semi-closed 🔪 sometimes it's better to lose than compromise

[pitfight]

Who ⬤ Nishitani and various
What ⬤ It's trauma time! (event nsfw)
When ⬤ THE BLOOD RAIN BABY
Where ⬤ various
Content Warnings ⬤ TRAUMA!! BLOOD!! GORE!! VIOLENCE!! PTSD!! SEX!! BODY HORROR? This is a nsfw post for event stuff, so be warned

if you would like to tag into this/want a starter, hmu at bussy!

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[medicative]

[it's clear why she isn't answering her phone when he's close enough to see her, gone white under the blood that's fallen on her, eyes only half open and vacant. it's like she isn't even awake, and when he touches her, there's a brief glimpse - like an image laid over the world - of what she sees. that sheer desolation, a silence that cuts through the rainfall enough to make one's ears ring.

a bubble that's trapped her mind. she's not here, but there.]

[pitfight]

[ Alright, well, that's less great. At least her phone lead him here, and now he can take care of the situation. His jacket might not be the normal, pristine condition he regularly keeps it in, but he folds it over Emily's shoulders regardless, the extra weight and heat should get her physically grounded. Next is the hard part. ]

You better not scold me when you wake up... [ Nishitani kneels down and picks her up carefully. He's taking her some place out of this rain, then he can try and get her back to reality. ]

[medicative]

[she's lighter than she looks - it helps when your skeleton is hollow - and that illusion persists around him as he carries her. not enough to block his view, just enough to show what she still sees.

on her end, something's changed - for some reason, she doesn't feel so cold. not as much, like the atmosphere is blocked around her for some reason, and she curls up where she is, to cling to that sensation. and a faint, faint sound in a rhythmic pattern - one she wants to keep listening to, since it's not nothing. it's enough to hold onto, to steady her breath by, and it seems to grow louder the longer she listens.

she's silent, unmoving as he carries her, seemingly unaware of her surroundings or of moving at all. wherever he's going, she's not complaining, nor giving any input. she's more like a doll that happens to be breathing, ignorant of the rain, the world.

until they pass the doorway to shelter, and Nishitani will see the illusion drift away to leave his vision unclouded, feel her shift in his arms. there's hope yet.]

[pitfight]

[ The door to a small soup shop gets kicked in to get them both out of the rain, and Nishitani sits Emily down on one of the tables, leaning over to check her eyes when he sees that she's responding, however faint. He didn't expect her to snap back so easily, but he's not going to fucking complain. ] You finally with us, Emikko?

[medicative]

[he says her name, and her eyes snap into focus - but the look within them is utter terror, empty and seeing beyond him instead of where she is. there's a second where she sees whatever's in her mind's eye, and then she jerks up to sitting, nearly smacking his head on the way up, reaching out to clutch at his shirt

she's trembling, and as her free hand goes to bring the jacket closer, her grip is tight, white knuckled, before she blinks and remembers to breathe. where...is she? she's in Jigokucho, and the person before her is...]

...Nishitani?

[low, quiet. as if she can't actually believe it.]

[pitfight]

That's right. Glad to see me? [ Nishitani pulls away to dodge her snapping forward, but goes forward when she clutches at his shirt, paws at the jacket around her shoulders. Considering what shape everyone has been in during this rain, he's not overly surprised by her actions. ]

[medicative]

I...how did you find me?

[there had been no one for miles. no sign of life at all, and now here they are. if she keeps touching him, she knows he's right there in front of her, that he's not disappearing. and right now, that is what she needs after being rattled right down to her soul.]

[pitfight]

By making a couple right turns. [ Nishitani never put much belief into fate. He crafted his own road with his own two hands and what junk he could pull up along the way. When he turned down the road Emily had been on, he'd done it because he wanted to. He chased down the sound of her ringtone because he wanted to-- and that matters more than destiny, shouldn't it? ] But I got you now, baby.

