*Smells familiar.

[dustless]

[warning for child death, gore, general trauma]

Chara's dead. Chara-and-Frisk.

Slice across the throat. Just the one. Still bad. It makes their own hurt like their scar's peeling open.

But they've got a job to do now, because--Frisk just can't leave them there. To rot. For other people to find.

So they don't.

Takes a lot of work, figuring out how to move their body. Dragging's horrible, even when they thought about using a blanket or something. Carrying them fails, because they're literal dead weight, even if they're pretty scrawny.

In the end, they manage to shift them around until they've got the corpse on their back. The most disgusting and macabre piggyback ride, and Frisk needs to keep being hunched over uncomfortably for it to work, but. It does.

It also leaves them completely covered in blood, especially the half where Chara's head ends up lolling, sending rivulets of red down that side and makes a trail all the way from the bottom of the stairs to the garden. Frisk's not really aware of that. Frisk's not really aware of anything except the steps they need to take.

Bring the body outside, to the garden. Not far from where their body and the first Chara's were buried, actually, though a little more concealed behind a stand of trees. Go get a shovel. Dig.

They won't be able to dig as deep as six feet alone, and they can't build a coffin. Doesn't matter. Frisk just needs to make it big enough for them to fit under the dirt.

Chara-and-Frisk will be back soon enough.






Addendum: one more body, one more burial.

Comments

[oldmantiger]

Kotetsu isn't in any fit state to notice. He's about at his limit on horror. He might notice later, and that will just make it even harder to fight the urge to curl up somewhere and drink himself senseless. Maybe if he clears out the cellar under the kitchen, he'll be able to sleep without remembering this and stop it, damn it, stop it.

He blinks his vision clear, jolted back to life by Frisk's movement. He looks at them, looks at the blanket...and then immediately looks away. As much to get some distance as anything else, he gets to his feet, and when he takes a deep breath it doesn't taste quite as much like blood. His hands are clenched tight at his sides, but it doesn't stop them shaking, even the one that's now clenched tightly around the slick handle of the shovel.

"I can beat up anyone who would do this to a child." Giant crocodiles, evil ghosts, robots, anyone, anyone. Let him find whoever did this and punish them. Let there be justice for this. "Tell me who it was, Frisk. I won't let them get away with this."

[dustless]

They stand up, wiping their hands off. More instinct than anything; there's not a bit of cloth on them that doesn't already have some blood on it, after all.

"No, you can't. You won't." Hopefully.

They step forward. They've collected themselves, they're--better. Definitely handling things better than he is, at the very least.

Frisk holds out their hand. "And--give. Need that back."

[oldmantiger]

Kotetsu grits his teeth, letting out a sound that's something like a growl of frustration. But hen some lingering sense reminds him that the only living target for that frustration right now is Frisk, and so he deliberately tries to reign in his temper, his emotions. He draws in a deep, shuddering breath. When he exhales, it leaves his shoulders slumped a little as a fraction of the tension bleeds out of him. "Why won't you tell me?" he asks, more quietly, his tone carefully neutral in a way that suggests that the only alternative is still a complete and total breakdown.

When they hold out their hand, he stares at them in genuine incomprehension for a moment. Then he follows the line of their gaze to the shovel, and...ah.

The hero's expression grows set and determined once more. He brushes past them to take their spot at the half-dug grave instead. The shovel goes a lot deeper into the ground when he wields it, and piles a lot more dirt out of the way. He doesn't ask before he does this, because a refusal is not the answer he's prepared to hear right now.

[dustless]

"Because. It's...not. Something good to hear. Something you gotta know."

Nobody's thought they did it. That's...kind of flattering, in a really freaky way.

They watch him move, and--oh. A protest rises to their lips and then drops, because he's actually doing pretty good. And it's not so important that they do it in the way it felt for Chara-and-Frisk--they don't know this kid, not even his name.

Maybe Kotetsu knows, though. That makes their chest cold. Maybe that's why he's so upset, they're friends already.

Frisk drifts to his side, just out of reach of the shovel's swing.

