RP Log: Kamio, Ryoma, (Niou)

[perfect_synch]

Date: Today (Friday, Feb. 9)
Rating: Just a bit of language
Summary: Hanamura calls in a favor from Kamio, asking him to let Ryoma synch him and burn the rest of the drugs out of his system.

Note: OMG I hope I didn't kill Niou's personality. Please don't hurt me Bucky. :D;;; Um, to all, if Niou's a little weird, it's because I was writing him. ^^; I guess it'd be best to say that Momo was probably asked to leave, since having too many mutants in the room would be bad, just in case, and he's been in there the entire time with Niou helping to keep Ryoma company otherwise. :x



Getting in was easy.

Stupidly easy. If anyone even noticed the unfamiliar man walking down the halls, they barely spared him half a glance. Not that there was much about him that stood out as…different. The suit he wore was simple black, the jacket open and covering a dark grey shirt and a satiny black tie. His coat was flipped over one arm and his shoes were polished, the heels making crisp clicks as he walked quickly down the hall.

Even the stethoscope around his neck didn't strike anyone as fairly odd.

It had taken only a few seconds and a stop by the reception desk to confirm the information he'd been given. Not that he didn't trust the woman who'd given it to him -- okay, well. He trusted her to a limited extent, but he knew her source and he didn't trust that woman. But the information checked and his "patient" was indeed located on his current floor. Another turn down the hall, and he found himself coming up to the very room he sought. The name "Echizen" was written on the white markerboard next to the door.

He didn't bother knocking, just grabbed the handle and slipped inside, glancing from white hair to a black head. The smirk on his lips grew a fraction as he closed the door and leaned on it. Crossing arms over his chest, he let his eyes rest on the thin, almost frail looking teen he'd come to see. "Are you done being crazy yet?"

Ryoma blinked heavy eyelids and looked slowly up at the new person who'd just come into the room. Only Momo never knocked, but this wasn’t Momo. Ryoma had been asked plenty of questions before, and even the same ones multiple times. He didn't think he'd been asked that one before. Was there a time limit? Was the buzzer about to go off? Frowning, he studied this new person, but he was nothing special; out of the corner of his eye, Niou had shifted a bit, and was eyeing the visitor with something between suspicion and amusement. Did that mean they weren't bad? He had a stethoscope, though - they'd used those on him a few times and they were cold, he was always cold, he didn't want to be cold anymore. He was already sore and his head hurt and the room was never stable and his toes were icy. He opened his mouth to speak but Niou got there first.

"No," was Niou's answer, "But you're here to help with that, yeah?" Ryoma glanced between the new visitor and the phaser. Did they know each other? Was this one really going to do something? Ryoma pointed to the IV in his arm, the clear fluid not what he wanted. Maybe if he told them again, maybe they'd understand this time and give him what he wanted. He needed more, and the doctors had it somewhere. "I want the right stuff. This's still wrong."

Kamio's eyes didn't leave the dark-haired teen, watching the slow blinks and dazed stare with an impassive look. They both looked bad, though. Tired and thin…hell. Kamio looked lean and healthy by comparison to the mutant in the hospital bed. He'd known the kid was messed up -- hadn't even needed to talk to Hanamura herself to figure that one out. A few hours of poking at the chibi over the journals had been more than enough proof that the government idiots had worked him over.

He wanted to know how, but that was a concern for another time.

Right now, Kamio lifted one hand and punched the key sequence that turned off the holographic program of the image inducer. It flickered, black hair going red and his face returning to his own. The stethoscope even vanished, though the suit and coat were his own. The latter, he dropped over the nearest chair. "Yeah, I might be able to do something about the shit in his system. The crazies are your problem though," he informed Niou. Stepping further into the room, Kamio pushed up the other sleeve of his jacket and exposed the device around his other wrist. It took another key sequence before the lock snapped open and the hinges relaxed.

Even as it turned off and fell away, Kamio felt the first surge of his power. It wasn't much -- he'd worn himself down pretty far before sliding into the car that had brought him to the hospital -- but enough to make the redhead draw a breath through his teeth. "How 'bout I give you something better, chibi?" he offered a moment later, a sly smile on his lips. "Something that will really kick you in the ass."

But…first things first. Kamio's walking pace increased, going from one side of the bed to where Niou sat. "Put this on." The dampener was held out, the cant of Kamio's head broking no room for arguments. Not right now. Hospitals were not his favorite place, and doctors ranked low on the list of people he would put up with for an extended period of time. Lower than Niou, even.

