...I was told that the portal here can only send us back to the Eluvio, rather than home.
[That's part one of his many troubles with this. He'd be fine if they went home, but this... Anyway, now Reaper is pacing and Eichi is squeezing his hands together quietly.] Sombra-san must be home, though.
[He wants to add that, at least, to help him feel better. He doesn't think she would be anywhere else.] But I don't intend to go anywhere, so can't we speak about these things together? Even if I am a little nervous after what just happened.
[He pauses, and then elaborates without waiting to be asked.] Do you know a man who's very interested in you, Sombra-san and the Eluvio? He had a beard and scars on his face, and he was missing an eye.
[...He really hopes Eichi is right. If she's anywhere, she should be back on Earth, hiding in her little Hovels, hacking the world.
And he could comment on that, but it's Eichi's next bit what makes the wraith of a man stop pacing in the others' room like a mule doing circles around blacksmith's pit--his head turning to fix a look at the other.
After what just happened, and Do you know a man who's very interested in you. He doesn't have to hear the physical description, just the question of someone asking about Sombra, the Eluvio and Him...]
IF he had tattoos on his hands, then Yes. [There's no small amount of irritation in his tone, now.]
That's Jaime fucking Dodger.
Sticking his nose into business where it damn well doesn't belong--
[He takes a step closer, and finally... he sits.]
The hell did he do. [Calm, quiet. Deadly, like the grave.]
That's right. He lit a cigarette with his fingers and could disappear into sparks.
[So Jamie Dodger was his name? That's good to know. He looks a little relieved by Reaper sitting, but as he looks back to his own hands, he's clearly tense.] I approached him because he was staring at me oddly, and it turned quickly into a game, or so I thought. I'd had some drinks, you know?
Anyway, as soon as he realized that not only was I on the Eluvio, but that I knew you, he became quite demanding. I thought it was odd and refused to tell him anything about you. Idols can get fans who behave like this, too. That sort of obsession that should be put to a stop immediately.
[He's stalling, but only a little bit. He looks back to Reaper.] He stole my phone to threaten it, and when I tried to run, he teleported the both of us to some alleyway. My phone was completely crushed just by his hand, and my arm likely would have wound up the same if it weren't for Taako-kun showing up.
[Much to Reaper's credit, he stays entirely silent (like the dead, lol) as Eichi speaks. His body perfectly still other than the plumes of smoke that float up and off his form, eyes focused on the other from under the hollows of his mask.
If it was Dodger's fucked up obsession that made him act oddly towards the idol, in a way that even Eichi (of all people) would be uncomfortable with, then it really did say something.
The other may be stalling, but it's not as if Reaper's going to gripe about that now. Not when there's more important things to think on--like how he's going to reign himself in enough to not go on a manhunt for the drug-addled teen in a man's body and give him the scare of his life.]
...Taako, you mean that fucking fancy-flirting Elf?-- [No, now's not the time to insult the guy's odd choice in style and wardrobe. He owes the guy a thanks, now, if anything. What a gross thought to have about someone. He rumbles out a low, agitated sound.]
He bothers you again, and you tell me. Immediately. He's starting to become something of an irritant I'm growing tired of.
...Yes, that Taako-kun. Honestly, if it weren't for him, I'd be in the hospital currently, if not dead. My heart was acting up quite a bit at the shock, and while I was recovering he had kicked me... It was Taako-kun who teleported me away, gave me a potion to cure any injuries, and then allowed me to nap there to regain my strength. He even gave me this.
[He lifts his arm to show the cheap bangle at his wrist.] Apparently it has a spell embedded into it. If I break it and wish for him to appear, he'll come to my side. He's been bothered by this "Dodger" as well.
Just what is it that he wants from you, Reyes-san? He was desperate for any information as long as it was new.
[Somehow, he's not so surprised that Dodger is the type to kick someone--a sickly, literally dying kid--while he's down. Over what, information that he couldn't squeeze from Reaper, so he was trying to get it from others?
He's not at all surprised that this had happened, but...
All the same, it boils in his stomach like acid, causing another plume of fog to escape between his lips, out from under his mask.]
I don't say there's a fucking person in this place who wouldn't be bothered by Dodger and his antics.
What he wants is some sort of absurd show of attention. From me, particularly. [It's frustrating to admit because it's gross to admit.] He's got a twisted concept of shitty infatuation he pushed onto me when I was looking less dead and I've got a clear fucking picture of this obsession now.
