Since he had known the people of this organization Lucian had at first been supportive knowing that they were doing the right thing somewhere deep down. While he had been wary at first he had even started to like helping out since it had given him something to do after he had been discharged from the Air Force. It had mostly been Elias who had convinced him that they were good people, and he knew that they were now that he has known them for a few years. However, this did not change the fact that every time he was around them, doing something for them, he felt like he was just being used. If Ivan was insinuating what he felt he was then it came as no surprise. It has always been like this, he was always shuttling people from country to country, usually people Ivan or someone had wanted to be taken to a safe place, by this point nobody needed to tell him twice before he knew what they wanted from him.<br/><br/>He looked at Ivan knowingly and sighed, â€œI was planning on leaving as soon as possible either way. If Iâ€™m taking Shizu with me, fine.â€ Shizu seemed like a nice girl from what he has seen during their flight from Japan. She seemed to enjoy his company and he knew he had a good time rambling on about planes to her. People usually shunned him, saying a grown man should stop playing with toys when he brought up his model collection. Model collections were not odd at all. Even Elias seemed to get bored of conversations where he would ramble on about planes, whether he was saving money for parts, looking at buying a new plane, or just talking about the military things. Planes were probably his ne true passion in life and yet he has never really met anyone as interested in learning about them. Shizu had been so intent on learning and he had liked that, even though he had known she lived in a village stuck in the past, she had given him someone to talk to about his obsession.<br/><br/>No, he would not object to her coming with him. It wasâ€¦ just the situation in general he was taking issue with.<br/><br/>While he was planning to leave anyway and he knew this was convenient, that was it. Lucian had not wanted to get involved with this and just wanted to go back home and yet here he was. He was not a religious man, but he was sure some higher power out there had brought him here to make everything soâ€¦ convenient for Ivan and the others when it came to getting Shizu out of here. It really pissed him off, always being used like this. How many times has he helped them out? How many times have they put up with each other to get shit done? Hell, he had not even wanted to go get Azrai out of Japan to begin with. The only reason he had done so was because Elias was friends with the lot of them and he could never bring himself to say no to Elias. That man has done a lot for him in the past, the least he could do was help him out whenever he called upon him.<br/><br/>Itâ€™s justâ€¦ he wished he would at least get a â€˜thank youâ€™ once in awhile. Sure, maybe they expressed their appreciation for being their personal air taxi service from time to time but it had never been in the form of those words alone. Honestly, most of the time, â€˜leave as soon as you canâ€™ translated to â€˜drop deadâ€™ he was well aware. As was the case here, no doubt, but instead of saying anything about it he just agreed to take the girl with him when he left. The sooner he got out of this place, the better. Perhaps that was why he was so sour around them most of the time. A thank you every now and then would be much appreciated, especially with how taxing being awake nearly twenty-four hours can be on someone. Surely they would know that, especially with his line of work, that it was unhealthy to not get that much sleep during the week. Then again maybe they were as use to it as he was. Either way, he knew they were not immune to sleep deprivation.<br/><br/>Lucian sure as hell was not immuneâ€¦<br/><br/>He stood from the bed despite the protests of the medics, â€œIs Shizu well enough to leave now? Preferably, Iâ€™d like to leave as soon as possible, as Iâ€™m sure I have already outstayed my welcomeâ€¦â€ He snorted when he added the last bit. After being in the air for nearly twenty hours the other day, also running on little sleep and no decent meal in his stomach, he was still completely exhausted, sore, and irritable especially after that rude awakening. If it was up to him he would rest a little more before he left but he was just eager to get home at this point. He really didnâ€™t give a fuck anymore. All he wanted was to get out of here and nothing more. There was no way he could express that enough to them not that they would care. He was just their personal taxi service, right? Sleep, food, rest, what the hell were those things?<br/><br/>------------------<br/><br/>As much as he wanted to stick around, Maverick had decided to go back into where his assigned room was and just rest when Ivan had gone off to speak with Lucian.