Suddenly the doctor wasn't a doctor anymore - both to Ryoma's relief (he still hated doctors) and dismay (this person didn't look like he could give him what he wanted either). Shorter, and thinner than the man had been, with red hair and sharp eyes, Ryoma... thought he knew this person. Maybe a long time ago, he'd known him. It was hard to keep who he knew and didn't know separate, especially from a long time ago.

But he didn't care - this person was offering something better. Better? What could be better? "Can you?" he asked - he wasn't sure if he was excited or skeptical. Maybe nothing was better. But what if it was? He hurt so badly that maybe the promise was enough.

He watched as the redhead (he was faster now, swifter, the air moved less when he did, brushing across Ryoma's skin and prickling) took something off his wrist and gave it to Niou. Niou looked at it a moment, but did as he was told; a moment later, a strange look passed across his face and he paled - he didn't like something, didn't look so good - Ryoma wanted to ask what was wrong, but Niou didn't look like he wanted to answer any questions. But what didn't he like? Nonetheless, Niou remained standing, coming over to the side of Ryoma's bed now and leaning against it a little. Like he needed to but didn't want to. Ryoma shifted uncomfortably - the air around Niou felt warm. He felt warm. He wasn't supposed to be warm. He looked back to the stranger, wondering what was next. "What about better? What's wrong with Niou?"

Niou let out a soft chuckle, nudging Ryoma's shoulder a bit. "Wouldn't wanna k.o. you again, Ryo-chan," was all he said.

Kamio studied Niou as he snapped the dampener around his wrist, looking a bit disconcerted when the device shut down his powers. Kamio knew how he felt. Not that the redhead was concerned; the look on Niou's face confirmed that the dampener had done its job, and despite shutting down his power, it was harmless.

The speed mutant had gotten used to the shift from having his power to not. And loathe as he was to admitting it, not having his power for limited periods of time was useful. Now, for example, when they only wanted Echizen to sync with one person -- him. He wasn't sure what syncing both of them would do to the teen laying in the hospital bed, but he doubted it would be good or helpful to his current condition. "Niou'll be fine. It's not going to hurt him." Much, Kamio added mentally.

Now…Ryoma. Kamio couldn't promise what they were about to do wouldn't hurt him in some way.

Which was why sharp blue eyes were scanning the edge of the bed, falling on the velcro cuffs about half way down, and a matching set near the bottom. Perfect, he decided. No sense having a hyper-active chibi running loose around the hospital. That would cause attention that Kamio wanted to avoid.

"Better will come soon enough," he told the younger mutant. "But if you want better, you're going to have to do what I tell you for a few minutes." Taking hold of one of the cuffs, he motioned for Niou to do the same.

Ryoma wasn't sure he trusted this person, but Niou (for all that he looked a little unsteady on his feet) wasn't alarmed, so things must be okay... right? He didn't know what had happened, or why Niou was warm and tired, so he settled for frowning until the newcomer fingered one of the cuffs strapped to the frame of the bed. Then the frown turned into utter despair. He didn't want to use those again -

"No! No - I'll be good, I won't... I won't..." Niou, looking somewhat less amused but still resolute, had nodded after a moment of silence and taken hold of the other strap, pulling it tight around Ryoma's right wrist, fingertips warm and this was wrong. Ryoma stared at both of them in horror - he'd behaved, he hadn't kicked anyone else, he hadn't punched anyone else, and he hadn't screamed in two whole days. At least. He thought it had been that long. Right? It had been a long time - he was too tired to punch or kick anymore. He'd be good...

Kamio tightened the strap around the teenager's left wrist, eyes flitting to him for a brief moment. Scared of out of his wits already? Great…but almost expected. Kamio had doubted that he'd take being tied down well. But it was necessary.

And at least this time, no one was being given an injection.

"Just take it easy, chibi," he murmured instead, going down to the end of the bed and fastening the straps there around too-thin ankles. "You haven't done anything. 's only a precaution to keep you from hurting yourself." Not that anything he said was going to calm down Echizen. The kid wasn't all there, and it would probably get worse before he got better. Satisfied, though, that the teen wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon, Kamio returned his attention to Niou.

"Hanamura left you the key to that damn thing, yeah?" He motioned to the collar.

