Even amidst the pulling she felt mentally, physically, and within her own soul, her attentiveness of the ongoings around her remained masterfully intact. She heard the clang of armor as Akron dropped to the ground which was followed by the shuffling of Morika trying to drag him off. Finally, there was the soft thud of a rolling clown head that was soon pursued through the dust by the steps of the newcomer whom had appeared like an enigma during the fight the DWMA students were heavily engaged in. It was less hack and slash for some time there, a battle of wits and mental strength soon having taken over in the question of one's holdings in the face of madness. Nobody had really failed, Elvena would never go as far as to spit out such an assessment. If anything the desire to teach the other meister to think and act instead of falling victim to the thing they were taught to fight was even stronger than ever. Not only for Akron’s sake but for the sake of anyone who might fight beside the two and be relying on them. Then there was the matter of going into full personal surveillance and experiment mode on herself once home after having successfully fused with a being such as a black blood clown. Truthfully her own performance that was similar to seppuku had been extremely risky but she couldn’t argue with the results and neither could Takeshi. A soft but ghastly sigh of contentment pushed its way past her lips as she finally tore herself away from the kiss that was holding her hostage for the past few minutes. An action that had satiated every part of her being on the spiritual and physical plane, a new feeling of fulfillment that she’d never experienced in her life yet this one sole person who had grown to mean monumentally more than a person should had just delivered it. If a meister had a weapon space, the window to hers would be curtained with just enough of a gap to peer through and witness a smiling girl that was identical to Elvena but not quite Elvena. Her black blood demon, while not howling or hooting like Ryu was, instead wore a rather suspicious look across her features that was mixed with many feelings. Many undefinable feelings. She allowed herself to breathe for the first time since she’d become lip locked with her partner but she still felt dizzy, wading around in a shoreless ocean. It was as if even though she’d been visually distracted, the reciprocation of his feelings and thoughts that he poured into the swirling tsunami she’d created had magnified everything. Their wavelength had reached the culmination they usually only required and achieved when using soul resonance. For the first time since impaling herself for the sake of overcoming the influence of the clown and stopping its ridiculous ability to fuel the other clowns in their regeneration, she smirked. It was almost catty in nature but it fit perfectly upon her features as she peered around with her gaze now settling on her teammates. They’d survived, somehow. The unleashing of all that madness, her own wavelength, and the duo that didn’t seem as synchronized as her own with her weapon, those two had indeed managed to get through it. Albeit barely.
“ Akron… “ She spoke in a more hushed voice, yet it was void of much in that moment except for a tinge of sadness. That hand that had been so intimately lost within Takeshi’s hair dropped back into view and then rose to her throat, fingers pressed against her skin as if this notion would somehow help project and bring warmth to the next words instead of having them sounding sharp enough to cut.
“ Morika. The ‘DWMA’ student has a point. Put Akron down, please. The clowns are all dead. “ The way she worded ‘DWMA student’ sounded extremely skeptical and inquisitive but indulging her curiosity right that second would take more precious time away from what they needed to do. Elvena prided herself in knowing more than she probably should about people, the intimate details never quite spared, and she couldn’t recall that face or weapon type being anywhere in her memory banks in the roster of active students. As much as it irked her and made her skin crawl to not gather the information she wanted, she let out a cough that was meant for her own thoughts to derail themselves from that topic and back to the mission.
“ There’s a bunch of balls in the pit behind Takeshi along the tent wall. The object we came for is inside the green one, if one of you could go retrieve it. Please do be careful not to pop any of the other ones, they’re as fragile as balloons but they are highly destructive. “ She handed out the information in a more serious tone that showed no signs of jest, the words flowing straight from her brain and into the open. Another mystery to how that suddenly came to her but she could only deduce that with the absorption of the clown she had also retained what information it held onto. After keeping her gaze averted from her partner’s purposefully, she allowed herself a few moments to peer up at him in a manner that almost seemed uncharacteristically worried of what it would find. Those hues searched for any sort of changes or negativity and she was pleased to be met with none. If there were any, he was hiding them with grandiosity behind his golden shrouded eyes.
“ I’m yours and you’re mine. “ She repeated the one thing that had always echoed through her mind since it had been spoken on their first mission, solidifying it once again with affirmation. It brought a genuine but small smile to her face that slowly dissipated as she looked down towards his sheathed sword.
