A Need vs. A Wish

[Jak Halcom]

Thread Title: A Need vs. A Wish
Participants: Jak, Sizuka
World: Human World
Death Setting: Non Death Enabled
Rating: PG-13
Location: The darkened streets of Karakura town. The deserted streets and allys always made an excellent battle ground for fights around town.
Special Conditions:
Circumstances: Jak is struggling with his inner demons. The muderous urges are growing stronger, and his will to endure the curse of his demon heritage is reaching its end. Is his demon powers something he needs to survive or should he be rid of it?

[Jak Halcom]

Jak stumbled from ally way to ally way, as if he was in some sort of drunken haze. He leaned from one wall to another allowing his arms and shoulder to scrape against the brick walls before stumbling back into the middle of the ally. His head hung low, and his arms hung limply from his shoulders. He was like a zombie shambling in the night. His breathing was heavy, and something was dripping from his arms. 

It was blood. Blood dripped from his arms, but it was not his blood. It was the blood of some unfortunate young men who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. They were no one society would have missed, but the fact remains that he killed them in cold blood. Almost on sight, he had a sudden urge to kill them. He wanted to wipe them off the face of the earth. Grind them into dust, and that was just what he did. 

He had managed to come out of his blood lust only to see what he was becoming. He was becoming what he swore he never would turn into. He was becoming a monster. He didn't know what to do, or how to keep himself from losing himself to his own blood lust. So he did the only thing he could do. He ran. He ran and ran until he could run no more. He made it into the main street before he slumped down to rest. He curled his legs to his chest trying to remain calm.

[Shizuka Sanamizu ✮]

On her way back from a meeting, Shizuka was walking down the street delightfully clicking her golden designer heels along the concrete. She loved the sound they made. Each one made her happier than the last and she felt more elegant than ever. Wearing her usual outfit of choice with the star symbol embellishments, Shizuka turned a head or two as she cat-walked down the side of the road. She debated going into a couple of the stores, but she figured it was best not to since she didn't even bring her Michael Kors bag. Basically, she had no money on her. Or at all. She was broke.

The blonde woman sighed. She was so disappointed. She purchased a Soul Gauge from Urahara because she can't read anyone's strength on her own. She hated that about herself. Everyone always seemed to know what she was and how strong she was by sensing it somehow but she never could do the same. So instead, she figured a machine would do it for her. She would still never know what a person was right off the bat, but it made it easier for her to deal with them if she had some numbers being shown to her. She could make the comparison.

What even made energy sensory so special, anyway? Who cares, right? She could still figure out what a person was by asking! Besides, the more contact she's had with people has helped. She can identify most Shinigami and can sort of tell who might be a Quincy, and other Fullbringers were a breeze! But, then again, she barely ever came into contact with any of the other races. She finally had the chance to learn about all of them now. She knew about some weird race called the Beasts or something, which kind of made her giggle. She was almost jealous, though. It would be cool to be a cat person.

Shizuka's mind-babble kept her busy while she was walking back home after a successful day. Xcution was admiring her for her increased job count and wonderful job results from recent missions and were telling her that she was definitely making a wonderful contribution towards the company. A real asset, they called her! What a compliment! It was amazing to be with them, as well. She kind of liked the sense of adventure and the way that they kept her busy. She loved helping those in need, too! Being a hero! That's what Xcution was about, right? That's what she was told, anyway.

As Shizuka kept walking, she noticed something strange happen. A man was going back and forth between alleyways and just acting weird altogether. It was confusing her, so Shizuka decided to check it out. She had powers, so she wasn't really afraid of many things anymore. She could take people out with her strength and speed, alone. Regular humans didn't stand a chance against her! But what she didn't realize right away was that this wasn't a normal human. This was an Nakabakki. They were some sort of demon or something from what Shizuka remembered. And she knew this one.

"Jak?" Shizuka whispered, not expecting anyone to hear her.

He looked so upset. There was something going on with him that was freaking her out. He was cutting up his arm on purpose, it seemed. It looked like it was hurting. Shizuka became concerned rather quickly and tried to move closer to him to get a better look. But, wait... That wasn't his blood! His arm was fine! This blood had to belong to someone else, which meant there was a corpse somewhere close by. What was going on with this guy? Before Shizuka could completely catch up, he made a break for it. He ran into the street and stopped, slumping over and resting himself.

