damned_institute | Day 28: Morris Park

Heiji wasn't at all aware that Okita was losing his control--the thought had never occurred to him. He jumped after his opponent, bringing his stick down for a blow to the head--which he knew Okita would block. It was a simple enough move.

"Hey, no hard feelings!" Heiji said with a grin, beginning a quick string of jabs and strikes. Shoulder, knee, side, other side, shoulder. "I just figured you'd rather see this--" Two quick steps back. "Than, 'owwie, it hurts Okita-kaa-san'!"

He lunged forward, his body pulled into itself so as to not present a bigger target. His body was finally starting to fall into form and loosen up. This was good news for him--he could only get faster as time wore on.

He had to admit, the boy could fight. It was a relief and it meant that perhaps he didn't have to stay on the defensive the entire time. Laughing again, he caught each attack and pushed the branch away from his body. The clearing was filled with the sound of wood striking wood, bringing back memories of the Shiekan and of Mibu. The grassy floor was an ill substitute for the nice wood of the dojo, but it was better than the ugly linoleum at the Institute.

"Good - I was worried for a moment you were going to tell on me," he teased, dancing back and away from Heiji's lunge. Their swords tapped against each other as Okita began to circle the clearing, maneuvering away from the trees. He wasn't about to get pressed up against the "wall." "But now that you're loose, shall we really begin?"

In an instant, his stance shifted and he attacked, aiming for Heiji's right arm and left side in two quick movements. He knew the boy would be able to block them if he had been paying attention.

Heiji was taken off guard for a moment--he'd been the attacker for a while, so suddenly switching roles meant he had to reboot his system. He just barely leaped away in time to avoid the strike to his arm, and blocking the side attack came a bit too late. Okita's stick tapped his side before he could get the block in place, but it didn't follow through. That was a close one...

He was perfectly positioned for another shove, but Okita would probably be aware of that. Instead, he used his block to protect himself as he ducked under Okita's weapon. As fast as he could manage--hopefully before Okita caught on--he shot his leg out in a sweep kick. Nothing that would completely knock him to the ground--just take one of his legs out from under him.

This was what he lived for - a good bout, the sound of weapons clashing. When the branch tapped Heiji's side, he barely managed to keep from pushing him harder, hitting his side with his full force. He had to constantly remind himself that Heiji wasn't wearing anything to keep him safe. It was so hard to pull his strength, but he was proud of himself for doing it.

When Heiji dropped down, Okita knew he had to move fast. He freed his stick from Heiji's block and barely avoided the sweeping kick - feeling his foot catch - as he leapt to the side. It threw him off balance, causing him to turn slightly as he landed, but he didn't fall. Taking two steps back, he grasped the branch with both hands and opened his stance, waiting for another lunge - waiting for his chance.

Heiji fell back to the other side of the clearing, the hairs on the back of his neck prickling. He didn't like how Okita was standing now--it was different. Part of him said the reasonable thing to do know would be to drop the stick and stop the fight. Whatever came next was surely a can of worms he didn't want thrown at him.

Unfortunately that part of him was very small, and practically mute. Heiji charged forward again, suddenly skirting to Okita's left, stick extended defensively. If he was going to get attacked, he would at least be able to do something.

Heiji had proven to be a better opponent than Okita had imagined him to be. Whether that was a good or bad thing remained to be seen, but it had been so long since he was given the opportunity to feel the exhilaration that only came from facing another human being. Institute monsters were stupid, motivated simply by the desire to kill - no grace, no style, easily predicted.

Heiji was different.

As he skirted to the side, Okita shot forward, moving as if possessed to catch Heiji before he got the chance to flank him. Bringing his sword against Heiji's own, he pushed hard and felt the last bit of his control slip. He needed this fight to get out the frustration he couldn't inflict upon the Choushu assassin. He needed to be bruised and deal out pain to release his anger over Hijikata's disappearance. In the back of his mind, he just wished Heiji wasn't the unfortunate receipient.

Whipping the branch around, he struck hard for Heiji's shoulders - first left, then right - and dropped back, ready for another attack.

Whatever Heiji had been expecting to block, it certainly wasn't what happened. The look on Okita's face made Heiji's stomach seize in terror, and suddenly he was seriously defending himself.

