thebastion | Day 154

Entry tags:

Day 154

Who: Hikaru Hitachiin and anyone willing to help out
Open: Open
When: Day 154
Where: Open Plains
What: A rough landing, and a new arrival.
Format: I'll match whatever
Warnings: Someone's had a very unfortunate landing, and may end up quite antagonistic. Also, drama.

When Hikaru wakes, it's not to the sound of an alarm or the smell of breakfast being delivered. He's not surrounded by perfectly plush pillows, and he's not laying on top of the best mattress money can buy.

When Hikaru wakes, it's to a horrible, sharp aching pain in his arm. He fails to notice anything else - not the grass he's on, the clear and open sky, or the very distinct lack of the luxuries he's used to. Just the incredible pain, which immediately brings tears to his eyes and sets his body to gasping for breath. On instinct, he rolls onto his right shoulder to curl around his arm - broken, a perfect fracture of both the radius and ulna. He doesn't know that; all he knows right now is that something is terribly, terribly wrong and he's starting to panic.

"Kao--", he gasps out, his first conscious reaction being to call for his twin. "Kaoru!" Where was he? They were never far from each-other. He grits his teeth, trying to work past the pain. What was going on--?

And with a sudden burst, he remembers. They were chasing after Tamaki - he'd been driving the horse carriage. Kaoru had told him he was going recklessly fast, but they had to or they wouldn't be able to catch up. Then... he doesn't know what happened, but he remembers being thrown from his seat. Did the carriage hit something? Was Kaoru okay?!

With great effort, he heaves himself up with his left arm, panic for his twin overriding his own pain. His eyes quickly scan the land before him, searching for any sign of Kaoru. There are no roads in sight; he must have been thrown really far. Panicking, he quickly gets to his feet, stumbling but ignoring his dizziness and clutching his right elbow in a lame attempt to stop his arm from being jostled. He blinks rapidly, trying to clear the tears from his eyes, and looks around hopelessly - Kaoru could be anywhere.

His first few steps are hard to take; his entire body aches, and it's hard to keep himself moving when every step sends a shooting pain through his legs. He's scared, he's worried, and he needs to find Kaoru - these are the only things that keep him going.

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[The idea that one could go out on the Skyway alone and survive wasn't such a foreign concept anymore. Of course it was usually reserved for those who had the strength, stamina and ability to deal with monsters alone without too much trouble, and it still wasn't a well liked idea by any means for most people, but it happened

Rin did try to take some one with her most of the time, though. Bon worried about her, after all, and she wasn't going to make that any worse than it was. Today, though, the others she usually went with were busy or already out on their own.

She decided to go anyway.

Looking back on this moment later, she was going to be so glad she did.

She was doing her best to go quietly, searching for things to carry back rather than monsters to fight, but it was a familiar bit of orange-red in the distance that caught her attention more than anything on the ground.

Why was Kaoru out here... ? He almost never went out to the Skyway. And never alone! He knew better than that!

She inched closer, lips set in a tight frown until she could properly see a figure standing on unsteady feet, holding themselves in a way that screamed injury.

No. Wait. That wasn't--]

H... hey! Hey! Over here!

[Sorry Hikaru, you might just get startled by a sudden black haired girl carrying swords and a pack running at you.]

[Startled he is, and he takes a shaky step backwards before he can stop himself, gritting his teeth at the pain of movement. This person - she has swords. Is she part of the festival, then? He can't remember hearing anything about that, but frankly he doesn't actually care. She must have been sent to look for them, and she can help him find Kaoru.]

I need help! [He calls out to her, his voice strained. He takes a few steps forward, trying to help cover the distance so he doesn't have to yell.] I need--I need to find someone. He's wearing green. He's the same as me; he might be hurt--we have to find him. [He's babbling, his words coming rapidly and his pronunciation tripping over itself in an attempt to get it all out quickly. In his unthinking state, he's used 'the same as me' to mean both in looks and the clothing he's wearing; a blue medieval France-inspired costume, which is now dirtied and frayed from his tumble.

He doesn't care who she is, where she came from, or what she was doing before; he's going to make sure she helps him find his brother.]

[Getting to him is a bit difficult. The plains aren't a terribly rough area, but the twists and turns make a straight shot to him all but impossible. She runs the entire way there, though, skidding around sharp corners and almost tripping more than once. She knows who she is, she knows and it's worked a terrified, panicked sensation in to her gut. He's hurt and he can't protect himself anyway, if he's anything like Kaoru, and she knows their voices and sounds are going to attract attention sooner rather than later.

