locumstudentesquire | Songerein

[ 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?

[Oh god, the ears. That's so cute? Don't say anything, Naruhodo.]

Of course I trust your skills, Susato-san. And yes, go right ahead. I believe it should be in the bathroom cupboard...

[Assuming he didn't set it down somewhere stupid and forget about it.]

[ Ah... That look inspires a curious urge to give him her best Take-Down yet. She doesn't understand! She is actually not quite a literal mindreader, no matter how good she is at reading him, so she manages to prevent it from slipping out this time. ]

I understand.

[ She nods. With his permission then, there is a more casual bow of his head before she heads toward the bathroom.

For the love of all that is holy, if he forgot it anywhere, please let it be that cupboard. ]

[ Well! That bathroom could probably be in better shape, given the state of the rest of his house. She's going to be here all day and cook dinner at this rate! But at least she has the medical kit.

She returns with it, flipping the latch open just to make sure that nothing is missing. ]

Here we are. Ah... Th, There are even scissors if your old bandages give you trouble.

[ Does he like... want help with that. Is this going to be awkward. Who knows! ]

[Hey if there's one thing a Naruhodo knows how to do, it's keep a clean toilet! So if it's messy in that bathroom, it is ONLY because he's kind of handicapped at the moment.]

O-oh. Right...

[He takes the scissors, looking a bit lost. Can he... Actually pull off doing this one-handed? He's not so sure...]

[ ...???

Susato looks visibly kind of confused. Mainly because she hadn't intended him to take the scissors. Even if he was able to do it one-handed, that's just a lot of unnecessary risk. She blinks. ]

It, It might be better if I do it, you know. If you'll let me...

Oh!

[He'd COMPLETELY misread that situation, huh? Now thoroughly embarrassed, Ryunosuke buries his face in one hand and holds the scissors back out handle-first, mumbling deflatedly:]

Please... If you don't mind.

[ .......... Oh dear, this is going to be awkward, isn't it.

It doesn't have to be! This is strictly professional. Just think about what Rei would do. With a deep sigh for courage, Susato takes the scissors back, giving him a firm nod.

One thing he'll be able to say is that she is gentle. She takes great care, tugging at his old wrappings, snipping them until they are free. At first she flinches often, freezing each time he so much as moved, or winced, let out any sort of sound at protest—yet eventually, she has to ignore them.

She bites her lip when she sees the results of Hyde's claw searing through him, and she doesn't let go until she's sure she won't let out a noise of sympathy.

...Among the other things she brought back from the bathroom, there's a bowl of water, and a cloth included with the kit. She turns her attention to the bowl, dunking the the cloth in the water and preparing to wipe down the wound. Don't worry, there's also disinfectant, too. ]

[It doesn't have to be weird!!! Really, he'd strongly prefer if it wasn't!

The good-bad news is: It's actually nearly impossible for things to get too uncomfortably quiet or anything like that, because Ryunosuke is just a downright terrible patient.

Susato might have expected as much already, given all the shade he's slung around about doctors in the past... But now she gets to experience it firsthand. Hooray! Every flinch and fidget and sharp hiss of breath he takes in, all at the slightest of touches... He's not trying to be annoying about it, it's just an unfortunate fact that anything medical automatically turns him into a grumpy toddler.

So... Yeah. Ignoring his protests is the smart thing to do, in this scenario. Hopefully she's getting used to it by the time she goes to touch up the wound with that cloth, because as soon as contact is made...]

SsssssSSSSSSS--

[Ryunouske sucks the loudest, sharpest breath yet in through his teeth, sitting STRAIGHT up with his eyes huge and haunted.]

......

[ Yeah, she's mostly ignoring his overdramatic...ness. Though seeing him react in such away does distract her quite handily from any guilt she might have felt, pushing it gently to the back of her mind. She expects the flinch at the first touch of the cloth, but she'll just... continue.

Mr Naruhodo please, this isn't even the stuff that stings! ]

You sound like our snakes.

[ Ssss. Hisss. Hehe. ]

Edited (wording) 2023-09-09 14:46 (UTC)

[Ryunosuke grits his teeth in an uncomfortable grimace, trying very hard to sit still but obviously struggling to maintain that composure.]

Oh, yes, Hilarious, thank you!

[He says, voice strained and desert dry and very much devoid of any humor. It’s fine. He’s still just being a over dramatic baby.]

[ Awww, he's no fun. Susato's expression also completely drains of an humor following that, replaced by a quiet sigh. While he's obviously struggling, he will find it a little harder the longer she goes on, especially when she actually applies the disinfectant.

When his hand gets close, she will swat it away almost like a cat, until she is done, after which he will get a bit of a break. ]

I'm almost done.

[ She'll grab some new gauze, unrolling it, and then runs her hand along it slowly. Eventually, Ryunosuke may catch it glow slightly as she infuses it with dreamotion healing, after which she will know it is ready. She'll prompt him to hold out his arm so that she can wrap it all back up. ]

[He should feel worse about killing her vibe tbh, but he's being a grumpy toddler, so he doesn't 8/]

[He does lift his arm when asked to though, and when they're finally all done and he can drop it, he lets out a little huff and says, still somewhat gruffly and reluctantly, Sorry. [And then more gently:] And... Thank you.

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