[An obsession that will make him attack weak teenagers for information.]
[ Eichi watches that smoke and then glances back down to his lap, thinking. So he was right about it being some sort of obsession. Infatuation... that was one word to use. ]
I thought it was strange, so I didn't say a thing, don't worry. Not even when he tried to ask about Sombra-san, though I'd have even less to offer there. [ He looks to Reaper again. ] He seems to stop at nothing to ask invasive things like this, so I'm a bit worried for you. Is this something that can be handled? If whatever strange drug he had can truly encourage the truth to be told...
[Infatuation is all he'll bother calling it, he's not interested in what actual affection the strange, childish man might have for him--so he'll leave it at that.
When Eichi mentions being worried about him, however, he only laughs.]
You don't have to worry about me. You can't kill what's already dead, and if he causes too much trouble I'll send him to his own grave. [He IS still death, even if him and Eichi talk... more civilly than Reaper talks to most other people.]
I'm not afraid of his strange drug. I'm not afraid of the truths he's asking for. I just don't feel like telling him any of them.
[Sombra... that name, of all things Eichi has said... his head tips down a little.]
He needs to quit asking about Sombra, especially. If he knows what's good for him.
[It's small--the next gesture he makes... but enough to be a little telling. Fingers of those clawed gauntlets moving over the bottom of his mask as he settles where he's sitting. Thoughtful, quiet.]
[ Mm, well, Eichi is afraid of those things himself, even if he doesn't want to admit that aloud. He has this bracelet for a few days, and it likely won't happen again, right? Even if he knows that Eichi knows some things. He frowns to himself, then glances at Reaper's hands. ]
I thought you'd approve of that even less. [ From what little he does know... ]
The two of you were quite close, weren't you? I haven't felt like it was fair for even me to ask about it, but... [ His own fingers twitch in the air like he's considering reaching out, but he decides against it, sheepishly curling his hair behind his ear instead. ] Well, I am curious.
[There's a sharp movement, under his mask. A pair of glow-red eyes that shift under the dark hollows of it when the other asks the question he hates being asked.
¿Quién es Sombra? headlines that soaked the papers in the last few years when she started to move, lower-ranked Talon operatives asking him, bravely, what he knew about the hacker. Only for them to run screaming when he threatened their lives, instead.
He could easily ignore Eichi's question, tell him to fuck off, it's not his business, who told him it wasn't fair of him to ask and therefore he should forget about it, but... Even if it was for a short while, she was on the Eluvio. She had... done some terrible things, and it was likely he'd never see her again.
I'm leaving everything to you, Gabi. My files, my information, my energy drinks...]
...She's important to me. [Finally.] The only person who is, anymore. Used to just think her as an annoying ally. A hacker with too much focus on herself and an ego bigger than the planet she wanted to know all the secrets of. Been working with her for years. Then on the Eluvio...
[Another pause. A low laugh.]
You know when the planet got attacked? The shields went down, fire hailed down from the sky? Fek and Trillk dying by the hundreds?
She did that.
She caused it, single-handedly. Without any idea what was going to happen.
[ He remembers the planet, being a liaison of the fek and targeted by everything after, as well. Of course he does. ] From how things were at the end, with the aliens being blamed for the murders despite what they communicated with me and the others, it had seemed to me like that "captain" was the one who had set things up. It was just a thought, of course. I had no idea.
If Sombra-san was the one who did all of that, there was no way of knowing... Then it sounds as if they simply used her, as well.
A tiny little box. Glowing, floating. It was locked with a code, but I don't doubt if she was given some time, she'd have figured it out.
When she got back from the mission, I treated her wounds and we talked, at length. She didn't know if the 'gift' was something useful that she could use, or if it was a bomb that would take her life upon opening.
She gave me her last will, then and there. I didn't want to fucking hear it, but a few fucking days later I ended up here. [I, not we. He came here, alone--no Sombra to be seen. And even now, three months later...]
Don't know if she's still up there in space, or what the hell happened.
[His rough, echoing voice makes it easy to hide the tense feeling of worry--but it's hard to escape the bitter sound.]
Only thing I have left is revenge for the people who turned me into this... thing. And to protect the life of the only person who wanted to help me with what little is fucking left of mine.
[And he doesn't even have either of those anymore. Harsh as his words are, someone well versed in Reaper's language would find it easy to read between the lines:
He misses Sombra. He misses her, and doesn't even know if she's even still alive.]
