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damned_lounge2007-10-31 11:52 pm
accursed-rock.livejournal.com) wrote in damned_lounge2007-10-31 11:52 pm
Entry tags:
Oktoberfest '07 Entry, "The High Cost of Living" by LadyUranus
Title: The High Cost of Living
Author: LadyUranus
Beta (if applicable): Katiria said she would… But she didn’t!
Word Count: 2,009
Rating: R (for language and death)
Character(s): Jack Horner and Seishirou Sakurazukamori
Pairing(s) (if applicable): None
Summary: Jack Horner attempts to track down a copy of “Jack and the Beanstalk” but finds something very different.
Notes (if applicable): I tried my best!
Jack Horner was happy to hear there was a bookstore in Doyleton. Although his previous exploit with the Landel’s library copy of “Jack and the Beanstalk” had not gone quite as well as he hoped, he wasn’t done yet. The more people knew his story, the more power he would have and the quicker he could get out of this hellhole. So, with mischief in mind, Jack set off to “The Bookworm.”
Judging from the falling leaves, it had to be assumed that it was fall. Moreover, Landel’s was most likely located in the western hemisphere. It was unfortunate, really. A reunion as long-awaited as this one deserved falling sakura petals. Perhaps darkness, a tree, and a white-robed girl… He grinned at the thought. But no, instead Seishirou received golden-red falling leaves and a park thoroughly suburban, complete with a playground. He hear children swinging happily, laughing gleefully, and otherwise being entirely too joyful. It was a shame that Subaru’s return would be greeted with such a scene of frivolity. Seishirou supposed he must seek his amusement elsewhere. He set up towards Main Street, disappointed but determined to have some fun on this field trip.
The place was a dump. Half-shredded books lined the tilted shelves placed against every surface of the dusty shop. It practically impossible to get between the aisles—one had to walk sideways. On top of all this, there seemed to be no organization to the books at all. The paperbacks intermingled with dated encyclopedias, each romance novel paired incomprehensively with Webster’s Dictionary. With a sigh, Jack rolled up his sleeves and thrust himself in between two dust mite covered aisles.
Within minutes, Seishirou found himself outside a decrepit store, its windows covered in many layers of dust. Above the door carved sign dirtied by chipping paint swung in the wind. Squinting, Seishirou made out the image of an open book, upon which sat a tubular creature with large eyes. With a shrug, Seishirou entered inside.
Jack opened another book, glanced at its text, and threw it aside. Nothing! He couldn’t find a single children’s book containing his story and it seemed as though he could spend ages searching through this disorganized and chaotic mess of novels. He turned towards the exit, considering other ways to spend his day. But Jack Horner never said die! Still, he was pleased when he eyed the familiar figure of Seishirou Sakurazukamori entering the otherwise empty shop. Jack sidled up to him, oozing the charm most used car salesmen relied upon.
“Seishirou, buddy, how are you doing?”
Smiling his disconcerting smile, Seishirou looked back with his one good eye.
“Ah, Jack Horner-san, how nice to see you.”
Jack grinned broadly and put an arm around Seishirou’s shoulders. Although the assassin didn’t seem entirely comfortable by the friendly gesture, he did not brush Jack off.
“Seishirou, I am sure glad to see you. You are just the man for this job.”
“Job?”
His smile didn’t faulter, but he did glance towards the exit.
“But of course! I couldn’t trust this to anyone else!”
Jack waved his arm over the scene of disorder in front of them. It was daunting, looking at them from this angle—it seemed as though there were hundreds of books, lined horizontally, vertically, and higgledy-piggledy on the wooden boards.
“I am on a quest, my friend, a noble quest.”
Seishirou always found Jack Horner amusing—with him every event, no matter how ordinary, was a piece of theater and spectacle. And it always lead to some sort of chaos, which Seishirou admired in a mild way. Since his arrival at Landel’s it had been hard to find otherwise to occupy his time, as he was so used spending most days planning and then performing assassinations, but the blonde haired man had alleviated a good deal of his need for entertainment.
“What is this quest, Jack-san?”
Jack smiled, he had him hooked now, “A quest for literature, my friend. What could be more noble?”
“Why, Jack-san, are you looking for another fairy tale to put on the posting board?”
