[hikari can sense the danger in the air—the implied threat. his first instinct would be to go for the hilt of his sword, if only he had it here. he doesn't, though, and it's not yet worth summoning a blade.
he's appropriately tense, but his tone is still soft.]
... I cannot speak for you either. [while he doesn't believe in holding onto hate, for the sake of the future...] If he has hurt you, then it's not my place to tell you not to hold a grudge.
[i think rang should do this, personally. hikari just stares back.
... but it doesn't matter whatever he might have wanted to say in response, as another memory plays! wow...
though tired and battered from your earlier fight, you rush towards the city, as it continues to burn and flames dance in the night sky. the sound of screams has died down, but this fact only strikes fear into you—because silence only means that there is no one left alive to cry out.
smoke and ash fill your lungs, but you hardly take notice. you make your way through the destruction, past the corpses the litter the streets (faces you recognize, friends you chatted with just earlier, the people who were meant to be under your protection), looking for any survivors. then, you spot someone all too familiar lying on the ground, dread seizing your heart as you run over to her.
you gather tsuki—your faithful attendant of years—into your arms, even knowing that it's too late for her. she tells you of what happened here, how mugen and his forces set fire to the town, and with her last breaths, she implores you to save the country. that it can only be you, through kindness.
you don't feel very kind right now, unable to do more than leave her there when the crisis still burns around you. horror bubbles up in your throat, reality settling in as you take shaky steps away from the scene—until you cannot contain it any longer and you find yourself screaming in grief.
everyone is dead.
then, it washes away to be replaced by an emotion almost foreign to you: fury. you have never liked being angry, never felt like it was quite your own feelings, but you have no doubt this time that this is all your own.
Rang watches with interest, because that's the kind of person he is. But he doesn't relish in the watching, blood and death and ruin don't excite him, as much as he claims otherwise. Rather, he's interested in Hikari, the rage running through him -- because he's never seen Hikari like this before,
does it take tragedy like this to make him this way? death to all his loved ones? did hikari even have an ounce of fury and rage in him like this when Guifei killed him? thoughts to ponder....
he can't help but be swept up as the memory unfolds. he's never known the death of a father, but hatred against a brother... he knows that. he understands that. he feels almost like a voyeur, being so invested -- the sharp disappointment cutting through him when the memory ends,]
[can you please ponder normal thoughts for once rang
hikari takes a few moments to recover from the memory, trying to sort out his thoughts again the moment he's freed from reliving trauma that wasn't all that long ago. he looks at rang like he's not sure he even wants to answer, wants to know rang's reasons for asking, before resignation settles in his expression.]
... My father's retainer arrived to help me; to buy me time from Mugen's men. [a pang of grief strikes his face, because he doesn't know whether or not benkei survived.] I fled the country like a coward.
[as mugen always said he was, perhaps.]
Though the fact remains that Mugen cannot be allowed to sit on the throne, so long as he intends to drown the world in a sea of blood. I meant it when I said I would reclaim the country from his hands.
[rang? not being asshole? no i kid i love him. anyway, hikari looks away, apparently unable to respond to that. rationally, hikari knows rang is right, but the shame of fleeing that night still lingers, all the more knowing he had to leave someone behind, that he couldn't give any of his slaughtered people a burial, that mugen has since then gone on to commit more horrors.
so he disregards the comment altogether, letting it fall into silence. ultimately, he settles for a simple—]
I will return, with my friends by my side. [if they get out of here, first.] And I will cut Mugen down, for the sake of the future.
[at this point, it is neither contempt nor rage that guides his hand, but an acknowledgment of what must be done, pragmatically.]
[DON'T LOVE HIM HE IS INSANE (aki voice) INANE also he notices how hikari doesn't even respond? rude? this trying to make someone feel better thing is harder than it looks...
and probably impossible, considering those chain of events,]
We both want to kill our brothers -- [don't assign want to hikari] but I guess for different reasons... Does that make us the same? Different?
he also has no idea what the FCK to say to this, because it feels awkward to be grouped in with rang's grudge against his own brother but it also feels arrogant to be like nah man we're different.]
... It is not something I would wish for another to have in common. [...] Though there is no love lost between me and mine. I am horrified at the lengths he went to, but Mugen's opinion of me has never been a surprise.
[and even though hikari isn't completely sure that he can say that he hates mugen, even now, he knows that he has never loved him either. in that regard, he and rang are very different.]
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he's appropriately tense, but his tone is still soft.]
... This is why you hate him.
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Wouldn't you?
[a beat, then]
I forgot who I was asking. If you can understand Guifei's reasons, then you would have understood my brother's too.
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[but hikari's answer uncoils something within him, and he shrugs,]
I guess you would have stopped me if I tried to kill here too.
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[murder is bad, rang? <- beliefs that are why hikari died immediately]
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You know what's funny? It's that my brother knows I've kept on killing, but he's never tried to kill me again.