Ryoma watched dejectedly as the straps were fastened around his ankles as well, effectively pinning him to the bed. He could stay sitting up, at least, but he couldn’t move arms or legs and he didn't know why they were doing this to him, he'd behave, really he would... They said it was to keep him from hurting himself, but he already hurt. They were too late for that, weren't they?

"Yeah," Niou said in response to the redhead's question. Key? He had the key? Why hadn't he let Ryoma out - maybe Ryoma should've kept asking, he'd finally stopped because no one would listen to him anymore but that didn't make sense when they had the key -

"Here." Niou tilted Ryoma's head to the side gently with his too-warm hands, pulling something out of his pocket and sliding the thin keycard through the lock on the collar as one hand briefly stroked under Ryoma's chin once, calming but Ryoma was still worried. There was a click, and as the collar slid off his neck Ryoma started as the silhouette of the redhead beside him exploded in a burst of color (but Niou didn't, what?) and immediately he wanted to run. Run away. He was frightened - his heart was pounding, his head was fuzzy and he was dizzy, he couldn't stop moving or twitching and he needed to run but he couldn't see straight -

His eyes darted around the room, chest heaving even as he slumped against the mass that was Niou, his head still pounding. "MakeitstopIneedtoleavenowletmeGO."

Kamio stepped back as Niou unfastened the collar and fixed his eyes on the skinny teen in the bed. On one hand, this would indeed burn the crap from his system. Kamio knew better than anyone how his power processed drugs. Even when Banji had been giving him pills to sleep, they'd only lasted a couple of hours -- not the full night that they'd been meant to. And that was at an extremely high dosage.

So, the idea that his power would -- in theory -- burn out the rest of the drugs from Echizen's system wasn't inconceivable.

It was just going to make the other mutant very uncomfortable.

And his powers kicked into the other's system immediately after the collar snapped off. He watched mutely as Echizen's eyes widened, his breathing rapid. Kamio pursued his lips. He had been expecting the other to pick up his powers immediately -- but not for this rapid spike to surge through the other's system. His power now was slow-building; Kamio had planned on at least a few minutes before it hit him full blast.

But if this wasn't his power now then…

"Fuck," Kamio cursed under his breath, eyes narrow as he strode across the room and running his fingers down the thick vein on Echizen's neck. The other's pulse was flying…like his used to do before a certain bastard doctor had gotten a hold of him. "You're getting the way my power was."

Damn it. He hadn't expected that.

But it was all the more reason to keep the teen strapped down. So he shook his head at the other's demand. "Not yet, chibi," he answered, dropping his hand from his pulse. "You've got too much shit in your veins and it needs to come out."

"Butthere'snothingtherethat'swhyIneedmore," Ryoma complained - he didn't know about powers now or then or ever but he wasn't sure this was any better. He could breathe - but he couldn't at the same time, the air couldn't fill his lungs fast enough and the world was slow, too slow, except for the redhead. Even Niou's reassuring mass next to him was reacting so slowly against the skin of his shoulder, one hand just now creeping up to close over his, though it was still bound to the bed. But Ryoma couldn't do anything but sit there - they'd made sure of that - and after... who knew how long, time was warped, space was going to start following it, Ryoma was afraid - he could pull himself back up into a sitting position, at least, not leaning against the too-warm figure of Niou. His eyes still seemed unable to rest on any one part of the room, and his legs didn't want to stay still and his stomach told him he had to run, to leave, run away and never stop.

"Why're you the only one here?" he asked (he tried more slowly, pushing the words out one at a time) of the stranger - it felt like it in more ways than one: Niou wasn't moving fast enough, he didn't feel cool enough, he was only here in body, better than when he'd gone away but not by much. He was still cut off from Ryoma, but the person in front of him was here, real; he wasn't the only one though, now - there were others, only a few, but they were far away and Ryoma couldn't see them, but he could feel their colors leaking into the back of his mind. They brought with them a torrent of feelings - dim, confusing, but he knew that Niou was worried and suspicious and a little relieved, and the redhead was reluctant and confused and annoyed.

"No, it's still there," Kamio corrected, drawing a breath and counting softly in his own head as he let it out. Patience was still not his thing, but his temper didn't flare at every little thing anymore -- not even crazy chibis, go figure. Part of it was the drop in adrenaline in his system, he knew; it took less for him to move at his normal speed and he didn't feel so constantly on edge. He could wear down easier, rest for longer periods of time -- and while there were some distinct disadvantages (and he still wanted to gut the bastard responsible), the trade-off wasn't bad. The rest…he suspected had more to do with dealing with a certain kitten, who tended to have his own fits of childishness and confusion due to powers he couldn't control.

