thenearshore | closed;

Entry tags:

closed;

Who: Ren (

disciplineking)
What: Prayer #14
When: March 12
Where: Some office building
Warnings: Hibari is his own warning...

[Ren had to admit, he had been a little unsure of what might happen when he had approached Hibari with this task. Of course, he'd picked this one specifically out of the all the (very few) options hanging in his shrine in the hope that Hibari would be interested in it enough that he would tolerate working together, but there was no guarantee that his interest would outweigh his dislike of becoming a weapon. After all, he hadn't actually faced any ayakashi yet and didn't know what it was like, and it had been hard to tell whether he actually wanted to.

But Hibari agreed to go and do it, for which Ren is somewhat thankful. For one thing, it's going to be fun, but it's also a sign that trying to work with Hibari might not be a hopeless endeavor after all. That's good; he really didn't want it to be.

And so here they are, wandering through the busy streets of Tokyo, looking for some sign of the ayakashi or someone affected by it because the request had unfortunately only given a general area to look in.]

It should be around here somewhere...

[says Ren right before he nearly walks into someone because he's too busy looking up and she's too busy not noticing someone from the Far Shore right in front of her. Ren is completely unfazed by this near-collision, maybe because it's the third time it's happened already today.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[...Hibari really was going to murder him after this was over. Unfortunately, he was sure Ren could feel this fact and it didn't help they were already in the middle of a fight with the ayakashi that was readying itself for another charge. There was no time for hesitation.]

You're holding them wrong. Brace the long ends against your arms and swing like you are punching it. You mess this up and we both die. Now you-GET BACK!

[This time the ayakashi raised itself up and decided to crash down on the pair, attempting to crush the god beneath it.]

[And that is exactly why he waited until now to say anything. Hibari can't be mad at him if there isn't time to be mad!

Well, if there's one thing Ren is very good at, it's following the instructions of voices in his head during a fight, so he's very quick to make the necessary adjustments. Unfortunately, it also means he takes his eyes off the ayakashi just long enough for Hibari's shout to really be needed this time.

He does look up just in time to try to dive sideways out of the way again, but not quite in time to dodge it completely. The ayakashi comes down one of his legs--thankfully not hard enough to break anything, but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt. Ren hisses in pain and kicks frantically at it with his free leg to get it to move just enough to let him to scramble away from it.

He'd been very careful, even with all his playing around, not to actually touch one of these things yet, and now he can definitely see why Yukine warned him against it.]

Idiot. How did I get stuck with someone like you?!

[Hibari was going to be really angry if that made Ren move even slower than before-even right now, it was almost painful to be stuck at this speed. If Hibari was the one in control, he could've run circles around this thing, obviously.

He just hoped that his god being blighted meant he wouldn't be. He didn't need extra things to focus on.]

Get back. If your opponent is larger than you, you have to use your small size to an advantage. As you have kindly demonstrated, its speed is going to be troublesome for someone like you. Go after the legs and appendages. Keep moving and keep up the attack.

[It was probably the most that Ren had ever heard Hibari speak, but he was too focused on the battle right now to be worried about being out of character to other people. He could feel the taste and the bite of the monster as he hit it, and relished in every blow.]

[Ren is actually thinking along the same lines as he takes a couple exploratory steps backward while Hibari is talking. It definitely hurts to put weight on that leg...but he doesn't really feel like he'll just collapse if he has to either. So running around shouldn't be too bad.]

Its speed wouldn't be a problem if it was a little smaller...

[Running around is definitely something he'll have to do soon too, Hibari's instruction notwithstanding, as the ayakashi decides to charge at him again. This one is a lot more aggressive than most of the ones he's fought...

Still, if there's one positive thing about him, it's that he shows no hesitation in charging right back at it, despite being in pain and having little idea what he's doing. Swing his arms like he's punching--he can do that, although Hibari will probably yell at him for his utter lack of form. Go for the legs--he can do that too, although he ends up hitting its side and underbelly just as often. That's fine; he'll have to do more than damage its legs to actually kill it.

Keep moving...would be a little easier if he didn't have to get in so close, but after the first time one of those legs brushes his shoulder, he definitely has a reason to try to keep that from happening again.]

[He could tell that Ren wasn't using him to his full potential-his movement's were clunky and slow and carried none of the elegant and brutal technique that Hibari himself somehow knew he employed. It was doing damage, as much as the Cloud Guardian could, but in a very inefficient manner.

