(Untitled)

[lotus_bloomed]

Characters: Lotus (lotus_bloomed), OPEN
Date/Time: Mid-afternoon June 6th
Location: Dojo island
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Lotus deals with his father's death in the only way that makes sense- training.

Comments

[pimpcoatbankai]

Toushi had wanted to go and get a work out in before heading out to explore the new wilderness, and had headed over to Dojo Island with that in mind. As always, Zangetsu was strapped to his back, and he wanted to get maybe half an hour in with the dummies before getting the elevator to the Wilderness.

He hadn't expected to see a kid wearing green slumped on the ground, apparently completely exhausted and surrounded by a sea of destroyed dummies. Toushi stood and gaped for a moment, wondering just how long the kid had been going at it for, but then he caught sight of a glimpse of red on the kid's hands and tensed.

Clearly, he'd overdone it.

"O-oi!" he called, frowning. "What the hell, you've beaten yourself up as much as the damn dummies!"

[lotus_bloomed]

Lotus looked up at the shouts, but it took a moment for his vision to focus. The bright orange hair wasn't familiar, but Lotus was slowly becoming accustomed to journal-knowing and face-knowing being different things. He blinked, then looked down at his hands. His knuckles were torn, with sand worked into the cuts, and as the adrenaline wore off he could feel the sting. It was a familiar sensation, but he numbly knew that it wasn't good. Lotus fumbled with his bandages, trying to coax the fine motor movement necessary to wind them from hands that were trembling. He swallowed.

"I will be fine," he said, then tried to pull a smile into place. It was thin and fragile, out of place on Lotus' normally earnest features, and the worry showed beneath the dazed exhaustion in his eyes. He swallowed and tried to push himself to his feet. It didn't work too well, considering how badly his legs were shaking, and he sat back down. "I am sorry. I just... need a minute to rest," he said.

[pimpcoatbankai]

When the kid looked up at him, Toushi's face softened a little. The kid looked lost. Sure he was smiling, but... despite what he said to the contrary he clearly wasn't fine.

"That's bull, you're exhausted. You don't need rest, you need to get to Medical." His words weren't the gentlest, but he wandered over to him anyway and offered him his hand. "Let me take you."

His face was familiar. He couldn't quite figure out from where, but there was something about it that made- ah. He looked just like Youth; Toushi remembered the frighteningly energetic man from the Temple game and-

Suddenly it made sense. Toushi had read the news over the journals, he'd heard about Youth's death and even though he didn't really know the guy he had felt saddened by the news.

This was his kid, wasn't it? What was his name again?

Shit, Toushi thought. This isn't good. This isn't good at all.

[lotus_bloomed]

It took a moment for Lotus to take Toushi's hand, and he allowed the older teen to pull him to his feet. It was easier to stabilize with something to hold onto, though it only emphasized the sting in his knuckles and in his palms. "I will be fine," he repeated, but there was a certain thinness to the words- brittle, as if Lotus' voice was on the edge of breaking. He wasn't supposed to be fine. Not if his dad wasn't- it wasn't right. Youth was dead and it wasn't right and the last thing Lotus should be was fine.

[destinyfollowed]

Spear was feeling the pangs of boredom, but even with them nagging at her, she still didn't feel ready to visit the wilderness. All of the warnings and reports lingered in her mind, but there was a part of her that was curious

[lotus_bloomed]

Lotus looked up at the voice. It was unfamiliar, and her appearance was moreso, but Spear wasn't the most unique appearance that Lotus had seen in Edensphere. He swallowed, then made an attempt at smiling. It was mostly unsuccessful. "It is just a few scratches," he said. And probably a few broken ribs, considering, but it was nothing compared to his memory. "I will be fine."

After a moment, Lotus' slightly-dazed, long-lashed eyes focused on the splintered dummies. "I am sorry. Were you wanting to train?"

[destinyfollowed]

By now that reaction was becoming familiar; Spear didn't even blink. She did blink a lot when it came to looking the young man over. He claimed to be fine but in spite of his words, she did not think he looked fine. But she didn't press him, knowing from experience that people tend to shut down when pushed. "All right. But if you do feel the need to get some rest, you'll tell me, I hope."

Then, she shook her head. "I came here just to explore. I'm unfamiliar with this world's layout, and exploring seemed the best way to fix that." There is a brief pause, and Spear turns to one side, to look around at the training area. "Did you come here to... release your frustrations?"

[lotus_bloomed]

The boy seemed to relax slightly when she didn't press it, some of the tension in his shoulders easing. "Thank you. I will," Lotus said. "I did," he admitted quietly in reply to her question. His hands tightened on his legs, fingers digging into the slick material of his jumpsuit, and he looked down. It was easier to look down than to meet someone's eyes, with the mixture of shame and pain coiling in his chest. "It did not seem to help, though."

He wished that it had. Training was supposed to fix things, but even having driven himself to this point didn't seem to do anything to ease the ache in his heart.

[gene_driver]

Lance decided that venturing out to the Wilderness without a weapon would not be a rational idea, so he walked around the unchanged areas for future reference. Being familiar with his surroundings is important and he won't be caught off guard for not knowing what each location looked like.

However, he wasn't expecting a relatively young boy to be slumped on the ground with training dummies destroyed around him. Frowning when he noticed the blood on his hands, Lance started to walk towards him.

"Training is important, but don't push yourself beyond the point where your hands are bleeding."

[lotus_bloomed]

Lotus looked up at the voice, then glanced down at the chastisement. As the rush of the fight wore off he'd become more aware of the bruises forming underneath his jumpsuit, and the sting of split knuckles had settled into a deep, steady throb. "I do not usually train this hard," he admitted quietly. "...I thought that it would help."

[gene_driver]

"Help for what?" Lance glanced at the broken dummies for a moment before looking back down at him. "...Are you training so that you're ready to venture into the new Wilderness?" The boy seemed relatively strong...he was able to break those wooden dummies with his bare fits. Needless to say, he was somewhat impressed.

He paused for a moment before speaking again. "Let's get some medical help for your hands."

Sorry for the delay!

[lotus_bloomed]

Lotus shook his head, his gaze still fixed on the ground. "I do not think I want to go there," he murmured quietly. His father had died there, and if something there could kill Youth...

It was what Toushi and Spear had said, too, and after talking with both of them Lotus felt numb. Like some of the hard edge had been taken off. He knew it was only temporary, but he swallowed and then nodded, then stood. He was still a bit shaky on his feet, and his eyes were red-ringed and tired. "Okay."