[His pulse is so, so loud in his ears. It's strange, because Akira is the calmest that he's been all night.
He knows what they would all tell him to do. He knows the things he shouldn't do. And he knows what he's going to say anyway.]
I do.
[Because he does, in fact, mean it.
Because he doesn't know if he could bear the cost of losing even more.]
I can't let a threat to your life go unchecked. I made you a promise, whether it's me or another me that will carry it out. [His task mostly done, he pulls red-tipped fingers back and looks up. The eyes that stare at Maruki are hard and unrelenting, steel and weight, but it isn't directed at him.] This will not happen again.
[It won't. He won't allow it.
Akira doesn't care what's in this world, and he doesn't care what this person can do. He'll stop that danger if it costs him his very last breath.]
What district did you finally settle on? [He turns his back, but only for the sake of washing the blood off of his hands. His sleep shirt seems to have avoided getting covered in anything, for now.] Were you attacked there or closer to here?
[He should've asked that earlier, really. It's better for Maruki to know about the Combatants so he didn't get caught up in anything with them, but it followed a train of thought they might not have needed to go down.]
my hero...........
He knows what they would all tell him to do. He knows the things he shouldn't do. And he knows what he's going to say anyway.]
I do.
[Because he does, in fact, mean it.
Because he doesn't know if he could bear the cost of losing even more.]
I can't let a threat to your life go unchecked. I made you a promise, whether it's me or another me that will carry it out. [His task mostly done, he pulls red-tipped fingers back and looks up. The eyes that stare at Maruki are hard and unrelenting, steel and weight, but it isn't directed at him.] This will not happen again.
[It won't. He won't allow it.
Akira doesn't care what's in this world, and he doesn't care what this person can do. He'll stop that danger if it costs him his very last breath.]
What district did you finally settle on? [He turns his back, but only for the sake of washing the blood off of his hands. His sleep shirt seems to have avoided getting covered in anything, for now.] Were you attacked there or closer to here?
[He should've asked that earlier, really. It's better for Maruki to know about the Combatants so he didn't get caught up in anything with them, but it followed a train of thought they might not have needed to go down.]