The Fullbringer approached the Nakabakki in a calm manner. If he had blood on his hands, literally, that meant he was going through some sort of really heavy crisis. She didn't want to mess with him too much if it meant disrupting his calming ritual, but she knew she needed to try to help. She remembered when she fought him before and how easy it seemed to be back then. Shizuka's Soul Gauge reacted to him and opened over her left eye, showing her his stats. He was definitely stronger than when they last met. Being cautious was necessary. The Soul Gauge retreated back into its compact form.

"Jak, is that you? Are you okay?"

Shizuka got close to Jak and placed her right hand on his clean shoulder so she could stand next to him. She wasn't as calming as her friend Hebika was, but she hoped she could do something to help ease his nerves. She had nothing against Nakabakki, and she actually felt genuinely saddened by his overall being. He was upset about something. Her empathy picked up on it and she immediately felt his emotions. He was confused about something and she wanted to try to help him. She just hoped he wouldn't take her the wrong way and start a fight again, but she was ready if he did.

[Jak Halcom]

There was a voice in his head telling him to unleash his anger. Make them feel his wrath. It wanted him to burn everything. Reduce everything to ciders...kill....kill...KILL!!! Jak put his hands to his temples trying fight the growing headache was was getting from resisting his murderous impulses. He could feel himself slipping back into the madness. No, no he did not want to go back. He did not want to lose himself!

"Jak, is that you? Are you okay?" That voice it was not the one that was driving him insane. It was softer, kinder, much more gentle. He recognized the voice. His eyes shot open and he looked up at her. His eyes were wide like someone scared to death. His breathing grew heavier. No why did she have to come now!? The impulses were getting stronger. The voice was getting louder. It was happening again, and there was nothing he could do to stop him. 

"Please...go," He whispered to her jumping to his feet. He turned his back to her covering his ears with his hands. Whatever she would say would be lost to him. "Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up," He whispered as they got louder and louder and faster and faster. The voice would not stop. He could not longer hold himself back. "GOOOO!" He shouted as he unleashed his spiritual pressure on the area around him. She would feel it, but it would do little to her.

He started laughing maniacally. It started as a low chuckle, but quickly grew to a loud cackle. He suddenly turned to Shizuka. A wide smile was on his face, and a murderous intent in his eyes. An orb of crimson energy gathered in his right hand and suddenly he threw it with all his strength. He then used movement to preposition himself back and to the side firing another two dozen quickly. Instead of hitting Shizuka immediately, they hovered in place all around her. With a clench of his fist, they all converged on her at the same time.

Spirit Bolt Barrage -150, Movement -25, Spirit Bolt -50 1465/1690

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler - Stats/Skills}
Strength - 300 + 25% = 375 Points

Speed - 200 Points

Spiritual Pressure - 225 - 25% = 169 Points

Reiatsu Strength - 200 + 25% = 250 Points

Light Aura - 50 Points

Dark Aura - 50 Points

Instinct - 140 - 25% = 105 Points

Senses - 85 Points

Energy sensory - 50 + 25% = 63 Points

Healing Expertise - 0 Points

Skills:

Street Fighting 2

Sword 1

Bleeding Resistance 2

Strength of Will 1

Pain Tolerance 2

Heat Resistance 1

Damage Recovery 1

Weapon Skill (Chain) 2

[Shizuka Sanamizu ✮]

He was acting strange. Stranger than Shizuka remembered, anyway. It had been a few months since she last encountered Jak but he looked and seemed so different compared to back then. His general appearance was the same but something about him seemed so off. So distraught. Was he angry about something? Well, Shizuka had to dismiss that assumption because he was always angry. But she also didn't know him that well. During these two times that she's met him, he was always eager for a fight and just completely on fire. Figuratively, of course.

