Exanis
He Who Sees E's
Takeshi had been expecting a lot of things when he had walked into the house, had been prepared to unsheathe his sword and strike down Marcus where he stood, or just shake his head and then comfort Elvena later. There were so many different scenarios going through his head as he had been entering the Stein abode. Yet, when his gaze finally landed on the two, and he saw Elvena slumped onto Marcus’ shoulder, a roiling desire to cause harm surged from within him, spurred forward by Ryu who had chosen this moment to all but scream, “OURS.” Takeshi dutifully tried to ignore him and the growing desire to simply swing his sword and be done with it. It was a close thing, however, and it didn’t stop him from casually lifting his hand to the sheath of his sword, darkness trickling into eyes filled with a promise of violence and pain, locked onto the forms of Marcus and Elvena. Yet, he didn’t make a move beyond that, gaze burning yet with a clear invitation to explain, to somehow say anything that could possibly convince him from lashing out much the same way he had done when Elias deigned to disrespect him.
He didn’t have to wait long. He kept his eyes on them as Marcus lifted the unconscious form of Elvena onto the couch after giving him a plea to let him explain. In the back of his mind he couldn’t help but snort, yet nonetheless he had been waiting for an explanation. As Marcus looked him in his slowly, quite literally, darkening eyes and spoke of how he had inadvertently caused Elvena to faint from her emotions and black blood acting up when he had kissed her, and here Takeshi’s eyes narrowed dangerously but he still made no move, and caused some of her buried past to come haunt her. More apologies and a desire to “make it right” by giving even more apologies. Takeshi mulled over whether to kick the boy out right now before he could potentially cause more harm, but it was all moot as it seemed Elvena would only have a brief stint of unconsciousness, having already started awakening. Deciding to ultimately hold his tongue, at least until Marcus had gotten whatever words he could consider an apology off his chest, Takeshi listened to the boy speak and found him… Lacking. He even waited a bit longer to see if any inspiration would suddenly strike Marcus and bring forth anything more from him, and yet he was sorely disappointed, all the while the bubbling anger perpetually being stoked by Ryu within his soul began to ice over into something much more dangerous.
Gaze shifting to the curled up, yet awake, form of Elvena, Takeshi began moving with slow, deliberate steps, free hand falling from the hilt of his sword to hang by his side. Though the encroaching darkness had been halted through sheer force of will, it was clear that Takeshi was upset, yet he still made no clear indication that he intended to lash out at Marcus physically, even as he continued to get closer and closer to the two. Pausing as he came shoulder to shoulder with Marcus, he stood there for a moment before shaking his head minutely as if deciding on a different course of action, then continued forward to stand in front of the couch where Elvena currently laid. Reaching up he gently unslung his sword from his back and rested it gently against the armrest of the furniture, then placed the box that had been held underarm this whole time on the floor besides his sword. Then, unceremoniously, he dropped onto the couch right besides where Elvena’s head was in her currently curled up position. Glancing down at the form of his partner for a moment, Takeshi tilted his head ever so slightly in thought, then reached over and dragged her hunched over form up to, and partially onto, his side so she could use him as what could very well be called the most dangerous human pillow in the world, then draped an arm around her as if it was a security blanket. Humming lowly to himself, with just a hint of approval at his brilliant idea to cheer his partner up, Takeshi returned his gaze to the guilty party of this situation and any previous softness that could have been found in his eyes as he had interacted with Elvena was now long gone, only leaving venomous gold and black eyes to peer into the soul of Marcus. And then he spoke.
“What… A shit apology.” And he was angry. His tone was deceivingly conversational, and his face didn’t change in the slightest as he spoke, but it was clear as day the way his eyes shone with glacial fury. “Where I grew up, when you do harm to another party, you bow as you apologize, and the worse the harm, the greater the bow. I suppose it is a cultural thing, and yet, it does give a level of sincerity to words through action.” Leering ever so slightly at Marcus, Takeshi continued. “With what you’ve done, you should be on your hands and knees, forehead to the ground, and loudly begging for mercy. Yet, what did you do? You had the audacity to stare into my eyes as you told me you’ve caused my partner unwarranted pain, and then look into hers, regarded her as ‘Elvy’ as if you had that right still, spit out that pathetic excuse of an apology, and then worked up the nerve to say you could hope to stay friends?” Takeshi shook his head and huffed out a mocking chuckle, then took a deep breath to force down the surge of madness Ryu was trying to add onto his thoughts. “Made all the worse by the fact that, by your words, you took something from her that was irreplaceable and held in value. And all this, on her birthday no less. Truly, you have no shame, dignity, or honor. Now, if it was up to me, I’d personally show you what happens to those that touch what isn’t theirs. Your partner has the honor of bearing the scars of that punishment across his hands, and I would love nothing more than to give you a matching set. Yet…” Here Takeshi sighed, weariness and resignation in his tone, even as he pulled Elvena closer into his side. “Yet, it isn’t up to me. It’s up to my wronged partner. And as she stood aside during your partner’s punishment, I shall stand aside for yours. But know this-” Takeshi’s eyes suddenly filled to the brim with darkness as he relinquished the hold he had on Ryu. “Should she wish it? I’d hunt you down and mangle you the same way I did your partner, worse if she so desired me to. I would ensure that I haunt your dreams, much the same as his, and truly make you understand the depth of your error. I see it in your eyes, you already think of me as a monster, a demon of old given human form, and one word from Elvena? I’ll make it a reality.”
Closing his eyes and inhaling deeply, he forced back Ryu into his darkness, opening them to reveal them free of the corruptive influence of black blood. “To think, your partner has lost his honor to me, and you to mine. Yet, where he can regain his by facing me again, you cannot. To that end, once Elvena gives her verdict, I expect you to leave here, without another word.” The look in his gaze, still filled with that ice-tinged anger, even after the darkness of his soul was once again under control, implied a very deadly “or else” should Marcus think to continue addressing them.