His heart had been pounding during the entire car ride. All he could think about was Shizu and how he had failed her, and Elias. Every now and then he would glance back at Elias to make sure he was still with them. If they lost him, so help him, he would leap out of this car, hunt Levi down, and make him wish he would have taken that opportunity to give up his vendetta. Elias just meant so much to him. Part of him wanted to say that what happened to Elias was not Levi’s fault, but he knew better, that son of a bitch was the reason they had gone out in the first place. In a way, he almost regretted not killing him, but if he had they might not have made it to Elias in time because they would have been weighed down by another person.<br/><br/>The feeling of failure was painful, even more painful than his wounds were at the moment. He was sure that Shizu would not forgive him. When it came time to talk to her, would she understand his decision if she knew that Elias had almost died? Elias meant a lot to him, and he knew that he meant a lot to her as well. He had only known her for half a year, but he knew she was a very kind and understanding person. She had surprised the hell out of him more than once. Who was he to say that she would not surprise him again? Still, he could not shake the feeling of failing her. She could have been right here with them. But on the other hand, he was sure that she would never want to see Elias in the condition he was in now, close to death.<br/><br/>He let out a shaky breath and leaned back in his seat.<br/><br/>When they arrived at the hospital, he felt himself tense up. His heart started to pound harder and his breathing became heavy. When Ivan got out of the car, he stayed behind. He leaned back in the seat again, closed his eyes, and tried to convince himself that he was not at a hospital. Even if that illusion would be shattered as soon as he came back to reality, anything that would get him out of the car would help. A hospital was the last place he wanted to be. His fear of them was pretty intense; willing himself to get out of the car was hard. The only reason he had been quick about getting out was because he didn’t want to hear it from Ivan later. Not only that, but he truly would feel bad if he couldn’t stay by Elias’s side while he recovered because of his damned phobia.<br/><br/>Once he was out, he just stared at the building for a long time. Looking at the ground, he kept his breathing as steady as he could, taking slow steps forward until he reached the entrance, and followed Ivan inside. Standing there reminded him once more about Cassandra. He had gone though the same ritual whenever he came to visit her. Pushing that thought out of his mind, he just kept as calm as he could, hoping that he wouldn’t actually have a panic attack, and stayed quiet while he spoke with the one who would be tending to Elias. He decided to take a seat in one of the chairs, keeping his head down. This was probably one of the rare moments where he seemed meek. He was terrified. His hands were still shaking pretty badly, there wasn’t really much he could do to hide it with everything that just went down still fresh on his mind.<br/><br/>When Ivan asked him about his wounds, he just shook his head. “I am fine, I assure you.” His tone seemed distant. “Elias’s condition is… much worse than mine… Right now, I am more concerned about him than I am my own injuries.” He was tired as well, even though he seemed to be pretty focused, and could feel the exhaustion beginning to settle in more and more the longer he sat here, but as much as he wanted to rest he couldn’t until he knew Elias was alright. His shoulder was screaming in pain. It really should be looked at, or else he’d run the risk of actually losing his arm because of infection. He hated bullet wounds. But, once again, he did not want to be looked at; he was being stubborn, mostly, but he also needed to know that Elias was alright.<br/><br/>What if Elias didn’t recover? If they went back and saved him only to have him die, or suffer something that would be with him for the rest of his life, he would be extremely pissed. For a moment, he wondered if he should tell Lucian. The man would probably find out eventually, considering how close he and Elias were. Even though Lucian didn’t get along with everyone, leaving him in the dark didn’t feel right. It was tempting. He had even reached into his pocket and placed his hand on his phone. But in the end, he decided against it. The man would probably blow a fuse if he found out that Elias was hurt, and that Shizu had once again fallen into enemy hands. That was something he would rather not deal with at the moment, considering his tolerance was pretty low right now and he didn’t feel like dealing with more than he already had on his shoulders.<br/><br/>He let out a sigh and ran his hand through his hair. Sitting here was starting to make him feel sick… He did not want to be here at all. He would rather be sitting back at the hotel with a bottle of wine in his hands, drinking himself to sleep. At least it was warmer in here than out there. If he spent any more time in the cold, he felt like he’d freeze. He was truly hoping that everything would be alright and they could get out of here soon. Would everything be alright? For as long as he has been in this, he knew better than to expect everything to be alright afterwards. There was feeling in his gut that things would be pretty rough, and he was not looking forward to it. He hoped that luck would be on their side, and once Elias recovered, they could get back to looking for Shizu.