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[...Together. The word sits on his tongue for a bit.

He opens his eyes upon Yujin's arrival. They fix on the jar in his hand. They're dried, but he could faintly smell those are the flowers that make him sickly. The noctaere side of him at least. He grumbles, trying to reject the feeling of refusal to be near those flowers.]

More.

[ Susato turns to Yujin when he walks back outside, recognizing the jar from the times she's seen it, cleaning Yujin's room. She soon turns back to Kazuma, though, his voice calling her attention.

More? But how much more? The flowers don't grow easily, and the only place where there's more would be the greenhouse, and she has her doubts they could even get him that far. She frowns, then looks towards the jar once again. ]

Let's open it. We can scatter the petals around—maybe that will be enough.

That sounds like a good idea for now.

[Carefully, he twists the top off the jar, still watching Kazuma to gauge his reactions. Then he tilts it, spilling some of the flowers into the palm of his hand. Not for himself, though; he holds them out for Susato to take.]

Here, you take his left side, I'll go for the right.

[ Susato holds out her hand and accepts whatever petals her father gives her, watching them gently pour out into her hand like falling water. She'll then turn to take the left side as Yujin instructs, giving Kazuma a sympathetic look as she does so.

A part of him is not going to like this.

But after a moment's hesitation, she tosses down the first batch, watching as the petals glint in the air like little stars as they fall.

She doesn't know exactly how it's going to work. Is he just going to come to his senses as his noctaere side is repelled, or is he going to require more reminders? Is his noctaere side going to come violent again in reaction to the flowers?

... Reminders. The word seems to carry a heavy weight in her head, as she repeats the motion until all the flower petals are on the ground. ]

[Definitely not going to like this. The smell becomes more pungent now that the petals are being spread around him. He recoils, his hands on his head as he feels this throbbing pain.] Ugh...

[He hisses, curling and tossing in place. He felt sick to his stomach. Even if he wanted to lash out, his head had gone numb, almost a vegetable. But he also felt this sense of clarity, the rage subsiding that he could have a better sense of awareness. He lets out some air once it starts to settle in, overriding the disgust he felt. He lowers his hands, looking up to the both of them.]

Better... [Don't mind him laying there, cause he's still badly injured.]

[Having never actually seen the Glowing Dawn in action, Yujin is a bit taken aback by the duology of it all. It's clear from the body language that Kazuma is repulsed by the flowers. Their presence seems to unsettle him, perhaps even make him sick. But then, at the same time, Kazuma appears more like himself. Are the flowers repelling the Noctaere presence right out of him?]

... Do you need even more?

[It's more like the Noctaere side had been put into a stasis. Held back by an invisible force. Having a clearer mind though means all that had happen will come rushing back in. 76 ended up being far more formidable, shrugging off his attacks as if they were nothing. But he's sure...that beast will feel it eventually.

Evenso, he felt Jack's presence within that beast, still trying to hold on, help him. And he couldn't return the favor. And then...the Mikotoba's. Did he almost attack them? Thought they were an easy meal...? He ate those wolves in front of them.

He lowers his gaze, shaking his head. How could he keep looking at them like this?]

[ Even more...?

Susato just watches, first the way Kazuma reacts, being surrounded by the Glowing Dawn petals, and then the way he seems to sink even lower into the dirt as he averts his gaze. Even in this form, she can recognize certain things about the way Kazuma carries himself, and she knows she has seen it before. Her hands shake as she balls them into fists, and she swallows, the unpleasant taste of bile trickling its way down her throat.

He matters to me, I care about him despite everything. Doesn't matter what he's done, or that he feels undeserving. ]

I... [ She looks towards Yujin. Between Leia and Daley Vigil of all people putting ideas in her her head, she wonders if he will take this the completely wrong way, but she can only trust that he will have her back on this as well. Her gaze wanders back towards Kazuma. ] ...love you.

[ She has to swallow again, though this time she tastes less bile and more her own nervousness, like she'd just swallowed butterflies. ]

I know it hurts, but we're going to help you. We just can't do that out here.

We must move you.

[Kazuma's response to the question is a bit unclear, so Yujin can only interpret the shake of the head as a "no". If it turns out later the gesture was unrelated, they can still scatter a few more flowers near him. Already, he's wondering how best to proceed from here, but then Susato speaks.

And he doesn't quite know how to take those words.

Now's not the time to be thinking too hard about that.

