"Manifestat- oh, fuck off," Kou snaps, fists clenching and unclenching in the absence of anything else, "don't act like you're not the one forcing this shit on me!"
He hates the way Maruki talks- that soft, clinical voice, talking down to Kou. As if he has all the answers, as if he knows what's best- like his fucking Palace isn't a whole fucking representation of why he doesn't know shit. He's delusional as always, and instead of Sumire-
-it's Kou who's his test subject this time.
Too fucking bad for him that Kou already knows what his goal is- and he's not playing along.
"Stop talking as if you know anything!" he snaps at the ceiling with a sneer. "You don't know shit about me or my brother! You won't break me like you broke Sumire! This mirror-" he spits, "-you're just manipulating what you want me to see, aren't you?!"
He says it- he believes it, but he can't help the way his stomach twists at every image, the way his hands shake-
and Maruki just keeps blabbing. It makes Kou want to tear his hair out, but just then, the mirror stills.
Something unfathomable stares back at him. Something horrible, with tentacles shifting beneath its skin, as if trying to destroy the image from the inside out. A shadowed face, but if Kou squints, he can make out an almost-smile, golden eyes staring back at him like a Shadow's, expression so familiar-
Kou feels very, very cold all of a sudden, instinctively taking a step back as bile rises in his throat at the twisted image staring back at him.
"Stop-" he says, gritting his teeth, but all that happens is his back hitting the living, writhing wall, which immediately pushes him forward again, towards the mirror. He tries to twist his head away, but it's like the mirror shifts with him, with his eyes-
The ripple is back. Flashes of himself, Goro, himself Goro himself both at once bloody wounded ripped outfit corpselike Goro GorohimselfGoroGorohimselfGoroGoro-
"Enough!" He cries out, ripping his sword from his back with a shout, and rushes towards the mirror. The bloodied image of Goro laughs back at him as he brings down his weapon with a cry, intent on ending this madness.
no subject
He hates the way Maruki talks- that soft, clinical voice, talking down to Kou. As if he has all the answers, as if he knows what's best- like his fucking Palace isn't a whole fucking representation of why he doesn't know shit. He's delusional as always, and instead of Sumire-
-it's Kou who's his test subject this time.
Too fucking bad for him that Kou already knows what his goal is- and he's not playing along.
"Stop talking as if you know anything!" he snaps at the ceiling with a sneer. "You don't know shit about me or my brother! You won't break me like you broke Sumire! This mirror-" he spits, "-you're just manipulating what you want me to see, aren't you?!"
He says it- he believes it, but he can't help the way his stomach twists at every image, the way his hands shake-
and Maruki just keeps blabbing. It makes Kou want to tear his hair out, but just then, the mirror stills.
Something unfathomable stares back at him. Something horrible, with tentacles shifting beneath its skin, as if trying to destroy the image from the inside out. A shadowed face, but if Kou squints, he can make out an almost-smile, golden eyes staring back at him like a Shadow's, expression so familiar-
Kou feels very, very cold all of a sudden, instinctively taking a step back as bile rises in his throat at the twisted image staring back at him.
"Stop-" he says, gritting his teeth, but all that happens is his back hitting the living, writhing wall, which immediately pushes him forward again, towards the mirror. He tries to twist his head away, but it's like the mirror shifts with him, with his eyes-
The ripple is back. Flashes of himself, Goro, himself Goro himself both at once bloody wounded ripped outfit corpselike Goro GorohimselfGoroGorohimselfGoroGoro-
"Enough!" He cries out, ripping his sword from his back with a shout, and rushes towards the mirror. The bloodied image of Goro laughs back at him as he brings down his weapon with a cry, intent on ending this madness.