<br/><br/>When he had first approached Shizu, Zachariah had been expecting her to try to negotiate with him about her leaving despite making arrangements already. He could see it in her eyes that she was having a hard time and was beginning to have some second thoughts about it. Not that he blamed her, he was not angry nor did he resent her descision, if he were in her shoes he would be having a rough time as well. If anything he was more than understanding in this. Those two had become attached to each other, something Azrai should have known to avoid when on a rescue mission, though why they had become so attached was still a mystery to him. What did that man see in her? She did seem like a sweet person but he felt that there was something more to it that went a little deeper. Knowing Azrai as well as he did he was sure that was not the case. Maybe he was just happy that he got a change of pace from killing those he sends him to eliminate, feeling them a threat to the organization, the Holy Land, the world.<br/><br/>That being said he was not mad at Azrai either, not as mad as the others might be, he was putting his energy towards worrying whether or not he would come around soon rather than anger. Perhaps he did resent him a little, but he, too, could not help but feel admiration for what he had gone through just to save one life. In all the years he has known the man he knew that he has always had a big heart and didnâ€™t mind helping others. Seeing this side of him was always refreshing, if he wasnâ€™t always so reckless whenever he did express it. In all honesty he truly had wanted to teach him to not be so reckless but of course Azrai was always so stubborn. The man never really did like the idea of changingâ€¦ he wondered what he would be like now. Would the Oni blood really change him, for better or for worse? He didnâ€™t want to put too much thought into that. Once the man showed signs of recovery then they could worry about his possible changes.<br/><br/>When Shizu questioned Azraiâ€™s recovery, in spite of saying he was going to be alright, Zachariah frowned. There was a bit of emotion showing on his countenance. Overall this had definitely been an emotional day for everyone here so it was only natural that it was beginning to get to him as well. He had appreciated Ivan wanting to help out more, it showed him that the man was definitely dedicated, and it also made him pray for Azrai even more. If he did not make it he was not going to be happy. While Zachariah was not much of a drinker, a few drinks almost sounded appealing right about now. He was sure the others were going to hit the bottle as soon as everything was calmed down. Hopefully that time would be very soon, he truly was exhausted. Nearly every part of him was just as anxious as the next person and he felt like he was on the verge of some mental break down. As much as he wanted to think positive, knowing that he had to continue the organization, he wasâ€¦ just unsure.<br/><br/>Closing his eyes he thought for a moment, an eerie, dead silence filling the room almost telling him that God wanted to hear his answer. How should he answer her? Zachariah wanted to be truthful butâ€¦<br/><br/>â€œI canâ€™t say for sure how long it will be before he wakes up,â€ he looked at her with a worried expression, though he hadnâ€™t meant for it to show through. â€œIâ€™m sure youâ€™re just as aware of how stubborn that man can be as his friends, but I still have my doubts.â€ His voice cracked, but he remained strong. Walking over to the wall near Azraiâ€™s bed he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. â€œAll I can do now is pray that God will give him strength to recover at this point. If I could do more, I would, but this is out of my hands.â€ Pausing to take a deep breath he shook his head while he thought about what he would tell the others should Azrai not make it. He really was hoping for a miracle at this point, he wished he was a true saint, he wished he was like Christ who had always been able to perform miracles. Some of his followers might think it, but the reality of it was that Zachariah could not turn water into wine.<br/><br/>Oh how he hoped God would pull through for them and let Azrai live. God has guided him all of his life and he placed his faith in Him, surely He would not fail him. Zachariah himself believed he was blessed by God especially after that battle, everything always was in his favor because God was watching him, was the it not the same for Azrai? Without realizing what he was doing he began to mutter some old Hebrew prayers that had been taught to him as a child. Growing up in a mostly Jewish country, he had learned their ways while he was young and even incorporated some of their laws into his own teachings though they were not quite as extreme. He believed in freedom and did not like to be as by the book as some of the other religious groups out there. But relying on prayer alone made him feel so powerless, so useless, like he was failing the organization for not being the saint they so desired. It ate him up inside knowing he was not some miracle worker.<br/><br/>He sighed heavily, â€œI know for a fact heâ€™s going to be unhappy about thisâ€¦â€ His words had trailed off. Turning his attention away from Azrai before even more of his emotions leaked out he looked at Shizu again, trying to change the subject a little. Right now, the best thing to do was think positive. Besides, he knew for a fact that Azrai would not want people worrying about him. Surely if he knew that everyone was worried he would argue a little and say that they did not need to worry. That everything would be fine, that was what he has always said anyway. He was fine. In one way or another, that stubborn mule was never one to allow people to worry about him too much no matter how deeply they cared about him. Taking the subject off of him for the time being was what he felt was the best thing for everyone at this moment. Perhaps it would help to ease some of the worry? No, he doubted that, everyone would still worry even if he had somehow calmed them.