Kotetsu T. Kaburagi ○ Wild Tiger (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
wildkotetsu) wrote2012-05-08 06:24 pm
wildkotetsu) wrote2012-05-08 06:24 pm
9 • Heroes • [Action]
[Kotetsu's been unconscious, comatose, for three days now.
He tries to wake up on the last day, a few times. Feels himself rising up to the red-orange light under his eyelids - but it's a struggle, one that leaves him spent. And then, without a moment's notice, his eyes open wide to stare at the ceiling. Awake.
He remembers. He remembers exactly what happened. Bunny had been stabbed — and he was dying, had died. He'd died, with a blade through his chest... and Pao-Lin had done it. He rips the catheter out, all the wires, the device pumping oxygen into his nose, and drags himself up on quivering legs. Thank god they at least put pants on him, though they'd prefer that: he's burnt and he's been stabbed, near fatally. Even now with healing put in place, he's bound up tight.
How long has he been out? It couldn't have been that long. If he had enough sense, he'd feel the short stubble on his face and recognize it's been far more than 24 hours. But right now, common sense - what little he enjoyed using - was thrown right out the window. He staggers, knocks over a chair (had someone been around?), and all he can picture is the look of disdain on Pao-Lin's face and the look of shock on Bunny's.
He has to go.
He's gotta get outta here. He has to find them. If he stays, the people here will keep him still and not let him go, and he doesn't want that. So gathering up all of his strength in the pit of his stomach, ignoring the low ache in his shoulders and ribs, he instantly glows blue before fleeing from the clinic through an open window. He's a flash of neon color through the forest and village as he returns to the apartments.
He looks in Bunny's room first, slams it open with his shoulder, and the wind is knocked out of him on sight.
Everything's gone.
Everything's gone.
He doesn't realize he spends the next twenty minutes sitting in the middle of the empty room. When he finally does, he swallows hoarsely and uses his NEXT power to keep himself moving.
Pao-lin, he has to find her.
Somehow, he already assumes she's dead. After jumping through the window to the seventh story of her complex, he easily forces the door to her apartment open. The stillness of her room, untouched, tells him nothing's right. He wants to assume it's just her hiding, after all that's happened. But she's gone away. He tries to leave her messages on the journal and there are no replies back. No sign of her. Nothing. He'll be looking around CH7, asking if anyone knows where Pao-lin is.
The bandages and New-Feather-esque hospital clothes may raise some confusion. And the glowing, too, maybe.
Walking through the forest, his powers clocked in, he gives up and quietly curls up under a tree, burying his face in his knees, exhausted. He's sick and hot and in pain, and more than likely he's reopened his injury, but he's hardly aware of any of it. None of that matters, because he's failed. Barnaby's gone, and it's his fault he was killed like that. It's his fault he wasn't strong enough for him or Pao-Lin. His partner went home, and the last thing he saw in Luceti was Kotetsu as he bled out.
Dammit.
A few sharp, strangled yells are muffled by his hands but echo, regardless, into the treetops, scaring off stray birds. Eventually, they break down into sobs that shake his whole body. At this point, he's not budging, even as it starts to trickle rain through the canopy.
Eventually as the sun starts setting, he'll be directed back to the clinic without much struggle, staying at last to heal and get fixes for the burns and injuries he has. Honestly, he just wants to leave. He's not hungry - most of his food's not touched, he's not much for conversation, and he'd rather vanish into the covers than anything else right now.
But he'll try to be himself. Attempt to smile and talk, if spoken to.
He just wishes he could leave and find a way to get his mind off it all. Frankly, this is all a countdown so that he can hide in his own apartment like he intended.]
((ooc: feel free to run into him out in the woods after he's given up his search, or talk to him as he's looking for pao-lin. also, at the clinic after he agrees to finally go back. if you got any other places you'd wanna pop up, lemme know. he's pretty out of it, pre-clinic return.
most of this takes place on may 8th, but the last little bit can happen any time in the next 7 days or so. :|b
also timeline breaking is a-ok, just be subtle about it later or something))
He tries to wake up on the last day, a few times. Feels himself rising up to the red-orange light under his eyelids - but it's a struggle, one that leaves him spent. And then, without a moment's notice, his eyes open wide to stare at the ceiling. Awake.
