song: mass anaesthesia - mediavolo

𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐒:

[𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄]:
Hey, did you get home safe?

𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐄:
Yeah, I did, thanks for asking.

[NAME]:
Oh, uhm by the way, I'm sorry for the way I was acting at the beginning of the date today, y'know, when it wasn't a restaurant.

AVENTURINE:
Oh, that? Don't worry, it's okay. All that matters is that you had fun, right?

[NAME]:
Yea, you're right.. So uhm, what are you doing right now?

AVENTURINE:
I'm just going over some documents that are work - related. They aren't anything too serious, so you aren't disturbing me if you're worried about that.

[NAME]:
You have a job outside of gambling? I would've assumed you took it as a professional career considering how well known you are in the gambling society.

AVENTURINE:
Oh you knew before meeting me that I am a well known gambler?

[NAME]:
How could I not? You're renowned for making such excruciating bets yet despite that, you always win them - regardless of what type of game it is.
Even someone who isn't well-versed in gambling knows your name. Plus, I need to keep my eye out for those who make good money.

AVENTURINE:
What, so you can use your little magic tricks to pickpocket me?

[NAME]:
Hey don't call my skills 'little magic tricks'! I could've stolen who knows how much from you these past few weeks but I didn't. I mean I did try to when we first met, but it didn't even work out anyways.

AVENTURINE:
And now I have evidence of you admitting to trying to steal from me. I could turn this in to the Bloodhound family if I wanted to.

[NAME]:

Hey- don't report me, it was meant to be a joke..!  I'll do anything just don't turn it in..!

AVENTURINE:
Anything? Are you willing to bet your life on the line for it?

[NAME]:
Huh?? Stop joking around.. I'd rather you hand it in than risk my life for it.

AVENTURINE:
Sorry, sorry I was just trying to tease you a bit. Don't worry I won't do anything, I could've done something a while ago since I first met you.

[NAME]:
Jeez.. you're so frivolous that it's worrying. Regardless, thank you for not doing anything with the message..

AVENTURINE:
Is it so wrong to be light-hearted though?
Taking everything so seriously is such a rigid way to live and it makes you feel even more stressed. Life is like a gambling match, where the odds of who will win can drastically change from even the drawing of a single card. In games like that, you can't rely on predictability to know who will win.

[NAME]:
Uhm

AVENTURINE:
Is 'uhm' all you have to say to that? Haha! Well anyways, this is getting quite awkward.. how about we change the topic? Let's try to get to know each other!

[NAME]:
Huh? Try to know each other?

AVENTURINE:
Well, I've spent 2 full dates with you, but I barely know anything about you, and I don't know how long this weekly date thing will go on for.. so might as well try to get to know you in however long I spend with you. How about we ask each other questions so that we can know what each other are like?

[NAME]:
Eh? Uh, sure, if that's what you want to do. I'll ask one first then. Uhh.. what's your favourite animal?

AVENTURINE:
You sure act a lot more awkward with me now compared to our first time meeting. You were so confident to ask me on a date! Where'd all that confidence go?

[NAME]:

Just leave that alone, it's so embarrassing.. it was probably just a sudden rush of adrenaline in the situation, who knows what you could've done when you caught there. But does it even matter now? That's what grew us closer, and if I had to embarrass myself like that so I could continue talking to you like this, I would do it in a heartbeat.

AVENTURINE:
You're that happy that you met me..?

[NAME]:
Yea.. well let's just continue with what you were saying.. answer the question.

AVENTURINE:
Ok then, hm.. if I had to have a favourite animal, I'd probably say a peacock.

[NAME]:
Why a peacock?

AVENTURINE:
Hm.. I don't really know to be honest. If I had to give a reason, it would probably be because of their symbolism.. beauty, wealth and rebirth. They have the beauty of all, relying on their looks to charm others and use it as last resort resources. Their wealth, having the value of everything in their grasp, using it to buy others off. Then finally, rebirth, as if they left behind both their looks and prosperity to be something new, to find a new value, that isn't materialistic and temporary.

[NAME]:
Uhm what are you taking about

AVENTURINE:
Ignore that then.. I'm just making such a simple question more complicated, aren't I? Oh well, I'll ask you a question now.

[NAME]:
Alright, shoot your question.

AVENTURINE:
Ok hmm.. do you have any dreams or goals you want to accomplish?

[NAME]:
Eh, dreams? I know it sounds very shaky, but the only goal I have right now is to get rich so I can quit this tiring routine of pickpocketing. Though I guess in your opinion, wealth and money is superficial .

AVENTURINE:
Oh well, everyone views things differently and have different goals and priorities, who am I to judge? But do you not have anything to do after that? Like what you want to spend that money on?

[NAME]:
Ah.. I mean, I just want to be able to get a decent house with a good-enough amount of food, knowing that I'll be able to have a roof over my head the next day. It really isn't that fascinating.. but I guess survival is a priority over dreams.

