deercountry | This is who you are, you'll always be the one

Entry tags:

This is who you are, you'll always be the one

Who: Hayato and YOU
What: Catch-all including TDM prompts
When: Late March, through-out April
Where: Various.

Content Warnings: Warnings for the TDM Prompt Blessed Be The Curious. Additionally: References to Nazi-like organizations, abduction, human experimentation, implied mass murder

[Prompt A: Shocker]

[You find yourself in some kind of military base. It's huge and intimidating. There are enormous open halls, spiraling columns, and a ceiling that feels as tall as the sky itself. Carved into the biggest open wall is the image of an eagle with an eye at it's very center. Something about that thing makes you uneasy, in ways that can't be explained, but stalling out in the open is a bad idea, so probably you should find cover. Patrolling every inch of this place are men in masks and uniforms, holding weapons ranging from assault rifles to swords. They march in an almost robotic cadence, their attention focused and stoic. If you're quick, they will pay you no heed, but if they spot you, a legion of them will be on you in an instant.]

[Best stay quiet.]

[Moving further into the base will lead you to maze-like halls that could almost pass for a medical facility if there wasn't something inherently sinister about it. Sterile walls, bright lights, and instruments that range from medical to outright torture devices can be found in every room. Most of them seem unoccupied for the moment, like they've been used recently and left for clean up.]

[There's one final room at the end of the hall, and from it, is an eruption of chaos and shouting. Within is a strange being which may or may not look familiar, if you've ever run into Hayato's Kamen Rider form, minus some color differences. The voice, as he shouts at the doctors in the room, is clearly not him either.]

[The man surges forward, and starts taking out the doctors as he darts around a large operating table in the center of the room. Strapped to that operating table is an unconscious, but unharmed Ichimonji Hayato.]

[Once the doctors have been dealt with, all of which are laying in heaps on the ground in various states of unconsciousness, the masked man swiftly turns to look at you with apprehension before he straightens up. His voice still sounds wary, but he's not squaring you up to fight.]

You infiltrated in with the others, didn't you? Here- he needs help.

[He will go around and unceremoniously rip off the restraints tying Hayato down. The movement seems to finally rouse him, and he starts to stir.]

I got to him before they could operate, take him and go.

[And without waiting for confirmation, he's already darting out of the room, leaving you with a groggy and shirtless Hayato.]

[Prompt B: Red Wedding (But not that kind)]

[The church was burning. That wasn't how it ended in his memory, but it's hard to deny what he was looking at. The church was on fire and standing behind him, looking on with him, was a small crowd of about a dozen people. All of which are a little worse for the wear, but alive.]

[He tears his eyes from the blaze in time for someone to clap him on the shoulder. He looks up at them bewildered, before someone else walks up and starts to offer him thanks. The entire crowd seems to be taking turns. Hayato, visibly overwhelmed, can hardly keep up with it all.]

If you hadn't brought Kamen Rider

We're so sorry for doubting you, Ichimonji-san

Those Shocker monsters would have surely killed us all without your quick thinking

Thank you so much--

[That's right. While he'd been on location, scouting for a chance to take a photograph of Kamen Rider in action, he'd gotten the distress signal from the others at the church. He was lucky that the frequency also got picked up by Kamen Rider himself, and he'd fled to their rescue with Hayato hot on his heels. Between them both, they were able to save everyone in the church and take care of the Shocker monsters within.]

[It burned now, sealing the end of the fight. Kamen Rider-- Hongo Takeshi, as he'd correctly guessed-- had long rode off into the sunset, leaving him with the after math.]

[All of them survived, and he hadn't been captured by Shocker.]

[But that's not what should have happened, right? No, that's undeniable. He knows the truth, and yet, here he was, shell-shocked and human. As the rest of the survivors left the area, many to get treated at the hospital, Hayato opts to stay on premises as the place burns. Soon a fire-squad should be here. Until then, he turns and regards whoever might been left behind.]

I don't remember seeing you inside.

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[Well, shit sure is happening this month. Everything seems to be going kind of crazy right now, which, is not something Hayato is unused to. There's no gaping voids in the sky sucking people into some ether, and there's no giant black pyrimid installations packed to the brim with murderous cyborgs, but stuff is still kind of going pear-shaped.]

