Lost Girl [Open]

Thud Thud Thud.

There was something crazy about the notion that Azure Iramasha was actually dead. At least to Hayden. The man was someone who first experiences with Hayden was one of dumb struck awe which turned into a begrudging admiration, one which fueled his desires to be a worthy successor to his time as the Reagent General. They disagreed. They argued. But at the end of the day perhaps on some level they held a kinship which exceeded those fights, because they both wanted one singular thing: to protect earth. To live long and prosper would mean nothing if they didn't uphold goal, the bittersweetness of Azure death a moment which would stick with the man forever.

Yet, as he held the Miyake sister in an embrace fists hitting flesh sickeningly which would bruise before becoming unbruise through his regeneration. He felt some sort of obligation to help her, maybe it was just the good nature which was embedded in him- perhaps it was the idea he had failed her by not protecting Azure. But if you asked him he thought it was simple, a very simple reason he would allow his body to be the sacrificial lamb to her anger: she needed it. Just as she knew somewhere inside of her he could take the abuse he also knew this, being a leader and friend was not simply being able to fight for someone or die for them- but being willing to suffer for them.

It was why he would make no signal for Kimitsuki to help the male, instead he would silently shake as she hit him with earth shattering strikes. His body working to repair the damage as she caused it causing the man to let out small hisses of pain occasionally, even with the high level of pain tolerance he was able to endure it by no means was fun for him. Each strike seemingly carrying emotional weight which far exceeded her normal strength in his opinion hurting not only his body but his mental wellbeing. There was something about being struck outta grief and rage which emotionally hurt the man, the empathy behind it all being a silent killer in it's own right. It wasn't the physical pain which was stinging his eyes with tears, but the raw emotion carried behind the strikes. Strikes that held pain which he failed to stop, when it was his job to protect people.

But as those minutes passed and the first or second hour came he suddenly felt everything stop, one last meek strike against his bare back. The shirt which adorned his body was gone into nothing but tatters on the floor, his sun bronze'd skin having small red welts which where now only slowly fading a testament to the amount he had endured. However, what was more important was how weak the Miyake felt in his arms practically giving out under him which caused the male to fall to a knee just as she fell to her knees. He was tired, physically and mentally. So they would kneel there as she cried, as the words escaped her lips his breath catching in his throat- the dry mouth wetting it's self as it prepared to speak.

"Naomi..." What did you say to that? What did you tell someone in this moment? The truth? Your opinion? In all his years he never quite could shake his humanity, he could never embrace that cold mentality of the shinigami which at times made them blind. But his slightly hoarse voice would return only slightly with a cough, closing his mouth as he felt blood paint the inside of his mouth, swallowing as he spoke.

"Azure didn't deserve to...die." That was a start at least as his grip on the Miyake would loosen so he could pull back to look at her, if she saw his face she would see slightly red eyes which seemed moist against the dry air. "Azure, honestly, did what he had to do. He didn't deserve to die, no one truly deserves to die. People pick the people and things they are willing to give their life for and sometimes you need to make the choice to live for nothing or die for something." His voice tired but carrying on, wanting to get these words out. "Azure chose to die for earth, for the people, for us. It hurts like all living hell but he did that so we can keep going, so we can be the protectors earth needs. He did it because he it was the right thing to do, because- dammit- because he was too good for this world. Now we have to carry that on."

The last sentence came out with more force than intended as his voice broke off at that point, it was the truth to Hayden and the reason he soldiered on. In the recent years he had discovered he wasn't the perfect soldier he hailed himself as, sometimes he disobeyed orders- sometimes he got too angry and sometimes he followed his morals more than his duty. But while he wasn't a perfect soldier, Azure Iramasha had made him discover again that he was a good man. The least he could do, anyone could do, was to carry on that legacy of selfless service to earth. To protect the cherished institution of earth and if need be die in defense of every single denizen of it.