❝Want you gone? Thats not exactly what I’m saying no..❞ [There she went again with the guilt tripping— unintentional, but damn did it hurt. It wasn’t that Magoichi minded having her around, but every second of the day seemed a bit..much to him.] ❝You can follow me into town and all that—❞ [Magoichi,seeing as Two was still hugging him, would put his arms around her, gently of course.] ❝—I’m just saying you don’t have to do it all the time.I’ll give you your space where you need it, and maybe, sometimes, you give me mine, thats all.❞
Feeling his arms wrap around her body elicited a sigh of comfort and wanting from the Intoner, before she finally pulled away entirely. Her arms wrapped around her generous bust in hopes of concealing some of her arousal.
“Nmm…. alright. Alright, I understand. We can do that.”
❝…You can follow me around while I travel all you want, but don’t feel like you are forced to do that. We don’t have to be on top of each other 24/7. Not that I mind that but—❞ [Magoichi sort of did mind that, but he wasn’t going to out right say that, it’d be suicide on his part. Instead he tried to push the idea without actually saying it, in a mean way that is.] ❝— I do a lot of things around here, and I’d hate to drag you through every single one of them. So, when I’m working and stuff, I’d ask you not to concern yourself with me, thats all.❞
“You don’t want me to follow you when you go into town."
"You want me to stay away from you when others are around, right?” The way she put it, sounded as if he didn’t want her having dealings with his public affairs. “You want me to go off and do other things while you want me gone?"
She wasn’t stupid. She was crazy– but she wasn’t stupid.
[Magoichi watched as Two’s expression remained unchanged. The look in Two’s eyes, the way she stood, it didn’t look good, dammit she wasnt going to agree was she? Magoichi was just about to reach for his musket, which he was going to use to shoot Two right in the face— all the good that would have done. But before any of that happened, Two surprised Magoichi yet again with that cheery, upbeat voice of hers. Gods above, Two knew how to almost give someone a heart attack.]
❝Oh good,I was hoping that’s what you’d say—Ow Ow that hurts..❞ [Magoichi was a bit stressed with Two’s gesture of a hug, but he figured it was a lot better to get her mouth blood on his coat and to be mantwo-handled like this than it was to lose his free will.] ❝L-Lookt-there is one other thing I need to ask of you though, if its not to much.❞
Gently she pulled from his person, her arms sliding down his chest until they hung at her sides limply, her cerulean curls bouncing with her rapid swaying from left to right, and yet, she smiled the entire time.
[This was good, she was listening at least, which meant he could move on with what he had to say without much fear. To Magoichi, this was already done, he had the right words to get out of this, he just needed to arrange them properly, thats all. With that forced smile from before still on his lips, Magoichi would approach Two, stopping just a few inches short of bumping into her.]
[Deep down Magoichi was pained with how he hurt Two, I mean sure being stuck with her for the rest of his life wasn’t a pleasing thought but, he never wanted to hurt her, and he didn’t really want to hurt her anymore. After taking a deep breath, Magoichi would look right into Two’s eyes and speak, and for once, out of all that had happened so far, Magoichi appeared to be sincere, truthfully anyways.]
❝I was thinking, maybe you’d like to follow me around on my travels, you know, what you intended to do before I ran off the first time.❞ [Magoichi would put both his hands behind his back, a all as sweat began to drop from his forehead— a sign of nervousness no doubt.] ❝Only I wont run away this time, because if I do, we wont be having this conversation, you’ll just get on with the branding, and I’ll allow it.❞
"……………“
For a few minutes the Intoner was quiet and observant, hanging on his every word until finally she closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath. Her expression wasn’t that uplifting, in fact, it looked like she would reject the offer for her own means until —
"Okay! Let’s do that then! Hahahah!”
In a fit of glee the woman threw herself against the man, nearly bruising him because of her strength, and wrapped her arms around his neck, squealing in excitement. “YES, YES, I LIKE THIS! Hahaha!!” Despite her happiness, blood continued to trickle from the edge of her mouth.