She finally gets there, out of breath, resting hands on her knees when she stops in front of him.]

I know... you're lookin' for your brother, aren'tcha?

[For his part, he does manage to take about a dozen steps before she reaches him. That's a dozen she didn't have to run! He's starting to shake from the exertion involved keeping himself going, but nothing is going to stop him.

Her words hit him hard, knocking all of his pain away for a short moment, to be replaced by anticipation. She knows who he's looking for! That must mean--she's already seen Kaoru?]

Where is he?! [He demands it, more forcefully than would ever be considered polite. He doesn't consider that she may have heard from someone else, or that if she has been sent to find them that of course she would know who he was looking for. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out, after all.]

[Oh this won't go well.

Rin takes a breath in, righting herself. She continues to look at him, but there's some part of her attention that's elsewhere - listening, even for the tiniest, most distant noise.]

Listen... whatever I tell you from here, you ain't gonna like it. I can already tell you that. But you can trust me, okay? I know where you brother is, he's safe, but I gotta get you safe, too.

[And him being injured, that's going to be easier said than done.]

You're in no condition to walk. I can carry you where we need to go.

[He doesn't notice her split attention at all; he's more concerned about her words, and it's still hard to think past the throbbing pain in his arm. What won't he like? Why won't he like it? Did something happen?

He doesn't trust her at all, but if she does know where his twin is, then it'll be faster if he goes along with whatever she says. He looks at her with weary eyes, his distrust clearly evident, but nods curtly. He'll do whatever she says so long as she takes him to his brother.]

Did you bring a car?

[He's really not up for being carried. With the large amount of him that hurts right now, he's pretty sure that being carried will just make everything worse.]

[Oh Hikaru. She would have laughed, if that wasn't so sad. Has it really been three months since she's even seen a car? Christ...

She notices it, and she would call him out on it if not for the situation. All she needs is to get him back - full trust can come later.

She's not doing this for him or herself anyway.]

No. And a car wouldn't do much out here anyway.

It's carry or try to walk yourself, but I can promise you there's gonna come a moment where you're gonna need to run.

[Because she can already hear them in the distance...]

[He opens his mouth to ask why he would need to run, but closes it quickly. Getting to Kaoru is more important than getting answers.]

If you can lift me, then fine. [He's doubtful, and his stomach is turning at the thought of having his arm bouncing up and down with the movement of someone else's body. His left hand tightens reflexively on his elbow, every inch of him thoroughly dreading this.] You'll take me straight to Kaoru? [If she does, then any amount of pain or embarrassment will be worth it.]

I can. It'll be easier if you ride on my back.

[And just try to ignore the tail. If you can.]

I don't got any reason to take you anywhere else. 'cept maybe the hospital. Hang on, lemmie just...

[She trailed off oddly there, taking her pack off and rummaging around until she managed to find a folded up cloth of brightly striped colors. It almost looked and felt like silk, but wasn't exactly that. Luckily, though, it was just long enough to be made in to a make shift sling - a trick she learned from her sister years ago.]

Lemmie see your arm. This might help a little.

[He's not gonna ignore the tail, when it comes time to get on her back. First, though, that absolutely garish scrap of fabric. What does she want to do with it? His eyes dart from the fabric to her face and back again, and his jaw clenches in annoyance. He doesn't want to let her do anything, but--he's gotta.

With a deep breath to brace himself, he slides his left arm under his right to lift the broken forearm. Underneath his sleeve isn't pretty, but he hasn't removed it to actually check his damage.]

We're not going to the hospital. [He forces out from between his gritted teeth, breathing deeply again. Be quick with his arm, please; he's trying very hard to restrain himself right now.]

Eesh...

[Rin lets out a breath at the sight, grateful that she isn't easily bothered by things like that. Being around Yuki all those years helped, plus her own penchant for getting in to trouble that often resulted in injuries. She mutters 'keep telling yourself that', knowing damn good and well that the second Kaoru saw him like that, he was going to get dragged there anyway.

Being as gentle as possible, she moves the cloth in to place, putting it beneath his arm on either side and reaching up (with a bit of stretching - she's not very tall) to tie the ends off behind his neck.

The enemies that littered the skyway were getting closer, but they weren't so close that Rin felt the need to bolt right then and there. Her task done, she turned and crouched down.]

