[At least one soldier, Kronk 3, seems to stop what he's doing in the distance to narrow his eyes and think about that. Hm. Did they?? Oh man. Wow. He knew they shouldn't have let Kronk 1 take front desk watch tonight...
The two nearest to him definitely pause for a second because NOW IT'S A HOSTAGE SITUATION. Their blades are still out and raised, but they don't approach any further for now. A few other soldiers are dashing over, some pausing like "HUH???" as they see what's going on while others rush toward the building, presumably to try finding literally anything that they can use to put this fire out. They are so hopeful. Foolish.
Finally, one of the armed soldiers facing him speaks, terse and wary:]
Don't do anything rash. [THE AUDACITY.] What is it that you want?
[ He will remember this betrayal, Kronk 1. Kronk 1 really is the main villain of this CYOA.
Anyway Aikawa just readjusts his hold on the guy and the knife, looking sharp and tense. As long as they believe it, it counts. ]
I just got lost and was passing through. I just want you guys to let me pass without issue and I won't cause any more trouble for you, okay...?
My proof that I'm not trouble is that I haven't killed any of you guys this whole time when I totally could have, even by accident. And I won't, as long as I don't have to.
[Kronk 1 how could you do this to a GOOD MAN!! He's still bleeding on the floor in the barracks probably, as Kronk 2 administers first aid and curses their lack of decent staff.
Anyway this guy is 7 feet tall and vast, he doesn't need any intimidation checks. These regular-degular sized soldiers with their swords don't look like they're about to risk anything with their comrade being held hostage...
The same guard looks between his other comrades before leveling his stare back toward Aikawa. LIKE. HE MADE A GOOD POINT, even if it's clear that this guy doesn't believe he was simply lost or passing through. He considers for a moment.]
...Stand back. [Said to the other men, who are generally too frazzled and also worried about this FIRE to put up much of a fuss. Then, to Aikawa:] Leave him by the fence and go on your way. You have my word that you won't be attacked.
He'll back away slowly towards the fence, and slowly set the guy down on the dirt...
And also then keep backing away into the woods warily before making a break for it -- sort of. He's gonna make it look like he dashed off deep into the woods but he's gonna like, turn a corner behind a tree and wait, listening in, provided he is in fact not followed. ]
[Aikawa moves to set the guy down and starts backing away... But as soon as he gets a few feet deep into the woods, this little rat bastard here is like:]
—Arrest that man!!
[SO MUCH FOR HONOR AMONG SAMURAI damn. Aikawa will be able to hear the sound of feet starting to come after him again, except... at that moment, a few things happen.
First, there's an incredibly loud POW! coming from somewhere up above. Remember that Chassepot rifle up in the fire? Yeah! Whoever irresponsibly left it up there with their lunch also irresponsibly left it loaded. It's a shitty gun and it basically explodes in the intense heat, sending a shower of hot shrapnel down upon the men below. The bullet that had been inside goes whizzing out into hell. Maybe it will hit Aikawa too, who knows, the world is full of surprises.
Next, the bird's nest of the guard tower basically collapses under its own weight as the fire eats through it. Half goes splintering out onto the grounds, the wind carrying snatches of light-weight embers right up against the side of the barracks. Which are also wood. Which also promptly begin to smoulder, outside of the attention of the guards who are all focused on the watchtower. The other half tips toward the field of dirt, catching part of the fence on fire. This is how Kyoto burned down like 500 times.
...Well! No one's thinking about pursuing Aikawa now, at least!]
[ What do I even do with a 9, I guess he can get a little grazed by bullet when he hid behind that tree. Which sucks but, he's still got adrenaline going for him. The pain will kick in later and he'll just mope about it, but not right now. ]
Dicks.
[ Muttered under his breath as soon as he hears them yell. He kinda expected it but he can still complain about it, and was ready to flee deeper into the woods before the EXPLOSION happens instead.
HOWEVER THIS IS NOT GUCCI FOR HIM BECAUSE HE WANTED TO GO LOOK AT THAT FIELD OF DIRT, GODDAMN. Why is his life LIKE THIS. He'll squint and glance in the fire at least to try to see what the men are gonna do...
While he's here, he's also actually going to dig out that piece of paper again from earlier to review what was on it, and additionally, check the map he nicked while at it. What he see... ]
[The men are all thoroughly occupied with the fire for the time being! Fortunately the wood is wet which means it's not going up like a literal Looney Tunes cartoon, but the rain is weak enough at this point that it's not doing a whole lot to help with the parts that have already caught. Which now includes the barracks. To be fair, The Kronk Collective probably deserves this, karmically speaking.