“You are as quick as you are clever, Seishirou! Yes, the beloved fairytale loved by children the world over: ‘Jack and the Beanstalk!’”
And so the two set to work, overturning piles of used books in search of a colorful volume that might include some fairytales for children. However, most of the volumes seemed to be the kind of books found at neighborhood tag sales: drivel so pulpy it made one’s eyes bleed. Or, in the case of Seishirou, one eye bleed. Occasionally they would stumble upon something more highbrow—a selection from “The Odyssey” or some poems by Wordsworth. Nothing seemed to be for juveniles, however.
Suddenly, out of the backroom came an older lady wearing a grotesque muumuu with a hand-painted shawl of clashing colors. The muumuu displayed the kind of large exotic flowers found more often in Hawaiian islands then sleepy New England towns. It was a sight for sore eyes—if one were intending to make them sorer. She was quickly followed by a younger woman with long brown hair, glasses, and an equivalent fashion sense; most likely she attended a local college. They spoke loudly, clearly gossiping about some trivial townie drama.
Jack quickly metamorphosed into dashing-mode and sauntered towards the front counter with a gentlemanly swaggered,
“How are you today, ladies?”
He grinned broadly, knowing his charms to be irresistible. After all, he had often remarked he could impregnate women simply by looking at them.
The two women turned to him, the younger one attempting to hide behind the book she was holding.
“You ought to be outside enjoying the rays of sun on your glowing faces. A dusty place like this,” He took the younger girl’s hand, causing her to drop the book, “Only serves to hide your beauty.”
The brown-haired teenager blushed a deep crimson and ran into the backroom, stammering her excuses. The old bat, however, smiled with a mouth full of chipped teeth.
“Aren’t you the charmer!”
“Hardly, ma’am, I simply appreciate beauty wherever I see it.”
Man, he was good. Had he gotten that line from a movie? Probably.
“And what can I do for you, Sir Valiant?”
Jack leaned in with smoldering eyes.
“I’m looking for a book.”
“Well, that’s what we’re here for! Anything in particular?”
“Actually, madam, I’m seeking a fairytale for my… nephew. Yes, nephew.”
The older lady but a hand under her chin and considered. Were she not female and older than the hills she would have resembled the famous statue. The sound of books being thrown indiscriminately by Seishirou continued in the background.
“Well… let’s see…”
The old lady tottered out from behind the counter and headed towards a small corner of the store. Up a few slanted steps stood a set of tall bookshelves, each looking as though they might collapse under the weight of the books on them at any moment.
A rolling ladder stood to one side and the older woman grabbed it with her left hand, stepped onto the first rung, and began a vertical climb. When she was high enough that Jack had could only see her feet, she called down with a cackling voice,
“Ah! Here it is!”
Some minutes later she arrived at the bottom and handed the book into the hands of the blonde man.
“Now you must excuse us—we don’t have much call for kid’s books around here. But this one has pictures!”
She seemed extremely pleased a the thought of a book having pictures, as though it proved the slim paperback she had handed him was worthy of his “nephew’s” attention.
Jack opened the flimsy book with the old woman attempting to peep over his shoulder, but failing due to their disparate heights. Seishirou wandered over as well, his black shirt slightly grey in places due to the dust.
It certainly did have pictures, although it hardly seemed like a children’s book. And although it did star a character named Jack, it was most certainly not Jack and the Beanstalk.
What the old lady had discovered was an American comic book containing the exploits of one “Jack of Fables.” Seishirou read over Jack’s shoulder, increasingly gleeful at that he had happened upon the bookshop. Jack, however, grew more and more aghast as he read through the pages.
Most of it was nonsense to him—something about a man named Wicked John and a “rest home,” whatever that was. But he did recognize the handsome leading man as someone similar in looks to him and with the same name. What kind of joke was this? This “Jack of Fables” was stranded on a cavernous cliff with some other unimportant characters, when suddenly a feeble old man past by and slid a sword through his belly.
“What the fuck?!?!”
He yelled out loud, entirely disconcerted by the image of a man, who looked just like him, having a giant sword thrust through his midsection. Jack threw the book down and turned around, facing Seishirou.
