I've been believing in something so distant, as if I was human...

[keepsthefire]

Who: Rin, Shing, Kohaku, Vanitas [Open thread here!]
Where: Starting at Shing and Kohaku's apartment
When: Early evening
Style: Prose
Status: CLOSED
WARNING: Character death, blood, violence, all the things that go with having Vanitas involved

Grocery bags on his arms, sword on his back, Rin walked through the city to a familiar apartment complex not that far from his own. After what had happened at the ice cream shop and his visit to them, Kohaku had given Rin a key to their apartment, saying that if he ever needed to go some place that wasn't his own home or Maka's, or if he just wanted to come over and cook without having to be invited, he could go there even when they weren't home. And it really had become like a second home to him. It was familiar, comfortable, and reminded him of when he still lived at the abbey, cooking meals for the priests.

For all the things that had been tripping him up lately, Rin was feeling surprisingly optimistic with his current situation. He had good friends, a great girlfriend, and had managed to hold down a job for longer than a month for the first time in years. Vatheon had it's fair share of annoyances, sure, but it had been a surprisingly good place for Rin. Even if he did miss his brother and other classmates back home.

These were the thoughts that kept him moving, and the thoughts he was going over when he approached the apartment and headed to the floor where Shing, Kohaku and Beryl lived. Something made him stop, though, his hand hovering above the door handle. A strange feeling came over him, like the crawling sensation of being watched.

He wheeled around, but nothing except the empty hallway and the dulled yellowed lights greeted him. One flickered down the way, some three or four doors down, but nothing else moved. There was no noise, no movement, absolutely nothing that should have given him that feeling.

Yet it was still there.

His blue eyes narrowed at the flickering light, but after a few minutes he sighed and shook his head.

"Damnit... get it together..." he mumbled to the air, finally turning the key in the door and heading inside.

It was nothing... right?

((ooc: Alright, this is the log for the plot that was recently discussed on the OOC comm! Obviously it's closed, but there should be room for reactions and other things at a later point! ))

Comments

OPEN

[keepsthefire]

The problem with letting a half-demon become consumed by his rage was that it was very, very difficult to stop. The longer he let the flames burn, the further he descended away from humanity. Certainly the sword, the Kurikara blade held some control over him and kept him from falling completely, but it only did so much once Rin's human mind blacked out.

Vanitas was dead, run through repeatedly by the blade that the angered, fiery demon still held clutched in his blood covered hand. That hand was still slashing. At the air, at the trees, at anyone unlucky enough to get close to him. He tore through the park, setting a trail ablaze in his wake, leaping, clawing, throwing himself at things all the while roaring like a monster. His distorted, disturbingly demonic sounding voice echoed and carried even in to the city proper, and many locals just stood outside of the park's boundaries and watched, uncertain on how to even attempt to stop such a creature.

Dare you even try... ?

{action} Jade needs more things to do

[bootsweremadeforcasting]

Just because Jade had left Auldrant didn't mean he had no instinct to continue his duties, specifically given the current circumstances. As the rampage went on and moved around, Jade left the apartment and went outside to see the issue. With that bundle of rage and currently unknown power, Jade wasn't too keen on letting it get to close to the apartments. Peony and Anise were still in sleep comas, and civilians were going to get injured if they hadn't already. If anything he'd try to deflect the screaming... whatever.

When Jade could see him, he fired off a spell, ice cold water tempestuously shooting at the boy. He was still a ways away, Jade leaving himself enough time to move around.

{action} What better way to get CR then by trying to tame a demon? >D

[keepsthefire]

Rin took the hit and went tumbling away, rolling for several feet before coming to a stop. He lay still, but the flames continued to burn around him, Steam rose from the water that had hit him, but as it wasn't holy water (at least in the sense of blessed water from his own world) it did little more than knock him down.

He was up again in moments, hunched down low as his demonic blue and red eyes shifted around the area until they landed on Jade.

Another roar sounded from him, and he charged forward with every intent of taking the man down.

{action} This is obviously the best way

[bootsweremadeforcasting]

One would think water would be a tad more effective against the flames, but Jade was fortuitous that wasn't the only thing in his arsenal. However, the guy was charging him, and shielding might put him in a position to be hammered away at until it broke. So, Jade launched himself out of the way when he thought best, getting to a solid stance when he landed and summoning his spear to throw it at the boy's leg. He didn't want to kill him, just incapacitate. He had unconscious people to protect.

{action} Best and worst, all at once. What a first impression.

[keepsthefire]

Naturally, being in the state he was in, Rin was of no mind to think tactics. The spear came right at him, striking and imbedding in his stomach. Between the force of the strike and the force of is own movement forward, he was taken off his feet and sent crashing face first in to the ground so hard he left a shallow ditch.

But as before, he wasn't down for long. While that would have put any normal human down for good, Rin was far from normal, and he was on his feet again with the spear actually protruding from his stomach, blood rushing down and staining what of his shirt wasn't already filthy.

