Kazuma hugged the wall, his breathing ragged. He didn't know how long the two of them had been running or where they were, but he didn't see any other people wearing the uniform, so he honestly didn't care. He was just glad he got both him and Shouta away before things could get worse again.
"Finally got away...."
He groaned and clutched his arm before leaning back against the wall. It felt cold against his covered skin, which he found a blessing in the current situation. Cold metal means contrasting temperature, and contrasting temperature meant that it would be easier to stay awake. His eyelids were already growing heavy and it was getting harder to stay conscious.
Shouta saw his friends condition and shook his shoulder slightly, "Kazuma-kun, please stay awake!" He shouted, panicked.
Even when his friend was screaming, it barely registered in his head. Ah, damn it! If only she didn't put him to sleep earlier this wouldn't be happening! He could feel the tiredness and fatigue spreading over his system slowly. He could stay awake and slow it down when he was conscious and aware, but now it was spreading and there was nothing he could do about it. His brief moment of unconsciousness earlier left him defenseless.
He couldn't just pinch himself awake now. No, it was too far in at this point. He'd need to do something more drastic than a simple pinch or a light slap on the face. He'd need to do something that would really wake him up and keep him aware.
"Shouta......I need your help." Even talking took a huge amount of effort. His voice came out in faint whispers and Shouta had to strain his ears.
"Wh...What do you need?"
Vaguely, he could see him nod. Good, he couldn't do this by himself and he'd need help. He wasn't sure he could do it by himself given the chance. Somebody else who could pull it off even if he lost nerve was necessary.
"Shouta, I'm starting to......fall asleep again," As if to emphasize this point, his head drooped down dangerously before he managed to pull himself back up, "There's some tranquilizer in my blood and if I don't stay awake then I'm going to fall asleep for a while." He finished faintly.
"Wh-What's a t-tranquilizer?" Shouta questioned, a concerned expression donning his visage, "D-Did Tatenashi onee-chan give it to you? I-I didn't see her do any-"
"No...." He held up his hands (which took considerable effort) to stop him, "She didn't do anything.....I think. I was injected before I met you and I was getting sleepy since earlier,"
He groaned as another wave of dizziness hit. Everything was beginning to spin and lose shape, "Just please help me."
"Wh-Who cares if you fall asleep? If you fall asleep, then I'll just help you till you stay awake again!"
"It doesn't work that way!" He flexed his fingers to get the feeling back, "If I fall asleep, I don't know how long it'll be till I wake up again. I should've done this earlier to get rid of it but I was.....scared." He looked slightly ashamed, "I need someone else to do it with me so it can keep going even if I don't want it to."
Shouta hesitated. Kazuma-kun needed his help and there was nobody else around. Would it be better if he went back to Tatenashi nee-chan and asked for help? He was really eager to run away from them and took the first chance he got to get away when he woke up. He might panic and run away again if he did it, but could he really help him by himself. Mou, think Shouta think!
"It won't be hard." Kazuma gripped the worrying greenhead's hand which was perched on his shoulder, "You won't get hurt and I'll be fine, okay? Trust me, this is better than falling asleep."
Seeing Kazuma's pleading expression, Shouta hesitantly nodded his head at him,
"A....Alright, wh-what should I do?" He asked.
Kazuma didn't answer. Instead he just started pulling back the right sleeve on his long white shirt. Shouta waited patiently, heart beating in anticipation. He didn't know what his friend was planning, and the way he said he was scare do of it gave him bad feelings, but he needed to be there for him when-
"K-Kazuma-kun, you're hurt!" Shouta's eyes widened and his mouth hung open from shock as he saw his friends arm.
What Shouta was referring to was the long gash on Kazuma's forearm. The white shirt had hidden it earlier and he didn't see it. The gash extended from the back of his wrist to near his elbow. Dry blood caked the surroundings of the straight line, though it looked like the scratch was already on its way to healing. He could see the faint marks of stitches, which looked crude and somewhat malformed. Whoever did them was either in a hurry or didn't care much about the person receiving them.
"It's alright, it doesn't hurt," He smiled at Shouta's concern, "Now, the tranquilizer's in my blood, so I need to get it out. Do you understand?" He nodded, still staring at the long gash,
"I need to open the wound so some blood can seep out. The pain will also keep me awake in case not all of it gets out. First, I need to open the wound-"
"N-No!" Shouta grabbed onto Kazuma's arm, which the latter was already beginning to lift,
"Y-Y-You said this wouldn't hurt! T-That injury looks painful!" He shouted, wide eyed and terrified, much to Kazuma's surprise, "I-I don't want you to get hurt...."
"....." Kazuma didn't know how to react to that. He wasn't expecting for him to show this much concern for his well being, let alone so much fear. Still, he couldn't afford to hesitate now, not when he didn't have much time left. With a deep breath, he shook his hand free, and, gritting his teeth to prepare himself for the pain, he smashed his arm forcefully against the cold metallic wall.
