Unpleasant Repetition [Vanyel, Rita, Kenichi]

It'd been about a day since he had come to Rita to help him turn back into a human. It was a long, painful experience, and he felt nothing short of relief at the chaos finally having died down a bit. He was still in an obscene amount of pain, however. His bones still ached, and he was still light-headed from losing so much blood. But, that was hardly something he was going to let keep him down.

Groaning and wincing as he slowly moved his legs over the side of the bed, putting his weight on the nightstand as he pushed himself to his feet. Keeping his arms on the bed and nightstand to keep his balance, he tried to take a step forward. The moment he did, a wave of pain shot through his body. He grunted, winced, and tried to take another step, but, his legs gave out from under him and he collapsed to the floor, falling on his face.

"...Ow."

He had been in this situation before, and he was not thrilled to be in it again. All he had wanted to do was go to get something to drink and eat, and he couldn't even do that right now. God, this sucked.

Infinite screams played in the mindscape of Rita's dreams. The howls of a woman in pain echoed again and again as she lost her sense of self for a time within this endless dream loop. The boundaries between sanity and insanity were tested as the pain of a devil with gem eyes lingered on the torment of the mere mortal to dare take away what was hers. It was agony, and it felt infinite as time moved so slowly.

Yet, in the real world, these would only come out as whimpers of pain as Rita's bruised, bloody, and beaten-up body was at its limits as Rita rested. Eventually, as her heart rate started to thump with absolute terror, the dryness of her mouth was the first sense to awaken the woman. Wanting to scream but lacking the strength, Rita's eyes instead jolted awake as if she had seen a ghost. Despite her body suffering broken bones, massive blood loss, and extensive physical pain, she willed herself up as she turned toward the sorry sight of Vanyel.

"You.......what the fuck did you sleep with...."

Sounding like a mixture of fear, anger, concern, and uncertainty, Rita wasn't sure what to feel. And with her ears ringing, a slight grimace of pain came as she grabbed the right side of her head and shook as if she was standing amid the cold of winter's eve. But, whatever happened to her, she sure went through absolute hell dragging this man's humanity back.

"...how the FUCK could you ever feel peace with HER...?"

As a slight emerald glow escaped the lips of Rita, it should be evident to HIM who Rita was talking about.

"That...that thing doesn't deserve to exist."

Kenichi certainly knew he'd have to play the role of caretaker, though he was none the wiser to what that actually might entail. Bedside assistance, preparing a meal, conversing with his two companions... so many factors to ponder, yet so little time. The road back to humanity was certainly difficult, but Vanyel had overcome the obstacle, and Rita assisted him every step of the way. She deserved the utmost loyalty from hereon. After all, the lady risked her life to help him regain what he had lost. What else could they offer but their assistance? She was his boss, after all. Even trades worked like that, right? Kenichi occupied a seat around their besides, browsing through the television, entertaining himself with wuxia films until his attention was cast toward the crumbling Vanyel who had, as expected, fell face-first onto the floor.

He turned his eyes to Rita who commented on the woman Vanyel spoke of in the past, but held no particular opinion, either way. He loved and slept with a demon. An astahvon at that. He couldn't simply regain his humanity without some form of trauma from that, to say nothing of the influence they once held over the realm of the living. Chuckling softly, Kenichi approached Vanyel at the ground, lifting the white-haired male upward as he gently set his body onto the bed, firmly patting his shoulder as he did so.

"No, no. None of that, Van. Bedrest is what you two need, and Rita has tasked me with ensuring that the both of you are tended to by yours truly, and the various butlers and maids in the house. If you're hungry and need something to drink, I'll be handling that until you regain your physicality. So... sleep well~?"

He humored, obviously trying to add a degree of playfulness to the atmosphere.

Managing to get himself off his face and sitting up, leaning against the bed for support, he looked toward Rita. Normally, his temper would get the better of him, but, after everything that just happened...he was exhausted. His eyes remained glued to her as Kenichi came in, picked him up, and set him back in bed. He grit his teeth as pain rocketed through him from the sudden movement. To be so powerless that he couldn't even move, for someone else to have to help him with basic tasks...infuriating.

"The Danava of Dreams. She...was an Asthavon, and the daughter of Mana."

It was a simple answer, one with cold regret. He didn't even know how to begin answering her other question. He could say that he loved her, but he knew that wouldn't be enough. There was so much that he wanted to say, but didn't know how. But, his expression softened and he slowly tried to wrap his arms around himself, wincing and gasping quietly as he did and instead leaving them at his sides.

"She...made me feel like I mattered. I felt loved. I...I wanted to protect her, to make her feel safe like she had to me. And...I loved her so much that I was an idiot, willing to throw away my humanity. All just to try and be stronger, to keep her safe."

He fell quiet for a moment, taking a moment to look at his phone, seeing his wallpaper, a picture of them in China. His fingers tightened around the tech, tremoring from how harsh his grip was.