[ Seeing Reaper like this is a first, and it gets to Eichi's heart, too. It's strange; normally, sympathy isn't something that holds him back or grips him so harshly. But right now, he wants to reach out and reassure him of everything. Unfortunately, the world doesn't work that way. He can't assure him that Sombra is okay, or that he can get his revenge. Some things may never be solved.
Still, he leans a little closer. ]
I'm well aware that this level of importance isn't something that can be simply replaced or forgotten. I'll keep hoping that Sombra-san will at the very least pay you a visit here to ease your mind. However... [ He hesitates, half expecting the same reaction as when they first met and he tried to touch him, but he places a careful hand on his shoulder anyway. ]
There are others here who'd like to help you, as well. Genuinely, and without strange interest at heart. You never did show me what it is you hide under that mask. Do you think that I'd change my mind? I won't.
[Take it in while it lasts, because once he's done he'll reel it all in like it didn't happen. He's a murderer, a villain, a terrorist and a wanted criminal, and it just wasn't often that he let it show that he was still a human underneath all of his posturing and death-speak. He had a life before things had been stolen from him, and becoming a man known as The Reaper was easy when you had nothing left. But then there were small things that could easily remind even Death itself that life still continues on for others who aren't walking the life of a cloud of smoke bent on revenge. And the moment Eichi's hand touches him, his reaction is nearly just as violent as it had been the first time, nearly half a year ago now with how he Jerks and turns his head to stare at the other--
But this time, he doesn't hiss at him like a demon. Nor does he shove him away violently.]
If she's alive, it's better if she doesn't come here. [She deserves to stay away, she has a mission, something to do that isn't killing people to feel better about your own screwed up life.]
And I doubt there's a single person on this shitty planet that can help me. [He's convinced himself of this, for years. And a few soft words from a sickly idol won't change that.]
You people have a weird way of accepting what I go through effort to hide. But you don't have to live with it, like I do. [A constant reminder that he was burned to death in the rubble of what he helped create. He didn't hide it to save the feelings of other people. He hid it so he didn't have to be constantly reminded of what he'd become. Every time someone saw him, to have them look at him with shock or horror... Every reaction was a reminder.]
[Which makes him not want to follow through with his next action--the action of removing the carbon-fiber mask he wore, the click of the straps as he removed it from his face. He gives Eichi a tired glance once the mask is off, dull glowing eyes pitted in dark holes in his head looking every bit as exhausted as a man who barely sleeps should look.
He still looks like the somewhat friendly man who'd visited him in the hospital, but with anything resembling life drained from his features.
Once healthy dark skin is marred, visible veins showing on his face--scars that might have once looked good look like jagged cracks in his skin that nearly glow at the core--as if he's still burning just under the surface of skin and scar tissue. It doesn't help the appearance of 'something burning' as black fog seems to slowly seep out from the patches of muscle and skin that are broken--even more so from a section of his cheek that's entirely missing flesh, showing teeth nearly up to his jawline in a smile that would be far too large were he to ever make the expression.]
[ That turn and stare is still the most terrifying part about this, somehow. Eichi forces himself to stare silently, firmly, without any shock as Reaper speaks and then removes his mask. He ignores the sting of feeling useless, of being worthless, and waits to see. When he does see, his stomach sinks and twists, but he's determined not to react in his expression.
His only reaction is a brief furrowing of his eyebrows as he realizes something. That face isn't just some monster, it's damaged, falling apart, needing healing. He curls his fingers into his own palm. ]
And if I think I can help you, won't you let me try? [ Determined, he doesn't stop there, lifting both of his hands but hovering before they reach him, waiting for permission. ]
I don't know if you saw, but I was given the ability to heal. Let me try to do something, at the very least.
[It's not the same look people usually give him when he reveals his face. He's not sure if it's more of a comfort that the other doesn't react one way or the other, but he does relax minutely where he's sitting.
He reaches forward to let his mask down onto a side-table or something that's closest to him, a hand reaching up to drag through the curled locks of hair that fall out from under his hood, now.]
I've had countless doctors and scientists try to fix me. And the leaves from that tree back on the Eluvio only hid the rotted features for a while.
[He avoids looking at Eichi with those glowing eyes.]
If you want to try, you can go ahead. I think you're just wasting your energy.
If I don't try, then I really will be nothing more than someone speaking soft words with no backup. You've helped me in the past, so as friends, shouldn't I do the same at every chance I can?
