hey look, more low quality art
5 Likes
I have become literate, destroyer of basic passages of text
thank you so much nota
7 Likes
Wait whe-
Sike!
Your evil tricks don’t work on me, fiend! You may have felled me once, but this is far from over
Well at least you kept it in a dropdown and not let it take up five minutes of scroll time on this page. And less dropdowns means we won’t run out of stupid references as quickly
I want to throw you out just like my broken TV (bruh imagine throwing out a perfectly edible TV) If you come back once more, it shall be painful, you'll see
Okay okay fine. Why do we need to get so heated man 
I think I am good enough at absolutely roasting myself, and, as for ruining the rest of my life, I’ve already got that covered 
Yes this is a fair point
Unlike Napoleon, I know a losing battle when I see one
50 Guneagle St., New Jersey York, Floridaland, USA
I don’t know, I’m genuinely tweaking right now, Eljay please fix this 
Elders these days don’t know anything about history smh smh 
You should come to Europe to experience what a real McDonald’s is like
Okay, fair enough.
The fact that this is the only typo you’ve been able to find in my post says volumes (haha get it, that’s a BoT reference) about you being washed up 
I’ve definitely made many more in that post
You only addressed the joke part of my statement, but kept quiet about the real deal, which means that the actual theory is correct
Alas, it is true
But also his power was only properly showcased in ch 4. I’ve had suspicions that he was going to have some chess-related power, but didn’t voice them, so it didn’t happen.
Excuse you, I am the one going to the gym, not you
Dead. His mask has burned. If the theory is true, that makes his death even more painfully tragic. He could have been saved at least in mask form had Ren put out the flame on it, but he only stood and watched his friend burn, unaware that he was still alive
Don’t. Cry. I am just a fish
Again, the first part of the chapter is a great look into their day to day life. Even if all the casual stuff is about to come to an abrupt end in the next chapter, it was still a nice addition to the story, and it didn’t overstay its welcome. It was great while it lasted and I am going to have fond memories of it as I am reading the description of Ren’s arm being violently ripped off disguised as a cookbook recipe 
But I can’t be praising this all the way through now, can I
While I loved the tie bit, this particular line just doesn’t feel right at all. A couple chapters ago Race told Ren that she didn’t want to hear him even mention Wild, but now she’s using him for a joke. I am a fan of comedic bits in stories, but not when the bit comes at the expense of the actual story and character
You and your direct callouts again 
Today I am getting entire six hours of sleep
I was fully expecting this to be a setup for a moment where something bad happens to him and he doesn’t show up on time, triggering panic mode in our group.
But it looks like something bad is about to happen to him in the next chapter, so… called it, I guess???
Heh
That’s a nice one
I really want to dive into overanalysing each of these names because the kanji they are comprised of have double uses as sets of sounds and entire words, meaning that each name has some underlying meaning hidden inside, but I am incredibly underqualified for the job, so there’s nothing we can do. I’ll stick to trying to comprehend why the character named Rook has the powers of a rook from the hit mobile game “chess”
Called out again
My family does not have a history of bad hairlines 
I was wondering who was going to get named the wrong thing first, would it be Ren being called Renner or Corey being called Dolphus. I didn’t need to wait for long to find out the answer
I think Ren is in the wrong on this one tbh. How can Tone’s hairline be receding if all his hair burned off in the explosion?
I wonder why bro got so mad
Okay he deserves to be shoved in a fish mascot suit
Tone honest reaction to this statement
This is huge!!! She said the thing! 
I am sure this is not going to come up in the future in any capacity whatsoever
Let’s goooo, my actual real favourite character, John “Baba Yaga” Wick, has just appeared
The prospect of Tone in a fish costume potentially fighting this guy is incredibly exciting, I can’t wait till next chapter
One more Cordax rendition added to the collection. Very nice
Now I really wanna draw something based on the book as well
The lack of a fave on that post is telling me otherwise
As someone who lacks basic writing skills, I can sense a fellow illiterate person from the other side of the planet
9 Likes
are you happy now
somebody once told me the ghid was gonna troll me
why is tone able to go on runs in the morning if he can’t be seen with his mask stuck to his face hmmmm
mood
if this is true then how could tone have driven to check on corey after the fire hmmmm
good chapter; a little less interesting than the last few but I like seeing what tone and race do throughout the day
also that ending 
do it do it do it
that’s it you’re getting banished to the shadow realm
@atobe_brick post in togav
ALSO I have a big new theory
the name ren may or may not have something to do with the renegade masks
no clue what yet but I have to at least say it in case it turns out to be correct
6 Likes
mom can we have BOD soyjak pointing? No we have BOD soyjak pointing at home
Aight expect some edits with some theories
7 Likes
–
Chapter Six
Near The Knuckle
–
“He works where?”
