He refuses to eat. He refuses to communicate. He refuses to have his blood-splattered clothing laundered. He refuses to do anything other than sketch vivid and grotesque picture of individuals being torn apart limb from limb, flesh and sinew separating from bone, bodies reduced to unidentifiable chunks of meat.
"I saw them... white shirts, grey shirts... seasoned or freshly blooded ... their faces, as their skulls were ripped apart ..."
Talking to that guy who still wore the scars of his suffering on his face permanently frozen agape in horror, who was the only one of eight souls to survive the massacre of the travellers... nothing could ever prepared me to face the horror Edwado had just experienced, leaving his psyche shattered and his eyes permanently frozen in a crazed stare.
These wounds... they will not heal... Seriously, would you get anyhere near a person with crazy eyes like those?
"Ehe.... ehehehe... I was so hungry, I couldn't help myself. I licked the bones clean, drank the blood from my lips... the best meal I've ever had..."
Edwado muttered ceaselessly to himself as he unconsciously broke underfoot the plate I'd used to serve him Gensokyo Island's welcoming dishes. He seemed heedless of the pain or the shard of glass sticking out of his foot, until it snagged on the canvas of the tent and pulled itself out. It was safe to say his perception was already in tatters - none of the black cake or fish poop which Okuu's Look-alike had intended to give to him contained any bones whatsoever.
"Hehe... hahaha... Natalia, you won't leave me any more, will you? I'll never wash this shirt again..."
Just being around this guy was really beginning to unsettle me. I reached into that bag which Okuu's Look-alike handed me and tossed out all manner of things to placate him before he set his ravenous eyes upon me. A bar of soap, a wind-up music box, a can of red spray-paint... no, avoid that last one. I chose something more inoffensive, like purple.
"The colour of her hair... wrapping around me, just like I sailed through that mist of her blood ... one last embrace..."
I felt an uncontrollable discomfort rising within me. Dumping what remained of the rucksack outside his tent, I dashed for the hedge encircling the campground - leapt over it even, and crouched in its shadow and was sick until I could be sick no more.
"They will pay... all of them ... Gensokyo Island will pay..."
The first thing Kiba asked, when I got back to the Bunbunmaru Updates office the next morning, was whether I had the 'compromising snaps'. I mean, I did have some photographs, but I most emphatically argued that a permanently traumatised individual who has seen and breathed death, whose mind and perceptions were irreversibly distorted, and who probably harboured a grudge against every living being and the island itself, was probably not the best addition to the roster.
Kiba agreed, shrugging nonchalantly. He didn't seem especially bothered, considering that he now knew the tales of the massacre that was only hinted at but now became apparent as the knowledge of the missing travellers came to light. And of what happened to Toritori...
"Seems like some of the kids made it through," he said, his voice distant and uncaring, as he signalled to a pile of letters gathered on the table next to him.
"And what of Toritori..."I blurted out, accidentally voicing my thoughts.
"Don't be an idiot, rich boy. It's not like she has any reason to write back here. She'd try to get in contact with her parents again, after all," Kiba shot back, cutting me off. "Now get on with those reports, we don't have all day."
A pall of insecurity, muted anger and self-denial had swept over the island following the events of Monday's massacre. Even Okuu's Look-alike, the architect of this plan, was horrified by how disastrously it had turned out. It was hard to accept that anyone had actually died at or around Gensokyo Island, especially when confronted with the undeniable truth of that fact, and all of us could only attempt to distance ourselves from casualties whose faces and attributes were never known by burying ourselves in work and hoping that their fates would eventually drift from the common memory like the wind carrying off a lingering stench.
Not dead, yet: At least two of our travellers have survived Richtown Island and made it off into the wider world. Alive. For now.
Reading the letters, it seems like Yves, the son of Tia Arlert and Tadakichi Mihama, as well as Yuriko, the daughter of Youmu Konpaku and Drake Kitazawa, have not only successfully passed through the time-space distortion to reach Richtown Island, Edwado and the other travellers' former abode, but also survived to travel beyond it to seek their fortunes in the lands beyond. Indeed, in the short space of time since Monday's events, Yves has already visited two different islands, stretching his luck rather thin. How many more of the other eight travellers survived, and where they might be now, remains a mystery.
Our boss, Aya Shameimaru, with her unmatchable speed and ability at news-gathering, might have been the best person to address this dearth in information, but unfortunately she has been occupied of late, outfitting her and her husband Shou Toramaru's sixth child Ryoko to take up one of those newly-vacated spaces at the docks. She seemed mighty chuffed, saying that even Okuu's Look-alike had complimented her on her youngest child and that she'd definitely be a candidate for an invitation to Mii Apartments if it wasn't for Hoshi Toramaru's presence.
No, not actually Australian, just trying to cheer up people's day.
But the truth of this is... I mean, I haven't been on Gensokyo Island for long, but isn't Okuu's Look-alike just repeating the same mistakes, over and over again? I've heard gossip from other islanders suggesting that some families are getting out the baby clothes again now that the crisis has been dealt with, albeit at the cost of the lives of seven innocent foreigners.
How irresponsible could everyone possibly be? Perhaps the scent of Edwado's clothes, streaked with blood and the cold sweat of a near-death experience, combined with his crazed, maniacal stare, could restore some common sense to them. Or perhaps they never had any common sense in the first place.
Ironic considering that one of the individuals planning for a new child happens to be the Judge of the Dead, Shikieiki Yamaxanadu herself, together with her wife Chiyo Mihama. I don't even want to get into the logic of the Eastern mysticism at work here, maybe she considers it an opportunity for the lost souls of Monday's massacre to be reincarnated back into this world. The other coupling in this case being Kyouko Kasodani and her husband Wriggle Nightbug, who are breeding like dogs... and fleas. And dogs with fleas.
For the sake of the continued safety of all these people, I pray that Edwado doesn't find out about their plans. The last thing anyone could want would be more bodies on the sacrificial altar, along with Natalia and the rest. Requiescat in pace.
Where there is death, there is life and rebirth. And game-breaking bugs. I swear I did not kill those kids knowingly.
BUNBUNMARU UPDATES, 12th May 2015
BUNBUNMARU UPDATES, 13th May 2015
Traveller Updates
Yves, son of Tia Arlert and Tadakichi Mihama, wrote back from Streetpass Relay Point Island! He has visited 2 islands so far.
Yuriko, daughter of Youmu Konpaku and Drake Kitazawa, wrote back from Streetpass Relay Point Island! She has visited 2 islands so far.
Children
Ryoko, daughter of Aya Shameimaru and Shou Toramaru, grew up. She was made to leave Gensokyo Island and become a traveller!
Shikieiki Yamaxanadu announced that her wife Chiyo Mihama was pregnant with their eighth child!
Kyouko Kasodani announced that she was pregnant with her and Wriggle Nightbug's ninth child!
No comments:
Post a Comment