[ ❀ 020 ; video ]

[cicumae]

[ click. the video feed: a shaky view of the ground as the communicator's handled with one hand. boots clattering across a stained floor, accompanied by the sound of something heavy being dragged along the floor. the camera flickers up for a moment long enough to flash upon a doorknob -- then there's the click-swish of the door being shoved open

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[video/action]

[cachaemic]

[Ganta is only half-conscious when he hits the ground, and is still disoriented as he tries to find his feet again. He covers his face and winces at the pain in his chest that reawakens as he moves. Something else hurts and he pulls his hand away and stares at the swollen wrist, but it's only after he smells the old scent of blood that he remembers what happened to him. Finally, he looks around the room and his heart freezes when he sees the figure seated close by.]

...Nagi-san.

[He balls a fist, but he's still being indecisive. They're not alone and he can barely think past the pounding in his head. But he stands back up. Takes a step towards him.]

Are you...?

[video/action]

[cicumae]

[ someone is here. -- it's a blank observation, without any observation. the fact that genkaku has entered and exited is not anything worth noting, but the fact that this new and small figure has been left in the room is. and nagi watches with blank eyes, past the curtain of blood-stained hair, as the bundle of narrow limbs staggers upright.

and he recognizes, with the same dead apathy: ah, it's igarashi ganta. what's he saying? (doesn't matter.) nagi only shifts his weight slightly when ganta steps forward, eyes scanning ganta from head to toe, as if studying a new but not quite interesting sight.

for a moment, his lips part, as if to speak. but he's quick to remember the fact that his voice has been stolen away from him, and he instead only gives a small sideways cant of the head. eyes narrowed the slightest, as if asking, 'what are you doing here?' ]

[video/action]

[cachaemic]

[Nagi doesn't respond and that troubles Ganta more than anything. But he can't be dead, he saw him move didn't he? Then he remembers what he heard, what he saw on the video feed before and it suddenly occurs to him that maybe he can't speak. The blood on the floor, the walls... it was all his. And it'd been weeks since Genkaku had taken him. Who knew everything that was done to him by that--]

Hey. Nagi-san...

[His voice is softer, if not a bit shaky, as he walks over to him slowly. Cautiously. Only when he does, he catches his lifeless expression and balks. Ganta can't think of what to say or how to apologize, so instead he bows his head and stares at the stained floor.]

I was trying to find you.

[video/action]

[cicumae]

[ 'was trying to find you.' well, you've found me now, i suppose. what was it for? how may i help you? -- his gaze is still endlessly blank as he watches ganta draw closer, but his lips do curve into some faint semblance of a smile. not the familiar, optimistic one, but just a twisted, cynical half-smile that looks terribly foreign on his features. (except, it goes so well with the streaks of blood across his face, doesn't it?)

and he laughs softly without vocal cords, letting a puffing breath of air escape his lips as he cants his head back to lean it against the wall, exposing his throat. the crude stitches of wire stand out stark against pale skin, ringed with dried blood and rust.

a moment passes before he looks directly at ganta, sitting up a little straighter -- that ugly smile still lingering on his features as he gives a small nod. almost encouraging ganta to go on. (you've found me. did you want to say anything?) ]

[video/action]

[cachaemic]

[It's too quiet. The only sounds are his small footsteps as he got closer and his own hammering heartbeat. Something's wrong with Nagi. Maybe he's drugged or is too hurt to move. The smile catches Ganta off guard and for just a moment he thinks of something that Karako told him before he left DW. ...But they're not in DW. And Nagi isn't crazy. It's when Nagi head rolls back that he can see why he's not answering. Ganta's stomach lurches and he squeezes his eyes shut.

For some reason, he keeps talking, if only to himself.]

I-I'll get us out.

[It's a completely unfounded promise. Genkaku wouldn't have just left him there if he thought he had a chance. So why did he? Ganta swallows down the urge to panic and offers his hand. Then he shakes his head, and grabs his arm to help him stand.]

Come on... We need to go now.