Shizuka was unsure of what to do about him. She wanted to be able to subdue him but she wasn't sure how, and that only made things more complicated. She rather didn't enjoy the idea of having to fight him, especially since that would make things a little complicated given their location and who was around, but if people saw a weird fight about to happen then it wouldn't matter and they would run. If they tried calling the cops, Shizuka knew she and Jak could probably get away. But for now, she would try to be as stealthy as possible.

It was strange, though, how Jak appeared to be so upset about something. Or maybe startled was the better word? It wasn't very clear at that time. Shizuka was trying to get a proper feel for how and why he was acting this way, and why he had blood all over his arm. Actually, now that Shizuka was paying more attention, her thought about the blood was right. It didn't belong to him. He didn't look hurt and there was no continuous bleeding. What was on him seemed more dried up and old, but this was causing her to worry.

After attempting to get his attention, Jak started reacting violently. He began speaking and entering some kind of strange daze, almost, that made him that much scarier. He started in a whisper but jumped up and covered his ears, probably as a sign that he didn't want to hear her talk. What was causing him so much grief, though? Why was he acting this way and struggling so much? And, more importantly, who was the person that he killed? Shizuka hoped so desperately that there wasn't more than one victim but she couldn't be sure.

That was when he lost it. He started screaming and laughing and becoming absolutely psychotic. He blasted his spiritual pressure around the area, but it felt like nothing more than a slight wave to Shizuka. She had known from looking through her Soul Gauge that he was stronger than last time they met, but his numbers in a few areas were still a bit lower than her own. That was fine, though. That didn't matter. What did matter was the fact that her fear became a reality and he was ready to attack.

He was fast and Shizuka was caught off guard, but she centered herself and focused as much as possible despite Jak's speed. She was lucky in that his attack paused for even a second, because it gave her the chance to immediately use Bringer Light and jump straight up to get out of the way. Her eyes were locked on Jak the entire time. Since he was so close to her, there was no way he wouldn't be blinded from the bright light emitted from the step technique. Her speed was even ten times faster than normal, which would be enough to avoid his attack and safely get out of the way.

She didn't want to have to release against him because she knew that she would potentially hurt him, but he was physically stronger than she was now. She couldn't just break his arms anymore. She needed to think of something else. She kept herself in the air with air ground, but wanted to see if he was going to come at her again with a different technique. For now, she decided it would be best if she kept her distance and hoped he would tire himself out. She wasn't sure if that would work, but Shizuka wasn't about to let her guard down, either. This was very different from before.

She considered using Gravity against him once again since it worked well last time, but who was to say that it could work again here? She didn't want to waste her energy if she didn't have to, and that was extremely important to remember. He seemed like he was going to become way more exhausted than she will much quicker, but that just meant that he was going to come at her with everything he had quicker, as well. Once this was all over, she had some questions she needed him to answer.



Shizuka's Remaining Reiatsu: 4950 (-50 for Bringer Light)

SPOILER: Click to show

{Shizuka's Stats}

Strength - [100] Points

Speed - [300] Points

Spiritual Pressure - [200] = [500] Points

Reiatsu Strength - [400] = [1000] Points

Light Aura - [60] Points

Dark Aura - [40] Points

Instinct - [200] = [100] Points

Senses [200] = [100] Points

Energy sensory - [0] Points

Healing Expertise - [0] Points

Total SP: [1400] Points

SPOILER: Click to show

{Shizuka's Skills}

[Analyzing] {3}

[Weapon: Gun] {3}

[Stealth] {3}

[Strength of Will] {3}

[Honeypotting - The art of manipulation to obtain information. Basically, a girl gathers enough information about her target - male or female, doesn't matter - and dresses accordingly or changes how she acts to be able to get them to do whatever she wants or tell her what she needs to hear.] {3}

[Jak Halcom]

Jak had to shield his eyes from the blinding light growling loudly as the light stung his eyes. Once he was able to see again he looked up and saw her. So she thought that she was safe up there? Even though he was in this murderous state, he was still able to think. He knew that as he was, he still couldn't got into a physical fight with her. He wanted to see how she will react when she saw his released form. He smiled up at her laughing that psychotic laugh.