As Aikawa looks over the paper, he'll see that it appears to be a map of that exact dirt field that he'd been wanting to get a closer look at! Even though he can only see as much of the field as the fire illuminates, he'll now have a decent idea of the layout of it.
It also has about twenty different locations marked on it. Each has a name, a date, and a number written beside it. There are plenty of names with the prefix of Captain or General, but only two with "commander". There's a Commander Kondo Isami of the Shinsengumi, and a Commander Risu of the Crosseyes Gang. Both are in relatively close proximity to one another, east from the watchtower and near the fence on the opposite side from where Aikawa and the barracks currently are.
Oh yeah. The map is titled Itabashi Execution Grounds.]
[ Oh hey I thought about moving / buying an apartment in Itabashi. Anyway thanks he's looking. ]
What the fuck.
[ This map is a lot more specific than he thought it'd be, he really had hoped it would point him towards Tama. He reads stuff about Kondo Isami and he remembers something about a memshare and -- ]
Aw, shit.
[ Alright, he gets the gist now. For better or worse. He does frown when he reads stuff about Risu, though, and laughs weakly to himself since nobody's watching. ]
Who died and made you commander, asshole...?
[ Ignoring the fact that it's a tad miserable. Double ignoring the irony that the one who would have to die so that he becomes commander is in fact, himself, which he did. But fine -- alright. Putting the map into his pocket so that he can pull it out as necessary, he'll go for whichever one is closer to him right now, even if he has to take a slight path around to make sure one of the Kronks don't see him and start this whole goose chase all over again. He's got a broken sword and a shovel!! Hopefully the shovel will see use soon. ]
[oh that's so funny KONDO'S EXECUTION SITE, IT'S WAITING!!
But yeah!! No Tama for sweet Aikawa, but he does at least have the information he needs about the supposed body he's gotta go dig up.
Anyway of course it's sweet Risu that's closer. The Kronks don't seem to notice him as they busy themselves with putting out the smouldering remains of their guard tower and ensuring the barracks and fence don't join it. They do have several guards posted around said fence, but it's the opposite side from where Aikawa is heading.
Once he safely gets to the other side with his broken sword and shovel, he'll find that the fence on the east side has already been breached, somewhat. Some of the wires have been cut, though uh. Probably not to the size Aikawa will need them to be in order to comfortably fit through. As he gets closer to the fence, he'll also notice that the smell of decay and blood increases exponentially. Once he's up against it, he'll be able to see mounds of dirt all along the back area. Outside of the yelling of the soldiers on the other side and the buzz of flies and drizzle of rain, it's quiet out here.]
[ Ugh... he wrinkles his nose, but this is not a new scent to him, so he can bear with it. Does this fence look like something he can scale? If he can hop over them better then he will, but otherwise, he'll grab part of the wire and pull on it in an effort to make the gap wider.
Either path, he'll walk up to the area in question... what's it look like over here? ]
[The fence is pretty high up, but he's a pretty tall guy, so he could feasibly shimmy his way up one of the supporting poles and hop on over. It's a bit of a drop, but the ground is soft from the rain and also probably the fact that this dirt gets turned a lot. Bodies do be here...
The mounds of dirt correspond with the markings on his map. Each one is about the size you would expect for a corpse (or, like. Most of one? Hm.) There are small wooden markers sticking out near each, which have numbers written on them. It's like a very simplistic, desolate pauper's graveyard.
Outside of the graves and the fence and the forest it butts up against, nothing much seems to be going on over here.]
[ He oofs as he makes his landing. His bruise and his graze and his BACK STAB... which is starting to hurt kinda big time actually. He could try to cauterise it using some of the fire and whatever, but... those guys be ROAMING ABOUT.
Well... he doesn't really want to do this actually, but he sighs. ]
[HIS BACKSTAB... Maybe Kronk 3 was the one who launched that harpoon and he now feels guilty about it since the dude was clearly just trying to escape and definitely not trying to steal the bodies of these fugitives.
Anyway yeah those guys do be roaming about. They seem to have managed to get the fire under control, at least, though they're still battling it for custody of their fence. They have lost the battle for their watchtower... Tragic.
