Even as his own Shadow begins to berate him for what he has yet to speak, Kaito maintains eye contact. The pause that follows her admission feels like it lasts an hour, but eventually he speaks up and looks down. ]
Thanks for telling me the truth.
...Dealing with that temptation must have been horrible. I think I'd know, and not because of whatever I've experienced with life and death situations before coming here.
[ Kaito slowly lifts his head to look at her again. The water around him dissipates, and his eyes return to their natural golden hue. Static begins to fill his head in the form of his Shadow hissing and yelling its curses for what he's about to admit. ]
I almost slaughtered a group of Basilicus...es... Basilici? [ This gag's never going to get old. ] It doesn't matter that they're monsters—they're still sentient. Sapient. It's against my policy to kill those of sound enough mind. And yet... I almost did, and it felt good.
I could blame my Shadow—it was the one who pushed me to make the decision—but in the end, I still made the conscious choice to harm them beyond what was necessary. It only fanned the flames that I was already harboring.
...What I'm getting at besides the fact that I can empathize with your struggle is that I'd like to propose we give this Soulmate thing a shot. If we've both seen firsthand the destructive potential our Shadows can have on our psyche, and if the Soulmate process will specifically silence their voices, then it's enough justification for me to go through with it.
You, uh. You obviously don't have to. But I'm asking you first, because you're the one person here who I trust above anyone else to take the responsibility on with.
no subject
Kaito's gaze never relents—not as she pauses, and certainly not as what he presumes to be her Shadow begins to make a fuss. In fact...
Y̵o̶u̶ ̵a̶l̸r̵e̸a̵d̴y̸ ̴k̶n̸o̶w̶ ̷t̴h̵e̴ ̵a̸n̵s̴w̸e̵r̴.̷ ̵H̷e̴r̴ ̵S̷h̵a̸d̸o̵w̸ ̴i̴s̶ ̵m̷e̷r̸e̵l̶y̷ ̴a̷n̸ ̴e̵x̸t̷e̷n̶s̴i̸o̵n̴ ̵o̵f̶ ̸h̸e̷r̵ ̵i̸n̷n̶e̴r̴ ̷d̴e̴s̶i̶r̵e̵s̷.̶
R̵e̷g̷a̴r̷d̵l̵e̸s̵s̸ ̵o̴f̴ ̸w̴h̸o̷ ̴s̷c̴r̷e̴a̶m̴e̸d̴ ̴'̷k̴i̵l̶l̷,̶'̶ ̵t̸h̷e̵y̴ ̶b̷o̶t̵h̶ ̸t̶h̴o̷u̷g̶h̵t̶ ̷i̸t̷.̷ ̴S̷h̵e̵'̴s̸ ̸o̸n̴l̸y̶ ̷g̶o̷i̷n̷g̷ ̵t̸o̶ ̵d̸i̴s̵a̵p̶p̶o̶i̸n̵t̶ ̵y̴o̴u̷.̴ ̵M̷i̶g̵h̵t̸ ̸e̷v̸e̷n̸ ̶s̷t̷a̶b̶ ̵y̶o̴u̴ ̴i̷n̷ ̵t̶h̵e̷ ̴b̸a̴c̴k̶,̵ ̴a̶s̸ ̷a̷ ̵t̷r̶e̷a̷t̴!̸
Even as his own Shadow begins to berate him for what he has yet to speak, Kaito maintains eye contact. The pause that follows her admission feels like it lasts an hour, but eventually he speaks up and looks down. ]
Thanks for telling me the truth.
...Dealing with that temptation must have been horrible. I think I'd know, and not because of whatever I've experienced with life and death situations before coming here.
[ Kaito slowly lifts his head to look at her again. The water around him dissipates, and his eyes return to their natural golden hue. Static begins to fill his head in the form of his Shadow hissing and yelling its curses for what he's about to admit. ]
I almost slaughtered a group of Basilicus...es... Basilici? [ This gag's never going to get old. ] It doesn't matter that they're monsters—they're still sentient. Sapient. It's against my policy to kill those of sound enough mind. And yet... I almost did, and it felt good.
I could blame my Shadow—it was the one who pushed me to make the decision—but in the end, I still made the conscious choice to harm them beyond what was necessary. It only fanned the flames that I was already harboring.
...What I'm getting at besides the fact that I can empathize with your struggle is that I'd like to propose we give this Soulmate thing a shot. If we've both seen firsthand the destructive potential our Shadows can have on our psyche, and if the Soulmate process will specifically silence their voices, then it's enough justification for me to go through with it.
You, uh. You obviously don't have to. But I'm asking you first, because you're the one person here who I trust above anyone else to take the responsibility on with.