Hibari even let himself feel as annoyed as possible, so Ren KNEW that he was. But as it kept skittering around and lashing its legs out at Ren, he didn't have time really to do that anymore. Hibari saw it in his minds eye how he'd dodge, but the god wasn't he even let the thing sting his shoulder!

He couldn't stand for this, but he saw the head rush up towards ren from below, splitting off from the main body, Hibari jerked in place. HE couldn't tell whether it was just a reflex or suggestion he implanted in Ren's mind or he had somehow moved, but he was there, somewhow, the ayakashi's mouth biting down on the tonfa and part of Ren's arm.

It was painful, but he didn't give in and kept pushing.]

[Ren has to admit, he almost preferred Hana's complete lack of emotion and personality during a fight like this. Almost. He did like that Hibari remained entirely himself like this...but it is a little distracting when he's trying to concentrate.

He's so caught up in trying to avoid being hit again while still managing to hit something himself and also trying to filter Hibari's emotions for anything more helpful than just annoyance, in fact, that Hibari's action takes him completely off guard. He isn't even sure what happened until he's already feeling the burning spreading through his arm.

But that and how Hibari was even able to do that are both much less important that the fact that his shinki is in the ayakashi's mouth and it's nowhere near as harmless as he'd thought.]

Hibari!

[It's too bad the emotion connection didn't go both ways, or Hibari would be able to feel the spike of actual panic as Ren bears down on the ayakashi with the other tonfa to get it to let go. It's fine if he gets hurt a little. It's not fine if Hibari gets hurt, especially if it's because of his own inexperience.]

[It was hard to hear Ren shouting with half his body wedged inside the ayakashi's mouth, and it was stinging all over. It was a lot more painful than Hibari anticipated, with the demon's teeth actually scraping the metal he was made out of.]

Ugh! Get it-get off-get it off-

[He could feel his other half striking at the ayakashi's head and put as much force into it as possible, eventually managing to beat the head off and hopefully causing Ren to move backwards.

Thankfully, the ayakashi reared back too, having been hit in its mouth, which was a vulnerable spot, and Hibari took the time to recuperate. His wound was still stinging rather badly, but he was clamping down on it so it wasn't something MORE that could distract the idiot god.]

That piece of shit, I'm going to bite it to death!!

[He couldn't even tell if Ren's arm was useable-Hibari himself had blocked most of it, the wonder of tonfas, but they were going to need to defend again, as the millipede split off several heads and started rushing at them again.]

[Yep, as soon as Hibari is free of the ayakashi, Ren dashes backward to give them a little time to catch their breaths. Well, mostly his breath. The blight doesn't just hurt; he's starting to feel exhausted a lot faster than he's used to. Actually...it's starting to remind him a whole lot of being Reversed or even his early days using Psyqualia. And considering both made him pass out, that's not a thought he really wants to be having right now.

He very briefly considers asking Hibari how he's doing...but if Hibari is yelling like that, then he's fine enough for the moment. But they really need to get this over with quickly if he's going to stay that way.

And it would seem the ayakashi thinks so too. Guarding against that will just get Hibari hurt again, so that isn't an option. He's not sure he can dodge well enough in this condition either...

So Ren stays right where he is, only moving enough to dodge and punch his way out of actually being hit. Then as the biggest head bears down on him, he plants his feet and throws his arms forward just in time for it to run right into Hibari instead--although he's careful to align everything properly so nothing will be going inside anything's mouth this time.

He isn't sure that will be enough to actually kill it, but it should be enough to hurt it and distract it for a minute.]

What if we come at it from above? If we can hit it right behind the head...

Were you not paying attention? Its most vulnerable spot is its mouth. I felt it when I was inside of it. Hitting it right behind the head will only do minimal damage.

[The millipede was slowing down from the successive damage Hibari managed to deal, but it was still moving, and he knew that for Ren to even survive, he'd probably have to throw a mortal blow soon. He was NOT losing to such a weakling!]

A solid blow to the face should do enough damage for me to take it down.

Edited 2016-05-12 21:22 (UTC)

I was a bit distracted at the time.

[This comes out considerably harsher than he meant it to, and he immediately bites his lip to keep from saying anything else. He might be hurting and tired, but taking out on Hibari--even just a little bit--won't do any good.

And mostly he suggested it because he's reluctant to do anything that might hurt Hibari even more. Which Hibari can probably tell a little bit, though maybe not why, since he doesn't immediately run forward this time. But he can only be reluctant so long before he spots an opening and he has to take it or they won't accomplish anything.]

