One-sided[Pierce]

A nice, quiet morning in the dojo of the Academy was periodically being disturbed by the noise of a punching bag being hit, chain echoing throughout the area. Crimson colored hair almost seemed to be dancing around the young male as he struck the hung bag in front of him. A few seconds later, Ethan finished his first round of practice with one last, fierce kick against the side of the bag.

Exhausted from this first round, the shirtless male walked over towards the sports bag that lay near the benches. He sat down and reached inside the already unzipped bag, pulling out a white towel. Without a moment to spare, he started wiping his back. No way was he letting his hair become even sweatier than it already was. Once that was taken care of, he proceeded with drying his head, and then the well-toned torso.

Once that was done, the crimson haired meister placed the towel against the back of his neck, sides falling down on either side. He reached once more in his bag to take out a bottle of water. One of the two he had, other one rested on a spare shirt, and the jacket part of his usual suit. For a moment, Ethan wondered if his glasses were in his bag. It would have been a shame if he had tossed his bag and broke his glasses by accident. However, he remembered that he left them in his locker. Safe from any accident. A sigh of relief escaped the young man's lips before taking a sip of water.

As he exhaled, a transparent smoke came out. The young man frowned at the sight of the fog. An unpleasant chill was felt in his chest, and his clammy hands were becoming cold again. Chilled fingers were being flexed over and over. Again. Even though I can control it, it's still not enough. The cold fingers clenched together and sighed, creating fog once more. I guess that just means that I need more control over my own wavelength.

[/color] Ethan knew exactly where to start.

The crimson haired meister let another cold breath escape his mouth as he rose from his seat, and simply stood there looking down at his left hand. The purge was one option that Ethan thought about. Unlike his ability to calm people down with his own wavelength; this required far more self-resonance. And far more hurting than helping.
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Pierce loped into the Dojo as was his usual way to start the morning, today with his braid pinned up into a bun at the back of his neck to keep it out of the way. Today he had two heavy chains strapped to his wrists with some seriously heavy looking weights on each end. His usual long sleeved under armor shirt clung to his muscular form as he loped in with his favorite blue duffel bag being dragged behind him by one of the heftily weighted chains. He ignored the by stander for now as he unzipped the duffel bag and extricated it from his chain. His set up was quick and simple, he pulled out a cheap little mp3 player and plugged it into a portable set of speakers.

"Hope you don't mind some happy hardcore while I work my routine." He flashed a wide grin at Ethan and flicked it all on to blast an obscene level of music for such small speakers. The berserker scowled and turned the volume down a bit until it wasn't about to blow the tiny things apart trying to keep up with the beat. The music had a bone jarringly happy tempo and Pierce slid gracefully into place taking his ready stance. One swish forward, the other back; the chains moved in a slow rhythm as the beat seemed to drum on even faster than before.

A single blip in the upbeat tempo and the chains were off spinning as the pause closed with an even more cheerful and vibrant tone. Circles first, then butterflies and figure eights. His motion was beautiful as was his posture. It would have looked prettier with glow sticks but he had to keep his muscle mass up for training's sake. He spun and put his feet into it. He only dabbled in shuffling but he liked the way it helped him move almost weightlessly.

Gravity? Gravity was his best friend and loved letting him fly in the right way. You just had to buddy up. Gravity tended to hate everyone else he thought. It must have, how could idiots trip over their own feet like they did? Oh, right they didn't have a thing called finesse. His only finesse was in the motion of his own body. Nothing could move more effectively than he could. In his own mind that was how it worked at least. He'd need to get a personal trainer for him and Vespara but he hoped that soon he'd be able to move as well in battle with Deth in hand as he did on his own.

A flourish brought the spinning chains over his head and they swished beautifully as he began to add in more styles of training into his form. A butterfly kick followed the chains' tangling moment as he sprang, twisted his body like a cat's, and smacked the weights on a nearby punching bag to jostle them free of each other. Another butterfly kick followed by several more arching and spinning kicks kept him twirling in time with the chains that spun at an impressive speed.

