Maverick had given Ivan and Azrai a nod and watched silently as the two of them had left, being sure to see the two of them out. He didnâ€™t like good-byes so he didnâ€™t want to stay around the two for too long. Just thinking about going home was making him emotional, he needed rest, and he was going to get some rest before he left for home. Aside from the fact that he had been called here so suddenly, he knew his life was not the best. There had been a time during one of his visits where he was having a bad day and snapped, letting Azrai in on what had been going on. He had not heard anything more from him since that but he was sure it was bad if he had to leave so soon. In a lot of ways Maverick really was one of the most important people in this organization.<br/><br/>He was quite charismatic in his own way.<br/><br/>Even while he was exhausted he showed his dedication by making sure things were organized and running smoothly before he found a back room to sleep. His dreams were filled, much to his relief, with some positive thoughts. Now, all he needed was his dream to have a less stressful life, and moving to Israel, to come true.<br/><br/>----------------------<br/><br/>It was nice to finally be able to leave the base. Any more time in there and Azrai would have lost his damned mind. Ivan had been right to assume he really had been too tired to even reject the antidote injection; in fact he had barely felt the needle prick his skin when it was given. As much as he did not want to take it, and he had made that obvious to everyone even in his tired state, he knew it was better to be safe than sorry.<br/><br/>He felt the exhaustion take him over more the moment he sank into the passenger seat of the car. Out of habit he fastened his seat belt and looked out the window. When Ivan spoke to him, he cast a sideways glance but said nothing. Ivan was right to assume that there was a lot on his mind and that he indeed had a lot to take in. As much as he appreciated the closure, there was a small part of him that was still upset. He didnâ€™t give his friend the satisfaction of a response because he still wished he could have said good-bye to her. Perhaps there was also a small amount of jealousy he was feeling because Ivan had been the one who arranged for her to live happily. Not being able to keep his promise made him feel like shit, though he would most likely never say anything.<br/><br/>The silence was probably enough to give that away anyway.<br/><br/>Once they arrived at his apartment, he couldnâ€™t help but grin at the concern in Ivanâ€™s eyes. Even when he tells people not to worry about him, or show concern, they still do. â€œI will be alright, I assure you,â€ he said before they parted ways. Whenever they parted ways it was never anything long or drawn out; half the time they didnâ€™t even utter â€˜good-byeâ€™. What was the point of getting worked up when they knew they would be seeing each other again pretty soon? Well now that he thought of it, there was some irony in that seeing as he had come so close to death. They might not have lived close to each other, in fact he also liked the space between them, he didnâ€™t feel suffocated by Ivanâ€™s presence, but they saw each other five days out of the week. Most of the time, they were doing business for the organization but on occasion they would get together for an outing.<br/><br/>It was nice to finally be home. As soon as he entered the apartment he walked into the kitchen, pulling out a bottle of wine from the refrigerator. He poured himself a glass and went to sit out on the balcony for awhile. The fresh air, and being alone, was extremely refreshing. He was not really willing to sit inside just yet; he had been indoors, underground, enough for one day. Being outdoors was nice. Even if he was so tired he might fall asleep in the chair he was sitting in he could probably sit for hours watching the city. Part of him wished he could have shared this with Shizu, just sitting out here. The thought of having company since he was use to being alone was strange, but one day he wanted to just sit and converse with her some more. He would like to hear about how she was doing now that she had freedom.<br/><br/>He drank down the wine in one gulp and poured himself another glass. Drinking on top of being able to sit out here really calmed him down; otherwise heâ€™d not have gotten sleep if he went to bed right away. This was the first time he cared so much about a woman since Cassandra. He really wasnâ€™t sure what he thought about it; his mind seemed to want to shut down whenever he tried to draw some sort of a conclusion. He knew didnâ€™t feel the same thing for Shizu he felt for Cassandra but stilâ€¦ Maybe he shouldnâ€™t think about it, but no matter what he did it was still on his mind. Perhaps because he had gone through a lot just to make sure that Shizu had her freedom. His wounds were a constant reminder of that. It was going to be awhile before he was completely healed up.<br/><br/>There was no doubt that he would go stir crazy just sitting around while he was healing. The thought of having nothing to do was already starting to eat at him.<br/><br/>The life he lived was the only thing he knew, there was no way he would be able to change that. Not being able to go out on the field was frustrating and terrifying at the same time. He knew he needed to recover but having an outlet was more important to him. Otherwise, if he was denied that outlet or left without something to do, especially for a long period of time, he knew he would just turn to self-destructive activities like drinking. It would not be drinking to simply calm his nerves, which was usually his main motivation, he would drink pass the time. His drinking was pretty bad to begin with. There was no telling what would happen if he fell back into the guy who would drink to get drunk, feeling there was nothing else to do with his life. He would have to make sure that didnâ€™t happen somehow.