"You're lucky I can see now." Bat had turned back before he hit the ground, and there was more worry in his voice than admonishment. He dashed to her side, taking in her condition with wide, angry eyes - the anger not directed at her, of course. He didn't need to ask who'd done the damage. He was pretty certain he already knew. There was also no point in threatening death on said person, as they'd already tried that.
"Fuck," he muttered, leaning in close. "I'll need to get you somewhere safe." He could take her to her brother or friends, but he didn't know if she'd want that. They'd also need to clean her up... could he find water and clean rags now?
Minatsuki blinked her eyes slowly and tried to turn over, lifting a shaking arm to brace herself against the ground. Bat looked leagues better than he had the last time she saw him, and, for just a moment, she felt a bizarre sense of relief- not just that he had shown up, but that he was no longer in the horrible shape he had been in when she'd left him. It was so strange to see him after what felt like weeks. Maybe the person standing in front of her was just a vision created by the haziness of her pain and the swirling sand.
She was lucky that he could see now. Who else would there be for her to turn to? She couldn't face Yoh like this. She couldn't see Ganta. How pathetic, she thought, telling herself again it didn't matter, she shouldn't care. "What's th-that-" she struggled to say, the attitude pushing through in her voice despite it all, "-supposed to m-mean... shithead
( ... )
Wordlessly, and as gently as Bat was capable, he reached down and scooped Minatsuki up into his arms. If he transformed, it would only jostle her too much. Any protests from her would go ignored. People had been telling him all week that she was gone, and he'd refused to acknowledge that she wouldn't return. Now that she had, he considered it a testament to his loyalty, and he wasn't going to let her out of his sight any time soon.
"The barrier came down," he explained, paying no heed to her apparent anger. "A sandstorm followed. It's not safe above ground. We're at a lull, but I'll need to find us somewhere else to go." Since he could no longer go back to Nectar. He couldn't keep her there.
He began heading carefully through the Industrial District, looking for any sort of better shelter.
Twisting her head away from him when he picked her up, Minatsuki blinked her weary eyes at the wreckage around them both. A sandstorm. Fucking great. She'd find it absolutely hilarious if this were happening to anyone but her. His hold on her was surprisingly gentle, but it still hurt. Not that it really mattered in the end- her entire fucking body was hurting. A bit more pain was nothing. She swallowed down any protest.
"...how long...?" she finally managed to ask, flicking her eyes up to his face. It was hard- physically- to finish the question. How long had she been gone for this to have happened? For Bat to have relatively healed? Was it the same amount of time that she had been... home? She felt abruptly sick to her stomach. She couldn't tell anyone that she'd gone back. Gone back and not remembered a single fucking thing about ever having been in this shithole.
"Perhaps a week, give or take." It had been hard to keep track of time in the blinded, pained state he'd been in at first. It might have been a couple days longer. "They kept saying you were gone... that your name had disappeared, but
( ... )
"A week," she repeated. It felt so much longer. She gave a soft sound of discomfort at the sudden contact with the bench and attempted to readjust herself uselessly. Blood quickly began to pool beneath her. She was no stranger to the effects of blood loss, though, and just put pressure on her side, silent through it all.
"I know," she said, taking an uneven breath, "I d-disappeared..." She wanted to say more, but it was hard to talk. She shook her head frustratedly, and even that motion made her feel dizzy. She slumped back against the bench.
Bat coughed as moving around in the basement sent clouds of dust up in his face. He'd have to do something about that soon. He didn't want dirt getting in any bandages he'd be about to use
( ... )
"Which one?" she spat at him, her voice tinged by bitterness. She guessed, though, that they would need to put pressure on the biggest ones first. She lifted her bloodstained hands from her side and began to tug at her dress, but the effort to try to take it off took more energy than it was worth.
She closed her eyes for a brief second. She was already bleeding- using her Branch of Sin for just a second wouldn't hurt her too much. A single snap of a whip split the fabric down the side. She pulled the dress away, revealing a tangled mess of flesh extending from her shoulder to below her ribs. It was ragged and uneven- like that part of her body had just been ripped away and then smashed back together when she'd been revived here. No- that was exactly what it was. The rest of her body displayed similar marks, and the majority of her skin was bruised a deep plum color. "Fuck," she hissed, bracing herself against the bench and trying not to let the pain show on her face.
