's neck begin to rise, a clenching of his jaws as he looked aside from the beautiful woman as a frustrating feeling had settled upon him: did he... did he see this woman before?

"Good morning everyone! Due to some unusual circumstances, this would have been an introductory period prior to elimination matches, however this year's Killer's Court is doing things a little bit differently." Otsu's voice chimed confidently as Koto's eyebrows furrowed, a hand coming underneath his own chin as he really was struggling to remember where he saw that woman's face before. Otsu's voice droned on as the sound of heels clicking against the floor echoed in the room, eyes probing at the beautiful woman making confident strides forward, "Unlike previous years, some of our contestants had been evaluated with a negative rating; as a result they have been eliminated by one of our previous winners; Nakauchi-san! This is all in the spirit of keeping our matches as fair as possible for..."

He definitely saw that face before, maybe it was... no he was certain, if only for that traitor of a friend that Sakura had found so much better; and the subsequent flustered feelings of a sixteen year old Koto at the all too lewd adult film star displayed upon phone screen as his friend gushed over her like some pervert - of which he certainly was. "..Cherry-san..?" The screen name filtered past his lips as a shadow loomed over him, prompting Koto's eyes to flash upward in alarm as he hadn't realized the beautiful woman now was standing over him, the cold glint to her brown eyes sending chills through his skin, her fingers fiddling with the buttons of the top of her shirt, "My, my... I wasn't aware some of my old work still was acknowledged. Especially by a cute little boy like you~ I'm afraid that I don't do that anymore. Dabbling in acting is more my forte!"

Huh? The immediate confusion was his first reaction to this woman as she leaned forward, hearing Otsu's voice beginning to raise, "H-hey! Nakauchi-san-" Her hand gently pried his own from underneath his chin away, replacing with her own as the brown eyes probed over Koto's bewildered face, "Hmm.. now that I look really close at you, you really are adorable~ what is your name?" Her scent was overpowering, a perfume maybe, but it was tainted by the blood upon her clothes. The expression on her face showed obvious interest, though it sent shivers of genuine disgust down his spine. Ugh, this woman she was... she really was a pervert. It was obvious in the way her lips were slightly parted, the closeness and boldness she was displaying as her body now was hovering over his own, unapologetically settling a knee on the side of the plush cushion that was his seat, her other knee trying to nudge his thighs apart, hell even her unbuttoning her shirt was done on purpose! From the way her shirt hung, he could see more than just an eyeful of this shameless woman! Well, she wasn't bad looking, certainly not and was that a mole-

DANGER. DANGER. DANGER. STRANGER DANGER. The alarm suddenly slammed into him was such a vicious slam back into reality as his hand flashed up and abruptly smacked her hand that had grasped his chin, gray eyes meeting the now shocked brown as he spoke, "God, you're disgusting. What are you, a pervert? Do you honestly think you have a single chance in this world with me?" A tingle of sweat was going down his spine, his heart was doing nervous flips at the still close proximity of the woman as he still could see much more than was appropriate, "Get over yourself." The silence that had met his words was obvious, the woman's lips parting in a confused, "..H-huh?"

"HEY! Bitch-chan! Get her away from me, please!" Koto's head turned immediately to the equally stunned woman who quickly reacted, grabbing the shell-shocked Yoi by the back of her collar as she spoke behind clenched teeth, "I told you to stop calling me that- Nakauchi-san, what did I just say?!" Ah, relief. Blissful relief that the woman was away from him, no longer could he feel such unnatural pressure. Despite the smug expression on his face, on the inside Koto was secretly dying, the red flush he was struggling to hold back coming out upon his ears in a deep red burn. I really can't take that. Keep her away from me.

 

[Sei Shonagon]

Ohta Emao
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The sight of the poor sponsor who fed his last screams through the door reminded her of the time she had seen a dragonfly get its wings ripped off. Click. The doors slid shut with the most gentle of whirrs- just like how chubby fingers had torn transparent membrane from spine with a soundless cry. The wings crinkled paper thin under the pressure of thumbs until the last vein had split. Crunch. The palm clenched down and crushed them under the squeeze until all that remained was cornflake dust.

It was, needless to say, unlikely that either would survive with its wings clipped off.

