The glass breaks. The match starts.
Joseph snaps a photograph as soon as he reaches the nearest camera. Entering the Camera World, he wastes no time in searching for the survivors.
It's rather challenging nowadays, survivors having already mastered the art of hiding from the hunters. But it only makes it all the more rewarding when he does find one so early in the match, just like now. His first find, the Painter, promptly leaves the cipher machine he has been occupying, exiting the Camera World in his haste. The Photographer promptly gives chase.
He hunts down the sketching youngster, trying to evade the latter's keen eyes by putting some trees between them at every turn. Straightforward chasing is never his forte but Joseph knows a few tricks. With a little twist and turn, he manages to fool the busy artist, trapping him and making him trip over some rocks.
The Moonlight Gentleman can't help the chuckle escaping him, towering over the survivor screaming obscenities on the ground. The Painter can be quite troublesome in the long run and the Photographer is always more than elated whenever he captures him before he could paint a picture. Raising his weapon, he readies himself for an eager attack.
But a peculiar glow above his eyes suddenly halts him mid-stance. His gaze immediately searches for the source—something's wrong...
"What the—?" the Painter interjects for both of them.
The Photographer's eyes widen in disbelief, transfixed by the realization that the light is coming from the article in his hand. Quickly withdrawing his arm, he studies the cane fully against the Lakeside Village's dim light. He can't believe it. He can't believe it! His intuition has been right—it was warning him about this!
Horror and bewilderment—such emotions silently swirl within him. The beautiful cane in his hand isn't his at all! He'd recognize this anywhere—a brown stalk accented by silver and adorned by an ornate lantern on top. There's only one person in possession of such...
He covers his face in sheer embarrassment, teeth clenched to stifle his disappointed groan.
He and Helena have switched canes! It could've only happened last match, there was no other time. After he had carried her to the Gate, she apparently handed him the wrong item. He should've noticed it, he should've! But her soft lips and besotted face were so distracting—so delectable—that he didn't even bother to check what was in his hand. Helena was too sweet, he couldn't have thought of anything else...
He shudders, hit by another realization. If he has her cane, then that means she has his. That means that she can't see! Her cane, no matter its form, is special in that it creates soundwaves that give her sight. His cane, usually a sword but not with this specific costume, is designed for fatal attacks. Their weapons will only be useless to the other. This is even worse than switching hats!
This can't be real! How can I be so careless?!
A mocking laughter interrupts his thoughts. "You're so old you couldn't even tell your sticks apart!" The Painter has risen from his inelegant position earlier but chooses to remain at point-blank range. "You can't hurt me now! Not with Adams' precious staff!"
Joseph scowls in silent fury. He can't deny that the brat is right. He'd sooner lose than risk tainting anything of Helena's. And especially not by using it against insufferable survivors. He needs to think of something...
But the Painter keeps on jeering at him in that high-pitched voice, ignoring the glare directed at him. If the Photographer has had any thoughts of surrendering, it's gone now. He will not tolerate such insolence!
Wordlessly, he passes the cane to his less dominant hand. Then lifting his left high, he brings it down in one elegant stroke, backhanding the survivor across the face strong enough to force him back to the ground. The artist stops laughing, mouth twisting in pain as he crumples down.
"How dare you?!" the survivor shrieks, wincing as he touches his damaged cheek. "You barbarian! Not even my father ever hit me!"
"If you'd kept quiet, I would've kicked you, instead," the hunter snipes back as he wriggles his hand to relieve it of the numbness. He never has had to resort to such savagery but it's apparently as effective as any normal attack. "Now look at what you've done. My poor hand..."
It is answered with a growl. "You'll regret this, old man!" declares Runaway as he picks himself up to run again, quickly working on his canvas.
The incensed hunter without any other weapon follows suit, wondering how he could last a match without bruising himself... and trying to dispel his worries for Helena's survival. She's resourceful enough to find a substitute. Or she might be able to use my weapon—maybe even hunt with it. He won't be able to get out of this game run for quite a while. The least he can do is hope for the best. Hold on, Helena...
"W-What?"
Helena stands stumped at the sight before her. She has tried to use Echo, her most important asset and contribution to the team. But instead of creating the familiar soundwaves to cover the whole map, the cane embedded itself in the hard concrete, refusing to produce even the slightest noise.
The Eversleeping Girl's hands reach for the stubborn staff—she gasps horrified at the sudden epiphany. It's not her cane! In lieu of the gilded lantern, a wolf head's carving greets her palms. Moving downwards, she finds the slim stem tapering to a sharp point, vastly different from her beloved treasure.
Without a doubt, it's Joseph's cane. Without a doubt, she gave him the wrong cane!
"Oh, no..." she groans, covering her face in shame. "How did this happen?!"
There is rarely a time she'd hold his weapon, much less borrow it—she despises sharp objects. Then... last match! She did hold Joseph's cane last match when he carried her to the Gate. He asked for his weapon back and she, breathless and flustered from his passionate attention, wrongly gave him hers. She should've known... but his kiss was so disarming that she could never think of anything else. That goodbye treat was too sweet, it melted everything within her.
A small tug on her dress pulls her out of her thoughts. Mini Jo frantically reminds her of the match and the hunter who's presently prowling nearby. Helena hastily yanks on the rod, running away immediately to look for a cipher.
With brows furrowed in worry, she watches the small waves her tapping makes as she moves farther away from the hunter. She doesn't want to mar the delicate statuette so she holds the weapon by the wolf's neck, the sharp end being the one pattering against the ground.
Technically, the Moonlight Gentleman's cane is a walking stick so it can still help her see. It cannot create large soundwaves, however, that she can only perceive a very small area in detail, approximately five meters in radius from where it lands. Everything else surrounds her in utter darkness—only distant sounds fill in the voids in small patches of vibrations.
"I messed up, Little Jo. This is all my fault!" she bemoans as she tries to see beyond her limited vision, squinting her eyes and straining her ears just to perceive the faintest outskirts of it. The blind woman is blinder than ever before.
But her restricted perception isn't what concerns her the most. The fact that she has her darling's weapon means that he has no means to hunt anyone. He wouldn't use her cane as a weapon; she did use it as one not too long ago, but that was a different case. The thought that her fellow survivors might end up making fun of Joseph is so upsetting, however, that it frustrates her even more. She can only hope that he manages to find an adequate replacement until they meet again.
"I'm sorry, Joseph..." He'll forgive her stupidity, of course. But she won't be able to forgive herself if her mistake ultimately gets them into trouble. They've been warned enough about disrupting the matches. After banning Joseph for a month and making her a hunter for a day... She dreads what else the gamemasters would do as punishment for their continuous "amorous disruption" of the game...
Taking deep breaths, she tries to not think too much of it, instead chuckling at the absurdity of her worrying. Perhaps it's his own contumacy rubbing off on her, or the thought that she wouldn't be alone in this predicament. Whether there's a punishment waiting at the end of the day or not, one thing is clear: Joseph will be there for her.
