thenearshore | (no subject)

[Hakkai's expression is carefully veiled. He'd bowed, all meek correctness, to the guards who had brought Gojyo out when he arrived; he'd bowed to the door guards; he'd taken Gojyo's elbow, and noted the fresh bandages and the smell of blood and disinfectant, and teleported the two of them away before the careful veil failed him.

Gojyo hadn't hurt her guards, she'd said.

In other words: he hadn't tried to hurt her guards. Hakkai has seen him fight, and knows that there would have been limbs on the floor if Gojyo had meant there to be. Yet, somehow, he hadn't hurt her guards, and he was the one with a sword wound.

It's the front room of his temple that they appear in, and Hakkai moves immediately to guide him to one of the couches.]

What happened?

[ He can be guided, but Hakkai had better not have any idea about doing something stupid like moving out of arm's reach. ]

I was going to text her. [ He sits, slowly, breathing through the ache in his side. He doesn't know all that much about getting stabbed -- at least, not that he remembers -- but the wound just hurts. He can still walk (kind of), still breathe okay, still drink whatever foul medicine they forced down his throat and not have it come spilling out of his side. He's lucky they didn't kill him, and he knows it. ] Something stupid, I don't even remember...

[ His voice trails off, and it takes him a second to come back. The drugs in his system seem to be more sedative than painkiller, but he isn't really surprised by that. ]

And then her name was gone.

Ayumu's. [It's not a question; Lavi had texted him, too, around the same time that self-righteous post had gone up. She'd been a god; he couldn't have known as quickly as her shinki. He's still regretting not checking his phone more often.]

I'm sorry. Why did you go to Amaterasu's temple looking?

[He isn't going to move out of arm's reach; instead, he's kneeling next to the couch and nodding at the bloodied spot on Gojyo's shirt, where bandaging shows through underneath.]

And may I take a look at that wound?

[Gojyo's been drugged, he thinks; it's not just pain and grief slowing him down. He has no idea whether Amaterasu's shinki would have bothered to treat the wound properly, or just wrap it to prevent him from bleeding on their nice floor.]

Huh? [ He looks down, blinking at the blood on his shirt as though seeing it for the first time. ] Oh. Oh, yeah, here... [ He reaches for the hem of his shirt, but his injury protests. With a hiss, his hands fall back. Sorry, Hakkai. He can't help with that part. ]

Everyone says that Amaterasu is so powerful. If she's so powerful, why can't she bring people back?

Maybe she really can, and she's lying to us. [Maybe she really can, and she doesn't know it herself. Gojyo's shirt is already ruined by the stab wound; Hakkai doesn't bother putting him through the pain of trying to shove it up over the bandages, and instead grabs the hem and rips it open up to mid-chest. The bandages underneath are wrapped around his torso, and blood stains them too. Hakkai brushes his fingertips lightly, thoughtfully, across the gauze.]

Or it's not just a matter of power to send people away or bring them back here. Stay there for a few minutes, Gojyo? I need to get my first-aid kit.

[For the scissors, mostly. He's planning just to heal the injury beneath.]

[ Gojyo's gaze snaps to Hakkai's face, and he almost -- almost -- says no. No, don't go. Stay.

But that's silly. That's worse than silly, that's cowardly. He nods instead, but he's unable to look away. ]

Where's Goku? [ He got these names all over his body to keep track of the people who were the most important to him, and all Ayumu's did was let him know for sure when she was dead. It was a stupid idea, the names. He should have made them all live together.

He should have made them all move out of heaven. ] Is he here? Is he okay?

He's been staying here. [Gojyo's eyes are on him with barely-hidden panic, as if Hakkai will disappear the moment he leaves the room; Hakkai reaches out, catches his hand, and squeezes it.

He knows the lost panic that comes in the immediate aftermath of a god's disappearance: a god and a friend, in this case, which is worse. Gojyo doesn't have enough of his friends left.]

He and I just spoke. He's okay.

[But he still needs the first-aid kit. He releases Gojyo's hand, getting to his feet, and hurries next door to collect it. It won't take long, and he can text Goku that they're back while he looks.]

[Moments after Hakkai is gone, Gojyo will probably hear someone quietly approaching again. If he'd hoped Hakkai was just that fast, he'll be disappointed to see Ken peering into the room.

The expression on his face...certainly isn't welcoming, but it's not aggressive, either. 'Wary' might be a better word, or perhaps 'reluctant'. He seems to want to be here about as much as Gojyo likely wants him to be here.

He moves into the room and crouches down to the side of the door, keeping his distance from Gojyo. He seems to have settled in to wait for something - Hakkai's return, probably.

He shows no inclination to speak to Gojyo, and in fact seems to be avoiding even making eye contact.]

