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[crouching_sin]

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[belheir]

I don't care about that, Naoya. I followed you because I trusted you. That you knew what was best. Because you gave me the best possible answer to take in what time I had to choose.

[And... Naoya had let him choose. It would have been so easy for Naoya in his infinite experience to railroad him down his path. Make it so that there couldn't have ever been any other way.

But he didn't. He didn't force him a single step of the way other than starting the initial lock down, only presented the option.

This time he closes the distance again, wrapping his arms around his cousin from behind in a tight hug.]

I still trust you, even if you don't know. And I want you to trust me that I'll figure something out for you, somehow.

[crouching_sin]

[He flinches at the hug but doesn't otherwise try to pull out of it. It's... soothing, but weird. He should be the one trying to soothe Kazuya.]

[Fuck, he needs a drink.]

[Naoya leans back into Kazuya's shoulder and closes his eyes.]

I trust that you'll try.

[He hadn't found anything else other than killing God. Bowing to Him wasn't an option, ever. Killing the caster of a curse usually ended the curse, except in powerful ones. And this was powerful... but he had no options left.]

... What do you want, right now?

[belheir]

[What does he want...? To save Naoya. To protect the people that matter to him. To give into the factors of Bel inside him and kill God and all of the angels. To make them hurt and suffer and pay for everything they'd done to him. To Naoya. To his friends and the people he cares about.

There's so much he wants, but nothing he can do here. He just has to trust that the him that's awake is still fighting, and still winning, and that after everything is said and done, he'll keep the knowledge that he has here, that there's another Naoya who is suffering, another him who had made the wrong choice, for whatever reason.

His grip tightens on his brother, maybe a little too much.]

I want to protect you.

[crouching_sin]

... How very noble of you.

[It hurts, to have their roles so reversed. He knew it was a possibility, but... he can't help but feel awful ever time an Abel protects him rather than the other way around. What a terrible big brother he is - what a terrible person he is.]

[He lifts a hand to rest on Kazuya's arm and just... goes quiet for a bit. He doesn't know what to say to make this any better. He can't make it better. He's already fucked up everything... again.]

I'm... supposed to protect you, you know?

[belheir]

You did protect me.

[Naoya gave him and his friends COMPS. Gave him the Laplace Mail, and gave them everything they needed to survive Gods ordeal and then some. Maybe he hadn't directly, physically helped, but he had helped none the less.

He'd even helped with saving Amane, too. And he knows how Naoya, how this Naoya, must feel about that.]

[crouching_sin]

I did what I could. I couldn't have you dying on me.

[Not when Kazuya was so important to his plans. But maybe, just maybe... does he care about Kazuya as Kazuya? He's not sure. He's certainly one of the more strong-willed Abels he's seen in his lifetimes.]

[The sentiment makes him feel faintly anxious, and he mentally backs away from it.]

You're still my baby cousin, demon king or no.

[belheir]

You gave me choices, Naoya. I know it would have been so easy for you to force me to take your path. To keep me from seeing any other options.

[With, perhaps, the exception of Remiel's, but the angels were particularly underhanded anyway, from what he'd experienced.

He can't help the sharp breath he takes. Naoya had called him his baby cousin. There's a part of him there that cares for him as he is, as Kazuya. Not just Abel. Not just as the brother he'd apparently murdered.

Sure, they swap between brother and cousin often enough, but here he lets himself feel that maybe it's more pointed than normal.

His grip tightens further on Naoya, likely uncomfortable at this point.]

[crouching_sin]

[It's uncomfortable, but he doesn't complain. He doesn't want Kazuya to think that he's hurting Naoya. He lets out a long breath and closes his eyes.]

There were other options. I didn't think them as important as the one I offered, and I trusted that you would see sense. Maybe in some version of events you took them, but... I know you. I knew you'd want to save as many people as you could.

[Atsuro's idea had been... interesting... but it would have still left the government with too much power over the situation. Getting rid of the demons would have been the same. As for fleeing... he didn't help raise a coward.]

[belheir]

[Naoya is right. He would want to save as many people as possible. He still does, even at the steep price it came at.

But here, there's one person he wants to protect more than anyone else, and that's Naoya. Naoya, who he has the feeling is afraid of him, in some capacity. In a way, it's been eating at him, a persistent gnaw that keeps him up at night sometimes here.

