hadriel_logs | There is nothing I do better than revenge (Closed)

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There is nothing I do better than revenge (Closed)

Who: Ushahin and Sato
What: Revenge for Shadow's death
Where: Wherever Ushahin catches up to Sato
When: Shortly after Sato's network post
Warnings: Violence and a stabbing

He'd had the dagger hidden away for almost a full year. No one knew about it. Well, someone had. And he was dead now by Sato's hand. Ushahin had seen no cause to let the cave know about something that could potentially be his trump card. Now, he finally had a reason to use it. He took the red sliver of the jewel that had made up his world from its hiding place under the floorboards of the house. He could feel the warmth radiating from Godslayer, the pulse that said it could wound the very soul of a person, a wound that would go deeper than any mere physical injury.

There was no place in Hadriel where Sato could hide his thoughts from Ushahin's gaze. He scanned the minds, quickly finding where he had sequestered himself after his post to the network. He sent Fetch ahead of him, the bird's beady eyes keeping a gaze on the man to make sure he didn't leave before Ushahin caught up to him. When he approached Sato, his face was a mask of burning fury, the dagger hidden in the sleeve of his right hand.

"I told you I would make you suffer. I intend to make good on that promise."

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Sato had been expecting to have people follow him -- that's why he'd taken a circuitous route, across the river and through sidestreets, until being confronted here, in a narrow alley.

"I wasn't expecting you to be the first one to catch up," he replies to that almost conversationally. "It seems like I've got a busy day ahead of me."

Sato may be out of bullets, but he's always got several other sharp objects on hand. Yet, Ushahin hasn't pulled anything yet, and being as quick on the draw as he is, Sato's happy to wait until the other man makes the first move. Especially since he'd thought that up until now there were cultivating an interesting relationship. Ushahin asked such interesting questions.

Now just what did he have planned?

"Apparently, I was more motivated than most." Ushahin's voice has calmed back down to his usual soft tones, a bit at odds with the clearly angry expression on his face. From overhead, Fetch watched the scene, waiting to see if he was needed further. Ushahin had used the bird before as a distraction when he needed a quick one.

Were Sato any other sort of man, Ushahin would have put him through the worst mental torment imaginable, letting him experience pain and nightmares until he was begging him to stop. But he's not. He doesn't feel things the same way other people do. To torture him would be like trying to squeeze blood from a rock. No, the only way to satisfy his anger was to get down to his level and have him experience things in a way that would actually be understood.

He took a few steps towards Sato, seemingly completely unarmed. "I've seen the blood lust in your heart. Tell me. Did you enjoy killing him?" He has to know the answer. It will give him the strength he needs to wield the ultimate weapon from his world.

The answer is obvious enough. Really, even if Sato felt like lying, Ushahin would be able to tell, wouldn't he?

He doesn't really care about lying at this point either. Although he might have missed half the fight himself, his ghost was good enough to wake him up for the ending.

"Of course." He'd seen the battles of Ushahin's brethren in dreamscape, and his grin shows not a single ounce of remorse or regret. "On the battlefield or one-on-one, I'm sure your brothers would agree that killing is always an exhilarating feeling. Don't you think so too?"

"Only when it's done for the right reasons. This wasn't it." He's not going to argue the point with someone who is incapable of feeling remorse for the act. "But you must pay for what you have done."

He calls to Fetch without looking up. Now! The bird divebombs Sato, going straight for the eyes, scratching and pecking. It's just a brief distraction, enough for Ushahin to pull Godslayer out. He readies the blade, feeling the pulse of life emanating from the sliver of the blade. Then he slams it down into Sato's hand, puncturing it clean through. Angry as he is, he twists the blade before removing it. Fetch flies back up, away to where he can watch the rest of this play out.

The blade doesn't just cause physical pain. When it strikes, there's the sensation of it going deeper, tearing right into Sato's very soul, and ripping out a chunk of it. "You left a wound on my heart that will not heal. I have given you one in return."

Sato is absolutely expecting an attack, but not one from the air. One arm instinctively goes up to shield his face, the exposed hand an easy target. The blade burns like something he's never felt before, but even pain that registers that deeply isn't enough to dissuade him.

Completely unaware of the full meaning of Ushahin's words, instead of pulling his hand free he leans into it, pushing his hand through the rest of the blade all the way to the hilt. Fortunately for Ushahin, that twist of the dagger means his fingers won't close properly around the hand holding it at this point.

Uttering a short guttural laugh, he instead flings his injured hand wide, planning to disarm Ushahin and send the dagger flying -- and while one hand might be injured, but the other is still fine, and he quickly draws a smaller knife from his belt with his off hand, lunging for the other man.

With a blade as precious as Godslayer, Ushahin's not willing to let go of it for any reason. He pulls it back towards him, which sacrifices time that he could use to get away. Ushahin throws up his own arm when Sato attacks and the knife leaves a deep cut across his forearm.

