damned_institute | Night 41: M01-10 Hallway

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Night 41: M01-10 Hallway

[in M7]

Hanatarou had managed to choke down about half of his dinner before finally giving up and pushing the tray away. With a glance back at Sora to make sure his roommate wasn't looking, he'd opened the closet door to get his uniform and started to change; he thought that if he was going to act like a healer he could at least look like one. Right?

He was just settling his pack in place when the intercom went off, and he gave a startled glance back toward the speaker. The announcement was creepy and disturbing as usual, but considering that he was already a bundle of nerves as it was...well, there wasn't really a visible impact on him. There were supposed to be two people - two strangers - coming by to be healed, and he hoped that he'd be able to help them.

The healer paused for a moment, staring blankly at the imitation Hisagomaru in the corner of the closet before finally deciding to leave it there for the time being. He'd have to see how he felt after trying to heal two people before deciding what he was going to do next.

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[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/629246.html?thread=53464062#t53464062)]

This was the right corridor at least. "My back is... painful to be honest," he said with a rueful smile. "I spent most of the day asleep and possibly drugged up because of it actually." He must have been asleep and he expected some painkillers at least because you did not usually sleep through pain like that. "But I'll survive," he added, not wanting Nataku to worry.

He found the door and gave a sharp knock. "Hey, it's the people from History Club."

Nataku followed behind him. He hadn't been paying much attention to the notice beyond a cursory glance, so he was glad at least one of them knew where they were going.

Biting the inside of his lip, he watched Kenren's back as he moved.

"Alright," He replied, realizing that Kenren might not be able to see his nod.

He wasn't... worried, exactly. Even burns healed over in time. He wasn't (overly) guilty. It would be an insult to both Kenren and Homura to claim responsibility for what had happened. And he was grateful for the help when he'd honestly needed it.

What bothered him the most was Kenren being hurt on his behalf. Again. Every time he could spare Nataku some injury.

Quite unconsciously, he clenched his fist at his side while they waited for the healer to answer the door. "You're going first." Quiet, clear words aimed only at Kenren.

After realizing that sitting and waiting would only make his nerves even worse, Hanatarou had decided to take advantage of the chance to go through the assorted supplies he'd picked up the other night and see what else might be potentially useful. As absorbed in that as he was, the rap on the door startled him even though he'd been expecting the pair to arrive.

The healer bit off a yelp and set the bottle of pills he couldn't identify back into the bag with exaggerated caution, then rose and moved over to answer the door. That they were from the History Club was all he knew, and thus likely fighters or something. So they probably wouldn't like him, which meant he looked even more nervous than usual when he peeked out into the hallway.

"Er. Y-you're...um, Kenren-san, a-and Nataku-san?" he asked, forcing a tiny smile. They did look injured, so probably, and he pulled the door wide open. "Um. Come in."

Kenren looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "I don't think so," he replied, just as clearly. He was not going to sit around with Nataku injured like that. The kid could get healed first and once Kenren was satisfied that Nataku was in good shape, then he'd take whatever was left. It was as simple as that.

The door opened and Kenren looked down at the healer. Scrawny looking kid, seemed terrified for some reason. They weren't really that intimidating were they? NOt when they were being friendly at least. He grinned at the kid and nodded. "That's us," he agreed cheerfully and stepped into the room. "I'm Kenren. I didn't catch your name though."

Of course Kenren had to argue, not that it would do him any good. Nataku shot him a look that said he was just as prepared to hold his ground. The healer came out before they could continue.

Nataku was a little surprised that the boy was his age, and that he was so nervous. He didn't think they made a very intimidating pair at the moment. He stepped in after Kenren and greeted the healer with a friendly smile, "Hey. I'm Nataku...which I guess is pretty obvious."

He hoped the boy wouldn't stay nervous. He was curious about how this worked. Being able to heal someone else was pretty amazing.

"Ah, I'm...I'm Hanatarou. Yamada Hanatarou." The healer gave an uncertain smile and glanced between the two. Nataku was certainly younger-looking than he'd expected, though that didn't necessarily mean anything, not after his experience with shinigami. And at least they were both starting off by being friendly.

After a minute's consideration Hanatarou glanced at the older man and hesitantly gestured toward the bed. "Um, i-if you want to sit down, it's...easier for me, that way." So that he would be sitting down, and would have somewhere soft to land if he fell over. Again.

Nervy little thing wasn't he? Kenren felt bad just for being there if Yamada was going to act like Kenren was going to eat him or something. He smiled back reassuringly at the kid, hoping he'd lose a bit of that skittishness.

He glanced over at Nataku seriously. "Him first," he said firmly, gesturing to the other god. "His arm needs doing more than I need healing." He could still shoot. He doubted that Nataku would be as effective with a broken arm.