All right. Here I go.

[It's probably not as solid a blow as Hibari is hoping for, but as Ren rushes in, he does make a point of using his uninjured arm and he slams the tonfa his holding in it against the ayakashi with every bit of strength he has right now.]

[Hibari could sense it, and it was pissing him off. He didn't care about a little pain that was stinging up his side, he wanted that thing dead! Ren was being an idiot and holding back because of HIM? That was a coward's way of doing things-an herbivore's way.]

Get going!!!

[It really hadn't been enough damage and the millipede may have been on it's last legs, but it needed just another blow to its mouth and it was probably done. Hibari had enough power to be able to do that.

However, the millipede wasn't going down without a fight, and shot forth again, with the shinki reflexively raising himself as a shield again, as the thing bore down on them.

[--Oh, he really doesn't like Hibari throwing himself out there like that to protect him. He's the supposed leader here and should be the one keeping his teammate from getting hurt, not the other way around. And they're not going to get anywhere guarding like that...

Ren has maybe a second to decide what to do, but that's all he needs. The weak spot is in the mouth? Then he'll get Hibari there (and hope it's the last attack they need or they'll both be in serious trouble).

He ducks down very briefly, and then throws himself upward with both tonfa out in front of him right into the mouth that's baring down on them. Without using it's own speed against it, he just wouldn't be able to hit it hard enough...but this should be enough and there's no way for it to dodge.]

[In the back of his mind, Hibari could grudgingly admit it was a good idea-using the millipede's own power against it to strike a final blow when you yourself didn't have enough....but that was abated steadily by the fact he was in the situation in the first place.

The tonfas struck true and the ayakashi let out a final dying scream, teeth scraping against both of them, spreading the stinging elsewhere. Thankfully, with that the battle was done and Hibari felt the tension in himself unroll at least a little bit.

Despite having no memories, he felt that this was the first time in such a long time he had been challenged in a fight.]

I hope you're satisfied with this disaster.

[The pain and stinging were coming back full force now.]

Edited 2016-05-13 18:27 (UTC)

[Finally being able to relax a bit sounds pretty good right now. Maybe a little too good, since as soon as the last remnants of the phantom have disappeared, Ren staggers and drops to his knees right there. He just barely keeps himself from just lying down and taking a nap right there too, but they'll have to move soon so he can't do that yet.

But now that the threat is gone, he's a little more comfortable with thinking that, no matter how badly that went, that was pretty fun too. Since they did win in the end.]

We're still alive, aren't we? That's not too much of a disaster...

[Well, Hibari was still in his tonfa form and becoming restless to boot, not wanting to be stuck like this for longer than normal.]

Am I supposed to ignore all the blight and how long it took for us to defeat that thing?

[It may have been a victory for Ren, but it didn't satisfy Hibari in the slightest.]

Let me go.

[Oh no, he hasn't forgotten about that. Not when he's so exhausted and hurting so much. But if Hibari's complaining about it, then they really do need to start dealing with it.]

All right, hang on...

[Before doing anything else, Ren concentrates on his shrine and teleports both of them back there. It's just easier to do that while Hibari is still in this form, and he isn't sure he trust that Hibari would come with him and not just leave if he'd returned him to human form first.

Then he carefully gets back to on feet, despite screaming protests from his leg, because he's not going to face Hibari on the ground like that.

Then he finally calls Hibari's name.

And then as soon as Hibari is more human-shaped than not, Ren is doing his best to look him over for injuries without being in hitting range.]

I'm sorry, Hibari, I didn't know it was going to be that big. And I really didn't know you could get hurt either. Are you okay?

[Hey, at least he's taking this seriously enough not to use his nickname. For the moment.]

[It didn't matter how far away Ren tried to stand, as soon as Hibari had his body again, he was stalking forward and punching the god across the face with his good hand. He knew Ren could probably feel all the emotions bubbling underneath his skin, but physical pain seemed to communicate it the best.]

You're not even worth it.

[And with that he nearly stumbled over, his entire right side, the one inside the mouth of the ayakashi was covered in blight and deep scratches from the teeth. He too could see the blight spreading from Ren's wounds but was angry enough to barely care. Hibari turned around and began to stalk his way inside the shrine, leaving behind a trail.

