KING.

“g-grand priest?!” he chokes on whatever is left of his soda after that as teqi shows his face through his staff. he hurries to compose himself, standing straighter against the counter of the store. shit, what terrible timing. manche curses himself before turning to face him fully.

“i-i’ve been working hard! i’ve even got a brand new apprentice, her name is daiten! she’s at school now, but she’s great!” manche sings daiten praises to make the grand priest happy, and maybe have a higher favor compared to other destroyers.

"what? i'm not." said a little too casually, manche not even bothering to look at her as he inspects the longevity of his vegetables. it takes him a few moments before he catches on. he turns to look at her, his gaze softening as daiten tries to push away even saying that, that he can continue what he was doing.

despite her attempts, manche brings an arm around her in a hug. his paw rests on the top of her head and a quick motion ruffles her hair.

"you're with me for life, daiten. like it or not."

he wished he had made it just 5 minutes earlier, that teqicoukld somehow teleport faster. he could have stopped this slaughter; divine retribution taken out on those who had no chance to defend themselves. a pity, but manche knows this was not the act of a god.

"what the hell do you think you're doing, mezcal?!" he snaps, his grip tightens and claws dig into flesh gently.

no, this was a petty vengeance.

".... I know your family abandoned you, but mezcal... this is too far!" he wants to be understanding, he does. mezcals family has hurt the other badly, it's their fault he turned out this way and how manche was left to deal with the aftermath. but to be killed so brutally? he didn't think so.

"you're frustrating." he growls as she does her work, a pout making way onto his features. what a stubborn woman! ever since caber was instated as the main medic he couldn't get away with his usual stuff anymore. like his wounds not being fully healed, something he would lie about. but caber was too attentive for that.

he huffs again, squirms under her healing touch. another scolding follows, caber smacking him on the arm. he had enough, manche snaps back and pulls his arm away.

"cut it out!" was he being childish? for sure. but there was still more to be done, how could she even understand? arms cross, turning his head away with a huff. "i told you, im fine. you can take a break, what's the deal?"

he was resting on the counter, his mind elsewhere, dozing off. he didn't think of it when she came in, a grunt the only thing letting her know he was awake at least. searing hot pain could have been avoided if he paid more attention.

he pulled away from the counter, stumbling back as rot spread from his arm, his abdomen. he coughed up blood, trying to concentrate as his own energy heightened, cancelling her power out with his own destructive energy. but damage was already done, and very severe, he held onto his wound, coughing up more blood as he looked at her in hurt. something was so very wrong.

"daiten?! w..what happened?!"

"you rely on your sight too much, dear." teqi explained, as he watched daiten stare at the cheap cloth. he training was different than manche, and far less frequent considering that he only stepped in when manche got too tired and just slept. while manche focused on her strength and power in general, teqi focused more on her perfection of techniques and reflexes. she was going to need it.

"I will attack you, you won't be able to sense my ki. all you need to do is simply block or dodge."

oh, now that's funny. the look on the angels face blank as mezcal shoved past him, quickly noticing the blood dripping from his arm. "less than fortunate, are we?" he purred in amusement, simply healing the wound. not out of kindness, manche would have told him to do anyway. vermillions moved to see daiten away, blood droplets having followed from where she stood, watching her then converse with the kai in training.

this really is funny.

"did you have a passing the torch speech with daiten, mezcal?" coy smirk played on his lips, nothing getting past him that easily. "i do think itll make manche happy to hear that you're so accepting of daiten...."

he had to set the child away. how embarrassing it was for her to nearly destroy his clothing. lucky, he barely got a comment from the fellow destroyers, urging daiten to play while he spoke with the others.

but daiten had other plans, quirk once again being used on his property. hearing the cracks of floorboard set off, just seconds of getting off before it all crumbled to dust. and barely catching by the back of her shirt, floating in the air. thank god for flight.

but that did nothing to heed his embarrassment from the uproar of laughter coming from the staff.

oh, she was definitely grounded.

oh, irritation let his pelt up like a flame. teeth bared in defense as daiten snapped at him; he was a GOD, why would he sit and be treated like this by a child?! he stayed silent, something creeping up his back as she finished up.

was it guilt? no, he did the little brat a favor. manche hated this, wanting to snap back how much regret he felt for bringing this girl over here to begin with. but before the word could leave his mouth, he bit them back twice as fast. he took a deep breath, stress leaving his lungs with a rough turnaround, leaving the room with nothing to say, if she wanted to be like that.

caber would have been a lot better at this.

