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 Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 8:30 pm
Asch watched the Zorua turned Blissey wordlessly. The fact that the Pokemon wasn't nearly as heavy as it looked just proved the fact that he had been right. Once the Pokemon had secured his things, he was satisfied and started to climb out of the bed and into the wheelchair, refusing the Zorua's help. It was slow going and painful, but Asch managed to make it into the chair.
Although he paused for a moment, realizing he was still hooked up to the IV. His eye twitched slightly at the thought, but with a firm yank he pulled out the needle that connected his vein to the drip. He bit back a cry of pain, but that didn't stop the machine from beeping due to the disconnection.
"Hurry up, let's go!" Asch barked at the Zorua.
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Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 8:18 am
Riviere nodded once, trying to hide the rejection he felt at his help being ignored. At least Aila might have thanked him for his offer. But this human wasn't his previous owner, even if he had known her. The Zorua had to remember that.
Realizing the beeping only shortened the time they had, the impostor Blissey grabbed hold of the wheelchair handles and ran as fast as he could out the door and toward the lobby. Medics were just starting to investigate the noise when they made it out the doors.
Grunt Nakura had been standing outside with his parka hood up, hiding most of his face from the occasional passerby. Upon seeing the pair, he grabbed hold of the chair and addressed his pokemon. "Good, Riviere. Could have done without the extra attention, but there's nothing we can do now. Change back." He glanced at Asch. "I'll take it from here."
The blue-tipped pokemon did as he was told, reverting to his original form before hopping up onto Asch's lap. It was just in time, too, because at once Izaya was off, headed toward the dense foliage of the trees that surrounded Sandalwood. He didn't seem to have any regard for the bumps or dips in the ground that might have jolted or jerked his patient around. In fact, sometimes he almost seemed to go for them.
The grunt didn't slow down or stop until they were deep enough in the forest for the tree-top buildings to be out of view.He then took a moment to pause and catch his breath, glancing every so often behind him to make sure they were not being pursued. Riviere looked up and barked inquiringly at Asch, wondering how he was doing. He hadn't enjoyed their ride so much himself.
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Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 4:01 pm
Riviere.. that name sounded familiar. But Asch didn't have much time to dwell on it as he was hurriedly pushed through the halls of the hospital and out into the walkways of Sandalwood.
The entire time the red head's hands held fast to the arm rests with a white knuckled grip. There was the occasional pained grunt from him as Izaya hit bumps, some of which were probably on purpose. He could see where he was going after all.
By the time they had stopped though, his eyes were wrenched shut and his teeth clenched in obvious discomfort.
"You... b*****d..." he muttered in a pained gasp. It hurt.. SO much.
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Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 1:05 pm
When Izaya had finally caught his breath, he spent it laughing. He laughed, loud and long, with no one but Riviere and Asch to hear him. This lasted for a few minutes before he cut himself off abruptly, standing behind the wheelchair again. This time, however, it was to press his flick blade against the agent's throat.
"Zor?!" Riviere looked up, alarmed. Izaya's ever-constant smile was gone. He glared hard at the red-head from behind and there was an intensity in his eyes that made the Zorua cringe.
"You're one to talk," the informant said seriously, his voice, for once, void of any sort of humor. "That's some nerve there, considering what I just went through to get you out of your...predicament. The majority of your 'teammates' would have been happy to just let you rot in some hell-hole, including our wonderful head of department, Kunai-chan."
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Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 2:35 pm
His good arms clutching his middle, Asch groaned a little, but quickly straightened up when he felt a blade against his throat. Turning his green eyes up at Izaya, the agent glared back in all defiance. He was not afraid of that man, his knife, or his words. He didn't believe the grunt would kill him, and even if he did.. he's be doing Asch and the rest of the world a favor anyway. His look at the grunt was almost a daring one. He knew Izaya wouldn't do it, because its not what Aila would have wanted. And clearly this guy had a soft spot for his former partner.
While he had never thought about it though, Asch knew that Izaya was probably right. They wouldn't care about him. He was just another agent, nothing special, and disposable. Those words made Rosie's offer of help sound more inviting.
Asch said nothing, and just held that glare.
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Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 2:57 pm
"Mr. fon Fabre," Izaya spoke, paying attention to Asch's pulse as he pressed his arm against his neck, keeping the blade there. "Please don't make the mistake of assuming you know me. I'm a human, but not a human like you. I don't let stupid things like emotions hold me back from what I choose to do. There are advantages to holding everyone on the same level of regard, including family. And teammates."
