They were far enough away from Pyramid Head by now that Nowe's nightmares had faded and had been replaced by more pleasant ones. As Renji set him down, he whimpered a bit as his head was jarred and the warmth of what he thought was Legna's body slipped away.
"Legna..."
Nowe stirred, his eyes fluttering but refusing to open. The wound was severe and he'd lost a considerable amount of blood already. His hands twitched again, searching for the warmth. It was cold. Where had Legna gone? In his dream he was searching, but the dragon was nowhere in sight. Where was everyone? Where were the two from his earlier dreams? Where was Renji or Sora? He'd been with them, hadn't he?
It was an easy getaway, but things were hardly perfect. Kurosaki was still back there somewhere, and he had half a mind to head back now that Renji and Nowe were safe. He got the feeling that Renji, at least, wouldn't allow him to do so.
Nodding at the redhead's request, Sora started to go for the flashlight he'd tucked in his pants, thankful that it hadn't been jostled out when he'd been running. However, as he was fumbling with it, his Keyblade left him without warning.
Well... There wasn't much point in trying to run back to the rescue now. He knew it was bad to be so reliant on a weapon, but considering how strong that monster had been, he knew he would have no chance unarmed.
Turning on the flashlight, he pointed it in Nowe's direction, but tried not to shine it directly on his face.
Renji began to gently probe the wound on Nowe's head. A little more light didn't help too much; there was just so much blood. And head wounds bled like a bitch no matter what, but he had a bad feeling about this. Nowe had gone unconscious so fast. And he couldn't be sure - he was no medic - but he thought he could feel a mushiness to Nowe's skull that he knew had to be bad
( ... )
Nowe stirred as Renji slumped forward, his eyes opening slowly. He blinked a few times, the fogginess from his vision fading. He winced. Damn, his head still hurt pretty badly. But he was able to see again, at least, and those horrible voices filling his ears were gone. What was left was a slight pressure against him, and when he came to full awareness he realized there was some red hair splayed across his face, sticking to the blood that hadn't dried yet.
"Ren... ji?"
Nowe jolted as he realized what had happened. Renji had collapsed. He didn't want to try moving his friend, since he saw the wounds were so severe, but he spotted Sora standing a few feet away.
"Sora... what happened?"
Damn it... we were so careless!He had to get up. He couldn't just stay sitting. He very cautiously wormed his way out from beneath Renji (damn, he was heavy) and shifted him so he was slumped against the wall instead. He stood up too fast and swayed, having to catch himself against the wall to keep from falling. His head wound was
( ... )
Sora made small assurances in response to the favors Renji asked of him, but he didn't expect the man to do... well, whatever he'd done. All he knew is that the redhead ended up collapsing and then Nowe was suddenly better. It was what he imagined would happen if he tried to cast a Cure spell in this place. It might help whoever he was curing, but he'd end up collapsing
( ... )
It was strange, just how much everything hurt, and how it all felt. Things hadn't felt like this when he wasn't trapped in a body, when his reiatsu wasn't bound. Pain was still pain, but it had always felt so much more distant, and blood was just blood.
Now, he was keenly aware that blood was, in fact, life. His life, or what passed for it. A steady dribble of it fell from his lips, brought up by every breath.
He wasn't conscious or unconscious; he couldn't see, could barely hear over the ringing in his ears and the sound of the blood (more blood?) rushing through his veins. But somehow, he clung to a sliver of reality with all his will, refusing to be swallowed completely by his injuries.
So he knew that Nowe and Sora were still there. He wanted to scream at them to run, to get moving. That had been the point of this exercise. Get Nowe up so they could move on. Just leave him, like they had left Kurosaki.
That thought escaped his lips as an embarassing, but thankfully quiet, pained moan.
Nowe grimaced. This was an ugly situation. Kurosaki hadn't caught up to them, which meant that he was probably getting beat on pretty badly. He grit his teeth, trying to think through the splitting pain from his skull. His first impulse was to leave Sora with Renji and go back to try and distract the monster away from Kurosaki, but that wouldn't accomplish much since he already had a pretty bad injury. What if Kurosaki couldn't get away? They couldn't leave Renji here alone, that was for sure
( ... )
It was settled, then. Sora was glad to know that his two friends, injured as they were, would probably be safe in this room. He didn't want to consider the possibility that something might come in after them. As far as he knew, the monsters didn't usually break down doors to get to patients, so it would probably be fine.