As the song neared its end Pierce vaulted up for a flip kick and slammed both weights into the floor of the dojo as the final note faded away. He grinned manically and shut off the mp3 player, before he slumped next to his own bag to dry off and down half a bottle of his favorite sport drink. It had been a short song but a hard one to match. He could count 34 times he'd missed a beat and messed up. To anyone else it might have seemed almost flawless except for the most obvious of his mishaps when the chains had tangled but that mistake had cost him at least 12 other missed beats.

Were the chains getting heavy or was he just slacking lately? He seemed to brood silently on it rather than ask the pretty face whom he'd encountered a few nights ago. He'd stepped up to break up his unorthodox way of dealing with Andrew taking him off an almost unavoidable berserk. He wasn't sure how the other would feel about being ignored for the routine but he wasn't terribly worried about it. The guy was too pretty for him to care about petty things like the ire he might have from the other. "You look awfully glum gorgeous. You wanna share or you feeling selfish? Or does the stick in your ass just get in the way of things?" He flashed Ethan his usual devil may care grin before gulping down what was left of his drink and tossing one of many extras to the other.

Ethan noticed a figure walking in the dojo from the corner of his eye. Once he had turned his head to see who it was, the redhead's brows frowned. That guy…

[/color] The young noble hissed in his mind. … And here was to hoping he really wasn't a student.[/color] Ethan would have dropped the subject and continued to concentrate on his task, but the sounds of rattling chains poked at the redhead's curiosity. He ignored the blue haired student's grin and kept his emerald eyes fixed at the chains and tiny speakers.

"No, I don't." He answered back plainly, averting his gaze from the troublemaker. The young male opened and clenched his fist a few more times. "Some people like to train with music… wait. The heck is 'happy hardcore' ?"

Ethan soon learned what the genre was, as it was being momentarily blasted at an insane volume throughout the dojo. The crimson haired meister cringed as his hands rapidly slapped themselves against his ears. The male's jaw cringed at the music, even when the troublemaker had turned down the volume. That unbearable, scramble of noises was called music? Ethan still kept his hands glued against his ears as the other began prancing around the dojo with his weighted chains.

Honest be told: Ethan found that he guy had good skills. Despite the irritable music, the redhead managed to notice all of the obvious mistakes, and a few of the bad steps. Normally, Ethan would have applauded the other student for the display of skill; however that guy wasn't high on Ethan's fondness list.

The redhead's hands dropped back to his sides and sharp eyes glared at the other student. No fog was seen as he let out a deep sigh. A good sign. Ethan began flexing his fingers anew as he turned to face the troublemaker. "Hmph. Funny. Is that your way of asking something? By insulting someone afterwards? No wonder trouble finds you." The redhead's frowning face twisted itself in a more cocky, confident expression. Ethan shrugged as he slowly began to shake his head. "Maybe you're just looking for trouble. Maybe the little guy just wants attention. After all you're probably the one with a stick up your ass; it showed when you moved."

Ethan's sense of superiority slowly diminished as he turned perpendicularly to the other student. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have something to work on." Once again Ethan tried to concentrate his wavelength into his hand, attempting to self-resonate on a level higher than he usually did.
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Pierce smirked widely and nodded. "It is actually. Weeds out the frail people so I don't hurt someone mistakenly if you must know the honest truth. Ain't got a thick skin? Don't bloody bother me none and not my fault some people choose to react in the ways they do." He shrugged and watched the red haired meister with a good humored grin and paid little mind to the insults thrown his own way. "That and I also find it beyond hilarious how easily people are swayed by their anger. It's so easy to just give into and act out in rage, I'm not allowed to so might as well prod a few people here and there so they can get angry for me." As Ethan excused himself Pierce nodded and let the meister have at it. He wouldn't mind letting the lovely lad his work.