[ Otherwise, he'll just feel useless. Reaper's words will get to him in a way he doesn't like. Stubbornly, and with determination, he faces him directly on the couch. ] I have to use my hands, so bear with me for just a moment.
[ He cups Reaper's face, and immediately his hands start to go cold. Eichi has closed his eyes to focus, but he's giving it his all, meaning all of those rotted parts of his friend's face will begin to heal steadily. ]
[He wants to argue, he wants to argue that the other didn't need to help him, or even worry about the thought of it. Part of him doesn't want help, so much so that he's solidly settled himself in the idea that he didn't need it.
But it's a sharp reminder of nights of waking up with the splitting, aching pain that traveled along his joints, reminding him of his walking curse of a body as his muscles tensed and pulled themselves apart--
It's the only thing that keeps his jaw gritted tightly shut as the others' too warm hands cup his too cold face.]
[It's an alien, jarring sensation at first--like something foreign was forcing itself just under the surface of unhealthy skin. And he's not sure if he'd call the sensation of muscle and sinew knitting together in some fucked up reversal unpleasant, but it's certainly uncomfortable.
His teeth grit and his head tips down the longer Eichi keeps at it, the plumes of smoke escaping him becoming more pronounced as the other almost seems to force the damage out of the visible part of his face.
Needless to say, once the other pulls away, he certainly doesn't look as perfect as he had the day they'd met as Eichi and Gabriel, what with how his eyes still have that unearthly glow, but...
The idol's magic seems to have certainly done the trick in fixing what visible damage there had been, save for old and ever-present scars that would take much more time and effort to rid the old soldier of.
Needless to say, the old Reaper doesn't much know what to say except but to stare at the other in shock.]
[Eichi can't very well focus on watching when he's putting this much energy into fixing it. It's strange; this is taking far more energy than anything else he's done. Even Gladio's slit throat had been easier than this. A single, clean cut versus all that Reaper has been through. By the time he's finished, there's no more warmth left in his fingertips. They're icy, and he can't push forward any more effort to the scars or parts that are left. This is the extent that he can help.
But it's something. It's something significant, actually, and as Eichi drops his hands away, he gives Reaper a tired little smile at that shocked look.]
So I could do something like that, after all...
[His tired voice is the first hint that his healing isn't some simple trick that doesn't cost him effort. But as soon as the last word trails off, his eyelids are too heavy and fall shut, and his body slumps forward and to the side, unconscious for the moment.]
[Because exactly what he needs upon feeling his face stitch up and fix itself was for the kid to pass out next to him. A hand moves to cover the front of his own mouth, his eyes closing--
The usually ever-present, always buzzing pain that lights his nerves on fire and pushes him to his usual irritation is gone, and it's the most jarring moment of his un-life. Which is why he just... sort of freezes and stares at Eichi when he pitches over on the couch.
That is, until he sort of snaps out of it, rising into a stand with a rush. Hauling off a clawed glove, he'll check for a pulse before putting the idiot of an idol into a basic recovery position.
If the kid doesn't wake up or show signs of being alright within the next ten minutes, well... Going against his previous comment of 'letting him die' from overexerting his weak heart--he'll be calling the hospital.]
[It takes a little bit for Eichi to come to, but he does eventually stir, blinking at the ceiling from the couch where he's lying. He knows better than to try and sit up immediately, but spotting Reaper in his peripheral gets him to turn his head.
He doesn't look very good at all, but he's conscious now!]
Did I fall unconscious just now? [Of all the things to say upon waking up, he chooses that.] I'm sorry about that, Reyes-san. But have you had a chance to look in a mirror?
...Unless you want to call what just happened a narcoleptic spell.
[To put it simply: you look like shit.
His eyes flicker a little in their still dark sockets when Eichi speaks. An unseen flicker of relief will let him lift his head--just a little--but then he absolutely scoffs at the others' question.]
It seems this pathetic body of mine still can't handle much of this healing. I've been doing my best to practice, but even then, I'm cut off before I can truly press myself to improve...
[It's unfair. Now, he shifts, trying to push himself to sit up with a shaky hand.] I want Reyes-san to see the result of my hard work, you know? A handsome face like yours doesn't deserve to be buried with those injuries. Now, it's more like you're hardened, you know?
[For someone who looks like he'd fall over if someone breathed too hard in his direction, he sure does talk a lot.]
