gameofmana | [log] Pray and Take

I'm going to, stupid ka -

[And then Ken's whole body jerks as an arrow buries itself in the meat of his left shoulder, the rest of the insult cut off. Another skitters off the ground in front of him.

Ken's head snaps around to look at the new growth suddenly sprouting from his shoulder, and he stares at it for a moment or two in complete incomprehension. Pain and realization hit at about the same time, and rage is close enough on their heels that the sound he makes comes out as more of a roar than anything else.

He reaches up and yanks the arrow out - probably to Chikusa's horror, but too fast for him to tell Ken not to - and then he's bounding into the church, out of sight of Chikusa. Sounds of absolute pandemonium promptly ensue.]

[Chikusa’s heart lodges itself into his throat.]

[Unlike Ken, staring uncomprehendingly, Chikusa is pushed into quick movement as the arrow quivers in its new sheathe. However, it’s not fast enough to stop Ken from being an idiot, and certainly not fast enough to stop him before he hauls off into the church.]

[Stumbling to a stop at the church, Chikusa tries to track down where his partner has gone.]

Ken!

[Ken is an angry, bloody tornado. This isn't unusual, honestly.

The inside of the church isn't actually ruined, but it's definitely a bit the worse for wear. Aside from Ken's own blood spattered on the floor, what he's doing to the mice is only adding more. A couple pews have tipped over - some seemingly by Ken, others of which mice are hiding behind in an attempt to take shelter long enough to put more arrows in Ken and, hopefully, take him down before he kills them all. But Ken isn't making hitting him easy. Upon realizing what kinds of weapons he's up against, he's become a blur of almost constant movement, offering a very poor target. As Chikusa watches, Ken bounds off the back of a pew to land in the middle aisle and swipes a mouse hard enough that it rolls and skids its way practically to Chikusa's feet.

If Ken's shoulder injury is slowing him down, it's not particularly noticeable. Adrenaline is likely allowing him to ignore it for the moment.]

[Reflexively, without thinking, Chikusa whips his hand out short and quick to unleash a torrent of needles into the unsuspecting mouse body. Later, when his fears have been put to rest proper, he’ll investigate it, but that’s later. Right now, he’s frowning at Ken’s back.]

[Well, he’s fine enough to be a whirlwind of murder. Still, that doesn’t account for much. Him and Ken have both dragged themselves with broken bodies to fight.]

[Chikusa tries again, ducking behind a pew to avoid an arrow aimed towards him as he yells.]

Ken!

[Ken, meanwhile, roars again when he notices that arrows are starting to hit near Chikusa now. Which means, at least, that's he's aware - or has been forced to acknowledge - Chikusa's presence.]

Get away from Kakipi! [And he launches himself at the luckless mouse who fired the arrow Chikusa's way and swats them hard enough that their bow snaps in half.]

If you're gonna be in here then fight, stupid four-eyed kappa! [This he bellows at Chikusa.]

[The answer comes in the form of a whirrrrrrrrrrrrrr of string and a familiar snap of red sailing through the air, spraying an array of needles that one slow and unfortunate mouse archer has no chance in escaping from. As the yoyo snaps back into the waiting palm of its owner, Chikusa’s voice goes through the air next.]

Ken, get back here.

[Idiot is going to bleed to death, he swears.]

When I'm finished, byon! [It's hard to tell if Ken's growling or laughing it. Either way, it doesn't seem like he'll be long; what mice he hasn't already incapacitated - if not killed - seem to be fleeing in panic by now. Entirely understandable.

Ken actually moves to chase them. At this rate Chikusa's going to have to hit him in the back of the head with a yoyo to get him to just stop already.]

[Goddammit, Ken. This is why we can’t have nice things.]

[For a brief second, Chikusa wavers on just… giving up, as usual. He doesn’t have the energy for this. In fact, this has already put a strain on things as it is. He could, theoretically, just go outside and lay under a tree and….]

[But now. There’s no telling if there’s anything on those arrows, or if Ken has been hit in a vital spot that he’s just ignoring. If Mukuro-sama were here, then he could take it easy. For all his showboating, he knows their leader would never let Ken get too hurt or in a bad place. You don’t give yourself up for prison for things you don’t care about. So without Mukuro-sama…]

[Reluctantly, Chikusa forces himself to move and get up onto his feet.]

Ken! You’re done.

[Don’t make him waste using his yoyos on you, you asshole.]

