2022-12-07: Reconsider
- Cast: Yuta Hibiki, Eisen Daiwel
- Where: Tsutsujidai
- Date: U.C. 0096 12 07
- Summary: A surprise lunch meeting leads to a new understanding.
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
Eating a big meal after dance practice is a simple joy. One Yuta never tires of. There's a cheap diner near Tsutsujidai High, one popular with the students for the owner's tolerance for kids making a commotion as they eat. Today, Yuta's on his own, scrolling on his phone as he waits for his food to be delivered.
Only a few minutes pass before Yuta's soba noodles are brought to him. Politely thanking the server, Yuta digs in, eating ravenously. Marusan was really not messing around with the drills today... Their winter performance is going to be great, but he's paying for it now.
Across the street from the diner is a tall man in a suit. Nobody seems to notice him, really, even though three swords hang at his back. His eyes are fixed on the young redhead in the diner. He doesn't move, seemingly content to wait as Yuta eats.
If Yuta's aware of this, he doesn't seem to mind it. Another few scrolls on his phone bring up Rita's page on social media, and a picture of himself featured with all Rita's closest friends. A cheerful message about her birthday is attached. Yuta smiles and "likes" the post.
<Pose Tracker> Eisen Daiwel has posed.
Tsutsujidai is not a place Eisen likes. As he put it in his infinite lack of wisdom; 'it is a realm run by a God with the emotional fortitude of a young girl with serious issues'.
But even so.
But even so, on this day, he is here. The same man who has proposed just... killing that very same God and to just 'do away with the problem'. A callousness that comes from someone too far removed from the situation, and who has only seen the negatives.
A man, if one can call him that, who has decided to... try.
To try and understand what the others see and know. That is why he is here. Stepping through the not-quite-so-sleepy Tsutsujidai, watching the people interact with a critical eye. Staring at the slowness. The pressure that seems to weigh on the shoulders of those who go about in this realm.
Stepping into a diner, to see if students are perhaps more lively. Ducking his head a bit to get through the door, feeling that strange awkwardness again. That sensation of 'not belonging', which he only feels is greater within this place. Seeing children in the diner, served by adults. Where does he belong in that equation?
If he's noticed Calibur, he's not particularly made a show of it. But Eisen doesn't carry surprise on his face when he spots Yuta slurping away at soba noodles. Instead of surprise, or even saying anything, he just... sits.
He slips into the booth or seat ahead of Yuta, and just puts his elbows onto the table, nodding at the youth. And only when seated, he adds a quick; "I assume you don't mind a great Mad Scientist sitting with you." Before raising his hand - not giving Yuta a moment to respond before he asks the wait-staff for what Yuta is having and a water.
Before his gaze turns to the boy. Or rather, to his phone. Not making eye-contact. Wondering how Yuta would even respond to him. His gaze flicking towards that spot near Yuta's nose from time to time to quickly get a read of his emotional response, but never quite sticking with a proper gaze for some reason.
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
Though Eisen may not notice him, Calibur eye's certainly follow him entering the diner. "Hmm."
Yuta doesn't glance up until Eisen's footsteps come to a halt next to his table. When he does, the young man does a double-take, nearly choking on his mouthful of noodles. "/Eisen/?!" He says, disbelieving, once he stops coughing. "What, why are you here?!"
Eisen simply sits down and orders. Yuta stares at him in disbelief. It's quiet, for a long few minutes. Eisen's noodles and water arrive.
"...if you want to fight again, let's do it outside. This is a nice place." Yuta mutters, also unable to meet the other man's eyes. "I don't want to cause trouble for the owner."
Another quiet few minutes. Yuta stares down at his food, sneaking glances up at Eisen's mysterious eye every so often. He remembers it glowing in their short-lived fight. Yuta's never thought to wonder about that until this moment, as his brain tries to give him something to focus on.
