thenearshore | (no subject)

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Who: Axel the Accidental Ayakashi and you!
What: After a badly thought out conversation with Roxas, Axel succumbs to his memories and turns into a fiery ayakashi. (See the plotting post for details!)
Where: In a pretty park area in the Heavens, and rampaging around from there.
When: April 28, early afternoon
Warnings: Violence, character death, body horror

[A few hours after noon, a shriek spirals up into the still air of the Far Shore. Among the trees to one side of a path, purple limbs flail, backlit by a sullen lava glow, and something massive moves. The trees tremble.

Incoming.

Duck.]

(( This is an catchall mingle log for interactions with ayakashi!Axel and reactions! Axel will be tagging into the fight threads as well as the threads of anyone who asked for a quick interaction in the OOC log. ))

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[He has no idea where it's coming from. But it can't be Kido, she's right here and he hasn't felt a sting of hers recently. Even still, she's never stung him this badly. And Shouto seemed, well, maybe not happy, but certainly not guilty over anything he's done.]

D-Don't to- [Whatever he was going to say is cut off by another coughing fit as his knees buckle and he tries to claw into the wall for purchase.]

Deku! [Shit. She tries to grab onto him, to keep him upright, try to catch him so he doesn't just fall, try to lower him so he doesn't hit as hard, but he doesn't have to waste energy standing. It doesn't even register that his blight is starting to creep up her hands and arms.]

H-hang on. Just. Just don't talk okay, you're--[This is way too dangerous and she's terrified now. Her voice is quiet and small which is exactly how she feels.] I-I'll get help, lean on me, just hang on.

[Shit shit shit how is she supposed to get help is he even here?] Shouto! [She raises her voice and the distress is completely encompassing it. Shit please come here please please please.] Shouto, help!

[ Thankfully, Shouto meant it when he said he didn't really have any plans of going anywhere. Especially not without either of them, after yesterday's prayer. But he has opted to live in another apartment, on the same floor, despite the fact that Izuku obviously wouldn't care if both of them stayed in his. But Kido has the couch, and he sort of feels like he needs his own space.

That thought's about to go out the window, as he jolts upon hearing his name like that. He doesn't even think about it, just slams out of the apartment and to the god's the second he hears help. ]

What the hell - [ He rushes to them, going to his knees and reaching out. ] What happened?

[He tries to pull away from them both, but the blight's made him weak as well as putting him in excruciating pain. The attempt is there, but it's got no force behind it.]

Y-You're gonna get bli- [And that's when he starts coughing out black. Whatever this is, whatever is going on, it's clearly bad for him and it's neither of his shinki's fault. They don't deserve to suffer because of whatever bad decision he's made.]

[Yeah it's already way too late for that, kid. Kido's not letting him go, even as the pain follows the blight.]

I-it's blight. [She looks at Shouto, fear real in her eyes.] I-I don't know why. He just started coughing and--[She swallows and closes her eyes, trying and failing to focus. She turns back to Deku, trying to figure out what to do.]

H-holy water might work, but... there's so much....

[ He recognizes that Izuku is trying to tell them not to touch him, and he elects to ignore it.

Not right away, of course, because he has to assess the situation - but he makes a decision fairly quickly based on what he sees and what Kido tells him. ]

We can try to stem it with some - where is it? [ It's like a tourniquet on an amputated limb, though, considering Shouto can see just how far it's spreading. But he also wants to get her away from it for a second, because they can take turns handling him to slow the spread on them.

When he decides that is when he reaches out, taking his right hand and combing his fingers through Izuku's bangs so he can press a cooling palm to his forehead. ]

[He shivers into the hand and presses into it for a second, it's a small relief, and it doesn't do much. But it's still nice, a cold hand against the fever that's spreading through his body- he forgets himself for a moment before trying to pull away again.]

Stop it- Well water. In the refrigera-

[He's never had a case of blight this bad before. He's not sure the bottles are going to cut it. It seems to be more than just his outer body at this point, considering the black substance he's choking out.]

[She hesitates for only a second. She doesn't want to let him go. She doesn't want to. She's afraid if she does, he'll slip away. But if she doesn't let him go, she'll definitely lose him. Her hands are shaking as she pulls back, letting Shouto take over.]

I'll get it. Can you... can you get him on the couch? [It won't help, but it might be at least a little more comfortable. Her legs are shaking as she rises, but she's as fast as she can be to the kitchen and back.]