Emao sat with her hand clasped in her lap, a picture of frozen horror that was as white as the furniture itself. Not even the soft cushions that were meant to assuage her stiff body managed to ease limbs up as her eyes drilled holes in the floor. It was a poor attempt to flee the situation, and the room, but she thought perhaps the white stone panels would move, crack under the weight of her brown gaze. At least that was what it was willing them to do, to let her be quicksanded to her death through the pouring of concrete into the mould of lungs. Instead, something else filled her- nausea.

Swirling, bottomless and dreadfully dredging nausea that dug its claws into her gut and wrung it. Her intestines coiled around each other and knotted in a tangle of quietly simmering anxiety. Emao swallowed thickly and raised her gaze, just in time for the doors to open again. Their kind tour guide from yesterday strolled in with the clack of heels in tow- her eyes widened. Not just because of the beauty of the woman beside her, but also because of the unusual accessory she had adorned her outfit with- blood.

The room began to spin again and her nostrils flared as she clutched her mouth. Former winner? Weeding them out…? It all felt like a really bad joke that she saw no punchline to. Her eyes darted to the other contestants, criminals and sponsors alike. Why did no one scream? Why didn’t anyone protest that it was unfair? Emao stared and waited, waited for someone to take the first stride towards battle. A deafening silence echoed throughout the room, breaths equal to ether with how souls and the last glimmers of hope in eyes were drained from the bodies by the glaring light above. They were all stuck in a bystander standstill dilemma. No one wanted to be responsible for calling the car crash a car crash because that would mean that they had to endure the judgmental stares of others.

And a car crash it was. The bloodied woman started into motion with a sharp clack of her heels. All Emao could think about was how those very same heels had imprinted themselves upon the corpse in the arena. Stiletto which had driven into the dwindling warmth of flesh once, now driving into cold stone floors. Clack. Clack.

Oh god, she begged, her mind spiralling at full throttle once more. Don’t come any closer. Emao shrank back in her seat until her small figure had nowhere else to go in the armchair. The woman settled hovering above Koto, her flesh extending out for him in both cleavage and hand. Brown eyes trailed down to the patch of skin that teased the fullness of the jugs below. Her stomach gurgled and her nostrils flared again. The room spun and perfume wafted staunchly in her face with the reminiscence of elderly homes and a hospital ward far from here. Then it came-

“B-BLEGH” Her body lurched forward with a gag and her jaws snapped open. Emao heaved the contents of her stomach onto the floor with retching quakes that racked through her body. It was as if her body was rejecting itself with how every muscle and nerve tensed up to eject the maelstrom of emotions that pressed up from the inside.

Veins strained over bulging eyes in their sockets as the liquids ran empty and dry heaving took over instead. The brunette coughed and trembled and she thought her heart would burst with how hard it was beating. The man who had been dragged out the door had at least maintained the dignity of not vomiting all over the floor. Emao blinked the tears away and one bleary look at yellow concoction told her enough. The only dignity that Emao had left was that she hadn’t pissed herself.

She had retched for so long that she had lost track of time and the stench. Her stomach clenched and her muscles cramped through the feeble inhales and exhales that kept her body intact still in the chair. She thought she would crumble any minute now. The brunette raised her head with an aching breath that had barely made its time into her lungs before it met its first bump. The gazes. The other contestants gawked in a mixture of silent judgment and narrowed amusement at her unintentional announcement and call to attention. It said ‘Weak, target’ in the undigested preservative which swept across the white floor and broke the white monotony. And yet all she could muster up through the lethargy that quickly settled into limbs were:

“S...Sorry.” Emao mumbled and the effort she had put into looking presentable during those ten minutes they had been granted earlier was all wasted. Strands of brown hair stuck to her cheeks, sticky with a nameless adhesive, and her eyes were lined by puffy red rims. The office worker pushed herself up onto wobbly feet. “I-I’ll clean it up Otsu-san,” But her dutiful stammers didn’t see how she could do that, she had no rags and no handkerchiefs on hand. She only had her frazzled nerves which bristled shoulders up in shame and Emao slumped in on herself to look even smaller than she already was.

What a way to ruin the mood.

 

[LONELYRAIN]

The wretching, to say the least was... unexpected. A sudden break in the small bit of relief that had gripped Koto in response to Yoi being pulled off of him, and his weak Old-san with the last shreds of her dignity had promptedly vomited on the floor before her. Oh. Was that for real? Did she really just do that? Gray eyes widened as they turned to Emao for the fraction of a second, a stunned appalling expression as if he couldn't belief that she was stupid enough to do something that would paint a red target on her back. Truly, as his sponsor emptied the contents of her stomach on the floor, the ambient pressure he could feel from the predator of a woman had intensified.

