realmofstories | Be Our Guest

Entry tags:

Be Our Guest

Characters: Jean Kirstein [Beast (Beauty and the Beast)] & Open
Campaign: Break
Format: [ brackets ]
Open
Summary: Party in Beast's Castle because otherwise the furniture won't stop being pain.

Invitation...

[At the beginning of the week, a message arrives on the journals.]

Sender: Beast | Jean Kirstein
Recipient: Everyone

Because the living furniture in my house won't stop bothering me and putting decorations up when I'm not looking, I guess I have no choice but to invite everyone over for a "housewarming" party. Please, do come over. It'll please them and they'll return to normal. I hope. Friday, 5 pm.

[Jean is actually pretty good at drawing, so there's a small sketch of the castle he lives in and a map from the center of the town to where he lives in.]

Be careful though. Wolves live around the castle.

Party itself

Outside

[As warned by Jean, there are wolves stalking the castle around. It's still unclear what their objective there is, but they won't attack groups of people. Just if you happen to come around alone they might, unless they're distracted by something.

On the front yard there is a beautiful rose garden filled with red roses as far as eye can see. It's the best kept part of the whole yard.

At the back of the castle there's also a maze made of rose bushes. It's not as well kept and who knows what you find in the maze. Maybe even more living furniture who've gotten lost? Wolves? A mystery.]

Lobby, dining hall, living room & ballroom

[As you walk inside the lobby is huge. Walking coat racks come take any coats and hats guests may have and the candelabras are excitedly trying to get a peek at everyone. There's a huge staircase with three directions: east wing, west wing and the ballroom in the middle.

To the right of the stairs is the door to the dining hall. A beautiful feast has been made by the various kitchen tools. The living trays with wheels come give everyone drinks and appetizers and the chairs move to coax people into sitting down. Even the food is served automatically - all you need to do for them to stop is raise a hand and say "enough". Same with the beverages. But be careful, some of the utensils are ticklish.

Before the feast starts, however, there's a dance sequence performed by the various "members" of the "kitchen staff". No singing, however, as they've not been upgraded to singing or talking yet.

To the left of the stairs is the living room. There are nice sofas to sit down and when you do, a footstool that's as excited as a dog runs to give you a place to rest your legs. The candelabras from earlier light the fireplace for some nice relaxing time.

The middle room of the stairs leads to a very huge ballroom. There the dancing can happen. There is a grand piano and other smaller instruments at the back that begin playing oddly familiar ~~coughdisneycough~~ tunes. The lights also dim a bit to give a romantic atmosphere.

There's also an open access to the balcony with the view to the rose maze. Maybe you'll see someone or something stuck there...]

East Wing & West Wing

[If curiosity gets you, you are more than welcome to walk to the east wing. There suits of armor line up the hallway, giving a nice medieval vibe to the place. There are a few well-kept bedrooms the guests are allowed to rest in. Of course, the wardrobes eagerly offer anyone pyjamas for use. Watch out for the dust...

There is also a study with a small bookshelf with books in france and on the table there is a hand mirror. If you take it into your hands while thinking about someone, it shows them and what they're doing ... if they're in this world.

To get to the west wing, however, you need to be able to get past furniture keeping watch. It's mostly a small clock that ticks just a bit louder whenever someone approaches and a few brooms that shoo people back. It's not, however, impossible to get past them.

Inside the hallway, broken suits of armor fill up the hallway with torn carpets and paintings giving the place a very haunted feeling. At the very end of the hallway, one bedroom stands. The inside of the room looks even worse than the hallway. Only the bed seems lately slept in and in in somewhat good shape.

By the window there's a table that seems in very good shape with a rose in a glass dome. There's a magical aura about it and there is single petal that has fallen out of it, still fresh and reminding that it's there. The dome is easy to lift, but doing so might not be a good idea as it might just bring around an angry Beast.]

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I don't know for certain, but after that Dreamscape nightmare we dealt with during Christmas, I don't doubt the Story Eater's desire for destruction. If that was how he was after worming his way into our heads and trying to break in here...

