2026-02-11: Wasted Breath
- Log: Wasted Breath
- Cast: Hyousuke Suzuki, Shinjiro Aragaki
- Where: Tartarus (Entrance)
- OOC Date: 2026-02-11
- IC Date: Sun Sep 23
- Summary: Hyousuke and Shinjiro launch an impromptu investigation of Tartarus, hoping to find clues on what the Joker Killer has planned for the coming art show. The conversation quickly grows heated, however, and tempers flare when the topic of one's mortality is brought to the fore.
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Hyousuke was quietly grateful to Shinjiro. Being far more on edge than he realistically should have been, his reaction to Shinjiro's approach was little more than a slight twitch of surprise at the first noise, followed by turning to face him at the rest. He nodded back, seeing little need to deal with any further formalities, before looking back to the tower's entrance. It was a foreboding thing, in his eyes, like the maw of some great beast that threatened to drag its visitors into an endless, screaming, dark from which there was no escape. Yet, there he stood, ready to give out an explanation.
"The Joker Killer was here a couple weeks ago." Hyousuke said firmly, before beginning to scan his gaze across the immediate area. "...I think. There was a Shadow that had a guy trapped in it, some artist called 'Tachovsky' or something, and he had this painting that..." Hyousuke's lips tightened behind the mask. Even with it in the way, those with sharp enough eyes might have been able to see the muscles in his jaw twitching. "I could feel him. He wasn't there, but that painting made it *feel* like he was." Bereft of any knowledge of Marks besides the notion that they were bad news, the best he could give was a vague description.
"Some guy and his friend got rid of the painting, and me and some of your friends got rid of the Shadow. There shouldn't be anything left here, but if there's any clues about what he's got planned, I can't afford to miss them." Instinctively, his hand reached for his phone, before remembering where - and when - they were. "There's an art show happening on Tuesday. Tachovsky was supposed to be there, but had to pull out, and now his client's doing the show instead. I know the Joker Killer's involved with this, I just... I don't know what he's got planned. And we've got fuck all time to figure it out."
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro listens to Hyousuke's reaction, getting straight to business. So a painting that felt like Sudou was here, and Tachovsky, an artist, was trapped in a Shadow. An art show...
"Shit," he says. "That's rough. Sorry I missed it." His house had just gotten attacked, it's fine.
"Knowing his MO... one of a few things. He's going to kill people, or try to push forward his plans to 'save the world', or something. I can help you look, and I can be there at the art show, but I can't guarantee we'll have any information in advance."
A pause. "We don't want to go deeper without a navigator, though. That's a pointless death."
A pause, as he turns to Hyousuke, as he remembers some things about the guy he's teamed up with. "You holding up alright? Your first trip to Tartarus sure sounded eventful."
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
The small growl of frustration Hyousuke gave was muffled slightly by the mask, but not completely. Were one to prick their ears up, they might have heard it, as well as the sudden stop when Shinjiro mentioned wandering in without a navigator being a terrible idea. Silently, he hoped that Shinjiro did not press any of his friends too much on how they came across Hyousuke, lest he have to deal with the embarrassment of admitting that he'd stumbled up to the nineteenth floor before chancing across a navigator.
"Crap..." He eventually said, voice trailing off with another low growl. "Then we've got nothing. Appreciate the help though. Can't let this piece of shit get away again." Aoba Park had been enough to cement his hatred of the Killer. This? This only furthered it. "Anyway, I guess that means we'll just have to check out the entrance. This place changes every night, don't it? Wouldn't be much point in going up anyway."
The question of whether he was doing alright was deftly ignored until he started forward, but he got the sinking feeling he couldn't ignore it for long. Not without raising suspicion, at least. Perhaps evading it would work instead.
"I'm fine. Nothing an ice pack couldn't fix. But your friends got it pretty bad." Fuuka and Moriko, more specifically - Aigis had seemed tough enough to weather whatever had been sent her way. "I'm just pissed about the whole thing." There was frustration in his voice, and anger too. For all his attempts at evasion, *that* was nothing short of genuine.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
The low growl of frustration causes Shinjiro to sigh, but he says nthing, instead responding to the appreciation. "Yeah. The bastard needs to pay for everything he's done. It's personal between us." The way he says it makes it sound like it runs *really* deep, actually.
He follows after Hyousuke as he says they need to enter, but frowns again at the mention of 'I'm fine'. Shinjiro says that all the time. It's basically the biggest sign you're not fine.
"I'll make sure they're fine, we've got the resources. But it seems like you don't have many people to rely on. Do you have a doctor or someone you can visit in case of a bad injury?"
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Hyousuke couldn't help but tilt his head towards Shinjiro a little. He knew that tone. He knew that anger. He couldn't speak to the circumstances, but the sheer weight given to those words was enough to have him slow. He waited to speak on it, however, wanting to give himself time to figure out how best to broach such a topic. If Shinjiro was anything like him - and Hyousuke was willing to bet they were alike in a worrying number of ways - then it was something that had to be approached carefully, if at all.