“There.” A gloved finger touched the map. “Employee exit directly aside. Alarms and security cameras were disabled before we drove in. One shot, arm locks on the exit as we depart.”
One of the figures turned towards the darkened window, eyeing the line of trees which flanked the edge of the loading area behind the building. “I don’t see him back there. Where did you put him?”
“Behind the dumpster.”
The van was started, silently humming as it waited to move. “Nobody’s followed from the road after ten minutes, so our designated wait time is up. Let’s move.”
The driver could barely move his hand to the shifter before a large rectangular object shattered the windshield, its pointed end cracking the sternum of its primary occupant. The rest of the men inside immediately drew their guns and tried to exit, but a buzzing sound preceded the doors abruptly locking.
As the front passenger reached across his agonized comrade to manually unlock the doors, the silhouette of a fish mascot in the middle of a flying kick towards the vehicle was visible among the many cracks in the glass.
–
“What do you mean, he hates it?”
Ren had tried to hide the smile in his voice, but it broke out across his lips and he turned away with a quick tuck of his head as his shoulders drew together, half-expecting Kohaku to sling another handful of loose ice at his head. After several seconds of silence, he turned towards and immediately ducked away from Kohaku, standing with one hand on her hip, directly next to him, with a fish tail extended as high as her other hand could reach.
“Okay, cool it.” Fred’s voice lost its amusement and descended into a stern tone as the crab Ren had been cracking tumbled off the counter, but raised his eyebrows in return as Ren wrapped back around and caught it before it touched the floor. “Well. Remind me to sign you up for the baseball team.”
“No thanks.” Ren smiled, setting the crab back down on the counter as Kohaku stuck her tongue out at him while leaving. “I’m not really into that kind of attention, with thousands of fans and stuff. I prefer to keep to myself.”
“Yeah, your car attests to that.” Kohaku sneered. “Is that what student loans do to a person? Ruin your automotive taste, and who knows what other tastes as well?”
“He dropped out though, I’m certain.” Fred interjected.
“C’mon, not all my tastes are that bad.” Ren laid the crab legs out in decorative fashion and closed the sliding glass wall of the display, chucking the crab’s body in a round plastic bin full of crab bodies. “Honestly, name a single other taste I have that’s in any way bad.”
“Friends, for one.” Kohaku retorted, earning a single eyebrow raise from Ren and a concerned look from Fred. “Anyone as built as he is not pressuring you into working just as hard isn’t a very good friend at all.”
“What’s wrong? I thought you liked that ugly fish mascot.”
Fred’s concerned expression melted into amusement as the rather blunt attempt from Kohaku to pinch a nerve or two lead to Ren turning away with a massive grin as she spilled into a massive tirade about the company mascot. “And Gyoryu-tomo ISN’T UGLY!! I won that contest to design the mascot, ME!! And the final design is the most adorable thing ever and I’m pretty sure I hate you now!!”
“Since she likes to run her mouth with this, she can also run the trash out at the same time.” Fred chuckled, grabbing the rolling garbage bin and reeling back to roll it to Kohaku, but pausing as the sound system in the store crackled. A message was relayed in Japanese, and it returned to the same migraine-inducing songs that consistently played all day long.
“Fred?” Ren glanced over, trying to keep as casual an attitude as possible to prevent his knowing something was up from showing through. “What’d they say?”
Fred’s eyes scanned the ceiling. “They called for Tooru to come to the security room… But Tooru’s the repair guy. There’s no reason they’d call him unless something was really wrong.” He sidled out of one of the exits of the loop. “Run the trash out, Kohaku, I’ll be right back.”
Kohaku watched him leave before sending an elbow into Ren’s arm. “If I only had another fish tail.” She scowled. “Attacking my precious fishy friend is a low blow, Ren.”
“You’re that attached, huh?” Ren smiled back, cracking the leg off another crab without looking at it. Fred seemed to be having an influence on his work. “With all the war crimes he’s committed?”
“You treat him like he’s a monster!” Kohaku hissed, sliding the cart out and towards the employee entrance. “There’s one thing you need to understand, mister I-hate-anything-remotely-cute-and-fun: Gyoryu-tomo is the most perfect angel in the whole world and would never hurt a fly.”
She swung the door open and paused, unable to resume dragging the cart around the open door. Gyoryu-tomo was staring down at her, one eye ripped clean off, his body stretched out horrifically like a wrinkled blanket, numerous tears and gashes visible across his cuddly blue form, and bits of broken glass in various places adding that extra sparkle it would otherwise be needing. A chunk had been taken out of the cheery mouth, revealing a well-shrouded eye inside, although all Kohaku could observe was the small, reflective dent just above his eyebrow, perfectly round and just as resplendent as it had been when it formed just over ten minutes ago.