He had been prepared to go, but was forced to stop and turn around. Blinking down at the outstretched finger, Sora smiled and nodded, linking his own with Nowe's. "Don't worry. I won't go down so easily. Besides," he added with a small laugh, "I can run fast if I have to." He'd rather not have to run in the first place, but seeing how bad their situation already was, he had to avoid getting hurt at all costs.
Turning to the door and steeling himself, he exhaled. No matter what, he was going to find someone to help them. He'd beg them if he had to. So he left, making sure to close the door tightly behind him.
Nowe watched Sora leave with a quiet dread. He didn't want the last thing he saw to be the boy's back and the door shutting ominously behind him. He glanced back at Renji, clicking on the flashlight and investigating the man's wounds. His arm he could bandage with the one remaining towel he had, so he pulled that out of his waistband and started tearing it, using his teeth to rip apart the fibers before he could tear the thing into strips.
"You'd better live, Renji..." he murmured, trying to fill the oppressive silence left in Sora's wake. He grit his teeth again and searched out the place where Renji was injured on his arm, wrapping it in the strips of towel, trying to stop the bleeding. It was the least he could do, and there weren't any other tools available to him. He just had to wait and keep his faith in Sora.
That he heard. It was a funny though, considering he wasn't technically alive in the first place.
Then Nowe started bandaging his arm and that fucking well hurt a lot, enough to temporarily draw his attention to whatever horrible things were happening inside his chest.
He tried to swallow down the next moan, and was only partially successful; it made him cough, and that brought up more blood. But he managed to crack his eyes open, at least. "Should... run..." he murmured.
Nowe glared down at Renji. He was surprised the man had actually managed to stay conscious, but that didn't keep the comment from irritating him.
"You shouldn't waste your breath on orders I'm not going to follow," he said sharply. He leaned back against the wall, careful not to put pressure on his head wound. He really could use bandages for that too, but he couldn't do it himself and Renji was certainly in no shape to do it either. He'd just have to be careful not to let it touch anything for now.
"You need to rest. Keep quiet and just try not to strain yourself," he said to Renji.
Nowe was tired. It was probably the blood loss, and he knew he couldn't sleep. Pinching his arm to keep himself awake, he flicked on the flashlight again, taking a look around the room they were in. There were a bunch of comfy-looking chairs and a few low tables. Nothing of interest.
He heard the words, but the didn't really make sense to him. He wanted to be angry that Nowe wasn't leaving, but he just couldn't. It was confusing; layered on top of this room, with Nowe next to him, he thought of another time, another place, waiting for help and bleeding and fearing.
And he'd been injured, terribly, but he still had people to protect. There was still danger. He'd sat, back to the wall, his zanpakuto across his lap...
Shakily, his hand moved up from the world to touch his leg, fingers searching for the familiar, comforting feel of his sword. There was nothing, of course. His confusion deepened, knotting his stomach with nausea and grief at... something he couldn't understand.
"Zabi... maru..." He took in a shuddering breath. "Just... go."
Nowe's bright eyes narrowed as he glared at Renji again. He didn't understand what this "Zabimaru" was, but he understood the last comment, and he shook his head, even though Renji couldn't see it.
"No. I'm not going anywhere, Renji," he said, clutching his flashlight to his chest, "save your breath."
He watched the door, his heart pounding in his chest. He had to keep his faith in Sora. Sora would find help, and he'd come back alive with Kurosaki in tow.
Renji tried to collect his scattered thoughts, but he still drifted between times, trying to unravel just what was going on. He tired to speak again, "Get the... Fourth."
But that wasn't right,in his mind. He reached out slowly, his entirely arm shaking, to touch Nowe's leg. The fabric of his pants wasn't what his fingers had been expecting. That feeling of wrongness was enough to at least bring him back into focus on where he was, when it was. For now, at least. He grabbed a handful of the fabric, his grip surprisingly strong.