Alright. Hop on.

[He tenses at the touch, the pain intensifying, and a choked curse makes its way out of his mouth. It takes every last scrap of self-control to not jerk his arm away, and he's glad for it once the sling is actually in place. Not that it doesn't still hurt - in fact, it feels a bit worse now - but he knows it's a theoretical improvement nonetheless.

As soon as she turns around, his eyes zero in on the tail.]

You're a furry? [He asks bluntly, with no hint of consideration. He might be able to use the pain as an excuse for the lack of brain-to-mouth filter, but really, he's just always like that. If she weren't already crouching, he would be reaching out to grab the tail right now.

He hesitates before climbing onto her back. He's still not convinced that she can actually carry him, that she's trustworthy, or that it's actually better for him to be carried than to walk; now that his brain is starting to catch up with him, he's not actually sure what is even going on. He's still oblivious to the enemies, but with the shock wearing off, the panic slightly tampered, and having adjusted a bit to the pain, he's starting to realize that this place doesn't actually look anything like where he was driving the carriage. ~~Took him long enough.~~]

[Don't tempt her to hold you over the gaping chasm that is the drop beneath the skyway, Hikaru. :| ]

... no.

[Actually you're just lucky that you're Kaoru's brother and not just some poor lost soul out here. Because that keeps him from verbally tearing your head off.

For now.

She waits for him to get on her back before rising straight, with no falter or hesitation in her stance or position. In fact she behaves as though he weighs barely anything at all, which should be impossible for a girl of her size and physical build. A bit stocky she may be, there's little indicating beneath her clothing that she has the muscle to back this up, and yet... she is holding him like he is merely a part of her pack.

Her head turns, something catching her attention. Somewhere in the distance, there's guwushh... noise, faint but there. Whatever it is, it makes her set her jaw tight, turning back towards the path.]

Alright. Hang on!

[A foot dug in to the ground, knees bending before she took off running as fast as her feet would carry her.]

[Oh crap. He knew it would hurt, but he was not expecting this level of pain. Having his broken arm wedged between Rin's back and his own chest was bad enough, but the constant jostling is torture. He's going to spend this entire ride with his teeth gritted, his eyes shut, and with his arm very tight around Rin. He really, really cannot wait until this is over.]

[She can feel him tense even through her running, but all she can offer is a thrown back "I'm sorry!" before focusing on their exit. She can't fight like this. If she gets hit, they're both going down and he'll be even worse off. If she has to stop, there's no place safe to hide him.

It's run, and pray to whichever gods were listening right then that they'd live to fight another day.

Or rather that Rin would live to fight another day, and that Hikaru would live to see his brother again.

She tore around corners, practically hurdled over obstacles, throwing all of her energy in to moving as fast and sure footed over the broken, jagged route as possible. Thankfully, by some miracle, she doesn't ever trip, but that sound is certainly making it's way closer.

Should Hikaru even chance a look back, he might notice that a blue armored giant of some sort, floating with no discernible legs and wielding a massive axe is bearing down on them pretty damn fast.]

[He's pretty sure he's close to passing out from all this jumping, shaking, bouncing, and generally incredibly rough movement. He can hear that sound, though, and his curiousity drives him to throw a quick glance behind them through mostly narrowed eyes. He's now pretty sure the pain has just driven him mad, because what the hell is that?! The panic sets in again, but another jump has him jamming his eyes shut and gasping in pain rather than making any exclamations. He now understands the need for running, and just hopes that Rin is going to be fast enough to get them away from that thing.]

Keep your head down!

[She had heard it coming long before this, so she was ready. Her ears were trained to the sounds behind her, the ones not belonging to Hikaru's pained noises and her own thudding footsteps. The guwush sound started up again, and just when it seemed like the thing was going to charge at them and knock them right off that narrow pathway, Rin skidded to a sudden halt and went down as low as the load on her back would let her. The creature sailed over their heads, winding up disoriented and completely turned around.

Which was perfect, because another larger section of land was just above them, and on it, the way back to the Bastion - a single tile situated in a corner and a beam of light in the far, far distance.]

We're almost there!

[He doesn't have to be told twice; he tucks his head down as soon as the order is given. The sudden halt and decrease in height makes his breath catch, and he holds it on instinct. A part of him is terrified that releasing the breath will give them away.