A sustained feline-like growl escaped from him as he ripped it out, caring not for the blood the spurted from it.

And just to add insult to injury to Jade, he hurled it back at him.

{action} Second impression might be better after they wake up(?)

[bootsweremadeforcasting]

Jade was impressed, if not a tad annoyed at the tenacity. While he should have taken more time to aim, the shot should have at least disabled him. No matter, as the spear was hurled back, is disappeared in a flash of light and came to Jade's hand in the same.

A straight charge wouldn't be good, with that strength, and Jade's less than impressive close-range fighting, Jade would have to keep a distance between them, or try to calculate the boy's strength versus the guardian shield. He fired off a quick spell, Energy Blast a quick one just to toss the boy back a bit. After that, he'd work on a larger spell, picking up the residual Field of Fonons from the Splash to use an alternate spell.

{action} so I herd you needed sum backup

[hopeofzaphias]

In another part of the park, Yuri was out doing, well, whatever it was he was doing in the park that night. Probably wandering around due to sleeplessness and all. In any case, the park was normally peaceful, so the sudden rain of blue fire upon the trees and grass around him, needless to say, alerted him to the current predicament of the half-demon raging and thrashing about, striking out at anything and everything in the surrounding area.

Considering that several people he knew -- Estelle and his Majesty in particular -- lived very close to the park, Yuri found himself running towards the source. Had he not thrown himself onto the ground he would have got blasted with blue fire upon arrival. Glancing around the area and spotting Jade, he groaned. Great, this guy was already targeting innocents. Jade was most certainly not innocent, but Yuri had yet to know that.

In any case, it looked like the guy was trying to ward him off with magic, so it only seemed fair for Yuri to at least distract the devil. "Hey! I'm your target! Look at me, you stupid piece of charcoal! Azure Edge!"

Why yes, there IS a blue projectile coming at you, Rin. Have fun!

[heartandsoul]

The sense that something wrong had happened hits Maka like a ton of bricks; almost literally speaking as she jolts forward and falls to her knees when the sudden burst of power overloads her mind.

I'll kill him I'll kill him I'LL KILL HIM I'LL KILL HIM-- screaming inside of her head, animalistic roars, pure hatred. Yet there was a small flicker of familiarity. Who is this? Why does it make her heart ache so? That isn't a usual feeling with her Soul Perception...

You'd have no way of knowing if I won't just... snap one day and do the same damn thing.

...Rin. Rin.

There is no God in Heaven in Maka's world, not as far as she knows, but if there was she'd be swearing to him right as the realization strikes. Why is he so far away—I have to get there—I HAVE TO GET THERE-- Before she can think about what the risks are of confronting something with that much killing intent in its being, Maka is running to the epicenter of Rin's fit. Some part of her remembers that she wants to avoid being killed again...but then another, stronger part screams out that someone she cares for needs help. If she does nothing, she'll lose him.

She doesn't care about dying, she doesn't care about getting into a confrontation with a demon, this is Rin.

The flames are what she sees first, then the sword swinging through the air...then finally Maka sees him. It occurs to her she should be afraid or preparing to fight, getting ready to kill this monster to preserve the safety of Vatheon. But that's probably what the scientists would want to see, a little observational experiment of a girl being forced to kill her boyfriend.

...No way in hell. She's off again, tearing through the fire to Rin, flickers of her soul appearing in the form of wings

"RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!!"

[keepsthefire]

Something in the back of Rin's mind was pinged. Something rather suddenly brought a tiny, itty bitty bit of his humanity back in to his subconscious. Something, somewhere, had that tiny part of him screaming out to get get control of himself, to stop before he went too far.

But it wasn't enough. It was still buried. Buried under layers and layers of rage and hatred and nothing else. It didn't matter that Vanitas was dead, slain by his hand - all his anger wanted to do was tear everything down, tear everyone down around him. Even Maka.

He turned on her, but oddly enough the flickering of her bright soul actually made him recoil a bit. He threw a hand over his face and roared loudly, his other hand slashing the air wildly in an attempt to hurl his flames at the light that was threatening to get close to him.

[heartandsoul]

She ducks and keeps going forward, it's only the vague tingling of something warm that makes her realize some of the fire did actually meet its target. However, it doesn't catch, instead fizzling but still leaving some bit of warmth.

Rin's warmth.

The fire doesn't hurt? passes through her mind fleetingly. It's inconsequential, reaching Rin is what matters. "Rin! Can't you hear me?!" she calls again.

The light isn't leaving.

[keepsthefire]

The sounds Rin was making were like that of a wounded animal, with the added disturbing feature of his distorted demonic voice. He sounded shrill and deep all at once, as though he was in pain but still being fueled by nothing but rage.