AVENTURINE:

Yea.. I can definitely see what you are trying to say. But, do you truly not have any other aspirations that you ever wanted? ..Something that can maybe be seen as a memory you want to look back on in the future?

[NAME]:
Well, uh I mean, I guess I used to want to go visit Dream Edge's view one day.. I visited it when I was younger some years ago, but since it was such a long time ago, I don't remember what the view looked like, how I felt, or anything in general. ..But one thing that I know I will not forget is the look on my mother's face when she saw it. She was star-struck, amazed by its beauty. I don't know what it was, but I want to find out.

AVENTURINE:
That's.. very beautiful.. but is there a reason why you 'used to' want to go visit it?

[NAME]:
Eh? I thought I already told you - I have to prioritise my survival over my dreams. Life's a bit rocky, it has its ups and downs.. but I'm sure it'll all be okay soon! I just have to be patient for just a bit longer.. and it'll all work out on its own eventually.

AVENTURINE:
I.. I see, that's really nice. See, I told you that you can have more dreams outside of just money! Now I got to know you a bit better, and you got to know me a bit better!

[NAME]:
Yeah.. this is a bit relaxing for us to just talk together casually when outside of the date.

Aventurine is now offline.

Aventurine is now online.

AVENTURINE:
Sorry, I had a message for work and I have to go now, let's talk together like this another time though!

[NAME]:
Oh wait you were looking over work documents before this right? I must've slowed you down, sorry about that! Yeah, you get going now. Bye !

AVENTURINE:
Alright, I'll see you later then

____________________________

3RD PERSON POV:

The young man stared at his phone as he sent his final message, 'Alright, I'll see you later then'. He swiped out of the chat message with [Name] as he opened up the chat message just below it, with a message from 1 minute ago.

"A group of some underground thugs haven't paid their debt which has been overdue for some time now, and we needed someone to go and collect it. I thought you would be the best fit for the job, considering your nature. I attached a file with the location and all the general information you need. Diamond wants it finished by the end of the day - don't worry, it should be quite a simple task for someone of your calibre.
- Jade"

Sighing, he opened the attached file, turned off his phone and placed it in his pocket. He put on his usual hat, adorned with a single peacock feather, and headed for the location.

____________________________

TW: GUNS/BLOOD

When Aventurine reached the location, he peered into a small, crooked alleyway, not too close to be spotted by the thugs but just enough to be able to overhear any important information they would say. Overgrown, tangled vines hung from one side to the other, crossing over each other as they partially blocked his view. Bits of shrubbery and moss tightly clutched onto the walls, refusing to let go. Eventually, one of the men spoke up.

"B-boss! I've finished my task, what do you want me to do next?" a tall, slender man with broken glasses loudly called out, showing a small stack of papers in his hand to the presumed 'boss'.

"Do you not know how to lower your volume?" he groaned, as he snatched the papers from the man's hands. "You call this shit finsihed? What the hell do you think this group is, some little kid's show? I'm doing actual work and keeping watch over the city's security cameras. And what are you doing? Wasting time on these worthless papers and loudly yelling for someone to find us here? Go and do something productive in your life, will ya?" He slowly began to reach for his back pocket.

"Y-yes boss..!" he quickly stuttered in embarrassment as soon as he saw the sight of the boss reaching for his pocket. He bowed down and attempted to run out of the alleyway, until a bellowing voice made him stop.

"When did I tell you that I dismissed you?" the voice said. "Come back." As if he was a puppet on strings, the man retraced his steps, and was once again met face to face with the leader.

"A-ah. I'm sorry, boss. I was going to go and find something to do to help-"

He didn't finish his sentence.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Blood was dripping.

A large, gaping hole. Punctured through his forehead.

A single metal bullet penetrated through.

Blood began to rapidly seep through.

The dirty, concrete floor, covered in cigarettes, now stained of crimson bloodshed.

ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈• ｡ﾟ｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈• ｡ﾟ

𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬:
❝𝐝𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐮𝐭𝐲.

𝐚 𝐝𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝. 𝐧𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐮𝐭𝐲, 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥.

𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐨. 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐢𝐭, 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐧𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐰 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐮𝐧. 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞, 𝐚 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧'𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐞. 𝐬𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧'𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐬?❞

𝗐𝗈𝗋𝖽 𝖼𝗈𝗎𝗇𝗍: 1973
01／07／𝟤𝟢𝟤𝟦

A/N:

TLDR:
I Felt bad I left for so long w/o any updates so have a chapter that I finished up some time ago while you wait, not fully back from hiatus yet but I'm nearly done with the whole story so I will be soon !!

________________________

So uhm I'm not coming back yet bc not all the chapters are done but I felt bad I left for like nearly a month w/o posting anything so I posted a chapter to give you something in the mean time.

There are other chapters done but I need to finish up the last few but then it'll be ready and will be uploaded constantly !!

I'm gonna be gone again for a bit, but next time I upload I should be done with the rest of the chapters, so from that point on it will be consistent (unless I become really lazy these next few weeks and just postpone finishing the ending for some reason)

byebye !! (for now😼)