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General Discussions => RPG Forum => Topic started by: Ruby Chan on September 04 2005, 08:12 pm
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In the Tsubasa Mental Institute, one man is locked away, pronounced crazy. He thinks that he's travelling through worlds, transported by a 'talking manjuu bun'. And with no progress in 3 years, the administrators are considering giving up.
Enter Dr. Flowright, the best psychological doctor in the region......and the only one who has a mix of telepathic powers and healing hands! It's up to him to convince Kurogane that his delusions aren't real...or are they?
Kurogane - Ruby Chan
Dr. Fai D Flowright - Sakaki
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((OOC: Rp start! ))
Kurogane sat in his room.....although he was sure that the word 'cell' was more appropriate in this case. Barren whitewashed walls surrounded him, the only windows being one facing south onto the nearby park, and a small one in the door that was just big enough for the doctors to glance through on their rounds.
Staring down at his hands, Kurogane clenched them into fists, a small growl escaping him. He had heard the doctors today....and what they had said. They tended to forget that just because he'd been pronounced 'crazy', that didn't mean he couldn't hear....so he'd heard the news that they were thinking of giving up on him....of sending him away to a 'higher security institute, which will offer him the type of care we can't'.
Translation - something more like a prison then a mental hospital, where every night the air was split by the cries of patients as they suffered from their nightly nightmares.
Shuddering, Kurogane glared at the doorway, although he was unable to summon one of much force, as he was quickly being pulled back into his sub-consciousness, yielding to the visions that were beginning to fill his head.
"I'm not Mr. Black! I'm Kurogane!" He snapped to the empty cell, before falling back on the bed with a vacant expression as he was lost to his delusions.
-
As psychiatrist, Fai D. Flowright walked towards the room where his new patient was suffering yet another unwelcome vision, he heard the man’s yell before even reaching the door.
"I'm not Mr. Black! I'm Kurogane!"
Fai tucked a lock of blonde hair back over his ear, and glanced in the small window to see the dark haired man laying across the bed, his hands covering his head... as he was, no doubt, being sucked unwillingly back into his subconcious...
Fai had been observing the man since they brought him over, and remembered the words that described the man in his records sent over from various authorities.
Visions.... No grasp of reality... Tendency towards extremely violent behavior...
But glancing in at the man, Fai felt something different... saw something already that the others had so obviously missed... something familiar...
Fai opened the door and stepped in quietly... knowing there wouldn’t be a chair in the room considering what was written on the man’s chart, Fai squatted down by the bed, elbows resting on his knees, and smiling, spoke gently to the man, “Kurogane? My name’s Fai, and I’m going to help you.”
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"What will you do?"
"Damnit! When I am free from this curse, I'm coming back for it!"
“Kurogane? My name’s Fai, and I’m going to help you.”
Kurogane's eyes slowly flickered open as the visions faded in the wake of this new voice, and he blinked in mild confusion. Turning his gaze to fall on the newcomer...hmmph...more like new doctor...., he suddenly frowned.
"Fai. D. Flowright? Wizard of Seresu?" He whispered.
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“Seresu?” Fai asked... then wondered briefly why that word sounded so familiar...and somehow slightly unnerving. He looked at the dark haired man, considering for a second, then once again regaining his composure, he spoke, “Kurogane, I’m your psychiatrist. I’m going to help you sort out those visions you’ve been having.”
Fai knew he was taking a risk being in the locked room alone with the man, with the words, extremely violent tendencies, stamped across the pages of the large man’s chart time and time again... but he was known to take risks like this all the time. His reputation for having a passion for helping people that extended beyond his own worries for his safety, really equated to a carelessness for his own life that had nothing really to do with his job...
He wasn’t stupid however, and refrained from touching the man, as he sat there smiling up at Kurogane reassuringly, waiting for him to reply...
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“Kurogane, I’m your psychiatrist. I’m going to help you sort out those visions you’ve been having.”
Kurogane snorted, and rolled his eyes at the psychiatrist's words.