Rather than continue to approach Maka, he recoiled, throwing a clawed hand over his face and thrashing about as though he was attempting to shake something off of himself. His back slammed in to a tree, knocking him to his knees. It, along with Maka's cry, was just enough to jostle something closer to sanity further to the forefront of his mind.

"Ma... ka..." he groaned, his distorted double voice just barely loud enough to be heard.

1/2

[heartandsoul]

Indeed, like a wounded animal; a wounded and frightened animal, scared to insanity. "Rin..." Maka approaches and kneels to be at level with him. "Rin, I said I'd be here for you if this happened again, remember? Here I am."

[heartandsoul]

She doesn't reach out to his soul with hers, there's no guarantee that won't harm him in some manner, but she does put her arms around him. "I'll always be here," this is said more quietly as she closes her eyes to will peace into her unsettled loved one.

1/4

[keepsthefire]

"M... Maka... get... away..."

Any pleading he did with that pained, agonized voice seemed to fall in deaf ears. She had her arms around him before he even had a chance to try and push him away. Even without her soul, the touch seemed to actually hurt him, at least at first.

He threw his head back, letting out a terrifying roar as his flames raged even higher around both of them.

[keepsthefire]

A clawed hand, the one not still clutching the sword, lifted behind her back. It trembled and clenched, looking as though he might very well bring it down upon her and begin tearing at her skin.

But that tiny piece of conscious thought managed to push through.

Stop, goddamnit! Don't hurt her! Don't--!

Another cry ripped from him. Though it started with the same demonic noise as before, it broke mid-way through, and rather than a demon screaming in agony it was a teenage boy, howling in pain and anguish.

[set before he ran into Maka]

[howamanlives]

Masaru had caught wind of the chaos that was going down, and he knew instantly that it was Rin. So he'd run to his friend's location, shoved his way through the crowd, and surged towards the flaming half demon. Someone had to stop him.

"RIN!" the teenager roared, swinging his fist as he got near Rin. "SNAP THE HELL OUT OF IT!"

He'd punch Rin back to his senses if he had to.

[keepsthefire]

The one advantage - at least on Masaru's side - to Rin's current state was that he was literally a ball of rage and nothing else. There was no coherent thought, nothing that would tell him "you need to duck this", and so Masaru's hit connected right on and sent him tumbling to the ground.

But of course that alone was not about to stop him, and he was back on his feet within seconds, roaring insanely and swinging his sword at Masaru with no care to the fact that they were friends.

[howamanlives]

Masaru ducked down, low to the ground, narrowly dodging the flaming sword and rushing forward to try and tackle Rin to the ground.

"Listen to me! This ISN'T YOU!"

[keepsthefire]

If there was anything in Rin that heard him, it wasn't capable of breaking through in his current state. He took the tackle, but rather than going down his feet skidded back, leaving dents in the ground where his feet were.

Another roar, and he brought both his fists down on to Masaru's back hard.

[howamanlives]

Masaru let out a pained grunt, something snapping audibly when Rin slammed his fists into his back. He struggled to get back up, but could only get to his knees.

"Rin... dammit...! I know you're in there somewhere...!"

Robo-bro to the sorta rescue!

[ihadahole]

Legion didn't even stop to think before heading into the park to stop the rampaging demon. They don't even recognize Rin as the boy they had spoken to two months ago, so Legion doesn't hesitate to take up a spot in a tree with their sniper rifle.

They don't really want to outright kill Rin in case someone wanted him alive, so they took a moment to line up a non-lethal shot to the shoulder before pulling the trigger.

Sure a sniper rifle can be a rescue, why not

[keepsthefire]

It does little to slow the raging demon down. He take the hits, no thought in his mind to dodge or avoid them, but he does little more than stumble back a little before continuing forward.

There's another roar as flames leap out from around him. He can't see the source of the shots, but his flames are sure as hell going to try and take whatever it is out.

Well it'll rescue the non-combatants...maybe

[ihadahole]

Well that is...not what Legion had expected. Especially the sudden flux in the flames around Rin. They hesitate for a second, quickly coming to the consensus that they need to try and take him down before he moved beyond the park and hurt someone.

With their decision made, Legion aimed their sniper rifle, trying to pinpoint Rin's head through the roaring fire before taking another shot.

Ok point

[keepsthefire]

Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) it was Rin's flames that kept the shot from striking it's intended target. The power alone was enough to send the bullet off course, but not entirely. As he was charging forward he still wound up in the path of it, and it grazed the side of his head just hard enough for him to go down.

He flipped backwards, end over end and landed flat on his face, unmoving for the moment.

[ihadahole]

Legion raised their head, studying Rin intently. They were unsure if he was still conscious or not, so after a few seconds of deliberation they reached the consensus to approach and check it out. Dropping from their hiding spot, Legion holstered the sniper rifle and upholstered their assault rifle. Keeping the gun trained on Rin's body, Legion stopped a few feet away and leaned in to see if he was alive.