Sakagami Kenzo
Kenzo held his chin and nodded nonchalantly. No, there was something different about his look. He seemed…sad.
“I see.”
Even as he tried to smile, he still had that gloomy look. As if he was truly sorry. They say there is only one question one can never answer by yes.
Are you ashamed?
“I guess I’d try to live a normal life, at least for a while longer. Laugh normally, love normally, start a normal family…Yes, that would be nice. I guess by the end of it, I’d probably have to hide somewhere far away, lock myself in some hole underground and never come back. Haha, you probably expected something better than that. The truth is, I don’t know. I feel like I don’t know anything anymore, and it’s terrifying. I know, it’s stupid, but I’m out of ideas.”
Kenzo looked down at Akatsuki’s feet. Why? Why wasn’t she striking him down already? He didn’t understand it. He couldn’t understand it. He wanted to cry, but he couldn’t anymore. Honestly, he felt like forgetting everything and just going to sleep forever. He was talking a lot, but at the same time, it felt liberating. It was as if he was taking a huge weight off his chest, a weight heavier than the whole wide world.
And he felt so horrible.
“Whelp. Sorry, I’m not the cool, gentle and reliable oni-chan I could have been. I’m actually a pretty bad person you know? You’d have to be pretty messed up to associate with me, I won’t blame you if you’re sick to your stomach. Sorry, I’m rambling again.”
His free hand slipped on his Shirogane once more, admiring the simple silver blade for the last time, only to toss it at the child’s feet.
“I won’t force you to do it, you don’t have to do anything at all. I’ll find a way eventually, I’m sure of it. There isn’t a single thing I can’t do, she said. What matters is that whatever path to take is one you’re sure you can see to the end. As long as you’re true to yourself, the world will be yours. Please take that sword, it is a precious treasure forged with love. I’m not fit to keep something like that anymore, whatever you want to do with it is up to you now.”
Akatsuki
Akatsuki looked at him, then bent down to retrieve the blade. It was heavy, and its grip was warm, sensations assuring her this situation was real.
Then that meant the sadness of the man before her, the overwhelming guilt twisting his face into a look of pain, was real as well. He didn't mean to kill or hurt anyone the way he did, and he felt terrible for it.
And yet...
"Feeling guilt at one's actions does not nullify them," was something Akatsuki was once told, when engaging in practice battles with another naval base. A long discussion about abyssals had eventually torn that quote out of one of the destroyers, and even the battleships paused at it.
She didn't understand, then, why it was something that could bring such a sad look to Nagato's face.
"I want to trust you, Kenzo," Akatsuki started, just as tears started rolling down her face. "I want to trust you, that you can leave and not... do anything bad again. But..."
She remembered the mutilated body, the terrified look on his face. He didn't expect it to happen that time, so what about the next? Would his next victims be his "Normal family"? Would it be another man's family? The risk was too large. Therefore, as a soldier, as a shipgirl used to carrying the weight of a country, there was only one choice.
"You're strong, Kenzo. Too strong for me to be able to hold back, too fast for me to be able to keep up with you. So..." She hoisted the sword up, into a stance the which she'd seen so many times as a ship during crew training hours, as a girl when observing the admiral, and as a soldier when Ise, Hyuuga or Tenryuu were forced into melee combat. It was a basic kendo stance.
She closed her eyes a moment. The activated its engines to combat levels, its electrical components to match, and the air around Akatsuki crackled as her gloves sparked to life.
The heat of such things made the tears wash away faster than before. The idea of combat, the preparation for such as the fairies prepared to do their duty helped dull her heart and prepare herself.
It was the only reason she was born, the only thing she knew for real. Now that things such as reason and motivations had been dealt with, the warship Akatsuki was commencing engagement.
"Sakagami Kenzo..." She added, her voice and face surprisingly soft considering her stance, intent and the air around her. "I know what you've been asking of me, but please don't make me do it without a fight."