But! Aikawa a-digs! The dirt is mercifully still soft, and maybe that corresponds with the number on this person's piece of wood: 1. It looks like the grave isn't that old. Maybe a day or so at most.
He doesn't even have to dig six feet down because these are people who have no respect given to them! After digging about three and a half feet, Aikawa's shovel will hit something that's firmer and more solid than dirt, but still pretty soft.]
[ Well I guess Kronk 3 has a reason to go back on that and justify his stabbing of a random supposedly-civilian whenever he comes around and sees some dug up graves. That being said that's actually somewhat nice of them to actually bury these bodies, Aikawa would have expected them to be thrown into a hole or burned or something... because that's what the Hole Militia did once upon a time. It was a whole thing.
And STOP HE WAS TRYING NOT TO HIT BODY but he is not very practiced at digging graves. That being said, now that that's happened, he'll drop the shovel and start using his hands. Alright, let's see this body, hopefully not too rotten or creepily rigid post-mortem... ]
[Kronk 3 will just stare into the middle distance and maybe consider quitting his job, perhaps with Kronk 2, as neither of them get paid enough for this.
Anyway as i aki stare at this sentence going WHAT for the 50th time about this wholeass canon, Aikawa HITS THE BODY BUT LIKE LIGHTLY it's fine. He can use his hands to clear the dirt away! The body is:
1) Wearing very familiar clothing on a very familiar frame; it's definitely Risu, in the outfit that comes to mind first when Aikawa thinks of him. 2) In a surprisingly good state for having been in the ground for probably about a day, and likely dead for longer than that. Actually, it's a little uncanny? Though any of the exposed flesh is cool to the touch, it still has the sort of softness that a regular, living person would have. The limbs don't seem to be locked up, either. It's like it could just get up and start moving again, with the exception of its neck. Oh, yeah-- 3) It's missing its head.
Despite how lifelike it looks, it does reek to the high heavens, though. As soon as it's unearthed, the stench of putrification wafts from it, and especially from its neck, which appears to be the only part of the body that's festering.]
[ IN OUR EDO PERIOD JAPAN, HERE IS A CORPSE WEARING A SLEEVELESS JUMPSUIT WITH HUGE METAL STAKES ON ITS ARMS/LEGS... you idiot Risu how could you die like that. ]
Ugh --
[ Go figure it'd be like this. HIS HEADLESS RISU TRAUMA BABY!! His head pounds, flashes of memory of a rotten body bag, inside of it a headless body of a giant. He immediately goes a little pale and starts sweating, the back of his head screaming panic because someone -- someone has seen this before, and it's his own fucking fault, he deserves to suffer -- ]
Shut up...!
[ But not now. He smacks himself in the head with the ball of his palm, trying to focus. Breathing slow, even if it's rancid, sickening air.
Curse isn't here with him. Right now, it's not the corpse of a target, and it's not Curse. It's his best goddamn friend. Wiping his face with the sleeve of his fancy outfit, he looks down at Risu's body and wheezes out a faint breath... and then focuses on Kondo's grave next. He has to probably take them to Tama, he wagers...? But there's no way he'll be able to take both of those with him.
He puts the thought aside for now. Focus on the task. ]
[everyone as they execute this guy, averting their eyes: fashion gets kind of weird huh......
But here's your headless horseman!! Wowee. Risu's body remains in its grave as Aikawa heads over to Kondo's. There's a similar marker here: the number 1, set at the foot of the dirt mound. If he digs, he'll find the dirt similarly soft. If he doesn't stop before about three and a half feet, he'll end up hitting what feels like a second body, though he can probably accurately guess the distance now that he's done some digging.
Presuming Kondo's grave gets the same treatment as Risu's and he paws the dirt off, he'll find:
1) Another headless body! Yeehaw! 2) This one is just wearing a fundoshi, stripping it of any identifiable features by clothing. 3) It's also in the state of decay that one would expect of a body that's been in the ground for a day or so and dead for another couple. The skin is discolored and feels loose in some parts. The limbs are no longer locked up with rigor mortis, moving around fluidly but with the weight of the dead. The dirt and the body both smell like decomposition.
[ Well anyway that's fucking great. Given the nature of CYOAs, he has a feeling he's meant to probably take this body... with him...? But he can't very well just leave Risu's body out here to keep rotting. Sure, it must not be real, it's a figment of imagination, Risu isn't even here now that everyone in the graveyard knows that he's not his hostage... but he just can't, not really. ]
Hell.
