tw: mentions of suicide, gore, violence, and foul language.

bold: writing

'single quotation': thoughts

slanted/italics: memories.

underlined: underlined sentences are basically commands and thoughts of those who's thoughts are still completely controlled by the mask.

single quotation dialogue is basically belongs to a person who isn't a mask or has gained a bit of freedom from the command and can retain their own thoughts..

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~" 𝘴𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘺 "~

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Previously

He only watched her struggle and manage to balance out the weight on the bridge. Somehow, she made it to the other side and waved triumphantly at Butcher mask. He sighed the breath he was holding. He waved back. She was a danger magnet, if anything. If he was going to follow her, he would need to find another entry. But for now, he had to tend to other humans.

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3rd pov:

Another cute quirk Butcher mask picked up on was killing masks (provoked or not) to relieve stress. His forced instincts to kill stayed as impulsive as before, and sometimes he just needed to kill something. He didn't want to, he just got... weird... when he didn't get it out of his system.
Now was one of those times. He had hurt that man from earlier, and sure, he would normally be good for a while, but that time he didn't get to kill the man.

'Maybe I should just cook.' Stress cooking was surprisingly soothing. It had a similar, if not equal, effect as fighting.
'maa, an omelette sounds great right now.'
'We're in the middle of a fight.'

He found a mask not too far from where that honjo girl went. A woman, mid 40's, laid in a pool of blood near a closed door.
He didn't spot any other humans, but a faint buzz told him otherwise. But he would worry about that once he's had his fix.

The mask noticed him immediately. She was scrawny, but he knew what the Command was capable of doing to a person's strength and agility.

'Just one swift swipe.' His cleavers shined with reflected anticipation.
His face dulled and he focused on the mask that zoomed towards him.
'Just one swipe.' His hands itched to move. He hated it.

He cut her throat like he did for the rest before her. It wasn't a quick method, but it wasn't prolonged. If he got too out of hand, he'd have to clean his apron again.
He went on with his usual routine; lay the bodies down, cover the wounds, and pay respects. But a soft shuffling from the closed room interrupted.

Movement from behind the door.
'The buzzing.' Curiously, he crept towards it. There was definitely someone inside.
He knocked softly and opened the door slowly.

'A boy. 6-ish years old? Bruised. He doesn't look very healthy either.'

As soon as he met the boy's frightened eyes, said boy shrieked at the mask on the butcher's face and scooted away.

'Uh, hey now...' He tried to bribe the boy out with food to get a better view of any injury, but he only sobbed harder when he got close.

He exited quickly and leant against the wall next to the door.
'A new update. You unlocked a thing.'
'What???'

'Maintain clear eye contact with the subject. It expresses your intentions more clearly. You've done it before with that man a few days back.'
He waited for his brain roommate to continue.

'During times of extreme emotion, sentences can be communicated clearly to an individual you connect with.'

'people can read my mind through my eyeballs?'

He ignored Butcher mask. 'But for the most part, you will only express your intentions.'

'so it's telepathy. The song pinned for this chapter is surprisingly on point.'

silence.

'the song is telepatía. telepathy in spanish is-'

'You should get the boy to look at your eyes.'

How he was going to get the boy to look at him was the problem. He was absolutely terrified of masks, so he couldn't possibly get near him.

He snapped his fingers in realization. The boy was afraid of masks, which meant he associated masks with danger, so taking it off would make Butcher mask look much more approachable.

He started to unclip his mask in careful motions. He couldn't risk getting the mask damaged, so he placed it in the pouch of his new and convenient bag that has not been mentioned before whatsoever (the other one had been ruined by eggs.)
'Huh. That's strange.' As soon as he did though, he felt significantly weaker. It didn't feel like any of the other times he had taken his mask off to eat or clean. Everything about his body, strength and ability-wise, was watered down. The only thing he really felt was the soft humming of humans scattered here and there, in and out of death.
He would think it over later.

He entered the room again. The boy relaxed when he saw butcher mask's face. He let Butcher mask inch closer and squat down next to him.

He brought out a paper and pen.
Using the name he was given as a mask would probably be unnerving, so he used the name written on the paper of jumbled words he got when he 'woke up.'

'My name is (y/n). What's yours?'

"H-Haruki." He wiped his face with a sleeve.

"Mister, are you gonna hurt me?" He asked shakily and wide eyed.

Butcher mask shook his head.

'Why are you here? Are you lost?'
"mhm. A lady with the mask, she ran after me and momma. Momma told me to hide and wait for her, but I think she got lost!"

'oh.' That means the woman outside is...

