08-03-2023, 01:16 PM
The door began to open, and Eido felt her stomach sink into a trap of her own making. If Kiyohito was still in Moscow it could be no good thing. She considered her words to him carefully, only for shock to flare her expression and knock them clean from her head the moment she looked up. Bruises shadowed a riot of disturbing colour across his face. When he glanced at the hall behind her she took a moment to gather composure. Then he offered to take her bags. Tattoos wrapped to his wrist on one arm, but it was his hands she looked at. His knuckles were not split or bruised, which meant he had not been fighting. A knot clenched in her gut. She knew it for anger, but was not sure to whom it was angled; herself, for her blindness; Kiyohito, for his; or Zixin Kao for his cruelty in guise of honour.
“Thank you,” was all she said, allowing him to relieve her of the burden of shopping bags. It was probably the vestiges of surprise that made her unresistant to the gesture, for it pressed him into the kind of polite service she was uncomfortable to receive.
Bad men were not the same as monsters. This was a world in which she had no right to interfere, and clearly Kiyohito had submitted himself to this beating for a reason. He was unlikely to tell her why even if she asked. Eido distracted herself by removing her shoes. Western dwellings were not designed for such rituals so she only left them inside the door as she entered. Her gaze took in the tiny apartment, but she waited for the direction of her host before venturing further.
It was difficult not to look at him though. Her promises to Zephyr weakened a threshold, and despite far better judgement she searched inside herself for an echo of the power that might have been able to help. But there was nothing to find. The relief she felt was no longer as pure as it should have been.
“Arnica is good for bruising, Korii-san. Though it may be too late to help much if you are not using it already.” Perhaps it was rude to comment, but she decided it was worth the risk of his chide. With his open collar, sleeves to the elbow, and a dishcloth balanced on his shoulder, he was far removed from the severe figure she had met in the shadows of the bar. Regrettably it also gave her too much insight into how badly he had been hurt. She couldn’t ignore it.
“Thank you,” was all she said, allowing him to relieve her of the burden of shopping bags. It was probably the vestiges of surprise that made her unresistant to the gesture, for it pressed him into the kind of polite service she was uncomfortable to receive.
Bad men were not the same as monsters. This was a world in which she had no right to interfere, and clearly Kiyohito had submitted himself to this beating for a reason. He was unlikely to tell her why even if she asked. Eido distracted herself by removing her shoes. Western dwellings were not designed for such rituals so she only left them inside the door as she entered. Her gaze took in the tiny apartment, but she waited for the direction of her host before venturing further.
It was difficult not to look at him though. Her promises to Zephyr weakened a threshold, and despite far better judgement she searched inside herself for an echo of the power that might have been able to help. But there was nothing to find. The relief she felt was no longer as pure as it should have been.
“Arnica is good for bruising, Korii-san. Though it may be too late to help much if you are not using it already.” Perhaps it was rude to comment, but she decided it was worth the risk of his chide. With his open collar, sleeves to the elbow, and a dishcloth balanced on his shoulder, he was far removed from the severe figure she had met in the shadows of the bar. Regrettably it also gave her too much insight into how badly he had been hurt. She couldn’t ignore it.
![[Image: cherry-blosson.png]](http://thefirstage.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/cherry-blosson.png)