TP5: Kippei and Shinji
Dec. 7th, 2005 06:14 pmKippei spent a couple of long days checking on all the evacuees who might be his responsibility, attempting to determine that all of them had in fact, gotten out, and stubbornly refusing to allow himself to check on the whereabouts of Ibu Shinji until every other Fudomine resident who might have been affected by the order had been accounted for.
When he finally allowed himself to look, he realized that he really had no idea where Shinji might be found, whether he had been involved in trying to fix the problem or possibly been hurt when the breach itself had been discovered. Kippei had no idea, though he suspected that even if Shinji had been hurt he would still be in there helping to fix it or clean up or whatever else needed doing.
All that area was quarantined, however, and even ambassadors were not being allowed inside. At this point, Kippei did not care--after finding that no one he asked knew where Shinji was or how he was or had a contact number for him, and having ascertained that he was at least, not in medlab, Kippei reminded himself that Sada would need to know exactly what happened to her brother--never mind what he himself wanted, since that, he felt, was irrelevant.
Only mechanics and engineers and station security were being allowed into Grey and Brown sectors at the moment, which meant only their clearances were working on the access points. Kippei found a low-ranking member of security who probably would not be missed too soon, knocked him out from behind and searched his pockets. Unethical, illegal, and possibly stupid, but oh well. He wrapped a hooded cloak around himself in vague disguise, and headed into Grey to look for Shinji.
When he finally allowed himself to look, he realized that he really had no idea where Shinji might be found, whether he had been involved in trying to fix the problem or possibly been hurt when the breach itself had been discovered. Kippei had no idea, though he suspected that even if Shinji had been hurt he would still be in there helping to fix it or clean up or whatever else needed doing.
All that area was quarantined, however, and even ambassadors were not being allowed inside. At this point, Kippei did not care--after finding that no one he asked knew where Shinji was or how he was or had a contact number for him, and having ascertained that he was at least, not in medlab, Kippei reminded himself that Sada would need to know exactly what happened to her brother--never mind what he himself wanted, since that, he felt, was irrelevant.
Only mechanics and engineers and station security were being allowed into Grey and Brown sectors at the moment, which meant only their clearances were working on the access points. Kippei found a low-ranking member of security who probably would not be missed too soon, knocked him out from behind and searched his pockets. Unethical, illegal, and possibly stupid, but oh well. He wrapped a hooded cloak around himself in vague disguise, and headed into Grey to look for Shinji.
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Date: 2005-12-08 05:18 am (UTC)There would be shifts for seventy two hours to finish clean up and continue observations, but the reactor was fixed, probably better than before. Shinji had a reprieve for twelve hours, but nowhere to go for it that wasn't contaminated as hell and he really didnt feel like bunking down with every second person from the downbelow in the middle of a garden. That was just a little more surreal than he could handle. That, and he really wanted a proper bed...and a shower. Oh god, water. And food! Sighing heavily, Shinji leant back against the warm wall and wished for a fucking miracle.
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Date: 2005-12-08 05:37 am (UTC)The kid looked tired as hell, probably too tired to wonder who he was or what he was doing here, and simply muttered something about quarantine rooms and gestured vaguely back in the direction he'd come. Kippei guessed his shift was finally over and he just wanted to go eat and rest and whatever.
He was rather impressed with the amount of work that appeared to be getting done--men were busy everywhere he looked, almost, though the sense of hustle was tinged with fatigue, and no wonder. It was quite the mess they were cleaning up. It was easy enough to stay unnoticed in the busyness, and he found a semi-official decon area that he assumed was the place the kid had been talking about. Now to find Shinji... he stepped in a looked around, narrowing his eyes against the heat and lingering acridness in the air.
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Date: 2005-12-08 05:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-08 05:58 am (UTC)Whatever he might have said in the way of explanation got discarded instantly in any case, as he noted the other man's exhaustion and general state of disarray. "I knew you were going to do that," he said flatly, not without some grudging admiration, but mostly annoyed without exactly knowing why. "You look like you need a medic but you've been down here working your arse off the whole time, haven't you?" He eyed the burns and some other minor injuries and shook his head. Nothing he couldn't probably treat himself with a standard medkit, but Ibu obviously hadn't even taken the time to do that.
"Are you done here?" Presumably he was ending his shift like many of the others Kippei had passed on his way here, heading for Green and the gardens and grumbling tiredly about the makeshift accommodations. He didn't bother waiting for an answer, gesturing impatiently for Shinji to follow him. "You're coming with me."