[With the state he's in, that pretty much sends him right back down to the ground. And for a couple minutes, he seriously contemplates just staying there. Now that the excitement of battle has passed and he's given his leg a break, it hurts even more to stand on it. He can't just scramble to his feet again and run after Hibari, and Hibari probably doesn't want him to anyway. And he is really tired...

But he can't stand the thought of leaving Hibari to patch himself up all alone either, so much sooner than he'd really like, Ren pushes himself back to his feet and follows after the trail of blood until he gets to the shinki at the end of it.]

We need to take care of those wounds before you make them any worse.

[And given the tone of his voice, the "we" in that statement isn't optional.]

[Hibari did know he was bleeding too much and both of them should probably get looked at, but he was nothing if not stubborn, tired, and hurting. The blight was taking more out of him than he let on, like it was sucking all the energy out of him.

He managed to keep stumbling until he got close to the inside courtyard and just folded to the ground, in a not quite graceful movement.

The kittens came up to him and his hand snuck out to scratch the nearest mewing one behind the ears as they all started coming up to their two owners for attention.]

.....Fine. This will be payment for you causing these wounds in the first place.

[He's too tired and hurting too much physically and emotionally to keep his mouth shut on his first thought this time, which is:]

You didn't have to try to protect me.

[Yeah, it is his fault that they were woefully unprepared for that battle, but it wasn't like he'd asked Hibari to throw himself out there or had done it himself.

Putting it that way sounds pretty ungrateful and unappreciative of Hibari's efforts, though, which is why he'd usually keep it to himself (unless he was being particularly whiny, which he's been trying not to be around Hibari). And he's pretty quick to correct himself.]

--But I do appreciate it. Please wait here. I'll be back in a few minutes.

[And off he goes to teleport to various places to collect things like bandages and vessels for water, because that's a whole lot easier than walking while he's feeling like he's about to collapse himself.]

[He does at least wait until Ren returns to actually speak, not wanting to waste effort when he felt this awful.]

It looks like you're finally started to speak the truth.

[He knew Ren's type-Hibari had gone through too many fights to not be able to start reading people. And even if he couldn't feel his emotions like the god could, Hibari could guess.

Ren was the type of person who liked to pretend.]

Why not say what you really want to? How much you're annoyed and hate me? It's not like I haven't made my feelings clear.

[--That isn't quite the response he thought he'd be greeted with when he came back. Ren hesitates very briefly before he goes ahead and sets down the bowl of water and makeshift bandages and then awkwardly sits down too.]

I've spoken the truth lots of times. And I don't hate you. Could you take off your shirt and jacket, please, Hi-kun?

[Of course, there's more to it than that, but it does take quite a bit more than anything Hibari's been up to for Ren to hate someone these days.]

[His uniform better not be too bloodsoaked or damaged, because he was seriously going to be pissed if it was irreparable. That was his UNIFORM!　But for once, he did as he was told, barely wincing as he peeled the jacket and shirt off. At least his sweater vest wasn't worn today and escaped the carnage.]

Are you sure about that? People like you are good at lying to themselves. I don't trust someone who doesn't know how to get angry.

[Hibari's chest and midsection seemd to be litter with scars-more than a 16 year old kid should have, at least. Most of those looked recent, but Hibari couldn't recall how or why. As for his wounds, there were large scrapes from the ayakashi's teeth all along his right arm and side, the blight crawling up his skin.

[A very brief, very bitter smile crosses his lips as he ducks his head to grab a piece of cloth to soak it in the water.]

You think I don't know how to get angry?

[The smile is gone by the time he looks up again and starts cleaning Hibari's wounds and cleansing the blight. It's pretty hard to look at any of his wounds, new or old, and keep a smile on his face, however small it might be. Although it is nice to see the blight slowly disappearing from the water, even if nothing else will.]

I spent years feeling just as angry and hateful as you have been. I didn't even realize I was feeling what you were at first because it's so familiar to me. I thought I might be coming down with something, or I'd had a bad dream I couldn't remember that put me in a bad mood.

[He pauses for a moment to rinse out the cloth and get it wet enough to be effective again.]

I know how to get angry just fine, Hi-kun. Although it's true I don't get angry as easily as you do.

[He makes a face at Ren cleaning off the wounds, but otherwise, made no sort of acknowledgement. The holy water being pour over his blight eased a lot of the discomfort though, and it was hard not to visibly relax his muscles to that.]

The trigger for it doesn't matter. You merely can cheat with your connection. I may rely only on how you react, but repressing things is just the same as lying.

