As her words, as the voice left her rose-colored lips telling of her losses and pain, the tip of sharp canines come down on his own lip nearly drawing blood. Tearing his gaze from the floor, he looked into the Intoner’s deep red eyes. Red — it was supposed to be a color he hated. Red like blood. Red like that dyed the skies in the accursed nights he’s fought in. Red like his own eyes that were an endless reminder of his lost humanity. But to Hyde now, it had became a thing of beauty. A source of endless warmth and the strength to march forward. As though mesmerized and enchanted by this warmth, like a moth circling toward a flame, he singlemindedly pursued that heat without even noticing he had caught fire for her some time ago. And as things stood now having allowed himself to have flown this close to her flame, hearing her tragedies, her heartbreak, he felt as if his shattering heart could be reduced to a mere pile of ashes.
He really hadn’t changed one bit, but at the very least he had at least taken a step forward. It was enough to keep him from falling silent and escaping from this uncomfortable situation with weak excuses like he once would have. Thanks to that, and her last words that sparked a fire of his own, he was spurred on to bring a voice to the words in his heart. The chorus of agony up to now that had been ripping him apart subsided, and now, there was only one thing on Hyde’s mind―destroying those messed up illusions she convinced herself of as truths.
“ ‘Carry the burdens yourself’? One, you’re not serious, are you…? …Don’t be ridiculous, dumbass!”
“Isn’t that… Isn’t that all the more reason why you shouldn’t carry it all by yourself?!” The question posed came out a little louder than he intended. Still, it by itself wasn’t enough. There was much more that needed to be said. He might end up saying too much and making her hate him but he didn’t care as long as his words stuck somewhat, that’s all that mattered right now.
“You’ve fought all this time just to make the world a better place… Never asking for anything from anyone. Doing everything you can for the people around you. Only to…end up losing so much. If you can admit you’re lonely then, if you’re hurting so much, then don’t go forcing a smile and saying things like that. Like you seriously have no choice but to carry everything on your own. Since you already done so much, since you’ve suffered so much isn’t it alright to let someone else help you bare it all for once?!”
She wondered if her words had been too heavy for the young man when only silence ensued after she had finished. It was not very often that One spoke of her own deep emotions, even to her sisters, thus when she did it always felt a bit strange because during those times she could not be sure if her words were truly being understood. In order to let others comprehend her thoughts, she chose the most concise and efficient way of speaking but when it came to words of the heart, it was difficult to plan how to lay them out logically thus it was territory she still hadn’t completely conquered. There were few who she spoke in this way to, some whom understood her, and some who did not. One did not look away from Hyde, observing his body language to see what his reaction might be should there be any, and what she saw had slightly surprised her.
His hands and body trembled as if upset or angry with her words, perhaps he was disappointed to know that his mentor had been weak and selfish all this time. But those ludicrous thoughts had been immediately dashed away as her eyes once more looked at his. Instead of disappointment his eyes seemed to glow with a flurry of emotions, emotions so captivating she almost lost herself in wondering what they could be. They seemed familiar but she knew that they weren’t emotions she had seen him hold before. But his voice broke the spell of his gaze, bringing her back to the ground to hear his response.
Dumbass... well I know where he’s coming from but his vocabulary could have been better. Considering the other person with whom she associated the term with. But her thoughts quickly returned to the situation at hand.
She let him say his piece without once interrupting. Accepting his feelings without a word, calmly taking in everything he had to say to her until he finally finished. One knew how much courage and strength it took for him to say everything, that she understood, but did he really understand her enough to say all of that?
“Life isn’t so simple, Hyde.” What she had that could count as a heart ached, it ached in preparation for the things that she wanted to say and because of how she felt about his words. If she had been weaker she might have cried, she might have let her will shatter completely, but even if he should come to find the cracks of her armor, One would never let her ego go down so easily.
“For those with power they have a duty to use it for those who do not have it, whether there should be reward or not is not the purpose of that power. No matter the losses or gains, the happiness and sorrow, I have to keep on going until I no longer have breath in me. There’s no one who can share these burdens... there’s no one who should!” She couldn’t help it, it brought back memories of old that she wished could stay buried, her emotions that she usually kept still now wanted to rage. “I cannot let anyone else bare these sins and in return, there is no one who will forgive me for what I’ve done. To be alone is what my fate shall be and I’ve accepted that. So why do you attempt to break my resolution, Hyde!? What has brought upon your words to fight against my own?”