Yuta takes a deep breath, squares his shoulders, and opens his mouth. "I'm not sorry. You were being a jerk. I'm not sorry I punched you." Having said this, he seems to deflate a little. "...but you were right about one thing. About that kaiju, and what Akane was doing. So I'm... sorry I didn't believe you."
Trying not to huff out his breath like an annoyed child, Yuta takes a bite of his noodles.
<Pose Tracker> Eisen Daiwel has posed.
"Don't make me give you the Heimlich maneuver." Eisen mumbles offhandedly as Yuta begins to nearly choke on his noodles. Leaning back for a bit as those quiet minutes pass. Politely thanking the wait staff for the food, and paying for it immediately.
Only then, when Yuta has been left with the question of 'why are you here' just hanging there for quite a while, and then asks if he wanted to fight, does Eisen speak again.
"I would like to remind you that you were the one who threw the first punch. So I believe that will depend on you." The youth remarks, as his right eye whirrs a bit. Almost like it were starting to 'activate'. Except, in truth, it's downshifting its output to the regular visuals.
He reaches up and touches against the side of his nose. "Took a bit to re-set that. It's a good thing I always have a skilled surgeon on hand." The man points out, before drawing his hand back down, and taking the chopsticks. Holding them up, bowing slightly to thank for the meal, then splitting then... carefully reviewing the wood, and then digging in a bit.
"You're staring - gaze too deep into that eye, and you will get lost in the Demon's Abyss." Eisen remarks a little ways in, right before Yuta jumps in with that he's not sorry. A slight smile forms on his face not moments later. "You're a kid, I don't expect you to say sorry." Eisen remarks, though there's a strange expression as he speaks those words. Like those words somehow harm himself - or are at least enough to make him grimace a bit.
"I said some mean things. I didn't even know who I was talking to. Not really." Eisen then adds, before pointing the chop-sticks at Yuta. Really just... picking and chosing what parts of proper etiquette he's following, and which ones he disregards entirely.
"You asked why I am here. I am here... because I clearly do not understand why..." Why we don't just kill Akane outright. But he can't just say that. That'll just piss off the kid. "... I don't understand Akane, and I do not understand Tsutsujidai. You're her friend... so..." How do you even finish a sentence like that?
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
Yuta blinks in surprise as Eisen's eye whirrs. He looks a bit ashamed to be reminded that he threw the first punch, looking down and mumbling something too soft to be heard. Eisen's right, and he hates that. "I'm not going to start a fight." Yuta eventually decides on.
An outright wince when Eisen points out his broken nose. "A--ah." Yuta looks horrified, staring at said nose, mouth open. "I -- well -- I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to... really hurt you or anything."
That's not an excuse, and he knows it. You don't get to punch someone and say you didn't mean it. Yuta wilts in the diner's cheap plastic bench. He shouldn't have eaten those noodles so fast, all this guilt makes him feel sick to his stomach.
But he still really doesn't want to apologize to this guy!
"Uh." Is Eisen serious about that demon abyss thing? Yuta looks bewildered. "...okay, I'll be careful. Your nose, um. It looks good. Just -- by the way." A slight prickle against Eisen's words as Yuta is called a 'kid'. It's not wrong, but it feels super annoying... Is this guy just designed to annoy him? Eisen even grimaces as he says it. What's that about?
Yuta taps one of his chopsticks against the table, a rhythmic pattern. "I don't want to hear anyone called that word. But especially not someone important to me. You say you don't understand..." Yuta looks at him hard -- focusing on the non-abyss-connected eye, just in case. "But what do you mean by that? Are you curious about us as a mad science thing? Or do you --"
It takes a moment to find the words. The chopsticks accelerate, a staccato beat. "Or do you actually care to understand us as people?" 'People' -- chosen carefully. Just in case. Who knows how much Eisen knows, or what would set him off. "If you can tell me honestly that you're interested out of the goodness of your heart, I'm happy to answer your questions."
<Pose Tracker> Eisen Daiwel has posed.
