LOG POOOOOOOOST
Who: Matt and Kadaj, then Matt and Mello
What: Kadaj teaching Matt a lesson for fooling around with Cloud.
When: Today, after this log between Matt and Cloud.
Where: Somewhere in Tokyo/Karakura.
Why: Because Kadaj is JEALOUS and EASILY OVEREXCITED.
Snuzz's Warning: Prepare yourself for heartwrenching paaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaain. DDDDDD:
Matt. Kadaj narrowed his eyes and clenched his fingers around the handle of Souba. He wasn't going to kill the human, that would only push Cloud further away and that would be extremely unsatisfying, especially when he is so close to being turned. But he had to be dealt with somehow, and Kadaj was unable - and didn't care to - squash the jealousy he had felt seeing the man undo all of his work. He followed Matt, not bothering to hide, down the quiet streets, picturing all the things he could do to make up for the expressions he had put on Cloud's face.
Matt had realized he'd picked up a tail a few blocks ago, and although he hadn't found an opportunity to turn and identify the guy yet, he had rather effectively managed to lead him away from the apartment he'd shared with Mello. It was annoying, though, to step out for a pack of cigarettes and end up in another part of the city altogether. If this guy was some stupid mugger who thought the poor foreigner boy was defenseless, he had another thing coming; if he was actually after Matt in particular, Matt would have to lose him now and deal with him later. If he worked for Yagami he might actually fire the gun he kept tucked into his belt. As it was, though, he was getting tired and annoyed, so he quickly scanned his surroundings for an empty apartment building and when he turned the corner, slipped inside and kept quiet. Anyone supernatural would know exactly where he was; anyone not would pause when they couldn't see him and give Matt the opportunity to plant his boot in their head.
Kadaj wanted to hurt the human all the more for being difficult about this. He was growing tired of chasing and when the human darted around the corner, Kadaj stopped. He walked to the edge and then called out, voice sharp "I know you're there, Matt. Come out, come out!"
Matt blanched when he heard that voice and put it together with the flash of silver hair, and quickly backed against the nearest wall as his senses went on full alert, heartbeat doubling exponentially at the realization that his gun would be completely useless here. Shit. Shit. Underlying his sudden fear was the thought that meeting Kadaj was fucking awesome, but it was currently buried under memory upon memory of what he and Cloud had done together in that church the other day. Someone had been watching. Shit. His fingers clasped tightly around the butt of his gun as he fought to control his breathing and shrink invisibly against the wall. Kadaj had every reason to be mad at him, but he wasn't about to give him an invitation to kill him too.
Kadaj tilted his head, picking up quiet sounds. He knew where Matt was. If he wanted to play, that was fine. Kadaj was good at these kinds of games. "If you run I'll kill you. If you stay I might spare you. Come out and face me, Matt. I promise it will be fun."
Not for Matt. What he had seen in the church had been the last straw - no one would be stealing this victory from him. Mother would be proud of him, he would be showing them all that he was more worthy of Mother's love. He couldn't do any of that if silly boys got in the way and tore Cloud out of his grasp.
Matt swallowed. A second later he'd analyzed his options and made a decision, fingers, breezing over the familiar texture of his gun as he cocked it and let the sound alert Kadaj to his presence. Shit. Just. Shit. He had no idea how he was going to get himself out of this one, and Kadaj was the last person in any known universe that he wanted to wing it on. Shit.
Kadaj side stepped, hearing the sound and immediately honing in on Matt's location. "Stop being so quiet!" Kadaj snapped, eying him and the pitiful weapon he held in his hands. Kadaj raised his arm, knowing that the boy knww what that could mean for him, even if he had no intention of summoning anything. "I don't like it when the people I talk with don't answer back."
Matt didn't visibly react to that arm, but internally he was almost panicking. He met Kadaj's eyes with a glare and forced himself to stay calm enough to think. There had to be a way out of this. He just had to find it.
"What do you want me to say," he asked icily. "Small talk? How's your back? I hope you didn't hurt it climbing down off that steep roof."
Kadaj chuckled. "I didn't, thank you for the concern. I'll make sure to ask you a similar question when we're finished here." He gave Matt an angry smile. "You went and made a mess of my plans, Matt. I am not happy."
Matt's eyes narrowed at that. So he was fooling around with Cloud for a reason. Bastard. At least he hadn't lowered Matt's evil bad guy expectations for him.
"Cloud must not be either, if a little head was all it took to win him over."
Oh now, Matt wasn't allowed to bite back. Kadaj dropped his arm and didn't bother with the threat, withdrawing Souba and holding it in front of him, slanted. "You shouldn't get involved in things you don't understand, Matt. Do you want to die? You're not making any good impressions."
Christ, that thing looked sharp. Resisting the urge to swallow, Matt set his feet a little more firmly in the raggy apartment's cracked linoleum floor and tried to look down the hallway to his side without actually moving his eyes.
"I didn't know I was supposed to impress you," he remarked tightly. "Do you want me to tapdance?"
Kadaj smiled wider and stepped forward, thrusting Souba towards the wall, intending to scare Matt into submission. He caught the edge of his skin on his side, far too close to his stomach for it to be an accident, a warning. "I'm not in the mood for that kind of talking. It's not polite to be so rude"
Matt flinched away from that sharp sting, flattened against the wall now in the very near likeness of a cornered animal. His eyes, though, stayed locked on Kadaj's, determined not to break that gaze in case he could catch any hint of further movement in them. "It was an honest question," he ground out gruffly. "Didn't your mother teach you not to assume?"
Wrong move. Kadaj's eyes flashed, he flicked his wrist, sliding Souba closer to Matt again, cutting into his side with two sharp marks "My mother was too busy trying to rid this horrible planet of you. Show some respect!"
Matt winced again as he tried sidling a half step or two away from that damned sword, contemplating the merits of running and/or experiencing the tip as it cut into his back. "Wrong planet, jackass," he grunted, voice tight with adrenaline and pain. It didn't hurt badly, but it stung all the same. "Do you even know where the hell you are?"
Kadaj hated being confused, disliked it so much that he snarled and lunged forward with his free hand to grip Matt's throat, stopping him from escaping anywhere else. "I followed you. Don't say stupid things. Either way! Show some respect! And learn your lesson!"
Matt's hands flew to Kadaj's wrist in a desperate attempt to pry the man off, and to pry him off quickly. The guy wasn't human. That fact was quickly becoming Matt's mantra. The guy wasn't human and he wasn't limited to human strength or some human version of brute force; he could probably crush Matt's windpipe if he wanted to, or just lift him off the ground and let him suffocate. Matt wasn't about to let that happen. He fumbled with his gun, trying not to drop it in his mad scramble to push Kadaj away, and instead pointed it at his pretty silver head. "Let me go."
Kadaj laughed and merely tightened his fingers. "Let you go?" He lifted Matt from the ground, turned to the side and threw him roughly down, not at all concerned with the gun. The moment Matt was no longer in his grasp he summoned several shadow creepers to keep a perimeter. Matt wasn't going anywhere. He grinned.
The gun flew from Matt's hand as the impact knocked the wind from his lungs. He coughed and struggled to push himself up again despite the mix of stinging and aching pain lacing his ribs, but chose to stay sitting on the floor instead of giving the guy another chance to grab his neck again. Shit. That was new; learning how to hold a gun was one thing, but he'd never exactly practice maintaining that grip while being lifted from the ground and then thrown to it. His eyes flickered to it, but lit on the creepers instead. He paled and looked back to Kadaj. The gun may as well be a hunk of useless metal, for all the good it would do him here.
"Can you guess what is going to happen here, little Matt?" Kadaj crooned, impossibly pleased with himself. He was that much more pleasant when he was hopeless to defend himself, much more so than the way he had been in the church. Kadaj wondered what Cloud would do when he heard about this, but pushed that thought away. What Cloud thought and wanted was not important now.
"I'm gonna kick your head in," Matt gritted out, forcing his voice to remain calm despite the scared shitless feeling spreading throughout his gut. "And then your stupid shadow things will dissipate and I'll run." There was nothing wrong with running when it was the only thing to do. Or would keep other things from happening. Like being sliced open by a sword.
