thenearshore | [closed] | My resolution failed...

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[closed] | My resolution failed...

Who: Yukio and Takuma
What: What do you do when your twin doesn't even know you?
When: Evening of November training log
Where: ~~Hell~~ Satan's temple

[ He wasn't sure how he got back here. Maybe he managed to stumble back or he wandered back. Either way, his legs carried him back to his temple when his mind was too preoccupied trying to make heads or tails of what had just happened.

All he knew was he had failed.

His only aim in life was to protect his brother, to make sure Rin never found out about the truth behind their parentage... and somehow he had failed at one objective. The most important objective.

He was dead.

It didn't even matter that he was 'alive' here. Somewhere back home, Rin was involved with something that killed him. But... how? Why? And more importantly... why couldn't he be saved? Surely their dad would have done something. He himself could have done something. Was it a fight? Did someone actually kill him for causing so much trouble...? Did a demon--

There was a sharp shake of his head as if the motion would be enough to dismiss the thought.

No. It couldn't be possible.

Without thinking, he reeled back and sent his fist into a nearby tree with a sound of evident frustration and kept it there. The bark was rough and dead and hard, enough to cut through the flesh of his knuckle. It stung... but he didn't care. He deserved it. He failed.

Yukio Okumura never failed.

He stood there, his head lowered and shoulders shaking even as he lowered his hand. Now what? What was there left to do? What was there left to do but... stand there and take it and make sure his brother wasn't put into any more danger than he could.

But could he even do that after a failure this catastrophic...? ]

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[Takuma was relaxing after a day at the training grounds with a cup of tea when the scent of blood flowed into his nostrils. He didn't realize that it was abnormal to have such a keen sense of the smell of blood, but that didn't matter. The scent was...familiar, it matched someone that he knew.

But who else could it have been but Yukio's?

It was very faint, so he could tell that there wasn't anything to be alarmed about, but as his shinki, he couldn't just overlook it.

Takuma swiftly moved from his seat to find him. It didn't take very long.

He looks over at Yukio, sees the defeated stance and becomes concerned for his god. There's no doubt that something had happened. He moves closer to him and calls out very softly.]

Yukio...

Let's go inside...

[ He wasn't sure if it was that god-shinki connection that easily led the other to him but whatever it was, he wasn't sure if he appreciated it.

But he straightens, his back still turned to Takuma as he rubbed his wrist. He'd punched harder than he thought. His knuckles were grazed and the ripple of force continued to shoot through his arm. The pain, at least, distracted him. ]

...I'm fine, Takuma. Don't worry about it.

[ He's fine. He's always fine, no matter the situation. ]

[Takuma let out a soft huff through his nose at the show of stubborn behaviour.]

You're not fine...See?

[He goes up to him and grabs the hand with the abrasion on it.]

We're a team now. If you're not at least a little open with me, how can we work together properly?

[His thumb runs over the abrasion gently, collecting the excess blood there. He has the fleeting thought to lick it, but instead let's go of the hand to clean the wound with his handkerchief.]

[ ...A team. True. He'd chastise any exorcist for being stubborn on the field when it comes to their injuries... but this isn't the field. This isn't a mission. Either way, Takuma is his partner...

There's a moment of hesitation though as he gently pulls his hand back. ]

...Come on. If you really want to help, I've got a first aid kit inside.

[ And a sigh of resignation as he motions for the shinki to follow him back into the cathedral. The fight had been knocked out of him... that and his shinki seemed the kind who wouldn't drop it no matter how many times he asked him to. ]

[Takuma stuffs his handkerchief back into his pocket and starts to head back inside.

There is worry in his green eyes as he watches his god quickly give in to the prodding. He has a feeling that he'll need to prod a bit gently with him, but it will be necessary nonetheless.

He follows him along to get the first aid kit.]

I think you need a bit more than just a little first aid, Yukio.

You think so...?