[Magoichi felt a small sense of relief when Two agreed to hear him out, even if he was still a bit terrified with all of this. At any moment, Two could probably turn around and smash that crest into his head, and by then it would be over, but she wasnt doing that. Yeah, he probably didn’t deserve her mercy, Two had every right to be angry and sad, and while the crest was a bit drastic, Magoichi would only have himself to blame for its wrath. Magoichi now had a chance though,a chance to maybe make things better, a chance to keep his free will, and he was thankful for all of that.]
❝Thank you, for listening.❞ [Magoichi would try and make a believable smile, but it was hard, mostly because of how shaken he felt. Not only that, he took notice of the blood tricking down from Two’s lips— did he cause that? It was bad enough he hurt Two emotionally but now he had her bleeding? Gods this women was just a walking guilt trip wasnt she?] ❝This is what I suggest. I know you’re angry, and I know you’d love nothing more than to stick that seal-thingy into my skull, but what if you didn’t have to do that? What if…we could—❞ [Magoichi almost choked with what he said next, but he said it anyways.]
❝— be together without the factor of enslaving me?❞ [Magoichi didn’t say all of what he had to say right now, instead he waited for Two to question him on it. The way Magoichi figured, was that if Two didn’t like how it sounded now, she wouldn’t care much for anything else he had to say. This, was the defining moment, and as Magoichi stood there staring at Two, with his heart racing and his heavy breathing, he hoped things swung his way.]
Being together without having to put the seal on him? Was that possible? Two had never really given that aspect of an Apostle out; certainly she’d agonized over Cent who had it, about whether or not he loved her for her and not because the seal made him love her. So many this was a chance to actually discover that type of truth with Magoichi?
Gently she swayed from left to right, her bent posture no doubt causing more panic from her company. Slowly her back straightened and she stood up normally, those bright eyes honed on him entirely now, her expression still unreadable. A blend of sadness, confusion and genuine curiosity.
“How will I know you won’t lie to me and try to run away again?” Her head tilted childishly, “if we don’t do the bonding of Intoner and Apostle, how do I know you won’t leave me?” At least this was more of a good sign; one where she was ready to listen to his suggestion.
[Magoichi had no idea what Two was doing by this point, needless to say, he was confused by all of it. There was just silence between the both of them now, errie silence. Magoichi thought to break that silence and say something, but then he stopped himself— his words previous hadn’t done much, and his gesture of touch hadn’t done any better, dammit, what the hell was he supposed to do? Two’s current posture didn’t allude to much, but Magoichi figured she was about ready to snap, and one more wrong word or action could prove fatal, to his free will that is.]
❝…. I said I’m sorry, and, I don’t expect you to forgive me right away, but..❞ [Fear coursed through Magoichi’s veins right now, his shaken voice making this more evident the more he spoke.] ❝We can work through this Two, and I know a way to do that!..A-Are you willing to listen?❞
Her continued silence no doubt frightened the mercenary, but in all honesty she was merely in deep thought. Two ventured into her mind to conclude what it was they would do now, and how she would deal with his betrayal. Because of her shattered state it became hard to come back from a moment of panic and lonesome, especially since she found someone who could pull her back from the brink of insanity – even if it was only for a few minutes to an hour.
It was nice.
Slowly her cerulean stare turned to him, a look of indifference about her flawless features. Her curls did bounce and kiss the edges of her cheek bones before swaying in her eyes, ironically shielding the ‘II’ symbol imprinted on her forehead just above and between her brows.
“……What do you want to do?” Two’s voice sounded a little hoarse, probably because of all the screaming she’d done at him. It did nothing for her already tender throat, and because of her inability to register limits she often harmed herself on accident; the very example of such was the trickle of blood from the corner of her lips. “I’m…. listening, Mago.”
[When Magoichi turned around to face Two, he kind of felt bad, mostly because it was his fault she looked like this. All the tears, all the pain in both Two’s face and her voice, it was all because of him. Make no mistake, it was never Magoichi’s intention to hurt Two, I mean sure he intended to run away, but he didn’t think she’d get so attached to and emotional over him. Magoichi felt bad about all that, he really did, but he was more concerned with his own free will, and the possibility that it could be stripped away at any moment.]
