He'd finally done it.
[break][break]
This was the price. This was the cost. It had finally caught up to him.
[break][break]
He was only gone for five minutes. Just five minutes. Just to the corner store and back. "Sit there and finish your drawing until I come back or I'm giving Princess Sparkle your piece of the pie." She had green marker all over her fingers, on her face. Hair fraying around her face, drawn back by a pink scrunchie. Gangly long legs kicking under the table, sometimes he'd forgotten how tall she already was. It was just any other day and yet... he was only gone for 5 minutes, but when he returned the door handle was cracked in, door skewed. It was dark inside. The annoying sound of cartoons blaring on the television. It had been turned up to hide the...
[break][break]
"Miu?" He'd whispered, dazed as he stared into the open mouth of the apartment. The seat she'd been sitting in was empty, turned over. Papers scattered across the ground. White noise, blood in his ears. And then heart-stopping panic as he crashed through the front door. "Miu!?" His voice trembled as he cried. Please, let this be one of her dumb pranks. He ripped the blankets from her bed to the vacant space beneath. The bathroom. His bedroom. Every room entered with a pitched cry until her name no longer formed on the twist of his tongue through the panicked sob.
[break][break]
She liked to hide, pop out from behind the curtains or curl up in the cabinets waiting for him to pass by. She was a menace, his little menace. In the kitchen, he found the rainbow ponyta curled up on the ground. Something had attacked him. His hands trembled as he shook at the pokemon's still form, but it was breathing and stirred with a pathetic little whinny.
[break][break]
"Where is she? What happened?" Only five minutes. Why did he leave? For the stupid pie now smashed on the ground in a red slurry that made him feel like he was going to vomit.
[break][break]
Then, he found the note on the counter: We were tired of waiting.
[break][break]
The mental walls finally cracked through and he was sobbing. An uncontrollable mess of emotion, tempest-like in the way he couldn't control it. He'd never had to do this before. He was so far from perfect. Sometimes, he was the worst fucking dad, but he'd tried. He'd thought that maybe the world would quit punishing him, but...
[break][break]
Blindly, he sought out his name in the phone before calling. Minutes of silence, only the dial tone and the same wash of nausea and white noise nearly put him on his ass. Enzo's voice filled the receiver, smooth and teasing in a way that usually made him smile, stupidly soft. Miu would see it and yell, "UNCLE ENZO!?" Because she knew he made him smile. There was no girlish screech in the background, he couldn't breathe.
[break][break]
"She's gone, they took her. Enzo— I... I don't know what to do. It's all my fault." He'd barely constructed the words, forcing them through the flurry of emotions. Pathetically, he crumpled, pressing back against the kitchen cabinets. And he sobbed. "They took my baby girl. I don't know what to do."
[break][break]
She's gone.
[break][break]
There was a stain on the ponyta's hide, an address written out in green marker.

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] vincenzo de luca | im dead inside :'3 | [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-lucario"]
[attr="class","pokesprite pokemon ponyta-galar"]

[attr="class","milkcredit"] [attr="class","fas fa-cookie-bite"]

It only took a few seconds, the sound of ragged breath on the other end of the line to know that this was not, in fact, an ordinary day like the rest. “Kosei?” the questioning tone was quickly swallowed by the tumult that imploded from Kosei’s side. Worse that made his stomach drop as cold nerves prickled under his skin, washing through like a tidal wave of chilled dread.[break][break]

they took her.[break][break]

His face must have paled considerably because the day manager was turning back toward him, a frown tugging at her face. The concern was evident—he was too vulnerably exposed. Too transparent. Maybe it was the sobbing on the other end, loud enough for her to hear. Normally, that would have bothered him. He would’ve given her a stern look before retreating to his office to take the call privately.[break][break]

But he was rooted in place. He wasn’t aware of it, but his own breathing had shallowed out. Because there was only one person Kosei could be referring to before it all tumbled out in more watery howls. Miu.[break][break]

