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[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?

[Yujin hadn't posed the request to Susato with the intention of her using fire dreamotion, though the moment she does it, he realizes that is far easier than bothering with the kettle. It saves them a lot of much-needed time, as well. More brownie points for Susato!

Still, Kazuma is enormous and there's a lot of injuries to tend to, so the chore does indeed get repetitive and taxing. They have to do it, though. The more of Kazuma is cleaned, the better the overview Yujin gets of the damage. The dark wisps are concerning, though. Noctaere energy? He just doesn't know. Do they need more flowers to help with this?

Susato's question snaps him out of his thoughts.]

Dreamotion? You mean to heal his wounds?

[ She nods. A part of her wishes she hadn't spoken up, like this is clearly an idea made out of the wildest fantasies of a child, but she continues, clinging to the momentum she created. ]

Jude... I mean, Dr Mathis... I reached out to him when he announced the opening of your clinic. He seems to be quite knowledgeable in magical healing, even before being pulled here to Reverein.

. . . I do not wish to burden him with this if we do not have to, as it would be rather a lot to explain, but... he claims you do not even need medical experience.

[ Could that be true? ...Would it be even easier then, for someone like Yujin, who has medical experience? ]

[Quite frankly, Yujin believes he would be much worse off than people who don't have medical experience. His mind is entirely too rooted in facts, in the knowledge of how healing works on a natural, physical level. He quite believes he'd overthink it, or be entirely too skeptical of dreamotion to have it work the way it ought to.

He's still willing to try to learn, of course, but he knows it'll be a long road for him to walk. And so...]

Do you believe that you could do it?

[ Do you believe-- No??? There is no reason why she would believe this to be anything but a waste of time. Besides, with him working closely with Jude, she was wishfully thinking that Yujin had perhaps picked up a thing or two, but with him so quickly turning the tables, he clearly had more faith in her.

And why not? Here she is, using fire as if it was a totally normal thing, as if it weren't something she'd probably get burned alive for back home. ]

You do not want me to answer that.

...But I took notes.

[ Kazuma already seems to be self-healing. She would just need to give him a catalyst, a bit of a boost. Surely she could manage just that? ]

[Quite frankly, if there's anyone in their family who would master healing dreamotion first, Yujin has no doubt it'd be Susato. She has the kindness, the resolution and the focus for it. The fire is another bonus. So he nods and sits back a bit more.]

There's no harm in attempting it. If it does not work, we can always continue with the more traditional method. So please.

. . . [ At the very least, it would keep her out of the way, which is not what Yujin was thinking, but it is what she is going to assume in light of everything. Quietly, she stands up from where she'd been on the floor and hunched over Kazuma's body, clearly hesitant to leave him; but she draws in breath and basically forces herself. She walks in the direction of her room as she passes Yujin, placing a hand on his shoulder for a brief moment before moving on.

It is too much effort simply say "Be right back," it seems. ]

[ Which doesn't bode well for the rest of her attempt, BUT hey. She's committed now. She was always committed to Kazuma, as she was supposed to be. It takes her longer than she'd like, sifting through pages until she finds the right one, but she eventually comes back into the room, flipping a page and setting it down like a spell book before she's back on her knees, seiza-style.

Her eyes glaze over her own words, reading something about a "calm mind," and she's already feels like she's messed up, but she wipes at her eyes again to clear her vision, trying to recall what else Jude had said, when it came to healing. ]

[ ...Fire...?

Eyes closed, she tries to imagine a fire, the same inner fire she often drew her power from. As she tries to mold it into something else, something purer, frantic thoughts feed into it, turning it into a wild flame. Sweat drips down her forehead, the heat palpable as if the fire is right there in front of her. She can't help but break her concentration to peek, but not only is there no fire, there is just nothing at all.

Tears start to form again, because she's failing. She'll close her eyes again, trying harder this time. Still anything but calm, the healing power hidden somewhere so deeply within her seems to be releasing itself through those tears. It is nearly impossible to notice, but the tears seem fall unnaturally, seeking out Kazuma's wounds as they shimmer and faintly glow.

Very... very eventually, Kazuma's wounds start to glow as well, turning a pale blue, comparable to a hot fire. It starts with those closest to her, but then trails its way through his entire body, every tiny scratch, every broken bone being filled in. Every impurity, burned away in a cleansing magical fire.

Something's happening. But she doesn't open her eyes to ruin it this time, just keeps going, though she can feel her energy draining out of her like steam rising swiftly out of boiling water.

Eventually, there will be no more water to boil, but she doesn't care. Not if this works. ]

[Indeed, getting Susato out of his way was the last thing on Yujin's mind. He hadn't even realized that she would need those notes until she gets up and heads towards her room to fetch them. Though, he does also consider the notion that it's not about the notes at all. Perhaps she simply needs a brief moment in privacy to regain her composure. He wishes he could do the same. He's still kneeling by Kazuma's side and by now, his curled hands are trembling in his lap.

