Necessity (Rei no Kaado)

[mugenginga]

Kaido paused as Atsuro asked his question. If Atsuro was paying attention to his body language, he'd notice the guy tense up a bit. It lasted a second at most before the muscles relaxed again. There was a visible shrug despite the man's position.

"None of my business," Kaido stated, his voice carrying a slight growl, "I'm just a grunt, after all. Since when do you care, anyways?"

Kaido had never for one minute regretted having killed Keisuke, so he'd never cared much about Atsuro's apparent dislike of him. He regretted having been forced to play that hand, but Keisuke had gone down well. He'd as much as said that he'd have had an issue with the situation if the teenager hadn't stood up for his stupid ideals as much as he had. Despite that, however, he was feeling less friction from Atsuro then he was from Abel. So was he being made to pay for his actions from an unexpected end?

Then again, he'd noticed the schism growing lately. Hadn't seen a need to speak on it, of course. As far as he was concerned, he and Atsuro were the only normal humans here. Seth was, as far as he could figure it, reincarnated from some biblical guy the way Cain and Abel were. He'd never bothered to look into it. And anyone could see Abel was stupid about Seth's safety. He was frowning after he spoke, but if Atsuro actually tried to talk he wouldn't push him away this time. Hell, everyone was falling to the wayside lately. Only reason he was still around were his chances without the COMP. He knew himself well enough to know he couldn't stay out of the fight, after all.
-----

Seth frowned as Abel looked away from him. He looked down at the slight bruising that still remained from before. Samarecarm had taken care of the serious, but a body could only take so much. Abel still blamed himself, huh? He would have died both times had Abel not been there, but all the guy could see was what he hadn't stopped. Seth looked puzzled as Abel asked Cain about something called "Hitoshura". Seth ran through the Japanese he'd improved recently...

Hito... Hitori? And Shura... he coudln't quite figure that one out. He paused as the possibilities ran through his head. A reference to Asura? So... Person Asura? His eyes widened. Wait, human-demon? The context fit. He looked towards Cain, who had seemed to wait for Seth to figure things out before speaking. Cain pressed a few more buttons and both COMPs beeped before he looked up. He was smiling.

"Even I haven't heard much," Cain admitted. He seemed rather pleased despite that statement, "By definition it references one who is human with traits of a demon. Aside from yourself, dear little brother, I can't say I've encountered it before."

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Atsuro sighed. "I was just wondering... Abel's always kinda a jerk to you, anyways."

It wasn't to be mistaken as Atsuro trying to be friends with Kaido. He still disliked the man for what had happened with Keisuke. Keisuke had snapped, and he'd been vehement in his ideals, but he hadn't deserved what Kaido had done to him. However, Atsuro had started to realize that if he didn't start at least tolerating Kaido's presence more, there was going to be problems. They were in a war, after all, and you didn't trust the people you were fighting alongside, who could you trust?

---------------

Abel's flat expression remained at Cain's words. So even Cain hadn't heard much about them.

"One apparently encountered you and Kaido earlier. He wants me to challenge him, I believe," Abel stated. "Since you don't know much about them, I suppose you don't know much about any special powers one might possess or what demon it may work for, correct?"

[mugenginga]

"I wouldn't mind it if he would act the part."

Kaido threw his weight up at this point. He put his arms in his lap and looked at Atsuro. What he said next was something he'd always lived by. It was something he told few, a side to himself people outside the Daemons had rarely seen.

"Being a leader isn't just about having raw power. Hell, it ain't even the most important thing. It's about using what you have right, taking care of those under you. All this nonsense with running away from someone based on reputation? Guy isn't protecting himself by doing that, he's merely giving himself a bad name. And tell you what, any real threat with any sense is gonna go after him last."

Kaido laid back down, "I'm just pissed the guy is treating his enemies with more respect then those he commands."
----------

"He let Kaido keep his head to deliver you a warning," Cain stated.

Cain sounded bored with the conversation. Abel had baited him with knowledge, he had chosen to ignore it. Seth laid back down, turning his back to the group. Cain did a few more things about the COMP, only speaking again to cut off anything Abel may have been about to say or right when he was about to leave. Cain was good at that, after all.

"I don't think he'll aim for you first," Cain didn't look up from his COMPs, "I spoke to him. In a different setting I imagine we could have had quite the give and take."

It had been subtle, but there. Cain had just acknowledged and possibly complimented the one Abel had referenced.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

"Huh."

Atsuro looked back down at his laptop. He wasn't sure what to say to that. With how Abel was acting... dammit, Kaido had a point. Abel-- no, K1 was being stupid. From a tactical standpoint, the way K1 was acting was really, incredibly dumb. Atsuro didn't like Abel, but Abel had been smart enough to stand up for himself. K1 had never been good at that before... they were going to get killed if K1 didn't realize that.

--------------------

Abel glared at Cain. So Cain knew about him, or had at least guessed from what Abel had said. They'd talked, though even if anything important had been said, Abel wouldn't find out simply because Cain didn't like talking about things that could possibly be important. Like Magatsuhi, or the moon phases (which didn't seem to be affecting him as badly anymore) or the fact that his body was changing to adapt to his demonic powers. And then to add onto that, Cain had complimented the man.

"Then you should be careful," Abel said. "If he's already spoken to you, he'll know enough about you to go after you first." Probably, anyways.

[mugenginga]

Kaido didn't say anything else beyond that point. He'd heard Atsuro's comment, but it wasn't one that needed response. He believed every word of what he'd said, though. That was the thing, for all his faults Kaido was at least honest. Often painfully so, but honest nonetheless.
-----

"I'll keep that in mind then," Cain stated. His voice carried traces of noticable sarcasm, a sign of how truly sarcastic he was really being. Abel knew very well nothing he said would change the way he acted, after all. And he didn't fear death. Whatever YHVH's "great plan" was, it apparently still needed him in the endless cycle of remembered lives.

He also felt he wouldn't necessarily be the first target. Seth made more sense if the man was as cocky as his scouting trip made him out to be. If he was challenging Abel, he'd want him at his strongest, to not hold back. Removing Seth from the picture would be the simplest way to do that. Well, that settled it then. He'd keep an eye on Seth for a few days. As for Kaido? He'd given that man his warning. He didn't expect the former gang leader to survive the battles that would be coming in the next few days, though. His life was truly nothing in the grand scheme of things.

"Anything else, then?" Cain's question came off as more of a taunt.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Atsuro was already typing along on his laptop. He couldn't think of anything else to say, so it was back to the silence it usually was in their room at night.

--------------

Abel glared at Cain for his obvious taunt. "No, nothing. I'll see you in the morning." He headed back out the door without another word. Once on the other side of the door, it occurred to him he should have asked Cain for some pain medication or something. He shook his head. Cain likely needed it for Seth's injuries.

And with that, he headed back to his room.