Koto's eyes shifted immediately back to the pervert, one whose expression who had been previously stunned, now had settled into sharp daggers, a pinching of rage burning behind a lovely face. Even despite Otsu having a tight grip on the back of the taller woman's collar, judging alone from the slackening grip of shock, it wouldn't take too much for this dangerous woman to snap. As for why? Eyes turned to the unfortunate source of shame upon the floor, from where it made impact just only mere seconds to when Yoi had been pulled away, the foot closer to the mess had been splattered with some of the vomit. Lips pressed together in a tight, unyielding line then, the prickles of unease having died immediately as feelings of immense laughter had bubbled up in its place.

Haha... maybe it wasn't bad after all that Emao had decided to be an idiot and embarrass herself after all? His body jolted in the midst of a snicker that was trying to fly free from his lips, holding in the laughter that was trying its damnest to spring free from his body. Now was not the time, certainly not as there was gazes all fixated on his companion and the awkward silence that had settled was instead filled with some vague sense of interest; a sizing up of the woman who had now stood much to Koto's secret chagrin and was offering to clean up the mess she had made.

The boy's mirth evaporated then. Was she stupid? No, she was. Old-san was stupid, senile, and very much unaware of what she had just done. Sure, it would be fine if it was only Otsu in the room, but the tall woman looming above Emao seemed like she was just two seconds away from strangling her, and getting up out of her seat only served to close that distance a little bit more. Perspiration flared to life within his palms as the sight was obvious to his own gaze, Emao a small defenseless animal, and the other woman a dangerous predator who had fixed her sights on her, only held back by a brittle chain that was Otsu, something that could break easily. This was not taking into account the other more sinister gazes beginning to size her up.

The other predators within the room, not as dangerous as the first, but now that Emao had painted a target upon her back in that moment, it caused the boy's skin to crawl as he eyed the other contestants in the room. From men who truly seemed like they had been just saved from serving a life sentence, to some appearing like they had came from gangs or other such things, Koto easily stood out himself like a sore thumb. A mere boy amongst the dangerous men who now were eyeing Emao with a cold glint, one in particular that was fairly close was seated next to a slender framed woman who had leaned over and whispered.

Koto didn't know what the hell she was whispering, but judging from the tensing muscles of the man, it clearly wasn't good. Eyes flashed toward Yoi then as Otsu had spoken up, forcing her previously twitching expression to settle into professional composure, "There's no need-" But her sentence was not finished, the man had lunged causing Koto to react immediately, his elbow in swift response had came down as hard as possible upon the outstretched arm seeking to grasp the back of Emao's shirt, almost as if to draw her back to him. A choked sound left the man instead, beady eyes widening and pinched with pain as the strength exhibited from the boy had resulted in the arm bending upon the back of the armrest, Koto's expression having long since gone cold.

One down.

Koto's body turned immediately then, the mere seconds that split second decisions were flying past each other in quick succession. The brittle chain had broken and Yoi's fist was fast approaching Emao's own face, the rage in the woman's expression being enough to show that she would not hold back. Shit! His body moved faster than his mind could, the boy swiftly coming to be the barrier between Emao and the apex predator attempting to break and shatter her. The blow collided in fiercesome pain upon Koto's cheek, his body jolting as his head snapped back, eyes flaring in flickers of pain for a few seconds as he could have sworn he saw stars for a second.

Oh God, it hurt. The stunned silence that met him evident in the woman's expression as Koto rubbed his ruined cheek, stubbornly standing before Emao as a cold smile twisted upon his face. Sure, it really did hurt. But this was nothing, since it was making his heart pound. "No one... can bully Old-san... but me." The eyes of the boy were crazed then, anger being his sole strength at this moment in time to keep him standing as Yoi's expression had faded from shock to... something else. Something he really, really didn't like.

A glint to her eyes, a newfound interest that made him cringe as the two were locked in a stalemate. The tension in the room broken by the man who was cradling his quite ruined arm close to himself and his pale-faced sponsor who was staring in disbelief at the boy who seemed to be quite the stubborn shield for the woman who seemed like she was such an easy target.