"Yes you did. You were angry, and didn't know how to deal with your feelings. So you resorted to the lizard brain tactic. And I sunk right in there with you." Eisen answers the youth, wondering if the way he talks is like that of an adult... or just someone who once took Psychology 101.
Yuta is quick to get to the bottom of things though, after that. And Eisen... evades his gaze. Looking at him like that, Eisen almost seems to shrink away from the gaze a bit. Almost like it's physically uncomfortable. He tries to make eye-contact for a moment, trying this best, almost like he's fighting some kind of battle...
But then looks away again.
There's a slight look of irritation, as those chopsticks tap against the table. Faster and faster. The youth bites his bottom lip, starting to look a bit annoyed.
Yuta has asked him a very direct and earnest question. But it comes with a but. And Eisen is having trouble not feeling like he has to reject Yuta. So he raises his hand, finger up. Almost like he's asking for a moment. "Can you please stop tapping your chopsticks on the table?" He asks.
Then, if Yuta goes with it, he seems to relax a bit. "You're asking a Mad Scientist if he's doing something out of the goodness of his heart." He then remarks, shaking his head a bit. In truth, the tapping was annoying, but that's not what's causing his facial muscles to show those little contractions of annoyance.
Because in truth, he doesn't know the answer. But Eisen is a man of science, and he really doesn't like saying 'I do not know' to things.
"I am here... for me." He then finally tries, stiffly. Before there's this sudden quick rapidfire of words, almost like it's something that has to come out, and could not be held back; "It's fine if you do not understand."
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
"Lizard?" Yuta looks baffled. "Sometimes it's like you're just making stuff up to try and sound smart." Yuta points a chopstick at Eisen. "You don't have to do that, you know."
Eisen seems uncomfortable with eye-contact. A nasty part of Yuta feels a thrill of victory, but he tries to crush that down. No. Even if they disagree, he shouldn't be a jerk. Yuta turns his gaze away from Eisen's non-abyss-laden eye, tracing a pattern in the false wood grain of the table. Eisen gets points for trying, anyway...
"Oh?" Yuta tilts his head, a wicked grin on his face. The chopstick stops in midair. "So even mad scientists have weaknesses. Sure." Placing the chopstick down with its twin, Yuta holds still. He's not going to be a jerk. Maybe he'll poke Eisen a little, but he's not going to be a jerk.
Yuta blinks in surprise. As Eisen relaxes, Yuta finds himself more at ease as well. Huh.
"You're not /just/ a mad scientist. You're a person, just like I am. We can be lots of things at once." Yuta says this... earnestly. With a smile. It's something he really, truly believes -- something he has to believe, for his own well-being.
A nod. Yuta's eyes get a bit more gentle. "In that case... Let me start by asking how much you know about Tsutsujidai. How it was created, and the people here."
Each question has an obvious answer. Yuta knows NERV has a lot of the truth about his home, but how much of that truth is passed down to their pilots? Eisen seems to be somewhat of a special case, but... Yuta takes a breath. How much is he going to tell this guy? Eisen is given an appraising look-over.
Does he seem sincere? Can Yuta trust this man? A sideways glance toward Calibur. The Samurai looks right back at Yuta, unmoving, offering no advice. Typical.
<Pose Tracker> Eisen Daiwel has posed.
"Lizard brain... it has to do with how the limbic system is basically all a lizard has. Basically, fight, flight, food, fear, that kind of thing." Eisen points out, giving Yuta a look. Almost like he's insulted that the youth might question his knowledge on something.
Eisen's shoulders finally seem to relax a bit though, when Yuta gives up on catching him into his gaze. Lifting his body, taking a moment to have some noodles again. For someone who is as Chuuni as Eisen can be, it is perhaps remarkable that he has so much trouble with just holding a gaze. Or perhaps it has more to do about when being at this kind of 'range'.
This personal. Talking to someone about... important things that aren't just science. Things that are less comfortable to speak of.
He does pointedly ignore the point about being a person who is something beyond just being a Mad Scientist.