“What do you mean took her? Who’s they?” he finally managed to bark out, drawing looks that earned scowls back. He knew he sounded harsh. Frantic. But that was what happened when his stress climbed. And this had just shot it through the roof. There was a sharp ache that seized him, hearing Kosei like this. Normally so stoic, so composed in his presentation. Under the panic, Enzo seethed.[break][break]

He had known Kosei was in debt. That was why he’d come back to The Nimbus in the first place. Enzo was stupid to have thought that it had all just gone away. Just like that. But life didn’t work like a snap of the fingers, did it? Why didn’t you tell me? He wanted to howl the words back. Hurl them at him in misplaced frustration.[break][break]

If this had been anyone else, Enzo would have been callous enough to shrug. Not his problem. But this was his weak spot. The one he’d allowed to grow and soften between his ribs. Foolish, he’d told himself months ago.[break][break]

Like hell, though, would he let this go. For a few moments, he was silent, mind whirring as the anger spiked. It had been a long time since he’d behaved and acted on uncontrolled emotion. He’d been young. Before Miu was born, when she was only a baby. Before new Rocket. But he wouldn’t let it loose on Kosei. Of course not. At his side, Cassius whined, sensing the unspoken climb in tension.[break][break]

“Kosei, Kosei,” it was probably a fool’s errand to try and talk him down. “I’m going to come to you, alright? Don’t do anything, not yet.” He was moving, holding the phone away to tell the manager that she was in charge for now and that his meetings were to be postponed. If any clients took issue, it was too bad. Perhaps if Yumi Hasegawa had been there at that moment, he would have asked her to try overseeing some. But he didn’t have the time to dally.[break][break]

“Kosei.” Enzo released his charizard, who already knew where to go. It was where they always went. He recalled his houndoom for the trip, pokeball tucked away along with his lycanroc’s. He waited for acknowledgement. “We’ll find her, okay? I promise.”[break][break]

He hated the way his mouth went dry. How it felt like a long shot to bank on.

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Kosei Kiryu | owie town :')[break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-houndoom"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-lycanroc form-dusk"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-charizard"]

"I only left five minutes... I shouldn't have left. Why did I do that? Why didn't I just take her with me?" It wasn't the first time he'd left for the corner store, it was just down the stairs and a minute from the apartment. She was six, old enough to stay home for five minutes and yet... They must have watched him. They must have known the store owner's wife liked to bake and she'd save a slice for him and Miu. Every weekend. A different flavor. Miu like the cherry kind the most.
[break][break]
Kosei shook as he spoke, curling in on himself as he pulled at his hair. "Enzo— I can't breathe." It slipped from his mouth, coiled up in an ugly sob. "I can't lose her. I cant—" He choked. She didn't deserve any of this. She didn't deserve him as her father. She was so much better than him and he had allowed them to take her. No money in the world was worth it but sense and hindsight was 20/20. Years ago, he wouldn't have understood. It hadn't mattered as long as there was food on the table, but he'd only been good at one thing. Breaking things. People like him shouldn't be fathers. "I owed them money and I should have... It's all my fault. If she's... it's all my fault." He'd had a problem and he'd never talked about it, but it was coming back to bite him. It was affecting his daughter now.
[break][break]
He could feel Enzo's anger like the unsteady crackle of heat and flames licking at his skin. He couldn't even blame him either. This was what he deserved, to feel this pain because he'd been too stupid. All he could think about was the stupid pie. The white shoes she wore, colored with rainbow markers. On the ground, not moving. This was how a man went crazy, he was sure of it.
[break][break]
"They left me a note." He wiped at his eyes, forcing himself to grow steely. This wasn't helping her. "I can't wait for you... every second I wait is a second she might be..." Kosei didn't want to say the word. If there was any rightness in the world that wouldn't happen, but he knew who he was dealing with and they'd made examples of lesser things before.
[break][break]
"I'll text you the address." Then he hung up. He could no longer think as he pushed himself up, texting out the words crudely drawn into the backside of the ponyta. "It's okay, I'm gonna go get her back." He didn't care what the cost was.



