ABIENCE || tokyo rev.

[ ✯ ELEVEN ✯ ]

It was an hour before midnight, the previously empty sky now filled with dazzling stars and a few stray clouds. The moon was alight, reflecting its brilliant view onto the water below. Sounds of crickets could be heard, soothing the tattooed man with their audible noise. Hanma Shuji was sitting on the ledge of a bridge, waiting for the man that he wanted to meet up with. He didn't particularly like today, disliking the fact that he spent most of it hunting for that Hanemiya boy instead of fulfilling his usual compulsive pleasures. He breathed in the fresh air, staring down below at the water with a contemplative expression.

He was thinking about none other than Hanemiya Kazutora, unsure of how to feel about him. As much as Shuji tends to not care for others, he couldn't help but be curious about the life of Kazutora. Shuji is a naturally observant person, so he was already able to tell that there was more going on in Kazutora's brain than he let on. In a way, he couldn't help but compare Kazutora to Tetta, finding certain bits of their vibes to be strangely... similar, in some ways, while extremely different in others. He didn't know why he was making the comparison, but he somehow felt compelled to— as if there was more going on, more hidden action behind the scenes. It made Hanma want to know more, a faint feeling of excitement tingling under his skin.

But what should he do? The only thing Shuji is good for is fighting, being practically incapable of building close relationships with others. Sure, he's able to respect and grow attached to a select few people, but opening up and doing more than listening to orders was something that he struggled with. And yet he wanted nothing more than to get to know a random stranger that he, by sheer coincidence, saw one fateful night— only to be, by coincidence once more, ordered to find and offer him a proposition to join Valhalla, the Headless Angels. It was a confusing build-up of feelings that he wasn't able to name.

Out of nowhere, a familiar voice cut him from his thoughts, stepping toward Shuji to gain his attention. "I haven't seen you think so dedicatedly in a while, did something happen with Hanemiya?"

Shuji then glanced over, making eye contact with his superior— Kisaki Tetta. "Finally, you show up. Still stalking that girl of yours?"

"Answer the question." Demanded Kisaki, dismissing Hanma's questionable accusation.

His subordinate sighed, "No, not much happened. He ended up being sent to the hospital for a spiral fracture as soon as I got there, and he refused to give an answer about joining— he said to give him three days to think about it."

Kisaki nodded, not very surprised to hear this. "Regardless of the rumors and information that we've collected on him, we can't say exactly what his mental situation is. Don't let your guard down near him, he may grow to be hysterical depending on what subjects are brought up."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Probably has some trauma or whatever for accidentally killing a guy. Nothing surprising." Shuji replied in an uninterested tone, having already been told of this countless times before. Man's messed up in the head, he gets it, don't have to remind him an nth time.

Kisaki narrowed his eyes, not finding Hanma's nonchalant attitude to be anywhere near amusing. However, he kept his thoughts to himself, continuing on with what he came here for. "Continue gathering more members for Valhalla in the meantime whilst you wait for a response. Hanemiya plays an important role in the destruction of Sano Manjirou, so make sure that he says yes."

Hanma nodded in confirmation, "Will do, bossman." Even without your order, I would've done so anyway. He was simply that enthralled with the boy. Nevertheless, Hanma looked directly at the face of Kisaki, a wide smile casting over his face. Cheeks meeting his eyes, his eyes glimmered with the reflection of hope, attachment, and admiration.