"Hey, Ken-chi." You call as you sit up in your bed. He was sitting against the wall, reading a magazine.
"Yeah?" His eyes don't leave the page.
"If I killed someone, would you still follow me?"
You observe him as his head slowly turns to you, his expression a mix of confusion and disbelief.
"Ah?!"
" If I killed someone, would you still follow me?" You repeat, looking at him straight in the eyes.
He narrows them, trying to make sense of what you were asking. "What the hell has gotten into you, (Y/N)?"
Your shrug. "Just wondering. Toman has a lot of enemies... And they are getting bolder, the bastards. There might come a day when I kill some of them."
He rises, moving to your side in two longs steps. You barely reach his shoulders when you standing; and now that you sitting, it was like he was giant and you an ant. You didn't like it.
He knew you didn't, so he crouches, your head now leveled even. His gaze was hard, penetrating. "You're not killing no one, (Y/N)."
"You don't know that. Kazutora also thought he wouldn't kill anyone, and look what he did. My brother is dead, Baji is dead, my friends are constantly getting beaten and threatened. Wouldn't it be easier if I just killed all the threats straight away?" Your voice was emotionless, your eyes two empty sockets.
Draken hated seeing you like that. Seeing as you were wasting away, pretending you were fine, when actually you weren't. This weeks had been rough on you, too much had happened for a 15-year-old to handle alone.
But that's the thing. You weren't alone.
"I'm here, (Y/N)." Draken says, his voice grave. He wanted to yell, to leave that statement engraved deep n your brain, so you would never forget. "You're not alone. Whatever you need, I'll do it. I have given my life to you, you know it. I will always be here for you, to show you what it should be done, and what it shouldn't. You're not going to kill anyone, (Y/N)."
You stare at him, your head slightly cocked. I wonder... Does he feel toward me what I used to feel toward him?
"I wonder," You say aloud, looking at Draken but not really seeing him. "Would I feel anything if I took a life?"
Back when I felt anything at all?
Draken's eyes widen, his lips part slightly. Then he rises, suddenly and angrily, and he pushes you onto your bed, placing his hands on the sides of your head. Before, this type of thing would have made your heart race; now, it was completely indifferent. You just look up, waiting.
"Stop talking like that! You're (Y/N), the fun, terrifying, strong (Y/N), who I devote my life to." You wonder if you were imagining the his watery eyes. "You're the head of Toman. You are surrounded by friends that care deeply about you, that would start wars for you. I would be on front lines if that happened!" You notice as his arms start to tremble; you knew you should feel sad.
But you didn't. You just stare at him, without expression.
He gets angry with the lack of emotion, and makes his hand a fist. He's now shouting. "You are loved, (Y/N)!"
Your eyes widen slightly. Something moves within you. Your heart beats a second faster.
"You are loved by so many. By your family, by your friends, by your captains. By Toman, something you created and developed until what is today. You are loved, (Y/N)... By me, as well." The last words were a whisper, and Draken stared right at your eyes when he said them.
You stay silent, not... not used to what was happening. It as if your body was remembering what it was like to feel again, awakening from a long sleep.
You feel something hot on your eyes, and when something wet rolls over your cheek, you realize you were crying. How long had it been since you had done that? How long since you felt anything?
Now you were feeling too much, compared to a few moments ago. You were sad, angry, confused... And somehow a little, just a bit, happy, when hearing Draken's confession.
He kept his eyes on you, watching the little changes: the way you started to breath faster, the way you slightly curled your hands, how the light was slowly sipping into your eyes again. He felt relief, just pure, good relief.
Finally. You have no idea how hard it was watching you lose yourself, (Y/N). Watching in helplessness.
The tears just kept coming and you start to wipe them away, but they were too much, too fast. You then feel two warm hands enveloping your cheeks and you look up, to Draken, who had a little smile on his lips.
"We are going down this road together, remember that. I won't let you stray from the right path. As they say," He points at you. "You're the head of Toman." He points at himself. "And I'm the heart. And this heart is yours."