[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] vincenzo de luca | im dead inside :'3 | [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-lucario"]
[attr="class","pokesprite pokemon ponyta-galar"]

[attr="class","milkcredit"] [attr="class","fas fa-cookie-bite"]

The anger he felt wasn’t truly for Kosei. Enzo didn’t place the blame on him, though it might have sounded like it. It was just his frustration, his inability to do anything at a distance boiling over. Astride a scaly orange back, his charizard lifted up into the air, twisting in the direction of Slateport.[break][break]

“Kosei.” Sternness cut through his voice, sharp. “I’m already in the air. You can’t go busting in there. It won’t be—“ A curse slipped free as the line went silent. He’d hung up on him. “Merda!” Maximus kept an even pace. Steadied as he waited for the text to come through. It wasn’t like the charizard had a built-in GPS in his brain, but he could at least direct him toward the outskirts of Slateport, rather than Kosei’s apartment.[break][break]

Tucking in against his back, the large dragon lifted higher and picked up speed. Rumbling his dissatisfaction for the situation. It seemed Miu had her effect well rooted, even among his own pokemon. Though more often than not, she was clambering on them and irritating them, where they’d previously been unaccustomed to a child’s presence.[break][break]

It didn’t feel fast enough. But in all truthfulness, it would feel that way no matter how quickly Maximus shot through the sky. Agitation wore at the edges of his nerves. Why couldn’t Kosei wait? Surely it was what they’d wanted—for him to grow restless and try to move in on his own without thinking it through. That had to be the play, right?[break][break]

He grit his teeth, temper flaring again. It was a below the belt move, even for loan sharks and enforcers. She was just a kid. His anger diverted its course to the proper source. Kosei was acting as any parent would. And though he’d never admitted it, it was how Enzo would’ve liked to have acted on instinct as well. But he scaled back. Kept himself in his place, removed.[break][break]

It clashed with his impulses. It tasted sour on his tongue.[break][break]

Once the cityline was in sight, Maximus plummeted. Thundering against the ground to allow Enzo to descend. He was quickly replaced by both houndoom and lycanroc. “Point me.” Both knew the scents of both father and daughter. It was familiar, ingrained. Directing him through the maze of old warehouses. It was probably useless, but he acted without thought as he dialed Kosei again. Pick up. Please. “Better not have gotten yourself hurt, dumb mutt.”

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Kosei Kiryu | owie town :')[break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-houndoom"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-lycanroc form-dusk"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-charizard"]