A part of him just enjoyed making people angry at him. It was still something kind of new to his senses. He'd known so much love and kindness in his childhood it hurt. He wanted someone to hurt him, tell him he was a monster. All the things he felt he should have been told long ago that normal parents would have said to a child like him, maybe even disowned him. Instead he'd been smothered with love and killed with kindness. He knew it was wrong, every sense of it. He shouldn't have been coddled the way he was, he shouldn't have been subject to such unrelenting love. How could his parents have loved him like this? He gritted his teeth a bit and scowled as his personal thoughts ran him over.

He needed it in a way come to think of it. Wasn't that why he'd started the fight with his father to begin with. He sank deeper and pulled his knees up to his chest and leaned on them. He seemed to simply ignore the comment about his height. He knew he was practically the shortest male student and a lot of the girls were even as tall if not taller than him. He was a healthy height but everyone here seemed to be giants. His gears ground in his head as he brooded silently. Yeah, he had started the fight with questions. Why had his father never gotten angry at him? Why had he never punished him when he was bad? Why had his mother always forgiven him no matter what he'd done. He wanted answers, he didn't want special treatment. He wasn't OWED special treatment, he'd done nothing to earn such.

Pierce's mood grew darker and darker, the tattoos on his arm beginning to writhe soundlessly along his form, pushing against his shirt as if his sleeve had a couple snakes under it. The twin crescents under his eye glowed faintly as he lowered his face into his arms to hide it. Something began to swell and twist inside him as his train of thought sped toward a place it shouldn't go. Blue eyes squinted tightly shut as his breathing became even more ragged than before. There was something different about this shortness of breath, something definitely wrong. It sounded more like Pierce was fighting just to keep breathing instead of being simply out of breath.

Then, something lurched. Pierce came forward onto hands and knees gasping in pain with one hand clutching his chest where the curse burned hotly on his skin. It felt like someone trying to rip his lungs out with hot, iron pokers. He gasped and cringed, forcing his mental walls back into place. He couldn't let them slip. Not now, not here. He couldn't let it just over take him now. He'd come too far and besides, nobody should have seen him like this anyways. It was a bad state for him, worse for others if he couldn't hold it back. The walls went up and the curse burned him hotter before it simply faded to a stinging pain. A weak mantra fell from his lips as his tanned skin began to pale. "I'm not the chosen, I am the choice. I'm not the chosen, I am the choice. I'm not the chosen, I am the choice."

Breathlessly he repeated the mantra until the pains began to subside and fade, his tattoos beginning to still under the force of his will. How dare it try to over take him in front of Ethan! He would murder the witch brutally with her own curse. His mind began to clear and objectify, he would not be weak. He couldn't afford the luxury of giving in to his brooding. It always ended the same, he let his guard slip down when he pondered things too dark about himself. Any time his guard so much as gave an inch the curse was waiting, begging to tear him apart whenever it could. He looked up at Ethan with a look on his face almost akin to actual fear. Hate me, hate me so I don't have to. Wide blue eyes stared at the other meister from where he was on hands and knees, curled over the floor like he might vomit any minute.

"Hit me." The words were soft, a bare breath of panic creeping into his voice as he looked up at Ethan. "Hit me please, I need you to hit me, hit me. Come on, hit me." A manic look began to fill the berserker's eyes as he got up and his grin quivered as it spread across his face. He needed a distraction before he lost something important. "Give me all you've got. Please, I need it."

Ethan sighed as he tried to self-resonate. All of the blue haired' punk's words were heard, and the redhead thought they were hilarious. The meister once again looked at the other student from the corner of his eye. Choice. Hate. You're the one who should learn to control your temper. Ethan mocked inside his head. This was the last time that Ethan paid attention to that guy.

The basics of self-resonance; Ethan had them. It was the only way that his father taught him how to control his wavelength. Had he not learned from his father, Ethan's own wavelength might have frozen him over. Even now, despite having much more control than his younger self, still lapsed at times with his control. Like earlier, before the punk bothered him.