"I felt at peace with Caly, with Mana, with all of them...because for a while, I felt more at home with them than with humans."

Yeah, that was a stupid line of thinking too. Thinking that, only to realize that they never cared about him. He was just an intruder, a human meddling with demons and Danava. All it ever got him was suffering, loneliness, as well as a dead lover and child. Vanyel just laid on his back, trying to keep movement to a minimum. He was tired, in pain, yet glad to be human again.

Rita was out of it at that moment as her emotions were high, her body was screaming in pain, and she wasn't sure what to make of all this. So, as her mortified face tried to ease, those teal eyes of the woman locked on the sight of Kenichi. If nothing else, he had Vanyel under control. So, she remained quiet as he started to speak of his late wife.


...huh?

That's not who she meant. Rita could care less about Calypso as that woman was worth loving before she slaughtered herself and her child.

No.

"Stop. May she rest in peace, but Calypso wasn't who I was referring to. "

After spitting out blood, a grimace came across Rita's face as it looked like she was in a mixture of physical and psychological pain. Yet, as her body groaned from the immense strain that was placed on it, the woman still pushed herself to speak.

"Mana. That monster, I don't know how you could ever see comfort in something so foul as that devil. Whatever attachment to her you had nearly fucking killed me...."

In a low snarl, Rita let out a slight whine as she grabbed her ribs and still felt volts of emerald electricity scatter around her body before her eyes locked on Vanyel.

"...look, I don't mean to give you shit, but you better not waste this opportunity or I swear to god I'll beat you myself. It sucks you lost everything, but don't let that bitch cloud your better judgement."

Nope. The tense atmosphere still remained. It was to be expected after they experienced such a harrowing ordeal. Kenichi was truthfully none the wiser to any of it. The moment Vanyel and Rita finished their exchange, Kenichi pulled a napkin from his pocket, wiped the blood from Rita's mouth, and threw it to the trash. He attempted to pay little heed to the emerald sparks fluctuating around her body, but nevertheless felt a sharp tingle in his fingers as he waved his hands.

According to Rita, this had absolutely nothing to do with Calypso. It was the Queen of Demons, and the ordeal nearly killed her as a result. Again, there was little to offer on either side, but Kenichi knew wholeheartedly that he would hold Vanyel accountable. Sacrifice held a great deal of admiration in his heart. It was an honorable act worthy of the utmost praise. If Vanyel even thought of veering off the right path and making the wrong judgments again, Rita wouldn't be the only one kicking his ass. It would be an old-fashioned 2-vs-1 scenario.


"Don't worry, Rita. I'll be keeping an eye on em'. If he even contemplates anything that'd lead him back to square one, you won't be the only one kicking his ass. I'll be their cheering you on and joining in," he humored, though his expression was overwhelmingly sincere. Turning away from them for a moment, he headed to the kitchen, conversed with the personal chefs to prepare a meal and drink their pallet could handle, and returned in the next few minutes, setting the plates by their besides. It was easy enough to digest, and there was a nice refreshment to help chill their throats. Of course, Kenichi had to EAT something to, and so he leaned against his chair, taking a large bite out of a dumpling as he pointed his chopsticks towards the two of them.

"Eat, the two of you. I can't add anything to this conversation about Mana or Calypso, and the demons who are no longer here, so let's speak about the positives, okay~? Well, if it's alright with you, of course, Rita," he commented, turning towards her. He had no intention of downplaying what they endured, but knew any deeper reflections would only dull what ought to be a glorious occasion. A man regained his humanity, and his new, awesome boss helped bring that scenario into reality. Sure, neither one of them were in any condition to pop bottles and go wild, but there had to be something to cheer about, no?

His head turned toward each of them respectively as they spoke. He tried to sit up, but that only brought a wave of pain over him, causing his eyes to shoot open and a quiet, pained grunt came from him before he laid back down. Turning his head wasn't exactly the most comfortable position, but it was better than being in constant pain from sitting up. At least this position wasn't...as painful.

He stopped speaking the moment that Rita said the word, and his gaze softened. What was once a look of firm disdain and anger had faded, unsure of what it had even been replaced by. For a while, he just listened. His head returned to a normal position and he stared up at the ceiling. With everything that he had gone through, the now two conversions that he undergone, being human again was something he wasn't going to just disregard.

In spite of the pain that shot through his spine and ribs, he sat up, tucking the pillows behind him and resting against them. It eased the pain a bit, but, he figured that getting adjusted to it was better than just laying in bed like a cripple. He groaned softly, before turning to look at Rita, then Kenichi. He knew that he couldn't stray from this, even if he wanted to.

"If she was, I wouldn't be here right now."

That was all that was to be said on the matter.

He turned to Kenichi, decently amused by his own declaration to kick his ass if he tried to go back to that. He chuckled softly, but, soon regretted it. Oh, God, it really hurt to laugh.

"Yeah, positives. Let's talk about that. Well, we're not dead, I guess. There's one."