Despair and desperation had made way for unbridled fury, to a degree he'd never felt before. It was foolish, of course, to head off without Enzo, but he couldn't just sit there and wait to be saved when this was his mistake. No one else deserved to pay for it, certainly not Miu. Not even Enzo, and yet he was dragging the other into it, sobbing on the phone because he didn't know what to do anymore. All he could do was sit there and soak in the reality until his thoughts grew too dark to stand it anymore.
[break][break]
No one ever told him how to be a parent and he'd always figured he'd made a shoddy excuse for one. Hell, even Enzo had proved a better one than he could ever be. But this would make up for that, right? He could still be the person he needed to be to save her. Maybe then he could make up for all the times he let her down.
[break][break]
By the time he made it to the warehouse on the port, he'd already made up his mind. The stink of rotting fish filled his nose, making him feel sick. The fury wasn't gone, but resignation had set in. Nothing else mattered. Sure, he could bust through the doors, be the person he knew himself to be, a killer. Yet, there was too much risk this time. They knew it too. He was just a muzzled old dog.
[break][break]
Kosei shoved past the man posted at the door, pushing through the warehouse door. "I'm here, where is she!?" He practically snarled, looking around but she was nowhere within the warehouse. The fluorescents above were blinding. "Where is my daughter?" He didn't see the man on the other side of the door, not until the hard club against his head from the butt of a pistol. He fell to his knees, feeling something wet on the side of his face.
[break][break]
"Relax, she's fine. For now." The voice was familiar but calm. All a persona. The man in front of him looked almost kind, not anything like the cruel loanshark that Kosei knew him to be. Robert Kastle was an older man, but still quick as a snake. Kosei had made the mistake of involving himself in his business and later falling prey to it due to... things he wasn't necessarily proud of, but he'd been working his way out of it. That was never fast enough for the old bastard. Maybe he should have swallowed his pride and just asked Enzo, but he didn't so he was there and he deserved to be.
[break][break]
"Please, Kastle, she doesn't need to be here. Okay? I'm here now. I can get you the money."
[break][break]
"You should know better than anybody here how often I hear that. It was different back then, right? As long as they weren't your kids, yeah? You're a hypocrite and a coward, Kiryu, and you know how much I hate those." Kastle sighed, as if he hated all of this. As if this wasn't something he'd been waiting for. Kosei was an idiot for underestimating the old bastard, for forgetting what he was capable of.
[break][break]
There was a high-pitched screech and, for a moment, Kosei only saw red as they dragged her out thrashing. "Little brat bit me." One of the man said, shaking off his hand. Kastle turned and walked towards her.
[break][break]
"Wait!" Kosei pleaded, boots sliding on the smooth cement streaking blood across it. A hand gripped at the back of his neck like a scruffed dog. "I'm sorry! Please, please don't hurt her. It's me! It's me you want so please. Robert, I'm begging you."
[break][break]
The old man looked back at him incredulously. "I'm not gonna hurt her," his voice tapered off like there was an additional yet that hadn't yet mentioned. "I got grandkids, I know what you're feeling. I'm not inhuman."
[break][break]
Yes, he was. Kosei remembered. What an idiot he'd been thinking it would be any different. And it was, only slightly because the man was having fun with it. Playing with him. Though he'd seen Kastle let people off before, with just the right amount of damaged pride. He could tell, or maybe it was a hope, that he had no intention of hurting Miu. She was simply a convenience to help him crack. The threat was in the possibility, the knowledge that Kosei had seen him do far worse.
[break][break]
He wanted to wrench against the pull, race to Miu if only to stop her from crying. She looked at him and called him dad in that scared tone, one he'd never heard before, and it snapped something in him. "I'll do whatever you want, okay? Anything. Just please." He felt another blow from behind, his head smacked hard against the concrete.
[break][break]
"Oh I know." Kastle said, ringed fingers brushing through Miu's hair.

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] vincenzo de luca | im dead inside :'3 | [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-lucario"]
[attr="class","pokesprite pokemon ponyta-galar"]

[attr="class","milkcredit"] [attr="class","fas fa-cookie-bite"]

He had the address. But Enzo didn’t know Slateport the way Kosei did. He wasn’t familiar with the network of old port buildings, abandoned and left to deals and trades and confrontations like the one Kosei was surely now finding himself in.[break][break]

The phone rang and rang and rang. Voicemail.[break][break]

In his haste, he hadn’t brought anything along. Not a gun or dagger to be found. As he moved through the maze of storage containers, following his companions, he looked around for anything that might be of use. A heavy crowbar, left behind by a maintenance worker would have to do.[break][break]

Honestly, that was better, anyway—when he’d been younger, he’d preferred blunt force objects to do his jobs. Batons. Clubs. Bats. This wasn’t too far off the mark.[break][break]

His sense of urgency returned, though, the longer it took to find the right building.[break][break]

Astra was not a practiced attack dog. Not in the seasoned way Cassius was. Hell, she was only recently evolved. But her nose had always been good, and she knew Miu. Much of his time spent watching over her for Kosei in the last months had involved her being attached at the hip to Astra, who had been no more than a plucky little rockruff. So perhaps that was why she circled back quicker, pawing at his pant leg to point him in the right direction.[break][break]

As she led, Cassius returned to slink behind him a glowering shadow. Wisps of flame licking from the corners of his mouth.[break][break]

He wasn’t sure when, but at some point that old part of himself slipped back into place. He wasn’t sure when he’d set it loose, but maybe the point was that it wasn’t something he needed to actively do. He knew who and what he was, what he was capable of. What he’d done in the past. It felt like putting on an old, familiar and worn pair of shoes. Simple, effective, natural. Violence came easily, and despite years out of the game, he was grateful the essence of it didn’t feel rusty.[break][break]