Ethan kept his left hand in his field of vision at all times. He knew how to tame it, now he needed to make it grow and explode out in a controlled fury. He already had the smooth flow of his wavelength going to another soul forcibly, but depending on what function the redhead wanted to give it: It would either calm or cool down someone. Basic controls. All he needed was to make it revolt itself around his hand.

But that was going to have to wait. Movement was caught at the corner of his eye. Distracted, Ethan turned to look at the monstrosity that was happening to the other student. That warping, those snake-looking things that seems to crawl under his clothes… Ethan had half a mind to rush over when the blue haired student was seemingly trying to have a hard time breathing and feeling sick, however his own gut told him to stay away. Unsure of what to do, Ethan knew that first he needed to calm himself down.

Then the other student began talking to him. That guy's condition; what caused it? The glow was paranormal, even for DWMA standards. "Hit me" was the student's request. Ethan lowered his head and let out a small sigh. Eyes closed for a second as he considered what to do. The tall meister slowly walked to the middle of the dojo, turned to face the student in pain, and looked at him with a cold, emerald glare. One hand moved up lazily, signaling the student to come at him.

"Make me." He stated coldly.

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Pierce was on him like a feral animal the moment he told the blue haired meister to make him. A grin like the cheshire cat's split his face but his eyes spoke that his mind was miles and miles away dealing with something else. The chains were still attached to his wrists and he was going to apparently make good use of them. The right chain jerked and the weight seemed to hop up high enough Pierce could grab and sling it at Ethan. If he held still it would whizz passed his head as the left followed on the other side. It looked more like he was aiming to miss but then came the fancy work of the chains and ten lb weights. With the final step of his rush Pierce jumped and twisted in the air as he released both weights in Ethan's direction. If it worked the chains would tanlge and catch Ethan by the shoulders or neck.

If the chains refused to tangle he'd simply settle with the final strike. Hands reached for Ethan's face as soon as his descent began and his posture readied for a headbutt if he could grab the hopefully caught up meister by the face he'd slam his forehead into the other's with as much force as he could muster. For most it would be quite an impressive feat but for Pierce it was simply odd. Was he using a mashup of styles or was he simply nuts? His face looked more like the latter as the dark cresents under his left eye began to glow luridly again.

"It comes!" It wasn't much of a warning but more of a madly gleeful statement as he attacked. Would it be enough? Would Ethan bring him back to his senses? Would the pretty boy be able to do so? Pierce didn't seem to know or care but he was still struggling splitting his attention between the curse and his opponent. His lips parted in ready for a bite attack should his headbutt fail. If he missed hitting Ethan with his hard head he'd aim to bite the red haired meister on the shoulder with his wickedly sharp teeth and possibly tear some flesh. If he could help it he wouldn't but the curse wanted to destroy something beautiful, be it Pierce's resolve or Ethan's pretty face. A flicker crossed Pierce's face, a sort of begging look overtook his eyes as he got close to the other meister and then as quickly as it came it was gone.

The redhead meister grinned as his opponent began making his move. But it had slowly died out. The student was clearly affected by some kind of madness. Normally, for Ethan, this meant elimination of an enemy. However, he had some doubts, even if he really wanted to knock some sense into the guy, literally.

The weights passed his head; Ethan's body lunged forward. Before the weights could tangle around his neck, Ethan dashed and rolled under the attacker. The ends of his hair only slipping away from the hand which tried to grab him. At the end of his roll, Ethan twisted his body around. First the chains, now his-- whatever is going on… Ethan quickly stood up and regained a neutral stance as he kept his eyes on his opponent. He needed to get to his opponent, and to do that, he needed to deal with these pestering chains of his.

If only Ethan could get a hand on the blue haired student, then maybe his wavelength could calm the guy down. He just needed an opportunity to grab him, and perhaps the rabid student's own chains would help Ethan. A cocky grin was placed on his lips as he held his head up all mightily. "Come on, that all you got? Can't you do better?" He said mockingly, right hand signalling the student to come at him again.