Kadaj tsked, shaking his head "I don't think so. In fact, I'll tell you the truth. I'm going to make you hurt. It's the best way to teach a lesson. And then when you can't run away, I'm going to leave you here for someone to find. And if you tell Cloud what has been said, believe me, I will come back and finish the job. Do you understand?"
Matt didn't doubt his words for a second, but he wasn't about to sit back and just let it happen. Anger. Anger made people like Kadaj fuck up. It made them deadlier, too, but he was already more than deadly enough to begin with; Matt hardly thought a little more would make much difference.
"I understand that you're jealous," he told him, bracing his hands against the floor behind him and trying as stealthily as he could to prepare himself for a good, hard sprint. "Jealous that Cloud likes me and scared he won't like you, if you're asking me to lie for him. Why the hell are you fooling around with him, anyway? Loz cry too much?"
"Shut up!" Kadaj screeched and broke through the line of Shadowcreepers to plant his boot firmly on Matt's chest and push him back down hard. He hoped that he crushed important things. He snarled "I would never be jealous of you! I don't care if he likes me! Why are you talking!?" He dug his heel in deeper, and wondered what Cloud would do to him if he picked up the pathetic child and drowned him in the closest water source he could find. It would be satisfying.
Matt grunted and shoved up at the foot uselessly, more for show than anything else until he could gather the strength in his muscles to roll, locking an elbow around Kadaj's shin and praying to whoever the fuck was listening that the man would go down.
Kadaj laughed even as stumbled slightly, letting Matt free simply because he knew he couldn't run anywhere. The second he tried he'd either lose a leg to the Shadowcreepers or worse. Or less, if Kadaj was feeling generous. He wondered which it would be.
Matt cursed as he rolled to his feet, deciding then that he preferred being thrown down again to being crushed. He backed away as far as he dared, eyes darting to the creepy little things all around him, and wondered desperately how the hell he was going to get out of this in one piece. "What the hell do you want," he demanded in a growl.
"To hurt you," Kadaj replied simply, "It's up to you if you die." He turned around, taunting Matt by showing his back to him. "After all, I don't care if you do those things with Cloud after I have succeeded in my mission. But if you interrupt it, there has to be consequences." He ignored the lies he was spilling, Matt was never allowed to have Cloud at all but he didn't need to tell him that.
"What fucking mission." Maybe if Matt could get him talking he'd get distracted. Or something. It was a longshot, but worth it nonetheless, and besides, he wanted to know what the fuck was going on here if it was important enough to make Kadaj angry enough to track him down and hurt him.
"Brother needs to return to his family," Kadaj grinned. "We were hasty before, but he defeated Sephiroth - if he joins us, mother will find favour with me- we will be unstoppable!" He laughed, made a slight gesture and laughed even harder when one of the shadow creepers approached Matt, the others making up for the gap.
Matt blanched and skittered out of its way, skin crawling at the thought of that thing actually touching him. His eyes found Kadaj again and he glared. "You're insane, and not even the fucking good kind. It was one night. We're just friends, you stupid asshat."
"You're missing the point!" Kadaj snapped. "Whatever you are, it isn't going to happen anymore." Growing tired of talking, he strode forward and kicked Matt hard in the chest, sending him backwards. Matt could argue all he wanted after.
That hurt, and Matt stumbled backwards against an unforgiving wall, wondering dazedly if Kadaj had just cracked a rib as he struggled desperately to force thick, sluggish air through the wall of ache that was his ribcage. Glaring daggers, he forced his eyes up to Kadaj again, arm wrapped protectively around his chest in case of another attempt at it. "Oh yeah," he wheezed angrily, "take it out on the defenseless fucking human. I'm sure your freak of a mother would be proud of that."
Kadaj saw red and didn't even dignify that with an answer beyond an enraged growl. He moved towards him, drew back his hand and smacked Matt hard across the face. That didn't near enough make up for the slight against his mother and so he did it again, and then gripped his throat again for good measure, fingers pressing insistently down so Matt couldn't breathe. Let him struggle for words. That would teach him to not say useless lies. "Say that again" He hissed.
Matt would--oh, he so fucking would--if he could just breathe properly, the sting on his face forgotten under this new assault. His hands locked around Kadaj's arm again and tugged, squeezed, clawed, anything he could think of as he fought to control his own haggard struggle for air. He didn't want to give the bastard the satisfaction.
Kadaj tilted his head "What was that, I can't hear you" He ignored Matt's petty struggling. He wanted to break another rib, then cut up his body so that only those closest to him would recognize it. He wondered if Matt would fight more or less if he punctured vital organs. Such curious questions.
The bastard. Matt wasn't a very physically violent creature unless it came to Mello, who he felt comfortable enough to hit without receiving a ruptured spleen in return, but it was amazing what lack of oxygen, apprehension, and adrenaline could do to a man. He raised a closed fist to punch the Kadaj in the jaw, but instead waited until the guy's eyes flickered to it before craning a foot back and kicking as hard as he could between his legs.
Kadaj had his sword firmly embedded in Matt's gut before the pain even set in, and when it did he howled. The brat! He winced, twisted Souba slightly - he didn't want to kill him, didn't want to kill him, didn't want to kill him - and glared through watery eyes "Regret that?"
Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Matt couldn't repress the strangled cry that tore from his throat, didn't even try to as what was probably the sharpest stabbing pain he'd even felt flared all through his gut. Now he was clinging to Kadaj's arm as much trying to relieve some of the pressure from his throat. All he wanted to do was curl up on his side and call Mello, not stand here with a sword--a fucking sword--embedded in his stomach, where it felt like all the weight of his upper body was resting on its edge. He glared at Kadaj with pained tears in his eyes. Did he regret that? No, not if he'd hurt Kadaj as much as he appeared to. What he regretted was not having listened to Toushirou a little more when he was showing him how to use a goddam sword. So he gathered as much breath as he could, which was very little, and uttered a wheezy, "Fuck you."
Kadaj smiled and twisted the blade slightly to the left again. "Does it hurt?" He let go of Matt's throat, giving him some air because it would be very useless if Matt went and died on him. The curse words meant nothing to him and so he ignored them, sliding the sword from Matt's body at an agonizingly slow pace. "How much more can your body take? I need an estimate." He smirked.
Matt immediately fell to his knees with a pained grunt, one hand flying out to catch his weight as the other hooked around his stomach tightly. It wasn't a cut, he knew his insides weren't going to spill out over his arm, but it hurt enough and there was enough warm blood flowing there that it sure as hell felt like it. His gaze kept slipping in and out of focus, and it took him a moment to realize he was currently staring at Kadaj's feet. When he did he glared and, ignoring the way he was sweating and panting and probably not making very good decisions, gathered just enough saliva to spit on his shoes.
Disgusting. Kadaj immediately lifted his boot to kick Matt across the jaw. "Keep that to yourself," He hissed, crouching down to pat Matt's hair. He smiled sweetly again, wiped one side of Souba off on Matt's clothes. It won't actually clean it of much but it is the thought that counts. "Done? Or ready for some more?"
Matt lost his balance and fell with a grunt to his elbow and sides as bright lights exploded briefly across his vision. When his head cleared again he was almost glad for the ache in it; it took some of his attention off his stomach. He was panting as he glared up at Kadaj, the movement making his sore ribs ache, but dammit, this was ridiculous. He was aware that the smart thing to do here would be to shut the hell up and let Kadaj feel satisfied enough to leave, but he was hurt and pissed and just proud enough not to be able to stop himself from digging his own damn grave deeper.
"You're asking?" he rasped, then winced as he pushed himself slowly back to his knees again, his stomach burning. He wondered if maybe Kadaj had punctured the actual organ and there were acids flooding his system. If so then to hell with it; he wasn't going to a hospital, so he was fucked anyway. He wiped some blood from the corner of his mouth and half winced, half snorted and smirked. "Coward. Taking advantage of an unarmed opponent and then teasing him when he can't move. I bet your fucking mother is really proud of the son who has to cheat to beat a human."