"Been there, done that, got the damn t-shirt. Did you know, you're the 8th person who's said that exact line to me in the time that I've been here? I've had enough of you losers probing into my past and trying to come up with 'logical' explanations to why I'm like this. No, I don't have any feelings of being tied down, or trapped, so I'm not dreaming of world-skipping as a way of symbolising my wish to be free. I'm not allergic to manjuu buns, I don't have any notions of becoming a father with 2 kids, and I've never had a bad experience in my life, except being shut away in this rat hole of a hospital!"
Kurogane finished his rant, and raised an eyebrow at Fai, waiting for the typical response. Most doctors either walked stright out and never came back, or some just laughed and reassured him that they were nothing like those who had come before them. He had a horrid feeling that Fai was going to be part of the latter group.....
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Watching the man carefully while he angrily lectured, Fai felt a certain sadness in the way the man had so obviously been treated up until now.
He listened to Kurogane's complaints, softly chewing his lower lip... and still had that feeling of familiarity nagging at the back of his mind...
When the man had finished, and sat staring at him, perhaps waiting for a typical reaction, Fai only smiled gently at the man, "I believe you," he said simply.
"It doesn't matter so much the cause of why you are having these visions, in my opinion, but what they mean, and how we can either get rid of them or help you live with them."
He looked into the man's eyes, "Who is this wizard of Seresu you speak of? Someone from your visions?" Then waited anxiously for the man's answer to the question that caused a slight chill in his heart.
-
Kurogane blinked, staring at Fai suspiciously.
"You're kidding me, right? You're just pulling one of those tricks on me, saying that you believe me, and that you'll help me live with them?! Got news for you buddy, 3rd doctor I had already tried that. Didn't work back then either, so just push off so doctor number 17 can come in here and give it his best shot!" He snapped, rolling onto his side and facing away from his new psychiatrist, fully expecting to hear a dark mutter and a slammed door next.
But what actually happened surprised him......
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Fai continued to smile, not discouraged by his harsh words, as the man ranted once more and turned away. For the first time, Fai was actually excited about something, and he decided suddenly to dedicate every minute he could to this intriguing man...
Against everything he had ever been taught in his line of work, Fai went to the other side of the bed, reaching out to the man and gently touching his face, so that Kurogane would look into his eyes... see his sincerity...
"I want to help you, Kurogane. Perhaps that is what will make me different. I need to help you..." He blinked slowly, letting the man consider his words, knowing that in all reality the man would be hard to convince of anything after what he'd been through so far. Only time would show him that Fai was serious in his words.
Fai then moved in even closer...dangerously close... practically resting his head beside the other man's... blue eyes looking into Kurogane's, and spoke again... "Let me share your visions... Kurogane..."
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Kurogane's eyes widened, and he scrambled away from Fai, until he was at the other end of the bed to the doctor.
"You just stay away from me, you......damn mage." His last words came out in a whisper, and then he seemed to be falling, falling down into a mix of tumultous visions that swirled all around him, completely taking him over.
"And....Mr Black over there, what'll we call you?
"I am not Mr Black! I'm Kurogane!"
"Kurogane, hmm? So what works? Kuro-chan, or Kuro-rin?"
As he gave a faint breathy sigh, Kurogane's eyes glazed over once more, until he lay there passively, seemingly staring up at the ceiling, although his eyes flickered all over the place, as if caught in the middle of a vibrant scene.
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"You just stay away from me, you......damn mage."
The psychiatrist watched as Kurogane's eyes glazed over and he fell against the bed. Then moving closer, observing the man's eyes, which moved around the room, as if focusing on some event in some other world...
Fai approached the bed quietly, and sitting down on the edge, leaned over the dark haired man, placing a slender hand on either side of his head... and sighing softly... as his blue eyes slid shut and he saw...
The man sat on the floor before him... in some sort of black costume that Fai had only seen in the movies... The man was angry.... it was him.... Kurogane!
Fai "felt" his arm outstretch... "Is this what a piece of memory looks like for this child...." and it was his voice he heard, his hand holding......
The Feather...
And then he jerked awake with a gasp, to find himself laying across the man's chest... startled, but somehow feeling something else too... a warmth...
And not moving, he rested there, feeling the man's strength beneath him, wondering about the vision... wondering why he wanted more... needed to see again... Perhaps needed as much as this man needed his help...