'Are you hungry?' He changed the subject quickly.

He reached into his bag and pulled out a ziplock bag with leftovers from his previous stress cooking.

"Thank you, mister." He grabbed the bag hungrily and ate quickly.
"this is really good!"

Butcher mask's posture brightened with flattery.
'maybe I'll keep him.'

"Hey mister, I like you. Will you help me find my momma?"

Butcher mask looked away with a pitiful gaze.

'Sure.'
He held out his hand and led them out. Butcher mask moved them away from the body quickly.

'Don't look.' He directed a firm glance down to the boy and kept a solid grasp on his hand.

The boy stared, surprised, then nodded in understanding and allowed himself to be guided out.

Halfway through the stairs, a violent illness washed over every inch of Butcher mask's body. The buzzing almost made Butcher mask not hear the boy's "Are you ok?"

It was coming from the building Yuri went into. A familiar sensation bubbled deep in Butcher mask.
'Two people that share your wavelength. One other normal human.'

Butcher mask grabbed the boy with one arm and sprinted to the building. He dropped the boy off at a storage closet.

'Stay until I come back.' He quickly shut the door then ascended the halls and stairs.

Up a few flight of stairs, there was a standoff. Butcher mask pressed himself against a wall and assessed the situation.
One dead male, slit throat. Two girls in stairwell, seem to be in ok health. Threat is shooting from around the far corner.

They had just finished exchanging names, from what Butcher mask could infer.
"I'm uh... Mayuko Nise."

A capped figure peered from behind the corner.
'It's that man.'
'He's going to shoot at the knife on the ground.'
Right, so the bullet would reflect off the metal surface. He couldn't tell if it was the Command's ability to heighten senses, but this mask was definitely smart in fights.

Just before Sniper mask's bullet hit the discarded dagger, a cleaver block its trajectory and caused it to hit the large glass windows.

The girls looked around confused before Yuri's eyes caught familiar a flash of (h/c) hair and a bloodied mask.

"Mister- er- friendly mask!" He never did give his name.
Butcher mask sweat dropped.

"Two masks. It's way too dangerous. We should head upstairs for now. I think I have an idea." Mayuko tugged at Yuri's arm and dragged her upstairs.

"Hey, that mask over there is my friend!"

"Masks can't be friends. I have an ace up my sleeve."
They ran up the stairs.

'I need to guard them while they're up there.' Butcher mask thought. He snuck to the entrance of the stairs leading up and waited for the slow approaching footsteps. He raised his one cleaver, with a offensive stance.

He met face to face with a tall and armed mask. A black hat and equally dark suit and pants clung to his lean figure. Something stirred in Butcher mask.
'I've definitely seen this man before.' He paused. 'Why is he buzzing as well?'

Clanking from the stairs behind him snapped him back into awareness. A small, green metal ball rolled from under his legs.

His breath caught in his throat when he realized what it was. For a brief moment, he and the man in front of him exchanged a look of mutual terror.

'Fuck-'

The blast resonated throughout the walls of the building. His teeth clatter together from the vibration, then silence. He jumped in front of the man to lessen the force of the blow and injury on the man, but a gloved hand yanked him to the corner.

He leant hard against the wall, panting. The floor doubled and darkened. He was still drunk with adrenaline, but it wore off when he heard a faint crack. The masked man was also on the wall. He maintained his hard grip on Butcher mask's arm, then groaned quietly.

Butcher mask observed him quietly. The blow to his head was sending pulses through his brain; memories flashed by in a blur and he only managed to capture a few. That day on the roof? It must've been him.

Sniper mask turned his head to meet his stare. Butcher mask stiffened his posture. He couldn't tell if he was still hostile or not, but something about him was different. Those grayish eyes were still dull, but hid curiosity and caution.

'maybe it's just the lack of hat.'

His eyes flickered to the man's face.
The crack on the man's mask made his eyes widen beneath his quiet facade. He reached to touch the crack, but the man who had been observing him flinched away. He withdrew his hand.

"Hey-" His voice was gruff and deep.

Butcher mask stood urgently, simultaneously interrupting the sniper.
He left the kid completely unattended.
He was a horrible accidental adoptive father.

He turned on his heel, bowed to the man in appreciation, then limped away to where he left the boy.

Sniper mask only watched him in awe. He brought a hand up to his mask.

'huh...'

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yes, finally. papa sniper has made an appearance 🎉
also you're adopting this child until i say so. sorry and you're welcome.

i have no idea where im going with this but think of it as a journey im taking along with you all

thank yall for reading. ☺️