[ He's in fucking hell. Well he's just going to have to hoist this dead body up, trusting that it's the correct one since the map labeled it as Kondo Isami. This one feels arguably worse and probably more important to his current objectives, so he will carry this one, even though it sucks to have to. As for Risu... well, he feels kinda bad but he's just gonna grab him by the back of his collar and start taking him with him, back into the woods and off the execution grounds at the least. Risu is actually 70 pounds less than Aikawa.
And from the woods, peeping at the Kronk Squad........... what they do. Can they fuck off so he can keep walking yet? ]
Well! He lugs up Kondo Isami(?)'s body, and while Kondo is quite a large dude in his own canon, he is nowhere near sizeable compared to Aikawa. He'll have no trouble hefting the corpse up, though he will have to worry about the nastiness of its skin slip-slidin' loosely and threatening to tear in places. There's also the matter of the decomposition liquid dripping from its neck, as a leaky corpse do.
Risu's body feels like dead weight despite the fact that it looks to be in such good condition, but Aikawa can drag it easily enough. Away he goes, into the woods! The Kronk Squad do still be buzzing about their burnt hive - though now that he's entered the forest on that side of the burial grounds, if he looks around the foliage a bit, he'll find a large, dark shape leaning up against a tree nearby. There also seems to be something of a footpath in this direction.]
[ HIS NASTINESS IS WHY HE'S HOLDING HIM, he figured if he dragged Isami's body then it's gonna rip up and stuff which he thinks will probably not be very good. Unfortunately unlike in his world, he will not bank on there being someone with healing/regenerative powers, who can completely fix up the most screwed of corpses.
Bleeeeegh. Just because he's kind of used to the stench and viscera of bodies doesn't mean it's actually pleasant. He really, seriously wishes he had his normal mask right now. Pausing to put on the okina mask over his face like that'll help at all (maybe it will in spirit at least), which probably makes him look like an absolutely terrifying thing to anyone who happens to see him (A SEVEN FOOT CREEPY GRINNING GRANDPA WITH TWO HEADLESS CORPSES?) but like whatever.
Between two bodies and his injuries really settling in, he'll be slow, but... it'll do. What be this large dark shape, he'll pause to squint at it hopefully with the illumination of background firelight before moving on. ]
[He's so mindful of this corpse's skin that's just barely holding on... ALSO YEAH WOW. WHAT A HORRORSHOW. Imagine if a kid just appeared out of nowhere and wandered across his path, can you imagine the 1880s version of therapy they'd have to go through.
Anyway, as he takes a look, he'll discover that the dark shape is... a wheelbarrow! It's set up so that it's mostly obscured from view if you were to look into the forest from outside of it, but not so well-hidden that someone in the forest wouldn't see it. Someone's got friends on the other side. It looks big enough to fit a body if it's fetal position'd a bit, but maybe Aikawa can try his luck with some jenga-ing.]
[ Did you mean: internalise it and/or tell it to your children where it will be remembered as a ye olde folk tale of horrors in the woods? Because yes.
Wow thank you, you are being so nice to him. How fortunate for him. He'll put Risu's in it because Risu is bigger. Take a rest on the grass Deadzo Isami while he finagles Risu a bit. He'll probably stick out of it a little bit but you know what... you know what... it's fine...
And then once again, he'll just have to sorta jenga this bullshit, maybe lowkey use the obi to tie Kondo's body to him so he can better use his hands for this wheelbarrow, god help him. He starts astral projecting a little bit in the midst of this at how much effort he's putting into this and he doesn't even know what's gonna happen in Tama.
He unfortunately successfully manages to jenga this whole situation out! And down the footpath he goes... It's probably a little rocky with the footing considering it's still drizzling and the ground is wet, but as far as footpaths go, this one is decently cleared out. Almost like someone or something came to clear it out ahead of time!
The rain continues to lessen as the storm sweeps along its course, until the drizzle dries up and stops. As he keeps moving, he'll eventually come to a point where the footpath starts to widen. Ahead of him, he'll pick up on the sounds of moving water. To his left, he'll spot what appears to be the start of another, thinner path, leading left and into the foliage.]
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The two nearest to him definitely pause for a second because NOW IT'S A HOSTAGE SITUATION. Their blades are still out and raised, but they don't approach any further for now. A few other soldiers are dashing over, some pausing like "HUH???" as they see what's going on while others rush toward the building, presumably to try finding literally anything that they can use to put this fire out. They are so hopeful. Foolish.
