rattle...what’s that rattle?

[felinemystique]

Characters: Bastet/Yoruichi felinemystique, and OPEN to witnesses/arrivals after the fact
Date/Time: late morning, Monday, August 15, directly after/during this entry.
Location: A remote area of the Park
Rating: PG-13 or so
Summary: Yoruichi has unwisely taunted the Tree and its creator, and so pays the price.
Notes: While I know some people will arrive during

Comments

1/2

[pimpcoatbankai]

Toushi was struck with a feeling of nervous anxiety as he ran in pursuit of Yoruichi's reiatsu. If the Tree didn't find a way to kill him after what he'd written, Kazahana sure as hell would find some sort of way to wish it had, but that wasn't important now. Fugue had deliberately set out to hurt his friend, the closest thing he had to a parent in this place now that Koi was gone again, and he couldn't remember ever having wanted to hurt anyone or anything more than he did right now.

Fugue was responsible for it. All of it.

Fugue had taken his life, his family, everything, and he was going to pay

2/2

[pimpcoatbankai]

"Ugh!"

Toushi went flying, and braced himself for the impact of the hard baked dirt beneath his back as he landed, but instead of stopping on the dirt, he went through.

Shock was the first emotion that registered, but that wasn't there long as all that he could feel was pain; sharp, sudden, all consuming. It came after a moment of calm where Toushi registered nothing more than surprise, a stinging ache through his side, and then he opened his eyes to see a sharp, bloodied wooden spike poking straight through his thigh and he couldn't even open his mouth to yell out or scream because his chest hurt, and he couldn't move his hand without pain blooming out from his palm. He coughed, blood bubbling up over his lips and then his heart started beating too fast, his breath came out in hoarse rattling gasps and he knew that there was one in his chest and it hurt, it hurt, everywhere hurt and he couldn't even think straight, he couldn't-

Damn it, damn it, I'm such a fucking idiot I-Tears were streaming from his eyes as he screwed them shut

[starstruckstray]

Kiba had just finished a double shift at work, and was just a few hours into some much needed sleep. The swell of reiatsu from Yoruichi tugged at his sleepy senses, and he opened his eyes, looking around blearily for whatever had woken him

[pimpcoatbankai]

The feeling of Kiba's reiatsu hit him with an wave of relief, and for a moment Toushi let his eyes close as he let out a sigh of relief that hurt like a bitch and caused him to to cough, the fresh blood on his lips stark against his paling skin. It felt like just moving his eyes to look at Kiba as he landed in the pit beside him was enough to make his head split open with pain.

"Sh-" He could hear his breath hissing from his chest as he tried to speak and collapsed into another coughing fit that spewed more blood.

There was so much he wanted to say, but he couldn't find the strength or the breath to speak. He felt hot, his hair was sticking to his forehead with sweat, everywhere, everywhere hurt.

His eyelids started to feel heavy, be had to tell Kiba he was sorry, he had to-

Everything was starting to look fuzzy and dim, but he couldn't die this way in a dirty pit. Kiba would never let him live it down, and his books-

"-orry."

[wayofflowers]

Bellflower had been at work, dealing with the minor injuries caused by the Tree's current state, when she felt the two bursts of power. She didn't have enough experience to differentiate each person's reiatsu, not from this distance - but she could tell it was reiatsu, and powerful enough to signal a fight. That was trouble. She was glad she had her sword with her - it had been intended more for her own peace of mind than anything else, but it seemed the Tree had other plans

[starstruckstray]

Kiba barely noticed her until she was on top of them. He whipped around, a hand on the hilt of his sword as he placed himself between his friend and whoever was coming. But his fierce expression vanished as soon as he registered the arrival.

"Belllower-san!" he called from the bottom of the pit. "Toushi's--I don't know what happened, but--I was gonna try to get him out--" he cut off, his thoughts jumbling and falling over each other, and he cursed himself for sounding like such an idiot when his friend was lying there impaled by spikes.

He drew in a deep breath, then tried again. "Please help him. I'll do whatever you need me to."

Fuck, just tell me what to do.

[wayofflowers]

Bellflower peered a little closer from the edge of the pit. The damage - that was bad, that she could see some of of the spikes protruding out of his chest. Organ damage, blood loss - she wasn't certain she had the skill to manage that, and she could feel fear start to pool in the pit of her stomach.

Still, she tried to keep her expression calm. "We'll... have to pull him off. I don't know what would happen if I tried to heal him around the spikes - but I imagine the results wouldn't be good." She dipped her arms down into the pit. "If you hand his shoulders to me, we should be able to lift him without shaking him too much on the way up." Her mind was racing, trying to mentally triage what she could see, to figure out her best chance of saving him.

[starstruckstray]

Kiba blanched, then his face firmed and he nodded. The idea of pulling one of his best friends off all those spikes made him uneasy, but he knew there was no time to waste.

He gingerly worked his arms between the spikes so they were beneath Toushi's shoulders and thighs. "Hey, man," he said, "I gotta lift you off quick so she can heal you." He couldn't ask him if he was ready--how could anyone be ready for something like that? It'd just take up time they couldn't spare; better to be quick than give him time to dread it.

