[KRFourze;prose] death's shadow grows
Utahoshi Kengo, Kisaragi Gentarou, Jojima Yuki, Sakuta Ryusei, KRC
It starts small and unnoticeable.
It's late summer in Japan, and the new school term is just beginning. The cherry blossoms have been replaced by the gardenias, out in full bloom, large and white and so strongly scented that Gentarou sneezes in response when he walks into the courtyard. Yuki dances around gleefully, admiring the blossoms. "Don't they smell wonderful?" she enthuses, and Gentarou can't help but join in amidst the sneezing. Beside them, Kengo looks about passively, hands tucked into his pockets.
"What smells wonderful?" he inquires, and both Yuki and Gentarou whip their heads about. "The gardenias!" Yuki gestures wildly at the flowers adorning the shrubs, but Kengo just gazes at them, a quizzical look on his face. "I don't smell anything."
At that, Gentarou reaches over and pinches his nose. "Having a cold?" he teases, and Kengo flails out. "Stop that!"
They forget about that incident quickly, brushing it off as if it was just something weird for that one day. Kengo thinks nothing of his gradual loss of smell, certain that it'll come back sooner or later, and concentrates on helping Gentarou fight.
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It's lunchtime, and Gentarou watches as Kengo pours about half a bottle of soy into his soup. "Hey," he says, "isn't that too much?" Yuki and Tomoko both pause in their eating, glancing over while Kengo looks up, mild irritation on his face.
"It's just a bit bland, that's all," Kengo says, but then he slouches over, a worried line creasing his forehead. Yuki helps herself to a small spoonful out of curiosity, and makes a face. "It's too much, Kengo!" she exclaims, and Gentarou gets up to buy another bowl, brushing aside Kengo's protests and efforts to pay and putting it in front of him. "Go on," Gentarou urges, and Kengo picks up his chopsticks.
Gentarou starts paying more attention from then on, although Kengo never tries to add any more condiments, almost as though he knew he had been caught. There is no more pleasure in Kengo's face when he eats, just a slow methodical chew and swallow, but Gentarou can't bring himself to ask what's happening to him.
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The glass flask shatters against the table where he drops it accidentally, a sudden loss of feeling in his fingers. He huffs a sigh of irritation before looking around for a rag to wipe up the mess and to clean up the broken shards. The experiment's ruined, Kengo thinks, even though he's certain of the results, it feels better to have it quantified. He's in the midst of cleaning up when Gentarou snags his wrist roughly, and Kengo's opening his mouth to protest at the manhandling when Gentarou nearly shouts at him. "You idiot!"
Kengo sputters in confusion at the sudden vitriol when Gentarou turns his hand over and then he sees his skin reddened and peeling, burned from the hydrochloric acid that had apparently splashed on his skin. Gentarou pulls him to the sink, still ranting and yelling at the teacher to inform the school nurse while he runs cold water over Kengo's nerveless hand. "Didn't you realize that your hand was burned?" he says. Kengo flexes his fingers, and feels nothing but the dull pressure of Gentarou's grip on his wrist.
"Of course I did-" he starts to say, but Yuki comes over, all flustered and concerned with Ryusei strolling behind her, and he has to calm her down instead.
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The rest of the club swarms over him when club hours begin, and he's secretly grateful for their concern even if he doesn't show it. Shun offers to get him a doctor, Miu clucks her tongue at Kengo's carelessness, and Tomoko cheerfully presents Kengo with three different types of homemade salve, each blessed by a different god. They smell rather strange and Kengo isn't quite inclined to actually use them, but he takes them anyway because it's better to have Tomoko happy instead of sullen. Yuki's gotten over her initial panic, although she still hovers over him, chewing her bottom lip worriedly.
"I'll be fine, really," he tells her. JK chimes in from his corner, "Yeah, Kengo-senpai hasn't had his headaches for a while now, right? It's just an accident, it'll heal." Kengo gives her a reassuring smile as if to agree with JK, and says, "I just need your help with school notes, since, you know." He waves his hand, and it finally brings out her smile and enthusiastic nodding. Across the room, Ryusei calls out, "You can share my notes too, Kengo," and that fills him with relief, because as earnest as she is, Yuki isn't really the best note-taker in the world.