 

[Sei Shonagon]

Ohta Emao
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Too much, it was too much. The slaughter of the contestant, the sponsor who had been dragged out and then the subsequent reveal of the murderer that was responsible for everything- of course she cracked. Emao had after all never seen a dead person before and much less watched someone die in real time. The evanescent slow beeping of the heart monitor and transparent tubed up veins couldn’t compare to the saturated gore fest that was being held in this oversized morgue. Brown eyes glazed over the mess on the floor and swayed over to the shoes nearby that she had almost hit. Her stomach dropped despite its lack of contents. Oh no. Swivelling anxiety seeped back in faster than she had purged it and her breath stuttered in her throat.

Her pupils trembled within their brown wreaths, which slowly wilted alongside the fading spark to live, and she peered up. The woman who had been identified as Nakauchi-san, was mad. Very mad if judging by the flash of fury which glinted in her eyes. She looked ready to ignite it, and she would with the strike of a fist against matchbox nerves. But before that, there was someone else who wanted to vent their impassivity on her.

“No- I insist,” Emao stammered profusely while busy waving Otsu’s politeness away. There was the slightest annoyed twitch that grasped her brow at the sight of Koto humming it up. Then the low hum of what she had assumed was a snicker whistled out into an elbow that flew past her. She blinked and whipped her head around to see the cause of his sudden snap, but then the next person seized their turn in the queue. Emao glimpsed the incoming fist in a flutter of lashes. She didn’t even have time to put up her arms for a shield. The brunette froze and her heart skipped a beat.

The impact never came. A familiar back flitted in front of her and became the target for the punch. It slammed into him with such a resounding ripple of flesh that she thought that something must’ve cracked for sure. Either his jaw or her knuckles. The hit fizzled out in electrified silence and the area suddenly felt way smaller and way more stuffy than the minimalist interior intended.

“STOP!” Bellowed a voice over the adrenaline-junked-up heartbeats that rang in the contestants’ ears. Otsu raised something in her hand up to the ceiling and soon it all faded away. She pressed a button and an airhorn blasted throughout the room. “Agh-!” Emao clutched her ears as the sound pressed right in on her eardrums and threatened to make them burst. The other contestants curled up in similar poses as their faces contorted in pain, vibrations penetrating down to the bone beneath it.

Her finger released the trigger and the toot ceased partly while it still carried on under the guise of pulsating tinnitus beneath temples. The tour guide caught her breath and steeled her jaw. “Make one more move and I’ll have you all be immediately disqualified.” She fumed and there was no mistaking the very serious threat that underlined a growl in her words. Even breaths were suspended in the wait for her next command. The contestants sat petrified in their seats with the omission of the three who were the root cause of the commotion. Her piercing gaze turned to them to remedy that. “Sit.” One word. Emao took to her seat without any words.

Still reeling from how quickly it had all escalated, it only occurred to her now that Koto’s cheek was red. Her body sank a little deeper into the cushion while wide eyes probed the wound in a visual caress. It made no sense to the brunette why he would have gone so far as to take the hit for her. Emao gulped and a vague memory of his words flickered to the surface of her mind. All this so he could be the only one that bully me? Her brows furrowed and she muttered her assessment under her breath for no one else’s ears to hear. That was, if they still possessed the ability to hear.

“Crazy…”

Her cheeks felt warm.

 

[LONELYRAIN]

Ow, times two! The sound of the airhorn blared to life in agonizing succession, breaking the tense stalemate and prompting Koto to clasp his hands over his ears as he visibly grimaced from the now new pain of his ears feeling like they were fit to bleed. Gray eyes turned immediately in an annoyed glare at Otsu, his cheeks puffing up in visibly indignation upon spotting the woman's all too obvious frustration with the situation that had clearly spiraled way out of control. Yet, to Koto who was now staring with annoyance at her, her behavior made the teen click his tongue at her in irritation at her following words. Truly, one can count on the uptight woman to rain on the parade, granted he wasn't completely pissed at her for doing so, but he did want some vengeance for his poor cheek... or was it his jaw? Regardless the punch hurt a lot! If he had lower pain tolerance, without a doubt he probably would be crying right about now - luckily enough, it seemed as if all of that "toughening up" by his father's hands were coming in handy right around now.

