"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..."
There was no place to go in the Business District, which was why Bat had opted to make for the Industrial one despite the danger of being closer to his enemies. He scanned the area carefully, looking for anything that might be able to serve as proper shelter.
He finally located a building that, though most of the upper floors were demolished, had part of the stairwell still intact - built into the concrete. Most importantly, the stairs led down from ground level. He adjusted his grip on Minatsuki before carefully descending them.
It was a mess, and it was incredibly dusty, but it looked like it had weathered the sandstorm relatively well already. He removed a tarp from a discarded but upholstered bench that looked like it might have once belonged in a waiting room. The tarp had kept it somewhat dust-free, and he set the girl down on it gently. If there was a sink nearby, and the pipes still worked, this place would be perfect.
"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.
There was a closet with what appeared to be janitorial supplies, and close to it an industrial sink. Turning one of the knobs produced nothing but a hollow sucking noise at first, but eventually a stream of rust-colored water poured through into the basin. He frowned at this, letting it run as he searched the closet.
Most of the cleaning supplies he had no idea what to do with, and none of the rags he found were clean enough to even think of using on Minatsuki's wounds. A few uniforms he found piled in the back looked more promising. Most were moth-eaten, but there should be enough material to make bandages from. He pulled out one of his knives and set to work quickly slicing them up.
When he returned to check the sink with a few strips in hand, he was pleased to see that the water had cycled through enough of the rust to be clear. In that case it might be usable. He wet a large piece of one of the uniforms down to work as a cloth and returned to the girl's side.
"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.
Not long after, there was a scrambling noise at the top of the stairs, followed by a clatter as Bat nearly fell down them. The reason for the lack of coordination was due to the blankets piled up in his arms and obscuring most of his vision. The rest of the supplies were in a sack slung on one arm.
He dropped the blankets in the middle of the floor. He'd shake them out in a moment. There were more important matters to deal with first.
He retrieved a couple glasses from the bag and brought them to the sink, rinsing one out thoroughly before filling it with water and coming back to Minatsuki's side. "Told you I wouldn't take long."
She took the glass and nearly dropped it in her weakened hands. "Thanks," she muttered, lifting it to her mouth. She tasted her own blood at first, as it still coated the inside of her mouth, and winced a little. The taste washed away, though, and the water made her feel slightly better, though she still felt worse than she had in her entire life.
Minatsuki lowered the glass. Talking seemed easier. "Now what...?"
"Now I ask you if there's anything else you need." There might have been a friendlier edge to Bat's smirk for just a moment. He then picked up one of the blankets and began shaking out the sand from it. When it looked a bit more usable, he laid it down in front of the bench. "Are you going to want me to look at your bandages again?" I can add more if I have to."
A second blanket was placed next to the girl in the event that she needed or wanted it.
'No,' she wanted to answer, not wanting to put him through any more work, but what came out was, "Yes." She stiffened. That had not been what she intended to say at all. It was what she wanted, but she hadn't meant to say 'yes'. She'd just... said it.
The strange feeling like something more might be wrong was back. She shifted uncomfortably. "But you don't have to," she managed to add.
There was no place to go in the Business District, which was why Bat had opted to make for the Industrial one despite the danger of being closer to his enemies. He scanned the area carefully, looking for anything that might be able to serve as proper shelter.
He finally located a building that, though most of the upper floors were demolished, had part of the stairwell still intact - built into the concrete. Most importantly, the stairs led down from ground level. He adjusted his grip on Minatsuki before carefully descending them.
It was a mess, and it was incredibly dusty, but it looked like it had weathered the sandstorm relatively well already. He removed a tarp from a discarded but upholstered bench that looked like it might have once belonged in a waiting room. The tarp had kept it somewhat dust-free, and he set the girl down on it gently. If there was a sink nearby, and the pipes still worked, this place would be perfect.
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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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There was a closet with what appeared to be janitorial supplies, and close to it an industrial sink. Turning one of the knobs produced nothing but a hollow sucking noise at first, but eventually a stream of rust-colored water poured through into the basin. He frowned at this, letting it run as he searched the closet.
Most of the cleaning supplies he had no idea what to do with, and none of the rags he found were clean enough to even think of using on Minatsuki's wounds. A few uniforms he found piled in the back looked more promising. Most were moth-eaten, but there should be enough material to make bandages from. He pulled out one of his knives and set to work quickly slicing them up.
When he returned to check the sink with a few strips in hand, he was pleased to see that the water had cycled through enough of the rust to be clear. In that case it might be usable. He wet a large piece of one of the uniforms down to work as a cloth and returned to the girl's side.
"Show me your wounds."
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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.
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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.
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The coughing slowed and then stopped, and she lowered her hand slowly and watched him stand, wondering what he was going to do now.
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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.
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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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He dropped the blankets in the middle of the floor. He'd shake them out in a moment. There were more important matters to deal with first.
He retrieved a couple glasses from the bag and brought them to the sink, rinsing one out thoroughly before filling it with water and coming back to Minatsuki's side. "Told you I wouldn't take long."
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Minatsuki lowered the glass. Talking seemed easier. "Now what...?"
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A second blanket was placed next to the girl in the event that she needed or wanted it.
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The strange feeling like something more might be wrong was back. She shifted uncomfortably. "But you don't have to," she managed to add.
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