[He and Penny are doing more than just patrols right now, this is active search and rescue, and the worst part of it, Hayato thinks these giant butterflies might have been the seemingly harmless presences early in the month that he and Alvin couldn't hunt down. If he'd been more persistent, maybe-]

[No. No time for that. As they come across an open square in Crenshaw, Hayato spots what they're hunting for. Up on a light pole is one of those huge butterflies, perched, basking in the moonlight. Gathering is a increasing crowd of people staring trance-like in its presence.]

Penny! Over here!

[ Penny's heard plenty of warnings about how bad things might get with a perpetual darkness cloaking the city, but things have been deceptively calm thus far.

Not anymore, it seems. She hurries alongside Hayato, keeping a sharp eye out, and she spots the gathered crowd right as he does. She slides to a stop (a slightly silly looking maneuver in mid-air) and takes stock of the situation. Normally she wouldn't hesitate to volunteer for the combat side of things, but she knows Hayato can handle himself. More importantly, she can tell that she's much better suited to dealing with the evacuation portion of this little mission. ]

I can start getting people to safety. See if you can do anything about the butterfly.

[ Penny's tone comes out like she's giving an order, but she pauses and looks to Hayato for confirmation first. She's pretty sure her plan is the best, but if he's got other ideas she's going to hear him out. ]

[No, luckily Penny made the exact same call he would have, she just beats him to voicing it. He makes quick eye contact with her, nodding his head, and immediately makes towards the butterfly.]

[They both know the priority here, and it's the people. If Penny could get them out, then it would free them up to deal with the monster. And Hayato was thinking of it as a monster. Regardless of how docile it looked, he knew better than to trust it. It could be a brainwashing transmitter, or it could be a bomb, the possibilities could be endless.]

[He runs along the edges of the crowd until he finds another light pole opposite of the creature. With a leap, he's perched right on top of it, eye level with the butterfly. For a few minutes he doesn't act. He takes stock of Penny getting people evacuates and he simply watches the thing like a hawk to make sure it doesn't move from it's perch. Once the people seem to finally be dispersed enough, Hayato decides to make a move.]

[It's quick, his shift. He slides off the pole at just the right angle that, for a split second, it's almost like he is standing horizontally, feet against the pole, defying gravity.

He kicks off, shooting like a rocket towards the beast, and slams his fist straight through it.]

[ It's easy to gather up the enraptured Trench residents. They're just standing there, frozen in place while they stare up at the massive butterfly, and don't resist when Penny grabs them around the waist and lifts them off the ground. She takes them by twos, and when they're far enough away to stir again she sets them down and returns for another pair. Working alone makes it take longer than she'd like, but being able to fly speeds the process up.

Penny doesn't experience exhaustion quite like a biological person would, but after a few of these back and forth trips she starts to feel heavier, somehow, like each movement is harder to justify and takes more energy to execute. By the time she gets the last person out of there she's outright struggling, and her enthusiasm as she carries them away is dampened.

Then Hayato hits the butterfly, and it's like being doused with cold water. Penny lurches to a stop and blinks, but even though she feels refreshed a sudden unease rushes through her. She hasn't been in Trench for long, but she's been around long enough to know that sudden changes like that are usually a bad sign. She half sets, half throws the final rescuee down, rushing to launch herself back into the air and hurry back to the site of the butterfly. ]

Hayato!

[The thing barely stood a chance. The force of the hit makes it practically burst into nothingness, and there's something of a shock wave in its wake. That it went down so easy was enough to fill Hayato with dread and doubt. It's the last thing he's able to conciously recall before It consumes him.]

["It" of course being the horrific feeling of despair that immediately overtakes him. Like something had set a bomb off in his heart, spreading through his body so fast that couldn't even be described as drowning so much as something just grabbed him by the ankles and ripped him under.]

[Penny will see him hit the ground like he'd been shot, grab his head in pain and scream.]