If you're going to kill your own brother over something like humans, then you shouldn't just change your mind after. It's offensive.
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... You are offended that he could not remain true to his convictions? Or that he didn't continue to pursue you?
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...I just think if he wanted to kill me so bad, then he should at least finish the job.
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... but it doesn't matter whatever he might have wanted to say in response, as another memory plays! wow...
though tired and battered from your earlier fight, you rush towards the city, as it continues to burn and flames dance in the night sky. the sound of screams has died down, but this fact only strikes fear into you—because silence only means that there is no one left alive to cry out.
smoke and ash fill your lungs, but you hardly take notice. you make your way through the destruction, past the corpses the litter the streets (faces you recognize, friends you chatted with just earlier, the people who were meant to be under your protection), looking for any survivors. then, you spot someone all too familiar lying on the ground, dread seizing your heart as you run over to her.
you gather tsuki—your faithful attendant of years—into your arms, even knowing that it's too late for her. she tells you of what happened here, how mugen and his forces set fire to the town, and with her last breaths, she implores you to save the country. that it can only be you, through kindness.
you don't feel very kind right now, unable to do more than leave her there when the crisis still burns around you. horror bubbles up in your throat, reality settling in as you take shaky steps away from the scene—until you cannot contain it any longer and you find yourself screaming in grief.
everyone is dead.
then, it washes away to be replaced by an emotion almost foreign to you: fury. you have never liked being angry, never felt like it was quite your own feelings, but you have no doubt this time that this is all your own.
you make your way to the castle. (you stop for another face on the verge of death; another who uses their dying words to beg you to save the land, before breathing their last.) but when you reach the throne room, once again you're too late (53:07 - 56:14).]
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Rang watches with interest, because that's the kind of person he is. But he doesn't relish in the watching, blood and death and ruin don't excite him, as much as he claims otherwise. Rather, he's interested in Hikari, the rage running through him -- because he's never seen Hikari like this before,
does it take tragedy like this to make him this way? death to all his loved ones? did hikari even have an ounce of fury and rage in him like this when Guifei killed him? thoughts to ponder....
he can't help but be swept up as the memory unfolds. he's never known the death of a father, but hatred against a brother... he knows that. he understands that. he feels almost like a voyeur, being so invested -- the sharp disappointment cutting through him when the memory ends,]
What happened after?
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hikari takes a few moments to recover from the memory, trying to sort out his thoughts again the moment he's freed from reliving trauma that wasn't all that long ago. he looks at rang like he's not sure he even wants to answer, wants to know rang's reasons for asking, before resignation settles in his expression.]
... My father's retainer arrived to help me; to buy me time from Mugen's men. [a pang of grief strikes his face, because he doesn't know whether or not benkei survived.] I fled the country like a coward.
[as mugen always said he was, perhaps.]
Though the fact remains that Mugen cannot be allowed to sit on the throne, so long as he intends to drown the world in a sea of blood. I meant it when I said I would reclaim the country from his hands.
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Now that he's no longer able to see the memory, he watches Hikari instead, the minute expressions on his face as he replies, hmmmm]
There is no salvation for those who won't save themselves.
[the words sound so very out of character for rang, and they should -- it sounds a little like he's quoting someone else,]
I'd call it a strategic retreat, rather than running away.
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so he disregards the comment altogether, letting it fall into silence. ultimately, he settles for a simple—]
I will return, with my friends by my side. [if they get out of here, first.] And I will cut Mugen down, for the sake of the future.
[at this point, it is neither contempt nor rage that guides his hand, but an acknowledgment of what must be done, pragmatically.]
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and probably impossible, considering those chain of events,]
We both want to kill our brothers -- [don't assign want to hikari] but I guess for different reasons... Does that make us the same? Different?
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he also has no idea what the FCK to say to this, because it feels awkward to be grouped in with rang's grudge against his own brother but it also feels arrogant to be like nah man we're different.]
... It is not something I would wish for another to have in common. [...] Though there is no love lost between me and mine. I am horrified at the lengths he went to, but Mugen's opinion of me has never been a surprise.
[and even though hikari isn't completely sure that he can say that he hates mugen, even now, he knows that he has never loved him either. in that regard, he and rang are very different.]
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Really? I like it though.
[THAT THEY BOTH HAVE BROTHER TRAUMA!!!! at least, this no longer wants to make rang stab hikari for seeing a personal memory,]
Yeon's the same way. He always thought I was a burden to him.
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also this is so depressing, rang. once again, hikari has no idea what to say to this.]
... But you loved him still.
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Does that change anything?
[it changes a lot actually]
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[hikari already knows half of court is going to hate him the moment he says he supports equality]
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I guess a headache's better than losing their head. I wonder if they'll be grateful though?
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I have no need for their gratitude, so long as they ultimately understand why I intend to break tradition.
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