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Date: 2005-12-08 06:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-08 06:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-08 06:12 am (UTC)"I'll call Sada and explain I am fine and tell her I love the gardens and can't wait to stay there thus absolving you of your damned mission or duty or whatever the hell it is. You're her keeper, not mine."
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Date: 2005-12-08 06:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-08 06:25 am (UTC)"I didn't know the devil hated me so much...then again, I didn't know there was a devil or that he was god or anything until, oh, a minute ago." He waved Kippei off in whatever hell direction he wanted to go. "Lead on, oh great Ambassador."
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Date: 2005-12-08 06:34 am (UTC)"I'm flattered," he noted dryly, "but I hardly think this counts as diabolical. I don't work for anyone more supernatural than the government of Fudomine--unless you think your sister is the devil, and possibly I might not argue with you." She certainly took fiendish delight in tormenting him sometimes.
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Date: 2005-12-08 06:37 am (UTC)"...Is Ina okay?"
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Date: 2005-12-08 06:42 am (UTC)"Who?" he asked, puzzled.
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Date: 2005-12-08 06:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-08 06:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-08 06:55 am (UTC)"How is the security system?"
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Date: 2005-12-08 07:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-08 07:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-08 07:18 am (UTC)His mouth set in a grim line, and he resisted the random urge to reach over and brush Ibu's hair out of his face. What the hell, stupid, and why did he think this was a good idea again? Having Shinji stay in his rooms, sleeping there? Fuck. He almost sighed, but restrained himself and looked away. At least they were almost there... not that this was necessarily a good thing.
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Date: 2005-12-08 07:37 am (UTC)"This is stupid, you don't want me to go to your house and my sister is not an idiot, she won't care if I stay with everyone else, and I won't care, and you'll be much happier I'm sure and green is closer to brown anyway so it won't take me as long to get back on duty when I have to, which is better."
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Date: 2005-12-08 07:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-08 08:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-08 08:16 am (UTC)"If you want to shower first, it's in here," Kippei told him, motioning toward the bathroom, "and I'll find you something to wear. It'll probably be too big but it's better than..." Sitting around in a towel, he was going to say, and swallowed hard, pushing away the mental images. "Better than nothing," he finished awkwardly. That was just as bad, really. Groaning mentally, he concentrated fiercely, doing some random nav calculations in his head until his thoughts fell into place in a neat, orderly fashion again.
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Date: 2005-12-08 08:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-08 08:39 am (UTC)Something hot, like soup, and Shinji still wasn't done by the time he'd finished making it, so he went and hunted out the medkit as well, leaving it and the clothing on the table while he went into the other room to find sheets and blankets for making up a bed on the couch. He didn't have a spare room--he could afford more space than most on the station, he supposed, but he hadn't seen the need or had the inclination. His quarters were fairly spartan compared to most diplomatic accommodations, but they suited him well enough.
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Date: 2005-12-08 08:51 am (UTC)Towelling his hair again, Shinji brushed his fingers through it and figured it was good enough. Hanging the towel on a spare hook, Shinji wandered out nervously, looking around for Tachibana.
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Date: 2005-12-08 08:57 am (UTC)"Come and sit down," he said shortly, heading for the kitchen again and dishing up a bowl of soup which he set on the table, and then he opened up the medkit and started sorting through it, looking for the appropriate bandages and painkillers.
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Date: 2005-12-08 09:00 am (UTC)"Um..." He really didn't want to be annoying right now. He was happy just being clean and cool and not in a toxic sweat box. "Can I have some water? I'm really thirsty."
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Date: 2005-12-08 09:27 am (UTC)But he waited, letting Shinji finish eating before he came back around the table and handed Shinji some painkillers to take with his water, then set to work with burn cream, bandages and some probably rather unnecessary dashes of antiseptic, his movements quick and efficient as he made sure that Shinji was patched up to his satisfaction. He still didn't know why he cared, and had stopped thinking about it by the time he was done, so much so that he reached without thinking to brush Shinji's hair out of his eyes with an absent but almost caressing hand when he had finished. Belatedly he realized what he'd done, and cursed himself for ten kinds of a fool as he packed up the medkit again and put it away, absolutely avoiding looking at Shinji or talking to him. Damn the man.