Finally, one of the armed soldiers facing him speaks, terse and wary:]
Don't do anything rash. [THE AUDACITY.] What is it that you want?
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Anyway Aikawa just readjusts his hold on the guy and the knife, looking sharp and tense. As long as they believe it, it counts. ]
I just got lost and was passing through. I just want you guys to let me pass without issue and I won't cause any more trouble for you, okay...?
My proof that I'm not trouble is that I haven't killed any of you guys this whole time when I totally could have, even by accident. And I won't, as long as I don't have to.
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Anyway this guy is 7 feet tall and vast, he doesn't need any intimidation checks. These regular-degular sized soldiers with their swords don't look like they're about to risk anything with their comrade being held hostage...
The same guard looks between his other comrades before leveling his stare back toward Aikawa. LIKE. HE MADE A GOOD POINT, even if it's clear that this guy doesn't believe he was simply lost or passing through. He considers for a moment.]
...Stand back. [Said to the other men, who are generally too frazzled and also worried about this FIRE to put up much of a fuss. Then, to Aikawa:] Leave him by the fence and go on your way. You have my word that you won't be attacked.
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He'll back away slowly towards the fence, and slowly set the guy down on the dirt...
And also then keep backing away into the woods warily before making a break for it -- sort of. He's gonna make it look like he dashed off deep into the woods but he's gonna like, turn a corner behind a tree and wait, listening in, provided he is in fact not followed. ]
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—Arrest that man!!
[SO MUCH FOR HONOR AMONG SAMURAI damn. Aikawa will be able to hear the sound of feet starting to come after him again, except... at that moment, a few things happen.
First, there's an incredibly loud POW! coming from somewhere up above. Remember that Chassepot rifle up in the fire? Yeah! Whoever irresponsibly left it up there with their lunch also irresponsibly left it loaded. It's a shitty gun and it basically explodes in the intense heat, sending a shower of hot shrapnel down upon the men below. The bullet that had been inside goes whizzing out into hell. Maybe it will hit Aikawa too, who knows, the world is full of surprises.
Next, the bird's nest of the guard tower basically collapses under its own weight as the fire eats through it. Half goes splintering out onto the grounds, the wind carrying snatches of light-weight embers right up against the side of the barracks. Which are also wood. Which also promptly begin to smoulder, outside of the attention of the guards who are all focused on the watchtower. The other half tips toward the field of dirt, catching part of the fence on fire. This is how Kyoto burned down like 500 times.
...Well! No one's thinking about pursuing Aikawa now, at least!]
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Dicks.
[ Muttered under his breath as soon as he hears them yell. He kinda expected it but he can still complain about it, and was ready to flee deeper into the woods before the EXPLOSION happens instead.
HOWEVER THIS IS NOT GUCCI FOR HIM BECAUSE HE WANTED TO GO LOOK AT THAT FIELD OF DIRT, GODDAMN. Why is his life LIKE THIS. He'll squint and glance in the fire at least to try to see what the men are gonna do...
While he's here, he's also actually going to dig out that piece of paper again from earlier to review what was on it, and additionally, check the map he nicked while at it. What he see... ]
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As Aikawa looks over the paper, he'll see that it appears to be a map of that exact dirt field that he'd been wanting to get a closer look at! Even though he can only see as much of the field as the fire illuminates, he'll now have a decent idea of the layout of it.
It also has about twenty different locations marked on it. Each has a name, a date, and a number written beside it. There are plenty of names with the prefix of Captain or General, but only two with "commander". There's a Commander Kondo Isami of the Shinsengumi, and a Commander Risu of the Crosseyes Gang. Both are in relatively close proximity to one another, east from the watchtower and near the fence on the opposite side from where Aikawa and the barracks currently are.
Oh yeah. The map is titled Itabashi Execution Grounds.]
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What the fuck.
[ This map is a lot more specific than he thought it'd be, he really had hoped it would point him towards Tama. He reads stuff about Kondo Isami and he remembers something about a memshare and -- ]
Aw, shit.
[ Alright, he gets the gist now. For better or worse. He does frown when he reads stuff about Risu, though, and laughs weakly to himself since nobody's watching. ]
Who died and made you commander, asshole...?
