Day 260 (Backdated) - Homeward Bound

[windgod]

Who: Ippo and Ibuki
Open: Open
When: Day 260
Where: The Bastion In General
What: Ippo's home and not feeling too hot.
Format: Action
Warnings: Sad feels and happy feels and Ibuki probably

[The entire way home, Ippo had been for the most part, silent beyond a few words in response to things said to him. His heart was still beating in his ears and his chest felt like someone had trapped it in a vice.

How loud had he been yelling? How hard had he been pounding on that creature? Everything had gone by in such a blur, he didn't even notice until someone was pulling him off of the dead body so they could drag Colin out. He'd been fine of course, as Colin was wont to be most of the time, but he couldn't shake that raw terror he'd felt watching his friend get swallowed whole. A fear had gripped him so absolutely that even in the face of saving the engineer, he couldn't shake it even now.

His feelings weighed around his neck like chains and even as he came in off the Skyway, he landed hard on one knee, much opposed to his usual, more solid landings.

Even as lost in his thoughts and emotions as he was, he couldn't not notice the small tuft of brightly colored hair poking out from beneath a blanket near the entrance. Had...Ibuki really slept here waiting for him to get back? It was a shock enough to pull him from his thoughts and into the present as he walked over to the blanket and knelt down, putting a hand on Ibuki's shoulder.]

Ibuki...? You shouldn't sleep here, you might catch something.

[His voice sounded distant, even to him, as if he were listening to someone else speak, but the meaning was there all the same. He might have not been here for that plague, but he'd heard about it, and had his own fair share of sickness as well. The last thing he wanted was for Ibuki to come down with something because she was waiting outside for him to get back.]

Comments

[scary_music]

With Ippo-chan here, Ibuki will definitely feel that way!

And she'll make sure Ippo-chan does, too!

[windgod]

I appreciate that a lot, I really do.

[scary_music]

Ehehe... Ibuki knows you do! Because, because we're sitting like this, and we already have special rings! Like we're already married!

Kyaaa!

[windgod]

Haha...yeah, it kind of is. I hope we get to that point one day.

[Did he just say that out loud? He might have been so mired in good feelings that he didn't even realize it...didn't make it any less true a sentiment though.]

[scary_music]

Uwoah...!

I-Ippo-chan, saying something like that so cool and calm...!

Kyaaaaaaaaaa!!

[windgod]

O-oh, I did didn't I?

[He laughed and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, he hadn't even realized it until Ibuki pointed it out.]

[scary_music]

You did! You totally did! Iyan! Ippo-chan, the ship is going full speed ahead!!

[windgod]

The...ship?

[Was that...a joke? His...family did own a boat rental service, was that what she was talking about?]

[scary_music]

U... uwah!

Ibuki forgot! The generation gap! Kyaa!

Um, um... how to say it, how to explain...?!

...! Ah! You can think of it as the last part of relationship! Yeah!

[windgod]

O-oh! I...see!

[Cause pantheon above only knew he didn't understand it, but if Ibuki wanted to call it a ship, then she could call it a ship all she wanted.]

[scary_music]

[Ibuki laughed a little]

Ibuki will have to catch you up on all of the slangs and memes, Ippo-chan!

Maybe Colin-sama-chan's database has stuff on that...

[windgod]

I wouldn't know...a lot of what he has is beyond me, I'm lucky he made my gauntlets so simple.

[It didn't get much more simple than "Hit thing, fire laser".]

[scary_music]

Mm, mm. [nodnod]

... say, say, Ippo-chan... now that all the bad feels have been vanquished, Ibuki style... do you, um... feel like telling Ibuki what happened? Ippo-chan? The bad thing that made the bad feels happen?

[windgod]

[Well, that was one way to snap him back to reality, but at least he was in a better frame of mind to talk about it now. He still looked pretty uncomfortable though...not that it was surprising considering what had triggered his feelings, but he didn't feel like he could hide anything from Ibuki in good faith. It was probably for the best anyways, rather than to bottle it up.]

Well...when we were at the place where the core was...some fort with prisons and such, we were attacked by a really big lizard...thing. We did good against it but...there was a point where it actually swallowed Colin whole. I...I-I lost it, completely. We got him out really quick but...just seeing him go in...it scared me really bad to the point I was just pounding on this thing until someone pulled me off of it.

[His hands were shaking a little, just from remembering it and the memories came back crisp and clear like a movie playing on a screen.]

[scary_music]

A-ah...

[Ibuki took Ippo's hands, squeezing them gently. Though, she was realizing she was feeling rather shaky, too, suddenly, because-]

But but... Colin-sama-chan... he... made it, right? Like, like...

...

He... made it, right?