He feels the tension drain when the club finally clears out for the day though. Yuki had wanted to leave with him, but he gently waves her off, citing that he wanted to check Gentarou's switches. That makes him realize that Gentarou hadn't really been around, not after dragging him to the nurse's office to get his injury seen to, and it feels strange.
Kengo flexes his hand again, picking irritably at the bandage the nurse had swathed him in. It's bad enough that he had somehow burned himself without noticing, but to have it be his right hand, he can't help but be frustrated. But it truly doesn't hurt, and he knows it's stupid, but he starts unwrapping the bandage, because it can't be that bad if it didn't hurt, right?
"What are you doing?"
He jerks in surprise, hand hitting the edge of the table as he turns around to see Gentarou striding towards him. Kengo tries to pull back when Gentarou grabs his arm, and gets a glare for his efforts while Gentarou re-secures the bandage. "That's stupid of you," Gentarou says. He doesn't let go when he's done, though, and when Kengo resumes tugging Gentarou seems to take it as a cue to sit uncomfortably close, straddling the bench and still holding his hand. Distantly, Kengo notes that he still can't feel anything, and when did that start?
"Naa, Kengo," Gentarou says, "What's really going on?"
"Nothing," Kengo answers, "let me go, Kisaragi."
He doesn't want to look at Gentarou suddenly. Gentarou's sincerity is comforting at best and stifling at worst, and in the silence of the hatch Kengo feels trapped and vulnerable. He sees more than feel Gentarou raise his free hand to his shoulder, and then it's just a weight there, no warmth, and the false ignorance that Kengo had tried to delude himself with for so long shatters.
"That burn's going to leave a scar, you know," Gentarou says, and Kengo mutters, "It doesn't matter."
"What?" Gentarou asks, and Kengo continues.
"I don't feel pain," he says, "And nothing feels cold, or hot anymore. I...can't smell anything, or taste anything for a while now." He sucks in a breath, but he doesn't even smell Gentarou. He never realizes everyone has a scent, or maybe he's just pushed it away. "Something...I think I'm losing my senses."
Gentarou is soft, hushed when he asks, "What are you saying, Kengo," and it makes Kengo want to scream, except screaming won't help. He lurches forward, suddenly desperate for touch when he's always shunned it. Instead, all he gets is dulled and numbed, even though Gentarou's got an arm around him, pressing him close, and all he hears is the beating of Gentarou's heart. It's all he has left, apart from his sight, and even those Kengo fears will eventually be taken away.
"Kisaragi...I'm scared."
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Kengo goes on medical leave for two days before Yuki talks to Gentarou about visiting him at home and passing on homework. "Kengo seems pretty tired lately, huh," she says, and Gentarou swallows the uneasy feeling with a smile. Kengo had been working on calibrating the switches with a feverish passion, as though he's on a unknown time limit that's surely running out. Gentarou's learned that it's better to leave him to it, although he doesn't let up on Kengo getting enough rest, which makes for a pretty terse situation nearly all the time in the hatch, even without the help of the Horoscopes.
He mails Kengo a message about dropping by after school with Yuki, and is surprised when he gets a near-instant response. Don't let Yuki come, it says, and Gentarou frowns. He hasn't actually brought up that issue with Kengo yet, telling Yuki about his condition. Gnetarou suspects that it'll be a lot of yelling and protestations about "making Yuki needlessly worried", which is kind of a moot point given how much Yuki worries over Kengo's health everyday. But he acquieses anyway, sending another mail to Miu to ask her to distract Yuki for the day.
Why do you need Yuki to be away for, Miu mails back, nosy as ever and Gentarou really, really doesn't want to deal with two delicate situations. It's about Kengo. Keep her busy, he replies, and then after a thought, adds, Please.
Predictably Yuki starts to worry about missing out on the trip to Kengo's house by around lunchtime because she doesn't want to disappoint Miu, and Gentarou manages to calm her down by the time the school bells ring for the last time that day. "He'll probably be back tomorrow," he reassures her, and she wrings her hands before she allows herself to be ferried away in Shun's car for a shopping trip.
Gentarou is actually sort of looking forward to visiting Kengo, if only to see what his mother is like. Ryusei somehow manages to tag along, but Gentarou isn't worried, because Ryusei could keep a secret if he needed. Ryusei loves to talk about his friend Jirou and wushu, mostly Jirou, Gentarou discovers, and it makes the trip easy and quick.