Kadaj kicked him hard again, aiming to break a few more ribs while he was at it. "Shut up, shut up, shut up! You know nothing! Lay there and cry!" He hissed. "Clearly you're not broken enough yet. So we'll have to play some more." He reached down and yanked Matt up by the front of his shirt, held him up from the ground and then slammed him hard against the wall. "Shall I just cut your throat and be done with it?"
Matt couldn't see through the pain, his hands closing around Kadaj's wrist automatically as he struggled to find footing against the wall and relieve some of it. "Go ahead," he rasped roughly, eyes focusing blearily on the shape that he assumed was Kadaj's head. "Then Cloud'll know you're a murderer and shit in bed. What a darling boy your mother raised." He was aware that the Jenova jokes were probably the last ones he should be making right now, but he was in way too much pain to care.
With a furious snarl of rage Kadaj slammed Matt against the wall hard again, in a second wanting to crush every bone in his body. "If you die, there will be no one to know what happened to you. Don't push me. You think I won't do it?" Matt looked dazed, far too dazed. He wouldn't be coherent long anyway. Kadaj leaned close. "Say goodnight."
Matt squeezed his eyes shut and tried focusing on every combination of curses he knew in order to keep hold of his consciousness. "You think you can kill me?" he coughed. There was blood in his mouth. He spit it in the vague direction of Kadaj's face. "Go ahead and do it then. Mello'll hunt you down and gut you in your fucking sleep. You think no one'll know? How many stupid fucks out there carry around huge honkin' double-edged katanas, you stupid shit? You'll have gods of death coming after your sorry ass. Good luck killing things that are already dead." He was bluffing out his ass, and simultaneously hoping it would work. If he really did die here, he hoped Mello and Rukia wouldn't hunt Kadaj down for retribution or some other stupid honor/revenge shit. It wasn't worth it.
Kadaj scowled, though the thought of gods of death was laughable. He didn't care. It was Cloud finding out that he was worried about. Undoing his work would make this pointless. "And that won't happen if I let you live? Don't be foolis.h" With his free hand he slid Souba back into his sheath and then pressed his fingers into the wound he had made, jerking them about. Pain was a good conversation point.
Matt hissed and clung to Kadaj's arm like it was a monkey bar, curling up instinctively and then kicking out wildly at the man's middle. He couldn't think clearly enough to realize what would happen if he actually connected; all he wanted right now was for that pain to stop and to cause more for the sadistic bastard holding him up.
Kadaj withdrew his fingers and caught Matt's foot, twisting it and letting Matt fall to the ground again. He kept his hold on Matt's leg, scowled and dug his boot into Matt's back. "You're so boring, Matt." He sighed and wondered if he should leave him outside of his home, or in the street where he would rot.
Matt let out a winded grunt and, after a moment of struggling uselessly, did the only thing he could think to do at the moment; he curled up in a tight ball, grabbed Kadak's calf, and bit.
Kadaj yelped and lashed out, hitting Matt hard over the back of his head with a closed fist. "Give up already! Do you want to die?!" He gripped Matt's jaw, tore him away and winced, fingers digging into his skin.
Again with the bright explosion of pain, but Matt had been expecting it this time. Safely curled on the floor, he fumbled with Kadaj's hand for a moment before picking out the pressure point at the base of the soft flesh between his thumb and forefinger and squeezing as hard as he fucking could.
Kadaj cried out quietly and pulled away entirely, clutching his hand. "Enough!" Souba was in his hands again before Matt could blink and jerked it out, threatening. "Stop fighting, lay there quietly and this can be over! If not, I'll keep going." He jerked the tip across Matt's cheek gently, putting two thin lines of red on his face.
Matt snorted, jerking his head away from that blade, but other areas were in enough pain that he hardly noticed something as small as a light nick. He knew he was running on pure adrenaline now and that in a few hours the pain would make him sick, if he didn't pass out first. But that didn't stop him from taking advantage of the moment.
"So what," he said hoarsely, "this was some fucking warning? You stupid shit." He chuckled weakly, amused by the entire situation despite himself. He knew Kadaj. He'd known him for years. He was just a kid with a temper, who tended to let it get the best of him before his brain could kick in. "Christ. If you want someone to listen to you, you bribe them, so they'll listen. You think I'm gonna listen to you?" He managed a smirk as he forced his head up to look at Kadaj, an intense feeling of satisfaction running through him at the situation Kadaj was in. "You just put yourself in a tight spot, idiot. Kill me and fuck it up with Cloud for good. Don't and fuck it up anyway. You should have come with a bag of money, not a bloody sword."
Kadaj scrunched up his nose "Maybe it's not a warning for you," He snapped. "Maybe it is just a punishment." He doesn't like Matt's cheek, doesn't like it at all and why won't he just shut the hell up. "And shut up!" He grinned and raised the hilt of Souba, slamming it back down hard against the back of Matt's head. "You're annoying, and whoever you think is going to save you better get here quick."
This time the pain only lasted a for what seemed like a split second before it was replaced by a dull, aching throb. Matt opened stinging, half-blurred eyes to see that Kadaj was gone. His throat felt dry, his head a huge mess of hurt, and his chest and stomach just ached. He sucked in a breath at the pain and realized blearily that he must have passed out, though for how long he couldn't tell.
Not very, he realized a moment later, as he moved his aching arm to find his cell phone and found it covered in drying blood layered with fresh. He tried to ignore the now very obvious puddle surrounding his midsection and pulled out the device with a dull grunt. It took a moment to force his stiff fingers to flip it open, then press the speed dial for Mello. He didn't feel like trying to talk or getting yelled at or any of that shit right now--the very thought made his head roll more than it already was, so he simply texted a single word, HELP, before sending it and typing in the code that would allow his phone to be traced by anyone looking. Then he flipped it shut again and curled up in a tight ball, trusting Mello to figure out the rest.
That idiot. Mello would never admit to being afraid, but the text message had set him on edge. He had almost taken his bike, simply because it would have been faster but he couldn't take the chance that Matt wouldn't need the car seats. He was confused as to why Matt needed help - had one of his 'friends' caught up with him? Unlikely, Matt was the best. Mello knew that better than he knew his own abilities. He pulled a right and parked out front of the location he had traced Matt too. "Matt?" He scanned the area looking for anything suspicious, anyone lurking. When he came up empty he relaxed slightly and searched for Matt, desperately wanting to find him. "Fuck!" He cursed when he saw his best friend crumpled on the ground, blood from his stomach? his chest? somewhere leaking all over the floor. Mello didn't think, just dropped to his knees and put a hand to Matt's face, the other trying to shove his arm out of the way to get a better look. "Fuck, Matt?"
It felt like Mello had arrived as soon as he'd set his damn phone down, and Matt cursed as he was jostled, batting that annoying hand away so that he could keep pressure on the throbbing wound in his stomach. "Hey," he said weakly, giving his friend a bit of a smile. "You're fast." So the locater thing actually worked. Matt was a little surprised. He'd programmed the damn thing so that he could set it off and ditch the cell, not so that someone could find him with it. Huh.
Mello paled and then scowled. "Of course I am, who the fuck do you think you're talking to." His stomach twisted at how this all looked and his scowl deepened. "Move your arm, idiot," he hissed, trying to pull Matt's arm back again. "I need to see." He kept his voice quiet, not wanting to alert anyone that they were here. No more than he already had.
Matt snorted and let him look, sucking in a breath as cold air met it and the blood on his stomach. "It was a sword," he told Mello dully, knowing he'd probably mistake it for a bullet wound otherwise. Then he chuckled painfully, fingers groping to pull the hem of his soaking shirt up so that Mello could actually see. "A sword, for fuck's sake. I got stabbed." It was like something straight out of one of his videogames. Funny, really.
Mello narrowed his eyes "Who the fuck did you piss off?" His voice was tight with worry, trying to keep things light despite it all. Mello prodded, gently and hissed in a breath of sympathy pain. Matt was fucking amazing for still being able to talk. "I've got a first aid kit, but like hell it's going to do much. Shit, Matt." He pressed his hands to the wound, and stared into Matt's face, checking his eyes under guise of concentration. "What about those?" He jerked his chin towards the scratches on Matt's face.