He remembers. He remembers exactly what happened. Bunny had been stabbed — and he was dying, had died. He'd died, with a blade through his chest... and Pao-Lin had done it. He rips the catheter out, all the wires, the device pumping oxygen into his nose, and drags himself up on quivering legs. Thank god they at least put pants on him, though they'd prefer that: he's burnt and he's been stabbed, near fatally. Even now with healing put in place, he's bound up tight.
How long has he been out? It couldn't have been that long. If he had enough sense, he'd feel the short stubble on his face and recognize it's been far more than 24 hours. But right now, common sense - what little he enjoyed using - was thrown right out the window. He staggers, knocks over a chair (had someone been around?), and all he can picture is the look of disdain on Pao-Lin's face and the look of shock on Bunny's.
He has to go.
He's gotta get outta here. He has to find them. If he stays, the people here will keep him still and not let him go, and he doesn't want that. So gathering up all of his strength in the pit of his stomach, ignoring the low ache in his shoulders and ribs, he instantly glows blue before fleeing from the clinic through an open window. He's a flash of neon color through the forest and village as he returns to the apartments.
He looks in Bunny's room first, slams it open with his shoulder, and the wind is knocked out of him on sight.
Everything's gone.
Everything's gone.
He doesn't realize he spends the next twenty minutes sitting in the middle of the empty room. When he finally does, he swallows hoarsely and uses his NEXT power to keep himself moving.
Pao-lin, he has to find her.
Somehow, he already assumes she's dead. After jumping through the window to the seventh story of her complex, he easily forces the door to her apartment open. The stillness of her room, untouched, tells him nothing's right. He wants to assume it's just her hiding, after all that's happened. But she's gone away. He tries to leave her messages on the journal and there are no replies back. No sign of her. Nothing. He'll be looking around CH7, asking if anyone knows where Pao-lin is.
The bandages and New-Feather-esque hospital clothes may raise some confusion. And the glowing, too, maybe.
Walking through the forest, his powers clocked in, he gives up and quietly curls up under a tree, burying his face in his knees, exhausted. He's sick and hot and in pain, and more than likely he's reopened his injury, but he's hardly aware of any of it. None of that matters, because he's failed. Barnaby's gone, and it's his fault he was killed like that. It's his fault he wasn't strong enough for him or Pao-Lin. His partner went home, and the last thing he saw in Luceti was Kotetsu as he bled out.
Dammit.
A few sharp, strangled yells are muffled by his hands but echo, regardless, into the treetops, scaring off stray birds. Eventually, they break down into sobs that shake his whole body. At this point, he's not budging, even as it starts to trickle rain through the canopy.
Eventually as the sun starts setting, he'll be directed back to the clinic without much struggle, staying at last to heal and get fixes for the burns and injuries he has. Honestly, he just wants to leave. He's not hungry - most of his food's not touched, he's not much for conversation, and he'd rather vanish into the covers than anything else right now.
But he'll try to be himself. Attempt to smile and talk, if spoken to.
He just wishes he could leave and find a way to get his mind off it all. Frankly, this is all a countdown so that he can hide in his own apartment like he intended.]
((ooc: feel free to run into him out in the woods after he's given up his search, or talk to him as he's looking for pao-lin. also, at the clinic after he agrees to finally go back. if you got any other places you'd wanna pop up, lemme know. he's pretty out of it, pre-clinic return.
most of this takes place on may 8th, but the last little bit can happen any time in the next 7 days or so. :|b
also timeline breaking is a-ok, just be subtle about it later or something))
[Action]
It's so quiet and his head is killing him and he'd really like some water -
Also blankets. He's cold.
He drags the blanket over him tiredly, rolling over slowly - very slowly, for his body's sake - and burying his face in the pillow. Nnngh. Those lights are so damn aggravating. It's not long before someone's prodding at him, checking his arm. A poke here, a rag here, cool and damp. He groans and mutters under his breath. An IV drip gets him a few necessary things. A few people who work here manage to catch him more lucid, to figure out how much he totally ruined his recovery time.