Suddenly finding his need overwhelming, Fai pulled himself away from the other man's chest... and rising shakily to his feet... went to the door, leaving quickly, feeling his control slipping and not trusting himself in his desperateness...
-
Kurogane gave a small moan, waking to find himself in an empty room, with the new sunlight streaming in through the gap in the curtains he had been so 'caringly' provided with. He briefly wondered what had happened to Fai after he'd fell back into his visions, but soon dismissed the thought. The blonde was just another doctor - and in Kurogane's experience, they came and went all the time.
Getting to his feet, Kurogane pulled back the curtains and stared out over the nearby park, already bored. Three years....3 years since I've been out of this cell, and felt the sun on my skin.....3 years since I began having these crazy dreams.....3 years since Tomoyo sent me here, proclaiming that it was for my own good.
Kurogane sighed, and turned away from the view, heart heavy. No matter how much he hated Tomoyo for sending him to a place like this, his little sister had only been looking out for his wellbeing. But without him to protect her.....3 years since that thug left her to bleed to death in that alleyway after stealing her purse.....
Growling, Kurogane gave an angry roar and punched the wall, relishing in the throbbing pain he felt in his hand. He didn't care that this routine of his was giving him a reputation for being violent.....he didn't really care about much anymore, except getting out of this hellhole.
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Fai looked into the small glass window, observing his patient... finding himself unable and unwilling to stay away... The man was gazing out the window towards the park, expression changing between anger and a sad longing Fai found his own face wearing quite often. Suddenly deciding on anger, Kurogane drew back his fist, violently punching the wall, causing a shocked gasp from Fai, who opened the door and went into the room at once.
"Kurogane, you're going to hurt yourself!" He scolded, quickly walking up close to face the taller man, and briefly wondering at the fact that this man’s violence didn’t cause fear in him. In fact, he only felt a warmth, and a strange sense of being protected when near Kurogane...
Fai began to speak once again, then paused, looking out to the park. Thinking perhaps he could gain this man's trust after all... and get him to share his visions... himself...
"You want to go out there, don't you?" He asked softly, motioning to the park that faded into a small forest. Then tilting his face up so that his blue eyes met Kurogane’s directly... deeply..."Tell me about your visions... share them... and I'll find a way to get you out there..."
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"Tell me about your visions... share them... and I'll find a way to get you out there..."
Kurogane blinked, gazing down at Fai suspiciously. After all this time, Fai was the first doctor who had offered Kurogane this choice, and he was unsure of what to do. But..... To feel the sun again.....to breathe in fresh air again......I can put up with whatever stupid questions this Dr. Flowright asks.....
Suddenly seeming to deflate, Kurogane threw himself down on his bed, nodding.
"Fine. But only if you swear that you can get me out of here, for a while at least. But I warn you, one question that I don't like, and you'll understand why it says 'Tendency towards extremely violent behavior' on my psych report." He threatened.
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Fai smiled at the large man's threat, not worried for a moment about what Kurogane was capable of doing to him if he became enraged. Only satisfied that he had won over the man at least a little bit, with his offer of brief freedom. How he was actually going to follow through with the offer, he wasn't so sure, but he knew somehow he wouldn't let Kurogane down.
Fai leaned in close, a lock of blonde hair falling over his serious blue eyes... "Can you first tell me... Who is this wizard of Seresu you spoke of?"
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Kurogane flushed slightly at the close proximity of his doctor, averting his eyes as he tried to come up with something plausible to say, in place of the truth. But realising that although he didn't look it, Fai seemed to be very in tune to what he said or did, Kurogane knew he didn't have a hope.
He had to tell the truth.
"He's you." He whsipered, glancing back to Fai for a moment. "He's an annoying wizard who's running from his own country of Seresu....and he looks just like you."
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"He's you."
"He's an annoying wizard who's running from his own country of Seresu....and he looks just like you."
Fai felt a shiver go through him, as Kurogane spoke of his visions... spoke of the wizard... and he blinked slowly, unable to speak suddenly, as his heart began to speed up at Kurogane's direct gaze.