Fortunately, the fear that had caused most of his organs to freeze helped Heiji move faster. He quickly blocked the strike to the left, then lashed out wide to the right, knocking the stick away. He winced, realizing that he was starting to lose his discipline. Reeling it back in, he followed close to Okita as he dropped back. He wasn't trying to get a hit in, just trying to get in Okita's face a bit and limit the room he had to work with.

As Heiji kept close, Okita felt the change happen. The boy wasn't attacking, but he wasn't letting up either. He wanted to keep Okita from getting anymore hits in, reign him in - make him stop. Shinsengumi never stopped until someone was dead or the fight was over, and usually the two coincided fairly well. Hijikata's own rule was to never let the enemy go unless you died trying to stop them. All or nothing, it was the only thing Okita knew.

So when Heiji kept closing in, Okita's real demeanor appeared. His face was cold and hard, a warrior's mask - a demon's face. If only Heiji had backed away or called it off, but they were both followers of the sword and they weren't going to give up. With such limited mobility, Okita did the only thing he could and turned his stick around, using the shorter "handle" area in a quick jab to Heiji's chest. He aimed to push the boy back and give himself more room, a trick he'd used in the cramped quarters at the Ikedaya quite a few times.

Heiji took the strike in full, feeling his lungs suddenly compress against his back. He coughed, trying to get air back into them while taking a step back. That wasn't something that he was used to defending against.

He couldn't hang back and catch his breath, though. That last escapade had at least made Okita a little nervous. This match was getting more and more serious, and there was no telling what would happen if he let his guard down for even a moment.

And dammit, now Okita had enough room to shake... a stick at. Ugh, bad pun. He'd have to kick himself later for that one. Now, there was closing in to do.

He walked slowly and deliberately, straight at Okita. There went that little part of him again, wailing that Okita's face was scary. His own probably wasn't much different--stoic and focused. This was going to hurt...

His knee suddenly buckled and he made a low lunge for Okita's legs, tucking his chin behind his shoulder. It looked like Heiji was aiming to hit both of Okita's shins at once.

There was no one to stop them but themselves, and it was obvious neither of them were giving up. Heiji's coughing and the momentary retreat just gave Okita enough time to prepare his next attack. Heiji lunged and Okita ran forward, bringing his weapon around again. Rather than use it to attack, however, he tucked it close to his body and jumped high, hoping to spring over the detective and land behind him.

Well that had backfired. Okita had completely forgone the obvious target of Heiji's back, and now was directly over him. Crap. Crapcrapcrap.

Heiji rolled out of the way as Okita's stick came down where his back had previously been. Close one. He turned quickly on the balls of his feet and lunged again, swinging the stick one-handed and wide at Okita's ribs. Just a bit closer...

Unpredictability - this is what swordfights were supposed to be like. When his stick hit the ground, Okita was quick to take a few steps back and bring his sword back up at the ready. It was good he did, too, because Heiji had the sort of speed that made the Hattori clan famous. Okita snapped the branch against Heiji's attack, pushing the one-handed attack away from anything vital and saw his opening.

At least, he thought he did. Heiji was getting too close again and he'd lost his window of opportunity. Damn it all! He needed to put more distance between the two of them so as Heiji drew close, he dropped his branch low and kicked hard, aiming for the boy's stomach.

At the speed he was going, Heiji couldn't stop when his brain finally registered Okita's foot millimeters away from his stomach. His momentum, added to the fact that Okita was damn strong, knocked whatever breath he had left completely out of him. His vision went completely white, and he made a noise halfway between a cough and a gag. Okay, game over. He couldn't see straight.

Heiji took a staggering step forward and extended his branch up back into the ready position.

...which, in Heiji's era, signaled that the fighter was done with the match.

Shit, he doesn't know that--!

Okita had to hand it to the boy. Even with the wind knocked out of him, he didn't look like he was giving up. The branch came up and Okita widened his stance. It only took a moment to fall into the hiraiseigan, legs spread shoulder width apart, sword directly in front of him and at the ready. Heiji just refused to stay down - it was admirable, but foolish.

The swordsman launched forward again, face grim as he knocked Heiji's branch out of the way. He wanted to end this now. The two quick jabs to Heiji's right and left shoulders were only seconds apart, leaving no time to react when the branch swung around again and connected hard with the side of the the boy's head. If he was able to keep fighting after that, Heiji was superhuman.

