As instructed, he went outside to calm down. He stood leaned against the wall, the cold sinking into his bones, but his body was shivering from everything that was going on rather from being cold, arms folded over his chest while he looked at the ground in thought. Everyone was avoiding him and honestly part of him didn’t really blame him. There were not words to describe just how bed he felt for doing what he did. Nothing he could say would even justify it. He knew that no matter how hard he tried to make things right, even if it was a simple apology, it would just be wasted effort. He should not have lost control and lashed out like that. That was all there was to it. But he couldn’t help it and he had lashed out. Now he was in this situation that really made him angry at himself more than anything.<br/><br/>His habit of beating himself up was starting to kick in. But here, he felt that he wasn’t really.<br/><br/>When Ivan came back out and threw that punch part of him knew he deserved it. That didn’t mean it didn’t piss him off, though. He straightened himself and rubbed his jaw, glowering. Every part of him wanted to punch him right back; his hand even balled into a fist and he shifted as if he was going to draw. It was bad enough that he was beating himself up over it, the last thing he needed was Ivan rubbing it in. Whenever he felt like shit and didn’t think he could feel any worse, Ivan was always there to rub it in. The man was like a brother to him but it was times like this he wanted to just shut him up. It was probably written all over his face. There was a lot he could say, a lot he really wanted to say, but he knew it would just be useless.<br/><br/>“Do you… believe that I had done that on purpose?” He said in an oddly calm tone. “If that is the case, it was not on purpose, I assure you.” Somehow, he managed to keep himself in check enough to not go ahead and pummel Ivan even though there was a spark in his eye. It was probably the drugs still in his system. There was also the fact throwing punches and getting upset was not going to find Shizu. Part of him was upset that Ivan had even mentioned Shizu, it was wrong; Ivan should not have to drag her in to try to talk some sense into him. He really should have had better control of himself. His lips parted for a moment as if he was going to voice that but nothing came. He ran a hand though his hair and let out a shaky sigh instead.<br/><br/>To be honest, he wasn’t sure if he could tell Ivan everything that was on his mind. Sure, he knew most of it, but there was more, and he was sure that was the reason he snapped. Yes, he had his own issues, it pissed him off that Ivan had said what he had about them, but in his mind he was still able to focus on this mission. He had no problems doing all he could to make sure that Shizu was safe. He had made a promise to her and did not want to go back on his word, compromise anything, and certainly would not want to let the organization down. It was… just that this… This… this reminded him so much of that time Cassandra had been kidnapped. But there was no way he could speak to Ivan openly about it, so his good friend would never truly know what was going on in his mind.<br/><br/>He was sure it would just sound like an excuse anyway, in the sense that he knew better than to allow such thoughts to surface. Perhaps it was because he was dealing with Levi, and he had already shown that his emotions got in the way of things back in Japan where this all started. When it came to those he cared about, he was almost uncontrollable. This was not something he wanted to make a habit of. Even though he knew Ivan would trust him if he made that promise, he still didn’t say anything.<br/><br/>A small frown touched his lips, “I am not a fool, Ivan…” He said, trying to keep his frustration out of his tone. Though he understood that Ivan’s words were mostly out of anger, he did not appreciate him busting his chops like this. “I know that you are… aware of this. I would appreciate it if you did not speak to me as if I was.” Moving a little closer to Ivan, he looked him dead in the eyes. “I will not be removed from this mission. We have… come too far.” It was not an ‘I dare you to remove me’ sort of thing, or even a threat. He was being dead serious about it. The last thing he wanted was to be removed from this mission. He was more than capable of keeping himself together and he was willing to prove that.  Unfortunately, missions like this were not so forgiving.<br/><br/>“If they…” He paused and shook his head, deciding not to finish that thought. He was more than aware that this was not going to just roll off of everyone’s shoulders so easily and it irritated him no end even though it wasn’t really shown. Zachariah was going to be disappointed in him once he heard about this. It wouldn’t surprise him if he was punished for this in some way. One more fuck up like that, and he would be putting not only the mission but the entire organization at risk. The thought of him having to leave the organization was a constant worry, and at one point he thought it might be for the best. But, until now, his aggression had not been this bad. It was just… there was so much going wrong. He had almost lost one of his best friends and he didn’t know if he would ever see Shizu living happily.<br/><br/>If he fucked up like this again, he knew he’d never see that happen, reason he needed to stay on this mission. He was attached to Shizu, which has already been established, he truly did want to be there when they rescued her. If he wasn’t, he knew that he truly would have failed her. He also knew that she probably trusted him more than she trusted Ivan simply because of how they had bonded. However, he was starting to grow tired of this constant mentioning of her. He was just going to make sure he didn’t fuck up again, otherwise he’d never forgive himself and he could kiss the only life he knew good-bye. If he was this worked over Shizu, so much so that he was willing to harm someone, and that he even calmed down when she was mentioned, then as far as he was concerned he was no better than Levi.<br/><br/>He wouldn’t voice it but he knew it was true. Levi was so caught up in his revenge, unable to let go of what happened to Cassandra. Even though he was a very determined person, he would not want to go down the same road as Levi.<br/><br/>“As soon as Elias is well, we shall… continue our search for Shizu. I will… relax and to go take a walk until then.” He murmured quietly, letting out a soft breath, “Call me once you are finished here and I will… meet you at Elias’s apartment.” He didn’t even wait for Ivan to say anything before he turned away from him and started to walk out of the parking lot. As much as he did not want to walk away, he was already in the mindset that he needed to relax anyway. That was a good thing. However, by ‘take a walk’ he meant heading to the nearest bar and having himself a few drinks to clear his mind. It was probably a bad idea since he was just out of the hospital, and he hated himself for walking away from something a second time, but he didn’t care. That was the best thing he could do to calm down.