He's no warrior, his skills always having lay in the realm of the mind. Usually, there is someone to defend him, but now he is on his own. But he is hardly defenseless. His mismatched eyes meet Sato's and he throws out the first illusion into his mind he can think of.

Suddenly, they are in the midst of a battlefield, men fighting all around them, killing each other with swords and axes. Horses scream and stumble to the blood-slicked ground. Ushahin looks like he is standing on the far edge of the battlefield, though in truth he's still only standing a few feet away.

Has this all been a dream again? As genuine as the blood dripping from his hand seems, momentary confusion passes clearly across Sato's face, even as he ducks the swing of a sword overhead. Did he actually kill Shadow? He's reasonably confident in that, which makes this all the more puzzling.

"Is that all?" he calls out across the 'battlefield', picking his way through the illusion, knife still in hand... and further down the alley away from the real Ushahin, leaving fat droplets of blood along the ground behind him. "Come now, let's have a real battle, with the rest of these fine fellows!"

Ushahin breathes easier for a moment when the illusion takes hold and Sato follows it down the opposite direction. No matter how much he wanted revenge, e wasn't about to let Sato add another body to his count. He clutches the arm, blood now soaking through the jacket he's wearing. He turns and begins to walk away.

Keeping the illusion in place, the version of him on the battlefield calls out to Sato amidst all of the battle cries and screams of death. "Really? You consider a fight against someone half-crippled to be fair?" He shakes his head, bad eye squinting against the sunlight. "I would see to your hand if I were you instead of coming after me."

"'The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it'," Sato beams, continuing at a steady pace as he weaves his way through the illusory battlefield towards his target. He'd managed with one leg for decades before he died that first, amazing, time. Not that he thinks Ushahin can win, but it'd be more fun if he at least made an effort.

Normally Sato wouldn't give a second thought to an injury sustained in the middle of a fight, especially when the target was fleeing. But there was something different about the feeling of that wound, and he'd never seen a dagger like that in the Armory.

He doesn't stop advancing (in reality moving further and further from Ushahin down the street), but holds his mangled hand up a bit, flexing the fingers as much as they're willing to go, dark blood running in thick rivulets down his arm at the motion. "It'll be fine in a few minutes... once I'm finished here," he adds, grinning.

In the real world, Ushahin begins making his way back to his house. He needs to clean and patch up his arm. Part of him still hopes to see his little friend there, perhaps lying down after exhausting himself, or waiting for Ushahin to come home.

He uses Fetch's eyes to keep watch on Sato, keeping himself involved in the illusion. A horse and rider coming bearing down on Sato, nearly charging into him before swiveling off to the side. A Fjeltroll, a giant hulking monster of a being with rocky skin and tusks, comes bearing down on the man.

The illusionary version of Ushahin doesn't move from his position on the edge of the battlefield, watching as Sato draws near. "Clearly you didn't listen. Your hand will never heal, Sato. That is the gift that Godslayer gives its victims. A wound that tears through flesh to the very soul."

Sato has never found a wound or problem he didn't recover from. And, never a fan of long-term combat with an injury (when they're so easily dealt with), he decides to preempt the trollish creature. Getting just mauled and not actually killed wouldn't be any good, after all.

He needs to test this.

The simplest and faster way, considering he's been out of ammo since killing Shadow, is to turn the knife around and stab himself in the heart, collapsing in front of the troll. There's no mind to actually connect to for that handful of seconds -- Sato is, in fact, well and truly dead.

That is until suddenly he's not, and picking up instantly right where he left off, reaches for his machete with his right hand... oh.

There's a distinct look of surprise on his face when the wound is still there, fresh renewed blood spilling from it anew.

For a moment, the tether he has to the illusion in Sato's mind snaps. He feels that sickening sensation of a mind that has slipped away from the living world and into death, but before he can even begin to process it, Sato has returned. Ushahin is quick to resume the illusion in the same spot as he left it.

"I told you, but you don't seem to listen very well." There's a cruel expression on Ushahin's face as he watches Sato from his spot on the edge of the battlefield, something that he hasn't worn in a very long time. But then, it's been a very long time since he wanted to cause intentional and malicious harm to anyone. "It is a wound that shall never heal. Live with that."

Sato turns his hand over, looking at the front and back before with that look of mild surprise still on his face before turning an equally mild smile up to Ushahin. "You'd be surprised at what a man can learn to live with," he replies. Of course he isn't done yet. There's some experimenting to be done still.

But assuming that Ushahin's right, this sure is a new development in his life.

"Then you shall be living with that for a very, very long time." Perhaps he will get used to it in time. Perhaps not. The important thing for Ushahin is that the deed is done and his desire for revenge has been complete.

The illusion of himself walks towards Sato onto the field of battle. "You took something precious from me. I have done the same to you. The scales are evened out now. Don't seek me out after this or you will be all the worse for it."

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There is nothing I do better than revenge (Closed)

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