"Honestly... my knowledge is limited. I know this place used to be on earth, near Tokyo for a while. It wasn't just the town though. We had to deal with the region around it as well. I deployed into the mountains... like, nine months ago? Some kind of Volcano Kaiju. I had to deal with that, and another assailant at the time." He begins. Showing immediately that his first meeting was somewhat of a hostile one already.
"I since learned more through Kaworu. That it's a town of... almost-people? I know Akane is basically the so called 'God' of this town, and that there's another entity involved somehow. The girl makes Kaiju, I'm not sure why, but they seem diametrically opposed to the one known as the Ultraman." Eisen seems focused on the conflict, rather than the people.
"It since moved here, at the site of Junius Seven. Which... probably bears significance." He points out. "And I know the term Chaos Bringer Effect has been brought up a lot in regards to that." He then motions to Yuta. "But I do not know much beyond that. As I said, trying to establish an understanding." He points out.
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
Would a Repli-Compoid even have a lizard brain? Yuta wonders on it for a moment, then decides to let it go. It's not important right now. Maybe Gridman would know...
Some of Eisen's mannerisms remind Yuta of a few of his classmates. Some of the girls can't handle annoying noises or eye contact, either. Nobody ever holds it against them, so he's not going to hold it against Eisen. It wouldn't be right.
Yuta listens carefully to Eisen's information. It's as he expected -- the mad scientist doesn't have the full picture. But if some of that information came from Kaworu, he must be trusthworthy. Yuta trusts Kaworu more than nearly anyone else. Eisen is strange, and unpleasant, but if he has Kaworu's faith?
Yuta nods.
"Alright... This is all going to sound really, really strange. But I swear to you, everything I say is true. I'll write my name in blood or whatever." Yuta says, half-remembering an oath he read about in an online scary story. "I'm going to start at the beginning. Some of this you already know, but it'll be easiest to just cover it all."
Blue eyes close briefly, then open. "Akane Shinjo was a human being like you. She found a contact from another... world, or dimension, or something, and he gave her the power to create a world of her own. That's Alexis, the Devil of Tsutsujidai. He's our real enemy, here. As for her world?" Yuta raises an arm, gesturing to Tsutsujidai at large. "She created us. That's why she's our God. Akane created every inch of Tsutsujidai, and every single one of us who lives here."
"We're not exactly human beings. I'm not sure exactly how we're different, but everyone created for Tsutsujidai is a Repli-Compoid. We've only existed as long as Tsutsujidai itself. The city used to exist in the uh." Yuta pauses, remembering. "Cognitive layer? Or something. But now it's here. And I know that's causing problems."
"Alexis is the one who gave Akane the power to create all of us, and the kaiju, too. Akane uses the kaiju to 'edit' her world, removing pieces she doesn't like. If you want to see what they're like, there's a dead one right over in the shopping district... It's kinda weird, though. Normally they're a lot tougher, but this one barely got punched and it just fell over, and it isn't disappearing like it should."
Yuta waves a hand. "Anyway. Alexis. If you really want to solve what's going on around here, he's the one who has to be taken out. He's the one who gave Akane the power to do all this. He's been manipulating and abusing her from the start, and he brings the kaiju to life."
He hesitates, here, looking away. A nervous frown is on Yuta's face. Will getting rid of Alexis destroy Tsutsujidai and make them all vanish? It doesn't matter. Saving Akane comes first.
Placing his arm down on the table, Yuta extends it toward Eisen. A red wristband stands out against the cheap tabletop.
"Gridman's goal is to kill Alexis and save Akane. Alexis' goal is to enable Akane to kill Gridman. If Alexis succeeds, Akane and Tsutsujidai will be out of reach forever. If Gridman succeeds... we don't really know. But no more kaiju will appear."
Yuta's other hand comes forward, peeling his wristband off. Some kind of silvery device springs into existence, an exact match for the device on Gridman's arm. "I'm Gridman's partner. I'm not going to reveal everyone else's secret except my own."