"I've got people I can count on." Hyousuke replied. It wasn't a lie, but at the same time, it was only half-truth that sidestepped the question of medical care. "They're coming in as backup. They promised they'd be there, and they're tough as hell." There was no mention of a doctor before he continued. Not even the mention of having a first aid kit tucked away somewhere. "...By the way... I hope you don't mind me saying, but it sounds like you've got history with this guy."
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
"...alright. Make sure you take care of your wounds. They add up," Shinjiro advises.
And then he's asked about his history. He grits his teeth, before sighing.
"Ten years ago, the man who would become the Joker Killer burned down my orphanage. I lost someone. One of my best friends. Now that he has this power... I can't let it continue. I'm going to stop him, see him put behind bars for good."
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
A slight grunt of acknowledgement was given to the advice Shinjiro sent his way. He'd heard it, and he'd processed it, of that there could be little doubt. Whether he intended to follow through on it remained to be seen. But then the conversation turned towards the topic of Shinjiro's history with the Killer, and his pace slowed again. There was no growl of anger that time. No reaction as he ground to a halt some fraction of an inch near the threshold, nor a gesture to acknowledge that an answer had been given. The pause between them stretched on for far longer than it had any right to before Hyousuke finally spoke up, but when he did, his voice was low and even. Every word was given its appropriate weight, bearing respect and anger in equal measure.
"He's going to pay. Whatever happens during that art show, no matter what I have to do to make it happen... He's going to pay."
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro's acknowledged. That's enough. But the slowed pace into Hyousuke's words...
"Don't do anything too risky. He's one of the most dangerous people I've fought. He's slippery and has a way to escape any attack, and he has his own allies."
A pause, as he remembers what he and Aigis talked about. "...do you have a purpose you're fighting for? Something to ground you?"
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
The entrance was no more than a hair's breadth away. Hyousuke could lean forward, and he would be in. Yet, he remained, as though his feet were leaden weights. The air was as still as him while he considered an answer, and when he spoke, his voice was low enough that it barely disturbed that stillness.
"He hurt my friends." It was a simple reason, given more to blind vengeance than noble purpose. But he said it with such conviction that it hung thick in the air, even after he'd finished speaking. "He tried to kill one of them. Almost did. I would've taken him down on principle before, but now... it's personal." A grimly-spoken echo of Shinjiro's words, and he knew it. "I don't care that I'm walking into a trap. Fucker can have me if he wants me. Just as long as I can take him down."
It went without saying that any trap set by the Joker Killer came with danger - mortal peril, more than likely. Yet there was grim determination to him that left little doubt that he would walk into the jaws of Hell if it meant he could achieve his ends.
"What about you?" Hyousuke asked, hoping to turn the question back on Shinjiro before he had to answer the broader question of why he fought at all, rather than just that particular battle.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro nods, as Hyousuke explains it's for his friends. Someone almost died...
However, he sees himself in Hyousuke. That determination. That risk. With what he and Aigis talked about, it hits him...
"The world isn't kill or be killed," he says. "If you die trying to stop him, all it means is that he got another one, and everyone has to grieve. If you get him, all it means is you have to live with a piece of you shattered, marked as a monster. And if you both go down..."
He exhales, trailing off to instead answer Hyousuke's return question.
"...I've made a lot of mistakes. I want to make sure no one else faces them. If I can end all of this, make sure no one else ever has to fight, I will."
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
"I never said I'd kill him." Hyousuke warned. Again, it was a half-truth, weaving around the heart of the matter. His words spoke of justice and protection, of a valiant effort tinged by that oh-so-human need for revenge. But the eyes behind that mask burning with the fires of conviction - themselves stoked by anger - the tension in his muscles as he clutched the edge of the entrance with strength enough that it felt as though either it or his bones would crack... They spoke of a snarling hound, waiting for its leash to be slipped.
Would he end the Joker Killer for true, had he the chance? *Could* he? Hyousuke wasn't certain. Even in the depths of righteous fury, he did not know. But it yet remained, plaguing his soul as sure as it did his mind and his body.
"He's going to hurt people. He's going to keep hurting people. He *has* to be stopped, no matter what it takes." That fury grazed at the edges of his thoughts, inching closer in like flames... or like poison. It burnt like both, certainly. "I don't care what the price is. Doing this - fighting Demons and Shadows and Palaces - it's gonna kill me sooner or later. So I might as well make it count."
He turned to Shinjiro fully. Rage was still there in his voice, lending it a biting edge like a wolf's fangs. But conviction... that, above all, filled his every word.
"I'm going to keep fighting. I'm going to keep saving people. I'm gonna fight 'til the end, Aragaki-san, and I'm gonna make my life count for something."
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
"...good," Shinjiro replies, even if it's a half-truth from Hyousuke. But as Hyousuke gets angry, gets intent, that he's going to die sooner or later, fighting Demons and Shadows and Palaces...
Shinjiro's grimace turns into frustration of his own. This guy is wasting his life. A life Shinjiro himself can't have. He's doomed himself to die if he fights. Shinjiro is doomed to die even if he doesn't.