"You need more because the crap they gave you is still in your system, and it's making you crave more of it. When it's gone, you won't want anymore. You won't need it." It was the most rationale way the redhead could explain it to other, since he didn't know much about addiction himself.

It had never been a concern for him.

The redhead could keep up easily with Echizen's words, but as the other forced himself to enunciate each one, he couldn't help but smirk. Yeah, he knew what a pain in the ass that was; he hadn't been able to talk clearly for months after his power showed up. "I'm not the only one…" Kamio started to answer, then flipped his gaze to the device around Niou's wrist. "You mean the colors, right? I'm the only one here because you can't see his colors, yeah?"

Well, if he'd ever wanted concrete proof that Banji's little modification of the control collars worked they way they'd presumed, he had it now.

"He's got his powers blocked so you don't sync him too, kid," Kamio explained. "My metabolism and his in your body would probably not be a good mix."

Ryoma frowned - it was still there? But it wasn't, that was why he needed a refill, he was empty, sliding away... But it was making him want more? True, he didn't know why he wanted more of the shots he'd gotten every day since the doctors had showed up. He just did. But this would stop him from wanting more? He didn't know how... but... that would be good, right? Niou and Momo always looked so... sad, when Ryoma asked for more, sadder every time he repeated it, often. He didn't know why. But if it would stop them from looking that way... maybe it was good.

But the rest of this was decidedly not, he thought, trying to settle on the bed and really ending up more twitching this way and that until he gave up, slumping over in an attempt to curb the desire to flee to someplace away from here. "Well... there's more, but Niou's still black-an'-white." He didn't like that - he hadn't felt Niou in longer than he could remember, and he wanted him back. Now he was free and Niou was chained, that must be why he was warm, his cold was masked by the metal on his wrist just the same as Ryoma's powers were held constricted by the collar on his neck. Niou had a collar too, but it had let him stay cool. Maybe the bracelet was different.

He sighed, annoyed, twitchy, and unable to stop it. "The others I can't see. They're here. They tell me how you feel." It was like the game all over again. Tell the guards where they were, what they made him do, and get the collar back on. Some prize. Ryoma pouted, moving closer to Niou and leaning against his shoulder. He wouldn't tell where the others were. They needed to stay safe. He didn't want to play the game anymore.

Kamio watched the teenager twitch, his body unable to keep still. If it weren't for the concern that the drugs in Echizen's body might make him do something…unpredictable, the redhead would be tempted to let him up and allow him to move around.

It would help to take the edge off. Except, having that edge might make this go a bit faster.

Everything was a trade-off.

"The schizo's gotta stay that way for a while longer," Kamio explained, grabbing an empty chair and making himself comfortable in it a few feet from the bed. Let the kid stay as close to his boyfriend as possible; something needed to be constant to keep him grounded. "When the crap is out of your system and you're better, he won't have to keep his powers blocked. Right now, he's doing it so you don't get messed up." More, he added mentally. Then frowned.

"You can tell what I'm feeling?" Kamio's frown sharpened. "So then there's a 'path in the area? Shit," he sighed, running fingers through dark red hair. That could be a problem, if Echizen started projecting, couldn't it? His own dislike of psionic powers aside.

Still, they couldn't tell where every mutant was -- not without the kid's power, and though Kamio didn't know exactly what had happened during the past couple of months, he had his own suspicions. "Just ignore these others for now," he advised. "Try to concentrate on syncing me, not anyone else."

Schizo, schizo.... schizo meant Niou? He'd heard that before. Maybe. Possibly. Had he? Ryoma couldn't tell, couldn't remember fast enough, so he gave up, tired of thinking too fast, and closed his eyes. That only made the color dim, not go out, and that was still reassuring enough. Even if the color wasn't where he wanted it to be - not next to him, but across the room. Some was better than none. Anything was better than nothing, draining out of him...

But that was good now, right? It would help? He didn't know, he still felt empty, but everything was so twitchy it was hard to tell. "You're annoyed. You don't like telepaths... empaths... I can't hear much. It's better than nothing - it's loud in here all the time but nobody ever says anything." Now he was hearing the right things, the things he wanted to hear. Though they filtered in slowly, too slowly, he wanted more, but he couldn't have it, had to be denied, he was bad and he had to behave. He was trying.