Otsu's following commands were however met by Koto's expression twitching up in a mocking ignorance as he cocked his head at Otsu, "Well, I can't sit if I'm not allowed to make one more move, now can I?" The smart ass remark caused Otsu's eyes to flash, a clenching of her jaw and it almost seemed like a vein was beginning to pulse to life upon her forehead. She looked like she wanted to reach over and strangle the boy herself, his mocking expression and ruined cheek certainly not doing him any favors. "Morioka Koto. SIT."

"Hoh~?" His smile grew upon his face, teeth baring in malicious mirth as his mind was disregarding the danger of this situation that if he pushed just a bit too much, he could get both Emao and himself disqualified. However, pushing Otsu's buttons was quite fun indeed and-

The tall woman's rage-filled face was ebbing into mirth. Red painted lips twitching up in a chortle as brown eyes crinkled in newfound ease, and these eyes were staring directly at him. Oh no. No, no no. Wasn't he previously scolding Emao in his own mind for being stupid for drawing attention to herself? Prickles of unease swelled to life to crawl up and down his spine as his expression of mirth quickly dropped into unrestrained, visible disgust as his head turned to look at her. This woman that had dared to try to punch his poor, fragile Old-san was now looking at him as if she had spotted some sort of five-star buffet; or if he were some sort of fascinating creature that had dropped before her. Nonetheless, the craziness in the woman was enough to make his hair stand on end, immediately prompting Koto to sit down in silence, expression unchanging as he shot daggers back at the woman behind gray eyes.

Silent warfare was being waged between the two:
Stop staring at me.
No, you're interesting~!
You're a disgusting pervert.
But I'm sure you wouldn't mind!
Like hell I would! Stay away from me!

The silent conveying of the two regarding each other, one in complete disinterest and the other in renewed fascination was... distracting to say the least, and with Otsu's expression being pinched as she regarded Koto glaring like a cornered animal in his seat at her fool of a newfound coworker, well, at least he sat down without further incident. An irritated glare slid to Yoi as she could see the woman completely grinning from ear to ear, already having an inkling of what was going on in that twisted head of hers, having already disregarded Emao and now was solely fixating all of her attention upon Koto, as if no one else was sitting in the room. A heavy sigh left her lips then, I don't get paid enough to deal with this. Her shoulders slumping in some semblance of defeat as the woman picked together some sort of professionalism in the midst of her stress, "Ahem."

Koto's tense body recoiled back in his seat as he didn't take his eyes off of the dangerous predator in the room, though now the very same woman seemed all too docile and relaxed again, her grin was unnerving him. Ew. Koto's body shifted unconsciously closer to Emao, a stubborn clenching of his jaw being his response as he seemed far too inclined to at the very least make sure that Emao wouldn't become a source of the other woman's attention again; being ignorant to the whisper from his sponsor and instead looked very much in guard mode at the moment, if not only for his own self-preservation but Emao's as well. In the midst of the silent stare down, the sound of the door opening as well as other staff members appearing to clean up the unfortunate mess that Emao created upon the pristine white floor.

 

[Sei Shonagon]

Ohta Emao
Vocab:

Theme:

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Emao noticed something new when all was settled and done: she had been relegated to being a third wheel. Before when the woman had initially approached Koto, she had been too occupied with gagging on her blood drenched perfume to notice. Now she saw that she had a front-seat ticket to what was undeniably a predator sizing up a potential mate. There was little space for Emao between their clashing exchanges even after Koto had finally relented to Otsu’s demands.

A picture of grey eyes, staring at the valley beneath an unbuttoned placket, surfaced in her mind and her brow twitched in its frowning disposition. Emao averted her gaze from her sponsoree that was still staring, just at other places now, and let a sigh bristle between lips. Men. It wouldn’t surprise her if this was how Nakauchi-san had won the previous iteration of this supposed game. All a woman needed sometimes was a little guile and enough wit to use their assets to lure a man into doing her bidding. Her ex-boyfriend could attest to that.

Koto’s warmth sidled up next to her and she shifted away.

Her gaze flickered down to the floor instead and the staff members that sat perched below her, cleaning up her mess. Stinging shame brought her to seize her bottom lip with her teeth and she urked internally at the disgraceful scene she had shown- and was still displaying through her ruffled hair and malady-ridden complexion. One of the staff members lent her his handkerchief after receiving the third of her fretting apologies and Emao wiped her mouth with it. She had at least managed to avoid staining her clothes with her untimely nervous breakdown. A part of her wondered if it was ever possible to have a timely breakdown, but that was a question for another day.