[ Penny can move fast when she's startled, and right now she's very startled. Startled enough that she decides that her normal rockets aren't going to cut it. Strange green flames blossom into existence around Penny's eyes and the wind kicks up around her, lending her just the tiniest bit of extra speed. She zips through the air and disengages her magic and thrusters, both bursts of green extinguishing at once. She lets momentum carry her the rest of the way, and when she lands she skids across the cobblestone for a few more yards before finally sliding to the stop.

It looks very stylish, but she's too worried about Hayato to appreciate her own landing. ]

What's wrong...?

[ She takes a few steps forward, hands outstretched, worried but not cautious. She just wants to make sure he's okay. ]

[It had been a long time since Ruby had lost wandered through a military facility and honestly she hadn't missed it all that much. Atlas hadn't been the most welcoming place and she felt like this wasn't much better.

She manages to slip past the guards without a whole lot of difficulty, which is a relief because she isn't exactly the stealthiest person.

When the chaos erupts she recognizes the Kamen Rider from the Leviathan fight but she hadn't really seen him outside of that and definitely didn't know the connection to Hayato.

...That is until she catches sight of him on the bed. She glances between him and the masked man and gives a shrug.]

I have no idea what you're talking about- But sure- Yeah. came in with the others.

[Her poker face is awful but she's quick to get a hold of Hayato.]

Okay bud, listen up. I promise I'll get you out of here. And I wont even tell Ange about this, so you wont die when we get back either.

[If she seemed overly suspicious to the man, he doesn't let on. He simply nods his head and leaves the room. Hard to get a read on, that one.]

[That does leave Ruby alone with Hayato (if you disregarded the vague noises from the felled scientists, but don't pay any mind to them.) As she gets a hold of him, he groans, bringing a hand to his head while he struggles to come back to the land of the living.]

What?

[Wait. Who's voice was that? He blinks and looks around, finally seeing Ruby for the first time.]

Eh!?

[The young man lingering just outside the operating theater pauses when addressed, both hands frozen on his gun. It's a little odd for someone to assume a fourteen-year-old would be infiltrating anything with anyone, after all. The incongruity of Alvin's youth is one of the things that makes him effective as a spy, and for the strangest-looking stranger he's ever seen to cut right through that façade is disconcerting, to say the least.

But when Hongo goes dashing out, leaving Hayato behind, Alvin puts the gun away and hurries in. Recognition stirs in his otherwise hollow expression. Despite his unfortunately reduced size--what a time not to be a big, broad-backed mercenary--Alvin sets to dragging Hayato to the edge of the table and getting an arm draped over his teenage shoulders.]

C'mon, work with me, here.

[He mutters it more to himself than to Hayato, expecting no answer. Already, he's going over his mental map of the place, looking for somewhere close he and Hayato could lie low until the man's good enough to walk on his own. This isn't his first time sneaking around research facilities he definitely has no clearance to visit. There are always empty rooms no one thinks to search at first blush.]

I don't wanna get caught, and I bet neither do you.

[Hayato doesn't give him much of a reply at first. He's still coming around from what was probably an unholy cocktail of drugs to put him under. His movements are sluggish and disoriented and it's likely Alvin's going to have to support his weight once they're off the table entirely.]

[Hearing someone speak to him, though, helps bring him around a little quicker. He clings to those words until some of the fog starts to clear.]

...Hn? What?

[Unfortunately, he kind of wishes he hadn't woken up, once it clicks where he is. He jerks drunkenly in Alvin's hold, eyes going wide and stammering in a panic.]

W-Where am I? No, no, no, no-!

Quiet.

[Because this isn't the time to worry about being rude, Alvin just claps his free hand over Hayato's mouth. What a pal.]

You're fine. Or you will be once we get out of here.

[His eyes dart across the room, looking for anything 1) dangerous or 2) useful, and then pauses on one of the knocked-out doctors. Abruptly, he stops trying to haul Hayato up and lets him sit on the edge of the table.]

Look, I'll get you a shirt and we'll go, okay? Just keep it down and trust me. I know what I'm doing.

[And off goes Alvin to strip a lab coat off an unconscious body, the action of only the most trustworthy of young men.]