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Date: 2005-12-08 09:36 am (UTC)Feeling more than a little out of place and knowing he was an unwelcome guest in the other man's home, Shinji pulled his feet up onto the couch...oh man, it was that couch! He was going to get to sleep on the couch of his dreams! ...While Tachibana slept in the next room. Damn it.
Shinji distracted himself by looking at the bandages. A lot of breathing room in the gauze, perfect for burns, but the cream stank. Shinji wrinkled his nose, because he had liked the clean soap smell. And he was still thirsty. He glanced over the couch and spotted Tachibana, but he didn't want to annoy him, or ask for anything else, so he quietly got up, taking his glass to the small kitchenette and getting another glass from the tap. And then another. Ah, blessed liquid.
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Date: 2005-12-08 09:58 am (UTC)He rested his forehead against the cabinet door and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He was going to go out there and make sure that Shinji had a comfortable place to sleep and told himself sternly that it wasn't going to hurt him to just leave Shinji there and walk out of room, to go back to his own bedroom and sleep there. He didn't want or need anything from Shinji, and he repeated that to himself like a mantra as he went back and began mechanically to sort out the couch. I don't need you, I don't want you, I don't care. I don't need you I don't want you I don't CARE. And it was more and more obviously a lie each time he thought it, and eventually he gave up and stopped thinking, but he was silent with an aching sensation in his chest, and he couldn't help watching Shinji's slight form, swallowed up in the borrowed clothing as he moved around the room.
A faint ghost of a smile with a tinge of bitter wryness crossed his face--he was reminded of the very early days when Sada had been rescued, before they had found her properly fitting clothing either. But this was so different, even if he still had the same, or nearly the same random confusing urge to wrap a smaller person up and hold them close and safe against his chest. It hurts, he noted vaguely, a clinical analysis of his own reaction to seeing either one of these siblings looking war torn and weary and with no one but himself with his brusque and clumsy efforts at caring for them, himself who was manifestly inadequate to provide any sort of comfort.
"Do you want to call her?" he heard himself asking abruptly, a question born perhaps out of the vague thought that they might take better care of each other than he ever had of either of them.
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Date: 2005-12-08 10:05 am (UTC)"She doesn't need to know," he said softly. "I'll call her in a few days." When he didn't have any evidence of being fried by a nuclea reactor. He looked at Tachibana carefully, feeling guilty yet again because the guy was so obviously uncomfortable with him being there. He reached over and gently took the sheet out of his hand, making up the rest of the bed himself in a few quick jerks. Something occurred to him then.
"Do you want to?"
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Date: 2005-12-08 10:25 am (UTC)"I...not yet," he answered haltingly, completely thrown off balance by the gesture, as if Shinji was admitting to recognizing that Kippei saw her as a sister too, and might want to contact her. He'd been half convinced that Shinji resented that about him, and here he was easily offering to share, or so it seemed. Kippei didnt know what to think. "You're right," he agreed mechanically, "she doesnt have to know yet."
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Date: 2005-12-08 10:29 am (UTC)"You know, if you want to marry Sada, you better be prepared for a hellishly long engagement. And I'll buy her a damn chastity belt if I have to just to make sure its as long as its meant to be."
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Date: 2005-12-08 10:35 am (UTC)"Go to bed," he said gruffly, shaking his head as he waited for Shinji to do just that before he left the room. Hell, he would leave right this minute to sort out his confusion in private, but part of him stubbornly refused to do so until he saw Shinji safely tucked away for some much needed rest.
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Date: 2005-12-08 10:42 am (UTC)He decided the best option was to fake sleep, so he settled in as if he fully intended to do so.
"Good night, Tachibana-san."
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Date: 2005-12-08 10:51 am (UTC)"Goodnight," he said softly, followed by an equally quiet command to turn off the lights, and in the darkness his hand almost lingered on Shinji's head for a moment, but drew back without quite touching as he turned away and left the room. Jesus, he was going to die. Rikkai wasn't going to kill him. Shinji was.
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Date: 2005-12-08 10:56 am (UTC)It was the face Shinji always dreamed of living next to, and it was stuck on that hellishly sexy body. Besmused, annoyed, wistful...caring. Almost tender. And it was asking him questions Shinji didn't think were possible. He waited until it was dark and he heard Tachibana's door shut and he sat up, looking over the top of the couch at Tachibana's bedroom door. Who the hell...
Tachibana Kippei was the most confusing bastard to ever live. Hands down.