Nataku glaceed back at him, speaking to Kenren directly instead of the healer. He had an excellent counter argument already prepared: "No."

He turned back to Hanatarou and shook his head once. "I can wait. Kenren has burns across his back. How much can you heal?"

"I...um. I'm not sure." Hanatarou's shoulders hunched a little as though he was expecting them to be angry at his answer, and he looked down at the floor. "Back home I could have, but...er. I haven't had to heal a lot here."

He hazarded a cautious peek toward Nataku, attention focusing on his arm, and after a second's consideration he suggested, "Burns are easier, s-so if I try that first I wouldn't be tired out right away...?"

That earned Nataku a glower. Kenren was going to remember this and next time something happened, Kenren was going to win for sure. Damn stubborn kid. "Fine. I'll give in this time," he said with a wry smile on his lips. If the healer was saying it would be easier, he supposed that made sense too. Damn it.

He went over to the bed and pulled off his shirt and began to unwind the bandages and gauze covering the burns. They hurt more than he liked to admit and covered around a quarter of his back and his shoulder. "There."

Nataku met the glare with a calm gaze...and released a silent breath when Kenren smiled again. At least the other god wasn't really angry. If he was, Nataku wouldn't have turned and shot Hanatarou a conspiratorial grin moments after. Good job. Most likely the healer was just telling the truth but Kenren would have been more stubborn without.

He watched the god unwrap bandages, noting where clean lines and scars became an ugly mess of raw burns. Stupid. That had to hurt a lot more than he let on. He hesitated where he was, torn between wanting to sit beside Kenren and staying out of the healer's way until he knew it wouldn't be distracting.

"Do you want me to do anything, Hanatarou?"

Hanatarou gave Nataku a somewhat startled look in response, which after a moment slowly turned into a shy smile and nod. He didn't quite understand why he was being included in this, considering that the two of them seemed to be friends, but - well, maybe they weren't going to dislike him on sight?

Strange things like that happened a lot around here, after all.

Since he was distracted, though, he didn't immediately notice Kenren starting to remove his own bandages. "Oh, I can get - um." It was a bit late now, so he just lowered himself to sit next to the man, frowning thoughtfully at the burns. That did look painful, but still, a lot easier to heal than some things would have been.

"No, thank you," he replied absently, lifting his hands to hover just above the burned skin without touching it. "This should just be a few minutes." A faint green glow surrounded his hands as he concentrated, pushing past the headache that suddenly sprang into being as he drew upon his reiatsu.

Kenren sat himself down on the bed, making sure that Hanatarou had easy access to the injuries. It was painful enough as it was, he wasn't about to make things any more awkward than they had to be. Thankfully he had no problems being shirtless around other people. "Thanks for doing this, Yamada," Kenren said, smiling reassuringly at the kid. "We appreciate it. I know it takes a lot of energy to do this." He frowned when the boy began to heal him, the sensation feeling pretty weird, although he couldn't quite put his finger on why.

Ha, victory. Hanatarou had even stopped stuttering, so maybe he was getting more comfortable around them now.

Nataku sat on Kenren's opposite side, leaning his weight back on his good arm so he could watch Hanatarou (and Kenren's back) as he worked. He'd get to see it personally soon enough but he wasn't very patient about some things. He'd never really given in to the luxury of curiosity about bandages or healing, but he didn't think Hana would mind.

"And whatever you can do, it's a lot more than we'd be able to do on our own." Nataku added, remembering the other boy's earlier apprehension. "So thanks a lot."

How does it work? The question was on the tip of his tongue, but he didn't think it would be wise to distract the healer with a technical explanation right then.

The comments were distant, touching only on the edge of Hanatarou's intense concentration, but noted and wondered at. What was it about these people that made them so different from the fighters that he knew back home, who thought anyone who couldn't fight like they could was weak and useless?

They were acting more like...like Ichigo and his friends, or Rukia and Renji. It really was strange, but pleasant. And it made it easier for him right now, since concentrating with his limited ability to heal was hard enough as it was.

The burns on Kenren's back slowly faded away under his hands, while at the same time pain flared stronger behind the healer's eyes. He persevered, though, pushing on until he had done as much as he could. The glow faded away as he drew his hands back again, pinching his nose closed against the trickle of blood that inevitably emerged. "Um. Just a second," he mumbled, eyes half-closed against his headache. "Need to catch m'breath..."

He could feel the pain fading as Hanatarou worked on the burns although he couldn't see how the burns were actually beginning to fade. He didn't speak as the kid did his work, not wanting to interrupt him. He got the impression that healing here was difficult, considering how MOMO had reacted when she'd finished.

He did sense when the glow faded and he stretched tentatively. The skin was still a little tender and achey, but nothing like it had been before thankfully. He turned to the kid and grinned, but it turned into a frown of concern when he saw him clutching his nose. Blood? "Hey..." he said, quickly going over to the desk and grabbing a couple of the paper towels which came with dinner. He held them out to Hanatarou. "Don't worry about it. I know it can take it out of you."

