Wheels of Fortune [P]

Xyxer felt the soft hand of Aryll ram against his torso as she continued to try and drain herself, although it wouldn't hurt the demon. It'd be rather difficult for a handicapped person to harm the world's greatest physical combatant after all. As the rain continued to pour over the duo, there seemed to be a glimmer of life in the icy eyes of the Mizukage.. perhaps it was the rejuvenating aspect of prolonged exposure of water to a Hozuki, maybe it was even the embodiment of the demon within as it sought to see through the eyes of the self-made beast. Yet, as always.. the man remained analytic of what was happening in order to truly understand the situation.. the impression he was giving off. Yet it was difficult to understand a Hyuuga. Their bleak, white eyes made it nigh impossible.. but facial expressions were difficult to repress. The slightest grimace, a twitching of cheek muscles.. they all betrayed deeper feelings. Was it fair for Xyxer to do to Aryll the same as he had done to her brother? He'd broken him beyond repair.. was he willing to do that with the girl that seemed to care so deeply for him?

His face remained stoic within the rain after the brief smile as silence swallowed the thoughts of them both. To the demon, the girl's eyes seemed to be wider than they normally were.. her mouth slightly agape. Clear signs of surprise.. but not much else. Many people exhibited these traits around him.. yet often from his brash cruelty and absence of mercy. It was different here.. he'd done nothing to earn the ire of his companions. He hadn't executed the girl's friend beside her.. he hadn't commanded the girl's brother to beat her down for any slight he perceived against him.. he simply stopped her from dirtying herself on the ground.. was this the feeling of actual mercy? Did the compassion of the demon confuse mortals?

Unfortunately for the male.. he wasn't allowed to dwell on his compassion for two long before the significance of his actions started to make sense to him. Politely accentuated by the voice of the chakra beast within, "You put yourself before the village there, Xyxer Gyojin.. or is it Xyxer Tadashi? Xyxer Hozuki? Having a bit of an identity crisis, I can tell." A snort followed, mutating into a chortle, "You can't be good, Xyxer. Everything you touch is doomed, it's simply a matter of time. Your village was destroyed soon after your initiation into ANBU.. the village that subsequently welcomed you was destroyed from your own wish. Kenchi, Sameonna, Rin. Soon it will be Takeo, then this village.. You can't help that you're a harbinger of doom to others as well as yourself." The beast stated, no care for what the man had to say in response.. because in truth, the male had very little he could say to dispute what was said. As he was now.. he brought ruin. The milky white eyes of Aryll would surely be crying in anguish if she truly knew what atrocities the demon was capable of.. her grandfather.. her brother's drawn out torture. Such was the nature of Xyxer.. and he understood for a long time that he'd be unable to change himself.

Yet the voice persisted, "Your nature doesn't have to change for you to change. Your savagery can be honed. Your cruelty can be managed. Your mercy can be contemplated. You live as if you're still within the ANBU Corps that you failed. You're no longer ANBU, Xyxer, so why do you treat your village as if you are?" It was unfortunate for Xyxer that it was starting to truly make sense.. yet what would the beast gain from this? Surely, there was something that the undying wished to receive from him. Some form of recognition.. the ability to manipulate him further.. Perhaps this was all part of the game of the Bijuu. To lend the demon advice, solely because it knew of how little it trusted Gyuki. The ego of the man would be difficult to crumble, but with it's death.. perhaps Xyxer could be remolded into a man of this era rather than the age of his forefathers.

Gentle, stuttering words removed him from the abyss. His eyes refocused once more onto the girl's face as she talked, sleek with the rain. She was so pale that Xyxer started to believe she had became a puppet herself.. a porcelain mannequin that was easy to break, but sometimes more enjoyment came from the management of violence.. it's repression. Xyxer had the power to destroy her, but that wouldn't earn him any honour or glory.. it'd serve to further his reputation as a mad dog. No.. he'd try to be kind to this girl for now. Hospitality to a cripple was the kindest thing he could think of. "Stop crying, Aryll. Just rub some dirt on your wound, you'll be as right as rain." The male encouraged, once again attempting to lighten the mood since he couldn't actually tell that she was crying. Regardless of what she would do, he'd move behind the wheelchair and start wheeling the girl towards her location of choice; Would it be the candy store this time, or the Rock 'Em Sock 'Em events that seemed to have gained popularity as of late. Hell, the girl was full of surprises, and perhaps it'd be neither.

[Exit]

Aryll wept, despite her best efforts to hide her emotions, not wanting to look weak before her friend. She hardly noticed any emotions that might have crossed Xyxer’s face as she cried into his chest, her tears appearing as little more than rainwater. Not even the salt of her tears could be differentiated from the breeze of the sea. She kept her face straight, and when she finally looked up, one couldn’t tell that those white eyes had been weeping.

Xyxer’s joke wouldn’t reach Aryll as such. She would smile weakly, wiping her face with her unwounded hand, and returning to normal soon after realizing Xyxer hadn’t noticed. At least, as far as she could tell. She smiled and scooped up a bit of earth from the side of her chair, taking the man’s advice as he headed to the back of her chair, intent on pushing her to her next destination.

When he began to wheel her, she smiled wider when she said where she was going.
”Thane needs some replacement parts, and I think I should probably get a new welding mask.” She told him, directing him to the blacksmith who sold her most of her steel. The mask was something she never thought she needed, but after her recent loss of limb, she was beginning to take such things more seriously. Perhaps the Hyuuga really could learn from her mistakes.

(Exit)