"I don't believe that you ever saw my released form." He said calling up to her. He looked at her his laughter growing louder. His body heat started to grow rapidly. His arm started to glow brightly fire consuming it. The flames soon spread to the rest of his body. He started growing another foot high, and his muscles expanded. His whole body was bright red from the shear heat of his body. His body heat alone reached 300 degrees F. He also grew another pair of arms underneath his natural pair of arms. On his top pair of hands were a pair of gauntlets with four black blades extending out two feet. A pair of horns wrapped around his head completing the demon look.


He grew a pair of large phoenix wings made of pure fire. He flew right for her trailing fire behind his wings. He would use movement again to get behind her. He would move much faster than what movement would normally allow. She might have known that he was behind her due to the extreme heat that his body was giving off, but once he was there, he would immediately throw a right punch with his second set of hands. 

Now only will this cause burns on her physical body, but also on he soul as well. He would then press the attack trying to fly close to her again if she moved. He would try to wrap all four of his arms around her body pinning her to him. If that succeeded, he would then hold as tight as he could squeezing her as well as flying down to the ground as fast as he could. He would throw her to the ground just as he pulled up hovering over her several feet in the air. (If either the punch or grab succeed, then she would have soul burn)

Saisei Oni Primera -450 Movement -50 1140/1690

[Shizuka Sanamizu ✮]

Shizuka couldn't believe it. The strange boy she once knew had turned into a monster before her very eyes. She was unsure of how to handle something like this, especially since the last thing she wanted to do was hurt him. However, she also knew that she may need to do so either way. It was unfair, especially since she hated having to use her powers against people she found innocent. It tortured her on the inside. Despite being an assassin, it was terribly difficult for her to dehumanize someone who didn't deserve to be killed.

Then again, she was able to block out her empathy during her missions so that she could complete them effortlessly and timelessly. She had no room to make a mistake and she never did. Well, not yet, anyway. She avoided mistakes like the plague and didn't want this time to be any different. It was just so frustrating because she knew Jak and understood that he wasn't a bad guy. He was just flustered by something and she couldn't figure out what it was, exactly. It annoyed Shizuka so much that it actually occupied most of her mind babble.

He laughed at her maniacally. He was controlled by bloodlust and the insatiable desire to kill, but Shizuka had innocently been in his way. Now she couldn't avoid him anymore and she had to think of some kind of comeback. She assumed he would quickly become unstoppable, especially since Nakabakki have some odd abilities that have so rarely been seen before. Shizuka read somewhere in the library in Byrpesia that Nakabakki have a tendency to use mostly techniques over their released forms, but she wasn't entirely sure why. Perhaps they didn't need to release and they were just very strong. If that was the case, Shizuka was worried she'd be in deep trouble.

"I don't believe that you ever saw my released form."

Jak was smiling an evil smile that shattered Shizuka right to the bone. He wasn't any normal kind of person, and she doubted he was even a person at all. She desperately hoped that somewhere inside of him was his old self, and maybe he wasn't as crazy as he seemed. She had beaten him once before but felt terrible, so she tried to help his wounds as much as she could after he calmed down. Admittedly, she developed a soft spot for the guy and wanted the best for him. However, that only meant that it hurt her more to see him like this.

And as she thought, her horrible nightmare came true. Jak's body began to grow and constrict and contort in ways Shizuka never thought imaginable. He grew appendages and limbs and horns and everything in ways she could not have possibly described even if she wanted to. It was frightening and powerful and so incredibly heated due to the fire that was bursting all around him. Shizuka couldn't help but step back away as much as she could, which was only a few steps. The heat was so intense that it was practically melting her.

Everything became hotter and hotter as he approached her at blazing speeds, far more than she could have ever imagined from any form of Movement. Shizuka really didn't want to have to release against Jak but she was beginning to get incredibly worried for her own safety. The Fullbringer got lucky, and as he appeared behind her, she was just barely fast enough (being slightly faster than Jak) to turn around and dodge the punch that was aimed towards her by ducking out of the way. As soon as she felt the heat engulfing her body, she knew that he was planning on attacking her at close range. She was able to analyze his muscle movements once she turned in order to determine that he was going to throw a punch so that she had time to duck.

