damned_institute | Hallway Outside Sun Room

Jack blinked and tried to pull back in response to the sudden move from Kikyo. What was that guy doing now? "What the hell?"

He wished dearly that his powers would decide to return from where ever they had disappeared, even if only for two minutes, just so he could heal up and not be at this man's mercy. It wasn't as if Jack hadn't suffered a fair number of beatings before; he usually managed to walk them off or play them down. And while it was no secret to anyone in Fabletown that Jack's greatest strength lay in running away, he had grown somewhat accustomed to his instant healing for the brief amount of time he had possessed it.

He also didn't trust Kikyo much.

"What exactly is it you're trying to do?" He narrowed his eyes and shot the assassin a look that dared him to try anything funny.

Kougaiji did exactly that, stayed still. He looked after Kikyo as the man moved, curiosity within the crimson of his gaze. His breathing was shallow as he tried not to move too much, the wound had probably been ripped open few more times while the freak had tossed him around, it didn't need to happen again.

"Thank you," he said silently, not sure if Kikyo or John would hear, but it seemed important to get it off his chest. His eyes were falling close, the world growing darker and darker.

Kikyo merely narrowed his eyes coolly in response to the urban ninja's protest. If the man insisted on struggling against him, it would only make it more painful for himself. His cold amber eyes assessed the damage. Someone in this place wielded a katana. He could easily recognize the aftermath from his own weapon of choice.

In stony silence, he went to work, not batting an eye at the extent of the wounds nor from the sight and smell of blood. His fingers took him by the shirt where the sword ripped through, and he tore off shreds of the cloth to tie together into a makeshift bandage. The cloth circled around, and again, pulled together cleanly and skillfully - though maybe a little tighter than necessary. He had little compassion to spare, if any.

It stung like the dickens when Kikyo bandaged his wounds- Jack couldn't say his bedside manner was anything to gloat about. Still, he was helping the Fable, so he couldn't completely blacklist him.

Then again, he was only helping him because Kou had asked him to. Damn it, he was in debt not only to Kikyo now, but the demon prince as well. He sighed and leaned back, looking at Kikyo with a somewhat defeated look. "And which of my arms did this kindness cost me?"

He nodded towards Kou. "I think he's about to disappear on us. You probably wanna take care of him."

Kougaiji's temple was resting comfortably against the wall when Kikyo was ready with Jack. The redhead was murmuring something between his lips and smiling sweetly. His eyes were half closed and sleepy.

"Yeah, would like that. Try the cherries, they positive ruin me..." He laughed a bit, watching a play of fantasy build behind his closed lids, private show of personal amusement. "I'll be right there, mother, I'll just..." he trailed off softly.

"Hn." Kikyo snorted and gave the bandages one last yank for extra measure. It was not kindness that moved him, but he had a feeling the man already knew this. Nevertheless, there was a debt to be collected, which he intended to remember.

"Your arms, you may keep," he said, eyeing him in a manner that impressed upon the urban ninja that he would not soon forget this.

He rose again, wiping his fingers on a spare strip of shirt he'd ripped from John as he was bandaging him. He slipped his fingers onto Kougaiji's cheek, tilting it up to peer into his eyes. They looked cloudy and barely retained any focus.

"Yes, I'll try the cherries," he murmured, his hands already at work to dress his wounds.

Well, it was nice to have the bleeding stopped. What wasn't so nice was the atmosphere. And it wasn't as if Jack could just mosey off his own way in the state he was in. Groaning, he tried to make himself useful, lest his debt to the tea drinker sky rocket exponentially.

"Do you need any help with him, Kikyo?"

Even if he rarely addressed anyone by their actual name, it didn't mean he forgot it.

A sigh, long and silent, escaped from Kougaiji's lips. He looked up at Kikyo with sad eyes, knowing it was the end of that hallucination but still wanting to cling to it for a moment longer.

Kikyo knew what he was doing, but in these conditions that wasn't much. Kougaiji bit back a whimper, and jerked forward when his back was touched. The bandaged tied the skin together tighter, pain and dizziness increasing by the moment, and half way through the process he found his consciousness seriously fading.

"I'ma... sleep a bit..." he muttered silently before the darkness took him, head lolling against Kikyo's chest.

To John's question, Kikyo just shook his head. He was almost done in any case, agile hands wrapping the bandages tightly around the wounds and tied together firmly. Kougaiji was already unconscious by the time he was through, the weight of his head resting against Kikyo's shoulder.

Kikyo cupped the boy's face with his palm and spoke to him, though he probably could not hear him anymore.

"Sleep...I will be here with you."

He lowered himself to sit on the floor, bringing Kougaiji down with him and gently resting his head into his lap. It was strange and uncharacteristic for him, to feel protective over someone he just met. And yet, this boy reminded him of someone...a person he would have wanted to protect, had he been able.

As the hallway fell into a silence, Kikyo turned his gaze to John, watching him closely in the darkness.

"Tell me what happened." It was not a request.

Jack slumped against the wall and made himself as comfortable as he could in the hopes of maintaining what bits of consciousness he had left. Especially if Kou was going to sleep, he'd need to keep his wits about him. He didn't trust what Kikyo would do to him were he to nod off.

So instead he shrugged and answered the question. "He was stabbed."

Really, if Kikyo wanted more, he could ask nicely.

Unfortunately for John, Kikyo had already used up his 'nice' quota for the night. And if you asked him, he would say that John had no place to be less than forthcoming with him, now.

In any case, the man hand long since forfeited any rights to civility from Kikyo, even before he incurred this debt.

With an unamused tone, Kikyo spoke again. "As have you. Now why don't you tell me how it happened?"