Kengo's mother seems pleased that Kengo has other friends besides Yuki, and quickly welcomes them in. It's a small apartment, and Kengo looks up from his book on the couch. His eyes widen when he sees Ryusei troop in behind Gentarou, but he doesn't look displeased at least. Gentarou checks him over once; he can't tell if Kengo's gotten thinner or he just looks small in his oversized jumper and sweat pants. "Yo," Gentarou says. Kengo just gives a small, answering nod and somehow that sets off alarms in his head.
"Oh, Kengo's lost his voice," his mother says. She places hot milo and biscuits on the coffee table, and gestures for them to sit. "I sent him to the doctor but she just says there's nothing really wrong, maybe he needs rest. There's no cough or cold, so I think he can go back to school tomorrow." She gives them all a bright smile, but there's an edge to it. Gentarou thanks her for the information and tries to reassure her that it'll probably pass. Kengo's already turned back to his book, but Gentarou can't miss the whiteness of his knuckles.
Eventually Kengo's mother shoos them to Kengo's room, saying that she wants to watch her afternoon shows and that, "it's fine, you would prefer talking more freely behind a closed door. Help him with his homework, won't you?"
Kengo heads straight for a notepad when they get to his room, scribbling on it and thrusting it at Gentarou. Thanks for not bringing Yuki, it says, and then, Just tell her that I've got a cold and I lost my voice.
"That's not going to hold out for very long," Gentarou says reasonably, and Kengo tears the paper, crumpling it viciously. It'll have to do, Kengo writes. I'm working on a voice modulator now, I just need to get into the hatch to calibrate a switch for it. I might ask Yuki for a design idea, think it'll distract her for a bit?
"You have to tell her," Gentarou says, just a little louder, and he's forgotten that Ryusei's there until he interjects, "tell who?" in a confused tone. Kengo's biting his lip, and then he scribbles, It'll worry her.
"She's worried already!" Gentarou says, and Ryusei hisses, "Who's she?" Gentarou retorts, "Yuki!" in frustration, although it's mostly aimed at Kengo.
"Woah woah," Ryusei says, "I think you guys need to tell me first what's happening."
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"When did this start?" Ryusei says once Gentarou explains everything and after Kengo gives a very tense nod in reluctant approval. They've opted to sit down, but Kengo's curled up on himself, sullen and silent. Ryusei doesn't miss the way Gentarou sort of sneaks up on him, taking a hand and rubbing it with his thumb. Kengo may have said that he's lost his sense of touch, but his hand clasps around Gentarou's anyway.
"Maa," Gentarou says when Kengo doesn't make a move to write anything. "He lost his sense of touch....about three weeks ago? Or maybe longer than that, I only found out when he had that accident in Chemistry. Taste...that's way back in July." He glances at Kengo as he talks, looking for confirmation. "I can't remember when he lost his sense of smell," and Kengo finally moves, a small shrug of shoulders that could mean I don't know or I don't remember too.
"Do you think it might have been an attack by the Horoscopes?" Ryusei asks. Gentarou makes a face, and says thoughtfully, "Tomoko would say. She's never been wrong. But she didn't sense anything about Kengo."
"Couldn't hurt to ask Tachibana-san," Ryusei says, and he ends the conversation by excusing himself, he needs to borrow Kengo's bathroom for a bit. Ryusei isn't surprised to find Kengo's mother sitting ramrod straight on the couch in the living room, her eyes looking forward at the television but not seeing. "It's good that he has friends," she says, and he has to admire her strength.
The door's still ajar when he returns, but he just stays outside, unwilling to go in. Through the gap he sees that Gentarou's somehow gotten himself wrapped around Kengo, long lanky legs curling the other boy close. There's a fist in Gentarou's shirt, uselessly thumping and Ryusei's uncomfortably aware that Kengo's crying, even as his mouth works noiselessly. Gentarou's voice is a low baritone, saying, "I'm sorry," over and over.
It's a little cold, Ryusei knows, to feel relieved that he and Jirou are past this. But it's still an awful place to be in, and he stays quietly away.