With a malicious grin and a glint of evil in his eye, Seishirou raised his arm and thrust it, dagger like, towards Jack stomach.
Jack grasped at Seishirou and slid towards the floor as the old woman screamed bloody murder. But the blood that should have exited from the wound and covered the bookstore’s floor was nowhere to be seen. In fact, when Seishirou withdrew his arm from Jack, he found his skin was blood free. It seemed a shame: he missed the sensation of thick, red liquid dripping from his uncleansed flesh.
Jack, too, found that he had quite overreacted to Seishirou’s attempt to murder him. Although encounters with nightshift monsters had taken many hours to heal, this wound was disappearing within seconds.
Meanwhile, the old lady had fainted and was lying on the dusty wood floor of the shop. Behind the counter, her young assistant trembled.
“What the hell, Seishirou? You trying to kill me?”
Jack jumped up and grabbed Seishirou’s collar, who made no move to ward him off. Jack breathed heavily and raised his fist, ready to punch the bastard in the face. He found himself more relieve than angry, however—Seishirou had attempted to kill him, and he was still alive! Perhaps he had returned to full power, although he couldn’t imagine how.
“Hey, lady!” He yelled to the chesnut haired girl still shaking by the backdoor. “How can you get to the roof?”
“Umm….There’s a ladder by the north side… but… mister…”
But it was too late. In a flash, Jack had run from the store and climbed up the tall ladder to The Bookworm’s roof. Seishirou followed closely behind, watching him from below.
“Jack Horner-san, what are you attempting to do?”
Jack grinned, his teeth gleaming in the crisp sunlight, and he held both arms straight out to his sides,
“I’m the king of the world!”
With that he jumped from the rooftop, flying for a moment like a winged bird. But within milliseconds he was falling with all the grace of Newton’s apple, plummeting towards the ground like a great sack of muscles and bones, which in truth he was.
By the time the orderlies had arrived, nothing could be done. In truth, Jack’s fate had been sealed the moment he decided to test his strength against gravity, but minutes later his crumpled body seemed as human as a broken doll—all tangled limbs, blood, and brain matter spread across the grass. It was the first patient to be killed while under Landel’s care in a long, long time.
Author: LadyUranus
Beta (if applicable): Katiria said she would… But she didn’t!
Word Count: 2,009
Rating: R (for language and death)
Character(s): Jack Horner and Seishirou Sakurazukamori
Pairing(s) (if applicable): None
Summary: Jack Horner attempts to track down a copy of “Jack and the Beanstalk” but finds something very different.
Notes (if applicable): I tried my best!
Jack Horner was happy to hear there was a bookstore in Doyleton. Although his previous exploit with the Landel’s library copy of “Jack and the Beanstalk” had not gone quite as well as he hoped, he wasn’t done yet. The more people knew his story, the more power he would have and the quicker he could get out of this hellhole. So, with mischief in mind, Jack set off to “The Bookworm.”
Judging from the falling leaves, it had to be assumed that it was fall. Moreover, Landel’s was most likely located in the western hemisphere. It was unfortunate, really. A reunion as long-awaited as this one deserved falling sakura petals. Perhaps darkness, a tree, and a white-robed girl… He grinned at the thought. But no, instead Seishirou received golden-red falling leaves and a park thoroughly suburban, complete with a playground. He hear children swinging happily, laughing gleefully, and otherwise being entirely too joyful. It was a shame that Subaru’s return would be greeted with such a scene of frivolity. Seishirou supposed he must seek his amusement elsewhere. He set up towards Main Street, disappointed but determined to have some fun on this field trip.
The place was a dump. Half-shredded books lined the tilted shelves placed against every surface of the dusty shop. It practically impossible to get between the aisles—one had to walk sideways. On top of all this, there seemed to be no organization to the books at all. The paperbacks intermingled with dated encyclopedias, each romance novel paired incomprehensively with Webster’s Dictionary. With a sigh, Jack rolled up his sleeves and thrust himself in between two dust mite covered aisles.
Within minutes, Seishirou found himself outside a decrepit store, its windows covered in many layers of dust. Above the door carved sign dirtied by chipping paint swung in the wind. Squinting, Seishirou made out the image of an open book, upon which sat a tubular creature with large eyes. With a shrug, Seishirou entered inside.