"Was I stabbed?" The Giant killer said with a good deal of sarcasm, "It must have escaped my notice. It would explain a few things."

Looking away from Kikyo, he added, "There's a guy in there with a sword stabbing people. That's how it happened."

Yes, extreme blood loss might very well explain idiotic and dim-witted behavior, Kikyo thought to himself. That still didn't excuse the man's attitude problem, but that was beside the point.

Kikyo cradled Kougaiji's head in his lap, his fingers brushing gently through his crimson locks. The boy was stubborn, he knew this much. But why would he risk so much, with a body already so injured? He could tell from that morning that he was gravely wounded before the fresh injuries inflicted this night.

"It appears then, your clever weaponry was not so sharp as you may have wished," he said with a dark smile.

Jack tutted and held up a finger on his good arm, waving it. "That's where you're wrong. I don't have any of my things today. Those bastards abruptly changed my room and those were all in the old room. Had I had HALF of what I used to have..."

The Fable went on to make a slew of claims as to the vast skill he himself possessed and how very untrained, unimpressive, and clearly lucky Gin had been this evening. Ordinarily, he kept insisting, he would have laughed at Gin's feeble attempts to wound him, but as things were, someone had intentionally stacked the cards against him. Clearly, he was at a handicap and had been taken by surprise, and did he mention that he was unarmed?

Kikyo snorted, looking at John with contempt. If the man inside the sun room had any skill with the sword, no amount of forks, sharpened or not, could stand a chance.

As for all the claims to various skills and powers, it seemed the man was boasting without much thought to whether his words held any basis at all. Kikyo would believe it when he saw it. That is to say, if he even cared to.

"Then sharpen your wits, next time." He answered dismissively.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Look, buddy- I know you don't think to highly of me, but can we cap the attitude? I'm not in the mood right now. I appreciate the wound wrapping and the concern for Kou, but today hasn't been my day." It took him a good deal of swallowing his pride to say 'appreciate', but he had forced it out.

"If you wanna play protector and hero to Kou, I have no problems there. Hell, I'll even tell him that you personally saved him from an unknown fate worst than death if that floats your boat. I'm just saying that I would be a much happier camper if you'd keep the snide remarks to yourself."

That said, he tried once more to climb to his feet and make an exit, though it hurt so much to even THINK of standing...

"Rest assured that no such intervention is necessary on my behalf," Kikyo answered. He made no remark on the request to curb his attitude. He could very well ask the same from John, but he doubted the courtesy would be returned.

He arched an eyebrow as the man tried to stagger to his feet. He knew from the extent of those injuries that sustaining consciousness was a feat in itself, much less trying to walk.

"I suggest you stay where you are, lest your appreciation be for nothing," he said. And he added with a slight grin, "unless you do not trust to lose your consciousness around the likes of me."

It was beyond him why he should warn the urban ninja of something he was probably well aware already. Perhaps Kougaiji's kindness was getting to him, thought that was highly unlikely.

Eyes narrowing, Jack shot a glance at Kikyo, doubting the other would see it in the dark. "If you don't mind me saying, pal, not all of us can afford to be as trusting as Kou."

He managed to struggle somewhat upright (albeit, leaning on the wall for support and an odd angle) and take a few steps before toppling over again. It wasn't fair! His legs still worked fine--it was the damn blood loss and wounds to his torso that were keeping this from working out as he planned.

Forcing himself out of the faceplant, Jack struggled again to get to his feet. If he could make it to another hallway, at least, that would be a fantastic accomplishment...

"Suit yourself," Kikyo answered. If John was foolish enough to try to move in his condition, he was not going to be one to stop him.

Though John was right about one thing - one could never afford to be so trusting as Kougaiji. Not in this world, and not in the world Kikyo came from either. Ironically, it was his trusting nature that moved Kikyo to help him in the first place. Such a fragile thing, in the palm of his hand.

Several subsequent attempts to wander off proved just as fruitless and Jack was forced to admit he was stuck here for the long haul. If nothing else, maybe Kou would wake up and tell Kikyo to keep his claws sheathed. Until then, it was just him and the assassin, huh? Well, Jack wasn't one to sit silently and Kikyo didn't seem like one for words. He'd obviously have to initiate and control the conversation. How to do that subtly...

"So," he sighed, helping himself into a less awkward position, "What do you want to talk about, then, since we're stuck here like this?"

REAL subtle.

We? Since when did occupying the same hallway turn into a 'we'? Kikyo didn't think it was really necessary to force any kind of dialog, especially since the other was just as reluctant to be sociable as he was.

He sighed as his palm came to rest upon Kougaiji's forehead. The youth's breathing was evening out, not so raspy or in pain as before.

Conversation was not John's forte, in Kikyo's opinion, and the less he had of it the better.

"What is there to talk about?" he finally said.

"Well, we can talk about you and Kou. How do you know him?" Surely they hadn't just met at breakfast? Kikyo seemed far more committed to him than he would someone he only eaten one meal with. The Fable cocked his head and added with a smirk. "Or we could play 'Truth or Dare'. Is that more your style, 'sweetheart'?"

A jab at Kikyo's feminine appearence was probably not the way to go, but he couldn't help himself.

By that morning, Kikyo had thought that this place was no hellish afterlife at all, but now he was beginning to reconsider. Maybe this was a kind of hell...surely he must have done something horrible to deserve being forced to sit in the company of such an insufferable idiot.

His brows furrowed with annoyance.

"I would rather not," he answered curtly.

"Aw, come on," The Fable chided. "What would you rather do then? Sing songs in the dark?"

"Entertaining as that sounds, I would rather not," Kikyo repeated. "As a matter of fact, why don't we dispense with all attempts at society? Surely such a prospect is just as welcoming to yourself as it is to me."

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