They pull back his blankets and he's annoyed, but he's too tired to fight it. Re-apply bandages, another rag, and then it's quiet and restful for a while. Another day passes and he feels like he's been in a dead sleep for a while, so much so that he's sick of sleeping so deeply. Besides, some of his dreams aren't fair.
A hiss, and he pats his covers lazily, eyes clenched shut.]
Oi... Where's water...
[Alright, perhaps his last real memory of the last 24 hours was asking for water. It's been a weird hazy question on repeat for him, and he's finally awake enough to mouth it.
...
Those stupid fluorescent lights.]
Hate... those lights...
[Action]
Lean up.
[Action]
Ah. Empty. When'd it get empty? Was he really that thirsty? He collapses back into the pillow, sighing, staring at the ceiling.]
... How long was I, uh... out?
[Action]
I just got in a few minutes ago.
[Action]
... Aa. Right.
[shifts, tests his shoulders and stomach, winces faintly
Still tender, but better. They must've given him a few more healing sessions for some of the burns.]
Didn't miss anything, did I?
[Because clocking out of Luceti for a near week, he worries maybe he really did.]
[Action]
Nothing. [Pause] New Feathers are poppin' up, but other than that... [He trails off as he takes up a seat next to the bed, leaning back with one leg sharply folded on top of the other.]
Re: [Action]
Oh.
[He doesn't ask if anyone from his world popped into the New Feather pile. He knows that if someone had, Sanji would have been nice enough to say it by now, even if Kotetsu gets on his nerves.]
That's good, I guess - that things're... calm...
[That's a good word for it, anyway. He slowly lets himself back down against the pillow. His stomach clenches and he almost thinks maybe he'll have to throw up all that much needed water.
But no. It's hunger pains, he's starting to realize.
It's been days since an actual meal. A sigh.]
Do I have a morphine button...?
[He's too sleepy to look. And yes, he expects one, because he's been in a hospital way too many times in his career.]
[Action]
A what? [He's aware of what morphine is, but really? They got buttons for that shit now?]
Uh... No, I don't think so. [He's courteous enough to glance around the room in case he's wrong, but there is no button in sight.] You need me to get someone in here? [He's already on his feet]
[Action]
Don't worry about it; s'not a big deal.
[He's painfully good at 'dealing w/ it'. Very good, in fact. He looks calm and relaxed, despite the asking for more morphine. There's no pinch to his brow or grimace that accompanies the fierce noises his stomach makes, though it does white-out his vision for a moment.
Another pang, before his features fall into something meek.
How many days again... He must be all flushed out and empty by now. His belly definitely is. He just gives Sanji a look, as if the chef is about to stuff an entire loaf of bread down his throat or something.]
[Action]
He folds his arms, voice professional]
The doctors wanna start you out on soft foods first - nothing that'll take much effort to digest.
[Action]
Can't they just... put what I need in the IV thing?
[Honestly, he's sort of not sold on the idea of putting food in there. It's an untame-able beast, his stomach - ironically this time around, seeing as he could usually destroy a kitchen full of food pretty quickly and now he wouldn't go near it with a ten foot pole.
His stomach flops, aches, gurgles. Another pang and he'll change his tune a bit.]
Maybe... just a little something.
[Action]
You can pull your own shitty weight without the IVs. [Or at least try.] I'm starting you off on some soup and bread.
[Action]
This sucks.
Everything sucks.]
Alright. Soup doesn't sound... too bad.
[Action]
But this is a matter of nutrition, and Sanji is nothing if not strident when it comes to such matters.] Y'know if the clinic's got a kitchen? [Since he's still on his feet, the man sets himself a lazy pace, considering his options]
Otherwise I'll have to head back to the restaurant for a bit and make it there.
[Action]
Don't know... Haven't really been awake much here...
[A sad admittance. He's really not enjoying how asleep he is most of the time. His mind tells him no, but his body tells him 'dammit I am out'. It's frustrating, especially when his head is so full of thoughts. The dreams that accompany sleeping aren't appreciated either.]