[And Ken stops dead, looking back over his shoulder guiltily. Most people, on hearing Chikusa's voice, wouldn't have detected anything different about it beyond the fact that it's a louder volume than usual - and Chikusa's been yelling since he came into the church, so it's not even louder than his last yell. But Ken knows Chikusa better than anyone, possibly even better than Mukuro does, and there are harmonics to Chikusa's voice that perhaps no one else can hear. And what Ken hears in his voice now stops him as thoroughly as running facefirst into a brick wall would stop anyone else.

This is Chikusa's 'this is important' voice. There's death harmonics in that voice. Either Chikusa is about to make something dead, or Ken's going to be dead if he doesn't listen to it and it might not even be Chikusa who kills him.

He glances once, restlessly, at the retreating mice, and then slinks back over to Chikusa, removing his cartridge once he gets close. He doesn't say anything, which is as clear an indication as his body language that he knows he might be in trouble; he simply gives Chikusa an uncertain look, waiting to see if he's in trouble or if the rest of the world is.

Blood's soaked his entire sleeve. Unfortunately, with his recent antics, he's kind of got blood in a number of places, especially on his arms, so it's hard to tell how much of it is his own. But his shoulder's still bleeding pretty freely, so odds are on 'most of it'.]

[Ken’s acquiescence is exactly what’s needed to get Chikusa to calm down. Just like Ken is so tuned to these things, it’s not obvious, but it’s there in his shoulders as Ken furtively makes his way back. Tension is gone, exchanged for the same lazy looseness that is so often present in his slouch, and Chikusa just casts his gaze over Ken’s body.]

You’re so troublesome…

[Best he can, he tries to find at least one dry spot on Ken’s jacket to pick at, just to see how much the blood sticks. Some days, he really hates that Ken has taken it upon himself to be the close combat member of their group.]

...We have to go outside. Take off your clothes.

All of them? [Ken doesn't seem to be asking out of reluctance, judging by how he promptly starts to shuck off his jacket and shirt; he's just asking for clarification. But already his face is starting to cloud as the pain he's in starts to set in, with no more distractions and the adrenaline ebbing away, and his movements with that arm are quickly turning stiff and awkward.

The wound on his shoulder, once revealed, is jagged where Ken tore the arrow out and still bleeding, though it's a smaller hole in Ken's hide than Chikusa might have feared.]

No... That's fine.

[Assuming Ken will follow him, Chikusa shuffles out a decent distance away from the church. Not far down the path is something that's since been overgrown with a plethora of vegetation- a billboard? a mailbox? Chikusa has no idea. However, all the plantlife offers solid protection in case any of the mice come back, and Chikusa gestures for Ken to sit on the other side of it.]

Vision blurring? Hard to breathe? Numbness?

[He needs to get all of that out of the way, just to make sure if it's been poisoned that way. In that case, he'll have to search through the mice corpses to see if one of them has an antidote... But he's hoping that it was just a normal arrow.]

[Ken follows Chikusa without complaint, grimacing at the pain - but he's been through a remarkable amount of pain and physical injury in his life, and he bears up under this without any audible complaint. Not that he's not the sort to complain; this just doesn't seem worth it.

He's starting to get lightheaded, though - being so active with that wound, as Chikusa predicted, wasn't smart. He's bled plenty, and he almost stumbles as he sits.]

Just dizzy, byon. [A fact Chikusa shouldn't be remotely surprised by.]

...I told you to stop….

[There’s an unspoken “idiot” in that sentence as Chikusa crouches down, fingers careful as he takes a look at the wound. The good news is that he can’t see too many splinters or anything, just jagged flesh because SOMEONE yanked it out with no foresight. That’s the only good news that can really be said for a gratuitously bleeding wound.]

...Press down on it with your palm. Hard. I need to get bandages….

[At least he suspects that won’t be too hard. If worst comes to worst, he can always steal what he needs. It won’t have been the first time for either of them.]

[Ken follows Chikusa's directions, with a little huff.] Had to fight them, byon. [It's not much of a counterargument, but it's all he has. And, perhaps, all he has energy for considering the blood loss. He feels tired and woozy; if he doesn't up passing out, pushing a lot of liquids and nourishment right away - possibly both at once - will be a good idea.

He's not thrilled with Chikusa leaving him here while he gets bandages, but the fact that only his expression reveals this - and that he doesn't vocally complain - says that he recognizes and accepts, however grudgingly, that it's necessary.]

[With Ken obeying those simple instructions, Chikusa gets up to his feet again. Most people wouldn’t see much of a change, but Ken is familiar with him. He should see how, even while slouching, Chikusa’s pace has sped up a little as he makes his way back into town.]