Once Eisen has gotten a good look at the Primal Acceptor, Yuta pulls his wristband back around it. Somehow, it's compressed so the red fabric lays flat. Brilliant, over-bright blue eyes stare into Eisen's. "I'm trusting you. I'm trusting you with the things most important to me. What are you going to do, now?"
<Pose Tracker> Eisen Daiwel has posed.
"I already accepted a city moving from near Tokyo to Junius Seven... I think I can handle strange." Eisen answers Yuta as he leans in, moving the Ramen aside. It's a gesture to make sure that Yuta understands he has his full attention. It's a gesture that is a bit more difficult to make than it might seem.
The youth quiets, leans his elbows to the table, and listens. Trying his best to focus his gaze near Yuta's lips. Or at least somewhere under his nose. That green eye whirring to life a bit again. Alexis - a name he remembers overhearing a few times. The Devil of Tsutsujidai - the 'other' in the equation. The one who actualizes the Kaiju.
Akane... a 'God' of a whole city, creating people. Kaiju to edit the world. It's hard to believe a God would need Kaiju to edit a world they themselves created, he considers for a moment.
"Repli-Compoid. Replica of a... Comp... oid. Computernoid?" The youth tries to fit some pieces together. "Simulated being then?" He remembers fighting that being within the computer realm. How things can live on that 'layer', as Yuta would put it. "So, computer beings brought into the real world somehow?" He asks.
"So basically, I've been looking at Akane, a... bit of a failure of a God - no offense - as the one at fault. But in truth, it's the 'God Above God' that is truly at fault, manipulating her." He is trying to repeat things after Yuta, trying to get at least a nod, or a refusal, making sure he's following everything. But then Yuta extends his hand towards him.
"I'm not into you that way." He remarks, staring down at the hand... before the wristman is taken off. Misinterpreting his gesture as one where he might have wanted him to take Yuta's hand.
Still, at the revalation of being Gridman's partner... or trusting him with important information, Eisen looks up at Yuta. Looking him in the eyes, however short he can hold that moment. And he says simply;
"Isn't it obvious?"
He leans back, and touches over his right eye. The green light springing further to life.
"I will slay a God of Gods." He declares, with a violent grin on his face.
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
"We don't know." Yuta admits, as Eisen tries to work out the truth behind the Repli-Compoids. "It's never been explored. We've never existed before, so there's no answers to turn to. I have no idea what's different about us from you."
Maybe this is something a Mad Scientist could attend to?
A nod, as Eisen repeats the main concepts. "Yeah, you've got the important parts." Then -- a quiet snort, as Eisen thinks Yuta is coming on to him. "You're really not my type. No offense."
Eisen meets Yuta's eyes. The gesture is recognized for what it means -- Yuta holding his gaze as long as the other man can bear it, looking away when it gets to be too much for him. Anxiety roils in Yuta's heart. What if he just revealed everything to someone who will go straight to try and kill Akane, or harm Tsutsujidai? He waits for Eisen to speak...
And breaks into a grin.
Yuta offers his hand again, directly across the table. One half of a handshake.
"I was hoping you'd say that. Want to team up? I may not be a mad scientist, but I'm pretty good in a fight." Another grin. "Well, when I'm a bit taller."
He hates to admit it, but... That green glow is actually pretty cool.
<Pose Tracker> Eisen Daiwel has posed.
Eisen instinctively grabs for that hand and lifts it. Refusing to just do a handshake, he presses Yuta's gesture up, adjusts his hand's position, and makes for one of those 'brothers in arms' kind of grips. Elbows just above the table. As if they're about to start to armwrestle - but then thought better of it.
"Of course." He answers. It's that simple to get Eisen on one's side. Simply lure him with whispers of getting to slay ancient gods from unknown realms! Easy.