He opened his eyes to look at the redhead again, flaring brightly against the background. "Can't choose. It's all on me, everything, one big mess all together. Can't pick one color out from the rainbow." That's why Niou was dull, now, right? Black and white didn't try to take him over. "You're fire on the outside but ice inside all the way through."

It was a good thing that Echizen couldn't hear much, because otherwise Hanamura would be. Kamio slanted his gaze towards the door, one finger tapping on the arm of the chair. "That's one way of putting it," he conceded. Though it was more like…he disliked the idea of someone being able to mess with his head, especially with the things he knew, but Kamio didn't feel like going into the details.

So long as the kid didn't pry any deeper. Some things weren't meant to be shared.

And if he couldn't choose, well…there wasn't much else to do but wait it out. "No focus right now, then," he sighed, wondering if that was the drugs or a bit of his power affecting Echizen's concentration. Could be a combination of the two, but at least the kid was almost making sense. It was better than what he'd dealt with online. Save for that last comment, which had Kamio raising an eyebrow. "I'm what?" he pressed, looking back at the teen.

"There's never a focus. Maybe I need glasses." Ryoma let out a laugh at that, too fast but it felt kind of nice, as he shifted position again, as much as he could until the straps started tugging on his wrists and ankles and he made a face. But now, cocking his head, he considered the question. Had he not heard? "Ice - you look like ice, only one color, but it doesn't match the outside," he grinned, pointing as best he could to his own hair, where it was still black and the white hadn't leeched away the color. "The others're red, but you have to be opposite." It was simple. But other people never seemed to see. They couldn't tell. He felt bad for them, until he had the collar around his neck. Then he wished he could be like them, never knowing what it was like on the outside so he wouldn't miss it as much.

Niou had pulled over a chair, resting elbows on the bed now, one hand still over Ryoma's but he was mostly watching the source of fire-and-ice in the corner, vague amusement and wariness still washing over Ryoma. A lot of time was passing - he hoped so, anyway, he couldn't find the clock, couldn't keep eyes on it long enough to read it anyway, but he was more and more restless and more and more tired with every moment, like he was feeding off the fear that wanted him to run but it was running him dry at the same time. He... had to admit, the want had been... well, it wasn't gone, but maybe it was fading. Slipping away with the rest of the things that slipped out of him when he wasn't careful to keep them inside. But he wanted that to go away, did it really matter how? He was hungry, too, and tired because of it, shifting again and looking around the room but there was no escaping it.

Ryoma shifted again. "I want to get up." Niou's hand tightened over his own, but it wasn't moving to set the strap free.

Ah, his color was ice. That was…interesting, Kamio decided, leaning to the side and resting his cheek in the curve of his palm.

Though it didn't clear up what color ice was.

Whatever it was, he was the opposite of red and one color. Fire and ice, his hair to something else. He'd worry about it later. If nothing, his lovers might be amused by this.

And at least the kid had laughed, though Kamio kept the idea that his power might be responsible to himself. It had taken months of practice to get a grip on himself and keep his mind from racing all over the place. Even when he'd thought it had it down, it didn't take much to distract him.

Kamio settled in his chair, gaze flicking from Niou's as it remained on him to the younger mutant in the room. Echizen's eyes were all over the place, scattered between whatever caught his attention at any given moment. Time passed -- drug, really, to the speed mutant. He checked his watch several times, noting that almost an hour had passed since he'd stepped into the room. He was bored, a bit of the restlessness starting to creep under his skin. Finally he stood, stretched his arms overhead and walked over to the bed. "Yeah, yeah, soon," he told the other, leaning in to look at his face. "What else do you want? Another of those shots?"

A shot? Ryoma had almost forgotten about those in the slow, tortuous eternity that was every passing second. He... didn't care so much about the shots anymore, he didn't need one now so that was okay, right? Had he wanted one before? He didn't like needles. The fewer of them, the better.

He shook his head, tugging on the strap holding his wrist in place. "No, no I don't care about that. I want out, please, I won't kick anyone. I won't... " He wanted to run away, couldn't say that he wouldn't, but breathing fast was hard, his heart was tired, pounding in his head all the time, his stomach was churning and breakfast had already gone the wrong way up into the trash can earlier. He glanced at Niou - maybe he would let Ryoma out - and though it didn't look like he was about to release the cuffs, he did look hopeful. Which went along with the small wave of hope and relief that washed up and broke at the back of Ryoma's mind.

