k so im gonna start adding these these little previous paragraphs just so I can remember what the hell I've been writing cuz girl these plot holes are not pretty 🙄

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

His head shot up and his eyes darted across his surroundings. He was on a roof. There's blood everywhere. There's blood on him? He didn't feel injured, just the soreness in his muscles from running. Why was he running again?

The sky was darkening. Things were harder to see.

'A dead mask?'

A woman- no, a high school girl - was laying stiffly on the floor in front of him. The injuries were self inflicted.

'Why am I here?'

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3rd pov:

His mind was groggily and dark, much like the sky where the sun decided to tuck itself in, almost as a means to avoid the horrific display before Butcher mask. His clothes were soaked in blood, along with everything else on the lone roof. Much of it was dry, but he still felt dirty. The girl on the ground had been dead for a few hours, so there was nothing to be done. He opts to ignore her. 

But why can't I look away? The question replayed and overlapped in his head in a constant rhythm of deep, embedded sorrow he couldn't quite understand. Rinse and repeat. Something about looking at this girl brought a pain to his head; a nagging pain that wouldn't go away, one that made him feel empty, like when you forget something you had just thought about, and knew it was important. 

'Why am I here?' A sting of pain. His brain hurts.

'Who was this?' The pain was beginning to get unbearable.

'...Why am I crying?' The tears welled up in his eyes and streamed down his face. It made him feel dirty.

'Find a place to rest. The installation took mental and physical energy, and you've already exhausted yourself from the past journey.'

'A past journey?' What was he doing here? Why can't he remember?

Something inside of him obligated him to look down at the apron. But exhaustion seemed to have a stronger hold of him than it did. He could probably think things over easier once he's had a good nights rest.

He scanned the roof absentmindedly. No signs of threats. There weren't any wall facing toward the sun that wasn't already stained red. Butcher mask could care less though.

He rest his back against the wall and let sleep overcome his swarming thoughts.

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The morning sun poured into the holes of the sniper's mask. 

He spent a great portion of the night observing the man and high school student from a higher rooftop, a safe distance. At first, he had just happened to see a flash of (h/c) and white carrying a body and decided to see what he was running from so hurriedly. When he realized the butcher was holding a mask, one that he had seen hanging around the other, he couldn't help following the two. His mask hadn't made him stop or go look for humans, so what harm could a peek do?

A lot of harm, actually.

He watched the dimly lit figure tremble as he looked down at the body he blocked from Sniper mask's view. At that point, he felt more than obligated to turn away and busy himself with following the despair command. He couldn't think, but something inside him made him want to go to the two and attempt to comfort the other mask, but he couldn't. 

He had been experiencing...weird bugs where he would stare at the man or silently follow after him. He didn't mean to, it was just that the funny feeling would draw him to the other mask.

Well, it shouldn't matter. Bug or not, his job and priority was to push humans to the edge of despair and kill all those who don't comply. Why should he worry about something that didn't concern him? 

His sluggishness wore off in a matter of seconds and he prepared his rifle skillfully.

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Butcher mask was sat against the wall he slept on. His eyes adjusted to the bright rays of early morning quickly. He gazed at the yellowing sky momentarily and then set his focus on the events of last night. His mind was noticeably clearer; he recalled the chip and his previous ambitions for killing humans, but many things were blatantly missing now. Is this what freedom costs? He looked to the body of the girl a few feet from him. She was slowly decomposing, now a graying husk of who she used to be. 

His head snapped from the girl's dull (e/c) eyes and to the things around. Maybe going through these items will help jog some memory. 

He groaned in soreness and began with the bag to his side. The eggs inside were battered and cracked. They left a sticky film of yolk on the interior of the bag and everything else in it. His nose scrunched up in disgust. 'Must've gotten smashed up while we were running.'

Right! He had been running. It was hard to run; he remembered tripping various times. Why, though? Why was he running?

He found 3 neatly stacked bento boxes. They were cute. Whoever made these put a lot of care in them.

"Rin, don't forget to eat your lunch. Or I'll start leaving little notes with your food again."