“I need to drive.” The voice that escaped was Tone’s, but it was haggard and rough, much unlike the somewhat sociable voice Kohaku had heard earlier that day. But perhaps the reason for such a change was the effort he was putting in to sending select tones into Ren’s ear drum, ones only he could hear.
“My keys.” Ren said after an uncomfortably long pause, handing a small ring of keys over to Kohaku with his gloved hand. “Take him wherever he needs to go. Whatever he tells you is the truth, with no reservations. I’ll talk to Fred, just- go, he’ll explain whatever he feels is necessary.”
“Trust me.” Ren cut her off before she could begin. “I know what I’m doing.”
–
“I’m going to trust Ren, that he knows what he’s doing.” Kohaku said, both hands gripping the steering wheel at full arm’s length. Not only was Ren bigger than her, he liked the extra legroom. “I kind of have to, at this point, regardless of whether or not I want to. But there’s no way in the world I’m trusting you for any longer if you don’t start talking about this.”
Tone thought for a moment. “Take a left here.” He adjusted his position in the seat, still dressed in the gaudy fish costume. “I’m gonna need you to pose as a kid’s relative of some kind, with custodial authority. I can fill you on everything you need to know before you get there, and before that I’ll need to make a phone call. But you must understand, I trust you much less than you trust me.”
“So why are we doing this, then?” She challenged.
“Because Ren’s the boss.” Tone replied, his voice still deathly stern. “Because I told him everything important there at the supermarket and he chose to send you instead of going himself. Because things just became extremely dangerous, and Ren’s relying on my plan to avert any further endangerment, which now involves telling you. Although perhaps it’s for the best that you’re here.”
“What? What’s this big, important secret you’re so scared to tell me?” Kohaku’s eyebrows compressed automatically at the first sign of frustration. “What’s going on?”
“A group of thugs met me and shot me in the face just after I spoke to you.” Tone gestured to his face with his finger. “Take a right after the next light. That little street is safer; I jog there all the time. Those thugs were there to eliminate me and Ren, and somehow knew it was me under the costume despite being completely concealed.”
“Wh… What…” Kohaku could barely stammer out, before Tone spoke again.
“I took care of those punks with ease, but this is very serious. Someone must have known who I was to know I got put on the payroll, in order to target me directly. Someone wants to hurt us. Which means Ren and the kid are the weakest and most obvious targets.”
“Why??” Kohaku looked exasperated. “Why does someone want to kill Ren?”
“Because of who we are.” Tone looked directly at Kohaku, his voice growing more and more adrenaline-charged. “What we represent in the eyes of Japan, and of the world. The restless cries of the eternally accountable. The greatest terror the heads of wickedness in this city have ever faced before.”
“The Renegade Masks.” His eye glowed in the sunlight. “The Wild Masks.”
–
“Okay, wrap it up, that’s it for now until the next bulletin.” Fumihito sighed, looking at his watch, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. “Once we get sports out of the way I’m thinking of shuffling your broadcast into the next slot since we’re down an anchor, that work for you?”
“Sure.” Race replied, scrolling through her phone with only the vaguest interest in being alive at that moment. “Whatever works for you, I suppose.”
Fumihito had already left, of course, casually darting about to prepare for the rest of the day. Race had just placed her phone back in her pocket when it suddenly buzzed, alerting her to an incoming call. The ID was simply listed as T, but she knew instantly who it was.
“Work hours, big guy.”
“…Oh.”
“…Yeah, I can get a crew down there right away. No, I understand. There’s only so much one person can do. You’re right, we’ll be safer together. Okay, I’m on it.”
“Boss, I need a crew.” Race strode over to Fumihito, pocketing her phone and gesturing behind her with her thumb. “Possible big scoop just dropped, need to get over there before another station does. I’ll call with the details soon as I can.”
“Uhh,” Fumihito looked around awkwardly, his mind trying to catch up with the rest of the conversation. “Okay, uhm… Yuuto, go get the crew packed in two minutes… Hey, be careful, I don’t know what happened with the-”
“Got it, see you then.” Race abruptly answered and made a beeline for the elevator, taking it down to the parking level. “Uh huh … Well, I guess I can’t question the methods of a reporter as efficient as her … Hey Yuuto, get me a reschedule of the afternoon presentation; we’re gonna be down two anchors today.”
