A Day Off ((Emil/Open))

[Valo Morei]

I woke up with a start, flinching a little bit and looking around me, wondering what I was doing outside. Then I realized, I had fallen asleep on one of the benches at the park, letting out a sigh of relief.

I'm getting used to letting my guard down lately...

I looked up, noticing the sky was turning a little orange. The sun would be setting soon, and it had occurred to me that I hadn't seen the sun set since I was in New York. The last time I had seen it... It was before my flight to Japan, where I ended up getting captured, and I was never able to say goodbye to Jayne.. That was five years ago.

Now, I was looking at it for the first time with her back in my life, a small smile on my lips as I realized how perfect it felt. She was mine again, Shugo and I were on good terms and back to how we were in New York.. everything seemed right. Today was a day without fighting for once, and despite this sickness that ravaged my body, the day couldn't be more perfect.

I looked around again, noticing that there was no one in the park, at least in my sight. I got up from the bench and walked forward a little bit, going slightly downhill and sitting down in the grass, looking up at the sky. It was rare I ever got to enjoy the little things in life, and this natural outing was just really nice.

[Emil~♟]

It had been a long week and it just felt like it was only getting longer. During this process of acclimating himself into this new environment, Emil had decided to take a trip to his adopted parents house earlier in the day. Door was kicked in, literally off the hinges. The house had been torn up... Broken glass, furniture flipped, huge signs of struggle and violence. Some of the windows had been blown out, almost as of OC gas grenades had been hucked through. Emil could smell the old blood and death, intoxicating. He would make his way up the stairs, up to the master bedroom. More dry blood, broken glass and that stench of decay. Emil would gag, but found his way into his parents bedroom.

"Christ almighty."

Both of them, a mangled mess of bodies meshed against one another as if they were holding each other when the end came. Double tap bullets wounds to back of each of their heads, no mercy, just execution. There was a picture knocked off the bed, falling from one of the hands. He couldn't tell whose hand, the bodies so rotted it was virtually impossible to decipher gender. The picture? The glowing Emil only six years old. His gut clenched, not entirely sure how to react. All his life looking for his real parents, but in all reality, they were right in front of him. With no tears, he lifted the covers over their bodies.

"Thank you."

He would quietly glide out of the house, having just a bit more closure. This was good though, seeing what he saw. It merely intensified his reasoning for coming back. There were things that needed to be done, his resolve only became stronger. Emil feet just moved, after awhile it felt like miles and he found himself in the park. The sun was rolling down to meet the curvature of the earth. For such a bleak and sorrowful environment, these particular beauties were few and far between.

Walking through the vast array of trees on the hilltop, he'd make his way to the clearing going downhill. A bent cigarette hung from his lips, a quick flick of his lighter and he would inhale. It was then he noticed an individual sitting at the very bottom, essentially doing the same thing he was doing. Emil made his way closer unnoticed, attempting to get a closer look at the man. He'd stop short a few feet, getting the feeling of nothing too hostile from him. If this guy was trying to relax like he was, no reason to startle him.

"...Quite the view, huh?"

He'd speak up, gesturing with a half grin on his face.

"Seems like this is the most quiet it gets around here. I'm Emil by the way... Emil Ankari."

[Valo Morei]

I almost jumped when I heard a voice suddenly. I hadn't noticed anybody approaching as I had been too lost in thought. Taking a quick second to compose myself, I had looked over to see another guy not too far from me. He was smoking, which made the small distance between us good, as I wasn't fond of inhaling it, but regardless, it was pretty nice to have someone to talk to on a day like this.

"Yeah... It's a nice day.[/i]"

I said in response to his first statement, but when he introduced himself, something seemed really familiar. Did he say... Ankari? I paused for a moment, turning around to get a good look at him. The name was familiar for two reasons. I had heard of Faust back in New York, but I had never personally met the guy. The second reason was that my brother, Shugo, was with Jacket, and if memory served me right... her name was Ankari.

"Nice to meet you, Emil. My name's Valo Morei.[/i]"

My name was pretty unusual, but I was doubtful he had heard of me. I only had a name for myself back in New York, and it was for reasons I wasn't exactly fond of. Reflecting back on those times, I had realized how much I had changed. I wasn't the same kid who hurt others trying to become accepted with a gang, now I fought for what I believed in.

I looked back towards the sky before continuing speaking, having to ask merely because I was curious. I doubted Ankari was that common of a last name.

"Do you know someone named Jacket?[/i]"

[Emil~♟]

It seemed virtually impossible not to startle the individual, he was trying not to but it just seemed to happen anyway. Emil slipped out a bit of a chuckle following with an exhale of smoke. His grin would not fade, the other guy seemed friendly enough to keep a conversation going. Emil, standing almost six feet and seven inches would make his way into a bit of a crouched position. Bending his knees enough to be eye level with the man in front of him.

"Nice to meet you, Emil. My name's Valo Morei."

Valo Morei... The name sounded familiar enough, almost PHS 552 familiar. It seemed like the appropriate time to pry more information out of this guy, but Emil chose not to. Regardless if Valo knew anything or not of what was going on here, Emil chose not to care. This moment was nice, peaceful. Something he hadn't experienced since his first couple of weeks living out in the Serengheti. Valo would speak up again and mention a name. Another name that screamed familiarity.

"Do you know someone named Jacket?"

Emil would pause and think on it for a moment. The name sounded strangely ridiculous, made him almost want to chuckle a little bit. He withheld that much, just in case, that was Valo's mother or something.

"Can't say I do... Sounds like it could be someone I know. I'm more of a face guy to be honest."

Unbeknownst to Emil, Jacket was in fact, his only known blood relative to be nearby. Josiclyn was his father's sister, making her Emil's aunt. Unfortunately, our friendly neighborhood psychopath only knew her by Joscilyn and until really addressed as such would probably have no clue who the hell anybody was talking about. The sun finally began it's descent under the horizon, Emil taking a long pull of his cigarette would gaze on with a strange sense of contentment.

So... What brings you out here?"

Emil would slide a pack of his Marlboro Red cigarettes and offer one to Valo, grin still present.

[Valo Morei]

"Hmm..[/i]"

I mused quietly for a moment. I had no idea if they were relatives who had no idea about the other, or if the last name was merely a coincidence. I figured I would pry later if given the opportunity, for if I was wrong, I didn't want to seem too pushy with someone I had just met or cause any sort of awkwardness. I wasn't too great at talking to people anyway, that was more of Shugo's strong point.

Looking over at him bending down now, I could tell he was a whole lot taller than me, by at least a foot. It wasn't too shocking though, I had met my fair share of incredibly tall people. They must've had good genes or something. No one in my own family was particularly tall, with the exception of mine and Shugo's father. I must've gotten my short height from my mother. Oh well, at least it came in handy sometimes. At any rate, I was more nervous of him seeing how pale my complexion was from up close and questioning it.

When he offered me a cigarette, I would wave my hand lightly. "Ahh, no thanks. I don't smoke.[/i]" It was something that I had never acquired a taste for, even back in New York. It wasn't something that I wanted to do now, especially with my life expectancy shortened so drastically. Maybe it would be nice to do when I came to terms with my illness finally, but I hadn't given up on finding a cure yet. The strange thing was, I wasn't so scared that I only had a few months left.

"I just figured it'd be nice to enjoy life as it comes... when you spend so much time struggling just to get by, just to stay alive... it's nice to have some downtime where you can just relax.[/i]"

I said with a grin, looking back to the sky. It was the kind of day where you just felt like nothing could go wrong.

"And what about you?[/i]"