[/justify]

Pierce twisted around from his core, using the motion to give himself enough momentum to adjust his trajectory as he launched himself back at Ethan without missing a beat. The tattoos glowed helishly. A few leaves began to seep from the vines around his neck as if the tattoo itself was beginning to bloom. A moment of clarity seemed to pass Pierce's face as he came at Ethan. His countenance twisting in pain and fear. "RUN!" The word was a rushed warning of concern but whatever clarity he gained in that moment passed and smoothed away with a mad grin again.

He came at Ethan with only one chain this time, the narrow weight sliding out of his hand in a straight path toward the red head's stomach. He feinted a second rushing leap but came down mid way this time instead of completing a jump to close the distance. It was just enough to let Ethan grab hold of the chain or be hit by it. Grab it! The curse wanted him to destroy something beautiful and Ethan was so very beautiful.

Pierce twisted inside himself screaming as he tried to fight it back again. What had begun could not be finished so easily as he had hoped. If Ethan could hit him a few times he could focus on the pain to exclusion and force the curse away in the aftermath. He felt he needed to be beaten down so he could get the curse's attempts at angering him to slow down. If he could just get a physical sensation to focus on he could build a wall with it over his mind. It would be an easy break if Ethan would just HIT him! Bastard, hit me if you can!

The curse wouldn't let him simply stand still and take a hit though, it wanted something else. The moment Ethan touched the weight to catch or deflect the attack Pierce would spring into the second motion of the attack. If Ethan caught it he'd find himself jerked forward as Pierce sprang backwards and unleashed the second weight at his face. If he simply deflected the blow Pierce would launch himself forward as he jerked the used chain to return the weight to where he could antch it out of the air. Meanwhile he'd send the other weight forward at the shoulder Ethan made the most use of while deflecting the previous attack. It wouldn't have as much force as the previous plan of attack but it would certainly have enough to hurt should his aim be true.

" 'Run'? " The redheaded meister repeated. Ethan lowered his head slightly, still keeping an eye on the rabid enemy. That one weight that was swung at him was easily side-stepped. As the weight passed him, Ethan used his hand to push away the weight, deviating it from its linear trajectory. "First you tell me to hit you." As the second weight was aimed at his shoulder, Ethan would have attempted to grab the chain, but was simply too short for what he wanted to do. The redhead hopped away and made sure he still was in an open area of the dojo. "And now you're telling me to run?!"

Ethan felt insulted on many levels. This guy thought that his current state was too tough for him to beat? That he should simply hide his tail in between his legs and flee as this student seemed to be self-destructing? Was this devilish character just such a spineless brat? Ethan's eyes gave a sharp glare to the student. Whatever this guy was bringing; Ethan was going to take it. All he needed was to catch the guy and give him a good shot of his wavelength.

" "In your anger do not sin":
Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold."

He spoke, clearly irritated. Ethan was waiting for him to make a move. He was saying this not for the enraged student, but for himself as well. This guy, whether he was trying or not, knew just how to press on his buttons. His hands were aching, begging to be slammed against the animal's face. Too bad Ethan wanted to settle this in another way.

[/justify]

Pierce twisted and dragged both weights back into his palms. He'd trained with them long enough it was all muscle memory. The fight was second nature to him. His posture straightened but his head stayed down as a deep rumble began in his chest and quickly boiled over into laughter. "If you can't hit me just run. I. have. to. FOCUS!" His head snapped up as he braced and leaped, a red tinge coming to his eyes and whisking away again. He had to fight it down as hard as he could and he was making some progress so far. It still wasn't easy. Would it ever be?

He snarled as he came down to drive Ethan under him again. Should Ethan try to dodge forward as he descended from the high leap he'd find a nice suprise waiting for him. It was a dirty shot even for Pierce but it was always one that proved effective. If they moved too well facing you, get them in the back. Pierce threw his arms directly upward to push his upper body into a deep backbend. The only way to get away from a leap directly was a slide and only a madman would sidestep it. Any sane opponent would slide underneath, twist and counter attack at what they expected to be an exposed back.