[ Ignoring the fact that it's a tad miserable. Double ignoring the irony that the one who would have to die so that he becomes commander is in fact, himself, which he did. But fine -- alright. Putting the map into his pocket so that he can pull it out as necessary, he'll go for whichever one is closer to him right now, even if he has to take a slight path around to make sure one of the Kronks don't see him and start this whole goose chase all over again. He's got a broken sword and a shovel!! Hopefully the shovel will see use soon. ]
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But yeah!! No Tama for sweet Aikawa, but he does at least have the information he needs about the supposed body he's gotta go dig up.
Anyway of course it's sweet Risu that's closer. The Kronks don't seem to notice him as they busy themselves with putting out the smouldering remains of their guard tower and ensuring the barracks and fence don't join it. They do have several guards posted around said fence, but it's the opposite side from where Aikawa is heading.
Once he safely gets to the other side with his broken sword and shovel, he'll find that the fence on the east side has already been breached, somewhat. Some of the wires have been cut, though uh. Probably not to the size Aikawa will need them to be in order to comfortably fit through. As he gets closer to the fence, he'll also notice that the smell of decay and blood increases exponentially. Once he's up against it, he'll be able to see mounds of dirt all along the back area. Outside of the yelling of the soldiers on the other side and the buzz of flies and drizzle of rain, it's quiet out here.]
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Either path, he'll walk up to the area in question... what's it look like over here? ]
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The mounds of dirt correspond with the markings on his map. Each one is about the size you would expect for a corpse (or, like. Most of one? Hm.) There are small wooden markers sticking out near each, which have numbers written on them. It's like a very simplistic, desolate pauper's graveyard.
Outside of the graves and the fence and the forest it butts up against, nothing much seems to be going on over here.]
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Well... he doesn't really want to do this actually, but he sighs. ]
Don't curse me again, okay?...
[ And a-digging he'll go... ]
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Anyway yeah those guys do be roaming about. They seem to have managed to get the fire under control, at least, though they're still battling it for custody of their fence. They have lost the battle for their watchtower... Tragic.
But! Aikawa a-digs! The dirt is mercifully still soft, and maybe that corresponds with the number on this person's piece of wood: 1. It looks like the grave isn't that old. Maybe a day or so at most.
He doesn't even have to dig six feet down because these are people who have no respect given to them! After digging about three and a half feet, Aikawa's shovel will hit something that's firmer and more solid than dirt, but still pretty soft.]
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And STOP HE WAS TRYING NOT TO HIT BODY but he is not very practiced at digging graves. That being said, now that that's happened, he'll drop the shovel and start using his hands. Alright, let's see this body, hopefully not too rotten or creepily rigid post-mortem... ]
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Anyway as i aki stare at this sentence going WHAT for the 50th time about this wholeass canon, Aikawa HITS THE BODY BUT LIKE LIGHTLY it's fine. He can use his hands to clear the dirt away! The body is:
1) Wearing very familiar clothing on a very familiar frame; it's definitely Risu, in the outfit that comes to mind first when Aikawa thinks of him.
2) In a surprisingly good state for having been in the ground for probably about a day, and likely dead for longer than that. Actually, it's a little uncanny? Though any of the exposed flesh is cool to the touch, it still has the sort of softness that a regular, living person would have. The limbs don't seem to be locked up, either. It's like it could just get up and start moving again, with the exception of its neck. Oh, yeah--
3) It's missing its head.
Despite how lifelike it looks, it does reek to the high heavens, though. As soon as it's unearthed, the stench of putrification wafts from it, and especially from its neck, which appears to be the only part of the body that's festering.]
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Ugh --
[ Go figure it'd be like this. HIS HEADLESS RISU TRAUMA BABY!! His head pounds, flashes of memory of a rotten body bag, inside of it a headless body of a giant. He immediately goes a little pale and starts sweating, the back of his head screaming panic because someone -- someone has seen this before, and it's his own fucking fault, he deserves to suffer -- ]
Shut up...!
[ But not now. He smacks himself in the head with the ball of his palm, trying to focus. Breathing slow, even if it's rancid, sickening air.
Curse isn't here with him. Right now, it's not the corpse of a target, and it's not Curse. It's his best goddamn friend. Wiping his face with the sleeve of his fancy outfit, he looks down at Risu's body and wheezes out a faint breath... and then focuses on Kondo's grave next. He has to probably take them to Tama, he wagers...? But there's no way he'll be able to take both of those with him.
