Bring It On Old Man [Complete]

[leashed_hunter]

Who: Albel Nox and Kiryuu Zero
When: Sunday
Where: Biodome
Summary: The old man, aka Abel, and Zero do some training together. 
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Violence, angst.

Comments

[acrimsonscourge]

A shift in expression, a change in attitude. It wasn't unlike the other day when he had shut down entirely and walked away from their conversation. Albel wasn't exactly the most social person in the world, but this was a tell-tale sign, one that he exhibited far too often. If it hadn't been for his travels with Fayt and the others, he probably would have been just as closed off as Zero, if not more so. He remembered a time not so long ago when he would have sooner gutted someone who cracked his shell than to converse with him. That realization made him wonder if he was changing for the better or not.

Albel's crimson eyes, darkened under heavy lids watched the boy's actions carefully. He was defensive, he was harsh. Any other person probably would have been offended and found his mode of speach tasteless. For The Wicked One, he only saw more and more of himself. On a whim, he decided to speak- perhaps imparting wisdom for once.

"The Crimson Scourge asked me all of these questions... asked me if I hated the king for oppressing me, asked me if I hated my suboordinates for being incompetent... asked me many things. But in the end..." Albel pushed himself up, running his human fingers through his long hair to separate it out of the braid it had been in. "I had to admit that what I hated most was myself. I hated myself for being too arrogant, for being too harsh, for being too stubborn. For a lot of things. Only by admitting this...did I pass the sword's trial of character."

Self loathing. He could taste it on the air like a foul stench, and he stood to wander back towards the tree he'd been lounging under. Albel rested his claw against the bark and wondered if he'd just made a fool of himself or not.

[leashed_hunter]

He was good at making people dislike him, pushing them away. He had always been self sufficient--independent; had never allowed himself to grow close to anyone aside from Ichiru, his twin, and Yuuki... But they were both gone now. One he had buried, the latter he had promised to kill.

He listened to the other, his words resonating with something inside himself...

"I had to admit that what I hated most was myself. I hated myself for being too arrogant, for being too harsh, for being too stubborn. For a lot of things. Only by admitting this...did I pass the sword's trial of character."

He had never needed to admit such a thing. He already knew. Since he was young, and realized why Ichiru was so sick, why he was born so weak, and later after being turned into a vampire... he had already known the answer to that question.

Dim silver eyes watched Albel go back to the tree, his eyes on his metal claw.

He stood there for a bit, simply watching him, his mind going over his words, until eventually he moved over to the tree. He was on the opposite side from Albel, his eyes staring forward. He stayed silent for a while, until finally he broke the silence.

"Do you still hate yourself?"

[acrimsonscourge]

"Tch." A bitter taste in his mouth. Albel hated a lot of things. But the one thing he could never tolerate was himself. In the end, it was all just a product of what had happened to his father. Albel could never change that it was his fault. He could never make it right... It was being around people who actually cared, people who made him realize that there was worth in living that made it bearable. He couldn't see Zero, but he could almost sense him there on the other side. He dug his claws into the bark, not tearing at it nearly as much as he should have been able to.

"I do. I loathe myself every day. I can't ever make up for the atrocities I caused. But I keep walking, one boot in front of the other...because maybe it'll be worth it in the end. Maybe I'll be able to make up for what it is I've become.... maybe."

[leashed_hunter]

He could hear the bitterness in that one sound. His eyes shifted to the side, barely glimpsing that metal claw as it dug into the tree.

"I see," was all he said, his voice neutral. He understood that. The self loathing, and he also understood the determination to keep moving. To keep fighting. Too hold that naive thought of atonement for the things he had done... for what he had become. Deep down he knew he could ever gain forgiveness, but still he had nothing left but to keep moving forward.

"You and I aren't so different."

[acrimsonscourge]

Albel's voice was quiet, almost solemn. A great contrast from his tendencies to bark and shout at people when he spoke;

"I figured as much." When you'd been to the edge of rock-bottom and then come back, you were pretty good at recognizing it. It takes one to know one, they say.

"There were people who tried to teach me that I wasn't what I thought I was. I wanted to believe them. Really did. But...I still don't know if I can ever believe in my heart...that I'm more than a monster." He sounded tired, weary. But there was a small, almost dark smile playing at his lips as he took a few steps and dared to peek around at Zero, one crimson eye glimpsing his silver hair.

"Heh. Who knows. Maybe I just make a really damned good monster."

[leashed_hunter]

There had been people for him too, but they were gone now...

At least Yagari had managed to teach him one last lesson. He wouldn't run away anymore. That day he had chosen life over death, he had also chosen the life of one tied up. He would struggle until he couldn't struggle anymore.

He turned his head a bit, his hair falling forward, silver eyes locking onto that visible crimson orb.

"You're not a monster," he said sincerely, meaning it.

He was human.

[acrimsonscourge]

"You know..." Albel turned his back and leaned against the tree, his visage not strong enough to look into those silver orbs for too long. He would have cracked under their intensity.

"In my world, there's a legend... it says that a man who kills a thousand demons shall become one himself." A dark chuckle as he stared at nothing in particular. "Maybe that's why Romero came knocking on my door." He mused.

"Well. You're not either Zero, regardless of what you think of yourself. I think you're worth a lot more than you're giving yourself credit for." He was serious... but how could Albel guess the truth at just how different the boy with almost angelic looks was?

[leashed_hunter]

He watched as the other went out of sight again, his eyes falling to the ground as he listened to him.

It sounded like Cross... the vampire without fangs, but he knew that Cross was no monster, and neither was the male leaning against the tree. He wasn't a pitiful being who couldn't control his instincts. He didn't lust for blood in the dead of night... he was no monster.

