[ closed ] why hold onto all that?

[hitokiller]

WHO: Okada Izou and "friends".
WHAT: Messy shenanigans.
WHERE: Out over the ocean, mid battle with the kaijuu, Revelation's communal bath.
WHEN: 2/3~2/4 & sometime... after.
WARNINGS: Drowning, blood, asphyxiation. More ??? potentially.

Comments

cw: self-harm thoughts

[sparse]

[ If anyone else had received such words of encouragement, they might have been swayed by the sentiment behind them, but since this is Ren, only silence follows after Izou's voice. Silence, and the continuous free-fall of water coming from the shower. It stretches on for as long as it takes Ren to think about what he should say.

What could he say, that would feel satisfying? He doesn't think anything he'll come up with is going to be the answer that Izou is looking for. ]

You're welcome to find someone else to fight. This monstrous strength isn't meant to be celebrated.

[ The flesh of an Emanator of Abundance thrives within his own, twisting what he used to be into something unrecognizable. If anything, he'd rather carve himself out and rip what he could into pieces if he was allowed to. But something like that will always be fleeting— a temporary relief that will always feel out of reach.

Softly, he sighs. ]

Was that all you wanted to say?

[hitokiller]

( the silence is almost unbearable at first. and awkward. just two dudes in the nude, not saying a word.

there's a clear look of disbelief on izou's face at the reply, a shock at how his words have been seemingly dismissed, where he had figured that accosting blade with this observation might clear up some of his own personal discontent. it's not as if izou were a noble warrior or anything. if anything, he was a wild moth enticed by the flame of other people's prowess, eager to demonstrate at any moment's notice that he was everything he said he was... to keep anyone from criticizing him. denying him.

izou scrunches his locks with both hands, water seeping from it to the floor in loud splashes. )

Nah. I got plenty more where that came from.

( here's where izou approaches blade... in the shower... sorry not sorryyy, bare feet stomping on the hard-packed tile. he stops just short of them being chest-to-chest, as if this makes him appear more intimidating. )

Who d'ya think you are to go blowin' me off while flauntin' your strength in the same sentence?

[sparse]

[ The distance between them is crossed once Izou approaches. Ren remains silent the entire time, the water a constant white noise in the background. The other man seems affronted for reasons he can't fathom, but maybe the next few things Izou will say is going to illuminate it for him. Or so he thought, but that's not what happens.

In the end, he's still left confused. ]

What makes you think I'm flaunting?

[ He called his own strength monstrous. Declared that it shouldn't be celebrated, no matter what. Which part of that is arrogance?

When he continues to speak, he sounds so, so tired. ]

If you really want a fight, I can give it to you.