[Because... Ippo hadn't actually said whether the engineer had made it back. She'd been too busy with Ippo to take notice of who was among the returning group...]

[windgod]

Yeah...yeah he was fine...in fact he managed to do more damage from the inside than we were able to do from the outside.

[He laughed...it was a strained laugh, but that kind of tactic just seemed all too...Colin not to laugh at.]

It just...shook me up. It scared me to think that someone I cared about might have just...that he might of...

[The word just...it couldn't come out, not in relation to this subject, at least not right now, so he pushed past it for the time being.]

And there wouldn't have been a thing I could do. Being that helpless...

[That word felt like a noose around his neck and he curled his hands into fists around Ibuki's, though not hard enough to hurt her.]

Dammit...! Was that all I could do...? Just stand there and hit it like an animal? I was so useless...!

[scary_music]

I... Ippo-chan...

[She wanted to hug him but... well, her hands were being held. Instead, she leaned forward to put her head on his shoulder]

... This... this thing you fought... Ibuki doesn't believe you were useless! No way! You probably beat it up a lot and it probably felt it! Like, crack! You did something! And, and, especially with your cool gauntlet things! Like, even if Colin-sama-chan did the finishing blow or something, you can't just ignore what you did and say it was useless!

Listen, listen, hug Ibuki! Do it, Ippo-chan! You need a hug, and Ibuki can't hug you right now because her hands are being held captive!

[windgod]

Y-yeah...

[He was still shaking...rather badly, to the point where when he let go of her hands so he could move the tray off his lap for safety, the silverware was audibly clattering against the plates, but it seemed to abate a bit once he took hold of Ibuki in a hug.]

Y-you're right...I'm just...I'm just saying things...it's the nerves...right? I just...saw something bad...it's over now though...isn't it?

[No...no it wasn't over. He could come back here, come back to Ibuki and distract himself for a while, but eventually he'd have to go back out there. Go back out to the danger. It was always there, in the back of his head, no matter how he drowned it out with happy feelings and doki doki's as Ibuki would say. It was all he could do, really.

Not that it was a bad thing though. Everyone coped with things in their own ways, and with Ippo...it was taking pleasure in the more minute things in his life. His friends, his relationship, even the taste of good food and the feel of warm sun on his skin. He might have to go back out there...yes, he would definitely, he might even see equally or more horrifying things, but he had an out from them at the end of the day.

He had Ibuki. And his room, and the food next to him and the friends he cared about. That was enough for his day to day existence.]

[scary_music]

...

... It's... okay to cry, Ippo-chan. Just... you know, you know, go for it...

[she squeezes him gently]

It's... it's nice to have somebody there for you when you're feeling bad, right? Right? So, so, Ibuki's here! She'll always be here for you!

[Though, as she spoke, there was a small hitch in her voice...]

[... as far as she could tell, besides that small incident at the hospital, she was safe here at the Bastion. The excursions she made for shards were more or less safe, because she never ventured too far, and she was always with somebody who could easily overpower what they went up against]

[... but now that she knew about cores... that there was another one out there that they'd go after... and that apparently these core hunts were always so dangeorus]

Just... just... let it all out... okay...?

[... there was that possibility that Ippo wouldn't come back... and Ibuki herself couldn't help but cry]

[windgod]

[He took a deep, deep breath...but he didn't cry. No, he couldn't bring himself to cry; he'd gotten a lot of those particular feelings out turning the side of that creature into mush, so instead he focused on the hug and just...enjoyed it for what it was worth. Though when Ibuki started to cry he did start to rub her back.]

It's...alright, I'm fine now. I'm here, with you, and food on our bed in our apartment. Even if things do get dangerous in the future...things will end fine I think. We all have our reasons to come back and if we work together, there's no way we can't. I know that I promised I'd never leave you alone, I intend on keeping that promise.

[scary_music]

Y-yeah... yeah...

[Ibuki sniffles a bit, and she clumsily brings up a hand from behind Ippo's back to rub her eyes a bit]

It's a promise we'll never break! We'll always have each other!

Ahaha... Ibuki was trying to cheer up Ippo-chan, but she turned into a crybaby instead... whoops?

[windgod]

It's fine...I feel a lot more at ease now.

[He smiled, genuinely and warmly, and brought a hand up to rub the spot between her horns.]

I think that's enough negative talk for one day. Let's finish breakfast and take that nap, alright?

[scary_music]

Eheheh...

Yeah, yeah! Breakfast, before it gets all cold!

... it... it might already be a bit cold now! But but, it should still be delicious???

[windgod]

If you made it, there's no way it couldn't be delicious.

[And now he's got a fork full of pancakes! Open wide Ibuki!!]

[scary_music]

Aaaaaaahhhhhhh~