–
“Mr. Corey.” The teacher’s rather gentle voice made it difficult to properly keep the kids in line, but it made her rather endearing, and quickly managed to catch the attention of the young and very distracted Corey. “Your cousin’s here to pick you up.”
“My… cousin.” Corey stared into the opposite wall, trying to figure out what was happening.
“Yes, we received a call from the same gentleman who we contacted about the fire a few days ago?” The teacher nodded as she spoke, purely out of force of habit. “He said your cousin was here, and she had come to pick you up ahead of schedule for-”
“OH!” Corey pretended to have a sudden revelation. “My cousin! Right, I almost forgot!” He rushed over to his backpack and nearly spilled the contents of it as he threw it on. “I’ll go right away! I haven’t seen her since, well-”
“And don’t forget today’s study material.” She smiled, sticking a hefty stack of papers in his backpack and zipping it up, prompting him to scowl in return. “Since you’ll be out the rest of the day I don’t want you missing out on any important info we might cover in class. Now out you go, dear.” The same plaster smile was exhibited as Corey sulked out of the building, the teacher on his right, immediately perking up when his cousin was revealed to be not Race, but a young woman he had never seen before - maybe even younger than Ren.
“Here you are, ma’am, and I apologize for the wait.” The teacher artificially smiled courteously, condensing her frame in response to the sudden and biting cold as her thin fingers tugged at her light attire.
“Ah, uh… Corey, glad to see you again.” Kohaku grinned and shook his hand with both of hers, doing an extremely bad job at hiding her expression of underlying concern - which Corey showed acknowledgement of by staring at her face with his mouth agape and lips parted, his hand limply returning to his side. “Thank you for escorting him out; I’m sure he’s a model student here.”
“He’s- One of the most unique.” The teacher smiled again, her mask doing a slightly worse job now at covering up how rattled she was by the everyday experience of working at that school.
“Well, I hope we get to meet again!” Kohaku grinned even wider, escorting Corey off to the car and stuffing him in the back seat before climbing into the front and driving off.
“Gnaaah. That was extremely itchy.” She complained, rubbing her ear vigorously. “Why didn’t you tell me his name before I walked up there, huh?”
“Slipped my mind.” Tone flatly replied, completely killing the good mood Kohaku was trying to foster with her typical attitude. “It’s not safe to go back to the market yet. We’ll need somewhere we can head to that’s not overly busy, but still with witnesses who can establish our presence.”
“…Tone?” Corey leaned over to look at the burly figure in the passenger seat. “What’s going on? And… why are you dressed as that stupid fish mascot for the place Ren works at?”
“I’m going to sue management for this.” Kohaku sighed, bearing her teeth in a dismayed frown, her brow crumpling in disappointment. “All my month and a half in college has been for nothing if this is what becomes of it.”
–
It wasn’t the getting attacked that bothered him.
It wasn’t how Fred seemed to barely buy his story about his friend having a sudden medical emergency and needing to be rushed off, with the logical conclusion being drawn that anyone with such a potential issue would not have taken the job in the first place leading him to accept the explanation with as much of a sidelong glance as was physically possible.
It wasn’t the sight of Race interviewing multiple people at the supermarket, becoming tied by sight with a whole number of people he now had to work alongside indefinitely. Nor was it having to duck every now and then to avoid the sweeping capture of a news camera, even though Fred revealed his position every time by looking in confusion at him.
It wasn’t even the scowling shells of the heikegani crab, so reminiscent of the face he saw burning away in fury so many nights ago, but the ringing buzz that remained a phantom in his eardrums, reminding him over and over again of what Tone, in his infinite foresight, learned from his would-be assassins before he returned the favor.
They’re after the Demon.
–
8 Likes
Thus begins the war
I hope you die in a FIYAHR (bweeeow, bwa-numm, bweeeow, bwa-numm, bweeeow, bwa-numm, bweeeow, bwa-numm, bweeeow) Hope you get taken apart Hope you get shot and ECKS PIE OHR
Very well
You should come to America to experience what a real hamburger is like
Good, because I did take a shower today and I’m glad it’s being noticed
This really sounds like the copium of someone who likes mcdonald’s
I cannot confirm or deny allegations that Wild went out like MICHAAAAEEEEEELL DON’T LEAVE ME HERE
Stop projecting 
At that point, Race didn’t want to hear Ren bring up Wild’s death like a festering wound yet again, which Ren practically does anyway a few seconds later. It’s not an absence of it being mentioned, but a weariness of having to hear about it yet again.
That’s good to hear 
you’re clearly misreading things, um, I definitely didn’t edit it… read it again.