Slowly withdrawing the blade, the grunt purposely pressed the edge against skin, forming a small cut before closing the knife. He knew the agent wouldn't go anywhere. He just wanted to see that look he gave him. That daring glare that challenged him to do it. But, of course, the informant was no killer. He loved humans and he was too cowardly to ever take a life. He had no reason to kill Asch.
Staring off the way they had come, he continued speaking in an even voice. "Do you have anyone left who cares about you, Asch-kun...? Anyone who you care about...?"
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Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 3:16 pm
Clearly Asch didn't buy any of that, because his gaze never wavered. He continued to say nothing, letting Izaya make his assumptions about his assumptions. Izaya had come here and gotten him out of that hospital for a reason. Nobody else cared enough to do so, which he had so kindly pointed out.
There wasn't so much as a flinch as the knife cut the skin of his neck, causing it to bleed slightly. He was dealing with more more pain than just a little nick, after all.
When the questions were posed, Asch just snorted.
"You're the know-it-all. You tell me," the agent sad with clear irritation.
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Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 3:57 pm
"...Riviere," the black-haired man called, hearing Asch's reply. "Show the grumpy agent the face of that previous owner of yours." He glanced at Asch's back out the corner of his eye. "It might cheer him up some."
The blue Zorua, somewhat pacified that Izaya was not going to badly hurt the already injured Asch, did as he was told. He gave a little leap before landing back on Asch's lap, his Illusion changing his appearance. Now he took the shape of a demure young woman about Asch's age with dark hair and pink eyes. She wore her Agent uniform as she sat there, staring into bright green eyes.
"Asch-san..." Izaya spoke up, "I know it's not her, but it'll have to do. Maybe if you see her face, you'll remember. Try to imagine her voice. Now what would she say to you if she found out what you had done to yourself? Hmm?"
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Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 4:20 pm
Asch scowled as Izaya gave the Zorua orders. He knew what they were capable of, after all. The agent stone walled as the illusion of his former partner appeared before his eyes, but the fact that his fingers had tightened on the fabric of his hospital gown and the wheelchair, betrayed him.
"She's not around anymore," he pointed out. "So it doesn't matter." After all.. Izaya had asked who was still around that Asch still cared about. Not who use to be. It was rather obvious by now that he had cared about Aila. He was not impressed.
"I don't know what the hell you want from me, or why you even bother. And don't give me that "I love humans" bullshit or the informant crap. You've been dragging this on way too long. Its getting pretty damn old." This said with an even, although annoyed, tone of voice.
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Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 4:48 pm
"Sure, sure. She doesn't matter." Izaya took an article of Asch's clothing from the back of the chair and stabbed his knife through it, slowly cutting downwards. "No one matters. We can kill all the non-Rockets and everything would be dandy, ne?"
He looked to Riviere. "What about your twin? He helped you out of that mess, didn't he?" As if on some cue, the blue-tipped Zorua changed back to normal and then into a grinning Luke, still perched on Asch's lap.
"Or that blonde princess? Riviere, you know the one." The little dark-type changed again. The illusions took some energy out of him, but Izaya had had him practice them for a while. He had some pride in his mastering of them.
"...You don't even think of what you put any of them through, do you?"
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Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 4:52 pm
Asch just rolled his eyes, trying to ignore the sound of ripping fabric behind him.
"I think about a lot of things. Like how stupid your attempts at mind games are. Sorry, but I'm not interested in playing anymore."
The agent folded his arms across his chest and closed his eyes, completely ignoring the fact that it looked like his twin was sitting in his lap. He didn't even see the Natalia one.
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Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 4:57 pm
The sound of ripping stopped. Izaya looked at the pieces distastefully before flicking to the floor. This wasn't any fun. And it wasn't abating his anger, any, either. He'd managed to hold it in this long, but...
"Riviere, come here."
"Zorua...?" The dark fox turned back to normal and hopped off Asch's lap curiously before he was summoned back into his ball with a bright beam of light.
Once that was done, Izaya violently whipped around the wheelchair and turned Asch to face him, leaning forward and grasping Asch's hands over the armrests. He met Asch's gaze and locked it there.
He spoke low and fast with an almost contemptuous expression on his face. "Quit acting like the victim, here. You have people who care about you, and you know it. If not, then you would have more than likely been locked up and arrested by now. Maybe even tortured for information on Team Rocket. I know they said they had no grounds to arrest you on, but they could have gone through your things and even taken your pokemon if they wanted. You might have even been left for dead had Luke not decided to save your sorry a**."