[ Dojima... looked visibly tense, remembering his own nightmare. ]

...But you could be right, and the Story Eater could've been created by the Story Teller for all we know. It's a risk of trust we're all taking, and we could get burned for it.

[ Hey, at least Dojima's taking his suspicions seriously? ]

If 'Scales' is your nickname for Eizen, yeah. And considering your... usual habit of taking what you want, regardless of who it affects, paying people for what they do for you seems a bit... contradictory. Why not just force them to do things for you?

Then you can't blame me for not following the rules from someone we haven't even seen. [And yet he owes his own existence to the Storyteller. He knows that, just refuses to openly acknowledge it. He hums thoughtfully, stopping his fiddling with the handcuffs.]

Well I did personally hire them. They're technically my property and I take good care of what's mine. I like my little tavern to survive afterall.

...Ah. I see.

[ Yeah, doing this had been the right idea. Without the threat of being murdered, Dojima could actually listen to Hyde and work through what he was saying, and how he was thinking. ]

[ Namely, Hyde was like a 5 year old kid lashing out and angry, and took things far more literally than most adults. ... Well, no. That wasn't entirely accurate. ]

[ He had the intelligence (to a point) of Kazuma, the strength of a superhuman, but the emotional intelligence of a 5 year old. Some young kids lashed out when upset, having temper tantrums. Add in the fact he was made up of things Kazuma had buried inside, negative thoughts and feelings, but Kazuma had no context for those things... ]

...You've been given a pretty shit situation in a lot of ways, huh, Hyde.

[Here he was, ready for a snappy comeback, but what the detective says catches him offguard.] Huh?

[Is he now feeling bad for him? What did he even mean? Or maybe he shouldn't think too hard and drop his guard.] Did you hit your head?

Hmm. Maybe. You were throwing a lot of debris around, but I don't feel anything like a concussion.

[ Was that a joke? The bleeding from his cuts had tapered off, finally, but he was still blood stained. ]

... But I am being serious. You're making due with what you were given, which, thinking on it, other than the super strength wasn't a lot. You don't even have a lot of memories to fall back on. It's a lot to deal with.

[There's silence, but then Hyde starts to laugh.]

Is that what you think? Unlike that weak other me, I don't need memories to tell me what I should do. I make my own! I have all the freedom in the world when I'm not dealing with guys like you ruining my fun! [And he pulls at the handcuffs again. Still the same result.]

So no, I'm not dealing with "a lot". I know what I want.

[ Dojima's not surprised by the response. Typical of someone trying to seem strong when they don't know what actual strength is. He's seen it plenty of times with punks in Inaba... Kanji comes to mind, though Kanji at least Dojima always knew was a good kid at heart, trying to protect his mom. Hyde... doesn't have that thing grounding him, which makes him less predictable in a way. ]

Freedom can be stressful too, when you've got too much of it. Humans tend to need a balance of both freedom and order to do well. Even you've given yourself some structure with your tavern, right? You want to take care of it, because it's yours alone, so you can't just set fire to it or bust it down entirely on a whim.

Don't lecture me on having too little or too much freedom. You don't have to deal with a shitty host trying to control you.

[Speaking of host, how long had he been laying there? How much longer did he have left to stay like this? The thought was enough to get his stomach growling.] Is this talk over yet?

Fair enough, though in his defense, he's doing the best he can in the situation. Neither of you asked to end up sharing a body and fight for control.

[... Was that a stomach growling?]

[ Dojima blinked for a second, before looking straight at Hyde. ]

You hungry?... I have some jerky I bought today.

[ It was going to be a treat for him and Cavall, but Cavall would understand. ]

Edited 2020-07-23 03:09 (UTC)

I just want these off of me! [The handcuffs rattle as he tugs and pulls at them. Yes he's hungry, no he doesn't want your food.]

...Hrm.

[ Well, they would need to talk about that part, wouldn't they? ]

Technically, I should be arresting you, considering all the trouble you've caused. But...