Eventually, there were voices. A door left open. Kosei, pleading. A second, monologing. Oddly enough, it sounded familiar. He probably did business or found contacts and contracts at the hotel then. Very good.[break][break]

They weren’t on the premises. He wouldn’t be required to play nice.[break][break]

Rather than sneak inside, Enzo did what he’d always done best—derail things by making a show of it. He sauntered through the door, casually. Crowbar dragging loudly against the concrete. He leaned on it as he regarded Kastle. His glance snapped to Kosei once, then away. If he looked at either Kiryu for too long, it would shut him down. “Oh, am I interrupting something?” His smile hitched upward, sharp. Void of composure.[break][break]

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Kosei Kiryu | owie town :')[break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-houndoom"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-lycanroc form-dusk"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-charizard"]

Miu whimpered and he could feel something ugly grow through the cracks, an ugly weed of fury and desperation. In truth, he didn't know whether to kill or to plead. What was the better path? What would save Miu? The truth was that pride meant nothing in the face of real, actual terror. Had he less experience of what Kastle was capable of maybe he wouldn't have felt such sickening dread, but he couldn't imagine it under the circumstance.
[break][break]
"Miu— baby, it's okay. Look at me, it's alright." He tossed his head, jerking away from the grip behind him but the pressure was doubled. He could feel cold steel against the base of his skull. "Don't do that again" the thug behind him muttered. Miu whimpered again, a water-logged "daddy I'm scared" slipping through a wobbling lip. He couldn't stand it. Everything felt raw and red-edged, fury and misery were bedfellows in him.
[break][break]
"Let's not lie to the poor girl, Kiryu." Kastle laughed, a sobering sound that made his temper flare. He wanted to burn the world and yet the fear left him feeling impotent.
[break][break]
"Goddamn it, Kastle, we can talk about this. Just let her leave through the door now and we can settle this. If you want me dead, that's okay too. It doesn't matter anymore." Therein lied the issue though and he knew that. Kastle had said as much before, not long ago it seemed.
[break][break]
"Oh I know you don't care about that, but see, there's no lesson in that. Is there? I certainly don't gain anything from killing you, but I can choose to either motivate or punish. I'm feeling like I'm a punishing mood though." He saw the glint of the knife and all reason in him evaporated on the spot as he scrambled forward. Not the feeling of the cold metal or the click of the hammer as the gun was cocked. Only Miu's crying and the pound of blood in his ears. And then...
[break][break]
“oh, am i interrupting something?”
[break][break]
He angled his head slow and awkwardly, eyes picking out the familiar man in the corner of his eyes like a feral animal. Hand outstretched but far too much space between him and Kastle to make a difference. Part of him felt such flooding relief and yet also, selfishly, there was shame. To be found out for being quite so pathetic, a wasteful excuse for a father that couldn't protect his only daughter. Even Enzo couldn't avoid that judgement, right? Yet that was pride speaking, which didn't matter. Not really. There was also panic, because it felt like the only two people he cared about were here and he couldn't let that desperation go. "En—" He snapped his mouth shut and looked away, hand dropping.
[break][break]
"Ah, Mr. De Luca, it's been awhile. Unfortunately, as you can see, I'm in the middle of something." Kastle jerked his head to the side and the man that had been guarding the door approached Enzo, weapon in hand.




[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] vincenzo de luca | im dead inside :'3 | [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-lucario"]
[attr="class","pokesprite pokemon ponyta-galar"]

[attr="class","milkcredit"] [attr="class","fas fa-cookie-bite"]

There was one thing he did before stepping inside the room to disrupt the meeting unfolding. A hand settled atop the head of his lycanroc briefly. Unexposed to violence in the same way that Cassius had been, his aim was not to direct her in that. Instead, she was given a different charge. “Astra, you will fetch Miu.” A low rumble from the back of her throat signaled her understanding. A smart girl.[break][break]