"what do you expect me to do, daiqui? ... shes been through a lot." how did none of them see that? daiten was still a child at heart, compared to beings like them and much less the other destroyers.

he glanced at daiten, and it was true her behavior had gotten way worse. but it wasnt her fault, he didn't know how to help. hes talked to her, he tried to listen, what did he do wrong?!

teqi sighed deeply. looking back at daiqui. "... I just have to let her know I'm here. i can't... abandon her again, daiqui."

"it was fathers decision to have you stay here, not mine, merus." teqi spoke, watching his brother at front counter. with the threat of moro and his brothers heroic spirit, it was only logical to move him so he wouldnt get destroyed. of course, merus has issues with the universal transfer.

"I do think you'll like it here. we can create a hero persona for you, well.... if we give you a weapon that's not really using your powers. but until further notice, you will be staying put." as teqi brought a glass of wine to his lips, he pondered a lot of similarities between him and shimura. manche would probably introduce them when she gets here from school.

"just... wipe something down, I dont know how manche runs this place."

"i said no." stern words accompanied with a matching glare. teqi wasn't having it, for once. it was the logical decision, surely but for once, the angel wasn't going to be swayed. especially not by manche.

"do you have any idea how long she fought mezcal?" he interrupted manche before he could answer.

"four days. four long days of torture and all because you didn't listen to me back then!" teqi hissed; the situation still very frustrating for him. manches shoulders slumped in guilt, avoiding eye contact. teqi felt bitter, lips curled up in a sneer.

"the old daiten is dead, manche. i saw it. I'm not going to let this daiyen go through that same hell." he turned away, needing to go check on the child playing in the other room.

attention drifted from his brother, hearing the hushed yell from behind daiqui. and there she was, the girl he would call his daughter floating in the air. how pleasing, she always had been a fast learner. he smiled warmly, a chuckle leaving him.

"no, no, shhh..." manche held back any panic he may have felt. holding caber close to him, needing her here with him. hes so pathetic. he couldn't even save his loved ones, he had no business to be here with her, just to watch her die. he couldn't let her suffer alone.

hands held her head, thumbs gentle on her cheeks. "im the one that should be sorry... i wanted to save everyone, i looked so hard but...!"

she shushed him, leaning close to him. her body was cooler than his own, it was only a matter of time until she shut down. but there wasn't anywhere else she would rather be then with him. a weak purr rumbled in her throat, eyes half lidded.

"manche, i love you. i know you'll do what's best... you always know what to do." she smiled up at him. that gentle smile that made him feel even when times got rough, it was going to be okay. his shoulders relaxed, listening to her labored breathing.

"... I love you too."

"... we'll see each other again, right?"

manche glanced to the side, spotting teqi outside getting impatient.

"don't think of it as stealing! I've adopted her." manche corrected but yes, he did very much steal daiten shimura from her crib as a baby. he held the child carefully in his arms, not caring on how the humans would react the second they found the missing baby. he held her up for caber to see.

what was the point in fighting, if he didn't accomplish anything? he was so tired, his body ached from wounds that weren't actually there anymore. her warmth almost made up for it, leaning into her touch.

"but.... I didn't save anyone." memories were starring to blur, the only thing that was fresh on his mind was fighting with mezcal and-

she interrupted his thoughts, pulling away from him and taking his paw into her own.

"you did your best, manche. and I'm so proud of you!" he let her drag him along, couldnt be bothered to fight against her or the new place they were meant for. he was tired of fighting. she smiled back at him, silhouettes of familiar shapes appearing behind her.