[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

[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?

[toremainbehind]

The corpse? Hardly. It's been there for a while.

[Walking over to it, Izumo prods it with his foot.] One of the last ones I killed before we ran.

Though, his death was a lot simpler than me being put on that electric chair.

[redstray]

[ He winces a bit hearing the noise of the corpse moving from the prod. ]

And why did you bring me here, exactly?

[toremainbehind]

You were trained to become a dog, forced to do grunt work, but it's always been more than that, hasn't it?

[Taking another drag, Izumo glances back at his brother.] But like how they've taught you all of that, they taught me something else.

If I become like this corpse, I become their puppet, and with that, I have no need for attachments - like you.

[redstray]

[ When he says the 'more' he avoids all eye contact with him, looking anywhere but Izumo and the corpse.

That hurt. Somehow being called an attachment hurt a lot. If he hadn't been around, Izumo could've run anytime he had wanted. But he became a killer. ]

You're not making any sense just get to the point...

[toremainbehind]

Let's say, hypothetically, I was haunted by the ghosts of our past much like you. While we were running, all I ever saw was their faces, heard only their voices, and the pain that they've inflicted on me.

They believed they could make the perfect killing machine by molding me into one and using you. I was tortured, trained, and I had to kill. I could still feel blood on my hands, even now, and heard the screams of my victims in my ears as they pleaded for their lives. I took people away from their families, had to witness children mourn the loss of a parent or simply someone close to them.

If I had given into the voices while we were running - and I'll be honest to you, Eric - I would have killed you.

[redstray]

[Hearing those words, hurt. His own brother would've killed him if he could, if he was just as weak as he was. Izumo was always the strong one, the better one.

He could hear their voices again, in his ear. The blood on the walls no longer dry but fresh, a knife in his hands and there was so much blood.

They were laughing.

You brother would hate you. He's tried so hard to keep you safe from the evils of this world when he doesn't even know how far you've fallen. Best keep it our secret, or he would never want to see you ever again. You don't want that, do you? ]

...probably should have...

[toremainbehind]

No.

[He walks over to Eric and places his hands on his shoulders, his grip tight and his expression stern.

What he faced when they were younger were never anything compared to what Eric's been put through. He's been told stories, heard the laughs when they thought he wasn't listening. He's seen the effects it had on his younger brother's body every time he manages to get to see him.

There were times when Izumo did wonder if he lost his own humanity if he gave into those voices, the mere thought of having Eric's blood on his hands enough to make his own blood grow cold.

He remembers the first time he's killed, how sick it made him.

He also remembers Totsuka's words when the informant saw Eric for the first time.

He's hurting, almost broken. I wonder if he'll ever be able to talk about what's happened.

Izumo clenches his jaw and then forces himself to relax as his expression softens.]

Eric, what else did they make you do other than grunt work?

[redstray]

[ The grip makes him flinch and hes half prepared for a knife to his gut, or another way of dying from his brother's own hand. But it never came. He let out a small whimper.

He'll hate you, despise you, abandon you if you tell. He doesn't want a murderer for a brother.

He shook his head again and again, trying to shake free from his brother's grip, avoiding any and all eye contact. ]

N-n-no...nothing...they...they didn't make me do anything...nothing.

[toremainbehind]

[The whimpering has Izumo frowning deeply, and when he tries to shake free from his grip, he doesn't let him.

Instead, he tugs him close into a hug, keeping him in it if he struggles.

At the lie, it just makes his suspicion grow, but he keeps quiet.]

Alright, don't tell me, but please don't ever be afraid of me.

[redstray]

[ He does struggle, crying a bit when Izumo doesn't let up.

He'll leave you if you tell.

He opens his mouth to speak, to say something, anything but nothing comes out. His breathing becomes more erratic, not remembering the last time he breathed in or out properly.

You brother will find out and hate you.

His vision was blurring. Izumo was saying something. Eric was a horrible brother, didn't deserve him.

Sorry Izumo, but Eric just passed out from a panic attack in you arms. ]

[toremainbehind]

[He holds Eric steady enough, his head lowered as he sighs softly.

Carrying Eric wasn't difficult, neither was the trek home.

It's earned him concerned looks and questions from Fujishima and Totsuka, though Izumo deflects them easily enough, knowing it wouldn't do any good to talk about it right now.

Eric's suffering and Izumo can't do anything about that.

So, he places Eric in his room, tucked into his bed. He gives his brother a look before he turns around and leaves, quietly shutting the door behind him.]