The scene that had unfolded in front of him was an ugly one. Violet eyes darted to each person in the room, assessing. One behind him, three ahead. Five, including Miu and Kosei. Not terrible odds. An intimate affair, really. Attuned to Kosei, Enzo heard the beginnings of his name, but he still did not allow himself to look, to soften. This required staying angry, staying sharp. He remained concentrated on Kastle, leaning on the long crowbar as if it were no more than a fancy cane.[break][break]

“A while? Not long enough, if I’m being honest,” he replied breezily, lip curling in irritation. A flash of teeth, cut like a warning even if his smile remained overly congenial. Kastle, in his opinion, was someone who played at big and mighty, but was no more than someone who floundered for what scraps he might cling to. A powerful loan shark? Please. He was overestimated. In need of being cut down a few inches.[break][break]

I’m in the middle of something.[break][break]

He continued and Enzo’s head tilted, smile widening. The tension that rested under the relaxed posture and nonchalant demeanor was dangerous, alert. A glint in his eyes betrayed the truth underneath the presentation. That old, unhinged nature of his fighting methods. The lack of regard for how far might be too far. And something nearing territorial fuzzed at the edges. “Are you? I hadn’t noticed.” he replied sarcastically. “See, thing is Kastel,” he began, shifting to regard the approaching lackey. His head tipped in Kosei’s direction as the crowbar slid up in his grip, then settled in position held by both.[break][break]

“His business is my business. Pronti via.” The crowbar drew back, and Enzo took a quick step. Then a second and a third before squaring up and twisting. Hips swiveling like a batter at the plate aiming for the pitch. A satisfying, crisp crack as metal made contact with the side of the guard’s head. He clicked his tongue, then whistled in imitation of a ball flying past the outfield, outta park. Homerun.[break][break]

His hounds worked in tandem, cued by the command. Both launching toward the second guard holding onto Miu. Hurtling up, Cassius latched onto the man’s leg, FIRE FANG infusing the bite with searing heat and flame as Astra waited for the moment his attention released from the little girl so that she could herd her to the side of the room.[break][break]

The intended result was a simple one - Kastle would be forced to take matters into his own hands, or the third guard would be forced to release Kosei so that the old man might have a go at saving himself.
[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Kosei Kiryu | owie town :')[break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-houndoom"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-lycanroc form-dusk"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-charizard"]

"Uncle Enzo," Miu cried and Kosei shook his head, but it was too late to keep her from trying to dash towards him, only to be restrained further by one of Kastle's men. "Don't touch her." He shouted, but it meant very little by that point. Kastle himself, however, had switched his attention entirely onto the interloper. Panic mixed with relief in a toxic combination that he wasn't sure he could trust. The shame though was stronger, especially while Enzo was preparing to fight them all and he had crumpled on the floor like a pathetic fool.
[break][break]
"You know, you should leave well enough alone, De Luca. Go back to your fancy hotel, I'm giving you this opportunity to leave." It wasn't much of an opportunity, but maybe it was allowed for business purposes. Kosei knew it wouldn't matter either way, he knew that look in Enzo's eyes. He knew the devil that lived under the surface better than anyone and it was never to be trifled with. Even Kosei didn't push that boundary, even when he'd really wanted to back in the day.
[break][break]
Chaos erupted. Kosei couldn't move at the hard crack of metal on bone, fighting between the need to look and wrench back at the sound of Miu's scream. His heart leaped up into his throat as a body toppled and Enzo had that smarmy look on his face that he both loved to see and simultaneously wished he wouldn't be such a cocky pain in the ass about it.
[break][break]
Before he knew what was going on, Miu was being whipped out of the warehouse and the second guard was being taken out by Cassius with a shrill, pained scream as fire set light to his leg. The guard shrieked, kicking out at the dog before attempting to scramble away. It felt like it was slow motion, feeling the man behind him twist around the raise the gun. Kosei twisted around, wrenching the man's hand to the side. The gun fired as he jerked his hand against the man's elbow with a sickening crack.
[break][break]
They toppled over and then he was just fury, knuckles busting against blunt bone until the man stopped moving. Though he didn't realize until it was too late that Kastle was right behind him.