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Yuki immediately fusses over Kengo when he returns, while JK commiserates with him about the loss of voice. "It must be a really bad cold, huh?" he says, and Kengo just gives him a wry look before placating Yuki with his schematics for a new foodroid. It works because she starts chattering excitedly about using the McDonalds' apple pie for a base design, and Kengo's content to let her talk for the two of them.
He knows that Gentarou is watching them, waiting. Kengo doesn't want to relieve the one-sided argument they had, even though he knows Gentarou is right. He just wants everything to be as normal for as long as possible, and if it means deluding Yuki just to keep from hurting her even more, then it's okay. Besides, he has Gentarou, and now Ryusei to share the burden, and between the three of them, Kengo thinks it's more than enough.
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It's rare for him nowadays to leave Kengo alone, because they don't know when the next sensory loss will strike and Kengo's terrified that it'll be his sight. Still, having Ryusei in the know makes it easier on Gentarou, and sometimes Ryusei handles Kengo even better than him. Now is one of those times, where Kengo had been crankier than usual and shut himself in the switch research room, frustrated with his inability to scream in Gentarou's face.
Yuki catches him exiting the locker, and she snatches at his sleeve. "Gen, can I talk to you?" she asks, and Gentarou can't say no.
They walk to the rooftop, and it's eerie how Yuki's quietly walking beside him. When they get there, she cuts straight to the point, characteristic cheer all gone. "Something's wrong with Kengo, right," she says. Something hurts in Gentarou's chest when he hears her, because this isn't the Yuki he knows, all soft and serious and sad.
"He should be the one telling you," Gentarou says, and can't help adding, "He didn't want you to worry," even as the words ring hollow.
"His voice isn't coming back," Yuki says. "I'm not stupid. You and Ryusei, you've been looking out for him. What's wrong with Kengo?" Her voice rises on the last word, and Gentarou tells.
"Can't the Medigun switch help?" she asks at the end, and Gentarou shakes his head. Yuki wipes at her face, and says, "I want to help, Gen. Just...how?"
"Kengo's not going to be happy if he finds out I told you," Gentarou says, and after a few seconds she nods. "Okay," she says. "Be normal. Act...normal."
"You can do it, Yuki," Gentarou tells her, but the smile she gives him is altogether too false to believe.
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"I have been looking into your request," Tachibana says. Gentarou is still unnerved at the way Tachibana floats across and up and down the screen, but he tries to focus.
"You know about how switches work, right? They're fueled by cosmic energy. Or rather, they convert cosmic energy into something we can use in daily life. It was Utahoshi's hope that the switches could provide Earth with a new source of limitless energy, eighteen years ago."
(Inside the switch research room Kengo types new commands into the computer to calibrate the Beat switch, and rubs his eyes in exhaustion. His throat feels dry, and he turns to grab the bottle of water on the table.)
"All the switches you used actually came from a prototype switch, which is known as the Core Switch."
"Okay. So...what about it?"
Tachibana's mask hisses as though he's taking a breath, or maybe he's sighing. "The Core Switch is pure energy. It formed the base for all the switches. Thus, whenever a new switch was created, energy was drawn from the Core switch to first power it up."
(Kengo's taking large gulps of water when he notices that the hum of computers have faded, and that's when panic strikes. He remembers to cap the bottle but barely, and gets up from his chair. Gentarou's outside the room, he's sure of it.)
"But even the Core switch's energy isn't unlimited. Remember the SOLU? It's brilliant, concentrated energy, but once it's expended, it's gone. So it is with the Core switch."
"What has this got to do with Kengo?"
(And then he realizes that it's not just his hearing that's gone. The world is fading at the edges, and it forces him to move quickly, nearly slamming into the door while it slowly hisses open. He sees Gentarou turn, and it's pure instinct to try and shout, even though nothing comes out.
And everything's weakening. He feels it in his body, his legs can't hold him up and he's scared, he's scared.
He's terrified.)
"His symptoms are a manifestation of molecular breakdown due to energy loss," Tachibana says, but Gentarou is already not listening. He sees Kengo leaning heavily against the doorway, his gaze unfocused and his face white with fear.
"Kengo?"
"When there is no more energy left, the host structure collapses."
Gentarou watches, frozen, as Kengo turns brilliantly white for a single moment. He has to close his eyes, and then he hears the clatter of an object dropping.