[ There's a feeling, one that understands the same fear. But Shouto isn't going to let it take over, even as he feels the sting of the blight in his fingertips where they touch Izuku. But they won't leave him alone, he's decided. Even if they get infected by the blight, too. ]

Shut up, Midoriya. [ He only pulls away because of Kido, but Izuku's not going to be happy with the greater amount of contact as he scoops his arm under him, getting behind his knees so he can lift him up and carry him to the couch. ] We're not just going to sit here and watch you suffer.

[On one hand, he understands it completely, because if it was either of them suffering through this- if it was anybody he knew, he'd absolutely want to help them. But on the other, they're his partners and he hates that they have to share in his pain.

Still, even if he struggles to get out of Shouto's grasp, it's strong and solid and Izuku's not going to manage to get out of it any time soon.

Eventually he goes limp in Shouto's arms, exhausted.]

S-Sorry-

[It doesn't take her long to be back at all. There's definitely not enough bottles in the fridge to take care of this blight. But she thinks if there's anything that might help, it'd be dealing with the insides. It might not help at all, but she's cracking the bottle open and bringing it over to join them.]

Seriously, Boss. Shut up. You'll start coughing again. [She's trying to sound serious and it would probably be more convincing if her voice wasn't trembling.] Think you can swallow?

[ The good thing about Izuku being weaker is that he can't struggle as easily, and Shouto is strong enough to handle him anyways - which he doesn't know, but that's obviously not stopping him. He stays with him when he sets him on the couch, too, frowning at him through the pain of the blight at the fact he's apologizing. ]

This isn't your fault. [ Of that, he's certain. It isn't his doing, and it's definitely not Kido's - he has a hard time imagining her doing something that would hurt Izuku - so that means it's an outside source.

He's going to find out the source, and he's going to raze it to the ground. For now, though, he shifts out of the way so that Kido can get to their god. ]

[Shout says that, but he's pretty sure it is. It's neither Shouto or Kido, which means it's likely his. They're his two shinki and... that leaves Axel? But he didn't seem like the type to go feeling this guilty- what happened? What happened?

He looks up at his shinki and he's very sure he's not going to get anywhere, even as much as he wants to check up on his friend (turned ayakashi, not that he knows).

He'll just nod for now, gesturing for the bottle. He can at least swallow, he thinks- not that this amount of holy water can him much good.]

[It's worth a shot, isn't it? If it eases things even a little, it'll be better than nothing. She's willing to try anything. She takes a knee next to the couch and cradles his head. If he starts coughing again, it could be dangerous.

She seems to know how futile this is at least because when she holds it to his mouth she mumbles:] Just try it okay?

[She doesn't look up when she changes who she's addressing.] I-I don't know what to do. Maybe somebody else will. One of the gods who belong here might know what to do...

[ If they can slow it down, even a little bit, so that they can find out how to help - it's worth it. It's worth trying, and it's worth the two of them suffering through the blight. Even if it's just the barest amount. A hero has to do what they can, especially for someone they consider their partner.

His attention doesn't quite shift from Izuku, but he does turn his head more towards Kido as she speaks. ]

Then we have to ask. [ He pats his pockets down, until he can dig his phone out. For as much as he's not particularly social, he's willing to do this in a heartbeat. ]

[He does manage to swallow it down- though it doesn't seem to do anything much for him.

Izuku huffs, as he tries to sit up- doubling over and coughing more of the black stuff- maybe he can get it out of his system like this... There's likely more he has to do, but he's not sure what.

He doesn't try to talk again, body wracked with coughing fits, but he can still think, I'm so sorry as he continues retching and hope they understand.]

[She wraps an arm around his shoulders to help him up and keep him steady. She feels like it's only made things worse. She bites back a whimper of fear--

Her head is pounding though that she can't lose him. She can't.

She hasn't realized she's crying yet. She doesn't have any ideas on what to do from here. She's never felt so helpless.]

Just keep breathing, okay? Please, Deku, c'mon, we'll figure this out...

[ For a second, Shouto forgets what he's doing. Concern becomes a note of panic that lodges itself in his throat, as he watches him cough up the dark bile, and he fumbles his phone as he reaches out to touch him again. His right hand curls around the back of Izuku's neck, that cool pressure there despite the bruise-like mark of the blight, and his left hand reaches for Kido.