Immediately after she ducked and without wasting a single second, she instantaneously used her own Movement to distance herself about 20 meters in front of him. She couldn't allow herself to play the escape game anymore and decided it was about time she acted more serious. He was being incredibly violent, so she knew there was no reasoning with him. She didn't have any proper techniques to counter his attacks without having to release on her own, so she was getting angry with herself. She knew she only had one option.

"I could say the same about you," Shizuka stated, responding to him from before.

Shizuka's golden designer shoes began to glow a bright purple. She mouthed the words "Beach Queen" as the light given off from the transforming items changed into shapes that resembled a large water gun and an averagely sized bucket. The bucket fell to the ground and Shizuka caught the falling light from the gun in her hands, then rested it against her right shoulder with only her right hand holding on to the trigger. She quickly determined the best liquid for a case like his and decided hydrofluoric acid would work best. It was highly corrosive, toxic, and even the evaporated gaseous state that would ultimately result from his heated body would essentially be impossible to avoid breathing in. Even though the effects of the acid aren't always easily felt or seen at first, it takes hardly any time at all for it to hurt somebody. Now all she wanted to do was see where he would go with her.



Shizuka's Remaining Reiatsu: 4725 (-200 for Beach Queen, -25 for Movement)
Fullbring Stage 1: 1/10
Liquid Type: Hydrofluoric Acid
Gallons Remaining: 100/100

[Jak Halcom]

The woman escaped from his grasp with another step tech. He looked over at her and saw that he shoes were glowing. His was curios about what was going on. He never really fought a released fullbringer before. The last one he fought didn't release at all, and that knight was barley a challenge for Jak when he was serious. In his altered mind set, he hoped that she was much stronger that that knight was. 

When he went crazy like this, he only has a few things on his mind. He wanted to fight. He wanted to push himself and fight the most powerful people that he could. He also wanted to destroy anything weaker than him. He wanted everything to burn all around him until nothing remained but ash. Jak laughed again before focusing his flames to his bladed gauntlets. One that was done he would use the mod soul movement technique to rapidly approuch and get close, and again to get behind her. 

He would try to slash at her with the fiery metal scorching her flesh and tearing it from her body at the same time. If she would move away from him, he would slash the air with his left set of blades and send a wave of fire right at her. he would stay behind the technique as close as possible. He did not want to get too far away from the woman. He didn't know what she was capable off, but he didn't care that much ether.

[Shizuka Sanamizu ✮]

Jak was definitely being super serious. More so than Shizuka ever remembered from him before. He was so much stronger now and significantly more intimidating than she remembered, and that alone was enough to freak her out. He wasn't really making a ton of sense with his actions but he never did to start, so she hadn't expected much of a difference in general. Actually, she was almost hoping he would have improved since they last met but she knew that was wishful thinking. Jak wasn't going to kill her, but she was worried that he'd finally be able to hurt her.

Shizuka's fighting was always different from people like him. With his natural personality, he was already susceptible to being heavily influenced by rage. Shizuka tended to push rage aside and become more calculating, more analytical, when she battled someone. Jak was the type to give in to emotions, especially these negative ones, which meant he had virtually zero inhibitors. As an assassin, Shizuka was trained with a similar emotional closing as to release any inhibitions she had, but it could be difficult when she felt such intense love at the same time. Targets were one deal. She dehumanized them. Friends or people she once showed compassion for, however, were another story completely.

When all of this was finally over, though, Shizuka decided that she was going to do her best, win or lose, to get his attention and make him talk. She needed to know what was going on in his head that forced him to be so violent towards people. Was it just him? Or maybe it was something that happened to him. This could all be reactive. This might not be him at all! Unless it is? Ugh, all of this was so confusing. Aside from Jak, Shizuka had never met anyone who was so likely to go out of control like this. Not even some of the most dangerous people on earth acted this way.

That didn't matter, though. Well, it kind of did, especially since they somehow managed to keep it together more than Jak could, but it didn't matter to the extend that he was any similar to those people. They killed more for purpose or status whereas Jak has been killing for dramatic effect or worse; he's been killing for fun. Shizuka pushed the thought out of her mind quickly before it got too intense for her to handle. Killing for sport wasn't meant for anyone. She had a job to do as an assassin, so killing people was justified. But for sport? No way, that's just not natural!