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[That's part one of his many troubles with this. He'd be fine if they went home, but this... Anyway, now Reaper is pacing and Eichi is squeezing his hands together quietly.] Sombra-san must be home, though.
[He wants to add that, at least, to help him feel better. He doesn't think she would be anywhere else.] But I don't intend to go anywhere, so can't we speak about these things together? Even if I am a little nervous after what just happened.
[He pauses, and then elaborates without waiting to be asked.] Do you know a man who's very interested in you, Sombra-san and the Eluvio? He had a beard and scars on his face, and he was missing an eye.
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And he could comment on that, but it's Eichi's next bit what makes the wraith of a man stop pacing in the others' room like a mule doing circles around blacksmith's pit--his head turning to fix a look at the other.
After what just happened, and Do you know a man who's very interested in you.
He doesn't have to hear the physical description, just the question of someone asking about Sombra, the Eluvio and Him...]
IF he had tattoos on his hands, then Yes. [There's no small amount of irritation in his tone, now.]
That's Jaime fucking Dodger.
Sticking his nose into business where it damn well doesn't belong--
[He takes a step closer, and finally... he sits.]
The hell did he do. [Calm, quiet. Deadly, like the grave.]
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[So Jamie Dodger was his name? That's good to know. He looks a little relieved by Reaper sitting, but as he looks back to his own hands, he's clearly tense.] I approached him because he was staring at me oddly, and it turned quickly into a game, or so I thought. I'd had some drinks, you know?
Anyway, as soon as he realized that not only was I on the Eluvio, but that I knew you, he became quite demanding. I thought it was odd and refused to tell him anything about you. Idols can get fans who behave like this, too. That sort of obsession that should be put to a stop immediately.
[He's stalling, but only a little bit. He looks back to Reaper.] He stole my phone to threaten it, and when I tried to run, he teleported the both of us to some alleyway. My phone was completely crushed just by his hand, and my arm likely would have wound up the same if it weren't for Taako-kun showing up.
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If it was Dodger's fucked up obsession that made him act oddly towards the idol, in a way that even Eichi (of all people) would be uncomfortable with, then it really did say something.
The other may be stalling, but it's not as if Reaper's going to gripe about that now. Not when there's more important things to think on--like how he's going to reign himself in enough to not go on a manhunt for the drug-addled teen in a man's body and give him the scare of his life.]
...Taako, you mean that fucking fancy-flirting Elf?-- [No, now's not the time to insult the guy's odd choice in style and wardrobe. He owes the guy a thanks, now, if anything. What a gross thought to have about someone. He rumbles out a low, agitated sound.]
He bothers you again, and you tell me. Immediately.
He's starting to become something of an irritant I'm growing tired of.
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[He lifts his arm to show the cheap bangle at his wrist.] Apparently it has a spell embedded into it. If I break it and wish for him to appear, he'll come to my side. He's been bothered by this "Dodger" as well.
Just what is it that he wants from you, Reyes-san? He was desperate for any information as long as it was new.
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He's not at all surprised that this had happened, but...
All the same, it boils in his stomach like acid, causing another plume of fog to escape between his lips, out from under his mask.]
I don't say there's a fucking person in this place who wouldn't be bothered by Dodger and his antics.
What he wants is some sort of absurd show of attention. From me, particularly. [It's frustrating to admit because it's gross to admit.] He's got a twisted concept of shitty infatuation he pushed onto me when I was looking less dead and I've got a clear fucking picture of this obsession now.
[An obsession that will make him attack weak teenagers for information.]
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I thought it was strange, so I didn't say a thing, don't worry. Not even when he tried to ask about Sombra-san, though I'd have even less to offer there. [ He looks to Reaper again. ] He seems to stop at nothing to ask invasive things like this, so I'm a bit worried for you. Is this something that can be handled? If whatever strange drug he had can truly encourage the truth to be told...
[ Well that's some shady stuff?? ]
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When Eichi mentions being worried about him, however, he only laughs.]
You don't have to worry about me. You can't kill what's already dead, and if he causes too much trouble I'll send him to his own grave. [He IS still death, even if him and Eichi talk... more civilly than Reaper talks to most other people.]
I'm not afraid of his strange drug. I'm not afraid of the truths he's asking for. I just don't feel like telling him any of them.
[Sombra... that name, of all things Eichi has said... his head tips down a little.]
He needs to quit asking about Sombra, especially.
If he knows what's good for him.