The blonde psychiatrist covered his pause with a quick smile, then looking deep into the man's crimson eyes, and feeling that sweetly addictive pull, Fai leaned in closer... so that their foreheads were nearly touching... and he whispered, almost desperately... "Show me... Share your world with me, Kurogane..."
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Kurogane opened his mouth to retort, and lifted a hand to push the doctor away, feeling that Fai was too close, when a very familiar sensation swept through him. It felt like a veil was being pulled in front of his eyes, muffling the world around him, and he could already hear the murmurs from his visions beginning to sound in his ears. Gazing blearily up at Fai, Kurogane gave a weak smirk.
"Looks like its your lucky day." He whispered, before his knees buckled, sending him crashing towards the floor.
"It's got nothing to do with me. I'm here to get back to my own world. That's the only reason I'm here.Don't expect me to stick my neck out for you.Don't expect me to help you. I won't do it!"
"Right. That is my mission here. I'll do my best not to cause you any trouble"
"Hahahahaha! Syaoran, you are so serious!"
-
Fai reached out, trying to catch the large man as he fell, but only successfully ended up half underneath the man's weight, arms wrapped around him. And as his blue eyes began to slide slowly closed, he didn't seem to mind...
"Well? What about you?"
"Are you going to help the brat out?"
The man in black asked him... Kurogane...
Fai looked around, through the eyes of the other... the one who was him, but not exactly... They were in a Japanese style room, the ninja... ninja? ...sitting on the floor across from him, sulking... The same man who's weight was surely crushing him in the small room their minds had both escaped from. And there were others... a boy...a...
And then he heard the voice again, his own voice...
"My most important mission is to not return to my world."
And suddenly he was coming back... rushing away from the vision... the last few words of the sentence echoing in his mind... not return to my world...
Fai opened his eyes, startled to see Kurogane was already awake, standing above him and looking down with an odd expression. The blonde only smiled back, jumping up and heading to the door, not giving any explanations as to what had just happened. Only calling back a few words before shutting the door behind him, "I'll get you outside within the next twelve hours."
-
Kurogane blinked as Fai made a hasty exitm promising to get him out of his cell soon. That was strange,..... When he'd come back to himself, he had found himself lying on the ground with Fai underneath him, and had got up quickly, sure that crushing the doctor was not the best way to persuade him to take him outside.....but Fai had simply continued to lie there for a while after, his blue eyes glazed over.
Slowly, the corner of Kurogane's mouth lifted, and he shook his head slightly.
"Well what do you know. Looks like I'm not the only loony here."
-
Back and forth Fai paced in his small office... He had been instantly denied permission to take Kurogane out for any length of time whatsoever. No matter what words of persuasion he had used with his superiors... the answer had been no.
It's too big a risk...
Too dangerous...
He's too violent...
But Fai wasn't one to give up... or play by the rules, and he was determined not to break his word to the man... no matter what the cost...
~~~
Midnight came, and Fai knew this would be his only chance. The blonde walked through the halls to Kurogane's room. He slipped into the dark room and walked slowly over to the bed, where the large man lay on his back, eyes closed. He reached out a hand to gently touch his shoulder, to wake the dark haired man. But instead of touching his shoulder, he found his fingers drawn to the man's lips, and Fai touched them hesitantly... running his fingers softly across them ...
-
Kurogane lay still as he hard his door opening quietly, and instantly began to regulate his breathing, making it even in an attempt to appear sleeping. Apparently it worked, as the intruder slowly walked closer to him, his footsteps almost silent against the cold linoleum floor.
Sensing a hand coming to touch him on the shoulder, Kurogane continued to feign sleep, ready to leap up at this person as soon as they touched him....but instead froze as he felt fingers running softly across his lips, tracing the soft flesh of his lips. Regaining contol of his motor functions, Kurogane gave an angry roar, shoving the intruder away from him and leaping to the floor in a defensive position, prepared to fight.
And then he saw who it was.
"Doctor Flowright?! What the hell?!"
-
The blonde psychiatrist looked up, wide eyed and stunned from where he now sat upon the floor.
"Doctor Flowright?! What the hell?!"