Slowly and carefully taking the plate by his bed and setting it in his lap, he carefully tried to eat. It wasn't easy, everything that he was doing felt like it was going to shatter his bones and tear muscles all over again. Even chewing and swallowing revealed how sore he was. However, with how much pained screaming there had been, the cold drink could not have been more of a gift. He finished that sooner than the food. Taking in a deep breath after basically downing the entire glass in one sitting, he turned to Rita, a small, warm smile replacing the scowl.

"...Thanks for this. Both of you. Thanks for gettin' the food, Kenichi, and...thank you, for doin' this for me, Rita."

When Kenichi brought Rita a napkin for the blood around her mouth, the woman smirked and took it without hesitation. And within a few moments, she cleaned herself up to avoid looking like the walking dead. Yeah, she wasn't going to win any beauty pageants after the day she had, but that wasn't a reason to walk around being a biohazard.

"Appreciate it."

After taking a slow breath, the woman lowered her nerves further as she focused on breathing. In and out, in and out, ever so slowly, she eased her tension, stress, and nerves to be able to handle this correctly. As Kenichi was busy getting them the food, she mulled on his words and figured it was better just to let it go as her anger wasn't even directed at Vanyel; but more so at that conniving bitch known as Mana Asthavon. Whatever that being was, it deserved to rot away and die whatever hell she was stuck in.

Of course, she didn't have much to say to Vanyel at first, so her teal eyes just lingered on the male as she waited for her food and gathered her thoughts. But eventually, the woman sighed and shrugged as the food arrived, and she started slowly eating some apple sauce as that was about all her gut could handle at the moment. Chugging it down with some orange juice, the woman didn't require much for a moment. Instead, she just wanted to speak.

"I ain't even mad at him, but that cunt Mana can die. Yeah, I'm glad she helped you from doing something stupid, but that bitch is better off dead given what she has done to the world and my own life."

Grunting a bit, the woman rubbed her back, popped a few heavy painkillers, and decided to let the medicine nip a lot of her discomfort in the bud. Then, after a few seconds of digestion, it went to work, numbing it as she slowly rested back on her back and looked back at Vanyel.

"I don't need any more nightmarish trips, so I hope you resolve whatever shit you have with her."

After spitting in the trash next to her bed, she continued.

"The hell do you plan on doing with this life, anyway? Ain't you curious to know as, Kenichi?"

Kenichi leaned back in his chair, occupying the listener's position as his eyes shifted between his boss and his companion. To be honest, Kenichi didn't know what to say in response to anything other than the positives. Of course, much like Rita, he certainly would've been quite remiss to say he wasn't curious about Vanyel's plans moving forward. He wasn't particularly the type to impose on anyone's life, but neither did he wish for him to fall into a habit that would lead him right back to square one. To some extent, Rita was justified in coming across as harshly as she was, especially in regards to Mana. Only a truly insipid individual would be hard pressed to ignore the chaos the woman had wrought in her countless years lording over different continents of the earth. Kenichi offered a smile towards Vanyel for acknowledging her sacrifice, nudging him in the foot a bit before directing his eyes towards Rita. A soft sigh escaped his lips.

"Yeah, I am. I appreciate that you acknowledge the sacrifice Rita made. I'm not the type to go imposing on another man and what they do with their life, but what are you going to do moving forward, Van? As your new friends, I think we deserve to know if your future involves any demons that don't have your best interests in mine. Don't get me wrong. I'm being completely neutral here, but Rita has a point here."

He wasn't gonna comment on Rita's thoughts of Mana. He knew that she wasn't favored and knew that he wasn't gonna convince anyone of anything. It's not like he considered her a good person or anything, he just...honestly, he didn't really know how to describe how he felt about her. Maybe it was just because he didn't have the nightmarish experience with her as others did. He just sighed, readjusting the pillows behind him, gradually making his way through his food and drink.

"Already did. Most of the time before this was spent tryin' to find someone who could turn me back."

As they inquired about what he was going to do with his life, now that he was a human again, Vanyel, at first, quietly set his fork down, earning a soft clink as it touched the plate. He didn't answer at first, not because he didn't know, but because of uncertainty in voicing it. He had spent time thinking of how he was going to turn back and who could do it, but he had spent just as much time thinking about what came next.

"...Well, I wanna see if I can go through the motions and re-teach myself my old abilities from when I was human before this. Maybe pick up and learn some new stuff too."

A hand reached a small ways in front of him, summoning a startling large book with Mandarin Chinese on the front and spine. He couldn't even remember how many times he had read through this book, back to front, and the ideas that it gave him. A Journey to the West -- a story that was rather fitting for his own journey.

"I guess, more than anythin' else, I wanna just live a normal life. As normal of a life as I can, at least. Was lookin' into auto repair 'n restoration for some income, maybe do more with my cookin', travel the world and learn more too, I guess. I just...wanna make the most of my life. Learn 'n study more martial arts, read more mythology, all kinds of shit I can do."