[It's small--the next gesture he makes... but enough to be a little telling. Fingers of those clawed gauntlets moving over the bottom of his mask as he settles where he's sitting. Thoughtful, quiet.]
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I thought you'd approve of that even less. [ From what little he does know... ]
The two of you were quite close, weren't you? I haven't felt like it was fair for even me to ask about it, but... [ His own fingers twitch in the air like he's considering reaching out, but he decides against it, sheepishly curling his hair behind his ear instead. ] Well, I am curious.
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¿Quién es Sombra? headlines that soaked the papers in the last few years when she started to move, lower-ranked Talon operatives asking him, bravely, what he knew about the hacker. Only for them to run screaming when he threatened their lives, instead.
He could easily ignore Eichi's question, tell him to fuck off, it's not his business, who told him it wasn't fair of him to ask and therefore he should forget about it, but...
Even if it was for a short while, she was on the Eluvio. She had... done some terrible things, and it was likely he'd never see her again.
I'm leaving everything to you, Gabi. My files, my information, my energy drinks...]
...She's important to me. [Finally.] The only person who is, anymore. Used to just think her as an annoying ally. A hacker with too much focus on herself and an ego bigger than the planet she wanted to know all the secrets of.
Been working with her for years. Then on the Eluvio...
[Another pause. A low laugh.]
You know when the planet got attacked? The shields went down, fire hailed down from the sky? Fek and Trillk dying by the hundreds?
She did that.
She caused it, single-handedly. Without any idea what was going to happen.
And do you know what the worst thing is?
They rewarded her for it.
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[ He remembers the planet, being a liaison of the fek and targeted by everything after, as well. Of course he does. ] From how things were at the end, with the aliens being blamed for the murders despite what they communicated with me and the others, it had seemed to me like that "captain" was the one who had set things up. It was just a thought, of course. I had no idea.
If Sombra-san was the one who did all of that, there was no way of knowing... Then it sounds as if they simply used her, as well.
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When she got back from the mission, I treated her wounds and we talked, at length. She didn't know if the 'gift' was something useful that she could use, or if it was a bomb that would take her life upon opening.
She gave me her last will, then and there. I didn't want to fucking hear it, but a few fucking days later I ended up here. [I, not we. He came here, alone--no Sombra to be seen. And even now, three months later...]
Don't know if she's still up there in space, or what the hell happened.
[His rough, echoing voice makes it easy to hide the tense feeling of worry--but it's hard to escape the bitter sound.]
Only thing I have left is revenge for the people who turned me into this... thing. And to protect the life of the only person who wanted to help me with what little is fucking left of mine.
[And he doesn't even have either of those anymore. Harsh as his words are, someone well versed in Reaper's language would find it easy to read between the lines:
He misses Sombra. He misses her, and doesn't even know if she's even still alive.]
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Still, he leans a little closer. ]
I'm well aware that this level of importance isn't something that can be simply replaced or forgotten. I'll keep hoping that Sombra-san will at the very least pay you a visit here to ease your mind. However... [ He hesitates, half expecting the same reaction as when they first met and he tried to touch him, but he places a careful hand on his shoulder anyway. ]
There are others here who'd like to help you, as well. Genuinely, and without strange interest at heart. You never did show me what it is you hide under that mask. Do you think that I'd change my mind? I won't.
1/2
He had a life before things had been stolen from him, and becoming a man known as The Reaper was easy when you had nothing left. But then there were small things that could easily remind even Death itself that life still continues on for others who aren't walking the life of a cloud of smoke bent on revenge. And the moment Eichi's hand touches him, his reaction is nearly just as violent as it had been the first time, nearly half a year ago now with how he Jerks and turns his head to stare at the other--
But this time, he doesn't hiss at him like a demon. Nor does he shove him away violently.]
If she's alive, it's better if she doesn't come here. [She deserves to stay away, she has a mission, something to do that isn't killing people to feel better about your own screwed up life.]
And I doubt there's a single person on this shitty planet that can help me. [He's convinced himself of this, for years. And a few soft words from a sickly idol won't change that.]
You people have a weird way of accepting what I go through effort to hide. But you don't have to live with it, like I do. [A constant reminder that he was burned to death in the rubble of what he helped create.
He didn't hide it to save the feelings of other people.
He hid it so he didn't have to be constantly reminded of what he'd become. Every time someone saw him, to have them look at him with shock or horror... Every reaction was a reminder.]
