log; because we wanted angst

[contemptibility]

[Tiir is furious.

It's not an emotion he feels often, having gotten so used to the cruelties of the world that it's difficult to get angry over petty things.

Except this is far from petty.

Tiir's practically flying across the rooftops, his leaps fast enough to the point where you could, in fact, blink and miss him. This is probably a good thing, because his brief is rather blatant on his face. And considerin that it's Tiir, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that someone is going to get hurt.

Namely, a certain human that's frustrated him more than any other has.

Upon spotting him below, Tiir stops, before jumping down to the ground below silently. However, his voice is anything but quiet—]

You—!

Comments

[messianic]

]The laughter.

The laughter and his name and Minato straightens, brow furrowing, and tries to remain calm even as all of his senses are telling him that something is wrong wrong wrong--]

Tiir-san...?

What...

[contemptibility]

Traitor.

[It's not something Tiir calls others often. He's never had a reason to label any of his kind as such, and he doesn't give humans the chance to betray him.

... Except this one.

Minato betrayed him—but for that to have happened, Tiir had to have trusted him.

He trusted him, even though he shouldn't have.

... In the end, perhaps the fool wasn't Minato, but him.]

It's always the same—always. You humans can't seem to do anything but betray us, can you?

[He's seeing red—quite literally, as he invokes his Iino Doue, casting a vermillion glow across his eyes.]

[messianic]

Trai...?

[He pauses, staring, trying desperately to understand.

Traitor?

But he wouldn't, he couldn't--]

I would never--

Tiir-san, what are you talking about? What happened?

[But he can't step back. He's rooted where he is, staring at Tiir--in fact, he takes a step forward, almost reaching out, trying helplessly to understand.]

[contemptibility]

[He wants to believe Minato's words. That he truly doesn't know. That he's innocent.

But it could be just another lie, another mistake that he'll make again.

Tiir can't afford to make mistakes.

That's why, before he has the chance to doubt himself, he has to act now.]

And while I'm explaining, you'll take the opportunity to attack or escape? Not likely.

[He takes a step forward.]

... You've become a threat now. And do you know how I deal with threats?

[His eyes flash.]

I eliminate them before they have a chance to eliminate me.

[messianic]

[His breath hitches.

Like this...Tiir is terrifying, and it is the first time he has thought so. It's terrifying to be standing her before Tiir as he steps forward and for the first time, Minato hesitates.

He nearly steps back; he certainly leans back despite himself.

Despite the fact that he looks guiltier, flinching back.

He flinches back because he is honestly afraid. And he doesn't know what to say, anymore, to get him out of a situation like this.]

I didn't...

I didn't do anything--

[contemptibility]

[He tenses at that. He almost falters, because he wants so badly to have faith in that.

It would be... nice, if he were able to trust Minato.

It would be nice if he didn't have to kill him.

But he isn't.

But he does—because he swore he would, if ever Minato sunk to the level of every other human that Tiir has encountered.

And so, quietly—]

I might've believed that before.

[For a moment, the anger disappears from his face, instead leaving a flicker of remorse.]

And I might start to believe that, given enough time.

[Then he hardens his expression again.]

But I won't make that mistake. I have to—

[He has to kill him. He has to, even though for the first time, Tiir doesn't want to take someone's life.]

[messianic]

[And all of a sudden--

He understands. He understands very well, and now he does take a step back.

But he doesn't have his Evoker.

He doesn't have his sword. He doesn't carry those on normal days.

...He doesn't have anything.

So he steps back, but it's far too late to run and he can't run anyway. He's too confused. And it hurts too much to think that this--this is what it all comes back to.]

N-no--wait, Tiir-san! You don't have to do this...!

[contemptibility]

[Tiir desperately wishes he would stop talking, for the more he speaks, the harder it is for him to do this.

But he's already decided, hasn't he? He reminds himself of why he chose never to trust humans, never to hesitate in killing.

Still, he wishes—]

... It would've been better if I'd never met you.

[For both him and Minato.