The blurry girl shuddered and turned to the figure. Pretty brown and blotches of (e/c) faced the tall man. 

"I only eat cat shaped rice. The one you gave me yesterday was clearly a tiger."

The man huffed out in frustration. 

"omg, they're literally the same fucking thing. grow up." He patted his hands on the apron and resumed his work in the kitchen.

The girl hummed in acknowledgment. "Get a move on to chef school."

"Yeah, yeah."

'I made these. I was a student in culinary school. That girl looks like-' His thoughts shocked him enough to pause. 'Thoughts.'

'Ohhh god. It's been way too long since I've been able to hear myself.' He closed his eyes in content. He looked around sheepishly after remembering the existence of his command.

'...mister disembodied voice?' 

'God, to think I couldn't stand you when you had limited control. I didn't think you could get anymore irritating...' The voice spoke with an obvious and unseen scowl.

'rude.'

He moved on to the pockets of his apron. A notebook, pen, surplus of bandages, and...a student ID?

'(l/n) Rin.' The girl in the picture was remarkably similar to the girl on the ground. She was not as bubbly as she was in her picture anymore.

'(l/n) Rin. (l/n) Rin. Rin. (l/n). (l/n)?' The name echoed in his head. It didn't hurt as much to think now. At some point his hands began to quiver. He hung his head low in thought.

'This girl. I knew her.' 

A taped paper fell from under the ID. Butcher mask hurried to it and grabbed it hungrily, desperate to find anything that would help him. 

'Remember.' The word on the folded paper's cover was simple, but gave Butcher mask the push he needed to eagerly open the small paper. 

A mess of words littered the inside of the paper. At first glance, they looked random and seemed to just have been thrown together, but Butcher mask found himself entranced by the words at the center. 

'(l/n) (y/n)'  Bold letters stood against the others.

'Humans.' 'Aid.' 'Cruel.' 'City.' 'Siblings.' 'Gordon Ramsay' 'Death.' 'Help.' 'Omelette.' 'Masks.' 'Angels.' and the list went on. His mind reacted to the words quickly and he soon found himself in another pulsing migraine. 

Each word brought a little over the fog in his head.

The warmth of the loveseat in an apartment.

"...take my apron. There's a chance you'll forget some things once you're done with the installment."

A girl with pigtails and bows.

"Promise you'll do something. I know that you're special. You have something that many others don't have. Sympathy."

The (very hot, might I add,) man with the rifle. 

(a/n: sorry I know this is serious but I literally couldn't help myself)

'I don't want to kill humans.' 

The girl with (e/c) eyes.

The words rang loudly in his head, and everything seemed to click.

When he came back to, his mind seemed to start turning cogs and strengthen with ambition.

'I will protect humans and help end this cruel world.' He gripped his cleavers and held his head high. 

Butcher mask knelt by the stiff figure before leaving in the early afternoon. 'I'll do it for the both of us.' He didn't understand his words in that moment, but they felt right. This girl was close to him, in the past life and in this altered reality. He prayed silently and strode away swiftly. 

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Butcher mask sprang through rooftops. His heightened reflexes helped guide him towards the distressed humans he couldn't yet see. 

'Left turn, down the stairs.' A familiar stoic voice sang. He nodded to no one in particular and skidded to the sliver bridge. 

The buzzing was getting louder. They were close by.

He ran past the inattentive masks and sped towards the stairs of the building. He could hear the clashing of metal bounce off the walls of the stairwell. 

He hurried to a corner and looked at the scene quietly. Time seemed to slow. 'One male, another female. Armed with a simple kitchen knife.' Weeks of observation and sky gazing helped Butcher mask scope out situations within milliseconds. The program probably helped too. 

'The woman is on the ground unmoving. Unconscious or dead. The human man seems to be holding off the mask, but can't do take any offensive actions with the mask's sharp reflexes.' He started at the group quizzically. 

'I'll have to jump in.' 

Time resumed again. Butcher mask rushed from the stairs and slammed his body into the preoccupied mask. One of the great things about being a mask was being able to go unnoticed by most. And also insane strength. Like sheeeeesh. Occasionally, some would just freeze up and watch him move until he was just out of sight.

