★ : she thought that perhaps a talk would reveal some deeper intent, some greater purpose behind the man’s defense of the wires, but somehow marisa is left further disappointed. at least he’s talking about his sword — which has most certainly piqued her morbid curiosity — and not attacking. that has to be a plus, right?
‘gods, huh? i guess you do need some special tools to knock them around from time to time.’ she’ll just pretend she didn’t hear that bit about cutting down heroes. ‘and it has a mind of its own, like a tsukumogami… huh. i still don’t wanna touch it, though.’
her gaze falls to her own tool — for that’s how she’s always thought of it, not as a weapon — glowing faintly in her left hand.
‘yeah, that was a pretty good answer, i guess.’ she thinks, anyway, if he’s telling the truth.
‘this is the mini-hakkero! i use it for a lot of things, but it has the power to level a mountain.’ a pause, as she feels the need to add, ‘rumored, that is. it definitely packs a lot of magic power, that’s for sure.’
it’s silent for a moment, but she takes a few steps forward, closing a bit of the distance between them but certainly not in striking range yet. ‘well, i guess that’s enough of a break.’ there’s a little hesitation in her usually-confident voice, all drive for an out-and-out brawl drained to zero. still, she takes a few more steps, because she’s not the type to back down from a challenge, but… really, what is the challenge here? cutting the wires just so she can say she did it first? there’s no fun in it, not when she really thinks about it for longer than a few seconds. who’s going to even know that she did anything when people all over the island are surely attempting the same feat, over and over again? it makes her feel… redundant, and more than a little useless.
rin would probably scold her for hesitating like this right about now.
‘…so do you really wanna fight then?’ marisa is pointedly avoiding the subject of cutting the wires, because truthfully, she’s not all that interested in doing so any longer, but it would feel like a cop-out if she actually said so. ‘we could always talk more about that neat sword. i have a lot of spare time these days.’
leveling a mountain? hua cheng raises an eyebrow. if she had wanted to use that against him, then she could have already. like him, it seems she’s hesitating. she’s not rushing to be the hero, like how he’s not rushing to be the villain. he isn’t doing this for blood, after all. he wants to see the freedom or erasure they promised. if a wire isn’t actively cut, then he has no reason to attack.
“an impressive device,” he says, “fortunate i’m not yet at the end of its attack.” he says that casually, as if they aren’t on opposing sides right now. as if they could be allies. impossible. a situation that can barely be imagined. it’s strange they’re even conversing casually right now, as if they aren’t meant to be fighting.
she seems to notice this as well, closing the distance, stating their break is over. with a cant of his head, he wonders if this means this is the moment he sees her ‘hakkero’ in action, power to level a mountain directed at his tiny being. that would be interesting, for sure.he folds his arms as he watches her.
a cold laugh, soulless like him. “i have no preference. if you want to cut the wire, then i’ll fight. if you wish to talk about my sword, then...” he says, pausing. he laughs again, amused by the situation he found himself in. of all heroes he would meet today, he found one not eager to be one. “we can talk about it.”
hua cheng once again pulls out e-ming, the eye opening and closing, confused by the intermission they’re having. on one hand, it wishes to fight and receive praise from its master. on the other, if its master doesn’t want to fight and it acts disorderly, then it’s only going to get disciplined. the eye looks confused, and is even more confused when hua cheng stabs it straight into the ground in front of him, rendering it immobile. as a show of peace that he won’t attack her if she comes even closer (and confidence that he can handle himself even unarmed), he takes a step back, gesturing if she wants a closer look she can have it.
the beautiful, intricate silver handle vibrates a little as the eye rolls around frantically, upset about its treatment. ignore that, he looks at the young girl curiously. “if i may ask,” he begins, “why don’t you wish to fight? don’t you consider yourself a hero? don’t you want to cut the wire for this island?”
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