reforged sword

Kippei looked up at the door and frowned. Vistors usually meant annoyance, in the form of official nonsense, or one of Shinji's friends. Either would be equally irritating, not that he minded per se that Shinji had friends, but he didn't quite understand Shinji's liking for some of them.

He sighed and got up, heading for the door. "You know who this is?" he asked Shinji over his shoulder, probably a dumb question. They weren't expecting anyone. Then again, Shinji should be able to hear them so he probably did know who it was. Whatever. Kippei unlocked the door and yanked it open with little grace, frowning at the mutant standing on the other side.

"Oh. It's you," he muttered, standing aside. Annoying bastard, but he was fond of Shinji in his own way, or so Shinji said, so he got points for that at least.

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Shinji curled up tighter on the bed and ignored it. Oshitari was crazy anyway and got eaten by giant spiders so what did it matter? And his head hurt like fucking crazy remembering that, and then all the things that that memory made him remember, like Yuushi's kidnapping, and his stalking...someone...and when they met and music and the violin and weird languages and it hurt. Besides, Kippei didn't wait for an answer, so Shinji didn't have to say. He just waited instead, and frowned a little at Kippei's short greeting. Maybe it was a bit much to ask them to hug or something, but a hey nice to see you was generally what you were supposed to say. Oh well. Beggers cant be choosers. He smiled faintly, and now that Kippei knew who it was, answered.

"It's Yuushi."

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"It is me" Oshitari smirked at Tachibana as he breezed by him, moving to sit next to Shinji on the bed. The other mutant was wrapped up tightly in the covers. "You look...awful", was his comment, not even considering how it looked to reach out and stroke the blue hair affectionately. It wasn't as if he cared what Tachibana thought, after all.

"Something happened to you", he stated flatly after a moment, studying Shinji and shooting a look at Tachibana. He tried shielding his thoughts on that matter; Tachibana should have been taking care of him, whatever had gone on. But then, Oshitari himself hadn't been there to keep watch over the other mutant, and some unfamiliar sense of guilt stole over him for that.

Damned humans.

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Kippei gritted his teeth, struggling to hold on to the sudden flash of anger that flared behind his eyes. He shut the door with a little more force than was absolutely necessary, and immediately felt guilty, realizing belatedly that Oshitari being here meant Shinji remembering things again, with the accompanying headache. Well it was his damn fault then and FUCK HIM for implying otherwise.

...Alright, not doing so well holding on to that anger. He folded his arms and glared at Oshitari from his position by the door. "It wasn't humans," he snarled, almost sneering at the other man and his stupid conclusions, forgetting for the moment that they were entirely reasonable. "Be careful," he added in growl, though he did make some attempt to temper his voice for Shinji's sake. "He's got a bitch of a headache."

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Shinji untangled a hand from in the blanket and tentatively poked Oshitari's thigh. Nothing happened. It felt like Yuushi, looked like Yuushi and thought like Yuushi...that generally meant it was Yuushi. Shinji breathed a sigh of relief, then groped around until he found Yuushi's hand, stroking it and focussing on the thoughts that were always way too chaotic now and filled with horror. Shinji deleted that little bit of nastiness for the moment. It would come back as soon as Yuushi got out of range, and Shinji would pay for it, but he honestly didn't see how a headache could get any worse.

Hey. I missed you. Play nice with the Growly one.

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Abruptly all of the underlying paranoid tension in Oshitari's body visibly relaxed, and his eyes lost some of that dark and haunted edge to them. He couldn't remember why he would have been so tense, so ready to spring up in an instant and attack...something. But he supposed it didn't matter right now, smiling just a bit down at Shinji, stroking his hand.

Still petting Shinji's hair, or what he could that was sticking out from the bed, he quietly thought back to him. I have missed you as well, Shinji-kun. And...I will try...

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Shinji smiled at that, knowing that Yuushi found Kippei as frustrating as Kippei found Yuushi. It was kind of part of his charm, or so Shinji thought. After all, the first time they met Shinji had been very annoyed that someone was throwing imaginary rocks at him....ow.

"Bastard...rocks!" All over again. Shinji kicked him, rather ineffectually from under the blankets. "Hows..." he frowned, trying to remember. Damnit, he had known the other day when he saw the name! It was..."Saeki."