It’s a receding motion, just all at once
what
if this is you trying to bad to the bone it’s a little 
y’know
I cannot confiirm or deny allegations that Ren is bad to the bone 
- hoodie
- go places where you know you won’t be detected. Poor dude can’t do push-ups or much of anything anymore so this is his only option nowadays
Driven?
He specifically said he can’t when telling Rook no; idk where you get this from
Really hoping to see some other theorizing/feedback from other folks in the story, can’t let NOTaHFfan have all the fun now can we
7 Likes
As I’m trying to read this the page likes to randomly dart up or down.
So…… who out of everyone that has signed been seen so far?
5 Likes
Yay only one chapter behind
3 Likes
This implies that Tone, at some point, wielded a katana and has the skills to do so.
Hang on I gotta make a sprite of that
there we go
4 Likes
Well, would you look at that
From left to right we have: Rook, Ren, Tone, Race and Corey’s drone.
I tried to match their appearances to the way they all showed up in chapter one. It was interesting trying to differentiate their designs, given that they all wear the same suit
I had very little time to draw this, just a couple of hours, so it turned out very rough around the edges, but nobody is going to know if I pretend that this is a deliberate stylistic choice
And there are still so many fun things to draw: the demon mask, Wild when he was still alive, Ren in his daytime work attire, Kohaku and Fred, Corey in a school uniform, Race in her news reporter clothes, Tone in the fish mascot suit…
I am the storm that is apprOOOOOAAAching ProvOOOOOAAking black clouds in isolatiOOOOOn
So, Gyoryu-tomo I mean Tone ended up steamrolling these guys off screen, huh
But it creates a funny reveal when Kohaku goes outside and witnesses him standing here and realising in a heavily battered fish costume, so I’m not even mad
But I wonder what this is about. Who did they put behind the dumpster?
Baseball chapter when?
This is not a question, this is a demand
NOTaHFfan lore reference?
Callout moment
This must have been an excellent silencer, if not a single soul could hear the gunshot, or the ringing of the bullet against the metal of the mask
Heh
I wonder if somebody is leaking info about the group, or if someone on the enemy side has a mask with a power that allows them to detect people in one way or another
I have a suspicion that Tone is greatly overestimating the significance of their little group. There’s definitely bigger fish out there
(No additional comments needed here, we both know what we both know)
Knowing what I know about Japanese educational system, this seems pretty accurate
Okay Ghid, I understood the symbolism of the crab shells resembling Wild’s mask and constantly reminding Ren about him, you did not need to blatantly spell that out
I know I’m terrible at this, not not to such an extent
Okay, so, either Tone found out about the Demon from the thugs, but didn’t have the chance to confront Ren about it, or he knew that Ren was in possession of the Demon mask all along, meaning that my theory about it being a secret Ren keeps from the group is incorrect
I wonder if these people who are after them are related to the various groups that the Wild Masks have been attacking, particularly the one that they tried taking the eyes from on that fateful day
So, overall there’s one thing I’d like to praise in this book so far. It’s how well-researched it seems to be. Writing in a real setting is more challenging than a fictional one, especially if you are not closely familiar with it, and, judging by what I’ve read so far, you’ve clearly done your research
and I helped you with parts of it
It’s going to be The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny all over again, isn’t it
But Cordax I already am in France
12 Likes
this has inspired me
yay more sprites
wild masks video game when
5 Likes
–
Chapter Seven
Closer To Home
–
“The Demon?”
Ren made a fervent hushing motion, dragging Race by the shoulder somewhat away from her very distracted news crew. “Yes. That’s what he was able to get out of them before the last one petered out. The driving into the tree seems to have been rigged by him as well.”
“Everything good, boss?” The boom operator asked, taking the cigarette out of his mouth for a brief moment before returning it. “You want to interview the fish guy too?”
“Shou, I told you not to smoke in here.” Race pressed the base of her wrist against her forehead. “Alright people, let’s call it. Nothing more we can get here, and with enough of a live broadcast that the other stations will be piggybacking off of us for a change. Let’s move out.”
Ren watched as she departed with her crew, the limited amount of customers still in the market returning ever so slowly to their usual pace as they meandered about the store. Ren turned back to the seafood counter, thin enough to walk normally through the small entry point and into the imminent conversation with Fred.
“Kohaku’s okay?” He immediately inquired, barely giving Ren the time to get his gloves back on.
“She should be, yeah.” He sighed, both regretting being that straight-forward about it and dreading what it might mean if she wasn’t. “What else?”
“Later.” Fred replied, turning back to the counter and grabbing a lobster from a crate, slipping it into a glass tank filled with others almost identical to itself. “We’ve got the rest of the day to get through first.”