[oldmantiger]

That makes him pause. That makes him pause because the words make his chest hurt, the words and the idea that Frisk is trying to protect him. Frisk was dragging this body, this boy to his resting place and digging a grave all by themselves and they're still trying to protect him.

Not something good to hear...

"I hate you!"

"I'll be relieved when you're gone."

"This is your last chance."

"She took a turn for the worst..."

His eyes sting. He ruthlessly blinks them clear and keeps digging. He doesn't know this boy's name, but the fact that he recognizes him makes it worse. Recognition always makes it worse.

And the act helps him settle - the repetitive movement, the satisfying way the dirt gives beneath the impact. The deceptively soft sounds. The way he feels like he's doing something, when he wasn't there to prevent this happening in the first place. Kotetsu waits until he's cleared enough dirt that he's standing on a slightly lower level than Frisk, before he trusts his voice to speak again.

"I've heard a lot of bad things, Frisk. But sometimes, the things that hurt the most to hear are the things that are the most important to say. I've...I've lived through a lot. I've seen a lot. So please, don't think you have to protect me."

He did wonder, for a moment, if they had done this. The steadfast denial, the blood, the attempt at a quiet burial out of the way. But...no. He knows what guilty looks like. He knows what a child caught out looks like. And he likes to think that he knows Frisk, at least a little, enough to know that they would never do this. Not them, not the child who warned him to be gentle with skeletons his first day here.

Not that Kotetsu is prepared to accept that any child could do something like this.

[dustless]

Frisk thought about getting another shovel when Jack was there. Maybe they should've. Then they could be helping--now they kind of get it, though. Why nobody (except the Nightmare King) left. It's not fun to watch, but it'd be even worse to walk away with the sound of shifting dirt behind their back.

"...I'm not telling you who did it. Not--not telling anybody who did it." They wonder who he might be guessing. "But..."

They sigh, quiet and tired and sad. Doesn't matter what Kotetsu's prepared for. He wants to know, and maybe it is important to say now. Instead of waiting for him to try to go find them on his own.

"You wouldn't try to beat up a kid. I think." Right?

[oldmantiger]

Kotetsu freezes up entirely, the shovel half-buried in the dirt, his knuckles clenched white around it. He stares down into the churned-up soil, and past gritted teeth he makes a sound. A soft, wounded, lost sort of sound that's all the weakness he's going to allow himself right now.

After a moment to steady himself as much as he can, Kotetsu goes back to digging. And even now, especially now, there's only one answer he can give to that.

"No. Never." And it's an honest answer, at least.

Some of the blood that hasn't quite dried is on his hands, now. He doesn't seem to have noticed, too lost to thoughts, memories, words.

"...accidents happen. Or kids get...scared, or can't control themselves." Or they get angry. They don't think. He's seen it happen, even if he's never seen it go this far. Somehow, it only occurs to him then just how bad things could have gone with Tony, if Kotetsu hadn't stepped in. But he wasn't there to step in, this time.

"I know that." He pauses to wipe some sweat from his forehead, before he looks down at them with an expression that's serious, but no longer angry. "And I will never, ever hurt a kid, Frisk. I promise."

[dustless]

Frisk bows their head. They'd maybe be hugging their own torso, but the blood on their shirt's sticky in some places and dry enough to be uncomfortable, so they resort to clenching their fists. In the 'wrong way to punch', holding onto their thumbs tight with the rest of their fingers. For the same reasons, it doesn't even occur to them to think of hugging Kotetsu.

No, he wouldn't. That's not what heroes are supposed to do.

It wasn't an accident, but maybe it could seem that way. He didn't really look at the body. Scared, uncontrollable--that was a better fit.

Kotetsu's being shockingly understanding.

"...good. But 'm still not telling right now. It's not...'s really complicated." Not really. Charas hate and distrust humanity. Even if he didn't try to FIGHT them, even if he swore he wouldn't, Frisk doubts there'd be any belief in that.

"Could ask--" they wave a hand at the kid in the shroud "'bout it later, I guess. But...I don't think it'll happen again." God, they hope not.