The shove only temporarily took the mask down, but it was enough to put distance between the human and the mask. Butcher mask stood, defensively, in front of the exhausted human. A (e/c) iris met the man's in an intense side glance. 

'Don't worry. I'll protect you both with my life.' The man's eyes widened.

He turned to the mask who was now very aware of Butcher mask's hostility. 

A mask interfering with another mask's killing? He surely deserves to be punished for such a sin. 

Butcher mask gripped his cleavers and shot forward as soon as the other mask moved. The mask also had knives, but they didn't look like the kind you find in a kitchen. 'They're specialized for swift killing.' Butcher mask met the mask's weapon with his own. The mask was remarkably strong, but it wouldn't matter anyway. 

'I haven't killed all day. I'm glad you are offering yourself to me. Your sacrifice will be honored.' A dark gleam flashed in the butcher's eyes. In an eye blink, the mask was slumped on the ground with jagged cuts in its throat and mask. He laid the body down and knelt. A silent prayer passed through Butcher mask's mind and the dark gleam was gone. He stood from his knelt position.

His head turned to the man who gripped the unconscious woman protectively. He looked beyond confused and terrified, especially when Butcher mask started walking towards the two. The man held a kitchen knife up in a trembling hand. 

"W-What do you want!? Stay back, monster!"

Butcher mask paused and took a step back. He dug through the stained pockets of his apron and  pushed a handful of bandages and wrapped food towards the man.

He looked even more confused. His mouth hung from his pale face. 

Butcher mask walked away stiffly and exited the building. He ignored the desperate voice that called after him.

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Butcher mask leant against a wall. He had only helped 4 other humans, but he still felt a little drained. He decided to watch the clouds and take a five minute breather. Pinks and dark blues. Butcher mask always found himself lost in the beauty in this world's sky. It was one of the only things that seemed to never change no matter where you were, yet it was so unique you couldn't help but just watch those lumps of air cotton drift slowly. He wanted more than anything to be like them. To drift lazily away from this world and just close his eyes against the velvety wind. He wanted to be painted a pretty color too. 

He didn't know when he had laid down on the ground. He was calm. The calmest he's been in the last week. 

'Hey.'

'What?' The voice stayed with him at all times. Anytime he called out to it, it always seemed to reply. Ever since the installation of HAPP, it's helped guide him.

'Would you read the cautions and tips again?' He held his hand up and reached for the darkening blue clouds.

'Again? Isn't this the 4th time today?' The voice sounded irritated. 'I guess the program didn't affect his attitude.' He thought to himself. 

'I'll provide a summary. Buzzing sensations will become stronger if you are near someone in danger. Your mind prioritizes the wavelengths of individuals that are intertwined with yours. People you know or knew, humans and masks.'

'I probably felt that when that girl...' He trailed off and his hand dropped to his mask. 

'You are tasked with aiding humans. You go mostly unnoticed by other angels, but caution should always be taken. It is suggested that you keep your mask safe. Any damage to your mask or head could interfere with HAPP's data. The information is much more vulnerable since it is a foreign script from an outside source. Instances where mask-like behavior or dark thoughts protrude your train of thought or actions are likely, as the mind tries defaults to the original command."

Butcher mask's hands twitched lightly. He had outbursts of cruel behavior towards masks, as other masks might have towards humans. 'So the green blob wasn't kidding about the command remaining.' Most of the times, he was aware of his thoughts, but other times...

'I see. Thanks, CV.'

'CV?'

'I need to call you something, right? Why not abbreviate command voice?' 

'No.'

'I know you like it-'

'No.'

Butcher mask sat up and started to gather his things. Tomorrow was a new day.

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WOOOOO

new arc happening. get ready to see more of yuri honjo and miss blonde girl B)

lets not forget sniper man. definitely more of him next chapter. also, im sorry if I made him seem like a weirdo. he still has an intact mask rn.

sorry this came so late. I've been lazing around and I didn't have any time these past few weekends.

cheers, friends, and thanks