"Nowe?" He wheezed. "Want to... lay down." In the back of his mind, he realized that might not be a good idea. All the blood had to be coming from somewhere. But sitting up hurt enough that he thought it might be worth it. "Where's... Sora...?"
Nowe still didn't understand what Renji was going on about. The fourth? The fourth what? He flinched when the man touched his leg, and stared down at it for a moment, trying to understand what Renji was trying to tell him.
"If you want to lay down you'll probably need to let go of me," he said, trying to sound at least a little positive, something that was seemingly impossible given their situation. He had to stay strong, because if he lost it, Renji might give up.
Where could he get a safe hold on Renji? They were both covered with blood, much of it mingled with one another's. It was difficult to tell where Renji was actually wounded and where he'd bled on himself, or where Nowe had bled on him. He used his flashlight to find a spot that looked safe, carefully helping the man to the ground.
"Sora went to get help for Kurosaki. He promised me he'd come back with him."
As he'd suspected, laying down did a lot for the pain. But it made it a lot harder to breathe. He wasn't sure if it was a good trade or not.
Then Nowe dropped the conversational bomb - Sora had left. By himself, obviously. To go back to Kurosaki with help, but what help? They didn't know where anyone was.
And as far as Renji was concerned, if anyone was going to go back for Kurosaki, it would be him. He'd gotten them into that mess, and it was up to him to help out a fellow Shinigami. And he had gotten the kids to safety... until Sora had gone running off, and...
"God... damnit." After having only been on the floor for a moment, Renji start struggling to get back up, fueled by his frustration. "Gonna fucking... kill him."
"Legna..."
Nowe stirred, his eyes fluttering but refusing to open. The wound was severe and he'd lost a considerable amount of blood already. His hands twitched again, searching for the warmth. It was cold. Where had Legna gone? In his dream he was searching, but the dragon was nowhere in sight. Where was everyone? Where were the two from his earlier dreams? Where was Renji or Sora? He'd been with them, hadn't he?
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Nodding at the redhead's request, Sora started to go for the flashlight he'd tucked in his pants, thankful that it hadn't been jostled out when he'd been running. However, as he was fumbling with it, his Keyblade left him without warning.
Well... There wasn't much point in trying to run back to the rescue now. He knew it was bad to be so reliant on a weapon, but considering how strong that monster had been, he knew he would have no chance unarmed.
Turning on the flashlight, he pointed it in Nowe's direction, but tried not to shine it directly on his face.
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Nowe stirred as Renji slumped forward, his eyes opening slowly. He blinked a few times, the fogginess from his vision fading. He winced. Damn, his head still hurt pretty badly. But he was able to see again, at least, and those horrible voices filling his ears were gone. What was left was a slight pressure against him, and when he came to full awareness he realized there was some red hair splayed across his face, sticking to the blood that hadn't dried yet.
"Ren... ji?"
Nowe jolted as he realized what had happened. Renji had collapsed. He didn't want to try moving his friend, since he saw the wounds were so severe, but he spotted Sora standing a few feet away.
"Sora... what happened?"
Damn it... we were so careless!He had to get up. He couldn't just stay sitting. He very cautiously wormed his way out from beneath Renji (damn, he was heavy) and shifted him so he was slumped against the wall instead. He stood up too fast and swayed, having to catch himself against the wall to keep from falling. His head wound was ( ... )
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Now, he was keenly aware that blood was, in fact, life. His life, or what passed for it. A steady dribble of it fell from his lips, brought up by every breath.
He wasn't conscious or unconscious; he couldn't see, could barely hear over the ringing in his ears and the sound of the blood (more blood?) rushing through his veins. But somehow, he clung to a sliver of reality with all his will, refusing to be swallowed completely by his injuries.
So he knew that Nowe and Sora were still there. He wanted to scream at them to run, to get moving. That had been the point of this exercise. Get Nowe up so they could move on. Just leave him, like they had left Kurosaki.
That thought escaped his lips as an embarassing, but thankfully quiet, pained moan.