He then releases him and shakes his head a bit. "But I wonder how that is going to work. If this Alexis being gave Akane the ability to create... including yourself. What has stopped her from just... editing you out? I assume because of Gridman, she can't simply do so because she needs to use Kaiju to edit you out. Honestly, normally I'd expect this to be a kind of 'structurally supporting boss' kind of situation. But there are some Cause and Effect things going on that are strange."
Eisen leans back, leaving the ramen bowl be for the time being.
"Aren't you afraid that... if Alexis is gone... Akane loses her power... that she'll be alone?"
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
Yuta looks surprised at the gesture, but goes with it, his smile growing brighter. "That was cool!" Holding Eisen's hand tightly, Yuta tries to look just as manly. It's debatable if it pays off, but he's making an effort.
"I'm not sure. We've wondered that too. Why doesn't she just have a kaiju crush my apartment?" Yuta wonders, placing his hands back on the tabletop. "Maybe she has to specifically destroy Gridman himself, like you said. And since he's from another world, too, he could be immune to the kaiju editing?"
"Alexis also has some kind of invulnerability going on, too. My comrades saw Gridman Sigma fight him, and Alexis just took no damage, no matter what Sigma did. It was like he was playing." This may be important information for the would-be godslayer. "He's got to have some kind of weakness, but going at him with guns blazing won't be enough."
Eisen says Yuta's quiet fear out loud, and Yuta looks down, nervously rubbing at his wristband.
"I --" A pause. He swallows. "I haven't existed for that long anyway."
It's Yuta's turn to be unable to meet his companion's eyes. "If that's how things go. I'm going to be counting on the friends we've made here to take care of her for us. I know she's hurt so many people, but I have to believe there's still someone who would give her a second chance. Shinji, maybe, or Alouette."
<Pose Tracker> Eisen Daiwel has posed.
A grin is given in reply to Yuta's exclaimation of coolness. Eisen knows what's hip and cool with the kids these days!
"Hmm - maybe. But if you say - there's invulnerability. Then indeed, there must be something. Perhaps the Evangelions can help -- they are uniquely suited to breaking barriers apart. But... in the end, perhaps that is the kind of information that needs to come from a different source. Someone who is far more intimately familiar with the Devil." He proposes to Yuta, speaking of Akane of course. "Otherwise, maybe we can ask Kaworu. He has a way of finding information." He bids to him.
Things are going pretty positive, that is, until Yuta remarks that it may be okay because... he hasn't existed for that long anyway.
This strikes a very particular chord with Eisen, and it isn't pleasant. With Yuta looking away from his eyes, it means he gets a good look at Eisen's hands balling into fists.
"How long you've been alive has nothing to do with it." He practically hisses through his teeth. It seems he has forgotten the topic of Akane entirely in favor of this one. Suddenly grabbing him by the shirt and pulling Yuta a bit towards the table. It's a firm and heavy gesture, but not one of violence. Not one made to harm.
Eisen's green eye lights up, and he stares him right in the eyes if he can help it. "You look at me." He practically growls. A practiced tone, no doubt. "You take that back. No matter how short your life has been, it has impacted the lives of those around you. You matter. So take responsibility for all the bonds you've created, the lives you've changed, and you reconsider those words, Yuta!"
What's Eisen suddenly getting all upset at!?
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
Eisen smiles! That's gotta be a rare sight. Yuta almost wants to whip his phone up and snap a pic, but he refrains. They're just starting to build trust, after all.
"Kaworu does have a way with these things." Yuta says, his smile turning fond. "But maybe... There's a kaiju Akane made, a human one. I know he had run-ins with Alexis, too. I don't think Akane would tell us anything, but if we could find him... Or maybe, if Gridman got his memories back. I have no idea how likely that is, though."
Wait, why are Eisen's hands balling into fists? Yuta's about to open his mouth to ask, when--
"Eisen!" Yuta manages, shocked. He's forced to half-stand at the table, stomach pressed against its edge. Blue eyes are wide with confusion, and a little fear. Yuta knows, intimately, that Eisen could pull him right over the table if he wanted, but this is still frightening! "I--I'm looking--!"