His eyes narrowed. "Don't act ungrateful by throwing it all away. You have more than you know, so don't go around seeking death like it'll bring you peace. Because all you'll end up doing is leaving a trail of devastation and grief in your wake. Understood, agent?" He thrust his blade towards Asch's chest. "You have a responsibility to yourself. Don't act like you don't matter. It pisses me off."
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Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 5:24 pm
With the chair whipped around and his hands grabbed, Asch looked back at Izaya with an unwavering gaze. He listened to the man's words with a touch of bitterness. It pissed him off? What a joke.
Asch actually laughed at this.
"So what if I do? Do you think pretending like everything is okay, will do any good? It's not okay! Giving them the hope that I could go back home and everything could return to the way it was is even more cruel than what I'm doing now. I'm doing them a favor! Whether they realize it or not. Whether they want it or not. This... this is the only way I can protect them." That last sentence trailing off into more hushed tones as he looked away, a bit of emotion starting to show in his formally cold eyes.
"You think I actually like it? That I want it to be this way? I don't want to die, but if I did anything different... I would be inviting it. So stop with this self righteous crap. It really doesn't suit you."
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Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 5:46 pm
"You can move on, Asch," Orihara countered. "Pretending like everything is okay is one way of dealing with it, but obviously you can't handle that. Aila did for some time, but eventually she moved on. Maybe if you didn't have your head stuck up your a**, you could too, but you're too busy wallowing in your self-pity."
Grabbing a hold of Asch's hospital gown, he cut the string that tied it in the back with one, swift movement. Keeping a straight face, he tossed Asch whatever clothes he had left folded on the back of the wheelchair before shredding the hospital gown and scattering it. Hopefully if someone came looking for the Rocket, they'd figure he was torn apart by wild pokemon or something.
"We'll just say you fell down a sinkhole, okay? Not a word about getting caught by the trainers or being brought to the hospital. It'll be our little secret," He whispered in Asch's ear as he pushed the wheelchair from behind. Not far from there was the van he had parked.
"Aila had hope," he began eventually. "Even though she killed her brother's daughter, didn't she have hope of going back home? I admit, I went through a few of her letters, but I doubt she would have minded at this point." He laughed hollowly. "You're not doing them a favor, you're doing yourself one. You don't want to get your hopes up because you don't want to be disappointed." He rolled his eyes. "'Protect them'...as if they need you to hold their hands. You're the one being stubborn. You always have a choice."
"Oh, I never pretended to be even remotely 'self-righteous'," the grunt sneered. "I don't give a crap about you as an individual. I just figured Aila wouldn't have wanted you to throw everything away; especially not with the people you care about being so close. If she could be accepted by her family, why can't you? Be a little more open-minded." He knocked on Asch's head for emphasis. "Otherwise you'll end up just like her - throwing her life away for no good reason."
He grinned. "There's always a way to get what you want in this world~ You just have to find out how. Now put on those clothes and let's say you were in that cave-thing all this time. Wild pokemon caused all these injuries before I came to the rescue and gave you first-aid. That means you have to get dirty, though, so..." Izaya paused and dumped the man into a small, muddy pond like a farmer dumping a wheelbarrow. "Oh. And that thing I shreded before? I think that was your cape-thing. Sorry~"
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Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 5:58 pm
Asch grimaced slightly, then huffed and looked away from Izaya.. which caused him to not pick up on what he was doing until it was too late.
Green eyes went wide in shock for a moment as he was suddenly left indecent. Not that he was modest or anything, but... well. Its not exactly every day one is stripped bare against their will in the middle of a forest. The agent growled in irritation as he caught his clothes. He could have warned him! But this was Izaya, so it was pointless to point that out. The guy enjoyed being a pain in the a** far too much.
As Izaya kept talking, he started to dress himself as best he could. Not saying anything in return. Even though he didn't want to admit it.. perhaps there was a sliver of merit in the other man's words. Perhaps he was being selfish, and maybe... just maybe... there was a way. But did he dare to hope for such? Asch's situation was a bit more complicated than Izaya likely realized, so he couldn't be sure.
He had managed to get his pants on and was working on the top when Izaya unceremoniously dumped him into a pond. With a shout, Asch fell in with a splash. He floundered about for a moment then came up for air and gave Izaya a withering glare. "I hate you! SO MUCH!" He shouted vehemently, while tossing the shredded cape at the grunt. "It was torn up already anyway!" With that he tried to pull himself out, although the now waterlogged cast on his leg didn't help at all.
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