<br/><br/>Maybe tomorrow, if he was feeling better, he would go to the shooting range or take a walk around the city. He did enjoy taking walks quite a bit. In fact taking walks around Jerusalem was what he often did in his spare time, whenever he needed some fresh air. With his injuries he knew going for a walk might not be the best idea when he should be taking it easy. That sure as hell was not going to stop him from going on a walk anyway. His legs werenâ€™t broken; if he was able to get out of bed the next day he was going to take a walk. He was tempted to right now, actually, but he knew he was too fatigued. His mind was restless, but every bone in his body was telling him to get some more rest. He had already pushed himself enough this week anyway so he might as well get some rest.<br/><br/>About an hour had passed before his eyelids began to feel heavy and he came close to nodding off. It was about time that he got some rest for the day. He didnâ€™t want to fall asleep out here, even if it was a nice day today.<br/><br/>After heading back inside he went into the kitchen and placed the wine bottle back into the refrigerator, deciding to save some, a yawn escaped him. A wave of exhaustion crashed into him like a ton of bricks yet again. It was enough for him to decide that it was better to head to bed. If he stayed awake any longer he might pass out on the spot, this has been a long day. He didnâ€™t even bother to change into different clothes as soon as he entered his bed room. He just flopped on his bed and slid his arms under his pillow. A bad idea, since pain shot through his torso as soon as he hit the bed. He winced a little and lay there until the pain died down before rolling over into a more comfortable position. Then, he did his usual ritual of, taking a few deep breaths, trying to clear his mind.<br/><br/>There was going to be a lot on his mind for awhile, and one of the main things was that Oni blood now in his veins. He wondered what was going to happen with him now. What if he turned into an Oni? That thought had been nagging at him ever since Ivan had explained everything to him. To be honest, Azrai was quite content with being human and did not want to transformâ€¦ He cut his thought short, frowning, suddenly feeling a little restless. He was not going to turn was he? Briefly, he thought of contacting Ivan but not only would his body not respond to any command given to it to move, he really didnâ€™t want to bother him. Maybe the thought was utterly stupid anyway. Maybe he was just putting way too much thought into this whole thing. However, he was terrified of what might happen to him.<br/><br/>Perhaps he would casually mention it in conversation if it started to bother him too much. What he was most terrified of, more than he would ever admit was whatever changes that were going to happen occurring while he was sleeping. Hopefully nothing too bad would happenâ€¦ It was evident he was not going to be the same, but he didnâ€™t want to change regardless. Maybe he should just keep these things to himself now that he was thinking about it. It was bad enough that Zachariah was not allowing him to go on too many missions. He really did not want to have to give up the only life he knew. There was still so much he had to do for the organization. It wasnâ€™t like they would not just get rid of him if he lost his mindâ€¦ would they? No. He doubted that they would but still, what if he did have to be locked away?<br/><br/>He didnâ€™t want that to happen either.<br/><br/>He wanted to keep showing that he was worthy to continue serving the organization. Zachariah had taught him so much since he had taken him under his wing, given him a reason to keep living. He would always be one of Godâ€™s soldiers. Has he not done any good for the organization? He had rescued Shizu after all. There had been something driving him to take on that mission to get Shizu out of that village. One day, he just knew that he would come across some other missions where he would shine. He would always be part of the organization, with the good he believes he does, the friends he had, that was never going to change, no matter what happens now.<br/><br/>Taking in a deep breath, he shifted his position slightly, relaxing his body some more, and closed his eyes. Even with everything that worried him he tried his best to push it out of his thoughts so he would have an easier time falling asleep. As soon as he did that, he passed out almost right away.<br/><br/>---------------------<br/><br/>The room was unnervingly silent. Whenever there was something important going on everyone knew better than to just start asking questions.<br/><br/>Their leader looked over the information several times before arranging this little gathering, and was certainly not pleased. The manila folder was practically thrown onto the table in front of the others, papers sliding out and some even falling onto the floor. â€œDoes anyone know why Iâ€™m upset?â€ Their leaderâ€™s voice boomed. When nobody answered, their leader continued. â€œThe Oni has been taken out of Israel. On top of that, Zachariah and his organization were weakened in that battle with Sanctus Unum.â€ Their leaderâ€™s voice was, despite being laced with anger, soft.<br/><br/>â€œShould we go after her?â€<br/><br/>â€œNot right away. We need to prepare, to find out exactly where she is so we donâ€™t tear the Earth apart, which may take quite some time. Sheâ€™s protected by Zachariah so getting to her wonâ€™t be an easy task. That organization managed to take down Sanctus Unum. I wonâ€™t be taking any chances.â€<br/><br/>â€œUnderstood.â€<br/><br/>â€œGood. Now, youâ€™re all dismissed. I have other business to take care of beforehand; I was just giving everyone a heads up.â€ With that, their leader walked out of the room. This really was going to need a lot of preparation. It may take months, perhaps a few years before they were ready. Striking while nobody expected it was the style of choice, and seeing how the Oni woman was something Azrai cared about striking when nobody expected would be the perfect way to get to him. Perhaps it was a good thing Sanctus Unum had been finished off, otherwise this opportunity would not have been presented at all.<br/><br/>Things were not over, not by a long shot.