locumstudentesquire | Songerein

Well—

[ ...Interesting. Since he seems to control the transformations so well, perhaps he can give her some pointers. Before she can suggest the idea (and she really was about to), the baby closes in on her, brushing against her ears as the little trunk comes down against her head. It is such an adorable gesture that she can't help but let out a chuckle, and...

Maybe it's a little ticklish, too? Is she imagining it?

From a distance, Jugemu looks jealous, especially once the baby tapir seems to settle atop Bunsato's head. Will he hide somewhere, or will he come over and directly engage? Susato, despite being adept at reading minds, can't tell, but it does cause her laughter to slowly peter out.

She clears her throat. ]

Well. [ Honestly, it's jarring either way, and she might've preferred he just turned back into himself for one big surprise, rather than two. But she's not going to tell him that now. ] At least one of us can manage to do so at will... I thought the fish looked suspiciously like you.

[Ryunosuke opens his mouth, and then stops part way, furrowing his brow in apparent consternation. Doesn't that go both ways? Does that also mean he looks like a fish...?]

...I'm not sure if I should be offended by that or not.

[(He is 100% just teasing her.)]

[ Perhaps the teasing would have worked had she not known him so well by this point. Still, it really does look like it worked for a second: her mouth is parted, and she looks ready to apologize, but then the baby tapir starts to coo. The tapir fidgets and ends up folding one of her ears down as it settles, leaving one of them perked up.

Susato's eyes can be seen looking upward intently, as if listening to the baby. No matter what was said... ]

Why, yes, I agree!

[ ...With what??? Did she mean offense?! Who knows. Susato is amused. The little one is keeping her in a good mood. (She'll probably make a good mother, eventually.) ]

Either way, I can't finish what I've started like this... I hate to leave things half-finished, but I suppose it can't be helped. [ No...more distractions. ]

[He cocks his head slightly at the apparent 'conversation' she's having with the little tapir. Those two seem to be getting along rather swimmingly...

As for her big concern:]

It's alright! Really, you didn't need to start cleaning up around here... [He hoists himself out of the pond, hobbling on his bad front leg and bringing more water out onto the floor with him. Can't be helped.]I mean... Aren't you recovering from your own injuries too? You should focus on your own well-being first!

[ ......Rude. Between the two of them, Susato is the lecturer for sure, and somehow she hears a lot of herself in that little outburst. She doesn't notice the way the tapir starts playfully nibbling on her ear as they converse. ]

I, It... It is nothing so severe as that. I am fine.

[ She has had plenty of time to recover—something a journey she mostly took on her own, at least until somewhat recently. It is easier to hide her little microexpressions as a rabbit, at least. That vague answer hangs in the air before she finally adds, ]

More importantly, how have you been recovering?

[A Look flits across the dragon's features that suggests he's a little bit bothered by the phrasing that implies his recovery is somehow more important than hers, but. He decides he's not going to quibble over it, settling for just a small little huff instead.]

Ah. Rather well, actually... Thank you. [He hesitates a second.] Kazuma... Hasn't said a word to me since it happened, though...

[ Oh. Ah... She recognizes that look. It makes her feel almost scolded, slightly reminiscent of when he found her at the Port of Dover, ready to give up law. She is rather glad he takes the thought no further, which is amusing considering how handily she can win arguments against him.

The mention of Kazuma, of course, takes care of steering them away from the topic completely.

Her ears fold, and the baby tapir soon grows bored and restless as the conversation turns more serious. Perhaps it will find Jugemu more entertaining. ]

I am not surprised. He is still...

[ "my Kazuma-sama." ]

......You are not the only one he avoids. But I know he worries about you as much as I do.

Edited (ICON sorry) 2023-07-06 03:16 (UTC)

[Without really meaning to, he snorts in an uncharitable way, before his expression immediately softens in regret.]

...Sorry. I know he does. It's just... Well, I'm worried about him too.

[He turns his eyes in the direction of the treehouse next door, as if he can see through the multiple solid wood walls in between and land his huffy disapproval straight on their friend.]

I'm guessing he is probably holed up somewhere, blaming himself for everything that happened when he really shouldn't. Am I right?

