heavenlydecree | my heart was limping and this is the end of the road //

my heart was limping and this is the end of the road //

[Despite existing in some form or another for twenty-four years, Takatora still couldn't be sure if he was thankful or not for his ability to function so much like a human. With every new body, his appearance and functions improved significantly. In the beginning, he could remember, his expressions had always been stoic, his voice monotone and unemotional, his body stiff and unforgiving. But, as Yggdrasill's technology improved over the years, so did his bodies.

Now, it was near impossible to tell him apart from a human other than carefully hidden ports on his body, all with various levels of power over each other to avoid crashing completely in the event of an accident destroying one or more. His skin was warm to the touch, his emotions more strongly developed (in part from monitoring his 'brother' so closely for so many years), and he could even eat and process food, though tasting was a bit shaky. It was one of the things that wasn't quite as important, though it was one of the many pieces currently standing by for his next body, if only because Takatora had expressed curiosity.

Today was one of the few days of the week he didn't have to work. Takatora had already reported in to his 'father' the night before with updates about the company and how everything was going. It never felt strange to be so subservient to the man, especially when Takatora had known his role for a very long time. It was simply another one of his duties.

Straightening the collar of his shirt, Takatora rolled his neck, stretching his body a bit before reaching back to self-consciously fluff his hair back down over one of his ports. It was hidden well enough that even someone touching his head wouldn't be able to tell it was there unless they knew, but he was always keenly aware of its presence.

It had taken only a few minutes to be satisfied with his appearance, at which point Takatora left his room and carefully walked down the hall, knocking on Mitsuzane's door. Even though they had known each other for so long, Takatora was always skittish about their interactions. He was fairly sure Mitsuzane had forgotten any times he'd come close to finding out the truth about his 'brother', but Takatora had always been concerned about the consequences. The last thing he wanted was for Mitsuzane to be frightened of him, or worse, disgusted by him.]

... Mitsuzane?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[As they started moving, Micchy rolled his eyes a little bit. He knew Takatora was just trying to be interested, but school was fairly boring.]

We've been studying geology in science class. Right now we're working on rock identification. I don't really care much for it. Biology is more interesting, but we don't cover most of that until next year. I -

[A sudden noise caught his attention - someone speeding down the road way too quickly. The sound seemed to be heading their way.]

I hope the police catch whoever that is, they're -

[Before he could get the next words out, the world exploded. The sports car slammed into Micchy's side of the car, the sick crunch of metal filling the air. Their car tipped over on its roof, teetering dangerously, and another car slammed on its brakes, attempting to stop. It slowed, but not enough, and crashed into the sports car, sending the Takatoras and their driver spinning down the road into a tree.]

[Micchy screamed, before being cut off, and as the car finally teetered to a rest upside-down against the tree, only a very quiet sniffling could be heard from his part of the car. Blood and glass covered the side of his face, and he was shaking.]

[Takatora knew his conversation topics were usually boring and tended to be about things Mitsuzane didn't care about. Part of it was just the desire to know everything about his brother (after all, he had to learn about him somehow), but the other was from the desire to keep constant tabs on him. Their father, despite how Mitsuzane might think he was uninterested in the other's development, was constantly checking in with Takatora about him. Every week when he spoke to their father, he was expected to share what Mitsuzane was up to. If he had been a true human, Takatora might have been mildly jealous, but even then he cared too much about his brother to be bothered.

As soon as Takatora had heard the engine roaring, he had perked up and given it his full attention. One of the perks of not being human were his advanced senses, not to mention reflexes. By the time Mitsuzane had reacted to the car's presence, Takatora had unbuckled his seatbelt and thrown himself to the other side of the backseat. He braced his hands on the back of the seat, knowing there was little else he could hold on to in that moment. The force of the car hitting them came just as his body moved to shield his brother, throwing him off-balance, though he did his best to maintain his position.

It wasn't easy, especially when Takatora had to brace himself to keep from being thrown off of his brother as the car rolled. He pushed with all of his strength and weight to keep himself planted over the other, but it was still hard to get a proper grip in the rush of movement.