2/2
He still looks like the somewhat friendly man who'd visited him in the hospital, but with anything resembling life drained from his features.
Once healthy dark skin is marred, visible veins showing on his face--scars that might have once looked good look like jagged cracks in his skin that nearly glow at the core--as if he's still burning just under the surface of skin and scar tissue.
It doesn't help the appearance of 'something burning' as black fog seems to slowly seep out from the patches of muscle and skin that are broken--even more so from a section of his cheek that's entirely missing flesh, showing teeth nearly up to his jawline in a smile that would be far too large were he to ever make the expression.]
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His only reaction is a brief furrowing of his eyebrows as he realizes something. That face isn't just some monster, it's damaged, falling apart, needing healing. He curls his fingers into his own palm. ]
And if I think I can help you, won't you let me try? [ Determined, he doesn't stop there, lifting both of his hands but hovering before they reach him, waiting for permission. ]
I don't know if you saw, but I was given the ability to heal. Let me try to do something, at the very least.
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He reaches forward to let his mask down onto a side-table or something that's closest to him, a hand reaching up to drag through the curled locks of hair that fall out from under his hood, now.]
I've had countless doctors and scientists try to fix me. And the leaves from that tree back on the Eluvio only hid the rotted features for a while.
[He avoids looking at Eichi with those glowing eyes.]
If you want to try, you can go ahead. I think you're just wasting your energy.
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[ Otherwise, he'll just feel useless. Reaper's words will get to him in a way he doesn't like. Stubbornly, and with determination, he faces him directly on the couch. ] I have to use my hands, so bear with me for just a moment.
[ He cups Reaper's face, and immediately his hands start to go cold. Eichi has closed his eyes to focus, but he's giving it his all, meaning all of those rotted parts of his friend's face will begin to heal steadily. ]
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But it's a sharp reminder of nights of waking up with the splitting, aching pain that traveled along his joints, reminding him of his walking curse of a body as his muscles tensed and pulled themselves apart--
It's the only thing that keeps his jaw gritted tightly shut as the others' too warm hands cup his too cold face.]
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His teeth grit and his head tips down the longer Eichi keeps at it, the plumes of smoke escaping him becoming more pronounced as the other almost seems to force the damage out of the visible part of his face.
Needless to say, once the other pulls away, he certainly doesn't look as perfect as he had the day they'd met as Eichi and Gabriel, what with how his eyes still have that unearthly glow, but...
The idol's magic seems to have certainly done the trick in fixing what visible damage there had been, save for old and ever-present scars that would take much more time and effort to rid the old soldier of.
Needless to say, the old Reaper doesn't much know what to say except but to stare at the other in shock.]
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But it's something. It's something significant, actually, and as Eichi drops his hands away, he gives Reaper a tired little smile at that shocked look.]
So I could do something like that, after all...
[His tired voice is the first hint that his healing isn't some simple trick that doesn't cost him effort. But as soon as the last word trails off, his eyelids are too heavy and fall shut, and his body slumps forward and to the side, unconscious for the moment.]
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The usually ever-present, always buzzing pain that lights his nerves on fire and pushes him to his usual irritation is gone, and it's the most jarring moment of his un-life. Which is why he just... sort of freezes and stares at Eichi when he pitches over on the couch.
That is, until he sort of snaps out of it, rising into a stand with a rush. Hauling off a clawed glove, he'll check for a pulse before putting the idiot of an idol into a basic recovery position.
If the kid doesn't wake up or show signs of being alright within the next ten minutes, well...
Going against his previous comment of 'letting him die' from overexerting his weak heart--he'll be calling the hospital.]
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He doesn't look very good at all, but he's conscious now!]
Did I fall unconscious just now? [Of all the things to say upon waking up, he chooses that.] I'm sorry about that, Reyes-san. But have you had a chance to look in a mirror?
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[To put it simply: you look like shit.
His eyes flicker a little in their still dark sockets when Eichi speaks. An unseen flicker of relief will let him lift his head--just a little--but then he absolutely scoffs at the others' question.]
Now's not the time to check your appearance.
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[It's unfair. Now, he shifts, trying to push himself to sit up with a shaky hand.] I want Reyes-san to see the result of my hard work, you know? A handsome face like yours doesn't deserve to be buried with those injuries. Now, it's more like you're hardened, you know?
[For someone who looks like he'd fall over if someone breathed too hard in his direction, he sure does talk a lot.]
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