“ I’m sorry I stained it with my blood. I’ll clean it when we get home if you‘ll allow me to. “
Takeshi was finally, truly, brought back to reality as Elvena pulled away from him, the madness that tinged their surroundings gone in the wind, as if it were all an ephemeral mirage produced through the weight of a collective fever dream, even his inner demon continuing his unexpected bout of silence in the aftermath of all that went down instead of immediately returning to his antics. For the first time in months, Takeshi was encompassed by a still quietness unfettered by anything except the beating of his and his partner’s hearts. A slow, steady rhythm that almost seemed in beat if you listened close enough. Staring into her crimson orbs, and seeing his own reflection surrounded by the usual overwhelming amounts of affection that his partner directed at him, an errant thought flitted through his mind, no more than a passing fleet of fancy, but nevertheless immeasurably impactful. The simple notion that, this girl right in front of him, clinging onto him as if he were the one to nearly kill themselves, almost certainly held his soul in the palm of her hands, and not in the literal manner, though that was almost always true given his own lackluster disposition and her desire to quite literally hold him close. But beyond even her holding him in the palm of her hands, he found that, quite honestly, he didn’t mind that state of affairs, and that was all the more shocking. How had it come this far that he’d not mind someone else holding so much sway over him. That his habits and traits were slowly but steadily morphing and adapting to the girl in his arms. A soft, rueful, yet still amused, sigh escaped him, and he simply held his partner closer. Just this once, he’d humor her, though even he was aware that’d he’d humor his partner as many times as needed, because ultimately he was right the first time he had said it, and she was right when she repeated it. She was his, he was hers, and that’s all there really was to it in the end. So, with a shake of his head to show he truly didn’t me, Takeshi stared into Elvena’s eyes and quirked a small, ghost of a smile at her.
“It’s fine. We’ll clean it later.”
The combination of the evanescent smile and his words wrapped in his usual calm but lazy tone caused her eyes to widen slightly. It was a rare sight but one that still caught her off guard any time she managed to pull anything to the surface of his normally expressionless face. A half nod of sorts was given in response as she tilted her head off to the side, those once wide eyes now relaxing as she peered about the tent that still remained void of much light. Suddenly, as if unexpectedly, the urge to be anywhere but where they stood became overwhelmingly strong. She wasn’t sure if they’d just spent too much time there, perhaps that the mission was now drawing to completion had caused it, or if she’d realized such a private and intimate moment had just been put on display for the other three occupying the tent. With more silent contemplation she conspired that the scenery didn’t bother her, not with its torn clown limbs and gory bloody heads kicked off to the side. The eyes that could have witnessed what went on didn’t concern her. No, that wasn’t quite it. She realized it was that her own selfish and innate desires had made her oblivious to whether her partner was at peace having shared a vulnerable show of affection not behind closed doors. With a delicate sigh that crumbled away in volume once it was past her lips, she worked at pulling her gloves off her now steady hands, discarding them carelessly to drop into the puddle that had finally stopped spreading beneath Takeshi’s feet.
“ I’ll leave what we came for in your hands, Morika and Akron. Please be delicate with transporting it and please don’t tamper with it. I’m entrusting that task to you both. If you brought your sewing kit, maybe you could patch Akron up the best you can. At least until he can see the medic back home. I don’t have the strength right now to help him myself or I would try to assist. “ She shifted slightly in Takeshi’s arms as she spoke to her team, taking note of his tighter hold upon her lithe frame with a small smile, before she turned her attention fully to the newcomer. “ And you with the heterochromatic eyes, thank you for your assistance, regardless of what your reasons for doing so were. Morika wouldn’t be so well off if you hadn’t stepped in. “ She spoke softly but her voice was easily heard this time, the only notion of her own exhaustion finally creeping up coming from the easing of her once tight hold upon the slowly closing hole in her stomach. Those bloody velvet hues scanned the self inflicted wound before they rose to peer at Takeshi’s face once more, a more tired and barrier down type look being given to him.
“ Can we go home now? I’ll need you to take me down to my lab and place me in the chamber on the left side of the room. You can access the lab, truthfully you’ve been able to for a long time now. I just knew you’d always respect my privacy and wouldn’t go down there even if I told you. “ Elvena admitted in a lower voice, the words too muffled for anyone but Takeshi to hear in case they’d been trying to pick up on them.
“ I’m strong enough to hold onto you for the ride. “ She said to reassure him, in case he had any worry or concern for her physical state during the duration of their trip back.
“ You know I’d use any excuse to keep my hands on you. “ The words were added in perfect conjunction and whilst it almost seemed to be merely playful, Takeshi would know she was dead serious.
Humming in reply to Elvena after she had finished addressing the others, Takeshi shifted his grip on her so that she was in a more comfortable position, and then began making his way out of the Circus Tent From Hell, ignoring the others as he left. As far as he was concerned, the mission was complete and any trouble that the remainder got themselves into was out of his hands and no longer his problem, especially with the injuries Elvena had sustained to ensure they overcame the blight that was the Clowns. Glancing down at his partner as he continued out of the tent and towards her bike, he replied in a soft tone,
“I assumed as much. Trusted you and knew you trusted me. Never had a need to go down anyway.” Stopping at Elvena’s bike, he gently placed her at her usual spot behind where he would sit, plopping down in front of her and glancing back with an even smaller smirk than before, his eyes barely shimmering with a faint amusement that was still underlied by the worry he had for her.
“And yes. I’m aware.” Still, settling into his seat, Takeshi made sure that Elvena was not only comfortable, but also secure, and then placed the helmet promptly on his head, starting up the motorcycle and riding off into the night towards Death City without a second thought on the three they had left behind to deal with the cleanup and retrieval of the package.
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