Why on earth Heiji had thought he might hurt Okita, he couldn't remember right now. The strike to the branch knocked it clean from his hands, and the next two jabs hurt like hell. But he only had a fraction of a second to think about that before Okita gave him another cut on the side of his head to match the previous one.

He ate leaves this time, and thought that it'd be best if he just didn't move. Less work. His brain was so rattled, he was having trouble trying to formulate in his head what had just happened. So for now, he'd settle on the less arduous task of trying to roll over so he could actually breathe.

With the match over, Okita dropped his branch and moved over to Heiji, helping him turn onto his back. A quick check made sure that no bones were broken, but he'd certainly be feeling this in the morning. He knew the moment Heiji hit the ground that he'd done the wrong thing again and sighed. "Are you alright, Heiji-kun?"

Okita was going to help him to his feet when two orderlies and a nurse burst through the brush. He reached for the branch again, but like some sort of bad dejavu, the orderly had him in a vice-like grip in no time.

"Just what is the meaning of this!" the nurse barked, looking from Heiji to Okita and back again. "I can't believe this, Mr. Ikeda, beating up on a young boy like that. Disgraceful!"

She motioned with her head and Okita gritted his teeth as the needle slid in and out, leaving a weird haze that slowly began to take over his head. The orderly released him and he stumbled a bit, hitting the ground on his knees. Perfect.

The nurse turned to Heiji next and frowned. "Mr. Hartwell, mind telling us just what you two were doing then? You're both getting put back on the buses, so I hope you're happy."

"'M fine...!" Heiji grit out, trying to crack his normal grin. "Damn, that was--" He coughed, his lungs running out of air and refusing to continue.

He was only vaguely aware of the crunching sounds coming through the brush, but once he'd had time to realize it, it was too late to say anything. Fuck, they'd been caught and he was dead weight.

Pushing himself up on his hands, he saw Okita stumble around as an orderly recapped a syringe. So... this place came complete with drugs. He scowled--this wasn't fair. Okita had been the epitome of grace and strength on the battlefield--it wasn't fair that he had been rendered to a pile of mush by an outside force. He was pissed now.

"Totally. Everything's, fan-, fucking, -tastic," Heiji wheezed, smirking at the nurse. Three on one. Bad odds. "Hey, c'n you help me up...?"

Okita didn't mind the sedation - it meant he'd done something right by this place's standards. He had a hard time staying vertical and fell forward to his hands and knees. It was unpleasantly like being drunk mixed with a strange calm that wasn't quite as unsavory as the former half of the experience. Rolling over, Okita sat down on the ground and grabbed his head with one hand. He need to be sure that Heiji didn't do anything incredibly stupid like getting sedated, too.

Then again, it looked like he was too late. The nurse moved over to help the detective up and Okita saw the smirk on his face through the haze. He was planning something. If only Okita could think clearly enough to figure out what. Instead, he looked up at the orderly that was standing over him and smiled. "I shuppose the trip is over?" he said, laughing as his words slurred together.

"Honestly now, Mr. Hartwell," the nurse chided. "You shouldn't let Mr. Ikeda change your otherwise good behavior."

She leaned down and lifted Heiji to his feet, checking him for injuries. She was relieved to see that there were none.

"Oh it won't happen again, ma'am, I promise~" Heiji said, swiftly grabbing the nurse above her elbow and at the wrist. He swiftly turned into her body and, using a move Kazuha had demonstrated on him several times, threw her. He didn't stop to see if it had actually been effective or not.

"Trip's over kaa-san, let's go!" He charged the orderlies as though he were going to attack, but faked them out by stopping suddenly in front of the man they'd just drugged. Determined not to leave his sparring partner behind, he attempted to pull Okita to his feet as quickly as possible. Heiji'd carry him if he had to! He'd definitely had enough of this fucked up place--time to head for the hills.

The nurse let out a startled scream as she ended up being tossed by her patient, landing roughly on her back. It knocked the wind out of her and for a moment, the orderlies were dumbstruck by what had just happened.

Okita laughed as Heiji pulled him to his feet, but regretfully wasn't as fast as he should have been. The orderlies recovered quickly and grabbed Heiji - one on each arm - as the nurse dusted herself off and approached.

