hatesthefood | open action

He just chuckled at her enthusiasm. It was almost infectious, after all. Once things were cleaned up, he moved wash his hands, scrubbing dirt from under his nails. He might not be a clean freak, but he never knew when he'd be called on for his night job, and having the weapons he did, he didn't chance any dirt getting into them. They got dirty enough on their own.

"So what else has been up with you lately?"

"Not much, just helping Ferio settle in. Aw, and Ascot is looking for a job too!" She followed Ken in the cleaning process by going to the nearest sink and starting to wash her hands as well. "I think he may try the circus.

But what about you? Fully recovered by now? I guess that whatever problem you had is doing better, or so it looks from here."

"Good idea. I told him he should look into it."

Umi's question made him pause, glancing off tot he side before he sighed softly.

"... that's... a complicated thing, Umi. Yes and no."

"...At least there's a yes somewhere in there." She finished drying her hands and just stood there, staring back into Ken's eyes with a smile and waiting to see what came of it. This was what they'd been postponing all this time, wasn't it. For one reason or the other. "Want to talk about that?"

Sighing again, he made his way back into the shop proper, locking the door before he moved back into the greenhouse. He'd been trying to avoid this for a while now, but it wasn't the right thing to do, and if she found out from anyone other than him, it might do too much damage to their friendship.

"... the case the police have been working on? The cannibal that we had to let go today? It's been all over the network."

"You told me bits and pieces about that. But with all that's been happening, the apartment growing huge..." Truth be told she hadn't been paying much attention to it. It seemed to Umi as if she'd unconsciously been keeping out of the worst side of The City, with all her friends from Cephiro arriving, helping her see the few good aspects of living there.

But this now... A shudder went up her spine. Her expression reflected just what she felt about it. No wonder even Ken, who was so used to dealing with terrible things, had been so disturbed by it. "Cannibal. Gosh, that's... just nasty. And you had to let this guy walk??"

"We couldn't hold him. He can't be charged as a cannibal since he's... not human. So we're back to having nothing."

He paused, glancing to the side again.

"... I have a person thing with the case. I'm... I was one of the victims."

There. He'd finally said it. He kept his gaze low, barely visible under the fringe of bangs that had grown far too shaggy in his time back in the City.

"...What are you..."

There was this stab of pain somewhere on her side. Umi'd felt it very few times in her life. She always figured it was fear of the worst kind she could ever feel: not for her sake -- come to think of it, she was rather fearless when the danger affected HER -- but for those she deeply cared about.

She was telling herself this was stupid. That her friend had dealt with far more terrible things in that place, for this to give her such a bad feeling. But she was tense and breaking a cold sweat nonetheless.

"So... this guy attacked you. But you handled it fine, didn't you? Because-! You're here now. You dealt with it..."

He slowly shook his head as she spoke, closing his eyes, as if that were enough to negate the whole thing.

"Umi. I left the Koneko the Friday that was Mamoru's birthday. Something happened, and I don't remember what it was. I woke up five days later and I still can't remember what happened. They said there were teeth marks on my bones, like some of the other victims..."

A sudden nausea made her feel terribly dizzy, and Umi staggered where she stood. Maybe she'd moved. Maybe she'd tried to reach for Ken just to make sure he was--- but what if he--- did it even mean anything, that he was standing there talking to her, with the way things worked, in The City? It'd happened to Aya. It'd happened to Ken before...

Teeth marks...

Bones...

Ken-

She covered her mouth with her hands and steadied herself as best she could, her mind incapable of processing any coherent thoughts at the moment but this deep horror making her dizzy. "That's-!!"

Edited 2010-03-23 06:31 (UTC)

Without hesitation, he reached to support Umi. Once he had his hands on her arms, he realized she'd be able to feel just how cold he was now. The smile gone, dropped away into something sad and more than a little wistful, he looked down at her.

"Mamoru found me... what was left of me, under the sakura in Xanadu. Fitting, huh?"

Cold. So cold. Just like Aya. Umi shook her head. How come she hadn't realized it? All those days... Had she just closed her mind, shut it against the sole idea?? Unforgivable. But then again, what could she have done?

She knew it very well. She should have been there. She should have kept this from happening somehow. But now? What was left for her to do now?

"...This isn't right." Her voice sounded really feeble. The nausea hadn't gone away, but at least Ken's support was helping her get a grip. There was no time to be weak. Not if she wanted to do something. "This isn't--- that monster..." But he'd said the man wasn't even human! Could she even blame him? She felt she needed someone to blame. "Ken, we-! ...We gotta fix this for you."

Sighing, he shook his head again, squeezing her arms gently before he dropped his hands, shoving them back into his pockets.

"Ni, Umi. It's okay, at least for now. I don't want anything happening that'll put you in jeopardy."

"Me? Jeopardize me?? Ken, it's your life we're talking about!" For whatever it was worth to her friend -- Umi knew well enough Ken was ready to die, he faced death every day, back home. But that was hardly the point. It was important to Umi. More important than her own safety, for the matter. Nobody had the right to take it from him. Least of all in that terrible way.