Ren turned back to the crabs, fully distraught over what had occurred. The safest place he could possibly be is right there… With the side entrance locked, of course.
–
“What’s the point of it, then?”
Tone sat on the bench with his legs swung out, his arms over the back, visually about ready to die at any given moment, while the normally bombastic Kohaku sat with her knees impossibly close together, her elbows against her side. Neither of them looked at each other, instead both staring across the lake at the massive flock of ducks which combed the edges, looking for anything remotely edible.
And, of course, Tone was still wearing that ruined fish costume. Disgruntled or not, it still technically hid his identity.
“Him.” Tone responded, his eyes moving down to look at Corey, happily tearing pieces of bread and tossing it in the general direction of the ducks. “Wild thought it would be within our best interests if we expanded our organization whenever someone with capabilities to offer turned up.”
“And little Corey needed an awful lot of help, too.” He sighed, watching him with a weary air. “From his death onward, we’ve focused our efforts on not just flashy shows of power, but real, devastating blows to the infrastructure of the criminal empires making everyone’s lives worse. In the past, we’d return gestures of arrogance with humbling responses on the same scale; they’ve tried to hit at us before, but never to such an incredible and efficient extent.”
“What will you do now?” Kohaku asked, her voice unusually small.
“Right now, I…” Tone looked across the lake, the suddenly straightened. Jumping off the bench, he bolted down to the edge of the lake and dove, shoving Corey with all his strength into the water, causing the entire flock of ducks to panic and rise.
“WHAT WAS THAT FOR??” Corey coughed as he surfaced, spitting out water. “I WAS JUST-”
“Dive! Reeds!” Tone snapped urgently, getting off his stomach and scrambling towards Kohaku. “Run! Move! NOW!!”
Kohaku turned to run, but Tone grabbed her arm and yanked her the opposite way. “Not the car!! He’ll just take it out easier that way. We have the cover of the ducks, for the moment, but it won’t last.”
“What-” Kohaku was barely able to blurt out before Tone abruptly stopped, then broke into a sprint once more. “I just need to find where I saw…”
BANG
–
“Bleh.”
The wall was still white and boring. Just the same as it had been for the last nine hours. No matter how Rook tried to envision it differently, it still remained the exact same boring white wall.
…
“Bleh.”
–
Kohaku slowly opened her eyes, her mouth set in a scowl.
Despite her indisputable inexperience in the realm of avoiding professional hitmen, she was learning fast, and even flexing her intellectual mindgames at the same time. When the BANG echoed across the lake, she fell with the same timing as Tone’s static body, hitting the walk rather hard. She had a hunch, and now was the only time she could attempt to prove it.
The other people at the pond had begun to flee in all directions after the gunshot. Screaming at random intervals also appeared to be a favorite pastime. Before too long, it was relatively quiet once again.
Her thoughts didn’t stay put for long. What about Corey? Had the shot been directed at him instead? Was he now dead, floating on the surface of the water? Were the reeds not sufficient for him to hide in?
This destructive train of thought ended when a glint of light suddenly hit her eye, and she felt a costumed hand touch against her hair, as Tone ever so slightly pushed himself upwards.
“Gotcha.” He grinned, then stood up and dusted himself off. “Well, let’s get out of here.”
“But won’t he-?” Kohaku inquired, using Tone’s hand as leverage to rise. “I mean, he just took a shot at-”
“I’m sure.” Tone tried to slide his hands into his pockets, but the costume simply didn’t have any. “C’mon, Corey’s gonna be soaked.”
Sure enough, Corey was soaked, as once Tone had stood and peered at the water to determine which of the reeds was wobbling about uncontrollably and making gasping noises, gave off a couple of tones in the reed itself to indicate the coast was clear. “I didn’t think I’d actually have to do that someday.” Corey complained, smacking the side of his head repeatedly in a vain attempt to clear his ears. “And if you say it’s-”
“-Because you never know if you need it, yes, that’s why you do need it.” Tone grinned. “Now wring yourself out; we’ve gotta get you a fresh set of clothes before you become ill and get even shorter somehow.”
“Thin ice, pal.” Corey grumbled as he climbed directly through a clump of weeds. “I thought your plan of going to the park seemed too easy.”
–
“BLEEEEEHH.”
This was getting excruciatingly boring. Absolutely nothing happened from day to day, week to week, month to month. It was almost utterly intolerable for poor Rook, and he would give just about anything to have some excitement going on for a change.
But, nothing would happen. Because the only way for something to happen would be for someone to come inside, and that would need the massive, four-inch-thick mechanical door to somehow open on its own, without the presence of a key - which it literally could not do.
Just as he pondered over this, however, the door clicked. Someone had just inserted the key, which could, of course, only logically mean one thing.