I just... [a pause, and he seems to sink more into the pillow, if it's even possible] don't wanna waste anything you make. I know you hate it when people do.
[Action]
I don't really care for any shit throwing my food up because their body can't handle it, either. [He cants his head until he's glancing down his nose at Kotetsu]
I'll eat what you can't, so don't worry about it. Just concentrate on keeping some of it down.
[Action]
[He glances from Sanji to the IV needle pressed beneath the tape.]
Thanks a lot.
[He'll try to eat it, if you're willing to make it. He tries on a smile while he's at it, for the sake of not looking so damn dreary to the other.]
[Action]
Take it easy until I get back. [The restaurant isn't far, so he'll make something fresh there.]
[Action] sprinkles dream angst on you whatever I DO WHAT I WANT
A stuttered noise.
Shit. Barnaby, wait a sec, won't you? You can't just. Go off like that.]
Tomoe-
[Kaede is yelling at him and shaking and asking him why he killed Mr. Barnaby and mom, and he swears he didn't, he just--he just sat by them, helpless and confused, while they faded away. Not there for either of them. And then there's Pao-Lin, somewhere distant, glaring at him with hateful eyes. You tried to kill me, you put me in a coma--. No, he didn't, he was just trying to help her--
He clenches his teeth, hands flying to his eyes as he tries to snap back into reality, yelling and probably scaring half the people in the clinic away thanks to fever dreams that he can differentiate from life.
Because some of them were actually real life, dammit all.]
[Action] HIDEOUS. HI. DE. OUS.
Both of which are nearly dropped in a rush when he hears the yelling. He twists back at the first strangled shout on a reflex, cursing under his breath before he even computes the scene before him. Shit. Nightmare? His eyes snap to the figure struggling to awaken, briefly frozen by the second yell, the way Kotetsu's twists and claws at his eyes.
And then Sanji moves. Quickly. Food is carefully placed on the floor, to the side, and the bag thrown into the forgotten abyss over his shoulder.] Kotetsu!
[Unlike with the soup, Sanji doesn't waste his time on a light touch. His hands find their way to the man's wrists, tugging them down, the name on his lips encompassing a command to wake up now, that is not a nightmare to stray in.]
[Action] 1/2 yeah i can be that way sometimes
Something close to a sob slips out before his amber eyes snap back toward Sanji, looking to the left at the hands keeping him from clawing his face, looking around the room as if he's forgotten where he is--he had forgotten. He just sits in a daze, breathing heavy, ashamed to speak for a moment while he tries to figure out how long it's been again. Days? No, no, it can't be that long, because he just saw Sanji--in that outfit, too--and...
[Action]
... Soup?
[because it's all he can think to say right now, flushed and embarrassed and a little busy being heartbroken]
[Action]
... [Movements slow, breath heavy, Sanji releases him and pulls back, puts a respectable amount of distance between them and climbs to his feet. One hand wipes the sweat off his neck.]
Yeah. Soup.
[Soup. Soup on the floor. Right. He rips his stare away for privacy's sake and drags it across the tiles until it comes upon the cup.] It's vegetable. [Voice nice and calm. Easy. From his tone, you'd think he hadn't just caught Kotetsu in the middle of a nightmare and now probably trying not to sob.] ... It'll go down easy.
[It's mentioned like a promise to a dying man. Sanji picks up the cup and turns - slowly again, for Kotetsu's sake rather than his] Here.
[Action]
Aa.
[He doesn't really eat, not yet. He'll think about trying to, to appease the work Sanji did. But for right now, he just stares hollowly at the cup and fails to stop himself from rewinding through bits and pieces of his dreams. If anyone pauses by the door to see what the commotion was, they leave quickly enough. He doesn't even notice them.]
I didn't hit you, did I?
[He just. Needs to make sure. Hell, he's not even sure if he was glowing blue--he was in his dream. God, he hoped he wasn't that dangerous under the watch of friends. The last thing he wanted was smashing someone's ribs with his fist.]
[Action]
Thus the following silence is... blatant at worst, a slight nudge at best. He's trying his damnedest not to say it, even with his stare drilling subtle holes into the cup Kotetsu's handling. The chef can give him a moment.]
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