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Kippei scowled even more fiercely at the sight of Shinji holding Oshitari's hand, and what the fuck, thinking at him, but dammit, Shinji had a headache and maybe he didn't want to talk out loud.

Is that really necessary? he grumbled anyway. What's wrong with him? he asked as an afterthought. Oshitari kind of looked like hell himself.

"Saeki?" he asked Oshitari, wondering why the hell Shinji thought Oshitari would know that anyway.

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Frowning briefly at the ineffectual kick, and puzzling over why Shinji would be angry with him over rocks, it took Oshitari a moment to comply with an answer.

"He is...a little better", he said slowly, frowning more now at the thought of what his lover must have gone through before they found him. He still couldn't transform back, and the wounds were healing slower than the illusionist would have liked.

"I am sure he would enjoy a visit from you, when the both of you are well enough for it", he told Shinji, rubbing the blue strands between his fingers before giving it the most gentlest of tugs. He smiled a little again, teasingly. "Then you may pet him all you like again."

Which had him remembering the littlest, pettable thing. Reaching over, he passed a hand over Kii, smirking just a bit at the sleepy little meow and purr the still tiny kitten gave him.

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A little better but not much. That didn't sound good. Shinji frowned, took a deep breath and sat up. And then regretted it when the whole room swam in front of him. Closing his eyes as they teared up he waited for the pounding to quiet down again, then started looking over the edge of the bed for his shoes. He had socks...he needed shoes.

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Kippei growled softly as Oshitari pulled Shinji's hair. What the fuck, the man was completely ignoring him and he'd just said that Shinji had a headache, which should be obvious and why was Shinji trying to sit up anyway? Screw it.

He stalked over to the bed and grabbed the back of Oshitari's shirt, pulling him upright and away from Shinji. "Did I not just tell you that he has a headache?" he bit out, fighting the desire to shake him like a rag doll and drop him on the floor. "If you hurt him I will break your face," he growled, amending his usual threat of certain death on account of the fact that if he killed Oshitari, Shinji would probably kill him.

He turned away then, dismissing Oshitari like an annoying fly, and examining Shinji with a frown. Where do you think you're going? he asked grimly, leaning down to push Shinji back gently onto the pillows. You can visit Saeki later, when you can walk a straight line.

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Eyes narrowing at Tachibana with a sub-zero glare, only the knowledge that striking back at the other mutant would only hurt himself and Shinji and likely half of the house as well kept him from letting the earthmaster know exactly what a broken face felt like.

Even if he didn't remember how his power had gotten so strangly out of hand in the first place. That unexplainable knowledge unnerved him, but he cast it aside to sit back up and flash Shinji his own disapproving look for trying to get up in his condition.

Which neither of them had explained to him yet. Taking a slow deep breath that did nothing to calm the animosity he had for Tachibana in that moment, he tried for a even tone. "Why does he have a headache in the first place? What has he been doing?"

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"An accident," Shinji muttered darkly, not wanting to explain anything. It was fine. It had to be done. He had the quiet room now, even if he was too scared shitless to use it just now.

"It's okay...it'll get better."

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Kippei snorted. "It is NOT okay." Like fucking hell it was okay, and he doubted that it would get better, either.

"He has one because those goddamn bastards wanted to set up their fucking quiet room, and used him to run all their tests," he gritted out between his teeth.

"I want to fucking kill them. They messed up his memory... he doesn't remember things until he sees something that reminds him, and when he remembers, he gets a splitting headache." So don't fucking touch him, asshole.

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"Then why did you not?" Oshitari shot back quietly, already settling back into the bed on the other side of Shinji, his power stirring.

He'd practiced this, this illusion of no feeling, before...before what? Shaking his head, Oshitari turned his concentration back to Shinji, feeling the energy in his mind lock with the other mutant's mind, and subsequently linking Tachibana's, his own, and several others in the vicinity.

Ah well. Anyone else with a headache soon wouldn't feel it.

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"Because it wouldn't fix anything," Kippei growled at him, watching warily as Oshitari did... something... what the hell.

"What are you doing?" he asked abruptly, ignoring the fact that the main reason he hadn't killed them was because he felt partly responsible for letting it happen.