Jak started gathering flames to his blades. He was focusing his energy, which gave Shizuka barely any time before he would choose how to move. She assumed it could go one of two ways. He would attack her head on, which meant he may either try to move at his own pace or use a step technique the way she had been to avoid missing. So far, the patterns learned towards this option. The other option was if he decided to lure her closer to him, which was unlikely. She was more of the luring type. He was too angry to have any majorly formulated plans.

Hoping for the best, Shizuka aimed her gun quickly as he gathered the flames to his blades. Her natural speed was faster than his which is why he used techniques to move faster or catch her off guard, but it also meant she had the chance to attack him while he did something else. Her guns matched her natural speed as of now, which was definitely the upper hand here. Jak was too busy focusing his energy on his flames and his next moves as he prepared to attack, so that left Shizuka a short but possible opening to take advantage of. As the flames gathered, she quickly pulled the trigger three times on her Blast Cannon setting, unleashing thirty gallons of hydrofluoric acid straight for the fire, then to his left, and to his right in that order. Each movement was immediate after the other, leaving virtually no time gaps. This prevented any further movement from him.

The secret to this acid is that, like most other acids, it was actually highly combustible when in contact with an uncontrolled flame the way his was flowing. The acid wasn't specifically aimed for his body, but she knew he would assume it was so he could think he was safe until it hit the blades. Succeeding would mean that the acid would not only spray across his body, but it would also combust upon immediate contact with the flames. This would create a combination of painful smoke and steam since even the fumes of this acid were damaging and could cause harmful burns. Even he couldn't escape those effects.

In addition to the cloud she formed, Shizuka would use Movement once again to get behind him as fast as possible immediately after firing her shots so every move she made was instantaneous. This would give her time to escape, as well, if he planned on pursuing her. She appeared roughly twenty meters behind Jak, enough of a distance to where she could still fire at him but stay far enough away to avoid him. Immediately after appearing in that spot, she shot another thirty gallons directly at Jak from the center, left side, and right side of his body, respectively. This was to replicate her attack from before so it would provide coverage and a form of explosion against his body along with her plan to keep him from moving. She hoped this strategy would prove to be right.



Shizuka's Remaining Reiatsu: 4700 (-25 for Movement)
Fullbring Stage 1: 2/10
Liquid Type: Hydrofluoric Acid
Gallons Remaining: 40/100 (-60 for Blast Cannon)

[Jak Halcom]

The acid met the stream of fire which resulted in a large explosion. It was still far enough away where Jak wasn't immediatly hit with the effects of the acid in the air and smoke. Jak was about to throw his second wave of flames when the target disappeared. By the time he was able to turn around and see her, he was already hit by three bursts of the acid. Since one set of blades were still on fire, the heat was enough to ignite the acid and send him flying into a wall.

He cried out in pain, but it was not the pain of the acid that was causing him to scream. He put his hands to his head, as he thrashed around as if fighting some unseen enemy. The two parts of Jak's mind were in battle as much as Jak's body was fighting Sizuka. He fell to his knees hands out stretched to the ground. He was panting as he regained his senses for a time. He was still in his demon form, so he didn't know if she would still attack him on sight or not.

"Why..." he whispered softly in a lower more rumbling voice than his normal voice. "Why am i cursed with this power!" He slammed one of his fists against the concrete ground easily cracking it. "What am I with these powers?" He asked himself more than Sizuka. "I am a monster, but what am I without them? How will i be able to kill the shinigami that took her from me without my father's powers!?" He slammed his fists again getting more upset again. This time sadness taking hold.

[Shizuka Sanamizu ✮]

Shizuka was confused by what Jak was asking. He seemed to be really worked up, but even after she had hurt him with her acid, he wasn't about to deactivate his powers. He must have felt threatened. Shizuka knew it might be risky, but she decided that it might be best to talk to him without her gun in the picture. For now, instead of getting rid of it completely, she simply placed her gun on the ground beside her and closed the distance between the two of them. She could still feel the heat coming off of his body but she was able to resist it from about ten meters away. Her heightened Reiatsu Strength was a blessing compared to his scorching abilities.