When he opens his eyes, the Core switch lies on the floor.
It starts small and unnoticeable.
It's late summer in Japan, and the new school term is just beginning. The cherry blossoms have been replaced by the gardenias, out in full bloom, large and white and so strongly scented that Gentarou sneezes in response when he walks into the courtyard. Yuki dances around gleefully, admiring the blossoms. "Don't they smell wonderful?" she enthuses, and Gentarou can't help but join in amidst the sneezing. Beside them, Kengo looks about passively, hands tucked into his pockets.
"What smells wonderful?" he inquires, and both Yuki and Gentarou whip their heads about. "The gardenias!" Yuki gestures wildly at the flowers adorning the shrubs, but Kengo just gazes at them, a quizzical look on his face. "I don't smell anything."
At that, Gentarou reaches over and pinches his nose. "Having a cold?" he teases, and Kengo flails out. "Stop that!"
They forget about that incident quickly, brushing it off as if it was just something weird for that one day. Kengo thinks nothing of his gradual loss of smell, certain that it'll come back sooner or later, and concentrates on helping Gentarou fight.
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It's lunchtime, and Gentarou watches as Kengo pours about half a bottle of soy into his soup. "Hey," he says, "isn't that too much?" Yuki and Tomoko both pause in their eating, glancing over while Kengo looks up, mild irritation on his face.
"It's just a bit bland, that's all," Kengo says, but then he slouches over, a worried line creasing his forehead. Yuki helps herself to a small spoonful out of curiosity, and makes a face. "It's too much, Kengo!" she exclaims, and Gentarou gets up to buy another bowl, brushing aside Kengo's protests and efforts to pay and putting it in front of him. "Go on," Gentarou urges, and Kengo picks up his chopsticks.
Gentarou starts paying more attention from then on, although Kengo never tries to add any more condiments, almost as though he knew he had been caught. There is no more pleasure in Kengo's face when he eats, just a slow methodical chew and swallow, but Gentarou can't bring himself to ask what's happening to him.
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The glass flask shatters against the table where he drops it accidentally, a sudden loss of feeling in his fingers. He huffs a sigh of irritation before looking around for a rag to wipe up the mess and to clean up the broken shards. The experiment's ruined, Kengo thinks, even though he's certain of the results, it feels better to have it quantified. He's in the midst of cleaning up when Gentarou snags his wrist roughly, and Kengo's opening his mouth to protest at the manhandling when Gentarou nearly shouts at him. "You idiot!"
Kengo sputters in confusion at the sudden vitriol when Gentarou turns his hand over and then he sees his skin reddened and peeling, burned from the hydrochloric acid that had apparently splashed on his skin. Gentarou pulls him to the sink, still ranting and yelling at the teacher to inform the school nurse while he runs cold water over Kengo's nerveless hand. "Didn't you realize that your hand was burned?" he says. Kengo flexes his fingers, and feels nothing but the dull pressure of Gentarou's grip on his wrist.
"Of course I did-" he starts to say, but Yuki comes over, all flustered and concerned with Ryusei strolling behind her, and he has to calm her down instead.
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The rest of the club swarms over him when club hours begin, and he's secretly grateful for their concern even if he doesn't show it. Shun offers to get him a doctor, Miu clucks her tongue at Kengo's carelessness, and Tomoko cheerfully presents Kengo with three different types of homemade salve, each blessed by a different god. They smell rather strange and Kengo isn't quite inclined to actually use them, but he takes them anyway because it's better to have Tomoko happy instead of sullen. Yuki's gotten over her initial panic, although she still hovers over him, chewing her bottom lip worriedly.
"I'll be fine, really," he tells her. JK chimes in from his corner, "Yeah, Kengo-senpai hasn't had his headaches for a while now, right? It's just an accident, it'll heal." Kengo gives her a reassuring smile as if to agree with JK, and says, "I just need your help with school notes, since, you know." He waves his hand, and it finally brings out her smile and enthusiastic nodding. Across the room, Ryusei calls out, "You can share my notes too, Kengo," and that fills him with relief, because as earnest as she is, Yuki isn't really the best note-taker in the world.