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Shinji heard the intent behind Yuushi's thoughts and was about to tell him to stop, because he didn't want to see any more spiders, when his headache started to fade. It was a slow thing; a small battle of Yuushi's power against Shinji's will but in the end Shinji wanted the peace and quiet, even if it was just an illusion and he succumbed to it, damn near crying in relief as he fell forward and wrapped thin arms around Yuushi's waist, hugging him in desperate thanks. But Kippei was right there and was probably getting jealous so Shinji backed off and leant into his touch instead, stroking Kippei's thigh soothingly while he smiled brightly.

"It's gone!"

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"Try not to speak, Tachibana", Oshitari murmured as he met with resistance with Shinji's own power. Odd...he'd never met any kind of block to his power before, but it gave way quickly enough.

Then Shinji's arms were around him, and he blinked, nearly faltering in his concentration, his hands just barely coming around Shinji to hug him back when the other mutant moved away back to his boyfriend.

"For a bit", he had to smile at Shinji's smile, even if it faded just a bit glancing at Tachibana. "Your room is close enough that I may be able to continue after I go. If you do not mind, however Shinji-kun."

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"Just dont wear yourself out. You need to be strong to help Sae-kitty..." A slight twinge if pain, baarely noticeable as he remembered meeting Sae-kitty. He smiled faintly, then shook his head. "No...this is enough. You should help Sae-kitty like this. I bet he'll get better faster if he's not hurting so bad and doesnt need as many drugs..."

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Kippei didn't know whether he was glad or sorry about Shinji's answer, sorry that it meant Shinji was going to have a headache that Kippei couldn't do anything about, but a bit glad in spite of himself that it was just an illusion and Oshitari wasn't really getting rid of it either. It made him irrationally jealous to think that someone else could help Shinji when he couldn't.

He sighed faintly, leaning into Shinji and stroking his hair softly, now that he could do it without hurting him for the time being. He supposed he should be grateful for that.

"Thanks," he said quietly to Oshitari, reluctant but sincere. He was being selfish and stupid, to be jealous over anything that made Shinji feel better, even for a little while. "I... thanks."

He couldn't really say how he felt, not to Oshitari, but he felt like melting with relief to realize that Shinji was temporarily not in pain anymore. Even if it was Oshitari's fault, he was grateful. It killed him to have Shinji in pain when he couldn't fix it or make it go away. He blinked away stupid tears, because like hell he was going to let Oshitari see them.

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He had to stare at Tachibana in near shock for a moment before he could even remember Shinji's question.

Was he just...thanked? By Tachibana? Strange...but Oshitari shrugged one shoulder and spoke to the smaller mutant clinging to his boyfriend.

"I do", he assured Shinji, still eyeing Tachibana. "As much as he and Akira will let me. They claim to not want me to wear myself out."

And he had...trying to ensure Saeki felt no pain had had them all feeling numb, and as tired as he'd been, the extended use of his powers had had him gaining his own headache for his efforts of concentrating so hard for so long. He'd been growled at once they'd both caught on and shoved into the bed beside Saeki to rest.

It didn't mean he didn't still try when the other two weren't paying as much attention. And he wouldn't do less for Shinji, if it was possible.

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"I can hear that mule head of yours churning you know," Shinji growled around a dark frown. Yuushi was wearing himself out? He was so going to dob every time he used his powers now. Maybe Akira would keep pushing him into bed if he knew and it wasn't like Yuushi would mind being pushed into bed with Sae, so really Shinji was just doing him a favour.

Yuushi really was damn cool. Shinji was perfectly aware that his head was still killing him, but he couldn't actually feel anything. It was so odd, and yet it was also just so Yuushi. Oddly perfect. Shinji smiled at the thought, then frowned.

"I don't like spiders you know. Next time I come to see you, you owe me some damn good violin. Or you should read to me in another language." Or something. Definately owed him. Spiders sucked.

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Oshitari blinked at that, before nodding solemnly. His little lapses into unreality were fewer, so he didn't see a problem with that.

"When you are better", he conceded, reaching out to pat Shinji's head, a tiny smirk quirking the corner of his mouth up. "You may even pick the language and the piece", he added in soft, musical French, thinking the translation just for Shinji.

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