Matt shrugged stiffly. "Sword. Apparently," he added in a wry rasp, "you shouldn't make fun of Jenova to Kadaj's face." Everywhere Mello was poking induced a fresh, sharp pain, and Matt curled tighter to get away from those hands. "Don't," he grunted, "it hurts. Fuck the kit, just give me some pain killers and put me in bed. I'll sleep it off." He wasn't so sure something like a sword wound in the abdomen would be so simple, or if he had cracked or bruised ribs that needed to be treated, but it hardly mattered; there wasn't much Mello could do for any internal injuries, and he was not going to a hospital.
"Of course it fucking hurts. Sit still and don't argue with me you complete moron." He slid his hand underneath Matt's back, forced him to sit up more, trying to help him to his feet so Mello could drag him to the car and take of him there. He didn't like Matt being in the open and bleeding like this. Fuck. "Like hell you're going to sleep it off. You were stabbed!"
"Yeah, I fucking know," Matt griped irritably, the every ache and throb and sting flaring as he was moved. He looped an arm around Mello's shoulder and struggled to help get himself to his feet, wincing as his stomach was stretched. He hooked an arm around it again and dug his fingers into his uninjured side. The movement hurt and he had to stay hunched over or it felt like he was tearing his stomach open. He winced and leaned his head against Mello's shoulder. "Just let me sleep it off," he sighed heavily, voice tight. "It hurts. Just get me home and let me sleep."
Mello winced, wanted to snap at Matt for being such a moron for getting himself torn up but kept his mouth closed. "You can sleep when we get home," he sighed instead, and tried to carry as much of Matt's weight on his own as he could. The car seemed too far away but he managed easily enough, worry crawling in his gut with how Matt's wounds could be treated. "Here, lean against the side," he ordered, "so I can get the door open and the stuff out. Keep your eyes open."
Matt obeyed the first order, but not the second. He rested his forehead against the cool metal of his car and let his eyes drift shut heavily. He was so damn tired. He just wanted to down a handfull of pain meds and knock himself out for at least 24 hours. He wondered if he could pass out in the backseat along the way, then winced when he realized he was going to get blood all over his interior. He shifted just enough to glance at Mello wearily. "Is there a blanket or something in there?"
Mello glared. "Oh for fuck's sake. Forget your fucking car. If you die because you won't just do what you're told, I'm going to push it off a bridge." He yanked the kit from the seat and fumbled it open before setting it against the sidewalk. "Fuck I don't know what I'm doing," he mumbled and reached for Matt again so he could help him to the seat.
Matt let him, though he worked in a weak elbow to Mello's side at the car quip along the way. "Fucker," he muttered irritably, then immediately lowered himself so that he could curl up on his side. "You're lucky you're allowed to drive it. Forget the fucking kit and take me back."
Mello ignored him and jerked out some bandages, enough to turn Matt into a mummy if he really wanted to. He moved to him again and grit out a quiet, "Lie on your back, Matt. I need to bandage this up." He started to tug Matt's shirt free on his own, lifting it up enough so that he could wrap the wounds on his stomach. Shit, Matt had been more than stabbed. Ribs were clearly broken beneath the skin, bruised beyond belief. He was going to need help.
"It hurts on my back," Matt mumbled, but did as he was told, wincing as he felt his seats turn slick with blood. Assuming he survived this, the first thing he was going to do was reupholster her. And then maybe he'd take Mello out to do something fun. Or something. Since he was helping and all. He tried raising his arms so Mello could pull the shirt off entirely only to jerk them back down again and hiss as pain erupted in his chest. "Fuck, just rip it if you have to," he said through gritted teeth. It wasn't like it was his only one.
Mello didn't hesitate to do just that, lips in a thin line. "I know, sorry but I need to check your ribs," he growled, and eyed the developed bruises even as he wrapped the white gauze tight around his middle, feeling blood soak through further onto his fingers. "Just a minute, then you can go back on your side. Who do I call?" He tucked in the edges, made sure it was tight enough and stroked his fingers lightly over a particularly nasty bruise. Shit shit shit. He wanted to kill someone. He needed to get Matt home and into bed. He dug around the kit again for some painkillers, offering them to Matt with a half empty bottle of fucking Red Bull from the front "Sorry, no water. Quick, take those."
Drugs and caffeine. That should be interesting. Matt downed them with a grimace and handed the bottle back, only swallowing as much as he had to to take the pills. Then he curled up on his side again with a grunt. "What do you mean, call. You don't call anyone. Just take me fucking home."
Mello frowned but took the bottle, tossed it onto the sidewalk and then slammed the door shut. He threw the first aid kit onto the passenger seat and slid into the drivers side, glancing over at Matt with a concerned expression once before starting the car up. "Shut up, Matt. I'm calling someone. Rukia? Fuck, no. I am not fucking calling Renji. Who else do we know that can heal? Those ribs are going to fucking give you hell and I don't know what I'm doing."
"They'll heal on their own," Matt growled, the vibration of the engine nothing but torture on his battered body. "If you want something to do go nick some really powerful pain meds from a hospital or something so I can be unconscious while they do."
Mello rolled his eyes. "You know what, you should probably pass out before I kill you myself. What the fuck were you thinking? What did you even do!" He tried to keep his driving careful so that he wouldn't jostle Matt too much, but nerves and anger made it hard to keep steady. Rukia. Rukia was probably his best bet.
"I didn't do jack shit," Matt said angrily. "If you want someone to be pissed at, go bite Kadaj's head off. All I did was fool around a little with Cloud. So sue me."
Mello resisted the urge to smack Matt in the back of the head, purely on account of it might actually kill him in the state he was in. "I wasn't blaming you, fuck. So basically you got yourself some video game sex and then stabbed through the middle? Jesus, Matt. Art is not life, no matter what they say. How are you holding up?" Not long now.
Matt snorted, the pain putting a bit of a damper on his mood. "How do you fucking think I'm holding up? Christ, I didn't sleep with him, and I didn't know he was fucking around with Kadaj. Are we there yet?"
"So you got yourself stabbed over a misunderstanding?" Mocking Matt was so much safer than anything else "No, almost. Stop being a bitch." He shut his mouth and pulled up, all but leaping from the damn car to pull Matt from the back. He wished he wasn't acting so damn worried but didn't have time to think about it. "C'mon. You're easier to deal with when you're passed out."
Matt snorted and let himself be dragged along, looping his arm around Mello's shoulders again for support, even though it fucking hurt. He was right. He'd nearly been killed over some fucking misunderstanding buy an idiot who probably didn't even know what was going on anyway. Christ, that was pathetic.
"I'm not being a bitch," he ground out. Fucking stairs. Why had he gotten an apartment with a flight of fucking stairs. "Would alcohol be a good idea or a bad one?" He didn't know if it would help dull the pain or fuck up something internally.
"Bad one, moron. Bad one. Not gonna stop me from having some though. You can just watch." He hated stairs. It took far too long to drag Matt up them and somehow get the door open to the apartment. "Bed or couch?"
Matt groaned and leaned his head against Mello's shoulder. "I don't fucking care right now, Mello. Ugh, bed." It was further away, but easier to clean later, because he knew the blood would soak in. Fuck. This was not how he had envisioned spending his day.
Mello nodded and helped him towards it, not wanting to hurt his him even further. "Alright. I'm gonna call Rukia, try not to pass out before she gets here." He didn't bother yanking back the covers before lowering Matt against the bed, he wouldn't need them.
"Don't you fucking dare," Matt hissed, only staying on his back long enough to remember why his side was better. He curled up tightly, arms looped around his stomach again. "I don't need a lecture right now." And he didn't want to worry her. Fuck, she was gonna be pissed. So was Mello, for that matter, as soon as he recovered enough that he didn't have to worry.
"So pass the fuck out and play dead when she gets here. I'm not letting this go untreated," Mello snapped, though his eyes flickered over Matt with a hard to conceal concern. He debated the merit of cleaning up some of the blood and sweat from Matt's body before Rukia got there. He decided that he didn't to move Matt more than he had to, and pulled out his phone. "Try not to move around too much. Your ribs could be worse than they look"
"'Cause you can see them so clearly," Matt muttered irritably. Talking hurt, though, and as he lay there untreated the pain was only worsening. He decided to shut up for a while and beat Mello to a pulp when he was able to move again. For now he just curled up and hoped the meds would knock him out soon.