[video/action]

[cicumae]

[ ganta keeps talking, and in some distant part of his mind, nagi notes that it's a slightly annoying noise that makes his head hurt. more so because what ganta's saying sounds so perfectly false. ganta is here because he couldn't escape in the first place, no? the twisted smile of his widens a fraction of an inch.

and then the offered hand. it puzzles him for a moment, and at first nagi only stares at it blankly as if unable to comprehend what it's meant for.

it's when the hand grabs at him that he finally moves -- lashing out with his good arm to strike ganta's hand away. the action causes the slow waves of pain working through his body to spike and ebb, and nagi lets out a slow breath, unconsciously drawing back his damaged, dismembered arm. giving ganta a hard, level stare before slowly staggering to his feet.

this presence. it's disturbing him, for some reason. too loud. too foolish. too unsettling. ]

[video/action]

[cachaemic]

[Ganta takes back his hand, startled that Nagi was even aware enough to hit him. But he nods; he shouldn't have touched him. It was stupid of him to try moving him when he doesn't know how badly he's injured.]

I'm sorry.

[Nagi looks angry and Ganta bites at his lip. At least he can stand, although a look at his other arm makes it hard for him to mask his worry. He doesn't need him, he needs a doctor. Again Ganta scans around the room, becoming quickly aware that there aren't any windows. He's not even sure where they are or if it's one of the areas where the atmosphere got bad like before. Maybe that's why--]

You've probably tried that already. ...Is he still-? [Ganta stops when he remembers that Nagi can't respond to any of his questions. It still doesn't make sense that Genkaku brought Ganta where he wanted to go. He should be dead. Just like it doesn't make sense that the monk would want Nagi to join the Undertakers when the rest of them aren't even here

[video/action]

[cicumae]

[ his head is still hurting something awful, a strange sense of vertigo making it hard to stand still, and it's only with his back against his wall that he's even managing to stay on his feet. but a curious sort of numbness is slowly spreading through the rest of his body, smoothing out the sluggish throbbing in his nerves, and he only looks blankly at ganta -- still talking, still asking, still saying things. all of them meaningless.

even that little gesture -- offering the scarf back -- it seems so pointless.

and he would have laughed if he still had his voice. as it was, the noise only comes out as a staggered, rasping breath, the air whistling through the cracks in his throat, past the coils of filthy wire. head bowed, shoulders shaking, hand clutching at his temple and fingers tangling in hair matted with blood and sweat, he just laughs silently to himself at how stupid he'd been -- they'd all been. (ah, how very, very wrong i was.) ]

'it doesn't matter,' [ he mouths, mute, the words caught in his throat. ] 'it doesn't matter

[video/action]

[cachaemic]

[The way he moves, the way he's smiling, everything seems off about Nagi. The nerves Ganta's been failing to keep buried quickly surface, and he can feel cold sweat beading on his skin. He's scared. In a way he's never been with Nagi. He knows he isn't well, but there's nothing he can think to do if he can't reach him.

Even after the first time, Ganta didn't expect to be hit. The cloth he was holding flies from his hand, and as he turns to see where it went he hears the crack of Nagi's fist against his skull before he feels the pain blossom behind his eyes. It's enough to loosen Ganta's tongue, and he snaps loudly--]

What's wrong with you?

[The blow to his head throws him off balance, and he holds his temple to keep from falling over. A look back at Nagi's eerily detached gaze and Ganta's thoughts start to unravel. I don't want to fight. Don't make me. I don't want to-- But he doesn't draw on his branch of sin. He can't

[video/action]

[cicumae]

[ and they do say that people speak their honest opinions at the most dire moments. the blurted, mangled exclamation only makes nagi's smile widen, the air escaping his lungs in stuttering whispers. (nothing. nothing at all. i'm sane, completely sane, this is what i am, what i was, that's all there is.) his head is still hurting, a sharp pain building up behind his eyes, and he clutches at his temples with his hand for a moment, trying to get it to stop

[video/action]

[cachaemic]

[Ganta doesn't have time to think about how they were going to get past Genkaku. He doesn't have time for anything. Nagi moves, faster than he can see; the blow to his chest lands right where Genkaku had kicked him, and a shock of pain intensifies even worse than before. A rush of blood in his ears deafens him and his small fist pulls at his shirt as if he could slow the pounding of his heart. It shouldn't hurt so much.