[ Is he right? In truth, Susato can't confirm that with her own eyes. She still sees him during the day, keeping busy with repairs and other such heavy-lifting. He will even respond, but it is nothing like before. Curt, almost hurried responses, never inviting more conversation than necessary.

And at some point—

At some point, he is always able to make himself scarce. ]

...Hold on. Perhaps I can transform back before we continue.

Can you— [ leave—no ] Can you turn around for a moment...?

[At first, the dragon cocks its head to one side, not quite following her meaning. Then he remembers that's a discarded kimono the rabbit is sitting on there, and he gives a little jolt, putting it together at last.]

OH! Yes! I'm terribly sorry, let me just--

[Hobbling, he turns around hastily. But behind him is the fish pond and... Oh no. What if he catches something inadvertently in the reflection? Think Naruhodo, think!

...Panicking, he sticks his head in the pond. She can just... Nudge him, when she's done.]

[ ..........................CAN HE EVEN BREATHE LIKE THAT. Certainly there are aquatic dragons, but like—

Lord, don't think about that, Susato. It's all the more reason she shouldn't linger, so with a shake of her little head and some pawing at her face (she was probably trying to do the double face-slap), she will close her eyes and try to remember how she did this the first time.

...

......Just relax and don't overthink it. ]

[ Well, it feels like the first time. She never heard a dramatic poof, but as she stands there, gasping, she realizes there's no time to wonder or be impressed. She scurries, putting her kimono back on at a break-neck pace, and it probably looks a little less than perfect when she pulls his head out of the water, maybe in a slight panic. ]

N, Naruhodo-san!

[ When he looks at her, he will still see a pair of bunny ears lingering atop her head. ]

...Um, why didn't you just take the form of the fish again...?

[He's definitely an aquatic dragon, but he also doesn't have any visible gills in this shape so... Her concern is probably pretty justified!

He doesn't gasp for breath like he was holding it when he's pulled out of there, though. Held upright at the mane, like a scruffed cat. Nonplussed by both the situation and the question, he blinks at her a few times, eyes darting quizzically to the ears and then back to her face.]

Um, well... I don't actually particularly enjoy being the fish, is the thing? [Bad associations! He's kind of distracted from explaining further though, his eyes going back up to the ears again. His snout crinkles, like he's trying to stifle a laugh.] Erm, Susato-san... You, you have...

[He gestures a paw at his own pointed ears, which he flicks and holds straight up like a rabbit's for illustrative purposes.]

[ He honestly could have fooled Susato, with how peaceful he looked before... but she won't question it. Rather, the fact that he appears to be stifling some laughter there is sufficient to completely pull her mind from the subject.

She drops him immediately like a rock (sorry), gasping as her gaze tilts up toward her hand, her hands scrambling in a panic. You'd think he just told her he saw a huge bug there.

...But no, there is only softness. She is.. relieved? ]

Oh...

[ Yet no matter how many times she rubs them down, they pop back up again ~~like daisies~~. She gives up after a few tries. ]

Um. That hasn't happened before, honest.

[ .........Anyway. Gosh, what was she saying? ]

GAH--

[WHUMP. OW?? Okay, maybe he deserved that a little for laughing, but. Sheesh!

Heaped on the floor, the little dragon finally becomes regular old Ryunosuke once again, morphing in a flash. He's dressed already, and about as casually as he gets, with one sleeve of his yukata off on the side where his shoulder wound is. Gotta have access to the bandages and all, you know...]

Ow... Maybe it's because we're using dreamotion magic now, instead of story magic...?

[HE hasn't noticed yet, that he still has little dragon antlers lingering atop his head.]

[ She always assumed it was a lingering effect of the story magic, or maybe it's a bit of both. Either way, she winces at the hard whump onto the ground, but at least it was enough to turn him human again. It feels like she just blinked and there he was. She can't help but stare, kind of in awe, before finally offering him a hand. ]

Sorry.

[ ...... ]

Now we match, I suppose. [ No, they don't, but the antlers are kind of sticking out roughly the same area as her ears. She takes in the sight of those bandages, and her heart sinks like a weight. ] Come now, let's get you off the floor and away from the pond there.