[medicative]

[it shouldn't be such a relief, but it is. I got you now. a lifeline in the dark, while her youkai is still woozy, and a presence there to hold onto. perhaps he expects it, how she leans forward into him, hand loosening on his jacket and her arms coming to embrace him.]

...Thank you.

[she means it with all her heart, since he's the only steady thing around she can sense.]

[pitfight]

[ Normally, Nishitani would try and cop a feel with how she's grabbing onto him, but with them both covered in blood and all the shit coming down-- he puts himself behind, puts family forward. Take care of the ones who take care of you. Emily is that-- Emily takes care of all of them, and that makes her indispensable. ] Thank me when I get you back to your boy.

[medicative]

[something in her wants to protest that she can thank him whenever she likes - they'll somehow manage to get out of here, even if she's out of medicine, if they stay with each other. and maybe it's because she truly is grateful, that he feels like one thing she can trust, but she yields to one impulse in her system. she'd be an utter liar to say she hadn't thought about it before now, but she would lie all the same.

when she raises her head and kisses him, it's not some desperate burst of passion, nor overly shy. rather, it's simpler than that - an act of gratitude, because she wants to. a token to keep with him, no more and no less.]

[pitfight]

[ Nishitani's eyes widen, because of all the people to want to kiss him, Emily is near the bottom. They play cat and mouse, she strings him along and he allows it, because he likes it. But she kisses him, her lips bitten and sticky from the bloodrain. ]

[ But he kisses her back, dips in so she won't have to crack her neck stretching to meet him, dips in, wraps his arms around her waist. He'd also be lying if he said he hadn't thought about it, and with that he'd never lie. ]

[medicative]

[when it's over, she doesn't move terribly far away from him, letting this moment exist. it is what it is, she's exorcised it from her system, and they're steady now.]

Thank you.

[accept her gratitude for what it is. now she can pretend that was just bad dreams - that nothing happened, that she wasn't so scared, that she wasn't on verge of tipping over.]

[pitfight]

Damn, Emikko. Remind me to curse the entire fucking world more often. [ Nishitani is grinning at her, arms still wrapped around her waist. He doesn't want to let go, not yet, not when she's breathing and warm against him still. ] Another, for the road. [ He leans in to kiss her again. ]

[medicative]

[she should tell him no, that he's had his one, put it back to her terms. but then again, one on her standing, another on his. she will not kiss him any different - she is still as careful as she ever is, holding back, because otherwise there is nothing to keep in reserve. a tension she never lets go of.

one for the road, because he asked. and then she's pulled back, spine straight again - it has to be all packed up again. she has to get her footing, because there are people that need her, and even a momentary lapse could cause harm. whatever that was, Hibiki's wings will hide it from her mind's view, and she can think about it later. later. it has to be later.

breathe. focus. this can be handled.]

Your jacket...

[he should take it back now, shouldn't he?]

[pitfight]

Keep it, [ Brushed out against her lips, where they're still close, where he breathes against her and wishes for more-- but knows Emily is begining to wrap herself up again, lace up her boots, to do the good that he can't imagine wanting to do. He rucks his hands up her sides, the fabric of his jacket catching under his own fingers, until he's holding her hands. ] It's yours.

[medicative]

[for now, she thinks he means. she'll get it cleaned and return it to him when that's ever possible. but right now, she'll keep it - it's warm, and it's a comfort for that.]

...Do you know where everyone else is?

[their people. their group - everyone else beyond them will naturally follow. but if she can't find certain souls...]

[pitfight]

Got split up from Andy. Looking for the others right now, but Majima should be at the Arena. If not, Toraguma will take care of you, especially if I tell him you kissed me. [ Nishitani smirks, a hint of teeth giving way to something lecherous and predatory, but it's gone in a flash. ]

[medicative]

Please, don't. I don't need the Daitengu looking at me any more closely than they might feel inclined to.

[it's not exactly a secret, but since she doesn't flaunt things, her personal life remains her own. really, she just needs them not to look at the clinic.]

I need to go home - I have something there to counter this. Something I should give to you in case things get too much to bear.