[Surprisingly, it only takes around ten minutes before Chikusa is hurrying back with a basket in his arms. He was right about the Reverend managing to help him get what he needed, so there’s a full canteen, some bandages, and a bit of fruit that he’s carting. Even from a distance, he’s narrowing his eyes to see if Ken is still conscious. He should be, but Chikusa doesn’t place bets on things like this.]

[Ken's not actually unconscious, though Chikusa won't be able to tell that from a distance. He's leaning against the overgrown structure behind him, eyes closed, because it feels better to have them closed while he's dizzy. But he's still awake, hand still clamped over his shoulder, and as Chikusa gets close enough for Ken's sharp senses to pick up on his familiar shuffling stride, Ken's eyes open and he perks up a bit.]

[It’s a weight off of Chikusa’s shoulders when Ken perks up, although it’d be hard for anyone to tell from his expression. Kneeling at Ken’s side, he places an apple on his lap before he starts to unscrew the canteen.]

Remove your hand.

[Ken removes his hand even as he picks up the apple with the other, pulling out his cartridge - with no regard for the fact that his hand is smeared with his own blood - so he can eat it more easily. (Carnivore jaws aren't particularly suited for apple-eating.) He seems content enough to eat his food while Chikusa works, and it keeps him quiet.]

[First things are first, which means splashing a bit of water over the wound to clear away some of the blood and let him see things better. They’ve had this kind of song and dance before, so Chikusa isn’t particularly worried about Ken as he presses his fingers into skin and the wound itself to make sure there’s nothing still stuck inside. With how basic things are here and how violently Ken ripped out the wound… It’s a real concern.]

[Bad news is that there are a few splinters. Good news is that, as someone who uses needles regularly, one of the things Chikusa carries on him is a pair of tweezers. It only takes a minute or so for him to clear out the wound, washing it again now and then with more water, before he’s satisfied. It’s as he goes to wrap things up that he speaks again.]

You’re going to have to not aggravate it, Ken…

[Ken makes a few displeased growling noises as Chikusa prods at his wound, but he holds remarkably still and doesn't actually offer any kind of resistance or objection to what his partner is doing.

At the words, he blinks at Chikusa.] I thought you said I'm a naturally aggravating person, byon.

[Well...he's not wrong.]

[...Yeah, he’s not wrong. Still. Chikusa nudges his glasses back up with the heel of his palm.]

I meant doing things that will bother the wound. That means no excessive movement…. Which means no fights.

[Predictably, Ken whines.] I can't fight at all now?!

[It's never easy to get Ken to sit still and let his injuries heal. Which can be a pain, since he's more prone to suffering physical injuries than any of them. Usually, though, Mukuro's authority helps enforce it.]

It’s your own fault.

[The amount of pity Chikusa has: in the negatives, not even a flat out zero. He adjusts his glasses, ignoring Ken’s whine.]

You’re the one who wasn’t paying attention and then yanked it out carelessly.

You distracted me, byon! [Ken's voice is a sulky whine, but strangely that's a good sign here. Ken wouldn't be sulking over the injunction not to fight unless he was acquiescing to Chikusa's ultimatum. Chikusa's always been the only one besides Mukuro who can get him to obey, even if he doesn't have Mukuro's guaranteed success rate.

(To be fair, Chrome can often make Ken cooperate, too. But usually she requests rather than insists, and in either case Ken huffs and insists he's doing it for Mukuro, not for her. Honestly, though, it's not likely Ken's fooling anyone but himself.)]

No.

[No blame is getting placed on him for this. Chikusa refuses.]

Move your arm a little... I want to make sure the bandages stay.

What do you mean, no? [Ken huffs, but he doesn't press the point. He really doesn't care about blaming Chikusa, so much as deflecting blame from himself. So he's really only continuing to disagree at all because Chikusa's refuting him, and Ken only stops fighting when forced to. Either by someone giving him orders he's actually inclined to listen to, his body giving out on him, or his having triumphed over all visible opposition.

At Chikusa's question, he rolls his injured shoulder - probably not the wisest kind of move to make, but he wants to test its flexibility and how much pain he'll be in when he moves it. He grimaces at it, but...it's bearable. The pull of the bandages make the movement slower and stiffer than he likes, though.] ...how long until I can fight again, byon?

It’s your own fault.

[Fight him on it. Or, rather, don’t, because Chikusa would really rather not waste energy on that idiotic kind of thing.]

[The question makes him sigh, but he does take consideration as he thinks it over.]

….It depends on how much you keep messing with it and moving around too much…. I’ll check every few days.

[log] Pray and Take

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