What: Kadaj teaching Matt a lesson for fooling around with Cloud.
When: Today, after this log between Matt and Cloud.
Where: Somewhere in Tokyo/Karakura.
Why: Because Kadaj is JEALOUS and EASILY OVEREXCITED.
Snuzz's Warning: Prepare yourself for heartwrenching paaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaain. DDDDDD:
Matt. Kadaj narrowed his eyes and clenched his fingers around the handle of Souba. He wasn't going to kill the human, that would only push Cloud further away and that would be extremely unsatisfying, especially when he is so close to being turned. But he had to be dealt with somehow, and Kadaj was unable - and didn't care to - squash the jealousy he had felt seeing the man undo all of his work. He followed Matt, not bothering to hide, down the quiet streets, picturing all the things he could do to make up for the expressions he had put on Cloud's face.
Matt had realized he'd picked up a tail a few blocks ago, and although he hadn't found an opportunity to turn and identify the guy yet, he had rather effectively managed to lead him away from the apartment he'd shared with Mello. It was annoying, though, to step out for a pack of cigarettes and end up in another part of the city altogether. If this guy was some stupid mugger who thought the poor foreigner boy was defenseless, he had another thing coming; if he was actually after Matt in particular, Matt would have to lose him now and deal with him later. If he worked for Yagami he might actually fire the gun he kept tucked into his belt. As it was, though, he was getting tired and annoyed, so he quickly scanned his surroundings for an empty apartment building and when he turned the corner, slipped inside and kept quiet. Anyone supernatural would know exactly where he was; anyone not would pause when they couldn't see him and give Matt the opportunity to plant his boot in their head.
Kadaj wanted to hurt the human all the more for being difficult about this. He was growing tired of chasing and when the human darted around the corner, Kadaj stopped. He walked to the edge and then called out, voice sharp "I know you're there, Matt. Come out, come out!"
Matt blanched when he heard that voice and put it together with the flash of silver hair, and quickly backed against the nearest wall as his senses went on full alert, heartbeat doubling exponentially at the realization that his gun would be completely useless here. Shit. Shit. Underlying his sudden fear was the thought that meeting Kadaj was fucking awesome, but it was currently buried under memory upon memory of what he and Cloud had done together in that church the other day. Someone had been watching. Shit. His fingers clasped tightly around the butt of his gun as he fought to control his breathing and shrink invisibly against the wall. Kadaj had every reason to be mad at him, but he wasn't about to give him an invitation to kill him too.
Kadaj tilted his head, picking up quiet sounds. He knew where Matt was. If he wanted to play, that was fine. Kadaj was good at these kinds of games. "If you run I'll kill you. If you stay I might spare you. Come out and face me, Matt. I promise it will be fun."
Not for Matt. What he had seen in the church had been the last straw - no one would be stealing this victory from him. Mother would be proud of him, he would be showing them all that he was more worthy of Mother's love. He couldn't do any of that if silly boys got in the way and tore Cloud out of his grasp.
Matt swallowed. A second later he'd analyzed his options and made a decision, fingers, breezing over the familiar texture of his gun as he cocked it and let the sound alert Kadaj to his presence. Shit. Just. Shit. He had no idea how he was going to get himself out of this one, and Kadaj was the last person in any known universe that he wanted to wing it on. Shit.
Kadaj side stepped, hearing the sound and immediately honing in on Matt's location. "Stop being so quiet!" Kadaj snapped, eying him and the pitiful weapon he held in his hands. Kadaj raised his arm, knowing that the boy knww what that could mean for him, even if he had no intention of summoning anything. "I don't like it when the people I talk with don't answer back."
Matt didn't visibly react to that arm, but internally he was almost panicking. He met Kadaj's eyes with a glare and forced himself to stay calm enough to think. There had to be a way out of this. He just had to find it.
"What do you want me to say," he asked icily. "Small talk? How's your back? I hope you didn't hurt it climbing down off that steep roof."
Kadaj chuckled. "I didn't, thank you for the concern. I'll make sure to ask you a similar question when we're finished here." He gave Matt an angry smile. "You went and made a mess of my plans, Matt. I am not happy."
Matt's eyes narrowed at that. So he was fooling around with Cloud for a reason. Bastard. At least he hadn't lowered Matt's evil bad guy expectations for him.
"Cloud must not be either, if a little head was all it took to win him over."
Oh now, Matt wasn't allowed to bite back. Kadaj dropped his arm and didn't bother with the threat, withdrawing Souba and holding it in front of him, slanted. "You shouldn't get involved in things you don't understand, Matt. Do you want to die? You're not making any good impressions."
Christ, that thing looked sharp. Resisting the urge to swallow, Matt set his feet a little more firmly in the raggy apartment's cracked linoleum floor and tried to look down the hallway to his side without actually moving his eyes.
"I didn't know I was supposed to impress you," he remarked tightly. "Do you want me to tapdance?"
Kadaj smiled wider and stepped forward, thrusting Souba towards the wall, intending to scare Matt into submission. He caught the edge of his skin on his side, far too close to his stomach for it to be an accident, a warning. "I'm not in the mood for that kind of talking. It's not polite to be so rude"
Matt flinched away from that sharp sting, flattened against the wall now in the very near likeness of a cornered animal. His eyes, though, stayed locked on Kadaj's, determined not to break that gaze in case he could catch any hint of further movement in them. "It was an honest question," he ground out gruffly. "Didn't your mother teach you not to assume?"
Wrong move. Kadaj's eyes flashed, he flicked his wrist, sliding Souba closer to Matt again, cutting into his side with two sharp marks "My mother was too busy trying to rid this horrible planet of you. Show some respect!"
Matt winced again as he tried sidling a half step or two away from that damned sword, contemplating the merits of running and/or experiencing the tip as it cut into his back. "Wrong planet, jackass," he grunted, voice tight with adrenaline and pain. It didn't hurt badly, but it stung all the same. "Do you even know where the hell you are?"
Kadaj hated being confused, disliked it so much that he snarled and lunged forward with his free hand to grip Matt's throat, stopping him from escaping anywhere else. "I followed you. Don't say stupid things. Either way! Show some respect! And learn your lesson!"
Matt's hands flew to Kadaj's wrist in a desperate attempt to pry the man off, and to pry him off quickly. The guy wasn't human. That fact was quickly becoming Matt's mantra. The guy wasn't human and he wasn't limited to human strength or some human version of brute force; he could probably crush Matt's windpipe if he wanted to, or just lift him off the ground and let him suffocate. Matt wasn't about to let that happen. He fumbled with his gun, trying not to drop it in his mad scramble to push Kadaj away, and instead pointed it at his pretty silver head. "Let me go."
Kadaj laughed and merely tightened his fingers. "Let you go?" He lifted Matt from the ground, turned to the side and threw him roughly down, not at all concerned with the gun. The moment Matt was no longer in his grasp he summoned several shadow creepers to keep a perimeter. Matt wasn't going anywhere. He grinned.
The gun flew from Matt's hand as the impact knocked the wind from his lungs. He coughed and struggled to push himself up again despite the mix of stinging and aching pain lacing his ribs, but chose to stay sitting on the floor instead of giving the guy another chance to grab his neck again. Shit. That was new; learning how to hold a gun was one thing, but he'd never exactly practice maintaining that grip while being lifted from the ground and then thrown to it. His eyes flickered to it, but lit on the creepers instead. He paled and looked back to Kadaj. The gun may as well be a hunk of useless metal, for all the good it would do him here.
"Can you guess what is going to happen here, little Matt?" Kadaj crooned, impossibly pleased with himself. He was that much more pleasant when he was hopeless to defend himself, much more so than the way he had been in the church. Kadaj wondered what Cloud would do when he heard about this, but pushed that thought away. What Cloud thought and wanted was not important now.
"I'm gonna kick your head in," Matt gritted out, forcing his voice to remain calm despite the scared shitless feeling spreading throughout his gut. "And then your stupid shadow things will dissipate and I'll run." There was nothing wrong with running when it was the only thing to do. Or would keep other things from happening. Like being sliced open by a sword.