Steeling himself, he gritted his teeth and lifted, trying to be as quick as possible without doing any further damage.

[pimpcoatbankai]

Toushi knew it was coming. He was trying very, very hard not to pass out, and he knew he had to come off the spikes, so trying to concentrate on what else was happening had been a way to keep his mind off the fact that he was impaled horribly. He tried to brace himself against the pain that was to follow, tears springing unbidden from his eyes as breath speeding up through his nose as he clenched his jaw in preparation, eyes wide and staring at Kiba's face.

Get me out of here help me please just make it stop-

He could never remember anything ever hurting like this.

"Aah!"

What little voice he had remaining left him in a hoarse scream of agony as blood poured from his newly open wounds. It hurt too much, suddenly everything started swimming before his eyes and he knew he was either going to throw up from the pain or pass out.

I can't die from this, I can't-

He went completely limp as unconsciousness swallowed him.

[wayofflowers]

That scream chilled Bellflower to the bone - she could hear the pain in it, and how deep it ran - and she hoped she wouldn't have to hear one like it again. It was a wonder he was even still conscious enough to scream. She did her best to start gathering her power up, even as she reached as far into the pit as she could to help lift him out. The sooner she could start, the better, even if trying to coordinate both wore at her concentration. Even then, though, she wasn't sure it'd be enough.

[starstruckstray]

Kiba had been bracing himself for the blood, and Toushi's scream, as hard as it was to hear. And so much blood, fuck; if Kiba had been wearing a shirt, it would have been ruined, but it wasn't like getting Toushi's blood all over his bare skin was much better.

But his heart nearly stopped when his friend went limp, and for a few horrible seconds, Kiba thought he'd killed him pulling him off the spikes.

"No!" he burst out, blanching. In his panic, he ignored Bellflower's outstretched arms and simply leapt out of the pit, mindlessly clutching Toushi as though that would make any difference.

"Oh fuck I think I killed him, I--"

Stop babbling! Allow the healer to work.Zabimaru's admonishment brought him up short, and he swallowed, managing to seize onto the barest thread of control. Now that he looked more closely, he could see Toushi's chest rising and falling, but the movement was slight and shallow. He didn't have much time, and Kiba couldn't afford to fall apart on him

[wayofflowers]

Bellflower pulled back a little in surprise as Kiba leaped out of the pit, the other man in his arms. Her concentration faltered, and the energy she had gathered dissipated - but as soon as Toushi was on the ground in front of her, she gathered it up again, pouring it into him with a little less control than she usually held. It wasn't working - with most wounds, she could see the damage begin to repair itself, healing up as she used her power. Here... there was too much damage. The blood flow slowed, a little, but did not stop.

The fear started to well up. She couldn't do this. She wasn't strong enough, she would not be able to save him. And then a voice spoke into her head - young-old, half song, and achingly familiar. Use my power. She reached - and connected with a well of power like an ocean calm. Her sword seemed to dissolve, almost, spiraling out of it's sheathe in a pale green cloud of smoke that whirled around her, and then grew and solidified, until a huge one-eyed creature was staring down at the three of them from one

[starstruckstray]

Kiba knelt across Toushi's body as Bellflower worked, taut and silent, almost willing Toushi's flesh to knit back together. But it was slow going--and healing wasn't his area by any means, but it seemed entirely too much so.

So he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists where they rested on his thighs, concentrating so much on his friend's pale, blood-streaked face that he failed to notice the power welling up around him. So when Bellflower's zanpakutou dissipated, he only caught the last wisps of green mist before it reformed into...whatever that was.

"What...the hell?" he muttered.

[wayofflowers]

Bellflower blinked in surprise. This... she had not expected this. Not so soon. And yet, it felt so familiar. Despite the situation at hand, a small smile crept onto her face.

"Minazuki. My sword."

There was a nudge of power, and a wide pink tongue unrolled from the creature's mouth. Mistress, we should hurry. I will carry him. Bellflower nodded, and scooped up Toushi. She carefully placed him on the huge tongue, which wrapped around him and pulled him into the wide mouth.

[starstruckstray]

Kiba barely had time to get his mind around the fact that this was apparently Bellflower's shikai, when she picked Toushi up and fed him to the floppy...green...monster...thing.

If it had been almost anyone else, he'd have attacked them both, but Bellflower had always sparked a sense of respect and deference in him that he rarely bothered to question.

Still, she'd just fed his friend to her sword. "Bellflower-san," he gritted out, looking alarmed, "why...is your sword eating Toushi?"

[wayofflowers]

Bellflower blinked, momentarily caught off guard. She hadn't been thinking enough to realize that not everyone shared her memories of the huge beast, and she realized that to an outsider, this must have seemed quite strange.

"Ah - Minazuki heals, too. It will keep Toushi safe until we reach Wellspring, and heal him somewhat."

She carefully started to climb one of the giant, drooping wings, and motioned for Kiba to follow her.