Finally, Rook thought. Ren’s come home.
–
Ren folded the bright orange rubber overalls over his hands, awkwardly trying to hide how much he was eyeing Fred, who was eyeing him right back. But Fred seemed to be much less hampered by awkward social situations, as he noticed the approach of the store owner far sooner than Ren managed to process.
“Sir?” Fred began, but he was waved off by the approaching gentleman, who dominated the room. “Go on home Fred, me and Ren will lock up.”
“Yes sir.” Fred grabbed up his things and glanced at Ren worriedly as he departed. Ren stared up into the black, beady eyes of his superior, as an uncomfortable silence dragged on and on.
Ren had no insecurity about his height, but the presence of Mr. Oisim Makuei was a concerning one. The difference between his modest six-foot-one and the imposing six-foot-four figure of his superior really did feel like David and Goliath, the disparity making he feel much shorter than he actually was. Not to mention that, in spite of his features not bearing any sort of indication to it being his race, he bore heavy tribal-style tattoos across his bald head and perpetually-scowling face, leaving barely any skin uncovered.
“You’re getting sloppy.” He frowned, finally speaking after what felt like an hour of silent judgement.
Ren sighed, making himself break from his superior’s rather observant eye. “You’re right, sir. And I can’t afford to be sloppy now. We’ve got someone else under our care, another member of the masks.”
“You do his will in death; it is good.” He made a rather animalistic grunting noise which indicated his shifting of topics. “I have given you much in order to ensure the survival of his ideals. It is useful to know there is some good coming of it.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” Ren replied, making no indication that he was anything other than tensed.
“I will lock up; you may go, wolf mask.” Oisin turned, walking off and staring with his well-developed hands in his pockets at the rest of the store, even as Ren slunk away towards the entrance in the hopes of finding a bus still operating at that hour.
“I wonder.” He continued to speak as he heard the doors close behind Ren. “Will it be enough?”
–
“ALL The stairs??”
“So this is what going up in an elevator feels like.” Corey pretended to gawk at the process, earning an even more guttural reaction out of Kohaku, who threw her hands towards him in disbelief as she stared in stark disbelief at Tone.
“He’s the boss. I don’t make the rules,” Tone replied with a shrug. “Even if those rules seem awfully arbitrary and silly, they’re still the rules and we still have to follow them. It’s nice to not have my legs feel like they’re burning off at every given second.”
“Is that because of the-” Corey began, but instantly clammed up when he realized he was running his mouth. “Sorry.” He retreated into the far corner of the elevator and looked about with injured eyes.
“So… Why are you riding the elevator now?” Kohaku raised an eyebrow.
“If you’re willing to keep it a secret.” Tone raised a finger to his mouth and gave a wink in reply. He couldn’t help but smile as he did; it helped to have someone with as blazing of a personality as Kohaku had to lessen the stress of the situation and give him something to bounce humor off of every now and then.
“Finally,” He glanced at the doors of the elevator as they opened. “Ladies and pond swimmers, allow me to introduce you to the greatest overly cramped apartment on earth.” He stepped out of the elevator, but suddenly jumped back inside, whacking Corey on the nose and nearly bowling him over.
“Take him back down.” Tone whispered.
“What? I don’t-”
“Take him back down, drive to Ren. Tell him to call me. Go.” Tone stepped out of the elevator once more, pressing the close doors button as he exited. They slowly responded, sealing Kohaku and Corey inside as they continued downwards.
“Well,” Kohaku awkwardly opened conversation,clapping her hand over her knuckles. “You’re gonna have to help me out here, kid. I have no idea how to get to the supermarket from here.”
“Don’t you have a GPS?”
“Oh right, duh.” She whipped out her phone and typed in the address. “So what’s it like in there, huh? In the apartment? Is it nice? Do you at least have separate rooms or whatever?”
“It’s fine.” Corey responded, slipping his hands into his pockets. It was clear that without Tone present, he was in no mood to enter into conversation, and the pair exited the building in silence. As they drove off, Tone waited in silence for another five minutes, considering his options.
Options. As if there was somehow more than one option available. It read like a trap, a big and blatant trap, set to blow the minute he walked inside. Was it men with guns lying in wait for him to enter? Was it a bomb of some kind, or a camera to catch their identities when they all came home? And why would they leave the door open for such a trap as well?
Ah, well. He adjusted his collar, quietly stepping forwards and through the open door. I’ve done stupider things today, it seems.
–
It was a nice wall.
Nice, white, and pure. Not a spot anywhere on it. That was the nice thing about that wall; it didn’t have any kind of mark.