He feels the tension drain when the club finally clears out for the day though. Yuki had wanted to leave with him, but he gently waves her off, citing that he wanted to check Gentarou's switches. That makes him realize that Gentarou hadn't really been around, not after dragging him to the nurse's office to get his injury seen to, and it feels strange.
Kengo flexes his hand again, picking irritably at the bandage the nurse had swathed him in. It's bad enough that he had somehow burned himself without noticing, but to have it be his right hand, he can't help but be frustrated. But it truly doesn't hurt, and he knows it's stupid, but he starts unwrapping the bandage, because it can't be that bad if it didn't hurt, right?
"What are you doing?"
He jerks in surprise, hand hitting the edge of the table as he turns around to see Gentarou striding towards him. Kengo tries to pull back when Gentarou grabs his arm, and gets a glare for his efforts while Gentarou re-secures the bandage. "That's stupid of you," Gentarou says. He doesn't let go when he's done, though, and when Kengo resumes tugging Gentarou seems to take it as a cue to sit uncomfortably close, straddling the bench and still holding his hand. Distantly, Kengo notes that he still can't feel anything, and when did that start?
"Naa, Kengo," Gentarou says, "What's really going on?"
"Nothing," Kengo answers, "let me go, Kisaragi."
He doesn't want to look at Gentarou suddenly. Gentarou's sincerity is comforting at best and stifling at worst, and in the silence of the hatch Kengo feels trapped and vulnerable. He sees more than feel Gentarou raise his free hand to his shoulder, and then it's just a weight there, no warmth, and the false ignorance that Kengo had tried to delude himself with for so long shatters.
"That burn's going to leave a scar, you know," Gentarou says, and Kengo mutters, "It doesn't matter."
"What?" Gentarou asks, and Kengo continues.
"I don't feel pain," he says, "And nothing feels cold, or hot anymore. I...can't smell anything, or taste anything for a while now." He sucks in a breath, but he doesn't even smell Gentarou. He never realizes everyone has a scent, or maybe he's just pushed it away. "Something...I think I'm losing my senses."
Gentarou is soft, hushed when he asks, "What are you saying, Kengo," and it makes Kengo want to scream, except screaming won't help. He lurches forward, suddenly desperate for touch when he's always shunned it. Instead, all he gets is dulled and numbed, even though Gentarou's got an arm around him, pressing him close, and all he hears is the beating of Gentarou's heart. It's all he has left, apart from his sight, and even those Kengo fears will eventually be taken away.
"Kisaragi...I'm scared."
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Kengo goes on medical leave for two days before Yuki talks to Gentarou about visiting him at home and passing on homework. "Kengo seems pretty tired lately, huh," she says, and Gentarou swallows the uneasy feeling with a smile. Kengo had been working on calibrating the switches with a feverish passion, as though he's on a unknown time limit that's surely running out. Gentarou's learned that it's better to leave him to it, although he doesn't let up on Kengo getting enough rest, which makes for a pretty terse situation nearly all the time in the hatch, even without the help of the Horoscopes.
He mails Kengo a message about dropping by after school with Yuki, and is surprised when he gets a near-instant response. Don't let Yuki come, it says, and Gentarou frowns. He hasn't actually brought up that issue with Kengo yet, telling Yuki about his condition. Gnetarou suspects that it'll be a lot of yelling and protestations about "making Yuki needlessly worried", which is kind of a moot point given how much Yuki worries over Kengo's health everyday. But he acquieses anyway, sending another mail to Miu to ask her to distract Yuki for the day.
Why do you need Yuki to be away for, Miu mails back, nosy as ever and Gentarou really, really doesn't want to deal with two delicate situations. It's about Kengo. Keep her busy, he replies, and then after a thought, adds, Please.
Predictably Yuki starts to worry about missing out on the trip to Kengo's house by around lunchtime because she doesn't want to disappoint Miu, and Gentarou manages to calm her down by the time the school bells ring for the last time that day. "He'll probably be back tomorrow," he reassures her, and she wrings her hands before she allows herself to be ferried away in Shun's car for a shopping trip.
Gentarou is actually sort of looking forward to visiting Kengo, if only to see what his mother is like. Ryusei somehow manages to tag along, but Gentarou isn't worried, because Ryusei could keep a secret if he needed. Ryusei loves to talk about his friend Jirou and wushu, mostly Jirou, Gentarou discovers, and it makes the trip easy and quick.