<br/><br/>He glanced at Ivan out of the corner of his eye for a moment. Part of him wanted to mention Shizu, but he decided against it. It was probably obvious she was on his mind just as much as Elias was. The failure he felt… it was really dragging him down. It was not often that he failed a mission, this was not the first time, there have been other failures, and when he did fail he hated it. This time was different because it was Shizu. Why was it different? Well, he was attached to her, he made a promise and he failed to keep it once again. He almost hated himself for it. But he did not want to show just how much he was beating himself up over it, at least not through words. Ivan knew him well enough to know he was anyway so words were not even needed.<br/><br/>A sudden shock of pain hit him when he shifted in his seat. He really should get his wounds looked at. It was bad enough his leg was injured, his shoulders were probably a lot worse. It was kind of odd. He didn’t even remember being shot, in spite hearing Levi’s gun go off, it kind of concerned him a little. The wound was pretty bad, and he could feel his shirt sticking to his skin a little just from the blood he lost. He clenched his jaw, groaned, and placed a hand over it, applying a bit of pressure. He really did want to have his wounds tended to simply because he did not want to be in the same boat as Elias. If he wasn’t so worked up from being here right now, if he was like a normal person and didn’t fear the thought of sitting in a hospital bed, maybe he would ask about it.<br/><br/>Sitting here thinking about it was not helping his situation. Some people might think he was making an excuse, but he wasn’t. He really was terrified of the thought of going in there. It was bad enough he had just recovered from a huge battle, from nearly dying, and was still recovering mentally. It was bad enough he had failed a mission, Levi was hell-bent on revenge, and the thought of losing Elias was weighing him down. He did not want to go through having to sit in a hospital again so soon even if his wounds were not nearly as bad as the ones he received during that war.<br/><br/>“I apologize. I need to… step outside for a moment.” He told Ivan, slowly standing from his chair. He must have been a lot more lightheaded than he thought, he felt dizzy. He looked and felt like he was ready to pass out at any moment from everything. His nausea was starting to get worse, to the point where he thought he was going to actually throw up. But, as always, he simply ignored it and pushed through it as best as he could. It took him a moment to find his balance, but once he did he was good to go and slowly started to make his way back outside. If he didn’t go outside now he felt like he’d snap. Some fresh air would do him some good. After that, he’d come back in and try again.<br/><br/>But, as he should have expected, he wouldn't make it. He took a few steps, and then finally did pass out when a nurse approached him and asked about his condition.<br/><br/>He wasn't sure how much time had passed. It only felt like a few minutes or so had gone by, when it had actually been awhile. When he finally woke, he was in a hospital bed, all bandaged up. He was probably given something to dull the pain, and keep him calm. Part of him was grateful for that. If they hadn't, he probably would have been in a little more of an irritable mood. Whatever part of him was still aware of his surroundings wanted to get out of bed. He'd have tried it, but it looked like he was being watched like a hawk. Why was he not surprised? Since this place had ties with the organization, he was sure they were aware of how much he hated hospitals, if anyone who knew him well enough was here. He closed his eyes, trying not to think that he was in a hospital bed, picturing somewhere a little more comfortable. Like home.<br/><br/>Looks like he was going to have to rough it until these drugs wore off at least.<br/><br/>---------------------<br/><br/>It wasn’t uncommon for Levi to spend a few hours alone, especially when there was a lot on his mind.<br/><br/>He sat on the bed, hands balled into fists, staring at the ground. Even though he had not suffered any injury beyond Azrai manhandling him a little, still feeling where he had grabbed his throat, he felt sore and exhausted. This mission had taken a lot out of him and he was still stewing over why Azrai had walked away from him. It didn’t seem right, he wondered what could have caused him to walk away like that, there had to be a reason, part of him was determined to find out. But at this time he needed some rest. The only thing keeping him going was the fact that they had succeeded. At long last, he had the woman. It would soon be time for him to exact his revenge on Azrai. He was too tired to show it now, but he truly was excited to finally have this moment.<br/><br/>It truly was a shame that they had lost Hank. Levi could have used his skills in roughing someone up, even if he knew the man would have bickered with him before approaching the woman and Azrai. Whenever he roughed someone up himself, he either overdid it or, as he saw with Azrai, nobody took him seriously. Then he would lose his temper. Some days he wished he could have kept his promise to Cassandra and learned to have better control over his anger. He knew that it would kill him one day; it was already taking its toll on him in more ways than one. Even now, he felt lightheaded and sick because of how fucking pissed he was that he could not have gotten to Azrai right then and there. He was going to need a new strategy, and knew he would not be able to think up a decent approach in his current state of mind.