"Jak," she started. "Darling, you need to listen to me. You don't have to be dangerous. You aren't a bad person and I know you know that. Don't treat yourself like some outcast who only brings death because you're far from it. You're no monster, you were just gifted with incredible abilities that even you may not understand yet. You can't let that get to you."

The Fullbringer wasn't much of a comforter by any means, and her light aura wasn't as high as her friend Hebika's so it was difficult for her to automatically calm nerves. However, one thing she was excellent at was getting people to listen to her and follow her lead, so she hoped her soft voice and friendly smile was enough to put him at ease, even if it was temporary. She knew that Jak knew by now the fight was over, and if he continued it then it could threaten his life. Shizuka did not want to be responsible for his death when it was hardly necessary.

He was obviously upset by something but Shizuka didn't know enough about his past to help him calm down with it. All she could see was that he was incredibly sad, but her empathy picked up on his feelings along with the fact that it was pretty easy to see. She didn't know much else besides that and what he spoke in regards to someone dying. A girl, Shizuka noticed. She was probably someone who held an incredibly important place in Jak's heart, which meant he loved her a lot. Shizuka sighed and wished she could approach him more, but the heat was keeping her at her distance. She couldn't stay near him for more than a few seconds which was why her speed was necessary.

"Why don't you revert back to your human form and tell me what's going on? Why were you covered in blood before? What is happening with your rage?"

It was all she could do to keep Jak from attacking anymore. He didn't need to waste any of his energy and Shizuka wasn't about to let him. She didn't want the fight to turn deadly if it didn't have to because she knew Jak didn't mean any of this. She wasn't sure how, but she knew. Something about him was screaming insecurity so she could only imagine what kinds of emotions ran through his head on a daily basis. Shizuka smiled again and held out her hand. She didn't drop her defenses just yet and was fully prepared to use a technique if she had to in order to flee, but she wanted to trust him. For now, anyway.

[Jak Halcom]

Jak felt her approach slowly, but he did not look up to meet her gaze. He kept his eyes down unable to look at her. It was true that they fought before, but that was out of his own ignorance and pride. He had nothing against her as a person. Now this time he just attacked her just to kill her. He had just tried to murder her, and here she was trying to reassure him that he was not a bad, evil person. How could she?

"Why don't you revert back to your human form and tell me what's going on? Why were you covered in blood before? What is happening with your rage?" This time Jak actually looked up from the ground. He saw Sizuka standing as close as she could with her hand outstretched. She wanted to talk. She wanted to know. He saw that she had set her acid launcher down on the ground, so that was a sign that she was not about to attack him.

Jak reverted back to his normal form. His body was still smoking a little from the flames, and his right arm was still very hot. He leaned back until he was in a seated position slumped against the wall. He didn't care that his body was still hurting from not only the explosion, but also the impact against the same wall. He was still panting trying to catch his breath from exerting himself like he did all of a sudden, and trying to keep himself as calm as possible.

"I feel like I am losing myself." He said just loud enough for her to hear. "None stop I feel this urge to destroy to kill. A voice whispers in my ears growing louder the more I try to resist it." He was started to get upset again. Not really angry, but panicked. "It just keeps happening. I don't know why. I think it has something to do with my demon powers getting stronger, but I cannot say for certain." He drew his knees up closer to his chest resting his forehead against them.

His shoulders started to shake. Quiet sobs could also be heard from him. Tears ran down his face uncontrollably. It was the first time he was able to really open up to anyone. He knew that he didn't know her, but she still seemed willing to listen to his troubles. Tho...those three. They were just thugs. Scum of the earth. But that still...still doesn't excuse what I did." He tightened his grip on his pant legs. He looked up at her distraught clear on his face. "I heard the voice then. Between it and them pushing and prodding me, I couldn't hold back. Once I started I kept going...and going....and going."

[Shizuka Sanamizu ✮]

He was opening up to her, which was good. She needed him to try to calm down and become more human because that was the only way he would be more reasonable. His rage and uncontrolled powers would force him to make all of these bad decisions, but Shizuka knew he was better than that. Something was getting to his head and if he didn't learn how to stop listening to it, he was just going to remain miserable. Shizuka wanted to understand, not criticize. She wanted to reassure him so that he could trust her. Nothing was going to make her kill him and hurting him was enough to break her heart.

