idolpro | Kino's Heart Game

It was a small room.

At its center was a single wooden bed. There was no way two such beds would fit in the room.

A painting was hanging from the low, light brown wall. It was bordered in such a way that made it look like a large window. It depicted an angel with fluttering white wings amidst a scenery of blue sky and animals feeding on the grass of a green prairie.

There was not a single real window in this room. It was being faintly illuminated by a dim light bulb suspended from the ceiling.

A human was lying on the bed.

It was a middle-aged woman. She was covered in a thick blanket of a light green color, and her head was sunk into a big pillow. Her eyes were open and looking straight ahead, but there was nothing she was gazing at in particular. Her slow, thin breaths escaped from her lifelessly opened mouth.

There were five people around the bed.

Four of them were two men and two women who were wearing the same clothes. They were clad in no other color but white from head to toe — white aprons, white caps, and white masks. They were standing on both sides of the bed.

The fifth was a young person wearing a black jacket. Perhaps around mid-teens, they had a fearless face framed with short black hair. They were standing at the foot of the bed with a big cloth bag hanging down from their left hand.

The four in white gazed towards the person in the bed and began to chat. There was no reply, but as if there was, they continued the dialogue meant for five people.

It was talk about the past. It was a recollection of the things the five of them shared and enjoyed together. Occasionally, the four would laugh merrily.

The person dressed in the black jacket looked on and stood quietly without saying anything. It’s as if they were looking at a distant and alien world.

The conversation continued at length. As the four broke into a fit of laughter, a faint smile slowly formed on the feeble mouth of the person on the bed who was only strong enough to breath.

One of the four noticed this, and quickly called the attention of the other three with a gesture. The four peered at the face of the bedridden woman.

The person in black inserted their right hand inside the cloth bag. With their left hand, they separated the cloth bag from a smaller bag, and let it fall to the floor without a sound. The form of the object they were grasping with their right hand was gradually revealed.

It was a long and narrow black mass of plastic and metal.

They lifted it up. It sent forth a thin red light which stopped precisely into a tiny dot on the bedridden woman’s breast.

The four in white did not pay heed.

There was the sound of a film roll coming to an end. And so, your character finds themself standing next to Kino as they prepare to shoot the dying woman.

It seems your character is no longer an audience member, but a part of the story itself. They may act as they wish.

Edited 2022-02-09 06:08 (UTC)

[WELL]

[THIS SURE IS A WHOLE THING]

[Its a whole thing and a hand goes to Kino's shoulder before he fully parses what's going on-]

[It's not enough to stop them.

Three shots, one after another, strike the woman's heart and kill her instantly. Slowly, a red stain begins to seep through the blanket.

The four others turn to stare at Kino. When one speaks, his voice is quiet.]

"Heretic, what a thing to do."

[Their own voice quiet, Kino answers:]

I killed because I wanted to kill.

"Heretic, leave this place."

That I shall do.

[They replace the gun in the bag, and nod at Rufous, and then the door. It's time to go.]

[What the fuck.]

[He! Is gonna follow because he thought for a moment he saw the custom, but-]

What was that?! [As soon as they were outside.]

[They tilt their head as they make their way out.]

...Did you forget what we're doing here?

Lets just say yes?!

...We can talk about it once we get back to the apartment. We need to figure out what to do for tomorrow anyway.

By the Titan...

Fine, let's hurry.

There was a gate.

The country was surrounded by high walls made out of gigantic rocks put together. There was only a single enormous door made of steel. It was tightly shut.

There was an expanse of forest just outside the country. It was a forest dense with tall and slender conifers.

It was covered with snow as deep as a child is tall. The ground was completely invisible. Amidst the damp atmosphere, the low clouds created a sky of a greyish shade.

A corridor began beside the closed gate. Its tall, gabled roof continued straight into the forest. It was laid out with stone paving, and on both sides were sturdy fences to keep out the snow. The weir-like corridor was sandwiched between the piles of snow fended off by the roof.

There was a small door for people to pass through beside the massive gate. Stones were affixed on the door, making it indistinguishable. Soon this door opened inwards with a gentle creaking sound.

The person in black came out from the door holding a bag. On their right thigh was a holster that was not there before. Inside it was a high caliber revolver.

Two guards followed them from behind. The guards were holding long spears in their hands, and they were wearing military uniforms adorned with ceremonial ornaments.

The guards stood on both sides of the door. The gazes underneath their decorated helmets were sharp. As the person in black looked back, the guards tapped the stone floor by their feet with their spears, creating a solid sound.

“[Heretic, murderer of our brethren, leave this country at once!]” One of the guards spoke in a stern and loud voice.

The person in black placed the bag containing the persuader by the guard’s feet. They spoke with no visible change in their expression.

“[I understand. I will leave this country right away.]”

Then they straightened up and turned away from the guards. They took a step towards the corridor inside the forest. The thin layer of snow crunched beneath their footsteps.

The guards remained standing on attention, but their stiff expressions crumbled down. One of them called out to the person in black with a tone of familiarity.

“We will send them later, as always.”

The person did not look back, and answered.

“I understand. Please leave it at the usual place.”

“Roger, Kino. Thank you very much.”

The guard positioned his spear in front of his body.

The scene seemed to fast forward a bit before there was the sound of a film roll coming to an end. And so, your character finds themself walking into the building at the end of the corridor, a sturdy thing built of stone and lumber with a big living room and two fireplaces and wood stoves on either end.

It seems your character is no longer an audience member, but a part of the story itself. They may act as they wish.

[What the]

You...left your weapon with them?

I didn't need it to do the job.

[They sigh and cross their arms.]

So - was it true? You really don't remember what we're doing here?

I don't. What was that?

...

[When they speak, it's slow and even.]

Since we're snowed in until spring, we've been assigned certain "work." In exchange, the people of this country will provide us with food and supplies while we live just outside of the country itself.

That job is... to play the part of "heretics" who kill the ill with no chance of recovery in this country.

So...

They want mercy killings, but only from heretics?

In this case, "heretic" is just someone they can easily eject from the country. Since we're travelers, it's fine if we enter and leave.

We fill a convenient grey zone for them.