<br/><br/>As time had passed, he did start to become a little calmer. Spending time alone helped a lot. At one point, he had moved into the area they had set up as a ‘kitchen’ area and grabbed a beer. Water might have been better, or tea, but he really could use anything to wet his mouth at the moment. It was drier than a desert. Alcohol was a lot more calming anyway. He also had himself another smoke. It was his second one today, and he was kicking himself for it. He managed to keep himself in check, though, and he only took a few drags before snuffing it out and sticking it back into the pack. It was a proud moment for him. After that, he went back up to the room, not speaking with anyone, in no mood to socialize or discuss anything knowing full well he would just go off again.<br/><br/>Levi lay back on the bed, hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling.  He was about to close his eyes when there was a knock on the door. It was Tyler.<br/><br/>Sighing heavily, he slowly stood up, running a hand over his face, and then made his way to the door. When he opened it, he eyed the mythologist for a long time before smiling, “Good.” He moved past Tyler, pausing just to say, in a low growl, “You better not have pulled anything,” and started to head to the room where she was being kept. It was tempting to throw a little extra threat in there, but he saw no need. He did not give Tyler a pat on the back or any kind of recognition for a good job. Tyler’s job was not done just yet, as he would be needed once Azrai came to her rescue. His hands were shaking from the excitement of getting his way. It was still so unreal that he had her in his hands, able to do what he wanted with her.<br/><br/>He ran his tongue across his teeth, his mouth salivating at the thought of everything he could do now that he had her. The adrenaline that had faded from earlier was rushing back in again. He felt alive. There was a look in his eye, a maniacal look, devious; the same look he always got whenever he was about to have his way with a captured woman. He honestly could not wait. With each step he took, he could feel his heart pounding as his excitement continued to grow.<br/><br/>He paused in front of the door to the room where she was being held. Closing his eyes for a moment, he took in a few deep breaths. If he was going to confront her, he wanted to be in a calmer mindset. It was a good thing that she was bound, otherwise he’d dread having to go in there. Knowing she was powerless, as they had taken all the precautions to ensure their safety, made him feel a little better. Oh, he could only imagine what would happen if she were to somehow manage to get out of her restraints. He thought of calling the mythologist back just in case but he simply refused to be seen as a coward. He wanted to see her alone. A one on one experience would be so much better than having company around, who would possibly fuck this up for him.<br/><br/>“Nice to see you’re awake!” He said once he entered, in a mock friendly tone. The smile he had on his face was not a warm one, but one of amusement. “I’m glad to see that you’re awake. I was beginning to wonder if the dose had been… a little too much.” He walked around her, hands behind his back, taking in her appearance. He frowned a little. “You look uncomfortable. Figures. I told those idiots to be careful, but do they listen? No.” Now that he had the chance to do as he wished he honestly did not know where to begin. Should he just have his way with her now? That thought was so tempting… Seeing a woman bound like this, he knew he could only keep his hands to himself for so long. But he knew he had to. It wouldn’t be any fun without Azrai to witness the events that were about to unfold.<br/><br/>But that didn’t mean he still couldn’t have fun in the meantime.<br/><br/>As he stood over her, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a butterfly knife. “Azrai cares about you. You should have seen the look on his face when I told him I was going to kill you.” He said with a chuckle, fiddling with the knife in his hands while he spoke. “I’ll be honest. I was surprised when he just walked away. I guess he doesn’t care about you as much as I thought.” He was just trying to see what he could do to get to her. When she ran away as she had, he had gotten the impression that she was not a fighter. But she seemed to be just the opposite. Weren’t Oni supposed to be fierce creatures? “But I don’t really care. Now that I have you, I can have my revenge...” He paused again, “But who knows, maybe he won’t even come for you. Wouldn’t that be disappointing?”<br/><br/>“However…” He continued, grinning darkly. It wasn’t fair. She couldn’t speak or do anything to fight back against him. That was probably the main reason he was being so confident with his taunts. “I’m sure he’ll come, knowing him. When he does, I don’t think he would want to see someone he had tried so desperately to protect was harmed.” He could already see the look on Azrai’s face; it was certainly not pleasant. Suddenly, he leaned a little closer to her. “I’ll be saving the main event for that time, but for now I’ll just give you a small taste of what’s to come.”<br/><br/>Levi raised the knife and brought it close to her cheek. There was a glint in his eyes. He lightly touched her skin with the blade, moving it along her jaw, and then down to her collar bone where he finally drew blood.