For now, she directed her attention to her surroundings and Otsu. Eighteen seats and nine pairs which had been arranged in different constellations of men and women sat spread out throughout the area. Most of them wore new clothes, as was evident by the lack of frayed edges and crisp colours, and as such it was difficult to distinguish their proficiencies. A mistake on her part as it was quite obvious that she was an office worker. But well, she had already managed to ruin her reputation with the whole vomit thing, so.

Otsu let the airhorn remain visible by her side as she started addressing them. “As previously stated we’re starting this iteration of games a little differently as we’ve already eliminated some pairs,” She made a sweeping gesture over the contestants and sponsors present “These are the ones that remain after the preliminary elimination”. Emao’s gaze trailed off the path of her hand and peered up at the ceiling. A suspicious glare of light made her double down on one of the corners and she squinted. Was that…a camera?

“As per the rules, it is forbidden to eliminate other contestants outside of the ‘games’. This is to ensure proper structure and to prevent anyone will benefit unfairly from having their matchup eliminated before the actual game.” Ah, this was directed at the man who had tried to grab her earlier, wasn’t it? The latter looked rather pale now that he had realised what kind of consequences his actions would’ve had if he had succeeded. Emao was surprisingly calm on the contrary now that she had been supplied with something to focus on. Or maybe it was just the aftermath of the vomiting that was hitting her in exhaustion, she had regardless stopped much of her previous fidgeting.

“The first matchup will be announced on Friday and take place on Sunday, that will be all for now.” Emao counted the days on her fingers and breathed out shakily. “Two days…” They had two days to prepare their nerves for potentially being picked for a match, then two additional days to prepare. It was…small trembles sneaked into her hands where she held them in front of her. A lot to take in. The brunette bridled the trembles by balling up her fists and pulled herself to her feet with a determined huff.

A huff that also sent a flighty glance to Koto while she nursed disapproval in her slanted brows. The brunette tugged on his sleeve. “Your cheek.” She cleared her throat and looked in the direction of the hallway that led to the rooms.

 

[LONELYRAIN]

Huh? Little bits of confusion had flared to life as Koto had slipped closer to Emao, and in response the woman had shifted just as quickly away, obvious enough by the drifting warmth that was indeed moving further from him. The boy broke his silent staredown off and gray eyes flickered to his sponsor's face, displeasure evident in the eyebrows that twitched and furrowed upon her brow. Huh? More confusion began to swell within him then as eyes flickered down to the mess upon the floor. Was it because she had been embarrassed? Well, it certainly seemed like silly Old-san was very much concerned over how her image was presented; like a normal person obviously would. Maybe that was the reason?

For some reason, even in Koto's scattered brain, this didn't quite feel right either... was she mad instead that he brought attention to them? Indignation flared in his chest then at the possible reason, eyebrows furrowing as he seemed to hunch over in his seat, glaring instead at the floor as silent protests flared to life from the teen as Otsu's voice droned on in serious instruction to the people that she had their attention... well, most of them except for Koto who seemed to be very much distracted with wondering why Emao seemed upset, even if the reason was evading him completely for now.

"Two days..."

Old-san's voice had penetrated the barrier of confusion, the boy having gone completely radio silent and blocking out anything and everything that wasn't Emao which in turned caused Koto to blink a few times then whip his head around to look once more at the silly woman now. The first thing he noticed was that... she was trembling, but was this unusual? Not really. He was well aware from the moment that they met that Old-san was very much a coward; almost embarrassingly so. Yes, so much so that he couldn't help but laugh at how much of a true coward she was! But, instead of his expectation of her completely trembling from head to toe, Emao's hands had bunched into fists in somewhat shocking determination, enough so to make Koto's expression change from confused to surprised.

He was expecting for her to faint or something, a bit insulting of course in how much he didn't expect for her to show any ounce of determination but - wait, did he miss something? Otsu's voice was so annoying that he drowned it out in the middle of his thoughts, prompting more questions to flare to life as he stared at the woman he now was perceiving as so weak but showing such fiery determination it was... it was..

So stupid. But very, very cute.