And with that, he lunges forward, hand aimed to slice through Minato's side.]

[messianic]

[The words almost hurt more than the hand tearing through his stomach--but they both happen so quickly together that Minato cannot separate the two and so it's merely pain.

Pain pain pain.

Minato isn't fast enough. He isn't fast enough and perhaps he's merely not inclined enough to do anything about it and so he can't--doesn't--dodge.

He merely collapses on himself, barely retaining his feet, bent nearly double as his hands automatically close in on his wound, blood staining his fingers.

It takes him a moment--and then he looks up, eyes narrowed in pain...and expression saddened by understand.]

Ah...

I--

[Another cough, and he flinches again at the pain.]

...I'm sorry.

[That it ended like this. And he looks up, one eye clenched shut in pain, and adds faintly--]

No regrets.

[contemptibility]

[The feeling of blood on his hand is nothing new. If anything, it's one of the greatest constants of his life—a reassurance that he's still alive.

This time, it feels strange and uncomfortable. Without turning back, he looks at his hand, stained in red.

... This is Minato's blood.

He's about to leave, to avoid making this any more painful than it already it is, but at Minato's words, he freezes.

He turns to face him, despite all his instincts telling him not to—because why would he want to see the expression of the person (family?) he just sentenced to his death?]

... You would say that, even after this?

[messianic]

[He can't keep his feet any longer and so he slowly crumples to the ground, hunched over on his knees, blood staining his stomach.

But he manages to lift his chin, just that one last time, to meet Tiir's eyes.

And smiles, faintly.

No...he could never regret it. He doesn't want to make Tiir hurt; he doesn't want to make Tiir feel guilty. Never...

But he has to be honest.]

I could...never--

[He coughs again, a bit painfully, and then manages to continue after a short pause.]

Never regret meeting you.

[That's all he has; he crumples to the ground fully then, fingers clasped over his injury, eyes sliding shut as he struggles to breathe.]

[contemptibility]

[His eyes widen.]

You...

[He falls to his knees, shaking. He'd be crying at this point, if he were the sort to do that—but he's not sure if he even knows how to cry.

Still, all that means is that he doesn't have an outlet for his grief, and instead it builds up inside of him. He swallows, as if that would somehow help to force it down, but—

There's nothing that can be done to make him feel better about all of this. Just like how when his friends died, nothing could really ease the pain.

But he can't lash out at the murderer this time.

After all, it's him.

If he's to hate someone even more, it'll only be him.]

A fool, a fool, a fool—

[He doesn't know who he's talking about anymore.

The one who tried to befriend a 'monster' and would still be glad for it, even though it's just cost him his life? Or the one who has the blood of someone who genuinely cared about him on his hand?

He did what he had to do. It's as he always said: nothing good ever comes out of trusting humans.

Even so, that doesn't stop this from hurting so, so much—]

[messianic]

[Even through the pain, even through the fact that his vision is swimming (when he opens his eyes) and his chest is tightening and it's very hard to breathe, even through all of that, Tiir's words reach Minato's ears.

He forces open his eyes, slowly looks up though he doesn't have the strength to move his head much more than that.

Slowly. Slowly. He takes a slow breath, but can't manage a very deep one before his breath catches and he almost chokes--

On nothing and on everything all at once, choking on his words when he'd never hesitated before.

But this isn't hesitation. He's just dying.

Just dying. He knows. He's felt that before.

So he opens his eyes and looks at Tiir blearily (though can he really see Tiir? Can he really see anything but faint colors and blurs at this point?) and manages. He reaches up with a bloody hand--but it shakes and he can only lift it a few inches off of the ground.

...h-ha...]

N-no...regrets.

[Remember?

He had meant himself, perhaps before. But now he means Tiir.

Perhaps he's always meant Tiir.

There are a thousand things he could say. But he doesn't have the time, and he knows it; he just hopes Tiir will be able to manage alone now.

Perhaps the Fool was able to influence the Hanged Man just enough to save him from the noose.

And then his hand falls back to the ground and Minato runs out of time to say or think or do anything at all.]