sweetdevil | 69th ♫

CMO POST, SOUNDTRACK MEME EDITION

[A car drives by the narrow mouth of the alleyway, casting them in white light for just a few seconds but's all Hijikata needs. Foolish as it is to judge a mage by appearances, he makes little effort to hide his incredulity as he looks Ryoko up and down. His Master is not only young but petite, just barely reaching his chest and dwarfed by his broad frame. Ostensibly, she's no smaller than Okita and she carries herself with a similar determination but her inexperience is obvious.

"This wa...! Don't... guar... down!"

The voices are getting closer and clearer. Looks like he'll be putting his blade to work sooner than he thought.

Well, whatever he thinks of her, they're still bound as any Master and Servant would be and while he has no intention of following orders that don't suit him, her safety is still a priority. Mind made up, he sets his mouth into a steel-hard line and inclines his head. His hair is already wet enough to cling to his cheekbones and forehead.]

Hijikata Toshizō, Vice Commander of the Shinsengumi. [And, as far as he's concerned, the Shinsengumi itself. In spirit, in power, in ruthlessness- he is makoto and through him their will lives on.] Berserker.

[Without waiting for Ryoko to respond in kind, he stalks past to place himself in between her and the opening of the alley.]

What is your command, Master?

[ Berserker.

Ryoko's heart stills in her chest for just one beat.

Of course it would end up this way. Maybe because of her frantic desperation – or maybe because the catalyst is such a small, fragmented thing that the summoning has been similarly fragmented. Either way, she can't afford to look a gift horse in the mouth... even if some tiny part of her feels cold and panicked at the thought of trying to control a Berserker.

Not that she lets any of it show. Her hands curl into fists and she wills herself to stay steady, even as her whole body wants to shake. ]

The men coming this way are looking for me... or I suppose you could say that they're hunting me.

[ The command that should follow stills on her tongue. Just long enough for her to let herself think about it.

Even if her Berserker is the one who kills him, Ryoko is the one who gave the command. In that sense, he's nothing more than a weapon and once his work is done, Ryoko will be the murderer here. She's fought and tricked her way in and out of the SIU and defended herself when it's necessary, but Ryoko has never killed before. She waits for some second thoughts, some fracturing in her resolution to tell her that she doesn't have the stomach for this.

Instead, she feels... nothing at all.

When she speaks up again, her voice is harder and steadier than it was a moment ago. Maybe more than it should be to give a command like this. ]

Take care of them.

[Hijikata's head tilts ever so slightly. It appears his Master has some steel in her yet.]

... I'll cut down every last one. [His eyes flicker back to their sole escape route- not that he's considering this in terms of an escape. No, what he's looking at is a bottleneck, a perfect place to lay waste to each foe on his own terms.] Stay close or find somewhere to hide. I don't care which.

[And wouldn't you know it, they're just in time to meet the first of Ryoko's pursuers.

Rainwater churns underfoot as the man rounds the corner, only to stop dead when he realises just what he's looking at. Even with Hijikata in between them, Ryoko can probably see the cogs turning in his head as he pieces together the scene and when everything finally slots into place, he visibly balks. For a few moments, it looks as though he's seriously considering cutting his losses and running rather than take on a Servant. Unfortunately for him, that was never an option.

Hijikata strikes without hesitation, delivering two slashes in a flash of metal and sparks as the blade catches on the walls. The man doesn't even get a chance to cry out before he's gagged by a spray of blood from his own throat. Trying to stimy the flow is pointless; no sooner has he clamped two hands over the wound than the one across his chest blossoms in a red mist. Gurgling, the man crumples to the ground. Hijikata kicks him onto his back.]

More are coming.

[There's no mercy in the way he stamps down on his fallen opponent's neck. Bones crack, fingers give one final, desperate twitch- and then he stops moving.]

I won't hide.

[ Her voice shakes even as she says it and she hates herself for it. But true to her word, Ryoko stands as resolutely as she can and falls into step beside her Servant, telling herself over and over as she does so that this is what she wanted. She can deal with danger if it means she's out of the SIU's hands.

So she makes herself watch the kill. Her kill. She reminds herself, through the blood and the wet snapping of skin and bone that she did this. Berserker is her weapon. She's the murderer.

A huge swell of nausea rushes up her throat and Ryoko has to take a huge, steadying breath to swallow it back down. Later. She can deal with her inconvenient feelings later. She can't break down now – not in front of a Berserker fresh from the kill and not in front of the SIU.

More yelling echoing down the street. She feels a swell in her blood that tells her they're preparing spells. ]

Get rid of all of them. [ ... then a pause. ] All but one. Leave one alive for me to talk to.

69th ♫ | nice lol

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