Hah~ this isn't too bad either! The thought filtered through his mind next as he tilted his head at Emao, leaning a bit further in his seat to gaze more at the little fire that had sparked anew in Emao. This was fascinating truly, how many more facial expressions was she capable of?! For some reason, seeing her like this was making a grin begin to flare to life on his face; a giddiness within his chest and then-

AH SHE LOOKED MAD AGAIN?! His smile dropped as the bewilderment came back tenfold as soon as she so much as looked at him, evident in the disapproval in her furious eyebrows. Ah! It hurt to see her looking at him, why Old-san?! Gray eyes became rounded like that of a puppy's, tilting his head to one side as he struggled to perceive any answers from the woman's face. What did I do?! He didn't get it! However, her now avoiding his gaze by looking down the hallway from whence they came, her hand tugging on his sleeve and her voice bringing much needed attention to his now aching cheek that he was ignoring at the moment in lue of Emao's anger that he didn't understand at all.

Rising to his feet, he could still feel a gaze on him, prompting him stubbornly focus on Emao as he stepped closer to her, leaning over her shoulder as gray eyes pierced holes through his Old-san's head, "Old-san... you're mad, aren't you?" The gray eyes were now rounded like that of a puppy's, confusion evident in the depths, "Why?" It seemed ridiculous why he would be bothered by her being angry, but perhaps it was because he didn't know the exact reason for it that caused him to be reacting in a way... but perhaps breaching the conversation now was a bit much considering that they still were in a room full of people, and the source of eyes staring now fiery daggers into them was now looming behind Otsu and glaring angry holes into Emao, prompting Koto to shift his body just enough so such angry daggers were blocked off and bouncing off his back. Just because he was ignoring the dangerous predator now, it didn't mean that he wasn't going to try his damnest to make sure that Emao would be protected. After all, he was serious! No one could bully his Old-san but him!

 

[Sei Shonagon]

Ohta Emao
Vocab:

Theme:

---

A bubbling dismay churned within brown eyes as Koto’s grey one’s were ever approaching. Encroaching over her in the picture of a lid attempting to assuage whatever her little face was cooking up in its frown. Was she mad? “I’m not,” She was displeased at his lack of respect for Otsu and his dismissive attitude about their current circumstances, but mad? What was there to be mad about? A tangled sigh broke free from her shrinking form as if to prove it, or rather disprove it. She shifted away from his proximity, as he appeared to have a bad habit of getting too close and tugged once more on his sleeve.

This wasn’t the time to be dilly-dallying, they had to treat his cheek- strategize before the next announcement. The hawkish gazes only furthered the slow collapse of her posture and her feet prompted into motion with a shallow breath. The brunette bowed to Otsu one final time, her shame still evident by how apologetic she was acting, and she started to pull Koto away.

Emao remained keenly aware of the stares that bored holes in them as they left the spectator area and marched down the hallway. Her breath hinged in her throat until her eyes flitted over the familiar digits upon the door to their dwelling. Her heart fluttered with relief and she filed through the door and shut it after them. Her march didn’t stop there, however, and she continued to drag him all the way back to the kitchen where all this had started. Emao seated him at the table and released him only briefly to push the other chair to the kitchen cupboards.

“Seriously…” The brunette muttered as she heaved herself up on the chair and stood upon it to reach the upper cabinets. Her hands started to rummage through the shelves and piled medical supplies into the cradle of her arm. Eventually, she climbed down again and approached the boy again where she dumped her findings on the table beside him. Her movements worked with mechanical ease through the act of dousing a cotton ball in antiseptic, one that could only be achieved with experience. Emao peered down at his face, stupidly red and with little cuts adorning his mouth corner. She pushed it upon the little cuts at the corner of his lip before he could resist and her brow twitched again.

An oppressive silence settled over the slow simmering tension between them. Emao cracked under it and drew for her breath. “You know her…?” Was this an incoming scolding? It sure looked like they were chummy. Besides…what was up with the whole Cherry-san thing? “Or what was that about ‘Cherry-san’ otherwise?” She hadn’t failed to notice it despite how absorbed she might have been in her own spiralling.

Emao was once again slowly pushing the boundaries of their roles. Killer and civilian, contestant and sponsor and a youth and a doting adult. The little mole under her eye scrunched up alongside her frown.