Shouta clamped his hands over his mouth to stop himself from screaming. The sound of the arms colliding with the wall created a sick mesh that sounded eerily like broken bones and torn skin. The sounds of blood dripping down the wall and onto the floor didn't help matters at all.
Kazuma tried not to scream, but it was an ultimately futile task. The pain reverberated all over his right arm and the feeling of blood squirting out of the wound followed not long afterward. He had at least managed to reduce the screams to pained grunts and whimpers. It wasn't much, but he at least kept himself from yelling his mouth off. The beginnings of tears had formed at the edge of his eyes, something he couldn't stop from coming out.
Shouta wasn't doing much better in this regard. While he had managed to stop himself from screaming, it was only because of the fact that both of his hands were currently clamped over his mouth. He wanted to scream, he wanted to yell out his concern, but the hands remained clamped over his mouth. His eyes were wide eyed in shock, and no amount of hands could hide it.
The would looked even worse than before: The stitches had come loose and split open, exposing the thin slice for all to see. Beads of blood red liquid dripped down his hands and onto his fingers. He was careful to angle his arm so that it faced down and avoided his shirt.
Leaving marks would lead to further questions if it was seen, something he wasn't sure he would be able to answer if he was asked.
Kazuma took a few ragged breaths before looking back up again. He could already feel the drowsiness go away. Of course, said drowsiness was being replaced by the complete and total feeling of pain on his right appendage. Beggars couldn't be choosers and he was far from being rich right now.
".....See? I told you it wouldn't hurt," He forced a smile and looked at Shouta, who was still trying not to scream, "That was the hard part. Now all you need to do is hold down my arm till I say you let go." He held his shaking arm out to him, "When I say stop, make sure to put the sleeves back down so no one can see."
He didn't reply to the instructions. He just.....stared at the arm being offered to him, "Shouta please, everything will just be pointless if you don't help me. I need to keep my arm steady so I don't lose too much blood and faint. I need your help."
That seemed to knock him out of his stasis. With shaking hands, he slowly reached his hand out and put them under the offered arm, careful to try and avoid the blood. His lips were shaking and his eyes were glistening with tears, but he held on and did his best to keep it balance. Things were going to get worse before they got better.
They held the position for about 10 minutes. Even if it was only a short time, it felt like hours had passed for the greenette. Thankfully, Kazuma's breathing had turned less ragged and the bleeding nearly stopped altogether. His arm looked normal again, if still covered by a huge gash and surrounded in dried blood was normal.
The blood from the wound spilled onto the metallic floor, the white tiles being stained by the red liquid. They wouldn't have to worry about cleaning that up later or leaving a trace. Automated robots from the academy would pass by later and remove the stain. It would be like nothing had happened.
"Shouta.....thanks." He pulled the sleeve back down with Shouta's help. Miraculously, none of the blood had seeped into any of their clothes. Neither of them would have to worry about explaining what was going on so long as Kazuma didn't pull his sleeves back up.
"No....no problem...." His breathing came out in short gasps and he still stared at his now covered fore-arm. He wasn't going to forget what he had seen anytime soon, that's for sure, "Y-Your wound healed really fast, it's amazing!" He couldn't help but wonder.
"Yeah......I'm a fast healer," He grimaced at the amount of dried blood on his skin. The wound had stopped bleeding altogether and the pain had turned from sharp stings to a simple dull ache now. The stitches were still loose, but the dried blood covered it up and prevented anyone from seeing it so long as they didn't look too closely.
With that taken care of, it was on to the next problem.
"Uh, listen, can I ask for a favor?" He started, "Can you not tell anyone what just happened?
I....don't feel comfortable answering any questions that people might ask about it." He fidgeted slightly and hissed when the fabric got too close to the incision. Damn tight shirts and pants. Made it feel like he was wearing a straight jacket sometimes.
"H-Huh? But shouldn't you tell a nurse or-"
"Don't worry," He tapped the wound lightly, "It'll heal on its own in no time. If anybody asks, just say I tripped and fell so I scratched myself. The stitches aren't that noticeable and I'll ask for some bandages later if I need to."
Shouta could only nod at the odd request. Being a bit of a loner at school, he didn't understand the concept of lying to adults. Still, his friend seemed really adamant about it and he wasn't going to fight him over it.
"Thanks." He took a deep breath, like a burden had been removed from his shoulders, "Are you alright? Sorry for asking you to do something weird like this. I didn't have much of a choice." He face took on an expression of shame before lighting up again, "You were really good, though. I wouldn't have been able to do it without your help."
O-Oh no, it's alright," He shook both of his arms quickly, face reddening at the compliment, "B-But, since I did something for you, can you do something for me too?"
"Um, sure..." He nodded.
"Well.....I know you don't trust Tatenashi nee-chan, and I know you have your reasons and all, but I really think we should go back and meet up with them." He flinched slightly when Kazuma gave him an incredulous look, "I-I mean, she helped me earlier and even told me she'd help me find my mom. She only made you go to sleep because you attacked her earlier.