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He had been prepared to go, but was forced to stop and turn around. Blinking down at the outstretched finger, Sora smiled and nodded, linking his own with Nowe's. "Don't worry. I won't go down so easily. Besides," he added with a small laugh, "I can run fast if I have to." He'd rather not have to run in the first place, but seeing how bad their situation already was, he had to avoid getting hurt at all costs.
Turning to the door and steeling himself, he exhaled. No matter what, he was going to find someone to help them. He'd beg them if he had to. So he left, making sure to close the door tightly behind him.
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"You'd better live, Renji..." he murmured, trying to fill the oppressive silence left in Sora's wake. He grit his teeth again and searched out the place where Renji was injured on his arm, wrapping it in the strips of towel, trying to stop the bleeding. It was the least he could do, and there weren't any other tools available to him. He just had to wait and keep his faith in Sora.
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Then Nowe started bandaging his arm and that fucking well hurt a lot, enough to temporarily draw his attention to whatever horrible things were happening inside his chest.
He tried to swallow down the next moan, and was only partially successful; it made him cough, and that brought up more blood. But he managed to crack his eyes open, at least. "Should... run..." he murmured.
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"You shouldn't waste your breath on orders I'm not going to follow," he said sharply. He leaned back against the wall, careful not to put pressure on his head wound. He really could use bandages for that too, but he couldn't do it himself and Renji was certainly in no shape to do it either. He'd just have to be careful not to let it touch anything for now.
"You need to rest. Keep quiet and just try not to strain yourself," he said to Renji.
Nowe was tired. It was probably the blood loss, and he knew he couldn't sleep. Pinching his arm to keep himself awake, he flicked on the flashlight again, taking a look around the room they were in. There were a bunch of comfy-looking chairs and a few low tables. Nothing of interest.
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And he'd been injured, terribly, but he still had people to protect. There was still danger. He'd sat, back to the wall, his zanpakuto across his lap...
Shakily, his hand moved up from the world to touch his leg, fingers searching for the familiar, comforting feel of his sword. There was nothing, of course. His confusion deepened, knotting his stomach with nausea and grief at... something he couldn't understand.
"Zabi... maru..." He took in a shuddering breath. "Just... go."
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"No. I'm not going anywhere, Renji," he said, clutching his flashlight to his chest, "save your breath."
He watched the door, his heart pounding in his chest. He had to keep his faith in Sora. Sora would find help, and he'd come back alive with Kurosaki in tow.
He had to.
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But that wasn't right,in his mind. He reached out slowly, his entirely arm shaking, to touch Nowe's leg. The fabric of his pants wasn't what his fingers had been expecting. That feeling of wrongness was enough to at least bring him back into focus on where he was, when it was. For now, at least. He grabbed a handful of the fabric, his grip surprisingly strong.
"Nowe?" He wheezed. "Want to... lay down." In the back of his mind, he realized that might not be a good idea. All the blood had to be coming from somewhere. But sitting up hurt enough that he thought it might be worth it. "Where's... Sora...?"
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"If you want to lay down you'll probably need to let go of me," he said, trying to sound at least a little positive, something that was seemingly impossible given their situation. He had to stay strong, because if he lost it, Renji might give up.
Where could he get a safe hold on Renji? They were both covered with blood, much of it mingled with one another's. It was difficult to tell where Renji was actually wounded and where he'd bled on himself, or where Nowe had bled on him. He used his flashlight to find a spot that looked safe, carefully helping the man to the ground.
"Sora went to get help for Kurosaki. He promised me he'd come back with him."
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Then Nowe dropped the conversational bomb - Sora had left. By himself, obviously. To go back to Kurosaki with help, but what help? They didn't know where anyone was.
And as far as Renji was concerned, if anyone was going to go back for Kurosaki, it would be him. He'd gotten them into that mess, and it was up to him to help out a fellow Shinigami. And he had gotten the kids to safety... until Sora had gone running off, and...
"God... damnit." After having only been on the floor for a moment, Renji start struggling to get back up, fueled by his frustration. "Gonna fucking... kill him."
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