He wants to protect Naoya. And while he could easily do that without the binding of a demonic contract, part of him hopes that same binding means that Naoya might find some measure of peace in the fact that Kazuya would be entirely incapable of hurting him.

So he swallows thickly, pulls away and slowly sinks into a kneel, head bowed low, vulnerable.]

I know you're afraid of me, Naoya. [He states, simple and even.] Of what I could be capable of. Of what I might do to you. [For reasons that are real to Naoya, and seem like a joke to him, because he couldn't ever raise a hand against Naoya to begin with, but...]

I want you to contract me. Not just so I can protect you, but so I can't hurt you, ever.

[crouching_sin]

... Of course I am. Any reasonable person would be.

[He says it quietly, with intent. He wants to make sure Kazuya takes in every word.]

But I don't think a contract will make you feel any better. It'll bind you to not harm me, yes. ... But being bound may only make your situation worse. Do you think the factors of Bel will simply take being bound quietly?

And... I want you to find a solution to your problem that relies on your own control. If I'm directing everything... what are you going to do when I'm gone?

[belheir]

[Naoya is right. Any reasonable person would be absolutely terrified of him. Most are, and he can live with that, at least until it comes to Naoya being afraid of him. Of Yuzu or Atsuro being afraid of him.

And Yuzu had been afraid of him. Maybe Atsuro had too, but at least he'd stuck by his side in the end.

Kazuya bites his lip in response. He'd given this so much thought. Mulled over it, over the options he had. It's not about him feeling any better. It's not about the factors of Bel inside him that would surely rage against such a binding in a bid to be free.

He can contain that, he's sure of it. What he can't stand, however, is Naoya being fearful of him.]

I'll figure it out when I need to. [His voice is sharp, curt.] I don't want you to be afraid that I'll hurt you. The factors of Bel don't matter, I'll contain them like I have been.

[Fine, for the most part. Poorly, for the rest. Bel is a being of destruction, after all, and sometimes that's enough to make him antsy, to release that destructive urge.]

Besides. I know you won't take advantage of it.

[crouching_sin]

[If he's really sure... Naoya isn't convinced that this is a good idea, but...]

Do you want the long way or the short way?

[He's contracted with demons before. It's always on a knife's edge, the deal... but there's a difference on how hard the deal is to cut. He'd not made the bonds in the Demon Summoning Program particularly strong - hence the need to defeat the demon first.]

[But this might warrant doing it the long, stronger way.]

[belheir]

The longer way, I'm guessing.

[The short way would likely be through the COMP, wouldn't it? And Kazuya knows how contracting demons the first time through COMPs goes. He couldn't ask that of Naoya, and he couldn't do that either.

But Naoya is relenting, at the very least. It eases some of his own worries, and the tension he'd held in his shoulders relaxes a bit as he looks up at him. No matter what, even if he is a demon, even if he's the King of demons, he's still him.

But that also makes him wonder. He's offering his services, what could Naoya offer in return? He's still unsure about contracting demons outside of the COMP even works.]

[crouching_sin]

[He sighs and stands, leading Kazuya to the kitchen after he grabs a pen. He'd... been prepared. Not for this particular summoning, but...]

[He opens a cabinet and grabs a container of salt. He then nudges some of the furniture away to clear a space for himself. He then stops and looks at the floor, a slight frown on his lips. How is he going to...]

[His gaze falls on one of the soft rugs and he grabs one, gesturing towards the couch.]

This is going to take a bit to build. You might want to get comfortable. Fortunately I already know the specific information about you that I'll need for the runes.

[belheir]

[Kazuya follows dutifully, watches as Naoya grabs the salt and a pen, and then grabs the rug, and gestures for him to sit on the couch.

Which he does.]

Let me know if you need anything. I can get it.

[He doesn't want to just sit there, but again, he doesn't really know the specifics of forging a contract. Even when he summons demons by force, it's not because he's contracted them, and more that they're obligated to him.]

[crouching_sin]

Mm.

[He's gone into focus mode, taking out the pen and making a large circle. It's slightly wobbly due to the material, but it'll serve. He starts scribbling runes along the outside in a language that looks nigh-incomprehensible.]

[... He's at it for a while, taking care to keep the smallest of them clear enough to work. He's had plenty of experience with these things, and he knows how precise they need to be and where they don't need to be.]

Now what was the time you were born... ah.

[Scribble, scribble.]

[belheir]

[... And Naoya has been lost to him. He knows that look, that intense hyper focus, and part of him can't help but be a little nervous as he watches. What will it be like, to be bound to Naoya? To be forced to obey whatever it is he wants from him?