"Jak, my job is literally killing people who have committed crimes or pose a threat to my company. I'm an assassin, you know. And I'll share this with you because I know you can relate. Killing a thug isn't the worst thing, especially since they probably didn't have any family. Don't worry so much!"

It was true. She learned how to numb herself from her own crimes, despite the fact that she was hired to do them. She got paid to end lives and interrogate the wicked so that they could be taken out by Xcution. She was proud of that, and yet very guilty for what she's done. Still, instead of allowing herself to get bothered by it, she reminded herself that she needed to do this. If she didn't clean the world of evil, it would run rampant and destroy everything in its path. Jak, however, was not evil. He never would be. He needed to remember that.

His story actually made her think about his psychological state. He was hearing voices, which hinted that he may be schizophrenic. It made enough sense to where she assumed he could be treated. Maybe this wasn't something that he needed to suffer through. His urges to kill may be from his demonic powers, but if he could get that under control, he may be able to control everything else about his powers, too. It was worth mulling over, at the very least. Shizuka knew he wasn't a bad guy, and he really didn't need that kind of stress.

"Think about it. If you could turn the voices off, don't you think you could turn the rage off, as well?"

Why would he continue to listen to something that caused him so much pain? It didn't make sense. Shizuka knew that if this kind of thing was happening to her, her family and friends would support and help her. Did Jak even have family anymore? She hoped so. If not, Shizuka would gladly be the first to volunteer. He was better than this and it's important that he knows because that can be the difference between him having confidence and him being depressed at his very existence. Everyone deserves a chance at life. He deserves more than what he has.

[Jak Halcom]

Even with all of Shizuka's reassurances, it did not make Jak feel any better about what he had done. His mother was by no means a pacifist, but she saw the value of all life. From the richest corporate tycoon, to the petty criminals struggling to get by. She refused to harm anyone needlessly, and never killed anyone in her life. It was that principle that Jak had carried with him He knew that how much it would have hurt her to see him kill anyone. That is why he never killed anything with the exception of hollows, or other mindless beings that he had run into. But now, two people were dead because of him. He had failed her. He just looked at his blood stained hands. 

"Think about it. If you could turn the voices off, don't you think you could turn the rage off, as well?" He didn't look up at her. "Is it really that simple?" He muttered just loud enough for her hear. "Is just that simple to turn it off and act like nothing has happened?" He slowly tilted his head up. He was slowly starting to calm down. His shoulders didn't shake as much though tears still ran down his face. "No it couldn't. I don't even know if that will help." He let his head hang down low. "Why do you care anyway? You are an assassin, surely you can see i can be a threat. Why don't you just finish the job." He closed his crimson eyes already ready. 

[Shizuka Sanamizu ✮]

His face was calm. She noticed that he had a younger appearance than she initially thought he did, but he wasn't a child by any means. He was just Jak. He tugged at her heartstrings a little bit and she could feel his guilt even though he spoke none of what he was thinking. Shizuka may be hired to kill, but she had a heart and a rational understanding of life. She had a caring personality. There was no way she could just kill someone like Jak, especially since there have been many people she's met who murdered more than he has and she did nothing to them.

"Well, Jak, I feel this way because I know you don't mean anything bad by it. You probably intended to use your powers for good but they've caused you to stray from your original path. I only kill those who I am told to kill. And Shinigami, but that's because I hate them."

Shizuka took Jak's arm, the very same one she'd broken before, and carefully picked him up so he was standing. She brushed off his clothes and smiled her usual friendly smile, attempting to calm his nerves. Shizuka didn't have the calming effects that Hebika did, but she tried her best to radiate positive energy in one way or another to make him feel more comfortable around her. Jak wasn't a bad guy but he refused to believe anything otherwise. She wasn't sure she could convince him that he was perfectly okay, but she could try.

"I'm not going to hurt you, so don't worry. Besides, you know I could kick your butt. Do you really want to fight me?" She was mostly joking.