Fai got up rather painfully, but smiling... ignoring Kurogane's shocked question. "Shhh... I'm here to take you outside," he whispered, grabbing the man’s shoes and thrusting them up at him. “Put these on...” Then grabbing Kurogane's hand, Fai pulled the startled man to the door, looked out, and proceeded to pull him quickly down the hallway and to a door. Punching in a code as fast as possible, not caring or considering the man might be watching... Fai hurried Kurogane outside and through the parking lot to the park.
The night was beautiful, warm... with a gentle breeze, and as Fai led Kurogane past the playground and into the woods, so they wouldn't be seen, he smiled up at the man's expression at being outside after so long, then pulling something out from his jacket, Fai lifted it up with a grin, “To celebrate your first night out!” he laughed, handing Kurogane the bottle of sake he’d brought him.
-
Kurogane stared in awe at his surroundings, unable to believe it. He was out...for the first time in year, he was finally able to breathe fresh air, to see the beautiful area up close, instead of far away, trapped in his room.....gazing at the small wood that Fai had brought him to, Kurogane shut his eyes, feeling a small smile creep onto his face as he felt a gentle breeze.
“To celebrate your first night out!”
Kurogane looked down as the bottle was thrust into his hands, before shrugging and passing it back with an apologetic shrug of his shoulders.
"Sorry. I don't plan to waste this opportunity by fogging the experience with alcohol.....how did you manage to arrange this, Doctor?" He breathed.
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Fai shrugged back at the man's refusal of the sake, and put it back in his jacket, still smiling.
"how did you manage to arrange this, Doctor?"
“Hmmm?” he asked, slightly startled by the question, “Oh, don’t worry about that, I got you out, that’s all that matters, ne?” Fai looked around, then leaned against a large tree, staring over at the other man. “I’d say we have a few hours at least, before we have to get you back... before they notice you are gone,” he laughed.
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Kurogane gave a loud bellow of laughter, grinning wolfishly at his doctor.
"So they don't know I'm out? You really are something, aren't you, Doc?" Getting a grip on himself, Kurogane mimicked Fai and leant against another tree, crossing his arms and staring right back.
"A few hours, huh? Any ideas of what to do? Because I'm not exactly up to date with what's around, am I?" He pointed out.
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"So they don't know I'm out? You really are something, aren't you, Doc?"
Fai grinned back at the man, blue eyes widening slightly at the man’s sudden wolfish look. Then shrugging once again and taking the sake back out of his jacket to take a quick drink, he considered Kurogane’s question about what they should do.
“Hmm, I really hadn’t thought that far ahead,” Fai admitted, still grinning at the man who stood staring around at the scenery, as if not quite believing it was real. “Perhaps we could just take a walk through the woods this time?” he suggested, as he tucked a lock of blonde hair behind his ear. “We could plan something more for tomorrow night, if you wish to.”
-
Kurogane blinked in shock, his crimson eyes wide.
"Tomorrow night?! You'd actually take me out again?!" He gasped, unable to quite believe it. Another chance to get out of that cell....another chance to see all the things that I've missed so much......and a chance to....
His thoughts froze, and an expression of distaste spread across his face before quickly fading away as he got a grip on himself. A chnace to finally see Tomoyo's grave....
Suddenly suspicious of what the doctor was offering him, Kurogane's eyes narrowed, and he glared half-heartedly at Fai.
"So what's in it for you, huh? Because no one does anything for free. You must want something in return...." He challenged.
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"So what's in it for you, huh? Because no one does anything for free. You must want something in return...."
Fai chewed his bottom lip softly, wondering how best to respond... seeing the man's suspicious expression, and knowing only honestly would work with Kurogane, feeling as if the dark-haired man could see right into him, through him... getting to what was hidden deep inside...
"I want to help you. I want be your friend...” Then pausing, tilting his blonde head slightly, Fai looked into the man’s crimson eyes directly, ”I want to experience your visions..." Then taking one last drink of the sake, and putting it back into his jacket, Fai began to walk along the wooded trail, motioning for Kurogane to follow.
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"I want to help you. I want be your friend...”
Kurogane glared suspiciously at the doctor, not sure whether he could trsut those words. Sure, Fai had 'arranged' for him to get out of the institute as promised, but still.....Kurogane had a hard time trusting people - especially doctors who looked exactly like characters in his 'delusions'.