If Genshin were here...

He can't finish the thought. He wouldn't know, really, just what sort of difference it would make. He always thought he knew what went through his friend's mind, but after the Professor incident, that certainty was replaced by doubt, perhaps even a bit of fear. Genshin was impossible to predict. It shouldn't matter either way. Kazuma was left in his care. This is his responsibility and his failure.

Is there a cold chill in the air, or is that just him?

When Susato returns, he sits rigid, willing his body to... Well, not to relax, but to stop shaking at the very least. And he waits, helpless as he is in this moment. It's up to her now. Susato's tears act as a reminder that he's failed her as well. Not until the wounds begin to glow their pale blue does he realize that something's happening.]

[Knowing that he was going to be tended to, Kazuma spent most of it resting. He might have hissed a few times during the cleaning process, but otherwise doesn't retaliate. The pain will eventually subside, he just needs to stop from making it worse.

Then came this warmth. Claws dig into the flooring as he let's out something that seem to be a cross of a hiss and a screech. If they're not careful, his tail might accidentally hit them. What is this?! It hurt at first, in conflict with his Noctaere side. But then the pain would subside, leaving this cozy warmth afterwards. The pain from his wounds also seem to lessen. He'll eventually calm down once more, breathing slowly, in and out. His wounds, at least the ones not as serious were mending on their own, others no longer in critical state.]

[ What is happening...?

Susato waits, wanting to hear Kazuma's voice, some sign that he's going to be okay, but then she starts to feel dizzy, which is the only reason to finally opens her eyes. Still, she doesn't really see anything. Just blurs, accented by that hot-flame blue. She tries to focus--when that doesn't work, she'll glance down, seeking the comfort of words, but that makes it worse.

Then there's a ringing in her ears, like a kettle whistling. Louder and louder and louder.

Until she can't take it anymore and she collapses right on top of her notes, her weight wrinkling its pages. ]

[As soon as the wounds begin to heal, Yujin is hopeful. Kazuma's initial reaction is only a vague sidenote; sometimes things need to get worse before they can get better. It's fine. Kazuma's situation is improving.

And then, from the corner of his eye, he sees sudden movement.]

Susato!

[A living room window cracks behind him. He doesn't even notice. Heart hammering in his chest, he rushes towards her, leaping over one of Kazuma's legs as he goes, only to drop to his knees by her side. He wraps an arm around her back and lifts her upper body up from the floor, holding her against his chest. His free hand feels her wrist for a heartbeat- yes, it's there- then moves on to her face to feel her temperature.]

[Kazuma lifts his head from the sudden shout from Yujin, confused. He's shocked to see Susato in Yujin's arm. What had happened?

Was it his fault...?

He grits his teeth, looking away. He didn't want this, to be a burden to them. It pained him to see them pay the price for his own shortcomings.] Tend to her. [He can wait. For as long as necessary.]

[ Her expression seems troubled. She will feel cool to the touch, as if she had to use her own heat for the spell (if you could even call it that), combined with the fact that Kazuma still seems to be absorbing heat energy from the room. She winces, hearing her name, resisting like a child on a school morning. A window cracks... he's probably mad about that.

Maybe she just overslept. Maybe she broke the window playing catch with Kazuma-sama again--

Suddenly she can hear his voice, and while she doesn't exactly spring her eyes open, she clearly reacts, stirring. It sounds so far away. Is she under water? ...Tend to who? ]

Dizzy... c, cold. [ She mumbles. Nope. Not underwater, though the chill makes her feel like it. Still, she manages to push herself upright, feeling like she might hurl for the--well, entirely too many times tonight. She is blinking, trying to get a better look at Kazuma......who's still... naga? ] Did it wo...

[ She can't tell if it worked, which does not give her any confidence or warm fuzzy feelings she should be feeling. ]

[The coldness of Susato's skin raises so many different concerns, for a moment Yujin isn't certain what it means or what to do. But then she speaks, and he knows he can't just sit around wasting time. And even now, Susato's main concern appears to be Kazuma. Good lord...

He pulls her up against his own body a bit more, slinging his other arm around her midriff in hopes the embrace will provide some much-needed warmth.]

Ssshhh... It's fine. Kazuma will be just fine. You did very well.

[He can't see them, but he can hear them. The guilt is becoming unbearable. Thoughts rising from the deep dark parts of his mind. Were things not constantly falling apart, he'd bounce back from it all, but this was an avalanche of problems. The last thing he wanted was to cause further distress for this family.]

I'm... [He stops himself, just barely. Claws scrap the floor. That's not what they want to hear, she wants to hear at this very moment.] ...It'ss working. Please...ressst. [He doesn't know if she can hear him, but he'll try if it'll calm her spirits.]

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