( CLOSED ) NOVEMBER & DECEMBER CATCH-ALL.

[hitokiller]

WHO: Okada Izou and "friends".
WHAT: Catch-all for closed starters for the rest of the year.
WHERE: Anywhere and everywhere.
WHEN: November-December.
WARNINGS: N/A.

Comments

[transmit]

[ 'Already a mess,' as if it hadn't been since day one. But if there's one thing he can appreciate, it's how Izou's raw anger continues to act as a grounding anchor, arms folding across his chest to grip tightly onto his sleeves. ]

Is leveling with each other considered soft now?

[ Like it was ever Izou's fault to begin with, is what he wants to say, but he has a feeling that wouldn't go quite so well, either. ]

Before I get into everything else, 'acting like I bothered,' huh? How far back does this go? From the very beginning? You really think I wanted to be your friend just to use you? Don't get ahead of yourself, man. I'll own everything from Transylvania onward, but don't act like the rest of it was some premeditated scheme.

[hitokiller]

( he's reaching in his upset. even izou knows that.

but it doesn't matter, because it's impossible to miss the way he doesn't cool or give an inch, a fist coming down on the desk for his own satisfaction. )

It ain't like I can read your mind, or anyone else's for that matter. I'm gonna assume stuff based on what I'm given if you don't say it outright. What do I really know 'bout you, anyhow, other than you're dead weight in a fight and wherever you're from is dreary as hell?

( getting worked up always makes things worse for him, but it's easier to press down on this feeling than to look wholly vulnerable.

there's a scent of something strange from elysium again, like it wants to distract him again after so long, but izou tosses that aside to focus on his argument. )

And there's nothin' I hate more than thinkin' someone's hiding shit from me just to take advantage. You show up when I'm at my worst to be all upliftin' and crap, but when I show up for you... even with this tainted body 'a mine right now, it's like I'm not wanted. Like you were just bein' "nice" for my own good or whatever.

[transmit]

Right. You visited because you were worried. You care about the people close to you and would give them the world if you could. You're a straightforward guy, and I played to that side of you, I'm not going to make any excuses for that. But what do I know about you, Izou? Aside from striking me as the type of reckless guy who, without anything to anchor you, would throw yourself into overcompensating for things that were never even your fault, Ishmael just happened to be the perfect distraction.

[ Perhaps in focusing too intently on the possibility of Wriothesley's death, he overlooked the other variables that deserved more careful consideration. His hands flex beneath the table, but they soon relax. Rising to his feet, his fingers trail lightly across the dust-covered surface as he moves toward Izou. ]

Alright. I'll give you the full scoop: I stabbed Siffrin that day for trying to drink my blood. [ Splaying a hand on the table in front of Izou, he leans his body forward. ] "I can't even meet you head-on about [my] own shit." Right again, my friend. Someone who drifts from place to place without ever putting down roots wouldn't understand a thing about reciprocation. Even kids know that if you can't take care of something, you should at least leave it as good as you found it—or better.

[ Then, his other hand moves to lift his sleeve, revealing crystals that form a near-perfect cuff around his wrist, twinkling under dim light. ]

… I'll tell you who's really tainted, here. And it's not the person who has a real chance of getting cured by the end of the year. You've already faced death once in your first life; there's no need to live this second one with a metaphorical bomb strapped to your back. Literally.