Watching as Fai began to walk along the trail, motioning for him to follow, Kurogane paused. He could run.....he could just make a break for it right now, and never have to go back to the institute again....
Until they found me and locked me away in a higher security cell, with some idiot of a doctor who'd just try to analyse me.....and they'd fire Doctor Flowright. Evn if he's annoying, he's been the only one who's really believed me so far.....I can't just do that to him.
Sighing, he began to follow after the blonde, wondering what exactly the other man had planned......
-
Fai started down the wooded trail, smiling as he noticed the large man behind him pause... and Fai knew what he was thinking... how this could be the perfect opportunity to run... but he only continued walking slowly, unconcerned, expecting that Kurogane would follow.
Soon they came to an open spot in the woods, where a fallen tree provided a spot to rest, and Fai walked over, sitting himself in a crosslegged position upon the the large tree trunk, then looking up to Kurogane with his blue eyes - the bright moon allowing him to see the expression in the man’s crimson eyes, still full of surprise to actually be outside.
Fai smiled over at the other man from where he sat, wondering just what Kurogane was thinking, wondering how much the dark-haired man was beginning to trust him... and just what thoughts had kept him from running... “Why don’t you sit down and rest a bit?” Fai asked, motioning to the spot next to him.
-
Kurogane paused, before grudgingly taking up Fai's offer and sitting next to him on the tree, although he made sure that he was still quite a distance away from the smiling blonde. Glancing back at his 'doctor', he sighed deeply, shutting his eyes against the sight of a moonlight-bathed Fai, refusing to admit to himself that against his will he was beginning to truly accept the other man.
"I wish....I wish that I could just stay here." He said carefully, a wistful tone making its way into his voice. "I wish....that I could have stayed free.....so that I could have protected her."
His voice caught on the last sentence, and he closed his eyes as if in pain, before opening them to stare sightlessly at the ground.
"Can...can we visit the church next time?"
-
Fai smiled as the man came to sit on the fallen tree, not as close as the blonde found he wanted, but near him nonetheless... then spoke...”I wish....I wish that I could just stay here.” Fai looked thoughtfully at Kurogane... imagining how this man must have felt, how he felt still... helpless, locked away... something that would be spirit crushing to a man like this, a man that relied on strength and action.
"Can...can we visit the church next time?"
The blonde’s eyes gazed sadly back at Kurogane, trying to meet his crimson eyes... feeling all too well the waves of frustration and pain coming from the man next to him, remembering the details of the man’s past written down in his lengthy records.
“Of course,” Fai replied softly. “Tomorrow night I’ll take you wherever you want to go... I won’t let them keep you locked up again, I promise...” Not knowing exactly how he’d keep this vow, but finding himself making more promises to this man he found so intriguing. And Fai reached a hand out, wanting to offer comfort... moving forward to lightly touch the other man's hand...when suddenly his blue eyes grew wide... drawn to something resting upon the grass... a single perfect white feather...
-
Following Fai's gaze to the floor, Kurogane stiffened as he saw the feather, feeling the now familiar sensation of being suddenly removed from the world, a veil falling between himself and what others would call 'reality'. Distantly feeling Fai lightly touch his hand, Kurogane could do nothing as a wave of colourful images assaulted him, each more powerful and and real than before.....like nothing he'd ever seen....
Feeling himself being swallowed up in the visions, Kurogane shuddered as he made one final attempt to stay grounded....but was quickly lost to his delusions...to the other world.....
"You're asking me to wield you? I get it. You like a good punch up too!"
"S-so that's your kudan? It's probably all show! Well, I've got the ultimate attack! Kane Kui-hodai!!"
"It doesn't matter how hard a shalle is, when you pull out a knife...lobsters and crabs all have weka points in the joints. Hama Ryu-ou-jin!!"
Trapped in another reality that felt so real to him, Kurogane was unaware of the battlecry he let out as he swept his arms down for an attack with what would have been a sword.....not realising that he had struck a blonde man instead of a 'kudan'......deaf to the cry of pain that followed as he pinned the other man flat against the bark of the fallen tree....
Unable to acknowledge that his violence was hurting the only one left who cared for him at all.....