Damn, he had a point there.
"You're sure you trust them?"
Shouta nodded his head rapidly, "Yeah, I-I-I think so! There were three other people like us there and they were alright. I think we can get help from them as long as we ask nicely."
Kazuma looked down on the floor and stared at the slight reflection. Something was off. This wasn't the usual thing he was used to. The blue haired teen, Tatenashi, hadn't attacked him or threatened him at all. When he saw her uniform, he just ran on instinct, fear driving his actions. What if he was wrong? Could he trust them? Bad things would happen if he made a mistake here.
"Alright," He nodded after much deliberation, "I'll follow you since you say it's okay. Where are we supposed to go? I'm not sure about this place."
The two of the got up and started walking down the hall. Shouta couldn't help but notice that Kazuma's walking was more consistent now and that he no longer blinked every few seconds. Maybe that previous experience was worth it after all.
"W-Well, when you were asleep, we heard an announcement that everyone was supposed to meet in the lobby. My mom took me here when I was younger, so I think I can get us there if we look long enough."
Not good enough. Not that he didn't trust him, but he wasn't very keen on wandering around the entire school while nursing an injured hand. Kazuma sighed and asked, "Isn't there anybody we can ask? I'm sure there's someone around he who can- oof!"
Speak of the devil and he shall come. In this case, it was a she. Kazuma, looking at his friend, didn't notice the figure walking near the fork in the road and accidentally bumped into her. Keeping his injured arm steady, he looked up into who he just bumped into.
"Hey kid, you lost or something?"
Madoka leaned down and offered him a hand up. Normally she wasn't this polite, but there was fun to be had here. If she took these kids to the dorm rooms and left them there, then the amount of chaos would at least triple. More chaos meant more fun for her and more trouble for her dear big sister. It was a win-win for everyone.
She looked familiar. Somewhere at the back of his head he could see her image, her features. However, that was all it was: A faint memory. In his current state, he didn't care much for it nor did he find anything odd about it. He had other things to worry about. Like trying to keep himself calm and stop his shaking because of her uniform. He made an agreement with Shouta and he was going to see it through.
Hesitantly, he used his left hand to grab hold of hers and pull himself up. Straining his injured hand would obviously lead to bad results and possibly more bleeding.
"Ah, nee-chan, you're wearing the uniform!" Shouta shouted excitedly, "C-Could you please take us to the dorms rooms please? We heard that we were supposed to go there from the announcement earlier."
"Sure!" Oh, this way too perfect! She didn't even have to ask the kids to go with her, they were practically begging for it! She could just hear her older sister yelling in irritation when she saw another two kids popping up.
"Thank you!" He bowed deeply, "My name's Shouta and his name's Kazuma. Thank you for helping us!"
Yeah, yeah, she honestly couldn't find it in herself to care about their names. Most likely they were going to get kicked out of ISA anyway since they were just a bunch of kids. No need to concern herself with- Hold on, what was that smell?
She started sniffing the air, earning her a suspicious glance from the two younger kids. She didn't care, though, this was important. That scent was tantalizing. The main thing she smelled in the air was iron, which most likely meant blood. But this wasn't regular blood. Being who she was, the smell of blood had all been imprinted on her. This smelled different, foreign.
It smelled...familiar.
It didn't take long for her to figure out where the smell was coming from: The right arm from one of the kids she was oh so graciously choosing to escort to their destination. The smell of blood was faint and it was disappearing by the second, but there was no doubt it was there.
The last time she smelled the same thing was when she brought the knife across her skin while she stared at the mirror.
That smell could only mean one thing.
"Another one?" She crouched with a smirk and leaned in closer to him, much to his discomfort, "What are you doing here? I would've thought someone like you would be somewhere else. I don't remember you or anyone else like you."
Kazuma looked away and growled slightly. She knew something, that much was obvious, "I woke up here with Shouta and we both got lost. We're looking for the dorms so we can find out where we are." He gave her a glare, which she received with a smile.
Why was his heart beating so fast? He had a sinking feeling on his stomach and his blood felt like it had frozen stiff. Something about him was familiar to her. He didn't know what it was and he didn't want to know.
"Whatever, it's none of my business anyway," She stood up and started walking down the hall, "Follow me if you want. I know the way to the dorms." She called back to them.
Shouta gave him a doubtful look but followed her anyway. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. She didn't seem as nice as Tatenashi nee-chan. In fact, he found her to be extremely creepy and unnerving. He didn't miss Kazuma's uncomfortable posture and expression when she leaned in closer to him. It was different from the primal fear he had showed earlier. It felt....unsure.
There was only one way to go now.
2012-07-23, 08:29
Actually, I envy you since my fic somehow shrunk to 4000 compared to 8000 as usual, because the LACK of exposition. 
