| keep it clean for the camera • horror renga au |

1

Reki Kyan had seen plenty of slasher films and listened to daily crime podcasts. His main love was for skateboarding, but sometimes (mainly, if he was bored), he would turn on a video or podcast while he was brushing his teeth or trying to fall asleep. The topic of death genuinely intrigued him, as other humans do. The subject itself is ambiguous; it's a conclusion everyone will reach in their lifetime. But listening to true crime and watching gory movies gives humans a sense of security, a line that's crossed between fiction and reality. This was true for Reki, as he knew that murder only existed within the safety of storytelling. With every story told, a word of reassurance resides in his head with the comfort of knowing that, "that could never happen to me."

Yet, he found himself holding a rusty pick-axe, stained with the blood of one of the most wealthy and influential man who resided in Okinawa.

Langa Hasegawa stared at him with wide, clouded eyes as Adam fell to the ground. Langa covered his mouth, vile beginning to rise in his throat as he staggered back, confounded.

Reki flinched at the sound of a skull sundered against the concrete. Blood began to pool on the ground, Adam's fashioned attire soaked up the ooze like a damp sponge. Adam stared unblinkingly for a moment before falling still.

He had only hit him once. He had just wanted to knock him unconscious.

Reki sucked in his teeth, thrusting the axe out and throwing it to the side. The abandoned factory echoed back with the clash of metal. Reki's mind began to race while Langa turned on his knees and vomited between his legs.

Adam's wound was deep. The pick-axe had been penetrated through the base of his skull. Adam had been in the most vulnerable position for Reki to strike, and he didn't want to miss his chance.

Adam had been on his knees with Langa pinned against the heavily graffitied wall. His hand slid from Langa's torso into his jeans while Langa laid helpless against his strength and his own anxiety. Reki, finding them hidden away from Adam's soirée of followers, had only two options.

Reki had no chance against Adam. Adam had the upper hand in agility, strength, and the public eye.

It was either him or Adam who made it out alive tonight.

"Reki ... ?" Langa broke the long-term silence as if it were nails against a chalkboard. The way Langa drew out his name felt like it punctured his heart; oh, how broken he had sounded. The taste of liquid metal tainted his tongue from biting his bottom lip, the wound dripping down his chin.

Reki had just killed a man.

Langa swallowed as he stood up, knee's dripping in someone else's blood. He took a deep breath before he stumbled towards Reki; the back of his soles paved the earth in crimson with each step.

Reki couldn't speak, his reasonings caught in his throat. White noise throbbed in his ears as Langa reached a hand toward him. His teeth began to chatter as he stumbled back; hesitations lingered in his movement.

Langa took a forceful approach to grab his hand. His widened bronze eyes looked up to Langa with alarm, his hands shaky as he slowly wrapped his fingers around his.

"Reki ... Reki, listen to me. We can't leave him like this. We have to—"

"I know," Reki interrupted him mid-sentence, the echo of his voice biting back. He decided to take the "I'm in charge" approach to the unfamiliar situation. "But ... I can take care of this. I don't want you to get involved."

Langa's response only being to squeeze his hand tighter. "Don't be stupid. Reki, listen to me. We can't leave him like this. We can't let anyone see this ... God, did you even think this through before going with this?" Langa pinched the bridge of his nose as Reki let go of his hand, a morbid curiosity pulling him towards Adam's body.