Jack opened another book, glanced at its text, and threw it aside. Nothing! He couldn’t find a single children’s book containing his story and it seemed as though he could spend ages searching through this disorganized and chaotic mess of novels. He turned towards the exit, considering other ways to spend his day. But Jack Horner never said die! Still, he was pleased when he eyed the familiar figure of Seishirou Sakurazukamori entering the otherwise empty shop. Jack sidled up to him, oozing the charm most used car salesmen relied upon.
“Seishirou, buddy, how are you doing?”
Smiling his disconcerting smile, Seishirou looked back with his one good eye.
“Ah, Jack Horner-san, how nice to see you.”
Jack grinned broadly and put an arm around Seishirou’s shoulders. Although the assassin didn’t seem entirely comfortable by the friendly gesture, he did not brush Jack off.
“Seishirou, I am sure glad to see you. You are just the man for this job.”
“Job?”
His smile didn’t faulter, but he did glance towards the exit.
“But of course! I couldn’t trust this to anyone else!”
Jack waved his arm over the scene of disorder in front of them. It was daunting, looking at them from this angle—it seemed as though there were hundreds of books, lined horizontally, vertically, and higgledy-piggledy on the wooden boards.
“I am on a quest, my friend, a noble quest.”
Seishirou always found Jack Horner amusing—with him every event, no matter how ordinary, was a piece of theater and spectacle. And it always lead to some sort of chaos, which Seishirou admired in a mild way. Since his arrival at Landel’s it had been hard to find otherwise to occupy his time, as he was so used spending most days planning and then performing assassinations, but the blonde haired man had alleviated a good deal of his need for entertainment.
“What is this quest, Jack-san?”
Jack smiled, he had him hooked now, “A quest for literature, my friend. What could be more noble?”
“Why, Jack-san, are you looking for another fairy tale to put on the posting board?”
“You are as quick as you are clever, Seishirou! Yes, the beloved fairytale loved by children the world over: ‘Jack and the Beanstalk!’”
And so the two set to work, overturning piles of used books in search of a colorful volume that might include some fairytales for children. However, most of the volumes seemed to be the kind of books found at neighborhood tag sales: drivel so pulpy it made one’s eyes bleed. Or, in the case of Seishirou, one eye bleed. Occasionally they would stumble upon something more highbrow—a selection from “The Odyssey” or some poems by Wordsworth. Nothing seemed to be for juveniles, however.
Suddenly, out of the backroom came an older lady wearing a grotesque muumuu with a hand-painted shawl of clashing colors. The muumuu displayed the kind of large exotic flowers found more often in Hawaiian islands then sleepy New England towns. It was a sight for sore eyes—if one were intending to make them sorer. She was quickly followed by a younger woman with long brown hair, glasses, and an equivalent fashion sense; most likely she attended a local college. They spoke loudly, clearly gossiping about some trivial townie drama.
Jack quickly metamorphosed into dashing-mode and sauntered towards the front counter with a gentlemanly swaggered,
“How are you today, ladies?”
He grinned broadly, knowing his charms to be irresistible. After all, he had often remarked he could impregnate women simply by looking at them.
The two women turned to him, the younger one attempting to hide behind the book she was holding.
“You ought to be outside enjoying the rays of sun on your glowing faces. A dusty place like this,” He took the younger girl’s hand, causing her to drop the book, “Only serves to hide your beauty.”
The brown-haired teenager blushed a deep crimson and ran into the backroom, stammering her excuses. The old bat, however, smiled with a mouth full of chipped teeth.
“Aren’t you the charmer!”
“Hardly, ma’am, I simply appreciate beauty wherever I see it.”
Man, he was good. Had he gotten that line from a movie? Probably.
“And what can I do for you, Sir Valiant?”
Jack leaned in with smoldering eyes.
“I’m looking for a book.”
“Well, that’s what we’re here for! Anything in particular?”
“Actually, madam, I’m seeking a fairytale for my… nephew. Yes, nephew.”
The older lady but a hand under her chin and considered. Were she not female and older than the hills she would have resembled the famous statue. The sound of books being thrown indiscriminately by Seishirou continued in the background.