[oldmantiger]

Kotetsu grits his teeth, and swallows back a fresh surge of frustration with some difficulty. He's being shockingly understanding because he has some understanding of the motivations at work here, or thinks he does. And because Kotetsu has almost never found it in himself to hate anyone. But that still doesn't change the need to ensure that this doesn't happen again. The need to save everyone - even the one responsible for this.

"I still want you to tell me who did this. I want to talk with them." A statement of fact, not a demand or attempt at force. He saves his force for the dirt.

"It can be really easy to think that...hurting people or breaking things is the only way. I know it's not. Because someone once told that to me. I want to make sure they see that." Whoever they are. He runs through a mental checklist of the children he's aware of at the castle. There's one that he does linger on, thinks might be capable of losing control like this. Unbenownst to Kotetsu, he has the right face but the wrong person. He's thinking of the Chara in the other grave he hasn't noticed yet, and hates himself for considering even that much.

[dustless]

"I know..." That he wants to talk, those hurting thoughts.

Kotetsu's a good guy. But he can be kiddish and emotional, and they know that'd be a terrible mix, too.

They're quiet for a moment, eyes tracing the red in the grass. Thinking about how much they should, can say.

"...I...knew that kid. Back. Where I came from," they admit slowly. "A--a version An' if--that kid's like the one I got to be friends with, you can't. You really can't. 'M sorry."

[oldmantiger]

Kotetsu considers arguing further. He very, very much wants to argue further. But at last, he just shakes his head and sighs in frustration and defeat, keeping his eyes on the ground.

"...I'm not going to make you tell me who did this. But...I'm not going to stop trying to figure this out, either."

Frisk isn't the only one who can be determined.

"If you're trying to protect someone...if you're scared for them, I understand. But sometimes, the best thing you can do for your friends is to get them help when they need it." And he doesn't doubt that the one who did this needs help. Kotetsu still firmly believes, even now, that hurting someone isn't a natural state of mind for anyone to be in. Violence weighs on a person. Especially a kid.

But there's no point putting Frisk on the spot when they've already been through enough today. So Kotetsu means it when he says: "But we don't have to talk about this anymore right now."

[dustless]

"...Don't do anything stupid." Even if they're not sure how to quantify that--besides 'everything' if he's going to keep trying.

Help. Yeah, Chara needs help. But Frisk is sure they can do something first, get a better grasp on the situation and actually have a chance at trying. And besides, they can deal with the consequences if they fail, and whether Kotetsu gets hurt or Chara (and really, they can't easily imagine both being fine with that specific one), he doesn't deserve what might happen. Or them either.

"An' I think I helped and can more, just like I did the one I used to know." And that's all they're going to say about it for now.

They wave over the hole and him. Kotetsu's been working hard. "Need a break?"

[oldmantiger]

"Nope." He's been working hard, but he's only just starting to feel it. He's a couple of feet down, now, their height difference made less by the hole in the dirt. "If I have to, I'll use my powers. Don't worry about me." He'll give up a few seconds for this. This is important.

But Kotetsu is very focused on digging. And so he says something that, later on, even he'll admit might not be the best thing to say under the circumstances.

"You're really not good at...being a kid, are you?"

He doesn't mean it as an insult. He mostly sounds surprised, even now, after all he's seen from them.

[dustless]

Oh, right. He has those.

He says that, and Frisk...goes silent and still.

What does that mean? They know it's not an insult, Kotetsu wouldn't do that. But...what does that mean? They can't make heads or tails of it. Isn't it good not to always 'be a kid'? Isn't that 'being mature'?

They don't understand.

In the end, they don't say anything.

[oldmantiger]

Neither does he, for a long moment and another foot of soil.

"...sorry. That was..." What? "...stupid of me to say." It was a lot of other things, too, but that seems like a safe enough summation.

He's definitely starting to feel the ache of shoveling so much dirt. When did he get so old? But Kotetsu is equally certain that he'll be able to finish up without needing to resort to his powers.