Susato's right, they'll need to get Kazuma inside as soon as possible. Assuming, that is, that he can fit through the doorframe. They may need to tilt him a bit to make that work. ~~(PIVOT! PIVOT!)~~. Regardless, he doesn't speak. There's nothing he can say that Susato hasn't already said.]

[Kazuma also doesn't know what to make of that sudden choice of words. It's not the first time, and unprovoked. He coughs a bit of blood mixed with what one could only assume is Noctaere goo. Laughing hurts too much apparently.]

Trying to make me feel better...? [He isn't sure what it is. He knows Susato always means what she says, but was she just saying it, because he needed to hear it? Not because she felt that way?

...No, she certainly does. But...he still couldn't bring himself to say the same back. Not with the way he is. He takes a deep breath as he struggles to stand. Everything hurts, but he knows the both of them won't be able to support him if he isn't pulling his weight.

Also, that door frame is definitely going to get smashed through. Won't be hard for him to break in if that's where he's going.]

[ She didn't say any such thing with the expectation that she'd get anything back. Such a thought feels as laughable as... whatever that was Kazuma had just done. The blood spurs in her into action quickly, and as he tries to stand, she rushes to his side to try to support him. Other laughable thoughts: that she could reach his shoulders, were he able to extend to his full height.

He can't. ]

I am not lying, if that's what you mean. Now do stop wasting your strength. [ More blood, wetness all over her kimono. Not that she really cares at the moment. She will be counting on Yujin, though, to take up Kazuma's other side. ] Inside, father will have access to his tools, and better light with which to examine your injuries.

[ ...But they might need Kazuma's help. RIP the Mikotobas' front door. ]

Edited 2022-02-23 01:56 (UTC)

[Blood is being coughed up, and that is never a good sign. They need to act faster than this, Yujin thinks to himself. When Kazuma rises, he's also quick to get to the man's side and support him. It's a bit of a lift, but so long as Kazuma can move forward, Yujin and Susato can take care of the rest.

... That doorframe, though... Having Kazuma sidle through isn't going to work, is it?]

It would appear... we may need to employ a bit of force to get you inside.

[Were he not bleeding to death and looking like a mini kaiju, he probably wouldn't have come off as snippy as he did. It's not really Susato's fault, and more of his own reason to doubt it. Eitherway, he isn't going to fight either of them on moving to get proper attention.

The doorway though....huh.] ...I'll fix thiss later. [He takes a step forward, grabbing the sides of the door frame and tears into it. For a wounded beast, he sure still had his strength to break down the entranceway with ease.]

[ For a moment, Susato just watches as the two men regard the door and come to more or less the same conclusion she had. She naturally falls back, "I'll fix this later" being her only warning, but even if she had a split second to process it, she still flinches, lifting an arm to shield her face when the damage is done.

There is a visible wince, not for the door, but for Kazuma, because that had to have hurt. Nevertheless, she's quick to rush back to his side in case he loses his balance or otherwise falls. She's carefully stepping over any broken wood pieces, somehow as if by magic not tripping herself.

For a while, she doesn't say anything. Just makes her way through the now-broken door frame with the both of them. She knows Yujin's tools are either at the new clinic by now, or tucked away in his room, or the guest room, but she has to wonder whether they should just set up shop here. It's roomier, if they move around the furniture a little, plus the lighting is no better or worse than the smaller rooms. Whatever carpet there is is already doomed to a fate of blood, water and dirt.

Susato doesn't seem to react right away to the change in light. She seems afraid to look at Kazuma now, like she might find a way to worsen his injuries if he does, but it also occurs to her that they're putting some distance in between them and the Glowing Dawn petals they just went out of their way to scatter. ]

. . . There's another jar of Glowing Dawns in the kitchen that I use for tea sometimes. I'll grab it. In the meantime, just, tell me what you need. Please.

[ Mostly directed at Yujin, but she'll still regard Kazuma with concern as she watches how he'll react this time. Just call her Rei Membami. ]

[Once they enter the house, Yujin is thinking along the same lines Susato is; where are they going to do this? They could get Kazuma to the guest room, but he won't fit in the bed, now will he? Better to tend to him on the floor for now, then. So he gestures towards the middle of the living room with one hand, even as the other is still holding onto Kazuma to support his weight.]

Let's lay him down there. Can you move the table, please? And the sofa, if you can manage it. Once that's done, you can go get the flowers from the kitchen.