-
Dazed from the strange sensation that flowed through him upon seeing that one pure white feather, Fai turned his gaze to Kurogane, watching the man’s expression slowly change as his eyes focused on what was laying in the grass. Then feeling the man’s consciousness begin to slip away through his slender fingers that rest lightly on Kurogane’s hand, Fai shivered... his blue eyes drifting slowly closed... as he was pulled with Kurogane to the other world...
_______________________________________ __________________
Once again finding himself looking through the eyes of another... hearing his own voice speaking to the young boy he saw before... “I think if you try to get involved, he’ll get really mad... Kuro-tan’s like that.” Kuro-tan?
And Fai’s heart jumped, seeing the dark-haired man in fighting stance, wielding a large sword... fighting some sort of magical creature... like something out of a fantasy tale. He wanted to call out... stop him from moving forward... being hurt, then quickly realized this powerful man knew exactly what he was doing as he let out a battle cry and moved forward... “Hama Ryu-ou-jin!!"
_______________________________________ __________________
Suddenly Fai was rushing back, crying out in pain as he was violently pulled from the vision... shoved down on the fallen tree, his head making contact hard. His blue eyes opening in shock to see Kurogane looming over him threateningly, crimson eyes blazing... lost to the other world.
Fai struggled against the man on top of him, his vision slightly blurred from the blow, and not knowing how long he could hold to consciousness, he quickly raised his hands, placing them against the man’s chest, feeling a pull as he took from him... pain, fear... giving his own warmth in return... trying to wake the man from the vision that held him in it’s grasp, as his own eyes closed against the pain and he weakly called out the man’s name, “Kurogane...”
-
"Kuro-muu.....Kuro-chan......Kurogane...."
Kurogane growled as he distantly heard the voice of that damn mage in his head, calling him the ridiculous nicknames that he insisted on using. Why was the blonde trying to break his concentration? He had to defeat the gang leader....but then, suddenly those nicknames twisted into his whole, proper name, and crimson eyes widened as the blur of action began to fade away, replaced with a warmth that seeped through him, stealing away his fear, his pain.....
Shuddering violently, Kurogane blinked as the haze of delusions faded away, finally allowing him to see clearly. Instantly, he registered that he was pinning someone to against the tree, pushing the figure into the rough bark....
"Dr. Flowright?!" He gasped, practically leaping off the doctor and scurrying backwards, instinctively moving into a defensive crouch that he had learnt in his younger days of studying karate. Eyes darting to the side, he wondered briefly whether he could manage to get far enough away from the Institute before they came looking for him, and whether his bank account had been drained since his status as 'Insane' had become official.
He'd refrained from running before because of Doctor Flowright's belief in him....but no one would believe in someone who'd just reacted like that....not anymore....Silently watching the still stunned blonde, he began to back away into the shadows of the trees, making no sound as he slowly became submerged in the darkness of the forest.....
-
Fai closed his eyes, hands pressed tight against the other man’s chest... trying to pull him back into this world before he himself left it once again. Then gasping... feeling Kurogane shudder violently against him and pull back as he called out his name in startled confusion, Fai felt the large man move quickly from on top of him, waking from the vision and releasing him.
Fai shook his head carefully, letting his hand move to the back of his head... his slender fingers coming shakily away after feeling a rather large knot on the back of his blonde head. And as his blue eyes began to clear, he slowly tried to sit up, glancing around... not seeing Kurogane, but noticing the movement of the leaves the man had obviously brushed against as he tried to get away, no doubt afraid of the consequences of the violence he had just inflicted on his own psychiatrist.
“It’s not your fault, Kurogane...” Fai called out, not knowing if the man was still within hearing distance, but hoping perhaps... “I brought you out here knowing full well what could happen.” Fai rose from the fallen tree trunk, holding the back of his head with one hand as his eyes slid shut for a moment against the pain. Then slowly walking forward, he instinctively followed the trail Kurogane had left, the broken twigs... slight prints in the grass. Fai moved quickly, following the almost invisible trail deeper into the woods, his blue eyes squinting in the near complete darkness as the trees blocked out the light of the moon. Then feeling rather dizzy again, he slowly moved to his knees to sit on the cool ground.