A fresh wave of anger came over Bat as he got a better look at her injuries. The cloth was dabbed lightly over the largest wound, and he knew it would sting badly no matter how much pressure he added, before moving on to wipe the blood from the surrounding area. He didn't bother to warn her that bandaging this would be painful. She'd already be aware. The best he could do was keep talking.
A second cloth, very slightly dampened, was laid over the worst of the injury, and he began wrapping the makeshift bandages around her waist in order to hold it in place. "Once I've helped with some of the bleeding, I'm going to work on clearing a lot of the dust out of this place. That should make it easier to stay here." He didn't explain how he planned on doing this, but she'd see soon enough.
She bit down on her tongue when he began to wrap her waist, her trembling the only thing that betrayed the steely front she wore. She felt like she should explain what had happened, even if she could elaborate later. Like she was compelled to. "Th-there... was something... agh- ...d-different... with him."
She looked around. How long would they be stuck in this place? There was no way to tell the weather patterns here- she'd tried, for her flowers- so this fucking sandstorm could last another day or another month. And healing would be slow and painful, while she was unable to do anything about it but sit around feeling infuriated by it all.
She touched her hand to the makeshift tourniquet. He shouldn't have to be here doing this for her. "D-damn it, Bat..."
Different? Bat wanted her to continue, and he almost asked her to. How different? But she shouldn't be forcing herself to talk right now. She needed to rest. "Shh. Not right now. Don't speak if you don't have to." He worked on dabbing wherever he saw blood, then prepared to wrap another section around her shoulder.
"I'll probably have to go back above ground, pick up some supplies before the storm hits again. There's gotta be somewhere close I can grab a few things."
After he got this dust cleared away, of course. Once he finished with the second bit of bandages he stood to do just that.
"And what if... i-it hits b-before--" Another bout of coughing interrupted her defiant reply. If the storm hit again while he was up there, he could he killed again and she'd be abandoned. The thoughts that went through her head as she tried not to throw up another wave of blood were bizarrely tinged with worry- thoughts far more honest and vulnerable than she needed right now.
The coughing slowed and then stopped, and she lowered her hand slowly and watched him stand, wondering what he was going to do now.
"I'll be careful." It was all he could say, really. He couldn't promise anything, but he wouldn't go far and they did need supplies.
As he stood back, the atma marking on his arm began to glow violet. If he transformed fully, his wind spells would be far too powerful for what he needed, but with the little he could control while still human he might be able to make an easy task of this. He started by working around Minatsuki, clearing any dust from around her first with small gusts of wind directed outward. With both hands he could somewhat direct it, building up piles he moved to the edge of the room, then back.
Of course. It made sense as soon as she saw what he was doing. She brought a hand back up to her mouth, if only to shield herself from any oncoming dust, though he was being careful not to direct it towards her. There was little else she could do but watch and fight off the effects of the blood loss. The pain had reached its excruciating pinnacle and was now at a level of numbness.
"You d-don't have to--" she started, but her throat was burning and she silenced herself, her skin flushing. She lowered her hands, clenching them into loose fists on her lap.
"Shh." Bat hushed her again. He'd cleared most of the dust, and any loose garbage, into one corner of the room. To save himself trouble, he then simply took the tarp that had been covering the bench and placed it over the mess.
He turned back to her with a smug grin of accomplishment. "There. Much better, isn't it?"
She'd need something to drink. There wasn't anything clean enough to have her drink out of, and he added cups of some sort to his list of supplies while at the same time knowing he'd need to speed up the process of retrieving them.
"All right. Now I'll be quick, I promise." Then he went for the stairs before she could argue much more.
She bit her lip. "Yeah, that's better," she found herself agreeing before she had a chance to think of her reply.
Strange.
But she didn't have the energy to think on it. She watched him turn to go, and the fists on her lap tightened. She shouldn't care about being on her own for a bit. But a part of her was acutely aware that she did. That even though people were untrustworthy, what she had been exposed to had made her want to not be alone. She hated it. It was a sign of weakness.
"--that's a promise?" she mumbled, watching him go.