[Would he have even made it to the guest room? Once they've moved inside, he barely registers what the two of them were talking. Lay down...? Yea, he'd like to do that. Whether he made it to the living room or not, he's going to stumble forward, choosing to lay down wherever he landed inside their home. His size and power easily pushes aside whatever piece of furniture is in his way.

The air around him gets sucked of whatever heat he could gather, lowering the temperature.]

[ Yujin's instructions are probably the only thing keeping her going. She's already moving towards the table without question when Kazuma collapses, essentially moving the table himself, and she has to hurriedly step back before she's knocked over. The sofa suffers a similar fate, and it takes all that she has not to break down on the spot.

Nope. She'll wait until she is alone for that, but even then, she's only afforded a couple minutes at best, during which she won't be able to hold back sobs.

She nearly drops the jar, which quickly pulls her back to her senses as she returns to the living room with it. Her hands are shaking as she scatters more of the petals until they're almost all gone. It's only then that she notices the empty bottle around Kazuma neck again, nearly crushed when he fell.

. . . She stares. Can't find it within herself to say or question anything. She knows that bottle, but why would it be empty? Even if Kazuma hated it, it would've been easier to just take it off and trash the whole thing.

She waits for further instructs from her father, but someone like Rei probably wouldn't have to wait. She would know what to do. ]

[Welp, clearly Yujin was not capable of holding Kazuma up by himself. He almost got dragged down to the floor too, but managed to let go and retain his balance with an awkward stumble. It's fine. This is fine. Kazuma is inside and lying down, that is what they wanted.

While Susato is gone to get the extra flowers, he heads into his own room to fetch what few medical tools and bandages he has in the house. He also grabs his bedside lantern for additional light. Then he returns to Kazuma's side to examine the injuries up close. Puncture wounds, claw marks... There's so many of them... But do any need stitching? If it's all just smaller wounds, that would be much easier to handle.]

[They should have seen the size of the Noctaere he fought. The claw marks are across his back and chest, with puncture wounds around the shoulder area where he had been bitten. Underneath there are likely some broken ribs and dislocation after being slammed into an ice wall over and over. Dark wisp are seeping out along with blood. There's evidence that self healing has occurred, is occuring, but it's slower than usual for a Noctaere.

With time his wounds will likely heal on their own, but a little extra help cleaning the wounds and proper positioning of his body would be beneficial. Alternatively...give him some nightmare juice to eat.]

[ While waiting for Yujin to come back, Susato has leaned in towards Kazuma, having (almost) made the decision to remove the necklace with the empty bottle. She doesn't really know why; she vaguely considers that having it break would be bad, and the less obstruction while they are examining Kazuma, the better, but when Yujin enters, she steps back rather quickly to get out of his way.

She's mesmerized by the wisps pouring out of his wounds, and not in a good way, but eventually she steadies herself long enough to say something. ]

I don't even know where to begin. I-- [ She pauses for a second, trying to sound less terrified. ] If we clean him up, it should prevent infection, and I think it'll be easier for you to identify which problem areas need your attention first.

[ There, that sounds intelligent, right? Like, that's probably something Rei would suggest, yeah? ]

[Ooh, very good, daughter! She's doing him proud. He nods and though he's already unpacking some bandages, he can't do anything with them just yet.]

That's correct. Can you boil some water for me, please? And gather up some cloth or towels? It'll be the best way to get him cleaned up.

[Though, once he's said that, his gaze returns to Kazuma. This is the third time already that he's had to patch someone up who got hurt in a fight, but it feels different this time. This is Genshin's son- a young man he took in to protect him from further harm. How could this have happened right under his nose?]

[ Yes. Not that she really deserves his pride at the moment, but she needs the boost more than she knows and will absolutely take it. She gives him a determined look, wiping away at her eyes (again). ]

Of course!

[ The cool thing about being able to use fire dreamotion: you get to cheat when your father says things like "can you boil some water for me?" and you don't have to bother with silly things like a kettle, or a stove. She's certainly emotional enough that it could have gone wrong at least a hundred different ways, but she is nothing if not determined, and if Kazuma... that is, if her father needed hot water, then by god, he would have it.

She will grab the towels too as requested, and together, the two get to work. ]

[ After some time, Kazuma is still largely unresponsive and the repetitive motions start to wear on Susato. All she can think about is how much pain he must have been in, and eventually, she can't take the quiet anymore, nor the fact that it felt like everything was happening in agonizing slow motion. ]

. . . What about dreamotion?

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