[ He stroked his chin thoughtfully, trying to word this out properly. ]

Let's make a deal. I'm going to tell the guards to keep their nose out of your tavern. You can do what you want with it-- I'm sure that was always your plan, but now you don't need to worry about us storming the place. People who go in there should already know what they're dealing with anyway.

In return...

[ Dojima gestured to towards the castle, where there were... obvious destruction they'd caused. ]

You do your best to not go wrecking shit that isn't yours. I get that people technically 'started' it when they attacked you, so we'll all need to work on that. But in return, you need to try and calm down some.

The guards? Hah, I'd just use them for fodder for the betting cage. [You call this a deal? But, in the long run, he rather not have to constantly pay for the additional damage the authorities would bring. The exchange causes him to sulk though. Wrecking shit is his favorite activity dammit.]

I make no promises on that. I'm going to strike out of self defense if anything. But... [He hums quietly] I suppose since you did apologize, maybe I won't go after your life. How about that as a trade?

Wouldn't that just make things more complicated for you if you did just toss them in there?

[ Seriously, tossing them into the betting cage is just asking for things to get worse. ]

[ At Hyde's offer, Dojima let out a rueful chuckle. ]

So you won't kill me, but I'm guessing I'll still get something broken for all the trouble I've caused you, huh?

[ But Dojima sighed softly, shaking his head. ]

I mean, I can understand self defense. But you seem to verge into murderous rage pretty easily-- ... Why is that?

[ Like, sincere question kid; why are you so angry? Do you know? ]

[ All the same, Dojima was getting up from his chair and walking over to Hyde. ]

. . . [He goes quiet, because to be honest...he didn't really know the source of it himself. He always just felt this strong urge to kill anything that pissed him off.]

I just hate people. [He just shrugs at his own response. It's not...an entirely wrong answer. Maybe it was a lack of trust, and a need to be able to fend for himself.]

... I see.

[ Reminded him of someone else. Maybe that's another reason why Dojima's trying so hard to reach out to Hyde, and by extension, Kazuma.

Because he sees someone young, and angry, and lashing out. In Inaba, in Japan, you kept out of other peoples businesses. Gossiped behind their back, sure, but you didn't get involved in 'family issues'. He did more than most thanks to being a police officer, but he'd always thought he could only do so much. But maybe if he had just, reached out more... ]

I don't blame you. Some people do things that you can't help but hate them for. I'm not above that either.

[ Kneeling down next to Hyde, Dojima nodded towards the cuffs. ]

Let me see your hands. I'll let you go.

[He glares up at the detective as he kneels down. He doesn't comply right away, considering the old man for a moment before presenting the cuffs.]

That why you're a cop? Take out those you hate?

...

[ It was something he thought he was above, but, if he was honest... ]

It's half and half. Partly to protect people and town I care about...

[ Even if he was a failure at that. ]

...And partly to stop the people who'd hurt them. The people I'd hate. I...

[ He held his hands over the cuffs, but paused, before looking up into Hyde's eyes. ]

I've only had to kill a few people on the job. Only when I was working in a bigger city to where I am now, when I was younger and dumb, when I felt I had absolutely no other choice. Any other time I try to de-escalate.

[There was a weariness in Dojima's eyes that made him look... much older for a moment.]

The weight of someone's death on your shoulders... it's a heavy burden when it actually happens, no matter how 'justified' it is.

[ ... But if he was going to get Hyde... Kazuma to trust him, he'd have to be honest, right? ]

But if I hadn't been hurt, I ...

[ A deep, unsteady breath, as he began to release the spell on the cuffs. ]

I would have killed the man who I thought was responsible for my daughter's death. It was a miracle she... came back, somehow, but in that moment... I would have murdered him in cold blood. Because I didn't think there was a chance he could be brought to justice. Because... I felt like I didn't have anyone or anything to live for.

[ Click click. The cuffs fell off Hyde's wrists, Dojima catching them in his hands and putting them back on his belt. ]

...Let me get the ones on your ankles too, before you try to get up.

Edited 2020-07-23 08:28 (UTC)

[Hyde remain quiet as the detective tells his story. He hadn't expected to be given anything deep like this. He also got the sense he was trying to warn him on the consequences of killing another. He's no stranger to killing, it hasn't been people, mind, but he remembers the thrill of the hunt, breaking down Erasers to nothing. He could not fully empathize, but he wasn't going to ridicule Dojima's experience.

