Maruki sat still, his fingers curling against the edge of the table. His jaw tightened, and his chest rose and fell with deliberate breaths as he stared at the words hanging in the air between them. Drake’s sneering insult gnawed at the last frayed edges of his patience. For a moment, he genuinely considered standing up, walking away, and leaving this conversation to rot under the weight of its own bitterness.
But he didn’t move.
Instead, his gaze dropped to the table, his hands clenching tightly as he tried to steady himself. No. That’s not who I am. That’s not who I want to be. His frustration began to shift, not toward Drake, but inward, coiling deep within his own chest.
"Have I ever seen someone as beneath me?" he finally muttered, the words slow and deliberate, as if testing them in his own mouth. He shook his head, almost in disbelief, his voice gaining strength. "No. That’s...that can't be true." His eyes flicked back up to Drake,anger replaced by something else instead- vulnerability. "I don’t see you—or anyone else here—as beneath me. You are leading a team against such a magnaminous threat- its nothing I could do."
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But he didn’t move.
Instead, his gaze dropped to the table, his hands clenching tightly as he tried to steady himself. No. That’s not who I am. That’s not who I want to be. His frustration began to shift, not toward Drake, but inward, coiling deep within his own chest.
"Have I ever seen someone as beneath me?" he finally muttered, the words slow and deliberate, as if testing them in his own mouth. He shook his head, almost in disbelief, his voice gaining strength. "No. That’s...that can't be true." His eyes flicked back up to Drake,anger replaced by something else instead- vulnerability. "I don’t see you—or anyone else here—as beneath me. You are leading a team against such a magnaminous threat- its nothing I could do."