We... Match...? [Confused, he lifts his good hand to pat on top of his head, fingers brushing over the hard prongs.] --Oh bother.

[He wearily gets to his feet at her insistence, distractedly pressing down on the antlers to see if he can get them to disappear. They're being pretty stubborn, though. The antlers have also thoroughly distracted him from the fact that he still has a tail, thick n' scaly and brushing the floor behind him. He's just really flubbing this transformation magic nonsense all over the place right now.

He catches that look on her face though, and gives her a sheepish smile.]

Ah, it's not as bad as it looks. I promise.

[ It's been a while. A long, long while, but Kazuma once also has a tail, and she won't soon forget what that was like while he was recovering in their old home. When she sees an opening, Susato will catch the tail in her hands to keep it from flailing about as she drags over a blanket to catch his weight (and the wetness) as he seats himself.

As soon as she sees that he is stable, she leans over him, looking over the worst spots near his shoulder as she lowers herself onto her knees. ]

...Well, not anymore, at least. I see you've had some healing. [ She sounds a little relieved as she lets out a sigh. ] That's good.

[He gives a very, very slight jolt of surprise when she catches the tail, because he hadn't even been conscious that there was anything there to catch. Makes him blush a bit, tbh. He distracts himself with continuing to try and make the horns go away while she looks him over, head canted to one side and eyes rolled up towards the crown of his head while he continues to poke at them.

His attention does flick to her briefly, and he gives a little nod.]

I ran into someone else, not long after it happened. He stopped the bleeding for me... [A small frown.] At great expense to his own well-being, it seemed. I feel rather badly about that.

[ Susato is quiet. Someone else was there for him when she wasn't, or couldn't be. But she tries not to think about that as she trances her hand along the gauze to see if it needs changing. ]

I see. [ She sighs, mostly in relief, but a small sliver of disappointment in herself remains for not handling this whole Hyde situation better. ] Who was it? We should thank them.

[Well. The answer to the gauze question really dependent on whether she's prepared to deal with a nasty puncture wound, and also Ryunosuke's bare non-existent titties.

Anyway. Don't think he's overlooking that sliver of guilt. He wishes she wouldn't blame herself at all; he shoulders some of the burden as well, surely, as Kazuma's friend. And confronting Hyde was a risk he willingly took on.

He takes a second, thinking back to that high pressure healing session.]

I think his name was... Ferran?

[Is that actually right? He's seriously not sure.]

Ferr— Oh.

[ It is something they both took on willingly. He tried to warn them, after all... But in the end, even Kazuma knew that neither would abandon him.

Ferran's name is enough that it overrides the guilt she feels for the moment. There is the tiniest of smiles. ]

Ferran is a friend of mine. That'll be easy, then. [ Already drafting a short letter in her head, honestly, but before she can do that, her expression hardens slightly. ] But first, it may be time to redress your wounds.

[Ryunosuke finally manages to get the horns to disappear, juuuust as she says that. He gives a little jolt, blinking in surprise, and then gives her a rather sheepish look.]

Haaaahhh... I was afraid you were going to say that.

[He really doesn't want her to feel worse, seeing how bad it is. Like... That claw did go through him, so... Even mostly patched up, it's still not pretty.]

[ There is nothing he's going to be able to do to immediately assuage her guilt. Perhaps he feels the same way, so maybe he will understand. They will simply have to learn to shoulder the burden together, and trust each other to get through this and come out better for it.

Susato's hands trace the gauze, as if looking for an opening, and she can't help feeling a little out of her element. Still, she forces a teasing smile. ]

Now, now, no need for the dramatic sigh. I don't have Rei's skills, but I still picked up a thing or two from my best friend. And I helped father plenty when he was in charge of the clinic.

[ As if rejuvenated by her own pep-talk, Susato seems to stand up. Her bunny ears, which take a little longer to disappear, perk up like she is looking for something. ]

Speaking of which, you should still have that medical kit I brought you some time ago, I think... [ What's he gonna do, throw it away? ] May I go fetch it?

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