Zenkichi let out a quiet breath through his nose—not quite a scoff, but not far from one either. His fingers tightened slightly around the wrapped taiyaki she’d handed him, the warmth of it grounding, but not soothing. Not entirely.
"You know a bollard collapses if the pressure’s too much, right?" he muttered, tone clipped but not unkind. "Steel or no steel—if the current’s strong enough, if the mooring line’s strained too hard, it snaps. Or worse—yanks the damn thing clean off the dock."
He didn’t meet her eyes at first. Just stared down at the taiyaki like it might give him some sort of answer if he stared hard enough. Then his gaze flicked up—sharp, tired, and carrying the weight of someone who’d seen too many plans backfire in ways that left real scars.
"I get it, okay? I get why you’re trying. You want to believe the best in people. You want to believe they can change, that they’re worth it. Hell, I envy you for still being able to hold onto that. Or maybe that is Igor's grand goal...by trapping us all here for an indefinite time. I could age ten times over here and I still might not put a dent on Ichinose's plans.”
There was a pause. A beat where his voice nearly cracked, but didn’t. Zenkichi was always too practiced at swallowing those moments before they could rise.
"She still believes in her cause," he closed his eyes as he rested the hand on the taiyaki held on his lap. "It's why she's sticking around Maruki. Their ideals align, me interfering just...skipped a few more steps of pretend."
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"You know a bollard collapses if the pressure’s too much, right?" he muttered, tone clipped but not unkind. "Steel or no steel—if the current’s strong enough, if the mooring line’s strained too hard, it snaps. Or worse—yanks the damn thing clean off the dock."
He didn’t meet her eyes at first. Just stared down at the taiyaki like it might give him some sort of answer if he stared hard enough. Then his gaze flicked up—sharp, tired, and carrying the weight of someone who’d seen too many plans backfire in ways that left real scars.
"I get it, okay? I get why you’re trying. You want to believe the best in people. You want to believe they can change, that they’re worth it. Hell, I envy you for still being able to hold onto that. Or maybe that is Igor's grand goal...by trapping us all here for an indefinite time. I could age ten times over here and I still might not put a dent on Ichinose's plans.”
There was a pause. A beat where his voice nearly cracked, but didn’t. Zenkichi was always too practiced at swallowing those moments before they could rise.
"She still believes in her cause," he closed his eyes as he rested the hand on the taiyaki held on his lap. "It's why she's sticking around Maruki. Their ideals align, me interfering just...skipped a few more steps of pretend."