[Was he scared? No, that was ridiculous, Hibari didn't feel fear. He didn't care what Ren thought of him. That's why he was trying so hard to get Ren
to stop
caring

It was ridiculous.]

Don't think you can understand me.

I don't understand you as much as you think!

[Ren awkwardly waves that idea off. Sure, there are a lot of things about Hibari that remind him of himself a year ago, but if he really understood Hibari, he'd be able to keep Hibari from making him feel so miserable all the time.]

I don't want you to think I'm lying to you. If you really want to know how I feel, I don't mind telling you. But I'm not repressing as much as you think, either. The flighty, useless person you hate is the real me too.

Edited (there were too many thinks in this tag it was terrible) 2016-05-15 09:34 (UTC)

[If he wasn't already in the middle of something, Hibari would've slapped Ren away at this point. But he didn't, and just gave a cynical laugh and looked away. Why did he have to get stuck with something like this?

Useless. This was too useless.

And yet it angered that he felt tired right now, like he could sleep. The tuxedo kitten had snuck into his lap and had started purring, and it slowly closed Hibari's eyes.]

[Ren sighs a little as Hibari closes himself off again, but he doesn't say anything right away either. It's frustrating, but at least Hibari only turned away and didn't try to stalk off or hit him (and even if that's probably only because he's injured, Ren is going to count it as progress anyway).

In fact he's silent for a while, as he diligently finishes cleaning Hibari's wounds and washes off the last of the blight and then starts awkwardly wrapping him with the makeshift bandages. It isn't until he's about halfway through with Hibari's arm that he speaks up again--quietly, just in case Hibari really did fall asleep.]

I really don't hate you, Hi-kun. I'm frustrated--with both of us, not just you--and I don't like some of the things you've been doing, and I wish you hadn't gotten yourself injured for my sake...but it's going to take a lot more than that for me to hate you. So don't worry about that.

[Even if he had sort of been drifting off, one of Hibari's eyes opened to stare at the god.]

I'm not worrying. I'm warning you.

[Don't care about him. Don't you dare care about him. Hibari didn't need that.]

If you die, then I lose. That's all there is to it. If I am forced to fight with you, I am not going to lose.

[Ren gives him a brief, awkward smile.]

And we didn't, did we? But you don't need to worry about that either This isn't going to happen again.

[Not if he can help it, anyway. He's not keen on getting blighted or injured like the again, and he especially doesn't want Hibari to be hurt like this either.]

But speaking of fighting...until this heals a little, please don't get into any fights. I know it'll be difficult for you, and I'm not trying to control you--

[in fact, he lets some of his genuine irritation at that idea bleed into his voice to maybe help drive the point home]

--but if you don't give this a chance to heal, you'll regret it later.

You say you're not controlling me and then you go and tell me to do something? It seems like you enjoy being contradictory.

[He still wasn't at least going to get into any fights today. He was too tired and in pain and Hibari just wanted to go sleep on the roof like normal.]

I'm not going to rest on my duty if I don't need to.

[Being tired and in pain also means Ren is still prone to being a little more snappish than usual, like now.]

Asking you to take care of yourself isn't controlling you.

[And he pauses immediately after, but not because he's sorry for it. No, he's pretty sure he's had a conversation like this before...and it only takes a moment to figure it out. It was with Tetsu. Of course, at that time, Tetsu was the sensible one. And now he's turning into Tetsu...

Ren sighs as he finishes wrapping and ties off the bandage. If he could be even a little more like Tetsu, this whole experience would be a lot easier. Tetsu always seemed to know exactly what to do.]

There, you're done.

[Hibari twisted his arm back and forth, ignoring what Ren said. It of course, stung when he moved, but he's definitely had worse, he can somehow feel it. Since he was done, the shinki took the little kitten taht was currently purring on his lap, while the others decided to get closer to Ren, and he stood up.

It didn't matter if his shirt was ripped, he took it and his jacket and went to leave.]

[Ren winces and grabs a leftover bandage to encourage the kittens to stay away from him for the moment. He isn't sure if the blight would have any effect on them at all, but he doesn't want to be the one who finds out either.]

I need to clean myself up first, okay, guys? And then we can take a nap.

[And then before Hibari gets out of earshot:] Hi-kun, I'm going to go back to the other world later, so you don't have to worry about running into me again today. Or tomorrow, probably. Or maybe the next few days.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

closed;

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject