YAN-PARA au master post

[earthflames]

WHAT IT SAYS ON THE BOX.

Comments

[beautymark]

[It shouldn't have surprised anyone when Kotomine Kirei appeared. It had been too obvious when Kiritsugu came home, perhaps, or his information network was just too good. Either way, when he arrived the best they could do was to take shelter in the hidden cargo bay of the ship, thankfully empty after a successful smuggling run. But of course they couldn't hide forever. Kirei wasn't stupid -- he'd figure out the location of the door and the catch in no time.

So Diarmuid had reminded them of his combat skill, and with a reassuring smile had volunteered to protect the rest. And why not? Who in the world could possibly hope to come up against that bloody legend and live, let alone win? It was just a matter of staying quiet, listening to the sounds of battle and waiting for the all clear.

But it never came. After some time the crashes and sounds of metal from two rooms away stopped, leaving a suspicious silence. The stillness hung for a good minute, then all at once was shattered by a blood-curdling scream, full of anger and fear and pain. The screaming continued from that point -- up until the combined heroism of the room couldn't stand it any further and they had to give up their hiding places.

Fortunately, the lot of them had managed to run Kirei off for the time being (mostly thanks to Kiritsugu staying out of the way with a sniper rifle). Unfortunately, by the time they even entered the room D had been thoroughly beaten up and pinned to the floor with knives through his shoulder and forearms, one side of his face, neck, & collar decorated in cuts & burns. Kirei had gotten creative with a knife left in the fire, leaving a pattern of thorny vines that could have been pretty if they weren't angry red wounds -- and if they hadn't been put there in an effort to draw everyone else out with the sounds of torture.

Worse than the physical damage though was the mental state he'd been pushed into. Even when released from the pin, he'd been all feral snarls and violence, trying to lunge at Kirei even with heavy bloodloss, broken ribs and a mangled leg. Once Kirei was gone, he'd stayed hysterically angry and hurt, lost in hallucinations and lashing out at anyone and anything that came close. It took a collective effort to hold him and dose him with a sedative, and only tying him to his bed kept him from hurting himself or someone else when he woke. He'd been thoroughly knocked out of the place of emotional stability he'd found, and the fever that came with healing from that much damage didn't help. Eventually it was necessary to just keep him in a drugged stupor.

But now it's been three weeks. The injuries are healing well and the fever has broken, and it's time to let him wake up and hope it's their friend that comes to and not a monster.

The first signs are good. His eyes flutter open, half-focused, and after a moment he gasps and tries to sit up. When it hurts too much he flops back, but instead of getting aggressive he just winces, tosses an arm over his face, and whines.]

Hurts...

[erank]

[Cu has made it a point to hit Shirou upside the head every day since the incident, because he's stupid and he deserves it. He can't muster anger at anything, he doesn't have the capacity to care that much, not when most of his reserves are being directed towards Diarmuid. He wasn't happy about the measures necessary to keep him under control, and for a few days after they decided to just keep him under entirely, Cu couldn't bring himself to drop by to check in on his friend. But that discomfort wore off quickly, replaced with that stupid loyalty that made him sit by Diarmuid's bedside at any free moment he had.

Cu nearly throws his chair when Diarmuid starts to come to, but restrains himself for Diarmuid's sake]

Sorry about that... It's not too bad, is it?

[beautymark]

've had worse...

[His words slur, still affected by the sedatives in his system. He feels like he's floating in a world populated by pastel fog, painfully bright twinkling lights and words that write themselves across the backs of his eyelids and smell like lemons and sweet cream. It's peaceful enough as far as the weird things he experiences go, but its rather ruined by the sensation of his body feeling like soft lead wrapped in electric brambles.]

What happened?

[erank]

[The "hah" Cu musters is wry, injured]

Where do you want me to start?

[beautymark]

...I remember losing. I hit my head on the floor.

[erank]

Yeah...we had to take care of him to pull you out.

[a pause -- how much do we say beyond that?

Not much, he wagers]

You've been out of it for a few weeks.

[beautymark]

Weeks?

[moving his arm to peer sleepily at Cu

suddenly it occurs to him:]

...I'm drugged.

[erank]

Well...Yeah.

It was pretty bad, dude. We didn't know what else to do.

[beautymark]

[But he doesn't like being drugged! It means he's even less in control of his brain than usual.

Starting to look a little panicked, and trying to sit up again, nevermind the pain.]

[erank]

[ohshi-- He reaches out to try and steady Diarmuid]

It'll wear off in a bit! You gotta sit back and rest a little longer.

[beautymark]

[He grabs at Cu's arms, but it's more for anchoring than to pull him away.

His face is white and tense, but he's more than well-trained enough to handle this much pain, even when it's making his fingers tighten til they leave white marks on Cu's skin. It's the hole in his memory and the way the room spins when he moves that are scaring him.]

I don't like this-- I don't remember things. What's going on?

[erank]

I told you, the stuff's still wearing off! You'll be okay in a little while.

[Noooot touching the "I don't remember things" part. Not yet.]

[beautymark]

[hyperventilating a bit, which is not good when his ribs aren't all the way better yet, but he can't help it]

But I smell burning.

[erank]

What the--

[His first impulse is to run to the kitchen to make sure nothing's gone awry.

...which it hasn't. He comes back feeling stupid.]

[beautymark]

[Well by the time Cu's back D is on the floor.

He tried to stand on his bad leg but it didn't work, so now he's clinging to the side of the bed and shaking, pale and tense with confusion and sickness plain on his face.]

[erank]

Whoa, no-- What are you--?

[Uggghhhhh going to help Diarmuid back into bed oh god what happen]

C'mon, back into bed.

[beautymark]

[no he doesn't want to! he's just going to sit on the floor stubbornly]

Stop talking to me like I'm stupid!

[erank]

I'm not! You just need to get back into bed because you're still fucked up!

[beautymark]

I can handle pain! Why did you drug me?!

[erank]

[Ugh, FINE]

Because you kept freaking out and trying to get at people! You wouldn't let us help you or get near you!

[beautymark]

[Oh.

Well now he just feels guilty.]

...but... I don't remember that.

[erank]

[...oh. 8( Maybe the yelling was a bit much?]

Dunno about that. You hit your head, and you were kinda far gone.

[he pauses]

Kirei really fucked you up.

[beautymark]

He was strong...

[He may not remember, but he has the nagging, taunting thought that he's not remembering on purpose, and that makes him nervous. Pain shouldn't do that. There has to have been something else to throw him so far off.]

[erank]

Had to have been to do what he did...

[still trying to drag Diarmuid back into bed]

Not letting the kid wander around by himself for a while, that's for sure.

[beautymark]

[fiiine reluctantly getting back in bed]

Shirou's an idiot.