"I guess, it's just..." He visibly fumbles for what to say, frustration mounting in his expression. "...people don't die all that often in Sternbild, you know? We're not even supposed to hurt criminals, if we can help it. It had its problems, but...it was still a pretty safe place to be." Even if it had turned out to be safe for all the wrong reasons.

"But you, I can tell you're...used to this. And I guess I just didn't realize until now how dangerous this place really is."

A man burned to death in his arms, once. He never even knew the man's name. Nathan still almost didn't let him go home alone that day, though.

"There were days where I even let myself hope my daughter would come here, too." He'll never make that wish again.

[dustless]

Death is an easier topic to consider. Ironically. (Proving his point.)

They turn their head--not to the body nearby, but to the grave further away. Chara-and-Frisk's. "'S not really...good when it happens, but it's not that bad." Because it doesn't last. "And it doesn't happen a lot, anyway. People're careful. It's the...new people you gotta worry about, and they usually calm down fast, even if they freak out at first."

[oldmantiger]

Kotetsu notes them looking away. Without entirely thinking, he turns his head to follow their gaze, and...oh. Oh, he hadn't noticed that before. Not in the shock of realizing what was really wrapped up in that rug. The dirt on that grave looks...very fresh. Oh boy. Did Frisk already dig that one, too?

...he needs to not dwell on that. Kotetsu keeps his eyes on the dirt. Even so, he's starting to realize that he might be missing something about all of this. Frisk is a good kid. Even if they'd seen a lot of death, he can't believe that they'd ever describe something like this as "not that bad" unless there's something Kotetsu is seriously missing.

He supposes that he's technically died once already, too. But here he is.

Even so, he's distracted from asking by the sound of his shovel striking a rock. He's halfway through digging it out when he realizes that this is probably deep enough. So Kotetsu tosses the shovel back onto solid ground, and then clambers back up to sit beside Frisk. He swipes the back of his hand across his forehead, leaving a smear of mud behind, and takes a deep breath.

"There. That should be okay, right?"

[dustless]

It's not six feet deep, but it's not like it has to be. They body'll fit.

"Yeah, it's gonna work."

Frisk pauses, looking at Kotetsu carefully. He's better than he was acting at first...he still doesn't need to do the next bit. He said his piece about them not needing to protect him, but they don't want it anyway.

"You don't need to help with this. I can do it. It's okay."

'It' becoming apparent immediately as Frisk moves to the bloody shroud, securing their hands over places that were already stained with their fingerprints. They'd dragged him this far, after all; they can move the body a couple more meters into the grave.

[oldmantiger]

It does not become immediately apparent, but Kotetsu realizes what it means before Frisk's fingers close around the carpet once more. Quickly enough for him to stop them, if he wanted to...but somehow, he can't bring himself to do it. He really is very tired, down to the bone, in a way that's more than the simple exertion of digging a grave hole should have left him with. He tells himself that it's because of the way his hands are shaking. If he tried to lift anything as...unwieldy as that carpet right now, he'd surely drop it.

It's not okay, but he appreciates them saying so. Even if they really shouldn't be the ones protecting him. He wonders where they got this determination to help everyone from. Maybe when they were even younger than they are now, someone held a gun to their head, too.

(Normally when he gets in this state, a drink is just the thing he needs to get his hands steady again. The thought is there, not entirely heeded but beguiling all the same. He'll deal with it later, possibly not entirely successfully.)

He won't take the job away from them. But once they get the body to the edge, he'll at least move to help it be deposited into the hole as gently as possible. And he feels a bit...better, perhaps, when that's done.

[dustless]

Gentle as the two of them try to be, the body still makes a noise when it's at the bottom. It sounds too heavy for the kid inside it.

For a minute, Frisk just stands there. One foot in the grave, literally. That shouldn't have been so tiring. But they've been doing a lot today, even if they didn't get to dig much of this grave in particular.

They breathe out through their nose before retreating back to the grass. "Dunno how they did it," they mumble under their breath. 'They' being whoever buried them and Chara last time. And then--oh. "Didn't make a...coffin. 'Ll need to say sorry 'bout that later."

