Entry 004

[chippedsoul]

Characters: Kazuma Asougi [Jekyll/Hyde]
Campaign: Break
Format: [ brackets ]
Open
Summary: Catch-All for the Break


A - The Doctor is out [Network]

I will not be meeting with clients in person until further notice. If you must make an inquiry for some medicine, use the journal to contact me. I will let you know when it's ready to be picked up.

-Disciple

B- A nightly stroll in the forest

[Anyone who happens to be wandering around or living in the forest, might hear a disturbance during the nighttime. It doesn't occur every night, but when it does, it sounded like someone was cutting down the trees. There's also a low rumbling like thunder that occasionally accompanied the sound afterwards, like a rhythmic thumping. Looking into the source, they will find themselves at the edge of the Index. The ground appeared unstable, with trees uprooted and large boulders that have been split into smaller pieces scattering about the area.

This warzone was only found along the edge of the Index, and every few nights, a new area would turn into a disaster area. If someone manages to catch the person in the act, it turns out to be the Disciple, or was it the Disciple? The low rumbling noise was from him ramming trees into the barrier or throwing boulders at it. Whatever he could pick up and throw, which was almost anything, he was directing them at the barrier. A few times he was crazy enough to punch the barrier.] I need...to go... [If you manage to get in close enough, you can hear him mumbling about going somewhere. It doesn't seem like he's quite all there himself. Are those pajamas he's wearing?]

C-Wildcard
[This post is for the entirety of the break, so feel free to poke me on Discord or silentdrifterz if there's something else you want to play out instead or make your own starter!]

Comments

[chippedsoul]

It's easier to clear my mind without distractions. [With a huff.]

[hatesviolence]

The marbles didn't work, huh?

[chippedsoul]

They work fine, but an inconvenient method. I need to find a better way of transporting that medicine.

[hatesviolence]

What were you using, your bag?

[chippedsoul]

Basically what I gave you to hold. [He stares at the plant in front of him.] I need to find the right balance of ingredients, the right potency that I can take it like proper medicine. [Yea, good luck with that.]

[hatesviolence]

...It's already tough enough to try and hit you with the damn thing, you really think Hyde will just swallow a pill?

[Even Shizuo can see the flaw of that plan.]

[chippedsoul]

[He shakes his head.]

It's medicine I would take regularly that would prevent him from showing up at all.

[hatesviolence]

...So a preventative. [...Hm.]

I get why, but is it really a good idea to try and seal him up like that?

[chippedsoul]

He's becoming more dangerous and unpredictable. Who knows what will happen after the next campaign. [He lifts the small basket of cut plants and starts heading back inside.]

He needs to be contained.

[hatesviolence]

I don't disagree... But don't think this is the right way to do it.

[He frowns in thought. Having to deal with his own "inner monster" and wishing he could just seal off that side of him many times before, he knows it's not really the same since Hyde seems like its own personality. But... There's just something about it that doesn't sit right with him, like it'll only make things worse.

But in the end he just runs a hand through his hair and follows Disciple.]

Can't think of anything better, though.

[chippedsoul]

. . .Me neither. [It was a quiet admittance. Even he knows this isn't a permanent solution, but he needs to do something for the time being. He's no quitter.]

That doesn't mean I won't stop trying. This is just another step towards an answer. [He enters the hallway and starts moving towards the back of his home, to a set of stairs leading down to the basement.]

[hatesviolence]

Have you figured out why he comes out?

[And just following along, only glancing around a bit since he's never been back here.]

[chippedsoul]

[Compared to the rest of the home that was more welcoming, coming down to the basement felt cold and void of life, and a little creepy. There were selves full of flasks and vials of mystery liquids and ingredients in jars lining the walls. The air was damp and almost encroaching.]

So far it occurs when my life feels threatened or when there's a fight. I can't remember much while he's in control, but I have the sense he finds some thrill in taking on whomever he comes across.

[hatesviolence]

[...It's almost like when he first checked out his house's own basement and discovered the lab. Yeah he hasn't been down there since.]

So it's almost like a defense thing...

[chippedsoul]

With a mind of it's own. [He puts down his bag, and starts gathering a few materials around the room.]

It's not always a defensive reaction. I can't even have a spar without him having an influence on me.

[hatesviolence]

And then once he takes over, basically have to wait until he's beaten up or exhausted, right?

[He'll look around, but otherwise just stay in one spot so as not to be in the way.]

[chippedsoul]

Yes. [He sets everything on the table, getting to work on his little project.]

...Lately, it's becoming difficult for me to regain control before it gets that far. I barely have any sense of myself or what's happening.

[hatesviolence]

Hm.

[Just a quiet hum as Shizuo leans against the wall, arms crossing over his chest as he thinks it over.]

...It's not exactly the same, but I used to have the same problem. With my anger.

[chippedsoul]

...Your anger is not a different entity, is it? [He lifts his head from his work.]

I think you mentioned this before.

[hatesviolence]

No, it's a part of me. [A small shake of his head as he thinks back on an earlier point of his life.] But when I got mad, I lost sight of everything around me. All I wanted to do was beat the living shit out of whoever pissed me off. Rip things up, throw whatever I could get my hands on.

But I hated it because I couldn't stop myself even if I wanted to. I tried before it got too bad, doing whatever I could to get out of the situation, but sometimes shit just happened, anyway. So people were always afraid of me even if I didn't even want any of that violence. Thought of me like a monster, and for a while I believed it.

[chippedsoul]

...But this was forced onto me. [Hyde's not a part of him at all. His eyes narrow, head throbbing a little.]

How did you work through it in the end?

[hatesviolence]

Yeah, that's one reason why it's different.

But I think this part might help a bit... [He holds out his hand, staring at it before clenching it into a fist.] I think it was because I strengthened my own will. That's how it started.

Then I started to accept that this was just something that was a part of me and I found a reason to use my strength for something good. To protect people. [He thinks back of when he had to chase after those who kidnapped Akane and how he was able to focus not on beating the shit out of everyone, but in getting her own and using his strength to protect her. He knows that's when things really started to change.]

So... Maybe if you figure out something like that with Hyde, you might be able to work with him better.

[chippedsoul]

[Strengthen his own will...he had a feeling that would be the case. How can one do that when they don't know themselves though? He's always kept moving forward, force his way through problems, but now he's trapped in a place where he may not get any closer to remembering who he is. He takes a deep breath.]

I just...want to go back.

[hatesviolence]

Go back? [A curious tilt.] You mean back home?

[chippedsoul]

[Home...did he really have a place to call that?]

Back to where my memories are sleeping.