[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] vincenzo de luca | im dead inside :'3 | [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-lucario"]
[attr="class","pokesprite pokemon ponyta-galar"]

[attr="class","milkcredit"] [attr="class","fas fa-cookie-bite"]

His eyes followed Astra, coaxing the little girl toward the door before the lycanroc shifted her onto her tufted back entirely. Snarling at anyone who drew too close. For a moment, his eyes connected with Miu’s, and the fear there cut through him. Almost enough to shatter his resolve.[break][break]

But not enough, in the end.[break][break]

Turning, he moved for the man Cassius had savaged. The houndoom yelped as he was kicked away, sent skidding across the floor. Not that it mattered—Enzo was there to bring the crowbar down on him in one swift blow too. That just left Kastle. He seemed to have slunk away, seizing that opportunity to be a coward, after all.[break][break]

The sound of scuffling ensued and Enzo turned to see Kosei fighting back against the guard holding him. A brief flutter of pride before the gun misfired and he had to twist away from being in range. A lucky dodge, really. He couldn’t linger long on the mess that would have made—or the phantom pain of the concept embedding in his mind. So Kastle hadn’t skulked away after all.[break][break]

“That’s a cowardly way to fight,” he remarked, voice thick and raspy, though he only figured it was the fact that he was sorely out of practice. Sneaking up from behind? Pathetic. He swung low with the crowbar, cracking against Kastle’s knees to make him fall back. Then he lost track of himself. Static noise in his mind until all fell silent.[break][break]

He tossed the crowbar to the side, breathing ragged as he tried to regain it. The metal clattered noisily against the floor in the quiet that followed. Blood pounded in his ears, heartbeat thumping. He was rustier than he thought. But still spry. “Kos?” he turned back to the other, the buzz of adrenaline dipping as relief set in.[break][break]

“Not bad, huh?” It wasn’t until he took another step forward and staggered in the process that he registered the deep pain burrowed in his gut. Frowning in confusion, his hand pressed to his stomach and the pain flared brighter. His fingers came away stained and trembling. And then he looked down to fully register the bloom of wet, dark red spreading and soaking the fabric of his shirt.[break][break]

For the first time since he’d entered the warehouse, he looked at Kosei. Really looked at him. He smiled, a breathless wheeze of laughter slipping loose. “Oh. Thought I was fast enough.” He swayed, then slumped down to his knees.

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Kosei Kiryu | owie town :')[break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-houndoom"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-lycanroc form-dusk"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-charizard"]

The violence didn't shock him, he'd seen Enzo's demons before and they were hand in hand with their vices. They could never judge one another because they knew that they were reflections of their worst selves. However, there was no denying that they made one another better. Even if indirectly, they still were better off in one another's lives.
[break][break]
A sound bubbled up, burst in a pathetic way, but it wasn't a sob. It was laughter. They were okay. All of that pain and it was over. "Fuck... Enzo... I don't..." He shook his head. His hands were shaking. The knuckles of his one hand were bloodied and there might have been a hairline fracture, but it didn't matter. He'd take all the minute pain in the world right then. None of it mattered as long as they were okay.
[break][break]
With heavy breath, he picked himself off the lifeless form of the guard he'd beat to death. His head pounded and the side of his head was sticky and matted with blood. "How did you find us so quickly?" Kosei knew he'd fucked up, considering all he'd done was give the other some rushed direction and hoped for the best. Had he been smarter maybe this wouldn't have been so painful. If he'd talked to Enzo at all about it, maybe Miu wouldn't have endured so much trauma.
[break][break]
He felt sick with the pain and chaos he'd wrought. Even with Kastle's dead lifeless form on the ground, he knew he couldn't even blame the man. He was a shark and he'd tasted blood in the water. It was his fault for in shark-infested waters to begin with.
[break][break]
"God, right now, I could just..." There were a hundred things he could do to show how happy he was that the other was there, but his eyes focused on the blood steadily blooming across the other's shirt. "Enzo?"
[break][break]
The gun shot.
[break][break]
No no no no.
[break][break]
He scrambled to his feet as Enzo toppled to the ground. The panic seeped back into his voice, "No no no. You're okay. You're fine. I..." He looked over his shoulder to see Astra and Miu.
[break][break]
"Is uncle Enzo sick?"
[break][break]
"He's fine, baby." His hand pressed to Enzo's cheek and he was shocked at how pale he looked. He rushed over the corpses to the place his stuff had been thrown. Releasing Blue, he pointed. "Take Miu." Then he rushed back to Enzo. He pulled out his phone but the screen was smashed. "Do you have your phone? The hospital isn't far." His voice shook as he ripped fabric away from his jacket and tied it firmly around the other's waist. "Just stay awake. Please."