It's also a bit scary, if he thinks about it that way, but he does trust his cousin, trusts him so wholly that he's offered up what amounts to his free will. Trusts that he won't abuse that.

So he watches him with the same intensity, and the factors of Bel seem to flicker to life inside of him with every rune that Naoya draws, a deep loathing for the thought of being bound by anyone.

Kazuya stuffs those feelings back down inside of him. They don't get to choose. He does.]

[crouching_sin]

[It takes a while. Long enough that Naoya has to stop and rest his wrist for a bit before diving back in - but when it's done there's a circle of strange symbols on the back of the rug. He steps back and looks at it from all angles before nodding and stepping a few feet away. He draws a circle with the salt - he probably doesn't need it, but just in case...]

Are you ready?

[belheir]

I'm the one who asked for it, so it'd be silly if I wasn't.

[ Is what he says, but the trepidation that isn't entirely his own is still there. The other Bels hate this, and they make it known, but once more, he shoves and stuffs them down. It's his body and his will, not theirs.

He tilts his head at Naoya, regarding him carefully. The salt circle is weird, but he passes that off as just another part of this. ]

[crouching_sin]

Mhm.

[He points to the circle on the rug and then to Kazuya.]

Step inside there - and don't smudge anything! You'll feel it activate as you step in. You won't be able to get out, so if you need anything first, now's the time.

[belheir]

What, like a drink of water or to go to the bathroom?

[He taunts, but only because looking at that circle sets his nerves alight instinctually. He knows he'll be trapped, that's what the primal part of him is telling him, but it also tells him that he probably wouldn't be trapped for long, if it came down to it and he really desired to escape.

More things to shove down deep, and he exhales a breath and carefully, carefully forces himself to step over the bounds of the circle.

And Naoya is right. He feels it activate the moment he's inside, and he pushes his hand curiously, cautiously at the invisible barrier now separating him from his cousin. The result is an unpleasant zap to his hand, which he quickly shakes off. More a deterrent than anything else, but it is unpleasant. Confining. He's never actually felt claustrophobic before, but it's getting to him a bit as he shuffles from foot to foot. ]

What next?

[crouching_sin]

Yes, exactly.

[There's no sarcasm in his tone for once - he genuinely means it. He closes his eyes and takes a moment to center himself - he's done this before. And it's Kazuya for fuck's sake. He doesn't need to be worried.]

[But then again, it's also the King of Bel. He'd be a fool to underestimate that amount of power.]

[He opens his eyes and looks at Kazuya - though not truly at him. He's more looking at the demon part of him.]

I stand here with an offer of a pact. I seek your power and your aid. What would you demand of me in return?

[belheir]

[The demon part of him is incredibly unhappy about this turn of affairs. Incredibly unhappy about being confined to begin with, and Kazuya himself can tell it's also unhappy about the question posed to it.

As if a human can bind a God to their will.

But the question itself comes as a surprise to him, because he'd really thought that Naoya would be the one to offer something to him. It leaves him grasping at straws, suddenly trying to figure out what an appropriate price would be.

Sacrifice part of him whispers. Something bloody with a terrible amount of carnage.

He absolutely can't say that, and reflexively, he touches the barrier between them again, only to get zapped. The action only feeds the restlessness growing in him, and his left eye flickers red in response without him knowing.]

What could you offer me?

[crouching_sin]

[No you're supposed to make demands - his eye twitches slightly but he does his best to keep his composure.]

Battle against common enemies. A wealth of knowledge if you but only ask. And the ability to have someone stop you before you go too far.

[Honestly, not a very fair price considering the demon he's contracting with. That being said, it's Kazuya. He's not going to offer something that he can't go without here, and Kazuya... doesn't know the pricing rules that tend to go with this outside of macca.]

[belheir]

[He chews the inside of his cheek at that. Kazuya doesn't know the prices that tend to accompany these things, but the demons inside him do, and it's not enough. Not nearly enough.

Though... Battle against common enemies. He does want to fight by Naoya's side and protect him.]

I want... You to ask me for help when you need it. I want you to stop hiding things from me.

[They're fairly simple requests honestly, but the next one that comes out is probably much less so.]

I need you to help me figure out this whole magnetite situation.

[Of which Naoya may have had an inkling might be a problem, but this is the first time Kazuya is bringing it up.]