Tenko said, his hand dripping with blood. An adult was holding onto his arm now so tightly that it left red marks in his skin. He did not understand what happened to him. Finally, finally, after waiting for so long somebody had stopped to give him a hand and just when he reached out to take it…
He didn’t remember what happened next.
Red.
The memory was red.
They looked at him like he was a villain. He looked like one, red, bloodshot eyes, white hair and a face that looked like an open sore. Tenko was slowly starting to remember what had happened, and even then he denied it. His voice small he whispered to himself over and over again. “It’s not my fault, it’s not my fault, it’s not my fault…”
The adult was dragging him now. They were going to take him away. Somewhere dark where he would never be seen again, but maybe that was for the best because this way he couldn’t hurt anyone anymore. Tenko dug his heels to the ground and resisted.
“I didn’t want to hurt anyone, I just wanted… to be a hero…”
That child’s eyes did not belong to that of a villain.
He was sure of that. How could he not recognize it, when he has seen so many orphans in Stardust Town with that same sense of hopelessness? When Esser and Quatre have looked at him with the same distrust, when every adult in their life has come to fail them? That dullness that shouldn’t mar any kind of innocence, and yet it managed to worm itself in the hearts of children. Turns out even in Spirale, there are still people as despicable as the mafia.
Speaking of, this kid sure looked familiar to the Eternal. Maybe that guy had a little brother or something..? Then again, there were a lot of kids recently. The city sure knows how to spin a strange tale whenever it wants to.
He has seen enough. True to his word and duty, Siete stepped in the way of this adult. His friendly demeanor belied the angry glint in his eyes. “Hey there. Pardon the intrusion, but something tells me that kid doesn’t want to go with you.”
It’s not like he’s oblivious - he could see the red in that kid’s hands, as crimson as the sunset. But that alone does not turn one into someone evil.
“So we can do this the easy way —” His smile, just an edge sharper, just a bit wider, showed a bit of teeth. “Or you get a taste of my blades.”