Kengo's mother seems pleased that Kengo has other friends besides Yuki, and quickly welcomes them in. It's a small apartment, and Kengo looks up from his book on the couch. His eyes widen when he sees Ryusei troop in behind Gentarou, but he doesn't look displeased at least. Gentarou checks him over once; he can't tell if Kengo's gotten thinner or he just looks small in his oversized jumper and sweat pants. "Yo," Gentarou says. Kengo just gives a small, answering nod and somehow that sets off alarms in his head.
"Oh, Kengo's lost his voice," his mother says. She places hot milo and biscuits on the coffee table, and gestures for them to sit. "I sent him to the doctor but she just says there's nothing really wrong, maybe he needs rest. There's no cough or cold, so I think he can go back to school tomorrow." She gives them all a bright smile, but there's an edge to it. Gentarou thanks her for the information and tries to reassure her that it'll probably pass. Kengo's already turned back to his book, but Gentarou can't miss the whiteness of his knuckles.
Eventually Kengo's mother shoos them to Kengo's room, saying that she wants to watch her afternoon shows and that, "it's fine, you would prefer talking more freely behind a closed door. Help him with his homework, won't you?"
Kengo heads straight for a notepad when they get to his room, scribbling on it and thrusting it at Gentarou. Thanks for not bringing Yuki, it says, and then, Just tell her that I've got a cold and I lost my voice.
"That's not going to hold out for very long," Gentarou says reasonably, and Kengo tears the paper, crumpling it viciously. It'll have to do, Kengo writes. I'm working on a voice modulator now, I just need to get into the hatch to calibrate a switch for it. I might ask Yuki for a design idea, think it'll distract her for a bit?
"You have to tell her," Gentarou says, just a little louder, and he's forgotten that Ryusei's there until he interjects, "tell who?" in a confused tone. Kengo's biting his lip, and then he scribbles, It'll worry her.
"She's worried already!" Gentarou says, and Ryusei hisses, "Who's she?" Gentarou retorts, "Yuki!" in frustration, although it's mostly aimed at Kengo.
"Woah woah," Ryusei says, "I think you guys need to tell me first what's happening."
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"When did this start?" Ryusei says once Gentarou explains everything and after Kengo gives a very tense nod in reluctant approval. They've opted to sit down, but Kengo's curled up on himself, sullen and silent. Ryusei doesn't miss the way Gentarou sort of sneaks up on him, taking a hand and rubbing it with his thumb. Kengo may have said that he's lost his sense of touch, but his hand clasps around Gentarou's anyway.
"Maa," Gentarou says when Kengo doesn't make a move to write anything. "He lost his sense of touch....about three weeks ago? Or maybe longer than that, I only found out when he had that accident in Chemistry. Taste...that's way back in July." He glances at Kengo as he talks, looking for confirmation. "I can't remember when he lost his sense of smell," and Kengo finally moves, a small shrug of shoulders that could mean I don't know or I don't remember too.
"Do you think it might have been an attack by the Horoscopes?" Ryusei asks. Gentarou makes a face, and says thoughtfully, "Tomoko would say. She's never been wrong. But she didn't sense anything about Kengo."
"Couldn't hurt to ask Tachibana-san," Ryusei says, and he ends the conversation by excusing himself, he needs to borrow Kengo's bathroom for a bit. Ryusei isn't surprised to find Kengo's mother sitting ramrod straight on the couch in the living room, her eyes looking forward at the television but not seeing. "It's good that he has friends," she says, and he has to admire her strength.
The door's still ajar when he returns, but he just stays outside, unwilling to go in. Through the gap he sees that Gentarou's somehow gotten himself wrapped around Kengo, long lanky legs curling the other boy close. There's a fist in Gentarou's shirt, uselessly thumping and Ryusei's uncomfortably aware that Kengo's crying, even as his mouth works noiselessly. Gentarou's voice is a low baritone, saying, "I'm sorry," over and over.
It's a little cold, Ryusei knows, to feel relieved that he and Jirou are past this. But it's still an awful place to be in, and he stays quietly away.