Pierce, however, anticipated such a beautiful counter to come from someone like Ethan. His own was prepared, following Ethan's movement he'd release both chains toward the same goal, Ethan's shoulders. He would find a way to capture or hurt this man. This infuriatingly beautiful man. He was too pretty, too snotty, too full of himself. What a stuck up brat. If the weights struck flesh it would certainly hurt. Maybe pain would give this brat a reason to hit him.

" A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension,
Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil."

Ethan's hand was tingling. He completely ignored the animal's last comment and laughter. As the enemy jumped into the air and arched back, Ethan knew it was going to be a heavy strike. Now! The redhead dashed and leapt into the air as well. His right hand was hauled behind him. Icy blue sparks danced around said hand. Ethan's body twisted in mid-air, redirecting his fist in an arch motion. Ethan was not keen of power hits, but it was necessary.

Although, this wasn't his original plan. The original plan was to leap up and tackle him down; pin him and give a dose of his own wavelength. However, it seemed that his temper momentarily took over. Would that purge hit the raging animal in the face, the guy would feel his nose tingling of cold; as well as being forcefully shot down from its flight.

If he somehow missed, then that left Ethan wide open for any kind of attack.

[/justify]

It was the last plan of attack he would have expected. The leap to match his own surprised him and Ethan was faster than he was. Instead of the low ground as planned he took a higher road as Pierce exposed his chest and stomach to carry the ill anticipated move. He was even more beautiful now. He was too smart, elegant and beautiful. Only such a beautiful counter could come from Ethan. He smiled coolly as Ethan's hand connected with his face and the pain followed.

That was what he needed. His face went numb, his shoulders and neck erupted in goose bumps. The world went black for a moment as his eyes lost their ability to focus through the cold that constricted them. As his vision cleared Pierce went crashing down but he refused to go alone. He swung the chains back up with a flourish of his wrists as he reached up and latched onto Ethan's arm. The numbness was not helping, the initial pain had helped but now the feeling was lost. He needed that focus! A wicked smile spread on his face like he simply wasn't home anymore. If he successfully captured Ethan's punching arm with his hands Ethan would find one new horror in store for, Pierce's sharp teeth grinding into the flesh of his wrist as they fell together.

The chains swung still, coming up to meet Ethan from each side below him. If nothing else the berserker was pugnacious. If Pierce managed to grab Ethan the chains wouldn't be so easy to dodge as they had been, especially if he had attached successfully himself to the other meister's wrist like an angry bull dog. Even if He had Ethan the chains and weights weren't what he needed to worry about most. Pierce was twisting himself around to grip Ethan's waist with his calves in an attempt to gain enough leverage to turn himself and land atop the quick and slippery Redhead. If he could use Ethan's body weight to flip himself around he'd use every bit of the impact possible to make Ethan land on the shoulder of the arm he had by the wrist in his teeth to try and dislocate the arm at the point of impact. He'd like to see the quick redhead punch him again if this worked.

CRASH

A small sigh escaped the redhead's mouth as everything seemed to go slowly. Almost as if time itself was slowing down, Ethan looked at the wild animal get knocked backwards. That's it…

[/color] Relief started installing itself inside Ethan until he saw the animal move back. His eyes widened for a split second as his arm was caught, and wrist exposed to the teeth of the beast. Next split second, Ethan's cold glare was back in place, jaw cringing; bracing for the painful impact.

Ethan managed to twist his arm so that the rabid student was biting into the sides of his wrist; almost directly on the bones. The redhead let a low grunt emanate from his throat as the chains began to coil around his waist. In immediate reaction: Ethan started pushing his calming wavelength into the rabid animal. Time seemed to go back to normal as they fell. Not only that, the animal was trying to switch their positions around! Damn it! You're not going to get it that way!

