@grandspatriarchā // from.
āfor someone like him.ā izou is a little suspicious, the twinge of āwhatās that supposed to beā visible in his expression. (he knows his faults, at least. what, does the boy want to call him the same sort of easy-hire easy-loss he was seen as? heās got standards at least, these days. maybe.) āwhat kinda stupid question is that? i aināt a kid, i donāt get lonely.ā the lieās instinctive. preservation of pride, to be ālonelyā is to be āweakā and he is not the type of person who allows weakness.
for someone who is ostensibly meant to be his boss, for someone who knows a little about how things work, he should know how this goes.
izou tsks. āācourse you canāt.ā force loyalty, that is. even sincere loyalty can find itself warped. and still, the kid says this shit and worries about others being lonely? make up your mind. itās weird to hear both at once. āa contract means you pay me, and i dole out divine punishment to whoever you feel deserves it. as for faith? you can have faith in by ability to win, otherwise, who gives a shit about if you believe in me.ā what else is there even to believe.
it doesnāt mean thereās any right to order him to cow down, that heās not a self-interested back-alley guard dog at heart. forget to feed him and heāll go for the hand thatās empty. fuckinā backwards-ass kid. izou doesnāt know what to do with him. he leans back, hand up to wave through his next point before he is immediately and abruptly distracted. itās almost comical how sharply and visibly heās jarred out of his thought. āyeaā hang on, the hell you mean āthe others make fun of you sometimesā? who the fuckās talkinā about me unless itās shitty ryouma?ā that backfired a little, ritsuka. ādonāt try to respect me, do it. and whoeverās talking shit about me to you, iāll cut their heads off, so out with the names.ā