[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] vincenzo de luca | im dead inside :'3 | [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-lucario"]
[attr="class","pokesprite pokemon ponyta-galar"]

[attr="class","milkcredit"] [attr="class","fas fa-cookie-bite"]

They’d made it. Relief hung heavy in his chest. “They’re good at tracking.” He pointed at Cassius as the houndoom slunk back to his side. Astra was still with Miu.[break][break]

All he wanted right then was to step closer to Kosei and sink against him. To scoop Miu up and kiss the top of her head. But his body wouldn’t allow it. He drifted down toward the ground against his will. The inside of his throat felt thick, and when he coughed to clear it, blood bubbled between his teeth. The panic and confusion filtering into Kosei’s voice made him ache. Deep and visceral.[break][break]

His abdomen burned where the bullet had buried itself, but his fingers and toes began to feel cold. It was a slow seep, bit by bit. But then Kosei was there, and he was soaking up the heat that kicked off of his body. “I know I am.” He tried to crack a grin, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

Is uncle enzo sick? Oh, no no. The last thing he wanted. A wildly desperate look turned upward toward Kosei, fingers curling tight in the fabric of his shirt. But the other was already on it. He let out a heavy breath. Astra followed after them, whining as it ran contrary to her want to remain alongside her trainer.[break][break]

“Coat pocket.” He couldn’t think about reaching for it himself, though. His hand did lift after a moment, pressing against Kosei’s face. Red smeared against his cheek. “It’s just a little wound, barely even feel it.” Well. That was a lie, plain and simple. Now that his adrenaline had burnt out, it was impossible to ignore the pain and the reaction of shock settling into his system.[break][break]

Enzo tried to push himself more upright, hissing at the pulse of pain radiating from his stomach. Wincing more as Kosei applied pressure to the wound. “It’s fine, I’m fine, cucciolo. Honestly.” He released a ragged breath, the reprimand immediately losing any edge he’d tried to stubbornly dig in with. His eyelids drooped and he tried to force them open again.[break][break]

“What about all…this?” Meaning the bodies left behind. He didn’t go to all this trouble just for Kosei to be locked up, after all.


[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Kosei Kiryu | owie town :')[break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-houndoom"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-lycanroc form-dusk"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-charizard"]

He twisted his body to the side, just enough to shield Enzo from Miu's sight. Blue would keep her back enough so that she couldn't get too close to either Enzo or the bodies. She'd already suffered enough trauma from this whole experience, but this wasn't over. It was so far from over. Despite his best effort, he couldn't keep in control of himself. "I'm sorry, this is all my fault."
[break][break]
As Enzo touched his face, he felt himself crack even more under the sticky heat of blood. He couldn't lose him. No, he wouldn't. "It's not okay, you idiot." His voice scratched.
[break][break]
Fishing through his coat pockets, he found the other's phone. His fingers fumbled over the screen, dialing and smearing a streak of blood. "Hush, I don't care." It didn't matter. He'd done nothing wrong, this was all in self-defense, right? Surely they'd realize that. Maybe he could lean on the military, but he doubted they'd be there to hold him up.
[break][break]
His free hand kept a constant pressure of the other man's wound. The receiver on the other end picked up and he began desperately reporting their position, pleading with them to hurry. "Okay, they're on the way. Please, hold on. Keep your eyes open. I need you." 


[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] vincenzo de luca | im dead inside :'3 | [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-lucario"]
[attr="class","pokesprite pokemon ponyta-galar"]

[attr="class","milkcredit"] [attr="class","fas fa-cookie-bite"]