 

[LONELYRAIN]

You are! The accusation was silent in his mind as silly Old-san had sighed and once more withdrew from him, causing gray eyes to appear just a little bit more sullen. Granted, it wasn't as if he'd not seen Emao angry before, but this felt a bit... different from the anger that sparked earlier from him teasing her. The tension that had settled made the teen just a little bit more compliant in her silent demand as she tugged once more upon his sleeve; an imaginary leash to make the murderer submit as he whined in pitiful succession, "Old-saaaan.." Quite the odd pair the two were as he shuffled after her, evident in the more confused expressions as the two departed from the room after Emao had expressed far more apologies toward Otsu and allowed them to escape the very much prying gazes searching for some rhyme or reason to the oddity that was this boy who was very much looking very much lost in the situation; as if he'd been scolded... though that wasn't the case.

It wasn't too long until Koto after falling silent in his sulking, a visible discomfort within his expression as he seemed to be staring holes into the back of Emao's head. Really, what did he do wrong?! He couldn't even fathom why she seemed so... so off in this anger that he didn't know what to do to possibly change it! This expression only worsened as they reached their shared room, Koto attempting to find some inkling of what is going on through her head: but there was nothing to give it away. Tension settled within his body as the woman had guided him immediately to sit at the kitchen table, causing Koto to sullenly gaze down at the table itself, dejected in his posture as he was visibly pouting.

This isn't fair! Old-san really is mean! Well, he already knew that considering the not too distant occurrence of the woman patting his head even if it had been him just joking - though, to anyone normal that just seemed like he was seriously requesting it, but still! Accusations of Emao being mean silently rang out in his mind as for the first time since they had the misfortune of being paired together, he was absolutely silent, his visibly sulking expression being to blame as shoulders hunched over and displeasure swelled in waves off from his body.

"Ow!" The exclamation of pain left him as his face finally broke through the sulking, a flinching at the sting of the antiseptic, having been far too wrapped up in his silent sadness that he didn't really notice her approach with the cotton ball, nor how... close they now were. Gray eyes widened as he stared up at her face, only for her eyebrows to twitch in that angry furrow again which made the dismay swell up far more than any other emotion that was threatening to swell up in his chest. The silence was uncomfortable, too much so and the boy's eyes immediately tore away from Emao's face in response as it was more so of a habit than anything else when he knew he'd gotten into trouble.

What he didn't expect was when Emao had finally broken the icy barrier and spoken such a ridiculous question that made his eyes snap back to her face, bewilderment as clear as day in the depths. Was... was that why she was mad? The scrunching up of her eyes told him so, causing the little mole that he didn't truly have the pleasure of noticing too well beforehand due to him being far more interested in her expressions. Ah, it was cute! Old-san really was cute~!

The previously pouting expression upon Koto's face had evaporated, granted now that he knew the reason he had to explain... ah, that felt a bit embarrassing. Well, the previous him certainly would have been absolutely mortified to explain this, perhaps wanting to die on the spot out of embarrassment, or perhaps excusing himself to hide elsewhere. But, truly Koto at this moment was far different from his previous self, which prompted an ominous grin to cross the boy's face... even if such a grin was out of unrestrained glee.

"Nope! I don't know her personally. Cherry-san was her screen name, silly Old-san~" He leaned a bit closer as he tilted his head at Emao, "She was a porn star." The information was so blunt, little dancing around the issue as gray eyes peered in mirth at his sponsor. He didn't feel the need to elaborate why he knew such a thing, that much was obvious to put two and two together, "But, I only vaguely recalled it because she was quite popular two years ago. Actually a frie- acquaintance of mine was very obsessed over her, so I just sort of recalled her face?"

The grin split wider upon his face as he leaned a bit closer, now it being obvious he was going to tear into teasing her again since she had given him an opening, "Don't tell me... you're jealous Old-san~?" The glee flared to life deep within him as he searched her face, "You are, aren't you? Hahaha! So this why you were so mad~!" The teen leaned back as laughter flared from his body, accompanied by an overwhelming relief. Oh, Old-san~ poor, silly Old-san! A snort left him as his expression seemed far more at ease, even if the glint in his eyes seemed quite smug, as he raised a hand toward her face, finger pointing at her only to light tap her nose, "I only have eyes for you, Old-san. After all, who else is gonna tease you~❤"

Really, Emao was too silly, to get mad over something so small... ah that was making him so giddy that he almost couldn't contain himself! He definitely didn't mind this side of her now that he knew what it was!