❝Hey hey, don’t cry now—❞ [There was some genuine feeling in Magoichi’s words, because he really did feel bad about hurting Two, but he was speaking out of necessity, not sincerity. Magoichi sure did a good job of looking sincere though, especially when he put one hand on Two’s right shoulder.] ❝— Look, I really am sorry, for everything. I promise it wont happen again.❞
Two held up a suspicion about the human, and she had a right too considering all his kind words ended up with him leaving the first time. His tender touch to her shoulder was answered with a squirm to rip his hand away from her – as if touching was a privilege he hadn’t earned yet.
With a few sniffles the cerulean Intoner turned from the man, her slouched back revealed to him; an opening? Maybe. But did he really want to risk that? All it took was one more mistake before Two disregarded all of his desires and went with her own. The power between the two was clearly one-sided.
[Magoichi half expected Two to throw him against a tree and engrave that seal into his forehead, but it appeared he was wrong with that assumption. For all the crazy things Magoichi had ever seen her do, right now was a different thing entirely. In contrast to how she was a few minutes ago, Two appeared to be calm, and civil, and that was just how Magoichi needed her to be— if he had any chance of making it out of this with his free will in tact that is.]
[Two being calm wasn’t going to save him though, no, Magoichi would have to make an effort himself, which is what he tried to do with his next words, an attempt at being ‘sincere’.] ❝..Before we get to that, I’d like to say that I’m sorry, for uh..you know..❞
"………“
For the moment she appeared like a kicked dog, her bright eyes directed to the ground beneath them while he spoke, apologizing for leaving her behind she assumed. But even as he did express his regrets she couldn’t help but feel a sense of betrayal….
…..that maybe this was just another ploy for him to get what he wished.
”….Are you?“ Her breathing turned shallow while hot tears streamed down her face, the memory so vivid. It’s as if it happened the previous day, the wounds to her shattered heart still oh so fresh, and bleeding.
[Magoichi had been watching two very closely this entire time, but when she flashed away, he froze in place. Frantically, without moving his head, Magoichi moved his eyes from side to side, and then up and down, but Two was nowhere to be seen. Where did she go? What was she doing? Magoichi’s heart began to race, almost pumping out of his chest— but then it stopped. To Magoichi, it literally felt like his heart had stopped when he heard Two’s voice flow in from behind.]
[Magoichi didn’t turn around fully, if anything, he only cocked his head to left just slightly, enough to get a peripheral view of Two.] ❝…I understand you don’t want me to leave, you’ve made all that very clear, but..I don’t think that seal-thingy is the best way to deal with all this.❞
She was quiet for a long moment while considering his words; they didn’t have to solve this problem with the seal? Well, what else did he have in mind, exactly?
It wasn’t in her nature to make someone else unhappy, even in this state, so for the time being she appeared relaxed, “…. okay. Okay.” She reiterated, “…okay.”
❝ ‘Great’ isn’t really a word that comes to mind for me, no.❞ [Magoichi would take advantage of Two’s pause, shifting to the side as he now made his way away from the tree that had blockaded him so. With that done, he’d resume his backwards steps,all as his musket was pointed in Two’s direction. Magoichi wanted to run now that he had the chance but, he saw how fast she flew in here earlier, running from Two would be pointless. All Magoichi could do, he figured, was to try and talk Two down from this situation.]
❝You know what comes to mind when I hear that? Terror, servitude, depression— thats just a few of many things I see coming from that seal-thingy on my part.❞
"That’s not true!“ Two exclaimed excitedly, turning to watch Mago steadily back away from the woman, his musket still trained right on her. Yet, this didn’t stop the Intoner, instead she ran to him in a flash, a stream of blue followed after her just as she appeared at his back.
”…It’s…. It’s not true.“
Biting the bottom of her lip, she started inching towards him again, her cerulean curls kissing the edges of her plush cheeks, ”..Mago? ….I don’t want you to leave me.“