Nataku watched the burn heal like he could decipher the secret through pure observation. He knew he couldn't do the same thing even if Hana broke it down for him, but he still wanted to learn about it.

He kept a careful eye on Hana too, remembering how his own power taxed his body when he used the little that remained. It was pretty admirable to make that sacrifice for people he barely knew. Somehow, he didn't think the other boy was after the compensation either.

While Kenren grabbed the tissues, Nataku fetched a glass of water also leftover from dinner and offered it to Hanatarou.

"You should rest as long as you need to. We're not in a hurry to be anywhere."

The sudden attention and sympathy was a little bit surprising and overwhelming, and Hanatarou just blinked at the pair of them, looking mildly stunned. He took one of the napkins from Kenren almost automatically and insisted, "It's...it's not bad at all, just...it happens..."

He glanced from Kenren to Nataku again and shook his head, cautiously letting go of his nose and sniffling a little, experimentally. It had already pretty much stopped bleeding, so it really should be fine. And he'd promised to heal both of them, after all, so he was going to do it.

The healer forced a small smile and nodded at the younger of the two. "I'm okay, really. If you're ready...?" The initial surge of pain had already dulled, and by now it was nothing he couldn't ignore. They probably had better places to be than here, no matter what they said.

Kenren kept an eye on Hanatarou as he staunched the bleeding, wanting to make sure that he really was alright. He knew that healing took energy for the people here who could do it and he didn't like the thought of the kid getting injured because of it. "You sure?" he asked seriously, giving Hanatarou a concerned look.

Well, he didn't look like he was immediately about to pass out or anything, so Kenren let it go and moved away, grabbing his jacket and slipping it over his shoulders. The skins still twinged a little, but definitely much better. "You did a good job. I'm very grateful to you."

Nataku was a little uncertain as well. He really didn't want Hana to overexert himself, but if he was sure that he was alright...

"Just a second." Nataku sat back down and eased his arm out of the sling. He flinched a little. Right, fracture. Unwrapping the bandages and keeping his arm still proved to be a bit more of a challenge - to the point that he couldn't quite manage it on his own. "I'll..." Help?

"It's okay, really." Hanatarou managed a somewhat more genuine smile this time, even if it was still small, in an attempt to be reassuring. "It happens when, when, um, I do anything here. If I let that stop me I'd never get anything done..."

At the thanks he stammered to a halt and just ducked his head a little in something resembling a nod, with a mumbled, "You're welcome." It wasn't as though he'd done that much, but...he'd already been told several times not to stop apologizing for it. Not by these two, but still.

Fortunately there was something to distract him, and he quickly turned toward Nataku, reaching out to stop him. "Oh, it's...don't worry, I don't need to see. I'll, um, do what I can and then you can take them off..."

"It's pretty good of you to keep doing it then," Kenren said, going to sprawl on the other bed as Nataku prepared to take his turn. Kenren knew people who would probably refuse to help anyone if it meant inconveniencing themselves.

"You need any help, Nataku?" he asked, giving the younger god a concerned look as he tried to unwrap the bandages. He wasn't sure how badly his arm was injured but there was no way that it couldn't hurt.

He listened to the exchange between Hanatarou and Kenren silently, smiling a little. He liked Hanatarou. There were a lot of gods who would complain endlessly about the slightest inconvenience, especially if it was for the sake of helping someone other than themselves.

When Hana's fingers rested lightly on his arm, he stopped trying to unwrap the bandages and looked up at the other boy. "...Oh." His face felt warm again but he smiled. "Ok, thanks." He just let his arm rest against his knee. "Is this alright?"

As long as it was stationary, it didn't hurt as much. He glanced over at Kenren too. The look on his face made Nataku pause a moment, but he shook his head. "I'm alright. Don't worry."

Hanatarou nodded a little before ducking his head, ostensibly examining Nataku's arm in order to hide his expression. It was odd, but he was starting to like these two. He was glad that he was able to help what little he could.

He held his hands hand just above Nataku's arm, eyes losing focus as though he were looking through it and into the fracture; as he concentrated the green glow slowly reappeared, and he focused his reiatsu on healing the bone. This was far more difficult than the relatively simple burns had been, and his brow creased and eyes halfway closed as he worked.

Kenren couldn't help but grin when Nataku told him not to worry. "If you're sure," he agreed. He would worry anyway. Nataku had spent enough time being used as a kid that he deserved someone to worry about him. Kenren would gladly take up that mantle. He wasn't certain that Hanatarou didn't need someone to worry about him too.

It was his turn to watch curiously as Hanatarou began the healing. The green glow again and although he couldn't see any change, he knew what the feeling of it would be like now.

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