[That gets Alvin a surprised Mnph!, in response and Hayato tries to pry Alvin's hand off. He stops just as abruptly as Alvin leaves him on the table, no longer wanting to struggle.]

[He stares openly at his hands, turning them this way and that as something extremely significant becomes apparent to him. His body wasn't-]

[Hayato isn't panicking any longer, but he's gone deathly silent, eyes wide with some kind of for away stare. Shock maybe? It's probably not good, but at least he's not screaming or anything.]

I'm...

[Say what you will about Alvin at this age or any other; he's immature and selfish, but not insensitive. He glances at Hayato over his shoulder as he yanks the coat off a groaning lab tech.]

...Your friend said they didn't get to you yet. To operate.

[He manages to wrench the coat free and then kicks its former owner rather decisively in the head, knocking him back into his unconscious stupor. He returns to Hayato's side, shaking out the coat so he can put it on and cover up.]

C'mon. Better not give them the chance, yeah?

[nehan is many things, and maybe death is his most-desired state, but he's not stupid enough to walk right into a burning building just for a chance at that. he knows this is a memory, but would it have hurt him? he doesn't know. he just wouldn't have risked it.

so he watches it burn from the outside, the flames seemingly growing brighter as the sky dims, tugging his coat around himself despite the sweltering heat. then one ear perks up when he's addressed, and he turns his head to look.

it's the man who has been running around, looking like a hero. he raises his eyebrow.]

I was not inside, no.

[Hayato regards him for a long moment. Something about it seems off. This man's appearance sticks out for a number of reasons, but he's somewhere between reconciling the memory with his reality, and Nehan, like the burning church in front of him, feel disjointed from what he understands as the truth.]

[It's all slowly slotting into place, but until then he doesn't regard Nehan with any apprehension like he might have if he were actually fully immersed in this memory. He nods to his answer.]

That's good.

[Because that had been a horror show he wouldn't have wished on anyone. He tears his eyes away from the building to regard the small crowd of people, heading towards their cars. The ones that had escaped out of the church.]

Do you see those two over there?

[He points to a couple within the group. A small woman with short hair and a tall man with wide shoulders and a serious looking face.]

[nehan tilts his head, one ear twitching. gripping his crutch, he follows the line of the human's arm with his gaze to look at the two he's pointing at, before nodding. he's already anticipating something along the lines of being directed towards them.]

I do. [then he looks at the human next to him once more, tilting his head because of his eyepatch.] Why?

[Hayato's gaze lingers on them for a moment longer, almost like he's trying to sort something out.]

The way this happened originally ...those two were the only ones that made it out.

[He looks back at the blaze once more, expression tight with frustration, guilt.]

I wasn't able to get here in time, let alone with someone with enough power to deal with those monsters.

I see. [is this an attempt at changing the past, or merely wishful thinking? he doubts whatever haunts trench has the ability to change the past, so nehan can only assume the latter is happening.

people love to go down the road of "what-ifs", of what could have been. but nehan has always stayed away from such thoughts, because if fate decreed it, there's no point in wanting more than what you have.]

You were less experienced when this happened?

[Hayato is pretty sure that's what this is. He doesn't like the idea of something in Trench having that kind of power, otherwise. There is just too much to come to grips with, if so. How many things could really be changed? It's maddening to think about.]

[As he is learning now, staring this image down. He can't dare to hope its true, for lots of reasons.]

Yeah, you could say that.

[It's been ...almost fifteen years, hasn't it?]

I was distrustful of the man that helped save them just now, and I went alone to try and help. When I got there, most of them were already dead. Not only that, but I got captured, and dragged back to their base.

Ah, so it's regret upon regret upon regret. [one ear flicks, before nehan turns his head around again to cast his eye on their surroundings, the ruined building, and then back to the man next to him.]

You regretted that happening because you were very impulsive. [but who is "they"? the people inside? or the monsters... nehan will assume it's the monsters, they're the most likely.]

And yet you're here, right now-- you were saved, were you? I'm assuming by the hero himself. That's often how this narrative goes.

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This is who you are, you'll always be the one

Closed Starters

For Penny

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