.8th Strike. [text]

[mean_left_hook]

[Locked to self - FAILED.]

I'm so tired.

My eyes don't want to stay open, but I can't close them without seeing him.

It feels like a year since I last slept.

My hand was hurting, more than it normally does.

Turns out beneath the blood and the mess of my gloves- a tooth was stuck in my knuckle.

I laughed, and then I threw up.

I wish the shower worked.

Comments

{Voice, Japanese}

[purgatory_maren]

...

Akihiko, Please. I won't let you hurt anyone and I'll take you somewhere where you can get cleaned up. Tell me where you are before another officer finds you..

Re: {Voice, Japanese}

[mean_left_hook]

H-How are you reading this?!

I don't want to be found.

{Voice, Japanese}

[purgatory_maren]

Apparently nothing's working.

... I don't care. And I don't care about searching for another few hours either.

Re: {Voice, Japanese}

[mean_left_hook]

You're wasting your time.

[Text]

[nummeh_souls]

I'm not going to ask you to forget, but...

Maybe it would be best if you were able to get away from all this for awhile.

I wouldn't be like me to stand in the way of the people who are out to take you in, but I think you're giving yourself a punishment that's much worse.

Re: [Text]

[mean_left_hook]

Soul, don't associate yourself with me.

I don't want you persecuted, especially over a stranger.

[Text]

[nummeh_souls]

Kinda late for that, don't you think?

I think that there are worse things, and you're hardly a stranger... Stop kidding yourself before I have to find you just so that I can hit you myself.

Re: [Text]

[mean_left_hook]

I bet when you first talked to me, you didn't think I would be capable of this.

I am a stranger.

I don't even know myself.

[otafucku]

So what'd Jeane do to you?

[mean_left_hook]

She helped me.

She helped me, and all I did in turn was betray her trust.

[otafucku]

She would have betrayed you sooner or later.

Start from the beginning, bright eyes.

[mean_left_hook]

She never betrayed me!

Don't you get it?!

Jeane taught me the strength and the skill, but it was my responsibility to use them properly!

If you beg for a gun and someone gives it to you, is it their fault you choose pull the trigger and kill someone?

No!

[embracethewaves]

Hey, um. If you need water, I can help.

[mean_left_hook]

There's no water here, not clean at least.

I wouldn't want to get you in trouble.

[embracethewaves]

I can, um...summon it, I guess you could say. Water magic.

I don't think I'd get into trouble just for helping someone clean up.

[mean_left_hook]

If I let you know where I am, they'll try and find me.

Right now I'll just live with the mess I brought upon myself.

[text]

[church_man]

I hope you're not turning into Shinji. Having one of him around to worry about is hard enough.

Re: [text]

[mean_left_hook]

Me, turning into Shinji?

I wish.

He's the one with the friends, the life.

I did this wanting to become as strong as him, and I managed to screw even that up.

[text]

[church_man]

I'm pretty sure he'd want to punch you, to hear you say that.

Bullshit. You think he's happy with his life? He's got friends, but he can be stubborn about it. And it's easy to see that you've got friends who want to help you, Shinji among them.

Which part, running off with some stranger to train or killing a man? You didn't screw anything up. You did exactly what you wanted to. You got stronger and you proved it. Did you really expect to keep getting stronger and never hurt anyone?

Re: [text]

[mean_left_hook]

I didn't want the strength to hurt others, I wanted the strength to protect them.

I'm not stronger, I'm not!

My body and skill have changed, but my mind and heart are still weak.

I'm an adult, not a child- and I don't even have self control.