He hears it flying overhead, and his heart is hammering so hard inside his chest that he's almost sure it would be audible. He can't tell what the creature's done - his head is still dutifully tucked down - but his left hand presses harder against Rin for a moment in recognition of her words. Speech is presently beyond him; he hopes that that's enough of a signal to get moving again.

On the upside, the terror and adrenaline running through his body right now has made his arm seem like nothing in comparison.]

[Rin doesn't mind the silence. In fact it makes it easier to detect the Gasfella's location. It's turned towards them, but a bare glance over her shoulder told her she had just enough room to bolt to the tile before it could reach them even with a charge.

It was going to be close, though.

She took off again, strides rapid as she carried them both over the broken land.

The Gasfella charged up behind her, and in what seemed like fractions of a second, it closed the gap between them...

just as her foot hit the tile.

And for a moment all Hikaru would be able to feel would be a tugging, like the wind taking him physically and pulling him along through the air. Not falling, not flying, just moving through nothing at all.

The landing was, unfortunately, a quite a bit rougher than that. Rin's feet hit the ground pretty hard, her not being used to landing with weight on her back. She stumbles, nearly topples, but after some difficulty she manages to right herself while panting heavily.

Where they landed was vastly different than the broken landscape beyond it. It was still a floating rock but it was a floating rock that was inhabited. People milled about, buildings showed signs of life, and sounds could be heard carrying throughout.

Welcome to the Bastion, Hikaru.]

[His head is still down for all of this, and his thoughts are a jumbled, horrified mess. He's shocked out of his terror by the strange tugging sensation - for a brief moment, his mind is clear and his fear is gone - then they land, and it's straight back to the pain and panic. He's breathing in short, sharp, quick gusts, gripping to Rin so tightly that his knuckles have long since gone white.

The sounds here are different - they sound like civilisation! - so he dares to sneak a glance. He doesn't fully comprehend what he's seeing; none of it actually registers in his mind. But he knows that they've stopped, and he can't hear the other thing any more. Still, he's too scared to turn around to look.]

Is it gone? [His voice is rough and dry, and more than a little shaky. This was not a very good introduction at all.]

[It's a good thing she's got a decent resistance to pain herself. She feels the fingers digging in, but she doesn't tell him to stop. She'll be a bit bruised for a little while later, but even those won't last long.

She nods, pulling in and letting out her own deep breath, trying to get her lungs to stop burning. She doesn't dare put him down, though. Not with how he's clinging to her.]

Yeah... lets find your brother, okay?

[Was he at Seimei's estate? That would be the best place to start, wouldn't it...?]

[He nods rapidly against her, not trusting his voice any further. Yes, straight to Kaoru, please - Kaoru will make everything better. With concentrated effort, he begins to try and reign in his breathing; he's starting to feel light-headed from the lack of air he took in during all that happened just now, and the short, quick breaths he was taking didn't help at all. He hasn't even considered getting off Rin's back - for all he knows, they might need to start running again at any second.]

... keep breathin', okay?

[This, at least, is much slower and less jarring than her previous trip. They were safe here, and she takes her path slowly and carefully because of that.

It was a bit of walk to Seimei's large estate towards the southern end of the Bastion, and Rin, for once, kept quiet. She knew he was in no state to hold a conversation and she wasn't about to press one either.

Soon enough she was crossing the threshold and checking the door, finding it unlocked. She called out loudly, hoping to get some one's attention.]

Kao-chan? You here?

[By the time they reach the house, he's got his breathing back to normal. Compared to before, this ride is a walk in the park, and he really has no complaints this time about jostling - any bumps that happen along the way are absolutely nothing compared to before.

It's not until she calls out for 'Kao-chan' that he raises his head, the reason for entering this building suddenly clicking in his head.]

Kaoru! [He calls out himself, not a small amount of desperation evident in his voice. He usually wouldn't be so open around other people, but, well, this is not a time where he particularly gives a damn.]

[he had been piecing a few bits and pieces together upstairs - nothing particularly big or complicated, just something to help pass the time while Tama-chan dozed on his feet. His head had lifted when he heard the door open, but Tama-chan took more interest in it than he did, getting up and slinking off down the stairs when she heard Rin-chan's voice. If it couldn't wait, she could always come up and find him, right?

But the sound of a heartstoppingly familiar voice had him dropping everything and forgetting for a moment even how to breathe as he stumbled from his chair and leapt down the stairs and into the hall, his voice choked as he called back]

Hikaru- Hikaru!

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Day 154

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