“Well… let’s see…”
The old lady tottered out from behind the counter and headed towards a small corner of the store. Up a few slanted steps stood a set of tall bookshelves, each looking as though they might collapse under the weight of the books on them at any moment.
A rolling ladder stood to one side and the older woman grabbed it with her left hand, stepped onto the first rung, and began a vertical climb. When she was high enough that Jack had could only see her feet, she called down with a cackling voice,
“Ah! Here it is!”
Some minutes later she arrived at the bottom and handed the book into the hands of the blonde man.
“Now you must excuse us—we don’t have much call for kid’s books around here. But this one has pictures!”
She seemed extremely pleased a the thought of a book having pictures, as though it proved the slim paperback she had handed him was worthy of his “nephew’s” attention.
Jack opened the flimsy book with the old woman attempting to peep over his shoulder, but failing due to their disparate heights. Seishirou wandered over as well, his black shirt slightly grey in places due to the dust.
It certainly did have pictures, although it hardly seemed like a children’s book. And although it did star a character named Jack, it was most certainly not Jack and the Beanstalk.
What the old lady had discovered was an American comic book containing the exploits of one “Jack of Fables.” Seishirou read over Jack’s shoulder, increasingly gleeful at that he had happened upon the bookshop. Jack, however, grew more and more aghast as he read through the pages.
Most of it was nonsense to him—something about a man named Wicked John and a “rest home,” whatever that was. But he did recognize the handsome leading man as someone similar in looks to him and with the same name. What kind of joke was this? This “Jack of Fables” was stranded on a cavernous cliff with some other unimportant characters, when suddenly a feeble old man past by and slid a sword through his belly.
“What the fuck?!?!”
He yelled out loud, entirely disconcerted by the image of a man, who looked just like him, having a giant sword thrust through his midsection. Jack threw the book down and turned around, facing Seishirou.
With a malicious grin and a glint of evil in his eye, Seishirou raised his arm and thrust it, dagger like, towards Jack stomach.
Jack grasped at Seishirou and slid towards the floor as the old woman screamed bloody murder. But the blood that should have exited from the wound and covered the bookstore’s floor was nowhere to be seen. In fact, when Seishirou withdrew his arm from Jack, he found his skin was blood free. It seemed a shame: he missed the sensation of thick, red liquid dripping from his uncleansed flesh.
Jack, too, found that he had quite overreacted to Seishirou’s attempt to murder him. Although encounters with nightshift monsters had taken many hours to heal, this wound was disappearing within seconds.
Meanwhile, the old lady had fainted and was lying on the dusty wood floor of the shop. Behind the counter, her young assistant trembled.
“What the hell, Seishirou? You trying to kill me?”
Jack jumped up and grabbed Seishirou’s collar, who made no move to ward him off. Jack breathed heavily and raised his fist, ready to punch the bastard in the face. He found himself more relieve than angry, however—Seishirou had attempted to kill him, and he was still alive! Perhaps he had returned to full power, although he couldn’t imagine how.
“Hey, lady!” He yelled to the chesnut haired girl still shaking by the backdoor. “How can you get to the roof?”
“Umm….There’s a ladder by the north side… but… mister…”
But it was too late. In a flash, Jack had run from the store and climbed up the tall ladder to The Bookworm’s roof. Seishirou followed closely behind, watching him from below.
“Jack Horner-san, what are you attempting to do?”
Jack grinned, his teeth gleaming in the crisp sunlight, and he held both arms straight out to his sides,
“I’m the king of the world!”
With that he jumped from the rooftop, flying for a moment like a winged bird. But within milliseconds he was falling with all the grace of Newton’s apple, plummeting towards the ground like a great sack of muscles and bones, which in truth he was.
By the time the orderlies had arrived, nothing could be done. In truth, Jack’s fate had been sealed the moment he decided to test his strength against gravity, but minutes later his crumpled body seemed as human as a broken doll—all tangled limbs, blood, and brain matter spread across the grass. It was the first patient to be killed while under Landel’s care in a long, long time.
no subject
D:
...so he's dead...*sniffle*
Also, I can't help it if my internet is fickle and goes down. I WOULD have beta-ed if you'd sent it earlier. :P