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Yuki immediately fusses over Kengo when he returns, while JK commiserates with him about the loss of voice. "It must be a really bad cold, huh?" he says, and Kengo just gives him a wry look before placating Yuki with his schematics for a new foodroid. It works because she starts chattering excitedly about using the McDonalds' apple pie for a base design, and Kengo's content to let her talk for the two of them.
He knows that Gentarou is watching them, waiting. Kengo doesn't want to relieve the one-sided argument they had, even though he knows Gentarou is right. He just wants everything to be as normal for as long as possible, and if it means deluding Yuki just to keep from hurting her even more, then it's okay. Besides, he has Gentarou, and now Ryusei to share the burden, and between the three of them, Kengo thinks it's more than enough.
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It's rare for him nowadays to leave Kengo alone, because they don't know when the next sensory loss will strike and Kengo's terrified that it'll be his sight. Still, having Ryusei in the know makes it easier on Gentarou, and sometimes Ryusei handles Kengo even better than him. Now is one of those times, where Kengo had been crankier than usual and shut himself in the switch research room, frustrated with his inability to scream in Gentarou's face.
Yuki catches him exiting the locker, and she snatches at his sleeve. "Gen, can I talk to you?" she asks, and Gentarou can't say no.
They walk to the rooftop, and it's eerie how Yuki's quietly walking beside him. When they get there, she cuts straight to the point, characteristic cheer all gone. "Something's wrong with Kengo, right," she says. Something hurts in Gentarou's chest when he hears her, because this isn't the Yuki he knows, all soft and serious and sad.
"He should be the one telling you," Gentarou says, and can't help adding, "He didn't want you to worry," even as the words ring hollow.
"His voice isn't coming back," Yuki says. "I'm not stupid. You and Ryusei, you've been looking out for him. What's wrong with Kengo?" Her voice rises on the last word, and Gentarou tells.
"Can't the Medigun switch help?" she asks at the end, and Gentarou shakes his head. Yuki wipes at her face, and says, "I want to help, Gen. Just...how?"
"Kengo's not going to be happy if he finds out I told you," Gentarou says, and after a few seconds she nods. "Okay," she says. "Be normal. Act...normal."
"You can do it, Yuki," Gentarou tells her, but the smile she gives him is altogether too false to believe.
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"I have been looking into your request," Tachibana says. Gentarou is still unnerved at the way Tachibana floats across and up and down the screen, but he tries to focus.
"You know about how switches work, right? They're fueled by cosmic energy. Or rather, they convert cosmic energy into something we can use in daily life. It was Utahoshi's hope that the switches could provide Earth with a new source of limitless energy, eighteen years ago."
(Inside the switch research room Kengo types new commands into the computer to calibrate the Beat switch, and rubs his eyes in exhaustion. His throat feels dry, and he turns to grab the bottle of water on the table.)
"All the switches you used actually came from a prototype switch, which is known as the Core Switch."
"Okay. So...what about it?"
Tachibana's mask hisses as though he's taking a breath, or maybe he's sighing. "The Core Switch is pure energy. It formed the base for all the switches. Thus, whenever a new switch was created, energy was drawn from the Core switch to first power it up."
(Kengo's taking large gulps of water when he notices that the hum of computers have faded, and that's when panic strikes. He remembers to cap the bottle but barely, and gets up from his chair. Gentarou's outside the room, he's sure of it.)
"But even the Core switch's energy isn't unlimited. Remember the SOLU? It's brilliant, concentrated energy, but once it's expended, it's gone. So it is with the Core switch."
"What has this got to do with Kengo?"
(And then he realizes that it's not just his hearing that's gone. The world is fading at the edges, and it forces him to move quickly, nearly slamming into the door while it slowly hisses open. He sees Gentarou turn, and it's pure instinct to try and shout, even though nothing comes out.
And everything's weakening. He feels it in his body, his legs can't hold him up and he's scared, he's scared.
He's terrified.)
"His symptoms are a manifestation of molecular breakdown due to energy loss," Tachibana says, but Gentarou is already not listening. He sees Kengo leaning heavily against the doorway, his gaze unfocused and his face white with fear.
"Kengo?"
"When there is no more energy left, the host structure collapses."
Gentarou watches, frozen, as Kengo turns brilliantly white for a single moment. He has to close his eyes, and then he hears the clatter of an object dropping.
When he opens his eyes, the Core switch lies on the floor.