[And, of course, where one half is, the other half isn't far behind.]

[Chikusa is even quieter than his partner is, with hardly even footsteps to alert his presence. Rather, he just appears, barely, around the doorframe- enough to be visible but not enough to actually be in the room itself. He's very clearly keeping an eye on Ken, first and foremost... and Hakkai too, when he shows up.]

[Just like his partner, he doesn't even bother to make eye contact with Gojyo either.]

[ And there's one doorway blocked. If nothing else, the presence of Gojyo's least two favorite people in the world (that's a lie -- Chikusa's in the top five, and that's as high as they go) helps Gojyo remember to keep his shit together. He'll let Hakkai see just how frantic he is over this loss, and the threat of losing Hakkai and Goku. Chikusa and Ken? They get a blank stare, as he waits for Hakkai to return. ]

[Hakkai pauses, first aid kit in hand, as he steps back out into the hallway to see Chikusa lingering in the doorway of the front room.]

... Excuse me, Chikusa.

[He's not telling him to leave, though; the request is a polite little murmur, and he's turning to the side to edge through the door around him and head over to Gojyo and the couch. Ken's inside already: that's enough explanation for why Chikusa's here, he thinks, and nods to Ken, too.

To Gojyo, he continues as though the teenagers weren't lurking suspiciously in the back of the room.]

I'm going to cut these bandages off to see how well they've actually treated your wound. It's not a good place for it.

["Stabbed in the stomach" could have ended much more badly than with a half-sedated and bandaged-up Gojyo, but just because they'd avoided any blood vessels big enough to be immediately fatal didn't mean that nothing important was damaged.]

[Ken perks up - and pipes up - almost as soon as Hakkai enters the room.] I can help heal him if you want, Hakkai-sama. [That's what he came here for in the first place.]

[Chikusa, at least, is obedient enough, shifting out of Hakkai's way before going right back into place. He understands he's not being shooed away, and he's not inclined to argue with his god either. He's just here to watch over the proceedings, and make sure nothing bad will happen.]

[Besides Gojyo being here at all, anyway.]

[Ken's offer has him speak up, for once.]

Let him...

[Ken wants to be useful, after all. He needs to be. Hopefully Hakkai understands that much by now.]

[ Is there any good place to get stabbed? With a nod, Gojyo leans back, arms to the sides, giving Hakkai room to work. He wasn't very aware during the actual patching up process earlier... his memory of those minutes (hours?) between being stabbed and being led out to where Hakkai was waiting are pretty blurry. They held him down, they gave him something to drink, they pressed a gauze pad against his side hard enough that he saw spots. That's about it.

And now Ken wants to heal him. Ken, of all people. The idea of having Ken's energy moving through him the way Hakkai's has makes Gojyo's stomach turn -- the last thing he wants is to feel Essence of Ken swirling around in his guts -- but Ken loved Ayumu too. Does Ken want to do this for Ayumu? Gojyo's drugged brains swirl that idea around for awhile. ]

I didn't stab anyone. [ Wait, is that true? ] I don't think I stabbed anyone.

["Not the torso" is better, but stabbing of any type isn't good. Hakkai pauses, blinking at Ken, at his offer.

Slowly, he nods.]

All right. -- If it's all right with you, Gojyo? It's his ability as a shinki.

And you didn't stab anyone. Amaterasu said her shinki weren't hurt.

[They certainly had managed to hurt Gojyo. Hakkai turns his attention to the bandages again, the cool metal of the scissors brushing Gojyo's skin as he slides one blade under the gauze and begins to cut it away. He's staying carefully clear of the injury itself.]

[Ken moves closer to Hakkai - and Gojyo, as consequence - and settles into a waiting crouch just behind Hakkai. He seems to have a preference for being low to the ground, if not on all fours, especially in situations where he's not entirely sure of himself.]

You gotta make me a dog, Hakkai-sama. [Of course, Hakkai is probably just holding off on that to get Gojyo's consent first.

The good news is, Gojyo, that Ken's method of healing will be nothing whatsoever like Hakkai's. Ken won't be using any energy of his own; rather, his proximity will simply stimulate Gojyo's own body to heal any injuries at a greatly accelerated rate. (It might also grow his nails and hair, as a side effect.)]

[In the space Ken has moved from, Chikusa moves into, although at least he doesn't draw into a crouch. Instead, he leans against the wall, watching the group carefully. Gojyo had to have heard Ken's suggestion... So is he just ignoring him, or will he actually give his consent?]

[He really has no idea. All he can do is what he told Hakkai, and be quiet.]

[ When Ken crouches like that, he definitely looks -- or feels, maybe it's a feeling more than an image? -- like a dog. More than that, he feels like a dog crouching and ready to attack.