"Maybe he's done, y'think?" Niou asked the redhead, though he was looking at Ryoma, fingers brushing at Ryoma's bangs, though they slid back into his face a moment later. Ryoma nodded - he was done. He was done being tied up.

"I won't ask for anymoreifyouletmeout," he insisted, as his legs twitched again, involuntarily, at the thought of running free. Even though he felt like he'd already run the circumference of the earth, and he'd never left the room. At least, not that he remembered. Now if only they'd take the cuffs off...

Echizen's words were fast, pleading, and his eyes darted about at a rapid pace. But Kamio recognized the effects of his own power, strange as it was to watch it from the outside. And the denial…the fact that he didn't want whatever the hell he'd been given.

The redhead nodded his agreement with Niou. "Yeah, I think so," he conceded. Not that he had any intentions of loosing the straps around the teen's limbs while they were still synced. He straightened up and fixed Echizen with his gaze as best he could. "We'll let you out, but first the collar's going to have to go back on for awhile," he explained evenly.

Ryoma's mouth opened... but nothing came out for a minute. "Wait, no, Iwantout," he insisted. Not back in. They'd just taken it off, hadn't they? And Niou had the key - why did he have to put it back on? "I won't be badIpromise," he said, looking from the redhead to Niou - Niou had the key, he couldn't lock Ryoma back up!

Niou glanced between the two of them, then shook his head slowly. "You've gotta put it back on. I said no more k.o.ing, remember?" With another glance to their visitor, Niou shifted, pulling the collar from the bedside table and slowly, so slowly, placing it around Ryoma's neck. It was hard to stay still as the cold metal brushed his skin; Ryoma pouted, and twitched, but soon enough the collar clicked closed around his throat.

The world crashed to a halt, then picked up again... slower, but slower was normal, right? Ryoma tried to think as he suddenly felt like he'd not only run around the earth, but done it twenty times faster than he comfortably could. His heart was still pounding in his head, but now it hurt, and his blood was rushing in his ears as he gasped for breath, his lungs having momentarily hitched. The room was spinning.... He slumped against Niou again, heavier this time, blinking eyelids that were a great effort to open each time.

"We'll see what we can do later," Niou murmured, one hand brushing through Ryoma’s hair, keeping him awake. "You want this back, hm? he asked, holding out the other wrist to the stranger, as Ryoma blinked tiredly on, fighting against the spinning current that seemed to permeate the room.

Kamio stepped back, frowning softly as Niou carefully snapped the collar back around Echizen's neck. To his surprise, the kid didn't thrash, or cuss, or scream, even though his eyes pleaded that it be left off. Then it was shut, and Kamio watched him slump.

Adrenaline crash. Those were never pleasant, Kamio winced.

"Yeah, I do," he said, taking hold of Niou's warm arm and turning it so he could easily key in the codes. First to shut it off, then to unlock it. It clicked and dropped into Kamio's grip. "And it's not about you being bad, chibi," he pointed out to Ryoma. "You're still in pathetic shape, even if the drug's outta your system. Doesn't seem like you have much control over your power right now, so it's better if you don't have to deal with them."

He snapped the dampener back around his own wrist and keyed in the code to turn it on, closing eyes for the brief shift from being mutant to something passably human. "He's probably going to sleep for a few hours, Schizo. Adrenaline crashes can be a bitch." Then he turned his attention to his other wrist. Another key sequence, punched slower this time, and his appearance flickered back to a simple, non-descript man. "If this hasn't cleaned out his system, tell Hanamura to contact Shiiba again. She knows were to find me."

Ryoma watched as the person in front of him changed again, from boy to man, turning back into the doctor with the cold stethoscope, picking up the coat and draping it back over his arm. He felt Niou nod, beside him, but what was more reassuring than that was the way the rise and fall of Niou's shoulders was slowly... slowing down, back to normal, back to the way they should be, because it was okay for Niou to be slow, that was how it was supposed to be. Ryoma felt slow, now, slow and heavy, and before he could think much more about it, he closed his eyes one last time and didn't open them again.

He felt Niou slip the cuffs from his wrists, and barely registered being laid down on the pillows as the exhaustion fully set in. The last thing he heard was rustling as Niou got up to release his ankles as well, and his voice as the door opened, chuckling something that sounded very much like, "Hey, Sonic. Nice suit."