"You killed many demons..." he began, his eyes still on the ground. "But that only makes you good hunter, not a demon. As long as you don't pass that invisible line between hunter and prey you are merely a good hunter--fighter."

At his last words, his eyes flicked to the other, barely catching a glimpse of him. His voice was empty, devoid. "You're a fool to think something so stupid about someone you don't know," he bit out.

[acrimsonscourge]

A sore spot. Albel could feel it. It was the same kind of wincing pain that made him snap out at people who dared to talk about his family. He absently unraveled the other braid that usually hung behind him, folding the cloth and tucking it into the belt holding up his sarong.

"I'm a fool, huh?" The Wicked One smiled and shook his head. "Believe that if you want to. I'll stand by my diagnosis until you prove to me otherwise. I'm a stubborn bastard like that." He said.

Albel turned and rested his cheek against the rough tree bark, edging a bit closer to judge Zero's reaction.

[leashed_hunter]

"You are," he said bluntly. Irritated. His hands clenching at his sides.

Idiots. All of them. They never understood just what kind of beast he was, but he knew. He had hunted those damnable creatures all his life, he understood just what kind of monsters they were, what kind of monster he was. Only a fool would not see the beast behind the human cloak they wore.

He felt him move, and silver orbs snapped to him, pinning him in place with eyes shining with displeasure.

"I don't need to prove anything to you or anyone," he growled, taking in the loose hair that was no longer tied with the cloth that was now tucked inside his sarong.

[acrimsonscourge]

"Hn. You're right. You don't have to. But I'd sure as hell like to know." Albel grumbled, a twitch that was almost a cringe in his left eye. Zero had reacted almost violently, and he'd put himself into the line of fire this time. There was no looking away from that gaze burning with accusation and shame all at the same time.

His gaze was serious, but not quite angry. "Don't snarl at me, Zero. No beast has ever had its way with me, and you won't either." He stated almost too calmly. "I meant nothing by it, only stating what I had observed." Zero reminded Albel of himself when he had been young, shrieking and ranting at the other noble children who made fun of him- who called him a bastard child.

Something was seriously eating at this kid. It made him want to know exactly what.

[leashed_hunter]

He was a creature of instinct, instincts he had to crush down with an iron fist before they got away from him. But even if he was prone to anger, his temper short, he would never harm another person, not by choice.

"Don't snarl at me, Zero. No beast has ever had its way with me, and you won't either.

He pushed away from the tree. Frustrated. He was letting his temper get away from him again.

No. No beast had ever had his way with him, and he would make sure that remained true. He was only grateful that he couldn't smell his blood, have the scent of it it in his mind. Driving him crazy at night just like the blood of those he was forced to share an apartment with. This was why he lived alone, why he spent his nights hunting until he could finally sleep from exhaustion, his mind at peace for a few hours. But here... he didn't have any of that and it made it harder to keep himself in check.

He took a breath. In. Out. Another one.

Finally when he pushed his temper down, he turned to Albel, his eyes no longer shining with emotion instead blank just like his face.

"You're observations are only as good as the information you have," he said in a detached tone, giving him nothing more.

[acrimsonscourge]

He didn't want to admit it, but Albel hated the sudden change in Zero's face. He preferred him angry and raging at him to this level of... coldness. From the short time he'd known the boy, he seemed so much more alive when he was passionate; on fire. This made him seem... dead.

The Glyphian was quite sure that he had screwed up pretty badly...he just wasn't sure what part of what he'd said was wrong. He sighed and closed his eyes. Even with their noted similarities, it was hard to tell what kind of nerve he'd hit... if Zero was really that much like him, then it could have been any damn thing.

"Well look what you've done. You've presented me with a challenge, Zero." He said quietly, testing how far he could push. Albel stepped out from the tree a bit, shaking his hair back over his shoulder. His human hand touched the bark lightly, fingers splayed there as his gauntlet hung loosely at his side.

He didn't look at Zero. "Trust me. I don't think there are any skeletons in your closet that could make me hate you at this point...even if they're the cause of your own self-loathing." It was risky. Albel knew he could just piss him off worse. But he wanted to know what would happen if he pushed a little more. It was a complex chess game, one that he really didn't want to lose at this point.

[leashed_hunter]

He stared at him, as he spoke up. At the mention of skeletons his closet an image of Ichiru dying in his arms, the floor drenched in their blood... he closed his eyes before any pain could filter through and he leaned back on the tree, pushing that memory away. Far down until he could breath once more.

"You should search for a way out of this place instead of wasting your time this way," Zero said after a moment, voice neutral. Detached.

[acrimsonscourge]

"...Yeah. I'll find a way out. I won't stop until I do." It was just how he was after all. "Doesn't change that it's my prerogative who and what I spend my time on, yeah?" Albel's eyes searched and found the doors that lead back into the rest of the Facility. Now might be the best time to make his exit. But he was far from finished with Zero Kiryu.

"Don't forget what I said, Zero. Even if you hate my words, I say them honestly and with no intention to patronize." He said, sounding a bit more like the nobleman that he should have.

The Wicked One turned his back, prepared to leave Zero there if only to preserve what connection they had forged. Somehow, Albel wanted to hold onto the thin, wisp of opportunity.

"We'll have to do this again Zero. I quite enjoyed this." He spoke over his shoulder, hesitating.

[leashed_hunter]

Zero stayed where he was, hands in his pockets, eyes on the plants surrounding the area.

He hadn't visited the biodome before, but now that he had he found it... peaceful.

"I doubt we'll have the opportunity again," he said honestly. By the end of the week this experiment would be over.

"You should find someone else to train with."