She shook her head wildly despite the dizziness that still clouded her sight a little. "I know you prefer it here! I KNOW you're strong enough to deal with this stuff, but I--! It's definitely not okay! Don't ask me to pretend it is! Your life DEFINITELY means a lot!"

"Umi. I'm not saying it's not, but for now, it's enough that I'm still able to walk and talk. Besides... some good has come from this."

His mind wandered back to the rekindling of his relationship with Mamoru, including him moving back in. Part of him was sure it was so the younger man could keep an eye on him, but he was still happy he was there.

"Thing's'll... work out. In the end."

"Of course they will." The determination she put on those words made them a promise. They would if she had to MAKE THEM work out. She'd been able to help before. For... a big price. But it'd been worth every day she'd spent paying and it wouldn't be any different this once. Loath as she was to have to resort to those freaks again. Wasn't this all their fault in the long run...??

But Ken's previous words carried a hope she needed quite bad right now.

"Some good. You were able to see some good to this...?" She prayed her friend would tell her about it because at least at the moment she failed to see what it might be.

He smiled faintly, curling his arm around her shoulders and squeezing gently. Thankfully, he smelled like a guy and more like the earth he'd been dabbling in earlier.

"Mamoru was taking care of me the whole time. We've... been talking. I asked him to move back in since he'd been staying nights anyway."

"...Oh. So he--? I'm... glad." It was almost an irony to speak that word with such a strained, sad voice. But part of Umi did see the silver lining here. Mamoru going back to looking after Ken felt like at least a little part of the world was right once more.

...Just her luck that her temper and the pain she felt weren't letting her out of their grasp yet. She needed to do something and she needed it fast, but her head refused to think clearly.

"You didn't need this to have him back." She said at last, her voice more like her own again. Ken's solid presence helped a lot. "You shouldn't have needed it..."

"We... had things to work out. Still do. He kept his other place in case things screwed up and we both need some space, but so far... it's been good. I'm sleeping through the nights again, with almost no... dreams."

She still felt so tense against him and he hated that. That was part of the reason he kept backing out on telling her and while he was glad it was out in the open, he regretted her feeling this way. He hated causing his friends pain. Sighing, he moved a little so he could hug her properly, even though he was careful to keep his cool skin from touching her too much.

"Umi, it's fine for now. We're still working on figuring out who or what did this to all of us. Thing's'll work out when the time is right. I promise."

"Like... a safety clause, huh? Just in case." A tiny smile, albeit sad. Though her voice still seemed feeble at least she managed to sound unbroken. Umi let the hug she was getting reassure her. The cold didn't bother her by now: it was something to assume already, if she wished to help do something about it. And in any case the Water Knight promised herself she wouldn't let it stay like that for long.

But for now she had no right let herself be the one comforted, supported. It was Ken who'd gone through a terrible experience. He was being so brave and strong about it, even for her. That was her place as a friend: to be strong for him too. She wouldn't let it be otherwise.

Slowly she returned the hug and nodded against Ken's chest. "It will. I know it. I'll have it work out. I'll be there every step of the way..."

"I don't doubt it. I never did."

He leaned his head forward a little to let his chin rest against the top of her head, taking silent comfort in the contact as just as much as he was trying to give it. No one but Mamoru was allowed this close to him since his death. He was still too skittish and would be until they knew more about who had killed him.

Little left to say. Umi simply contented herself with hugging Ken in silence. It was all she could do for the time being, this little support. But it wouldn't stay like that for long. She didn't voice this (she probably wouldn't tell anyone save for Mamoru, or Fuu, if the girl asked), but there was the strongest determination to both fix this wrong done to her friend and make sure nothing so horrible ever happened again building inside her. Umi knew she'd find a way to help, no matter what. She'd fought bigger things before. She wouldn't let The City win. Ken's life wouldn't be a trophy for it to claim. She wouldn't let it.

...But she wouldn't rush into it, for one. She'd learned from that past mistake. She had Fuu, Hikaru and the others to think about. And even if she couldn't give Ken her life -- as it didn't belong to her alone -- she knew there would be something she could sacrifice, if she could, for things to be fine again.

"We'll get things done." She whispered, and closed her eyes to steady herself entirely.

"When the time is right."

He squeezed her one more time before he let her go and stepped back a little, tucking his hands into his pockets once again.

"... I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I... guess I was scared to. I kept finding ways to back out of it."

Umi shook her head, a pale smile on her lips, sad despite she looked whole once more. A person had to know her extremely well to tell she had this burning desire to stab something through choking her within. It was something new to her, to keep her feelings inside. But right now it felt necessary.

"You didn't tell me because you knew how I'd react. And... you didn't want to put me through it." Her smile wavered a bit, her expression showing her frustration with herself. "Because you know me. I'm sorry. It doesn't help at all, does it?" She chuckled bleakly. "How I tend to react to things..."

"... I didn't want you to worry. Mamoru's been doing enough of that for everyone. He's been... amazing. And pushy."

The smile was gone from his face now, but there was no bitterness to take its place. For the time being, Ken was almost content to be as he was. Death wasn't ideal, no, but he had good friends and people he called family nearby. For him, that was enough to make him happy.

open action

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)

(no subject)