It's not comforting, is what Gojyo means. It feels like being trapped.

But Hakkai said yes, and Gojyo doesn't know how to say no when Hakkai's already said yes. If he says no, then Hakkai will be mad. He can't say no. ]

Okay.

[Someone's nervous; Hakkai can't tell who. Ken, Gojyo-- it's probably not Chikusa, at least. But Gojyo's agreed, and Ken's fallen into his unsure crouch next to Hakkai, as if he's half dog already. Hakkai stretches a hand out to him.]

Come, Kenki.

[That done, he looks back down at the bandages, and cuts. Bloodied gauze falls neatly away, and Hakkai's mouth presses flat as he gets a better look at the wound. It had, indeed, been covered and bandaged, but it's deep, and not stitched.]

[Ken promptly shifts into his vessel form, where his demeanor will become (perhaps) more easily readable to Gojyo. Instead of crouched down, as a dog he's laying flat on the floor, head between his paws, looking more like a dog at the vet than anything else. His eyes are following Gojyo and Hakkai's every movement, but otherwise he's entirely still.

His healing influence will be felt almost immediately; there's no actual sensation of his power itself, but its effects on Gojyo make themselves known as the seconds pass. The pain from his wound will gradually lessen as his skin starts knitting itself back together, the freshness of the wound fading. Essentially, Gojyo's own healing process is being put on fast forward. Hakkai will be gratified to see the wound becoming slowly less serious as he watches.]

[This is about the point when Goku comes running into the room, bumping into Chikusa as he rushes through the doorway, instinctively jumps over the dog on the floor (there are so many animals in this temple, Goku can't be expected to keep track of how many) and skids to a stop next to the couch.]

Gojyo!

[Okay, Gojyo, check. Hakkai, check. Gojyo's injuries looking not obviously serious, check. No more murderous energy in the room than should be expected, considering both Hakkai and Chikusa are in it, check. All right, that's fine then. ]

What the hell! Why'd you go off on your own?

[ It's... it's not terrible. In fact, it's kinda nice. He doesn't feel Ken's energy at all, which is surprising -- Gojyo holds his breath, tensed, waiting for the flood of dog breath and sharp claws, but all that happens is that his side feels, well. Itchy. Itchy, like it's healing.

He's just begun to relax, just begun to turn to Hakkai (and, by extension, Ken) with an expression of pleased surprise, when Goku comes barrelling in.

Thank every god, Goku's okay. ]

Hi. They killed Ayumu, Goku. She's dead.

[Hello to you too, Goku.]

[At least Chikusa isn't too bothered much, just readjusts himself against the wall and watches the proceedings. Ken's work is clearly going well enough, and he doubts that his partner will need to stick around for anything else. He's already starting to slide down to the ground when Gojyo says that.]

[There's a lot he could say there. He won't, save for a solitary breath that doesn't quite graduate into a huff. Instead, on the ground now with his long legs bent awkwardly, he holds his hands out.]

Ken.

[Gojyo is healing. That should be all that's needed. Now, he just wants to take his partner and get out of here. The longer one stays around Gojyo, after all, the longer his stupidity has a chance to manifest. The longer he's allowed to be stupid, the more likely a fight is going to happen.]

[Well, that's not the sort of thing Hakkai wants anyone to say around Ken and Chikusa. Or Goku, for that matter.

Or himself, but, at least, he knows better. His expression is still turning remote, cold as a winter wind at the back of the neck.]

She disappeared.

[It may mean the same thing, in the end. It's even less likely that she'll return from a disappearance than she will from a death -- but it's happened before, hasn't it? It's happened more than once.

And he doesn't want to discuss the difference between she disappeared and they killed her around Goku.

Not with Sanzo gone, at least.]

[Ken's ears shift a bit when Chikusa says his name, but he doesn't actually move from his spot on the floor. He knows proximity affects the healing acceleration he can provide; he'd had plenty of chances to observe the process while healing Ayumu. So while Chikusa might want to leave, Ken isn't going to budge until Gojyo's at least fairly well healed - or unless Hakkai sends him away. Which is the other reason he's not moving; Hakkai (and, to a lesser extent, Gojyo) accepted his help, so Ken's going to provide it until either it's no longer needed or he's told to stop.

He visibly twitches at Gojyo's words, before letting out a long, low whine. He doesn't necessarily believe what Gojyo's saying is true - for one thing, Hibari came back after disappearing once, even if he'd lost his memories, and for another, Gojyo has a history of believing weird shit that doesn't make logical sense and Ken knows it - but the very possibility distresses him. And there's no way to reassure himself after hearing those words and thinking those thoughts, no way to comfort himself that Gojyo's wrong.]