Sensing the man somewhere close, Fai spoke once more, “Kurogane... I’m the one to blame. If you run... and they find you, they will take you away... And it will be my fault... all because I needed to see.” Then softly, his blue eyes lowered to the ground and speaking somewhat desperately, he added, “I don’t want anything to happen to you...”
-
Trembling, Kurogane sat on the ground and leaned back against the tree trunk, hearing the pychiatrist's voice coming from directly behind him. Closing his eyes, he silently prayed that the blonde wouldn't see him here, that he would remain seated on the ground there before he left.....that he wouldn't move round to the other side of the tree.....
“Kurogane... I’m the one to blame. If you run... and they find you, they will take you away... And it will be my fault... all because I needed to see.”
Kurogane shuddered, unable to understand what the blonde doctor was saying. How could it be his fault? He hadn't been the one to push the person who'd temporarily released him into a tree. All Fai had done was to grant him one of his dearest wishes, and allowed him to feel alive again.....
"If you run... and they find you, they will take you away"
Would they? Maybe they wouldn't find him.....if his money was still there, he could skip the country, maybe hole himself up somewhere else, where the Institute would never find him.....But what if he snapped again? What if he got lost in his visions before he was able to find somehwere to hide? He could kill someone next time.....hell, he could have killed Fai this time.....
“I don’t want anything to happen to you...”
Kurogane gasped involuntary, hearing those last words. He froze, but when the blonde made no movement to investigate, he breathed again, sure that the doctor hadn't heard him. Twisting slightly, he glanced out from behind the tree, glad of the shadows that cloaked him. Like a ninja. He thought bitterly.
Watching the other man rub his head gingerly, obviously feeling rather dizzy and lightheaded, Kurogane felt worse than ever. And before he truly knew what he was doing, he was standing and moving out into the moonlight, slowly making his way towards the injured psychiatrist.
"No." He murmured quielty, dropping to his knees before the other man. "No. It's my fault and my fault alone." And with those words, he reached tentatively around to the back of Fai's head, carefully feeling for any serious injury....
-
Fai sat against the cool ground, looking off into the distance, wondering if Kurogane had fled deeper... and he rubbed his head softly, not knowing if he would even able to stand to find his way out of the woods alone if he had to, and not knowing if it was even worth the effort at this point. The thought of Kurogane not coming back almost enough to make the blonde consider giving up, to lie down on the ground unmoving, uncaring... his only hope of escaping his own desperate unhappiness so utterly gone... And he wondered to himself how he had become so attached to this man he barely knew, but knowing the reason didn’t matter... knowing that the fact was he did care... and perhaps more than that... thinking of how he had fallen asleep the night before, alone... the man’s serious crimson eyes following him into his dreams...
Fai sat, still... his breathing soft in the quiet night, trying to decide if he should call out one more time, when suddenly he heard the sound of movement, coming closer... as Kurogane walked slowly towards where he sat upon the ground. And the dark-haired man kneeled down, "No. It's my fault and my fault alone." speaking softly as he reached a strong hand out to gently touch the back of Fai's head.
Fai’s eyes widened at the touch, feeling the strength and kindness in the man's large hand, and not aware of his own movement, he leaned in towards Kurogane, his slender body pulled towards the other man as his blue eyes closed with the gentle touch of his hand... “Thank you for coming back...” he whispered.
-
“Thank you for coming back...”
Kurogane shrugged at the thanks, focusing on feeling around the large bump he could feel forming on the doctor's head. Sighing, he got to his feet and grabbed a pale hand, yanking Fai upright. Seeing the blonde sway, he quickly pulled him to his chest, holding him securely so that he wouldn't fall.
"Whatever, Dr. Flowright. But I guess I'd better be heading back, right? Time to be locked away again. Do you think you'll be able to manage the walk back?" He asked, his voice sounding somewhat husky to his own ears, for reasons unknown to him. All he knew was that he somehow knew that Fai would never tell anyone about this night - not because of his own job, but because he wouldn't want Kurogane to get in trouble. And for some reason.....Kurogane found himself trusting this lithe blonde man.
"Well? Or do you need to be carried?" He prodded.