[ The smile he gives is a little dry, the chuckle that follows a little bitter. More than first aid... he doesn't think any amount of antiseptic or bandaging will be enough to calm whatever his feels are doing at the moment.

But he keeps a fully stocked first aid, to say the least. It's all there: gauze, antiseptic, iodine, medicinal tape and bandages... he's never really had anyone else try to patch him up before, to start so there's a moment's hesitation as he pulls up two chairs and starts to unpack the antiseptic, the cotton balls and a pair of medical tweezers. ]

...What's it like being a shinki?

[ He's aware his question comes out of nowhere but he figures getting answers from a direct source would be best for now. ]

[Takuma sat down in front of Yukio and started to prepare the cotton balls with antiseptic. He took Yukio's hand gently into his own and began to apply it on the abrasion slowly. He made sure that he was careful with his god. No matter how tough he was, he still needed a soft touch.]

Being a shinki is like...being born. I am constantly discovering new things. Some things I sort of already knew, but I didn't know I knew until I see it. It's like an adventure. I don't remember anything from when I was alive, but it doesn't make me sad because there is a new life to live now. As...living as being a soul can be.

And belonging to a god isn't bad. I like helping people and my god is kind, so I have nothing to worry about.

[He smiles gently up from his work]

[ He had to hand it to Takuma, at least his shinki knew how to tend to a wound. A little too rough and the antiseptic would be unbearable. Too light and it wouldn't be properly cleaned. He couldn't help but wince at the initial contact. It hadn't quite occurred to him how he'd cut himself.

But he listened in silence, staying still as he reached for the iodine and bandages to follow up the cleaning.

This just got him thinking of Rin again, how his brother would be ranting to him as he bandaged his wounds. ]

...I guess that's not so bad.

[ Rin would be the kind who wouldn't let this bother him too much. Maybe he'd be okay...? But still. With all the danger this world posed? He couldn't help but worry even more but one dab of the cotton swab did cause him to hiss slightly. ]

That's... probably not going to get any cleaner. I can take it from here.

Ah-ah. Let me take care of you for once.

[He took the iodine, put it on a cotton swab and dabbed it onto the wound with care. He then started to wrap bandages around his hand. Not too tight, but not too loosely either.]

Why do you ask, anyways? Are you worried about something?

[He had no doubt that something was bothering Yukio. He seemed the type to withdraw if something was amiss.]

[ And even before he could protest, he was already being tended to. But he had to hand it to his shinki: guy knew what he was doing. Bandaging a light graze like this was idiot-proof but Yuki felt he would be lying if he said he didn't know some pretty thick idiots.

There was another furrow to his brow at the question though.

Worried.

Worried was just the surface of it all. But he's silent as he tries to figure out if he should tell his shinki or not. ]

...Yeah. You could say that. I just wanted to know what it was like being a shinki.

[ He's flexing and clenching his fingers, testing the tightness of the bandages. Nice. Not too tight that it constricts movement, not too loose that it might fall off. Exactly what he needed. ]

There's someone who showed up today I wanted to look out for.

[Takuma watched him as he tested out the tying of the bandages. It seemed he did a good job! While Takuma didn't need to know first aid for himself because of his automatic healing abilities (that he didn't know about yet), he wanted to make sure that he knew what to do for his god. ~~WikiHow was a great place for everyday tutorials.~~

He started to put everything away so that Yukio could talk, as little as it was.]

Being a shinki isn't bad. We don't have nearly as much responsibility as a god-- ah...or maybe we do if we have to take care of our god.

Who is it, if you don't mind my asking. I can help you look out for them.

[ Maybe he didn't have to look too far for a nurse... but it was good to know there was someone on his team that knew a thing or two about bandaging.

But he remained in his seat, that furrow never leaving his brow but smoothing out for a moment before he let out a slow breath. The more eyes on Rin, the better... maybe. ]

Does that mean you're just doing your duty as my exemplar?

