[ log ; ongoing ]

[blightender]

Who: blightender & tenkai_shield
Where: starts at 111 Marshall Street Apartments
When: somewhere between late October 14 and early October 15 ♥
Rating: PG-13
Summary: With a million screaming voices in his head, and when his friend refuses to meet him out in the open, Jowy takes the only course of action he knows to take; go to him. The answer lies within Riou, within his

Comments

[tenkai_shield]

Riou already knew that Jowy had been looking for him. He'd been told that Jowy wanted to survive, but, the one who told him wasn't acting like herself either. Jowy's own challenging words, and this crazed rant already told him what he wanted. Most everyone else in the community had lost their mind one way or another.

Knowing he was being hunted, he stayed put, rather than tried hiding elsewhere, only to be caught in transit, or putting someone close into unnecessary danger. Surely, Riou's only apartment would be the last of places Jowy would look.

And by the sound of the shouting, Jowy'd already looked everywhere else. I could see him approach the building from his window. "Give up Jowy, just give up, and go home... Wait this out..." He could only hope his friend would quit trying, or come to his sense before he had to do anything

[blightender]

"Open the door!"

Jowy beat once, twice, thrice, and when that did nothing he banged his head on the door and let out one long and frustrated scream. "Riou... Riou, open the door--" he hissed, almost in a pleading tone even as the voices his head chanted his best friend's name in almost blinding unison. "I said... I said open the door, damned runes!"

In a fit of anger, he kicked the door and then grew quiet. There was a calm, a short reprieve... the gears moved... the voices conversed, thought in unison. Doors like this... they could be broken. He had a good head, a pity to lop off... Luca had said.

There was one lock. One lock point. One one one-- he could do this. He heard footsteps; his own. He heard harsh breathing; again, his own. And then he was rushing forward, using his body as a ram against the wooden door. There was pain, but it was easy to ignore with the multitude of voices chanting and cheering for the door to break open in unison. And adrenalin.

Riou... Riou... on the other side... Riou--"Rio--u!" he gasped and

[tenkai_shield]

Riou refused to answer, or open the door, quite obviously. But the Tenkai was only on the other side. He suspected Jowy would pound on the door for some time, but completely knocking it of it's hinges wasn't expected. And there was hardly time to ponder the later consequences.

He did have a plan however. Once Jowy was in his sights, Riou delivered a blow to the side of his friend's head using the broad side of the tonfa. Leaving Jowy stunned, or even knocked out, Riou ran outside the building.

But he wouldn't keep running. Perhaps destiny caught up with him, or the regret and concern for striking his mentally-ill friend against the skull, Riou waited outside the building. Maybe Jowy would arrive in better mental health. Or, just perhaps they'd have to fight it out.

Riou would need the room just to keep his friend from doing him harm.

[blightender]

The blow to his head had certainly been hard enough to send him staggering backwards, to be momentarily stalled. But that was it, a mere setback. Cursing angrily to whatever gods the voices had offered, Jowy, using his staff and the metal fragment in his other hand, pushed himself upwards again. "Riou!" he yelled angrily at dark hallway his "friend" had disappeared too. "You pig!"

And then he was running into that same darkness Riou disappeared in, following back to where he believed Riou would be at; outside.

"Don't run away from destiny!" Don't don't don't-- you Jowston pig!

[tenkai_shield]

Riou was sure of it. He had to have been possessed in some way by Luca.

Standing in the middle of the road, Riou stood with his weapons ready. This wasn't going to just 'pass over' like he was hoping. He'd somehow have to defeat Luca within him without harming Jowy...

...too much.

"I'm here Blight."

[blightender]

"Riou!"

Jowy saw him then, standing still, weapon drawn. There- the answer was there, within Riou, within his very existence... his life, his blood. The voices seemed to quiet down and for a moment, Jowy could think and wonder and wonder why he was there.

"I'm here... to defeat you," he finally whispered, the calm a meager blessing from the silence the voices had granted inside his head. He walked slowly, towards Riou and quietly released the piece of metal he'd held in his now-bloodied left hand. With the use of both hands now, he gave the quarterstaff in his hands a simple twirl. A warm-up, that was it.

"I'll kill you," he continued then, his voice trembling slightly as the voices began again, chanting... chanting... for Riou's death, or his.

[tenkai_shield]

Riou didn't stretch or say anything to get ready. Rather simply, Riou took his stance and prepared himself. Luca wouldn't know how to fight in Jowy's body but, since he was using the staff, he at least looked like he might.

Riou had no intention of hurting Jowy, but, he'd have to hold him off until he came to his senses, or knock him out. Had that really been his friend standing before him, they'd be equals in combat surely, but like this... it was no contest.

[blightender]

Riou's assumptions were wrong, however. For despite the existence of that cacophony of voices in his head, Jowy was Jowy. Brought to a state of extremes by the chip still nestled somewhere in his body, yes, but regardless it remained the Jowy he was, had been, friends with. While the mind wasn't completely in control, the body knew the smooth lacquered surface of that staff well, knew how to move it fluidly against any enemy, against Riou.

With a small sharp cry, Jowy launched himself, before the mind could fully comprehend the action the body had just undertaken, and launched the first waves of his attacks. Anger rooted from the deep recesses of his mind fueled this attack; Jowy - the one that remained himself inside that mind - knew where those had come from, and what thoughts he'd withheld that had lead to this.

In the end... in the end... no matter what how much faith Riou put in him, this... this was what he was hiding all along, wasn't it?

Wasn't it?That last bit of control slipped from Jowy's grasped, and he watched as

[tenkai_shield]

He would've believe that this was Jowy if he hadn't handled the staff so well. Had it not been his intention in the first place, Riou would be forced to go on the defensive. Never making a strike of his own, he kept Jowy from hitting him.

[blightender]

And true to the rune burned into his right hand, Jowy pummeled Riou with his attacks. It lacked the usual finesse and thoughtful control his attacks had, being naturally the slighter of the two physically, but what it lacked for at that moment Jowy more than made up with the fervor to deliver attack after attack.

This re-enactment of the wills of the runes itself, before the war closed its final chapter at the Tenzan Pass, where Jowy attacked and Riou defended lasted for a while. It was attrition, where Jowy had planned to chip at Riou's stamina and defenses slowly, but while it was evident that Riou was being worn down, Jowy himself was feeling its effects-

No! I-... I shouldn't be doing this! Riou! ...Riou!

Jowy had been watching, slowly, slowly - just as he worked on forcing Riou to have no other recourse but to attack - struggling to gain back control of his body. It was terrifying to gain a piece of mind, and yet not, and to instead watch his body go after Riou in such a murderous way

[tenkai_shield]

Try as he might, Riou couldn't find the chance to even strike a blow toward Jowy. He'd never have aimed to truly hurt, but, the idea was to keep Jowy from assailing him, even knock him out if he could. But Jowy refused to let up in the slightest, keeping Riou retreating and defending.

It was already a bad sign when Jowy relented only to pick up the estranged chunk of metal in order to strike with. Preparing to defend again, Riou picked up on a brief moment of internal conflict before Jowy drove the metal into his own leg.

"JOWY!" he exclaimed, recklessly rushing forward, dropping his weapons to pull the shard from his best friend's leg.