He fists his fingers against her shoulder, closing the circle between the three of them. ]

We'll get help. You just have to hold on long enough for that, Midoriya. [ He forces himself to keep the way he feels incredibly lost out of his voice, holding on for another moment longer, two, before he lets go of both of them and scoops up his phone. ]

[He's worrying them. He's worrying them both so much and he has no idea how to fix this. No idea how to fix himself.

Part of him doesn't want to touch either of them, lest the blight somehow spread even faster- but he thinks, maybe, they need the grounding. Izuku reaches up to hold both of their shoulders, squeezing them, a reassurance. He's still here. He's right here. He's not going anywhere, even if he feels like he's expelling all of his guts.]

I'm- I'm here. I'm still here. I trust you. Both of you. [-is as much as he can struggle to get out.]

[For the brief second his hand is on her shoulder, she lifts her free hand to grasp it. If he feels anything like how she feels, they both need the connection.

She doesn't let up her hold on Deku's shoulders. Keep him up. If he starts coughing like that on his back, it won't be good for anyone.]

Yeah. We know. Just... [Just keep breathing, thinks the dead kid. But she trails off, glancing at Shouto.]

Let us take care of you.

[ The tense line of his shoulders just gets tenser when Izuku touches him, but Shouto looks up from his phone where he's making the plea for help, making it short and to the point if only so that he can focus on the two of them again.

He doesn't remember ever feeling so useless, without his memories. (Not since he was five years old.) But he's pretty sure that this is taking the cake right now, especially after two days of relatively successful prayers and more lighthearted companionship after them. He'd just been given that - and now there's the threat of it being taken away. ]

We're going to make sure you're okay. [ He reaches and curls his fingers around Izuku's on his shoulder, other hand reaching to Kido again as he looks back at her. ]

[He's supposed to be there for them, he's supposed to be somebody they can rely on to be there for them. That's what a god is supposed to be- that's what a friend is supposed to be. What kind of god is he then? He's making his shinki, two people that have experienced far, far too much hurt in their lives, even if they don't remember it, live through something like this? They've both lost so much. It's not fair to them if they lose him too.

Shouldn't he be making sure they're okay? Shouldn't he be the one trying to get himself healthy again? He thinks it, but he can't manage many more words considering the pain. Even breaking his arms into uselessness was never as bad as this is- he could still talk then, strained and pained, but still able to do that much. Like this his throat is feeling raw, even as he tries to swallow the feeling down.]

I know.

[If Kido knew what he was thinking, she'd remind him the reason they're so worried about him is that he is a good god and friend and partner. The best god and friend and partner they probably could've asked for. And that's why they worry. That's why they care. He'd do it for them--jesus, he did it for her just a few days ago. And they're going to do it for him.

Kido grabs Shouto's hand instead of letting it rest on her shoulder. They're both blighted already so it's not like it's going to hurt him any more than he's already hurt. And she wants the contact--the mutual assurance they're both going to do everything they can. She can give back that much at least.]

Lean on us. We'll keep you up. Don't strain yourself sitting up when we're here. [And they'll all get blighted to heck but if they can't fix Deku like what's the point of staying intact in the first place? Things she is not saying out loud.]

[ Foreign as all of this is to him, from the feeling of helplessness to the concern he has for these two people to the very act of reacting out for physical reassurance, Shouto doesn't shy away from it. He holds onto Kido's hand when she grabs his, keeping from heating up - the stress is causing his right side to flare up more than his left, anyways - and looks from her to Izuku.

A team looks out for each other. That's what they do. Friends... friends take care of one another, he thinks. He doesn't know if he really knows the full extent of that, even with exposure to it since coming here. But he knows that he feels loyalty to Izuku, and knows that he wants to hold onto Kido as they try to weather through this together. The blight hurts, a great deal, but he can ignore pain for this. ]

We're partners. You said it yourself.

[He closes his eyes for a moment, leaning his forehead against one of their shoulders- cold- must be Shouto's right side. He stays like that, trying to steady his breath and the desire to keep coughing up whatever this is.

That's right, they are a team, aren't they? They're partners- that's what he's said to both of them. Even if a part of him still feels responsible for them, they probably feel the same way, at least a little bit. They're blighted because of him, but he would have gotten blighted for them too if it meant, just maybe, he could comfort them a bit.

He lets out a shaky breath and wraps his arms around both their shoulder's hugging them. Tangible proof he's right there with them. They can do this. They can deal with this together.]

We are.