Kadaj tsked, shaking his head "I don't think so. In fact, I'll tell you the truth. I'm going to make you hurt. It's the best way to teach a lesson. And then when you can't run away, I'm going to leave you here for someone to find. And if you tell Cloud what has been said, believe me, I will come back and finish the job. Do you understand?"
Matt didn't doubt his words for a second, but he wasn't about to sit back and just let it happen. Anger. Anger made people like Kadaj fuck up. It made them deadlier, too, but he was already more than deadly enough to begin with; Matt hardly thought a little more would make much difference.
"I understand that you're jealous," he told him, bracing his hands against the floor behind him and trying as stealthily as he could to prepare himself for a good, hard sprint. "Jealous that Cloud likes me and scared he won't like you, if you're asking me to lie for him. Why the hell are you fooling around with him, anyway? Loz cry too much?"
"Shut up!" Kadaj screeched and broke through the line of Shadowcreepers to plant his boot firmly on Matt's chest and push him back down hard. He hoped that he crushed important things. He snarled "I would never be jealous of you! I don't care if he likes me! Why are you talking!?" He dug his heel in deeper, and wondered what Cloud would do to him if he picked up the pathetic child and drowned him in the closest water source he could find. It would be satisfying.
Matt grunted and shoved up at the foot uselessly, more for show than anything else until he could gather the strength in his muscles to roll, locking an elbow around Kadaj's shin and praying to whoever the fuck was listening that the man would go down.
Kadaj laughed even as stumbled slightly, letting Matt free simply because he knew he couldn't run anywhere. The second he tried he'd either lose a leg to the Shadowcreepers or worse. Or less, if Kadaj was feeling generous. He wondered which it would be.
Matt cursed as he rolled to his feet, deciding then that he preferred being thrown down again to being crushed. He backed away as far as he dared, eyes darting to the creepy little things all around him, and wondered desperately how the hell he was going to get out of this in one piece. "What the hell do you want," he demanded in a growl.
"To hurt you," Kadaj replied simply, "It's up to you if you die." He turned around, taunting Matt by showing his back to him. "After all, I don't care if you do those things with Cloud after I have succeeded in my mission. But if you interrupt it, there has to be consequences." He ignored the lies he was spilling, Matt was never allowed to have Cloud at all but he didn't need to tell him that.
"What fucking mission." Maybe if Matt could get him talking he'd get distracted. Or something. It was a longshot, but worth it nonetheless, and besides, he wanted to know what the fuck was going on here if it was important enough to make Kadaj angry enough to track him down and hurt him.
"Brother needs to return to his family," Kadaj grinned. "We were hasty before, but he defeated Sephiroth - if he joins us, mother will find favour with me- we will be unstoppable!" He laughed, made a slight gesture and laughed even harder when one of the shadow creepers approached Matt, the others making up for the gap.
Matt blanched and skittered out of its way, skin crawling at the thought of that thing actually touching him. His eyes found Kadaj again and he glared. "You're insane, and not even the fucking good kind. It was one night. We're just friends, you stupid asshat."
"You're missing the point!" Kadaj snapped. "Whatever you are, it isn't going to happen anymore." Growing tired of talking, he strode forward and kicked Matt hard in the chest, sending him backwards. Matt could argue all he wanted after.
That hurt, and Matt stumbled backwards against an unforgiving wall, wondering dazedly if Kadaj had just cracked a rib as he struggled desperately to force thick, sluggish air through the wall of ache that was his ribcage. Glaring daggers, he forced his eyes up to Kadaj again, arm wrapped protectively around his chest in case of another attempt at it. "Oh yeah," he wheezed angrily, "take it out on the defenseless fucking human. I'm sure your freak of a mother would be proud of that."
Kadaj saw red and didn't even dignify that with an answer beyond an enraged growl. He moved towards him, drew back his hand and smacked Matt hard across the face. That didn't near enough make up for the slight against his mother and so he did it again, and then gripped his throat again for good measure, fingers pressing insistently down so Matt couldn't breathe. Let him struggle for words. That would teach him to not say useless lies. "Say that again" He hissed.
Matt would--oh, he so fucking would--if he could just breathe properly, the sting on his face forgotten under this new assault. His hands locked around Kadaj's arm again and tugged, squeezed, clawed, anything he could think of as he fought to control his own haggard struggle for air. He didn't want to give the bastard the satisfaction.
Kadaj tilted his head "What was that, I can't hear you" He ignored Matt's petty struggling. He wanted to break another rib, then cut up his body so that only those closest to him would recognize it. He wondered if Matt would fight more or less if he punctured vital organs. Such curious questions.
The bastard. Matt wasn't a very physically violent creature unless it came to Mello, who he felt comfortable enough to hit without receiving a ruptured spleen in return, but it was amazing what lack of oxygen, apprehension, and adrenaline could do to a man. He raised a closed fist to punch the Kadaj in the jaw, but instead waited until the guy's eyes flickered to it before craning a foot back and kicking as hard as he could between his legs.
Kadaj had his sword firmly embedded in Matt's gut before the pain even set in, and when it did he howled. The brat! He winced, twisted Souba slightly - he didn't want to kill him, didn't want to kill him, didn't want to kill him - and glared through watery eyes "Regret that?"
Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Matt couldn't repress the strangled cry that tore from his throat, didn't even try to as what was probably the sharpest stabbing pain he'd even felt flared all through his gut. Now he was clinging to Kadaj's arm as much trying to relieve some of the pressure from his throat. All he wanted to do was curl up on his side and call Mello, not stand here with a sword--a fucking sword--embedded in his stomach, where it felt like all the weight of his upper body was resting on its edge. He glared at Kadaj with pained tears in his eyes. Did he regret that? No, not if he'd hurt Kadaj as much as he appeared to. What he regretted was not having listened to Toushirou a little more when he was showing him how to use a goddam sword. So he gathered as much breath as he could, which was very little, and uttered a wheezy, "Fuck you."
Kadaj smiled and twisted the blade slightly to the left again. "Does it hurt?" He let go of Matt's throat, giving him some air because it would be very useless if Matt went and died on him. The curse words meant nothing to him and so he ignored them, sliding the sword from Matt's body at an agonizingly slow pace. "How much more can your body take? I need an estimate." He smirked.
Matt immediately fell to his knees with a pained grunt, one hand flying out to catch his weight as the other hooked around his stomach tightly. It wasn't a cut, he knew his insides weren't going to spill out over his arm, but it hurt enough and there was enough warm blood flowing there that it sure as hell felt like it. His gaze kept slipping in and out of focus, and it took him a moment to realize he was currently staring at Kadaj's feet. When he did he glared and, ignoring the way he was sweating and panting and probably not making very good decisions, gathered just enough saliva to spit on his shoes.
Disgusting. Kadaj immediately lifted his boot to kick Matt across the jaw. "Keep that to yourself," He hissed, crouching down to pat Matt's hair. He smiled sweetly again, wiped one side of Souba off on Matt's clothes. It won't actually clean it of much but it is the thought that counts. "Done? Or ready for some more?"
Matt lost his balance and fell with a grunt to his elbow and sides as bright lights exploded briefly across his vision. When his head cleared again he was almost glad for the ache in it; it took some of his attention off his stomach. He was panting as he glared up at Kadaj, the movement making his sore ribs ache, but dammit, this was ridiculous. He was aware that the smart thing to do here would be to shut the hell up and let Kadaj feel satisfied enough to leave, but he was hurt and pissed and just proud enough not to be able to stop himself from digging his own damn grave deeper.
"You're asking?" he rasped, then winced as he pushed himself slowly back to his knees again, his stomach burning. He wondered if maybe Kadaj had punctured the actual organ and there were acids flooding his system. If so then to hell with it; he wasn't going to a hospital, so he was fucked anyway. He wiped some blood from the corner of his mouth and half winced, half snorted and smirked. "Coward. Taking advantage of an unarmed opponent and then teasing him when he can't move. I bet your fucking mother is really proud of the son who has to cheat to beat a human."
Kadaj kicked him hard again, aiming to break a few more ribs while he was at it. "Shut up, shut up, shut up! You know nothing! Lay there and cry!" He hissed. "Clearly you're not broken enough yet. So we'll have to play some more." He reached down and yanked Matt up by the front of his shirt, held him up from the ground and then slammed him hard against the wall. "Shall I just cut your throat and be done with it?"
