[If you've been smelling that metallic tang in the air particularly strongly, despite travelling alone tonight, well.

There's a reason for that. Taking that shortcut through the woods was a bad idea, especially when you end up coming across a blood-spattered man, probably the source of the metal-blood smell now that you think about it, squatting beside viscera. He's got one sleeve rolled up, reaching into what might have once been an abdomen, gleaming ribs above and murky organs peeking out from torn skin. Even as he turns to look, Kanou smiles wide, serene, and grabs onto something within.]

Hi~ Kanou-san's just playing with his friend ♡ They were playing tricks on me, so I'm getting my own back after they went and died on me, you know?

[He grabs on harder. Something squelches within. Then he pulls.] You have to be careful about who you tru~st. Maybe we should get guns! [Another pull. Whatever poor organ he's grabbed onto doesn't want to detach without a fight.]

[Oh. Oh dear. That's his beloved Aso-chan. His beloved Aso-chan, who never chased him down. His beloved Aso-chan who he died for, then lived for. Who couldn't even save him.

Kanou stumbles after the spectre, calling out in alternating adoration and fury. Lilting nicknames, switching into 'come back here, bastard!', but chasing all the while. Aso-chan can't escape his duty this time. Aso-chan has to kill him. Aso-chan has to do the 'right' thing, and Kanou isn't going to forget the debt. Which is why he kicks off his shoes, rolls his pantslegs up, and starts wading in with a look of thunder on his nutty little face, no matter how cold the water is.]

Oi! I gave everything for you, rat! Come back and finish what you started-- [oh wait he has an audience. He plasters a smile back on his face, playfully bonks himself on the head despite being ankle-deep, and sticks his tongue out.] So~rry~ Kanou-san didn't mean to disturb you, but I have personal business with this guinea pig of mine ☆ Isn't it mean of him to run away? Don't you think he's just the worst? Not very heroic at all, even?

[Well, whatever. If they're going to insist on using him as fodder for their experiments, well...It was only a matter of time! And he doesn't mind too terribly, bar the fact that he'd rather be on the studying end than the studied. But it's interesting, to get to see the results up close like this! To have his reality so wobbly, to be switched through roles in this little town that only he seems to remember the progression of.

A few days ago, he was a librarian. Now, he's working at the corner store, standing behind the cash register with a cheery smile and a box of doughnuts to get him through the day.]

Hiiiiii~ Hey, hey, guinea pig, fellow guinea pig...What job did you have before? You can tell me, I'm not one of the big bad guys today ☆ I'll give you a discount if you share~