musubi | fourteenth breath ✧ voice

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luceti

fourteenth breath ✧ voice

[filtered from Sanji, though he's still not sure if he has the right idea]

Hey, uh... I don't suppose anyone's heard from Naoki since yesterday?

[Pause...]

Not that there's... probably any need to worry or anything. You know him - hanging out in the woods all the time... I bet he's hearing this right now.

Just, uh. You know. Let me know or something.

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I'd carry you up or something, you know... but we'd probably just end up falling back down them again.

[And there they are now. Come along, Naoki, we can do this.]

No, I getcha...m'too heavy for you to carry, anyway.

[Fuck stairs. Seriously. He moves his bad arm to the rail, clutching at it while still holding on to his shoulder with his other hand.]

[Grumble.] Think I'm that much of a weakling? Bet I could do it.

[Not right now, but if he was at his best...] Just keep walking.

[A soft, somewhat tired noise of amusement.] 'Kay, you gotta carry me next time we go up these, then.

[Even with healing, it's hard to climb five flights, and by the time they reach the top, Naoki feels woozy from pain and like he's going to fall over. He has to stop and press his head against the wall until the floor quits lurching.]

[Isamu stops with him, one hand on the wall and the other supporting his friend. He's feeling light-headed himself, but he can handle that.]

Almost there. Just tell me when you're ready. You can have the sofa if you want.

[Naoki takes a minute or two before exhaling shakily and opening his eyes.] Okay. [A glance over and a nod.] Mm.

[There are so many questions he wants to ask right now, but at the moment he'll settle for leading Naoki inside and helping him to the sofa]

There anything else you need me to heal now that we're up here? [That gentle, concerned tone? He will very much deny it having come from him later.]

[Naoki sinks down wearily on the sofa, eyes half-closing in exhaustion, and it's a struggle to keep them open.]

Mm, it's okay. Nothing that can't wait. [He closes his eyes.] I'll tell you everything that happened when I wake up...okay?

All right. [Isamu tries and fails to sound irritated.] You better.

[He sits down against the sofa himself, feeling that his bedroom is too far away. He's not entirely sure why he feels the need to stay close for now, nor how he'll dismiss the matter later, but for now he's staying.]

[Naoki can't push back the small, grateful smile, glad he's not going anywhere. But he's quick to give in to exhaustion and lets himself fall into the first sleep he's had for days.

When he opens his eyes again, he can see dark night sky through the window and muzzily sighs and shifts to get more comfortable, wincing when he rolls on a bruise. He mutters something unintelligible under his breath and slowly sits up on the couch, rubbing at his eyes with his fists.]

[He might hear Isamu moving about in the other room, then. His roommate will be coming back shortly with a bowl of soup, which he sits on the coffee table.]

Ah. Good. Now it won't get too cold.

[Naoki blinks sleepily, lowers his hands from his eyes and turns so he can draw the bowl across the table, closer to him.]

Ah, thanks. [Beginning to eat as he thinks how to start explaining.]

How are you feeling? [He tries to judge from the current glow of Naoki's markings.]

[That red's dimmed to a greenish-yellow by now, and Naoki glances up at his face.] A lot better. [He drains the bowl in record time, gulping.]

Alright, so, this-- [Pause.] First of all...it wasn't Sanji, not really.

[He hadn't expected to get any answers right away, but he listens anyway, taking the bowl back from his friend.]

Not really?

[Naoki hesitates, curling a hand slightly.]

His body was being controlled. By a parasite...last time he came back from the Malnosso--a little bit after me, remember--he was being affected by something that made him follow any commands given to him.

Nami said Ginko-san figured that it had more than one purpose, and this was another one. It was getting him to try and attack and kill anyone close to him. [He glances up.] Like me. [And, lower.] A kind of...survival instinct, because we'd figure out something was up with him.

Edited 2010-07-24 20:36 (UTC)

[A parasite? It had been in him that long and they hadn't noticed? That meant it had been in him when he'd helped him practice shielding before... He frowns.]

And you knew this? The other morning when you left?

[Naoki nods a bit, looking over at him.]

When he called me to go to the plains, I figured it was going to try to kill me...

So you just... tell me not to go after you?! [No, he's nowhere near a match for Sanji, but this upsets him all the same.]

[He hesitates, but looks at him steadily all the same.] I didn't know what was going to happen. If you'd come looking for me, it would've caught you and...I don't know what would've happened. [No. He's got a good idea of what would've, actually.]

But it's okay if you go out and risk your life like that? If you knew something was wrong with him, you should've gotten more people. Ambushed him or something.

He was paranoid as it was, it wouldn't have worked if we'd tried to lure him someplace...

[He shakes his head.] The whole thing with this was to give us an edge. We tricked it into thinking it succeeded and then caught it off guard by attacking later on.

And what if he had succeeded?

[Quietly.] He wouldn't have.

Yeah, that's so easy for you to just say.

[Isamu has both fists clenched tightly in his lap now. Dammit, he'd been worried out of his mind!]

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