Matt couldn't see through the pain, his hands closing around Kadaj's wrist automatically as he struggled to find footing against the wall and relieve some of it. "Go ahead," he rasped roughly, eyes focusing blearily on the shape that he assumed was Kadaj's head. "Then Cloud'll know you're a murderer and shit in bed. What a darling boy your mother raised." He was aware that the Jenova jokes were probably the last ones he should be making right now, but he was in way too much pain to care.
With a furious snarl of rage Kadaj slammed Matt against the wall hard again, in a second wanting to crush every bone in his body. "If you die, there will be no one to know what happened to you. Don't push me. You think I won't do it?" Matt looked dazed, far too dazed. He wouldn't be coherent long anyway. Kadaj leaned close. "Say goodnight."
Matt squeezed his eyes shut and tried focusing on every combination of curses he knew in order to keep hold of his consciousness. "You think you can kill me?" he coughed. There was blood in his mouth. He spit it in the vague direction of Kadaj's face. "Go ahead and do it then. Mello'll hunt you down and gut you in your fucking sleep. You think no one'll know? How many stupid fucks out there carry around huge honkin' double-edged katanas, you stupid shit? You'll have gods of death coming after your sorry ass. Good luck killing things that are already dead." He was bluffing out his ass, and simultaneously hoping it would work. If he really did die here, he hoped Mello and Rukia wouldn't hunt Kadaj down for retribution or some other stupid honor/revenge shit. It wasn't worth it.
Kadaj scowled, though the thought of gods of death was laughable. He didn't care. It was Cloud finding out that he was worried about. Undoing his work would make this pointless. "And that won't happen if I let you live? Don't be foolis.h" With his free hand he slid Souba back into his sheath and then pressed his fingers into the wound he had made, jerking them about. Pain was a good conversation point.
Matt hissed and clung to Kadaj's arm like it was a monkey bar, curling up instinctively and then kicking out wildly at the man's middle. He couldn't think clearly enough to realize what would happen if he actually connected; all he wanted right now was for that pain to stop and to cause more for the sadistic bastard holding him up.
Kadaj withdrew his fingers and caught Matt's foot, twisting it and letting Matt fall to the ground again. He kept his hold on Matt's leg, scowled and dug his boot into Matt's back. "You're so boring, Matt." He sighed and wondered if he should leave him outside of his home, or in the street where he would rot.
Matt let out a winded grunt and, after a moment of struggling uselessly, did the only thing he could think to do at the moment; he curled up in a tight ball, grabbed Kadak's calf, and bit.
Kadaj yelped and lashed out, hitting Matt hard over the back of his head with a closed fist. "Give up already! Do you want to die?!" He gripped Matt's jaw, tore him away and winced, fingers digging into his skin.
Again with the bright explosion of pain, but Matt had been expecting it this time. Safely curled on the floor, he fumbled with Kadaj's hand for a moment before picking out the pressure point at the base of the soft flesh between his thumb and forefinger and squeezing as hard as he fucking could.
Kadaj cried out quietly and pulled away entirely, clutching his hand. "Enough!" Souba was in his hands again before Matt could blink and jerked it out, threatening. "Stop fighting, lay there quietly and this can be over! If not, I'll keep going." He jerked the tip across Matt's cheek gently, putting two thin lines of red on his face.
Matt snorted, jerking his head away from that blade, but other areas were in enough pain that he hardly noticed something as small as a light nick. He knew he was running on pure adrenaline now and that in a few hours the pain would make him sick, if he didn't pass out first. But that didn't stop him from taking advantage of the moment.
"So what," he said hoarsely, "this was some fucking warning? You stupid shit." He chuckled weakly, amused by the entire situation despite himself. He knew Kadaj. He'd known him for years. He was just a kid with a temper, who tended to let it get the best of him before his brain could kick in. "Christ. If you want someone to listen to you, you bribe them, so they'll listen. You think I'm gonna listen to you?" He managed a smirk as he forced his head up to look at Kadaj, an intense feeling of satisfaction running through him at the situation Kadaj was in. "You just put yourself in a tight spot, idiot. Kill me and fuck it up with Cloud for good. Don't and fuck it up anyway. You should have come with a bag of money, not a bloody sword."
Kadaj scrunched up his nose "Maybe it's not a warning for you," He snapped. "Maybe it is just a punishment." He doesn't like Matt's cheek, doesn't like it at all and why won't he just shut the hell up. "And shut up!" He grinned and raised the hilt of Souba, slamming it back down hard against the back of Matt's head. "You're annoying, and whoever you think is going to save you better get here quick."
This time the pain only lasted a for what seemed like a split second before it was replaced by a dull, aching throb. Matt opened stinging, half-blurred eyes to see that Kadaj was gone. His throat felt dry, his head a huge mess of hurt, and his chest and stomach just ached. He sucked in a breath at the pain and realized blearily that he must have passed out, though for how long he couldn't tell.
Not very, he realized a moment later, as he moved his aching arm to find his cell phone and found it covered in drying blood layered with fresh. He tried to ignore the now very obvious puddle surrounding his midsection and pulled out the device with a dull grunt. It took a moment to force his stiff fingers to flip it open, then press the speed dial for Mello. He didn't feel like trying to talk or getting yelled at or any of that shit right now--the very thought made his head roll more than it already was, so he simply texted a single word, HELP, before sending it and typing in the code that would allow his phone to be traced by anyone looking. Then he flipped it shut again and curled up in a tight ball, trusting Mello to figure out the rest.
That idiot. Mello would never admit to being afraid, but the text message had set him on edge. He had almost taken his bike, simply because it would have been faster but he couldn't take the chance that Matt wouldn't need the car seats. He was confused as to why Matt needed help - had one of his 'friends' caught up with him? Unlikely, Matt was the best. Mello knew that better than he knew his own abilities. He pulled a right and parked out front of the location he had traced Matt too. "Matt?" He scanned the area looking for anything suspicious, anyone lurking. When he came up empty he relaxed slightly and searched for Matt, desperately wanting to find him. "Fuck!" He cursed when he saw his best friend crumpled on the ground, blood from his stomach? his chest? somewhere leaking all over the floor. Mello didn't think, just dropped to his knees and put a hand to Matt's face, the other trying to shove his arm out of the way to get a better look. "Fuck, Matt?"
It felt like Mello had arrived as soon as he'd set his damn phone down, and Matt cursed as he was jostled, batting that annoying hand away so that he could keep pressure on the throbbing wound in his stomach. "Hey," he said weakly, giving his friend a bit of a smile. "You're fast." So the locater thing actually worked. Matt was a little surprised. He'd programmed the damn thing so that he could set it off and ditch the cell, not so that someone could find him with it. Huh.
Mello paled and then scowled. "Of course I am, who the fuck do you think you're talking to." His stomach twisted at how this all looked and his scowl deepened. "Move your arm, idiot," he hissed, trying to pull Matt's arm back again. "I need to see." He kept his voice quiet, not wanting to alert anyone that they were here. No more than he already had.
Matt snorted and let him look, sucking in a breath as cold air met it and the blood on his stomach. "It was a sword," he told Mello dully, knowing he'd probably mistake it for a bullet wound otherwise. Then he chuckled painfully, fingers groping to pull the hem of his soaking shirt up so that Mello could actually see. "A sword, for fuck's sake. I got stabbed." It was like something straight out of one of his videogames. Funny, really.
Mello narrowed his eyes "Who the fuck did you piss off?" His voice was tight with worry, trying to keep things light despite it all. Mello prodded, gently and hissed in a breath of sympathy pain. Matt was fucking amazing for still being able to talk. "I've got a first aid kit, but like hell it's going to do much. Shit, Matt." He pressed his hands to the wound, and stared into Matt's face, checking his eyes under guise of concentration. "What about those?" He jerked his chin towards the scratches on Matt's face.