"Get a grip," he says, approach changed perhaps shockingly. "You say you're going to die? That's a choice you're making. You're making the choice to throw your life away. You think it'll all count just because you died in the process?"
He's had to deal with that thought himself.
With a tinge of clear, personal intent, the sickly teenager steps to the side, stamping his foot. He's actually angry.
"You don't know what it's like to *actually be dying*. To know that someday, you won't be here, and everyone you care about will have to deal with that. That there's nothing you can do and they're going to hurt and suffer and you won't be able to help them. That you might not matter even if you throw yourself into the flames, because you're eighteen years old and one foot in the grave and everyone you've ever loved will outlive you."
He chills out a bit, going to a softer push. "You still have time. Don't waste your breath."
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
It was the rooftop all over again. The words barely registered at first - just the heat. The blazing anger that threatened to consume him, his every instinct screaming at him to defend himself. The twisting of his stomach, turning itself into knots until he could feel the bile roiling at the bottom of his throat. The tensing of his muscles, each one coiled like a wide-eyed, frightened animal backed into a corner. It took all he had to keep from flinching, never mind thinking enough to form an argument that was worth saying.
It was only the knowledge of what had happened last time that kept him from speaking. That things had spiralled out of his control with Ichika and Tsubasa, and that if he did not act with caution, things would spiral there as well. Hyousuke listened, with whatever focus he could spare. He drew in a shaking breath, shallow and rattling, before exhaling again through his nose. It did little to calm him. Heat pricked at the edges of his eyes, angry tears threatening to rip themselves from him, while he made a vain effort to stop the trembling in his hands. He was angry - furious, even - but beneath all that, there was perhaps a twinge of shame.
Seconds stretched to hours. Every heartbeat felt like a gunshot surging out from his chest, to the point where he was afraid that Shinjiro could hear it thrumming inside him. He could barely stand to look Shinjiro in the eyes, and to an extent, might not have been at all. For split seconds during that tense and heavy pause, he looked through him, not to him, seemingly a thousand miles away. Then, when he did finally gather himself enough to speak, it was with a small voice. He made every attempt to prop it up with whatever dregs and willpower had not been doused by Shinjiro's impassioned response, but it felt like trying to spark a fire with nothing more than shards of ice.
"...Alright. You're right." It was not him agreeing with Shinjiro. It was barely acquiescence. It was the tone of a beast whipped into submission, desperate to fight back but unsure how it could. His vain attempt at forcing strength into his voice could not disguise the faint tremor that lay under it, and it persisted in all he had to say. "I'm sorry." To hear how little time Shinjiro had left? For being so ready to waste his life? For pretending like he would not still stride onto the battlefield, ready to fight and willing to die? He did not say. He did not care to.
A more insightful man might have something wise and comforting to say. A smarter man might have had some clever retort that would shut Shinjiro down there and then. A more experienced man might have been able to lend weight to his words that required no embellishment. But Hyousuke was not those men. He was a yapping, snarling, hound, lost for words to the point where a sentence was a Herculean effort. As the fragments of seconds passed by, he was also quiet for another reason - he did not know how to respond to such an outburst. What *was* one supposed to say, hearing such things in so furious a tone?
"...What do we do now?"
About Tartarus.
About the Joker Killer.
About their futures.
About everything.
He did not know, and he was not certain that Shinjiro had helped him to find an answer.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
As Hyousuke is stunned, as he freezes, as he shows a bit of his shame, Shinjiro grimaces, but he starts to loosen his own tension as Hyousuke acquiesces and apologizes. "...I'm also sorry. I just... that's me. That's my life. But you didn't deserve to have that thrown at you like that."
He looks away, exhaling at the door they reached. Hyousuke asks what they do now, and Shinjiro's smart enough to know that he means more than literal.
"...we'll stop him. You said Tuesday? I'll be there. The only thing you can do is make the best of the time you got. That's what I'm trying to do, if I can."
An olive branch. He's not pushing on Hyousuke, nor is he thinking he truly swayed him. They can talk about it again later. For now, he said he'd help Hyousuke. He hasn't changed his mind.
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
"No. That's my fault." Hyousuke spoke morosely, shaking his head as he tried to claw back what he saw as his fair share of the blame. "I shouldn't have said... any of that." For once, he spoke the whole truth, with no attempt to evade. Whatever tone he took, and whatever tension yet remained in the taut muscles of his still-trembling limbs, there was genuine regret when he spoke. But he also regretted bringing the matter up at all. Far easier would it have been to just let sleeping dogs lie.
Then the matter turned to the practical, and Shinjiro offered him a chance to move past the argument his own arrogance had instigated. For a moment, he considered whether he deserved such a chance or not. It passed quickly. He could decide how best to address his own shortcomings when there was time for it. He could address his sorrow and his regret when their enemies were defeated, and the ones they loved were safe. But his rage... That, he would hold onto. He would have need of it in the coming days.
"Yeah. Tuesday. In Iwatadoi." There was a slight pause as he considered the rest of what Shinjiro had said. Then, when Hyousuke spoke again, the trembling began to fade, and conviction rose once more. "We'll make him pay. I promise."