It doesn't occur to him that he's kneeling until he sees the orbs hanging in the air and Nagi standing over him. What's he trying to do? Why is he--

No, he can't think about it now. Ganta didn't run last time. He can't hesitate now. Whatever happened to Nagi, he needs to get away.

His head is just starting to clear as he pulls in a sharp breath. Unwillingly, blood trickles into his palm and he stares back at Nagi with a hardened expression. The bullet swirls in his hand as Ganta staggers to his feet.

As soon as he finds his balance, he turns on his heel and charges for the door.]

[video/action]

[cicumae]

[ despite the orbs of blood that have materialized in the air and are slowly circling him now, nagi doesn't move, simply watching as ganta falls to his knees -- meeting the wide-eyed, terrified stare with the same blank gaze as before. and he continues to watch, vision still blurry about the edges, his thoughts a sluggish, incoherent mess past the throbbing pain in his head. something inside him feels like it's started to crack, about to fall apart, and he isn't sure what he wants to do

[action]

[cachaemic]

[Maybe it's instinct kicking in, but as soon as he got moving, a very real panic runs through him and all he can think or want is to bang down the door and get out of there. The explosion that hits a moment later sends him crashing to the ground and he shields his face from the bits of rock and debris that fly at him. The blood that was swirling in his palm is crushed under his fist as he looks back to see Genkaku standing there. No, that's--

Ganta forces his eyes shut and shakes his head, and when he looks back it's Nagi staring at him with that same dead expression. Only it's not really him. This man doesn't know what he's doing. Nagi would never hurt him on purpose. Or maybe he would... Ganta might be sore and tired, but he hasn't been tortured like he has. It's their fault that nobody came for him sooner. There's nothing Ganta can blame him for.

He stands up slowly, bracing against the pain in his joints, and only manages to make it halfway. I didn't mean to. I tried, but I'm not strong enough. I'm just a kid, how

[action]

[thanatolatry]

[ Even as the orchestra of brutality was preforming the room behind Genkaku, the monk’s lips tightened, a smirk danced along his visage as wisps of smoke emerged from the corners of his mouth, curling around the cigar

[action]

[cicumae]

[ a red mist had settled over his vision and his thoughts, and nagi felt like he was watching himself through a six-foot wall of glass. everything felt distant and blurred, detached, and even as he saw ganta rise trembling to his knees, it was only a flat observation that he made. 'i could kill this child.' the orbs of blood continued to hover about him, almost pretty in the way the brilliant red glimmered in the dim lighting, and he took a step forward, head half-bowed and breathing rasping. his dead, dead stare fixed on ganta's trembling form. thinking, blankly, 'i probably should.'

it was only the slam of the door that stilled him in his movements -- and it wasn't so much the sight of genkaku that made him freeze as it was his voice. because even with his thoughts blurring into an incoherent mess, he still remembered, almost unconsciously, how much damage had been dealt to him by this beast. breath hitching in his mangled throat, he fell back a step -- the strength slowly draining out of his limbs. and as much as the hatred surged

[action]

[cachaemic]

[If Nagi heard him at all, he didn't show any recognition in his face. But he didn't look angry, not at all anymore, almost like he was lashing out in his sleep. Ganta reminded himself that he wasn't doing it on purpose, it's what that monk did to him. And Ganta would have let him if he hadn't stopped on his own.

He was vaguely aware that he was shaking, scared out of his mind that he was going to die. For a moment he was too fixated to remember that Genkaku was in the next room the entire time. Probably listening to everything. That's why he brought him there, wasn't it? He was testing him.

When he entered, Genkaku seemed to tower impossibly over Ganta's small form, as if he could crush him against the bottom of his shoe as he walked past. He hated it. Ganta didn't want to be afraid of him, and he practically snarled back, but he didn't move from where he was.

Why is it over? The words processed slowly; it didn't make sense to him why he kept being saved, but he wasn't ready to assume anything. Either Genkaku was