Frisk turns back to the shovel, taking a step for it before pausing again. Should they finish the job, or let Kotetsu do it...?

[oldmantiger]

For a moment, Kotetsu kneels beside them. He stares down at the bloody bundle without really seeing it, his gaze distant and grim. He suddenly feels so, so old. He just buried a child who's name he doesn't even know.

He misses Kaede so, so much.

He turns away when Frisk does, but Kotetsu carries on to get up and pick up the shovel again. He's finishing the job. But it's only now that he's moving again that he realizes that Frisk spoke again. An what they said is...curious. The former hero tilts his head, staring at them thoughtfully as he leans on the shovel. "Ah...who do you need to apologize to?" Especially later on? Even if they mean the dead child's friends, it sounds like there are a lot of other things to express sympathy for besides the lack of a coffin.

Maybe it doesn't matter, but he doesn't actually want to "finish the job" that much, and so any distraction is a welcome one.

[dustless]

"That kid. I mean, 's not like it'll...matter, 'cause there's nothing to--feel there, but that's just...what you do, and stuff."

They decide to help, using their hands as a scoop this time. It's easy with the earth already loose.

[oldmantiger]

That is...not a helpful answer. Frisk seems to think it's a helpful answer, but it's not, not at all. It really only sinks in for Kotetsu then, as he tries to avoid dumping too much dirt on Frisk's head, that they're not on the same page on multiple levels. There's something he's missing. There's probably a lot of things he's missing - that's nothing new in his life - but it seems especially inescapable now. And especially relevant.

So he pauses for a break earlier than he might otherwise do, sticking the shovel back in the ground and looking over at the child.

"Frisk...do me a favor. Remember I haven't been here all that long. Is there something I'm missing about all of this?"

[dustless]

They pause in covering the blanket with dirt. Their hands are filthy with it, brown grains stuck to their fingers by the blood, but it looks less disgusting. Dirt gloves, not blood gloves.

Frisk's staring at him, blank, rewinding what they'd just been saying. "About the...coffin--?

...He was really upset, wasn't he?

He hasn't...been here. He hasn't seen this before.

A plethora of expressions fly across their face, too fast for even them to tell what they are, but it settles on a wide-eyed grimace they immediately smother.

But somebody must've said so. Somebody must've told him, it's important. And he'd been a ghost from the castle magic.

But then why'd he breathe like that? He didn't know this kid's name, so they probably weren't friends--just a kid. Just a dead kid, in front of a hero, from a place where people don't die a lot, and where there's no way to be used to it.

"This...this happened before, once," Frisk starts carefully. "A couple kids died--they were okay. Later. A few days later. And it'll happen again. There's...nobody told you about that?" they ask in a too-calm voice, waving at the graves nearby, fresh and not.

[oldmantiger]

Just a dead kid, though of course no kid is "just" a kid to Kotetsu. A dead kid in front of a hero from a place where the last time someone died in front of him, his friends were genuinely concerned about letting him go home on his own. He doesn't like to ever think about the possibility of getting used to the idea of death.

No one ever explained it to him. It never came up. He was a ghost during the time when they were all transformed, but he never left behind a body to be found, let alone buried.

His breathing goes strange again as Frisk tries to explain - his breaths coming in tight, shallow, quick. This news brings with it too many emotions, even when he fully processes just what's being said at all. That takes a few seconds, and what does it say about his time in the castle that it only takes a few seconds before Kotetsu realizes that he's being told that death isn't permanent in this place.

"People...people don't die forever, here?" He says it like a question, even if that's really the only way to interpret what they're saying. He's feeling too many things. Relief is still first and foremost, because that means that the child they're burying isn't going to stay dead. Shock is close behind, coupled with a fresh wave of old grief, because wouldn't it be nice if that were the case back home...

He actually sways on his feet a little beneath the enormity of this revelation, and has to support himself on the shovel again.

"Should we...should we..." He swallows, looking from the grave to Frisk. "Should we even be burying them at all, if they're just going to be...back?" It's clear by the look on his face that he's entirely at a loss.