"Mr--" She coughed, trying to catch her breath. "Hartwell. That is more than--"

She would have said more, but Okita wasn't about to let the boy take all the glory and gave the orderly on Heiji's right a swift kick to the shins. The act threw him back to the ground, but at least he'd done something. It wasn't enough, though, and soon Heiji had a needle in his neck. The deed was swift and efficient, the drug administered and the nurse livid.

"That's it! Both of them are to be on the buses this instant!" she shrilled, pointing a finger in the general direction of the buses. Okita grinned as he was picked up, looking over to Heiji.

"Kaa-san, huh?" he asked, giggling.

Shit, shit, shit!! The teen detective cursed as he was pulled away from Okita and put in a vice grip. Heiji knew he should have disabled the orderlies as well--it would've given them more time. Now they were both screwed.

"OW, GODDAMMIT!" Heiji screamed as the needle hit home in his neck. He'd received his fair share of injections--but they usually came in his arm, not his neck. What the hell. The drugs reached his brain faster, so Heiji's knees started to give quicker than Okita's had. "Shit... Sorry Kane... yo..." He stopped mid-sentence, a glazed look coming over his face. Wait, what'd he been trying to say? He laughed.

"My bad, my bad~ 'Sually my rescue attempts come with deci-- deten-- DEDUCTIONS, YEAH, de-duc-tions~! It was you! With a huge fuckin' needle, in my NECK!" He pointed and laughed at the wrong orderly, while the one who had actually sedated him just sighed and picked Heiji up. "How'zbout that for a deduction!" The orderlies began walking the two patients back to the bus.

"Ch'yah! KA-neyoshi, KAA-san... It works, but not really~! Y'aren't gonna lop my head off f'that, righ'?" He laughed, "WOW THIS SUCKS, drugs suck. Kazuha'd kiiill me if sh'knew I was talking to you li' this, but you're... a really cool guy~ I haven't been this drunk in a while, what'd I drink? I hope it didn't suck. I can't remember~"

Apparently the drugs and Heiji just didn't mix well. If anything, he was even more chatty than usual.

Okita laughed at the nickname and tried to shrug, but the orderly had a hard grip on him and it didn't leave him much room to do anything. It seemed that while sedation made Okita a little more loose with his actions, it caused Heiji's tongue to wag fast and furious. The swordsman stumbled a bit as they left the park and he decided it wasn't worth it to cooperate with the nurses since he'd already gotten the worst of it. The orderly was forced to half-drag Okita along as he kept falling down. "Lop your head off? Oh come now, Heiji-kun~! That's so barbaric!"

He giggled long and hard at that before letting out a contented sigh. "Aah, today was so much fun, too. Come find me at night sometime, hm?"

The nurse frowned and was going to scold the two of them again when she noticed that the other nurses were herding patients back. It was time to return to the Institute. "Well, it looks like you're saved a trip to the detention bus, but you're to be separated for the ride home. The last thing we need is you two making a ruckus all over again."

Okita was going to protest, but his orderly suddenly dragged him off in a different direction and, no matter how he struggled, he couldn't break free. He had to settle for calling out to his sparring partner and hoping the boy was lucid enough to remember what he was about to say. "Should you need anything, I'm in M63~! Come visit sometime, hm?"

"Barbaric, but I've seen SO much worse! Like this guy, totally torched some guy for absolutely nothing, drowned a woman, then nearly shot me! It was a bad scene, seriously!"

Heiji struggled against Mr. Needle-to-the-Neck when he realized that he and Okita were being separated. So not cool! He was having such a good time... stupid orderlies.

"During the night? Suuure~ Sounds like a party! M' in M93, so we're like... thirty rooms apart! Multiples of three~ There's a connection there--it can't be a coincidence!" Heiji's orderly resisted the urge to roll his eyes, but the small part of Heiji's brain was slowly creating a mnemonic so that the rest of his logical side could recall and remember which room Okita was in. He wasn't doing anything that night, save wandering around by himself and trying to figure out where the hell he was.

"Hey, I won't be inta--inter... interruptin' anythin' important, righ'?" Heiji shouted as he locked his legs repeatedly, causing the orderly to growl in frustration and drag him under the arms. "Dun wanna crash a party without an invitation--'s rude!"

Day 28: Morris Park

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