Mouth opening, then closing, Yuta looks utterly bewildered. "W--why are you so upset..?" It doesn't seem like he's going to be let go until he does what Eisen says, so Yuta goes on. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean -- I just --" A pause, he swallows. "I'm sorry. You're right. I'm happy existing. I /want/ to exist. I'm scared to disappear. I want to stay here."
Will he fade away? Like the boy he was before his amnesia? The thought makes Yuta's chest tight with fear.
"I take it back." A little wobbly smile. "But Eisen, are you alright?"
Why would anyone be so upset by a concept like this? Yuta reaches out, putting a hand on Eisen's shoulder, even if he's still pulled by his shirt collar. "If -- there's anything you want to talk about, I'm here. I told you all my secrets, right? It's only fair that I listen."
<Pose Tracker> Eisen Daiwel has posed.
Eisen releases Yuta the moment he gives his first sorry and says he wants to stay. But he still gives him a very carefully measured shove back, to put him back into his seat. He then motions at the Ramen and mumbles that he's lost his appetite, as if that really means anything at that point.
Eisen feels upset, and a tad angry with Yuta. But he also gets that the youth was speaking out of despair, or desperation. Someone who is too used to putting himself before others. Or so, he hopes.
"Of course you are scared to disappear." He grumbles, "Death is scary. To stop existing is scary." He remarks, letting out a big huff. His shoulders still tense. It's clear that while he's let go of Yuta, Eisen isn't really calmed down at the moment. Something something Lizard Brain?
When Yuta reaches out with a hand to his shoulder, Eisen jerks his shoulder back. "Don't." And starts to get up, tapping the table. "I rather not speak of this. That is a particular part of this demon that is better remaining buried." Especially for a young boy like this. Besides, what will Yuta do? The past is in the past. Nothing is going to change.
'What would talking help' - he thinks to himself.
'I cannot saddle a boy with that'.
"Look, I think I should go. I've learned what I need to. Preparing for the battle is a task you are uniquely suited for. But I will assist where I can, alright?" He's changing the topic as he stands up, looking away from Yuta. Hurried to leave. Not liking that his chest is hurting due to... what, emotional pain?
He thought he was over this.
<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.
"Oof--!"
Yuta lands back in his seat. Eisen seems closed off, suddenly, grumbling and jerking away from him. Yuta murmurs an apology for the unwanted touch, and nods as Eisen says he doesn't want to talk about it.
"You don't have to do anything you don't want to." Yuta offers, his hands carefully down at his sides. "But, um, if you change your mind. I'll be here, okay? Day or night. Here, hang on--"
Pulling a pen from his school bag, Yuta scribbles his phone number down on a napkin, along with an address labeled "Aya". He offers it to Eisen by sliding it across the table. No chance of accidentally touching.
Eisen's leaving as quickly as he can. Yuta feels guilty, lowering his head in a nod that doesn't quite come back up. Should he apologize again? "Alright. Travel safely, Eisen, okay? And I'll let you know if anything changes out here. Um, next time! I'll treat you to some lunch! As a thanks for listening."
Yuta stands as well, sliding out from the booth to bow gently. "Thank you. I'm glad we were able to talk and all that. And I'm glad you'll have my back in all this." A pause. "...and I'm sorry I punched you."
<Pose Tracker> Eisen Daiwel has posed.
Eisen calms just a bit, just enough to slow down when Yuta urges that he doesn't have to do anything he doesn't want to. The permission of an adult. Not that of a child. Children do not get to do anything they want to.
Yuta can't see it, but Eisen makes for a small ironic smile.
He turns, waiting for him to write down on the napkin. That right eye whirrs for a moment, closing for a moment like an old photograph with a sliding iris, and then opens again. "Got it." Eisen answers him, not moving to pick up the napkin.
There's a short nod, before he turns fully and steps away, while lifting a hand.
"And no you're not." As he steps on out.