He puts the thought aside for now. Focus on the task. ]
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But here's your headless horseman!! Wowee. Risu's body remains in its grave as Aikawa heads over to Kondo's. There's a similar marker here: the number 1, set at the foot of the dirt mound. If he digs, he'll find the dirt similarly soft. If he doesn't stop before about three and a half feet, he'll end up hitting what feels like a second body, though he can probably accurately guess the distance now that he's done some digging.
Presuming Kondo's grave gets the same treatment as Risu's and he paws the dirt off, he'll find:
1) Another headless body! Yeehaw!
2) This one is just wearing a fundoshi, stripping it of any identifiable features by clothing.
3) It's also in the state of decay that one would expect of a body that's been in the ground for a day or so and dead for another couple. The skin is discolored and feels loose in some parts. The limbs are no longer locked up with rigor mortis, moving around fluidly but with the weight of the dead. The dirt and the body both smell like decomposition.
Now he's got... two bodies! Ha ha ha!]
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The fundoshi is there so like not entirely but. Functionally, yeah! That's a naked rotting body in the ground. Maybe he should try to loot it.]
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Hell.
[ He's in fucking hell. Well he's just going to have to hoist this dead body up, trusting that it's the correct one since the map labeled it as Kondo Isami. This one feels arguably worse and probably more important to his current objectives, so he will carry this one, even though it sucks to have to. As for Risu... well, he feels kinda bad but he's just gonna grab him by the back of his collar and start taking him with him, back into the woods and off the execution grounds at the least. Risu is actually 70 pounds less than Aikawa.
And from the woods, peeping at the Kronk Squad........... what they do. Can they fuck off so he can keep walking yet? ]
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Well! He lugs up Kondo Isami(?)'s body, and while Kondo is quite a large dude in his own canon, he is nowhere near sizeable compared to Aikawa. He'll have no trouble hefting the corpse up, though he will have to worry about the nastiness of its skin slip-slidin' loosely and threatening to tear in places. There's also the matter of the decomposition liquid dripping from its neck, as a leaky corpse do.
Risu's body feels like dead weight despite the fact that it looks to be in such good condition, but Aikawa can drag it easily enough. Away he goes, into the woods! The Kronk Squad do still be buzzing about their burnt hive - though now that he's entered the forest on that side of the burial grounds, if he looks around the foliage a bit, he'll find a large, dark shape leaning up against a tree nearby. There also seems to be something of a footpath in this direction.]
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Bleeeeegh. Just because he's kind of used to the stench and viscera of bodies doesn't mean it's actually pleasant. He really, seriously wishes he had his normal mask right now. Pausing to put on the okina mask over his face like that'll help at all (maybe it will in spirit at least), which probably makes him look like an absolutely terrifying thing to anyone who happens to see him (A SEVEN FOOT CREEPY GRINNING GRANDPA WITH TWO HEADLESS CORPSES?) but like whatever.
Between two bodies and his injuries really settling in, he'll be slow, but... it'll do. What be this large dark shape, he'll pause to squint at it hopefully with the illumination of background firelight before moving on. ]
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Anyway, as he takes a look, he'll discover that the dark shape is... a wheelbarrow! It's set up so that it's mostly obscured from view if you were to look into the forest from outside of it, but not so well-hidden that someone in the forest wouldn't see it. Someone's got friends on the other side. It looks big enough to fit a body if it's fetal position'd a bit, but maybe Aikawa can try his luck with some jenga-ing.]
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Wow thank you, you are being so nice to him. How fortunate for him. He'll put Risu's in it because Risu is bigger. Take a rest on the grass Deadzo Isami while he finagles Risu a bit. He'll probably stick out of it a little bit but you know what... you know what... it's fine...
And then once again, he'll just have to sorta jenga this bullshit, maybe lowkey use the obi to tie Kondo's body to him so he can better use his hands for this wheelbarrow, god help him. He starts astral projecting a little bit in the midst of this at how much effort he's putting into this and he doesn't even know what's gonna happen in Tama.
Okay. Down the footpath!! ]
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He unfortunately successfully manages to jenga this whole situation out! And down the footpath he goes... It's probably a little rocky with the footing considering it's still drizzling and the ground is wet, but as far as footpaths go, this one is decently cleared out. Almost like someone or something came to clear it out ahead of time!
The rain continues to lessen as the storm sweeps along its course, until the drizzle dries up and stops. As he keeps moving, he'll eventually come to a point where the footpath starts to widen. Ahead of him, he'll pick up on the sounds of moving water. To his left, he'll spot what appears to be the start of another, thinner path, leading left and into the foliage.]
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