[ The smile he offers back is teasing, really but he exhales again, leaning back against the back of his seat. ]

His name's Rin. Rin Okumura. My... older twin brother. It's bad enough he doesn't remember me but he happens to be the kind who gets into trouble a lot.

Exemplar?

[As he tells him the name, he perks up a bit.]

I met someone by that name at the training. Now I can see the resemblance. He seemed very carefree.

[He smiles and makes an enthusiastic gesture.]

I will be another pair of eyes for you.

That's what I heard people call a god's first shinki. Technically... that role falls to you.

[ The soulless one doesn't count. You can't build a moral compass on a shinki without a soul or at least that's what Yuki thinks.

But he seems to relax more at the second bit. ]

So you met him... [ A breath. ] He's... always had problems making friends because of his temper so I want to make sure he's going to be okay here.

[ But he's not that relaxed. There's still something on his mind. ]

...I'd really appreciate having someone else keeping an eye on him, too.

I see! I'll be sure to be a good exemplar, then.

[Though he has no idea that he had a role very similar to this one when he was alive. He was pretty much born to be an important assistant.]

I didn't notice much of a temper, but we were eating together which must be why. It's hard to have a temper with tasty food.

Though if he's your brother, I could imagine that he would have one.

[He smiled a bit on that last phrase, poking fun at his emotionally stiff god. He wasn't there to witness his temper unleashing on the tree, but it was there.]

And he'll have a god taking care of him as well. Maybe it will make you feel better to get into contact with them. If you'd like, I can look into it. Perhaps I could even arrange a meeting between the two of you? It's important to get along with someone taking care of your brother.

[ Already he feels that he already is. It's a strange thing, baring his soul to someone else but he had to admit, Takuma was right. If he couldn't trust his partner, who could he trust? The were a team, weren't they?

He can't help but chuckle slightly. ]

He's a really good cook. I can't imagine he'd let his temper flare up during a meal.

[ There was a pause though as he thought that offer over. ]

...I'd like to know who he's been named by, at least. When I spoke to Rin, he didn't know. Did he manage to tell you anything?

[Takuma just shook his head.]

It was mainly him asking questions and me answering them the best I could.

But I could always contact Rin and ask!

[He smiles cheerfully.]

I'm really good with people, so I can network for you if you would like. Or else so far I have been good with people.

He's probably trying to figure things out...

[ The sigh and the smile that follows is a little nostalgic to say the least. Good. At least Rin seems to have gotten his bearings. He's a little surprised his brother seems pretty chill about all this but... it's better than starting a fight at least.

But he lets out a breath. It's fine. It's fine. Rin's fine. That's all that matters. He's... sort of alive. There's nothing to be done but to make sure he doesn't die again. ]

...it's fine. As much as possible, I don't want him to start wondering why I'm being nosy. But...

[ The thought crosses his mind. Maybe there is something Takuma can do. ]

...if you can. Try being his friend. My brother... always had problems making friends. I'm sure he'd appreciate having one here.

[Takuma nods at the request.]

Any brother of Yukio's is a friend of mine.

[He tapped his finger onto the side of his chin.]

He looks pretty scrappy, though. I'll have to get him into refined tastes if we're going to properly bond.

[He was only half joking.]

He is... He's actually a pretty simple guy. I think fancy tea might go over his head if you tried that approach.

[ See, you got him to smile a little, at least. Man, how did he ever manage to land a shinki like this one? ]

You two might make a pretty formidable team if you both decide to host a tea party together though.

[He's glad that he got a smile out of him.]

We'll start small then. Like...coffee or something.

[He waves a hand in the air.]

But don't worry, he's in good hands.

He used to get into fights a lot back in school...

[ ...because he didn't know his own strength, he was part demon, all those things. But that's... no, that doesn't need to be said. ]

But I think he'd appreciate having a friend around, especially somewhere new.

[ Somewhere he can start over without anything hanging over his head.

Another pause before he looks back up at Takuma. ]

...thanks.

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[closed] | My resolution failed...

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