Ethan's right shoulder smashed the ground first, and almost fainted at the pain as it dislocated. Now Ethan could not use his right arm at all. "No you don't--!" Ethan raised his left leg and slammed it on the ground, left arm pushing against the ground. If that worked, then Ethan would shove the animal off him, and take the top position; having to painfully roll on his dislocated arm.

It this worked: Then Ethan should be holding Pierce down with his own weight; left arm holding down Pierce's right arm. Now both of his hands were shoving his wavelength into the animal, hoping that it would stop him. Not what he had in mind for capturing it, but he had to work with what he was given. Ethan moved his head to the right of Pierce's head and hit the floor with a thud.

If Pierce managed to keep Ethan down; then Ethan would simply talk. "Focus." He finally said in between heavy breaths. "Focus on my voice… Calm down… Just… calm down… You can do it..."
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Pierce felt a ripping inside of himself as the rage began to burn away while clawing at him so desperately for a better foothold. The walls went unsundered but weak as the curse began to calm. That voice that penetrated the fog, that burning, roiling fog. Focus? Pierce's gnawing on the wrist bone slowed as he stayed pinned under Ethan and the ropes that seemed to bind his lungs eased. He breathed deeply and let go of the other meister's wrist.

Calm down. It sounded so easy. He couldn't imagine this. Had he really hurt the other boy as badly as he thought? He knew what he'd done, he'd watched himself and a part of him had enjoyed it. Yet, to look at Ethan now, beaten and broken like this and still trying. The wavelength crashed into him and flooded him from both hands. It was the second time in his life he'd ever encountered such a thing as true serenity.

He made it sound so easy, maybe for him it was. Pierce let his head fall back to thud thickly on the floor while Ethan spoke. Slowly, he wriggled his arms free so as not to startle the other meister and went to detangle the chains from around the redhead's back. Carefully, he extricated Ethan from the chains and began to lean up. One arm moved to keep the redhead off his dislocated shoulder and Ethan would find himself wrapped in a simple hug as he was cradled in the berserker's lap once he was sitting up. He brushed Ethan's bangs out of his face and let his head rest on his shoulder.

Next would come the hard part, admittance. He'd almost lost it and he knew exactly why. His guard had slipped and the curse had taken the opportunity he'd given it. It hadn't been this difficult to fight before. That meant the curse was getting stronger and he needed to find a way to more effectively combat it. Ethan had given him a simple and yet elegant solution. He'd have to clean up the mess he'd made and find a way to try and make it up to Ethan if he even could. He'd understand if Ethan hated him but somehow he didn't get the feeling the redhead had hate in him.

He'd busted the redheaded meister up pretty well but admitting was always difficult because a piece of him always enjoyed the rage. He hated that part of him but he knew it was only human and so had no choice but to accept it. He wanted the rest of the spectrum of being human though. He didn't want to go through his entire life knowing almost nothing but anger and the price it came with. He wanted sorely to be free enough to breathe and laugh. He looked forward to the day when he could get angry without almost killing someone.

How had his family always been able to love him knowing their son was a ticking time bomb? He didn't know but Ethan had worked so valiantly to diffuse him. The rage had burned away under the force of Ethan's soul. It had filled him to bursting with the one feeling he desired above all else, peace. Peace with himself and everything he'd done and would do. Ethan had gifted him tranquility enough to accept the mistake he'd made and determine to make things right. Maybe he could fix this. He'd like to introduce Ethan to his mother someday. She'd like him, and she'd certainly like to meet someone as valiant and beautiful as he who could grant her cursed son the one gift his family could never give. Ma'ma would be as grateful for the gift as he was he was sure.

"I'm calm." The words were breathless and soft as he adjusted Ethan's weight so that he could be carried somewhat comfortably. "I owe you. How about we relocate that shoulder of yours and get you patched up eh? I think-" He stopped and breathed a moment as he hoisted Ethan bridal style and got his own feet under him to stand. "I think I've let enough of my ugliness out for today. I'm sorry." He kept a good hold on Ethan and moved him to the benches to lay the redhead out.