<br/><br/>Taking some time to unwind a bit would be the best thing to do. He could not stay here, like hell he wanted to go back into the hospital even if he hadn’t done what he did, and he did not want to talk about anything right. There was already a lot to discuss, and he’d cross that bridge when he got there. It was just better that way. Otherwise focusing would not come to him as easily as it would if he had a few drinks.<br/><br/>---------------------------------------<br/><br/>It came as no surprise to Levi that David was questioning whether or not the idea of luring Azrai and the others to them instead of waiting around. He frowned a little. To any sane person, the idea was pretty rash. Of course, Levi thought the plan was absolutely brilliant and wanted to get out there as soon as possible. Normally he would scold David or say something completely ridiculous that would make the man question him further. It was a wonder how David put up with Levi some days, but of course that thought was far from his mind. He was just glad he had someone to listen to him. There were not too many people in this world willing to listen to the ideas of someone who was almost completely off his rocker, especially whenever he was in a good mood such as this. He so fired up he was pacing the room.<br/><br/>He honestly had no idea where to begin when he was asked what he had in mind. There were so many things rushing through his mind right now. He was unable to grasp something solid, drag it to the front of his thoughts, and speak his mind. Every time he wanted to bring something up, he felt like he would just get tongue-tied so he just remained silent as he gathered his thoughts. There were so many ways he could go about it and he knew that he was going to have to make his decision wisely. As energetic as he was right now, and how impatient, he was not a complete idiot. He might not have seemed like it, but he was someone who learned from his mistakes. He knew that he was going to have to be careful when he went about this, or the Oni would escape. That was something he didn’t even want to begin imagining.<br/><br/>As soon as David mentioned sending a video message, Levi’s face lit up with a devilish grin. “A video message…” He rushed over to David and clasped his hands on his shoulders, coming a little too close to his dear comrade for comfort. Usually when Levi got this close to someone, it was because he was yelling at them or punching them, but not here. David really seemed to have something going and he was taking a liking to it. Probably more than he should. “This is why I love having you around, my friend!” He said with a chuckle. “You’re a genius!” Yeah, he definitely liked this idea more than he should. Everything that had been in his mind prior was completely erased, replaced by this new idea. The only question now was how to go about it. He wasn’t even sure if he had any recording equipment lying around anywhere.<br/><br/>“A video message is perfect.” His tone was calmer this time. As he backed away from David he started to pace the room again, arms folded over his chest, his gaze heavily stating that he was now off in Levi Land. His rambling provided an even stronger confirmation. “We don’t need anything fancy. All we have to do, is get the message across, rough her up a little, piss him off, and then he’ll be in my hands in no time! I can already see the look on his face… He’ll try to save her, and then I’ll strike him where it hurts!” He paused mid-stride and balled one hand into a fist, striking the palm of his other hand while he stared out the window. “That woman is a real piece of ass, Oni or no. I can see why he’d value her. I’m sure he’d hate to see her all roughed up.”<br/><br/>He paused again, and nodded to himself. "Yes… he would, he hated seeing Cassandra like that…” There was a soft chuckle, and then he took in a deep breath.<br/><br/>Deciding to leave his little ramble at that, he turned to face the group. “Hey, do we have any recording equipment or do we need to make a run for some?” Compared to just then, he really seemed a little saner. As sane as someone like Levi would be anyway; Levi was anything but sane. Anyone with a brain was aware of that. He bounced on his heels a little as he thought. Maybe there was a laptop sitting around or something… he’d have to go look. Later. For now he would keep soaking in everything, coming up with a decent idea for how to go about doing this video. He was not a good actor but hell, he knew how to torment someone. Someone was going to have to do the recording and he was looking right at David. Once again, he was thinking of sticking David with a shitty job.<br/><br/>But was it really that shitty? Well, in a way it probably was but that was another thing that was not on his mind. He was being pretty vain right now, in his own way. He wanted to be the star of that video and didn’t care as long as it was damned good. Maybe David was not the best choice to play camera man, he did have another candidate in mind, but he would rather not have someone else be dragged into this.<br/><br/>This was their victory, not anybody else’s. Eventually, he’d need to contact the others and inform them of Hank’s death. It was still very unfortunate that he could not be part of this. That man surely would have enjoyed this in the sense that he would have had a blast tormenting her. Though, on second thought, he knew Hank would have would probably end up being too rough. They could now afford to have the Oni woman too harmed. That was to be for later. On the other hand, who was to say that Levi wouldn’t be able to keep himself in check when it came to tormenting her? He already could not wait to go back in that room and have his way with her. To keep his mind off of it for now, he started gathering more and more ideas for this video, and was obviously far too energetic for his own good.<br/><br/>If he didn’t keep his energy in check, things would not go well. Many failed missions came from Levi being too impatient and not being able to keep himself under control. Every failed mission meant more stress for him. Having come so far here, he could not stress enough how much he did not want this one to face the same fate. Not only because he’d be pissed, but because he that knew staying in a good mood was better for him. There was too much anger in his life.<br/><br/>He wanted, for once, to finally achieve something. He wanted peace.<br/><br/>Levi looked at Tyler next. He noted how the man was keeping quiet, as he always did, probably worrying about the woman. “You!” He pointed right at him. “It’s your job to make sure that she doesn’t escape.” Despite his energy, his words were stern, “If she slips out of our grasp, it’ll be your head.” It was odd how quickly Levi could go from being far too hyper right back to seeming like he was angry with something. He was a little unpredictable in that regard, however, here he was just trying to get his point across. Even though it probably was not needed since he knew David already made it clear to the man, he just wanted to be sure.