<br/><br/>â€œI want to apologize to you again, for getting you involved, but look at it this way: Raziel is gone and you will have your freedom now. Once we finish making the necessary arrangements, we shall make sure that you are somewhere even your stepfather or whatever enemies he has would not be able to find you. This I can promise.â€ He moved closer to her again. She didnâ€™t seem to be comfortable around him whenever he came this close to her but he didnâ€™t blame her. He was still essentially a stranger to her, and for all she knew they could be sending her back to that village. Not that he would even think about such a thing, of course, especially not after everything the poor girl has been through. Zachariah was not so cruel as to do that either way. She was going to be sent somewhere she could live her life freely while the organization kept a lookout. After that maybe one day she and Azrai could see each other, but now it was a risk.<br/><br/>Zachariah looked to Azrai for a moment, â€œIâ€™m sure he would want you to be happy, with or without him. He has gone though a lot to free you so if not for me, or for God, but for him, make sure that you make the best of your freedom and live happily.â€ He told her with an air of confidence, hoping that he was accurate even though he had a feeling what he said was true. It was pretty sad how predictable Azrai could be from time to time, especially when it came to stuff like this.<br/><br/>A medic had entered the room and told them to leave while Azraiâ€™s bandages were being changed. After that it was almost like God was working yet another miracle. One moment he was asleep and the next he was awake. There was a sound from the room and the medic had called Zachariahâ€™s name.<br/><br/>â€œWait here,â€ he told Shizu and entered the room again to see that Azrai, who looked like he was ready to rip someoneâ€™s head off, was trying to tear out his IV. When he arrived in the medical base the medics had already taken precautions and restrained him to the bed with leather straps. Somehow he had gotten out of one of them but the other held fast. The medics were rushing in trying to calm him down but to no avail. It was only when he noticed Zachariah was in the room that he showed any signs of relaxing. The two stared at each other for a long time before Zachariah, after telling the medics to inform Ivan and Maverick that Azrai was awake now, decided to get a little closer to him. The look in the manâ€™s eyes told him that he was still recovering and would need to take it easy. Had he been speaking to someone else, he would have mentioned it, not to mention Azrai was too stubborn to take it easy when he was told.<br/><br/>Making a gesture that told the medics to back away he said, â€œHow do you feel?â€ He wanted to start off with the usual. Dumping the fact that Shizu would be leaving would not be wise right now, the results would be pretty disastrous.<br/><br/>â€œI heard voicesâ€¦ but Iâ€¦â€ a pause, â€œShizuâ€¦ Where is Shizu?â€ Azrai growled, breathing heavily as he gripped the sheets of his bed tightly, almost like he was about to tear them apart with his bare hands, which made Zachariah wince inwardly. The question came as no surprise but it seems that Azrai was not completely out of his dangerous state quite yet. Was this the change to his personality that everyone was speaking about? Zachariah sure hoped not.<br/><br/>â€œShizu is alive and well, resting, there is no need to worry.â€ Though he looked like he wanted to respond, Azrai remained silent and tried to get out of bed again. Zachariah walked over and sat next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.  He really could not stand seeing him like this either and the fact he had all of this energy when he should be resting was a bit concerning. â€œI know youâ€™re worried, and I know you hate being hospitalized, but you really do need your rest, Azrai. From what I understand that poisonâ€¦â€ He paused when the man looked at him. Before any sort of argument could escalate he put his arms around him, which had taken him completely off by surprise, and held him close. Showing affection like this was not something he normally did, especially with Azrai, but this dayâ€¦ this day has been rough. â€œIâ€™m just glad youâ€™re alive, everyone has been worried sick about you, especially Ivan.â€ As much as he wanted to mention Shizu, again, that would not be a good idea.<br/><br/>Azrai winced as Zachariah embraced him, tensing a little. If it had been anybody else doing this he would have pushed them away. Not only was he still feeling weak, his body feeling like it was on fire from the pain, his thoughts clouded because of whatever drugs were in his system, but there was something about Zachariah that brought him a sense of comfort. He could not bring himself to push him away, everyone had been through a lot today, himself included, why start more fights? Instead he rested his head upon his shoulder until he fell asleep again.