There's weight to his words, he was willing to admit his flaws and leave himself vulnerable to Hyde. Despite his vicious nature, there's no fun beating someone who's already down. People who harm a child is even scummier than anything he would do. He massages his wrist when the handcuffs are finally removed, letting Dojima deal with the other set of cuffs without a fuss.]

Did you catch the real culprit in the end?

...Heh.

[ Again, that rueful laugh, but it was obviously self deprecating, as he undid Hyde's leg cuffs. ]

I didn't. My nephew and his friends did.

[ Taking back the cuffs, he sat back on the ground, staring up at the sky. ]

The culprit killed two women through a means that shouldn't have been possible in my world- before starting his 'game'. He manipulated the man who I thought was my daughter's killer into doing his dirty work, with a lie that he was 'saving' the people being targeted. They managed to figure out how he did it all--

And you want to know the best part?

[ Dojima glanced over to Hyde, his eyes again showing weariness that wasn't all physical. Even after the dream-- maybe especially after-- he held onto that guilt for not putting two and two together. ]

...The murderer was my junior partner. Right under my nose, for nearly a year. Two women dead, another man dead from a copy cat crime... and I couldn't save anyone. The victims, my nephew and his friends from getting pulled into the mess, my daughter from being kidnapped and brought to the brink of death... or Adachi from himself.

[ Dojima shrugged, his eyes turning back up at the sky. ]

So. Like I told you from the start... I'm no hero.

[At last, he can finally sit up. He stretches a few times, still listening to Dojima tell his tale. When he got to the best part, he couldn't help but chuckle. The classic "it was your best friend/partner all along" plot twist. The best kind.]

Boy you really messed up, even got your own case stolen from underneath you. [He moves to stand, stretching a bit more before considering what to do, if anything, with Dojima.] Is that why you're constantly on my case? Besides the whole "stop making a mess" part. Think you'll feel all better, if you "help" me?

[ Hm. Well, he shouldn't expect anything but confirmation of what he already knew from Hyde. At the man's question, Dojima glanced back at him. ]

... Maybe. I'm not sure, if I'm honest... other than I don't want to just give up on you and write you off.

[ Dojima got up too, dusting himself off. ]

You deserve that much at least.

[He just stares at the detective with suspicion and confusion. Did he really mean any of that? He can't be too sure, eventhough the man seem to be genuine about his words all night. Maybe he's just saying all that, because that's what he thinks he wants to hear.

So he just laughs warily, giving Dojima headpats. They're not comfortable headpats, but they're still pretty damn gentle coming from someone like Hyde.] You're a strange old man.

[He hasn't attacked the old man, so that's something. But even as he gives a casual headpat, his stiff posture was telling he still had his guard up.] I considered giving you a little present after you cut my hand, but all that talking has tired me out. And a deals a deal. [He steps back, not making any further attempts on Dojima's life, for now.]

And be happy your daughter is still alive. Not everything's a complete downer.

Mm. I get that a lot.

[ He was weird to still keep trying to reach out to Adachi even after the horrible things he'd done. He was weird to not want to move up the ranks in terms of Authority at the precinct, preferring to be a plain clothed detective on the beat. He was weird to be a single father raising a little girl in a town stuck in the past. He was weird for not instantly writing off Kanji as just a delinquent with no future, even if he wasn't able to reach out to the kid the way he wish he could have. Even Na--Kimishima thought he was an odd one. ]

[ But he couldn't be any other way. The head pats are... awkward, but Dojima doesn't flinch away. Is Kazuma going to be this tall when he comes back out? ]

...I appreciate it, Hyde. And... I am happy. It's because of her that I'm here.

[ Glancing up at the night sky, Dojima couldn't help a small, warm smile, before he glanced back at Hyde. ]

You... have a good night. I'll see you around.

[ Hopefully, this time... he could really help Hyde, Kazuma out before things went too far. ]

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