"I'd rather not take you by the nurse to explain this mess if it can be avoided. I won't leave you a wreck either so if worse comes to worse." The words trailed away as he smiled sheepishly and grabbed Ethan's forearm while bracing the shoulder socket. "Well, about that arm...GO!" Pierce yanked and felt the joint pop back into place. He knew it would hurt. How many times had he needed to do this for himself and for others? Too many to count. Too many messes cleaned up and others left sprawled.

He kept Ethan from rolling himself off the bleachers with the agony of the relocated joint and grinned. "I'll get you a sling fashioned for it." Pierce found his wrist wraps and made a webbed sling to keep Ethan's arm from swinging and coming out of socket again. "Don't worry too much, I'm no doctor but I'll make sure you get back on the mend after that. Least I can do for your er- assistance. That and I owe you big time. I don't like owing people." He scowled with that as he slipped Ethan's arm into the sling and checked to make sure it was stable and elevated enough. "I don't believe we've ever introduced ourselves. Charon, Charon Ferry. Cursed ferryman of the Damned." He grinned and straightened Ethan's clothes a bit to give him a look of more dignity than the redhead might have possessed right now. "I'd shake your hand but..." He chuckled indicating Ethan's sling arm. "Looks like I took that option off the list for a while."

If this didn't work, then Ethan had to kiss his consciousness goodbye. He had so little energy left to even struggle back that as the other student began moving his arms, his right would have felt no resistance in holding him back from Ethan. His whole body became heavy. He couldn't even move a single finger as he was being easily moved around. Carefully at that. Stop…

This other student, now calm, was touching his face, hugging him. Ethan felt so disgusted, so repulsed. If he had enough energy, the redhead would have vomitted. Ethan was moved around and nothing but silence could be heard. Stop…! Ethan was trying to scream the order out of his lungs. Disgusted. Dirty. Slimy. This thing that was trying to help him was actually making him worse and worse. Now he was harming the only thing Ethan held dear about himself-- his own pride.

He didn't want to respond to the guy who just kept on humiliating him over and over and over again. If someone else was here… Ethan would have rather died than being carried the way he had been to the bench. "Don't you even dare-- UGH!" He tried to stop Pierce from replacing his shoulder back in its socket. The pain caused Ethan to momentarily blank out, only to start cringing in pain two seconds later.

And now he was being poorly treated. Ethan truly wanted to die at this point. He stayed quiet until the student introducing himself as Charon was done with his vile work and moved away from him. Ethan's left arm lashed out at Pierce, causing unneeded pain throughout his body. Of course he expected to miss. The end of the strike would lead Ethan's hand to go for his bag beside him. He grunted in pain as his hand grabbed the cords. "I still have… my left."

Ethan tried to get up. His momentary loss of balance caused for his right leg to stomp on the ground, supporting all his weight. "I'm going to the nurse." As much as he hated to admit it; the rabid state of this student did quite a number on him. His head hung low, eyes being hidden by his hair. If Charon tried to stop him, Ethan would either throw his left fist again, or elbow, depending on how he'd attempt to stop him. If he would for that matter. The redhead started making his way out of the Dojo, every step he took he wavered, bag being dragged across the floor.

"I'm going to say that I had an accident while training." His eyes gazed at the wounds on his wrist. Bleeding. "And nothing more than that." Ethan would stop in front of the Dojo's entrance. Cringing as he tried to straighten his body, he tried to impose his stature. "Next time you go into that state, and that I see it: I won't go easy on you. I will

[/i] kill you.[/color]" Such a dangerous thing roaming inside of the DWMA was not a good thing. Something like that was putting other students in danger. Something that needed to be disposed of. "… Ethan."

With that said, Ethan began walking away.
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]