It was a little hard to see at the moment, but the wall was surely just as clean as before. Just because the warped fingers and distorted faces wouldn’t let him have any other thoughts, it didn’t change the purity of the white, now did it? Of course not. It was still immaculate in spite of it all, the cries of agony etched into those wretched faces, the shrieks they uttered at the unholy pain they suffered, the faces, their faces…
The door had been left open. So as the elevator ascended, opened, and descended in turn, Rook could only look at the previously on guard and now aghast Tone and whisper out his reply.
“The walls are immaculate. They aren’t screaming to me,” Rook said, his pillow almost entirely hidden by the pile of well-dressed corpses. “They’re so quiet, Tone, so quiet, so very, very quiet…”
–
6 Likes
This goes so hard I would absolutely listen to this album
I am reclaimer of my NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAME
Tone
They dumped him there and had the one opportunity to question if he stayed there but chose to write it off as being more hidden than remembered
Stop projecting
Lemme ask you this
You’re driving on a massive, busy road, and you hear a gunshot
Except it sounds more like a loud metallic bang than a gunshot
Would you stop to check it out?
What makes you say that
I have to spell it out for the users who read but do not theorize
Read the quote
“from his would-be assassins”
Not saying the second one isn’t true - I cannot confirm or deny allegations of good writing - but there’s definitely a face-value implication meant to be gleamed from this.
It’s true I am so smart 
Did all of your knowledge of the Japanese schooling system come from anime
Why don’t you start theorizing you goobity goober
6 Likes
I know that you said that you don’t like chapter 7 and you’d like to rewrite it, but theorisers are cruel, Jack
I’ll put all of your mistakes on display so that everyone can see them even after you edit it
You asked for war and this is how war is done in this neighbourhood
Any musicians among the book characters, anyone?
I know we have Hawkflight and I’m pretty sure Cordax plays violin (???), but we need an entire band
Also, there’s something from a while ago that completely slipped my mind and I completely forgot to address it
You’ve been able to gaslight two people into believing that Rook is not Rukah (which he is not, he’s obviously supposed to be Rook from Togav for real for real no cap)
Born in flames, I have been blessed My family crest is a demon of DEEEATH
Oh, okay that makes sense. Shooting him in the face would certainly knock him out or at least stun him.
I thought that he tanked the bullet, dealt with the guy on the spot, tracked down their car and dealt with the rest of them, which makes no sense because the guy was already in the car, but it was 11 PM when I read it, okay
(Projecting = working on projects)
Yes, I project a lot
You’re Kohaku, Fred and Ren (yes, all three at the same time), you hear a gunshot
It sounds more like a loud metallic bang than a gunshot, but the source of the sound is directly in front of the shop
Would you go out to check it out?
Probably the appearance of Ren’s boss in chapter seven, which I predicted with my infinite foresight
From them he only found out that they are after the demon, he may or may not have already known that Ren is in possession of it.
But given that he outright told Race about the mask in ch 7, they all most likely already know that Ren has it. But it doesn’t mean that they know that he plans to use it to revive Wild, so my theory still stands
This… isn’t right. You would never respond to praise this way. There’s something fishy going on here
Nuh-uh, it came from someone with first hand experience. Anime only confirmed it
The what? What’s this referring to? When did that happen?
Or is it?
If the enemy knows about the shop, what stops them from sending reinforcements there?
I am going to assume that this is Tone having an in-world stroke and not a typo for now
Maybe going to such an open area as a park to hide and letting your guard down to chat while Corey is feeding the ducks was not the best idea in the world
Relatable
The amount of thugs Tone beat up off screen is rising rapidly
Exactly, that’s what I’m talking about
Relatable
I panicked for a second because Ren gave away the keys and Tone couldn’t have returned so quickly, but I guess we did a bit of a time jump
Ren when he stares up into the
Alright, three strikes, you’re out (Baseball reference by the way). As punishment you must make that baseball chapter happen
In Japan displaying tattoos in public is extremely frowned upon because of the association with the yakuza, who are known for wearing them. So, I’m guessing that he’s a member of the yakuza as well.
And he seems to oversee the Wild masks. I’m guessing this is how Ren got this job in the store, through the connection with this guy
Crazy ? I was crazy once . They locked me in a room. A rubber room! A rubber room with rats, and rats make me crazy
That’s a good question. What can you say in your defence, N01?
11 Likes
Remind me in a month or two when I’m done with my EP, I’d like to get back into silly one-off ideas like that
6 Likes
Ayy, we got a few in here
Im liking where this has been going, youve done a good job at bringing in attention and keeping it.
Also the fact that tone has been doing all of this in a destroyed fish costume amuses me
6 Likes