Matt shrugged stiffly. "Sword. Apparently," he added in a wry rasp, "you shouldn't make fun of Jenova to Kadaj's face." Everywhere Mello was poking induced a fresh, sharp pain, and Matt curled tighter to get away from those hands. "Don't," he grunted, "it hurts. Fuck the kit, just give me some pain killers and put me in bed. I'll sleep it off." He wasn't so sure something like a sword wound in the abdomen would be so simple, or if he had cracked or bruised ribs that needed to be treated, but it hardly mattered; there wasn't much Mello could do for any internal injuries, and he was not going to a hospital.
"Of course it fucking hurts. Sit still and don't argue with me you complete moron." He slid his hand underneath Matt's back, forced him to sit up more, trying to help him to his feet so Mello could drag him to the car and take of him there. He didn't like Matt being in the open and bleeding like this. Fuck. "Like hell you're going to sleep it off. You were stabbed!"
"Yeah, I fucking know," Matt griped irritably, the every ache and throb and sting flaring as he was moved. He looped an arm around Mello's shoulder and struggled to help get himself to his feet, wincing as his stomach was stretched. He hooked an arm around it again and dug his fingers into his uninjured side. The movement hurt and he had to stay hunched over or it felt like he was tearing his stomach open. He winced and leaned his head against Mello's shoulder. "Just let me sleep it off," he sighed heavily, voice tight. "It hurts. Just get me home and let me sleep."
Mello winced, wanted to snap at Matt for being such a moron for getting himself torn up but kept his mouth closed. "You can sleep when we get home," he sighed instead, and tried to carry as much of Matt's weight on his own as he could. The car seemed too far away but he managed easily enough, worry crawling in his gut with how Matt's wounds could be treated. "Here, lean against the side," he ordered, "so I can get the door open and the stuff out. Keep your eyes open."
Matt obeyed the first order, but not the second. He rested his forehead against the cool metal of his car and let his eyes drift shut heavily. He was so damn tired. He just wanted to down a handfull of pain meds and knock himself out for at least 24 hours. He wondered if he could pass out in the backseat along the way, then winced when he realized he was going to get blood all over his interior. He shifted just enough to glance at Mello wearily. "Is there a blanket or something in there?"
Mello glared. "Oh for fuck's sake. Forget your fucking car. If you die because you won't just do what you're told, I'm going to push it off a bridge." He yanked the kit from the seat and fumbled it open before setting it against the sidewalk. "Fuck I don't know what I'm doing," he mumbled and reached for Matt again so he could help him to the seat.
Matt let him, though he worked in a weak elbow to Mello's side at the car quip along the way. "Fucker," he muttered irritably, then immediately lowered himself so that he could curl up on his side. "You're lucky you're allowed to drive it. Forget the fucking kit and take me back."
Mello ignored him and jerked out some bandages, enough to turn Matt into a mummy if he really wanted to. He moved to him again and grit out a quiet, "Lie on your back, Matt. I need to bandage this up." He started to tug Matt's shirt free on his own, lifting it up enough so that he could wrap the wounds on his stomach. Shit, Matt had been more than stabbed. Ribs were clearly broken beneath the skin, bruised beyond belief. He was going to need help.
"It hurts on my back," Matt mumbled, but did as he was told, wincing as he felt his seats turn slick with blood. Assuming he survived this, the first thing he was going to do was reupholster her. And then maybe he'd take Mello out to do something fun. Or something. Since he was helping and all. He tried raising his arms so Mello could pull the shirt off entirely only to jerk them back down again and hiss as pain erupted in his chest. "Fuck, just rip it if you have to," he said through gritted teeth. It wasn't like it was his only one.
Mello didn't hesitate to do just that, lips in a thin line. "I know, sorry but I need to check your ribs," he growled, and eyed the developed bruises even as he wrapped the white gauze tight around his middle, feeling blood soak through further onto his fingers. "Just a minute, then you can go back on your side. Who do I call?" He tucked in the edges, made sure it was tight enough and stroked his fingers lightly over a particularly nasty bruise. Shit shit shit. He wanted to kill someone. He needed to get Matt home and into bed. He dug around the kit again for some painkillers, offering them to Matt with a half empty bottle of fucking Red Bull from the front "Sorry, no water. Quick, take those."
Drugs and caffeine. That should be interesting. Matt downed them with a grimace and handed the bottle back, only swallowing as much as he had to to take the pills. Then he curled up on his side again with a grunt. "What do you mean, call. You don't call anyone. Just take me fucking home."
Mello frowned but took the bottle, tossed it onto the sidewalk and then slammed the door shut. He threw the first aid kit onto the passenger seat and slid into the drivers side, glancing over at Matt with a concerned expression once before starting the car up. "Shut up, Matt. I'm calling someone. Rukia? Fuck, no. I am not fucking calling Renji. Who else do we know that can heal? Those ribs are going to fucking give you hell and I don't know what I'm doing."
"They'll heal on their own," Matt growled, the vibration of the engine nothing but torture on his battered body. "If you want something to do go nick some really powerful pain meds from a hospital or something so I can be unconscious while they do."
Mello rolled his eyes. "You know what, you should probably pass out before I kill you myself. What the fuck were you thinking? What did you even do!" He tried to keep his driving careful so that he wouldn't jostle Matt too much, but nerves and anger made it hard to keep steady. Rukia. Rukia was probably his best bet.
"I didn't do jack shit," Matt said angrily. "If you want someone to be pissed at, go bite Kadaj's head off. All I did was fool around a little with Cloud. So sue me."
Mello resisted the urge to smack Matt in the back of the head, purely on account of it might actually kill him in the state he was in. "I wasn't blaming you, fuck. So basically you got yourself some video game sex and then stabbed through the middle? Jesus, Matt. Art is not life, no matter what they say. How are you holding up?" Not long now.
Matt snorted, the pain putting a bit of a damper on his mood. "How do you fucking think I'm holding up? Christ, I didn't sleep with him, and I didn't know he was fucking around with Kadaj. Are we there yet?"
"So you got yourself stabbed over a misunderstanding?" Mocking Matt was so much safer than anything else "No, almost. Stop being a bitch." He shut his mouth and pulled up, all but leaping from the damn car to pull Matt from the back. He wished he wasn't acting so damn worried but didn't have time to think about it. "C'mon. You're easier to deal with when you're passed out."
Matt snorted and let himself be dragged along, looping his arm around Mello's shoulders again for support, even though it fucking hurt. He was right. He'd nearly been killed over some fucking misunderstanding buy an idiot who probably didn't even know what was going on anyway. Christ, that was pathetic.
"I'm not being a bitch," he ground out. Fucking stairs. Why had he gotten an apartment with a flight of fucking stairs. "Would alcohol be a good idea or a bad one?" He didn't know if it would help dull the pain or fuck up something internally.
"Bad one, moron. Bad one. Not gonna stop me from having some though. You can just watch." He hated stairs. It took far too long to drag Matt up them and somehow get the door open to the apartment. "Bed or couch?"
Matt groaned and leaned his head against Mello's shoulder. "I don't fucking care right now, Mello. Ugh, bed." It was further away, but easier to clean later, because he knew the blood would soak in. Fuck. This was not how he had envisioned spending his day.
Mello nodded and helped him towards it, not wanting to hurt his him even further. "Alright. I'm gonna call Rukia, try not to pass out before she gets here." He didn't bother yanking back the covers before lowering Matt against the bed, he wouldn't need them.
"Don't you fucking dare," Matt hissed, only staying on his back long enough to remember why his side was better. He curled up tightly, arms looped around his stomach again. "I don't need a lecture right now." And he didn't want to worry her. Fuck, she was gonna be pissed. So was Mello, for that matter, as soon as he recovered enough that he didn't have to worry.
"So pass the fuck out and play dead when she gets here. I'm not letting this go untreated," Mello snapped, though his eyes flickered over Matt with a hard to conceal concern. He debated the merit of cleaning up some of the blood and sweat from Matt's body before Rukia got there. He decided that he didn't to move Matt more than he had to, and pulled out his phone. "Try not to move around too much. Your ribs could be worse than they look"
"'Cause you can see them so clearly," Matt muttered irritably. Talking hurt, though, and as he lay there untreated the pain was only worsening. He decided to shut up for a while and beat Mello to a pulp when he was able to move again. For now he just curled up and hoped the meds would knock him out soon.