"Fuck," he muttered, leaning in close. "I'll need to get you somewhere safe." He could take her to her brother or friends, but he didn't know if she'd want that. They'd also need to clean her up... could he find water and clean rags now?
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She was lucky that he could see now. Who else would there be for her to turn to? She couldn't face Yoh like this. She couldn't see Ganta. How pathetic, she thought, telling herself again it didn't matter, she shouldn't care. "What's th-that-" she struggled to say, the attitude pushing through in her voice despite it all, "-supposed to m-mean... shithead ( ... )
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"The barrier came down," he explained, paying no heed to her apparent anger. "A sandstorm followed. It's not safe above ground. We're at a lull, but I'll need to find us somewhere else to go." Since he could no longer go back to Nectar. He couldn't keep her there.
He began heading carefully through the Industrial District, looking for any sort of better shelter.
Reply
"...how long...?" she finally managed to ask, flicking her eyes up to his face. It was hard- physically- to finish the question. How long had she been gone for this to have happened? For Bat to have relatively healed? Was it the same amount of time that she had been... home? She felt abruptly sick to her stomach. She couldn't tell anyone that she'd gone back. Gone back and not remembered a single fucking thing about ever having been in this shithole.
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"I know," she said, taking an uneven breath, "I d-disappeared..." She wanted to say more, but it was hard to talk. She shook her head frustratedly, and even that motion made her feel dizzy. She slumped back against the bench.
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She closed her eyes for a brief second. She was already bleeding- using her Branch of Sin for just a second wouldn't hurt her too much. A single snap of a whip split the fabric down the side. She pulled the dress away, revealing a tangled mess of flesh extending from her shoulder to below her ribs. It was ragged and uneven- like that part of her body had just been ripped away and then smashed back together when she'd been revived here. No- that was exactly what it was. The rest of her body displayed similar marks, and the majority of her skin was bruised a deep plum color. "Fuck," she hissed, bracing herself against the bench and trying not to let the pain show on her face.
Reply
A second cloth, very slightly dampened, was laid over the worst of the injury, and he began wrapping the makeshift bandages around her waist in order to hold it in place. "Once I've helped with some of the bleeding, I'm going to work on clearing a lot of the dust out of this place. That should make it easier to stay here." He didn't explain how he planned on doing this, but she'd see soon enough.
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She looked around. How long would they be stuck in this place? There was no way to tell the weather patterns here- she'd tried, for her flowers- so this fucking sandstorm could last another day or another month. And healing would be slow and painful, while she was unable to do anything about it but sit around feeling infuriated by it all.
She touched her hand to the makeshift tourniquet. He shouldn't have to be here doing this for her. "D-damn it, Bat..."
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"I'll probably have to go back above ground, pick up some supplies before the storm hits again. There's gotta be somewhere close I can grab a few things."
After he got this dust cleared away, of course. Once he finished with the second bit of bandages he stood to do just that.
Reply
The coughing slowed and then stopped, and she lowered her hand slowly and watched him stand, wondering what he was going to do now.
Reply
As he stood back, the atma marking on his arm began to glow violet. If he transformed fully, his wind spells would be far too powerful for what he needed, but with the little he could control while still human he might be able to make an easy task of this. He started by working around Minatsuki, clearing any dust from around her first with small gusts of wind directed outward. With both hands he could somewhat direct it, building up piles he moved to the edge of the room, then back.
Reply
"You d-don't have to--" she started, but her throat was burning and she silenced herself, her skin flushing. She lowered her hands, clenching them into loose fists on her lap.
Reply
He turned back to her with a smug grin of accomplishment. "There. Much better, isn't it?"
She'd need something to drink. There wasn't anything clean enough to have her drink out of, and he added cups of some sort to his list of supplies while at the same time knowing he'd need to speed up the process of retrieving them.
"All right. Now I'll be quick, I promise." Then he went for the stairs before she could argue much more.
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Strange.
But she didn't have the energy to think on it. She watched him turn to go, and the fists on her lap tightened. She shouldn't care about being on her own for a bit. But a part of her was acutely aware that she did. That even though people were untrustworthy, what she had been exposed to had made her want to not be alone. She hated it. It was a sign of weakness.
"--that's a promise?" she mumbled, watching him go.
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