[How many times can we fall?]

[toremainbehind]

[It's been a week since they've managed to escape.

Neither of them knew who tipped someone off about their location, who helped them escape while everything became hacked and otherwise useless in keeping them contained. It had been their downfall to let Izumo stay in the frontline, his skills almost legendary now with how effective of an assassin he has become over time. Their downfall led to their deaths, and Izumo has ran away with Eric while the remnants of that group tried to go after them.

They didn't know where to go - who to turn to.

For them, this open world was a mystery, even if Izumo has more experience than Eric when it came to the outside world. There's no one they could trust, and little to no money to their name since their captors often took the money Izumo's earned for his kills. But Izumo is adaptable, taking odd jobs here and there in order to earn enough money to save up and find a place to stay.

It's only been a couple of days ago when Izumo first ran into the leader of HOMRA, the Red King and him having traded blows before it came to a tie. They went their separate ways shortly after when an informant came running towards them, Izumo having escaped before he could be questioned.

Now, he had taken Eric to a refuge in a motel. It's small and not one of the best, but it's the best Izumo could afford on such short notice when it became obvious to him when Eric has to rest again.

His right shoulder blade itched from the burns he received from Mikoto, but he ignores it in favor of in-between watching Eric sleep and looking out the window from his perch on the windowsill.]

Comments

[redstray]

[ He stiffens at the contact and starts to shake ]

Don't...don't don't no...

[toremainbehind]

Eric.

It's me. I won't hurt you, remember? [He doesn't let go, but he's watching him closely.

The shaking is familiar, so he tightens his arm a little around him, hoping to keep Eric grounded to reality.]

[redstray]

[ Hearing his brother's voice, feeling the grip and he jumps a bit. His eyes snap open and everything comes back to him. He looks over and spots his brother. ]

...Izumo?

[toremainbehind]

[When he has Eric looking at him, Izumo smiles, moving his arm in order to ruffle Eric's hair.]

Hey.

[redstray]

[ He looks away. ]

I'm sorry...

[toremainbehind]

What happened?

[redstray]

[ He doesn't answer. Not right away. He does, however, grab hold of Izumo because he's there and everything is okay when he's with him ]

They were talking and...I just...just got scared. Everything started to close in and...I had to leave.

[toremainbehind]

[Izumo keeps Eric close, a slight frown on his face.]

Did you start having flashbacks?

[redstray]

Everything was fine...and I was feeling alright..but then I heard someone say something...and it got twisted...

[ Words had always been used against him to warp his mind along with violence. But words made things crueller, made him believe things that couldn't possibly be true but he still believed. And there wasn't a way to undo all that damage anytime soon. ]

The voices turned into them and they were telling me it was useless. That I'll never...never be a part of anything, part of this group, or belong in this world...

[toremainbehind]

[Listening, Izumo seems to frown deeper.

He knows how much just the mere thought of them scares Eric, traumatizing him enough where one word is enough to be a trigger.

Izumo stares at the wall, his other hand slowly curling into a fist.] You know that they're not here anymore; I won't let them anywhere near you.

If you hear it, try to ignore and sing our song to block it out.

[redstray]

I know...

[ He feels Izumo's anger and frustration. He looks down feeling worse. ]

Sometimes...I think I'm broken beyond repair...

[toremainbehind]

You are not broken.

[redstray]

May as well be. Not one day has gone by where nothing has happened like this.

[ Something always happened that made him revert back. Sometimes small things sometimes it took awhile but he always went back more then forward]

Maybe I'm always suppose to be a broken dog.

[toremainbehind]

[For a brief moment, Izumo just stares at Eric.

Then he sighs and hits his brother on the head (though, lightly).]

[redstray]

[ Ow. He rubs his head and glares up at his brother ]

Hit me all you want it doesn't change anything...

[toremainbehind]

The fact that you're stupid doesn't change anything.

[He huffs lightly as he takes out a cigarette and a lighter.] Come on, I want to take you somewhere.

[redstray]

I'm not stupid

[ He frowns. Would he say the same thing if he knew the stuff he had done before? How just a sentence can bring him back to an obedient little pet? He huffs at the mention of someplace else, he doesn't want to go he wanted to stay here. ]

Where?

[toremainbehind]

Your definition of stupid is different from mine.

[Lighting the cigarette, Izumo takes a drag and breathes out, getting to his feet.]

You'll find out soon. But if you want to stay here, I won't stop you. I'd figure you'd want to see where those guys often took me for my 'training'. [Because it was never around in that place they were taken to. It was always elsewhere, them forcing Izumo to adapt and adjust in order to make him a skilled killer and get rid of any of his emotions in order to achieve that.]

[redstray]

[ He was going to retort but paused at the mention oh his training. He stays quiet for a long moment before slowly getting up as well. ]

Fine.

[toremainbehind]

[He gives Eric another head pat before he heads out, nodding to Mikoto in greeting when he passes by the redhead.

At the look he's being given, he merely shakes his head, patting Mikoto's shoulder once as he leads Eric out.]

[redstray]

[ At the head pat he shrugs it off, still in a mood. He also avoids looking at Mikoto, letting his brother do the non silent talking. ]

[toremainbehind]

[Ignoring the mood his brother's in, Izumo simply leads Eric somewhere.

It might take them a while, but it's isolated, located in a warehouse seemingly abandoned. There's nothing worth noting aside from the 'KEEP OUT' signs that decorates the fences surrounding it.

Izumo casually steps into the property, his eyes giving a quick scan of the area before he moves into the warehouse.]

[redstray]

[ He vaguely wonders how far they are going but stays silent, letting Izumo once again lead him somewhere he had no idea about. The sign didn't mean anything to him either as he slipped in and followed along behind his brother. ]

[toremainbehind]

[The place he's talking about is underground, and as soon as Izumo finds the switch, he turns on the lights.

It's dim, but it doesn't matter as he's still able to make out the dried blood on the walls, the remaining smell of decaying flesh, and the sound of dripping water.

Izumo turns on another set of lights, making the basement brighter, and his eyes settle on a mutilated corpse still tied to a chair and what appeared to be a broken down electric chair.]

[redstray]

[ When the lights are turned on, he blinks a bit, adjusting to the light. His nose already wants to make him gag from the smell but he holds it back. The fact he wasn't very phased by the dried blood was merely the face he had been so used to seeing it himself.

The corpse was a surprise, but also having seen them before, Eric wasn't too affected as a normal person would be. It still unnerved him and he looked away. ]

Is that...new?