By the time they stopped, the side of the vehicle had been pushed in enough that the metal had torn at Takatora's body. This was one of the drawbacks of having a body that could feel. Pain was a near overwhelming sensation, but Takatora didn't want to take the time just yet to shut down his nerve receptors. There were more important things, like Mitsuzane's current status.

Of course, the pain was also enough that Takatora hadn't noticed the extent of his injuries. There was a huge gash to his right shoulder, tears on his arm, and while the color in his right eye had seemed to fade from a medium brown to a complete black, the dark of his left was accented by hints of silver and green. Thankfully, his left arm was functioning enough to continue gripping the seat, even when he was hanging upside down.]

Mitsuzane... Talk to me...

[He looked up (down?) at his brother, vision swimming. Was there something off about him? He couldn't tell. Pain was making everything seem out of focus and dreamlike as his body tried to push against his injuries. He tried not to vomit, but it was hard. He pawed at the buckle with his good hand, trying a few times before giving up. He just didn't have the strength. The side of his body felt like it was on fire, too much for his brain to handle.]

[He opened his mouth to speak, but all that would come out was a faint whimper. He couldn't process anything. What? Talking? That could come later. He reached up his good hand to try to feel the damage, but it didn't feel much like moving past the middle of his body. As the adrenaline faded, he tried to take a deeper breath, only to hiss out most of his air from a sharp pain in his side.]

[Oh no.

Takatora didn't know as much about human bodies as he wanted to. Sure, he had a vast and complete knowledge of their workings, but knowledge and experience were two entirely different things. He had never seen anyone act like this before. ... should he touch him? Should he move him? No, Mitsuzane was definitely too badly injured to suffer through moving more.

Takatora glanced the other over, only now aware of the fact that his right eye had stopped working and that his own emergency processes had been kicked in. His own injuries had been sufficient enough that he knew someone would be there for him soon. There was a small handful of people in Yggdrasill who knew about him, who knew the moment that any alert was given that he was to be tracked down and assisted. It made him thankful they were together now, but that didn't mean they would be prepared to handle Mitsuzane's condition.

Not wanting to move further away from his brother, Takatora reached with his right arm to press the spot behind his left ear to open his communication channel. Ryouma would be listening. Ryouma would know what to do. The creaking and popping his shoulder made with his movement was unsettling, along with the fact that he hadn't heard the driver moving either.]

Ryouma... There's been an accident. [Which Ryouma would have known by now, but...] Mitsuzane's injured. Make sure they send someone equipped to handle him.

[If he'd had a heart made of anything more than metal, he was sure it would be sinking. For now, his voice had an unusually strong hint of emotion.]

I don't know what to do...

[Micchy reached out with his good hand, breathing in tiny breaths, and grabbed on to his brother's shoulder tightly. Ryouma? How could someone like him help? Was that some kind of small headset his brother was wearing?]

[He could feel the blood dripping down onto the roof - now floor - of the car. He tried not to move too much, but he needed to get out, needed to get away from the seatbelt that was now strangling him -]

[Ryouma's voice came across Takatora's channel, sounding calm as usual.]

I know that much. But... let's see.

[He tapped into Takatora's visual feed and... went quiet for a few moments. Finally, he took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.]

I don't know how much anyone can do for him, but I'll send someone to take him to the hospital -

N... nii-san?

[Micchy's voice was quiet and shaky. His brain couldn't take much more of this. He could feel himself shutting down, even as he struggled to stay awake.]

S... sorry we couldn't... spend the day together...

[There was a brief silence from the other end of the channel, before Ryouma started talking again.]

Keep him awake. No matter what you do, don't let him fall asleep before emergency services gets there. It'll be a few minutes. If he falls asleep, he might never wake up.

[As soon as Mitsuzane was reaching for him, Takatora pulled himself closer, doing his best to maintain the strength and balance necessary to hold a conversation while comforting his brother. Now that his communication channel was open, he moved his right arm once more, carefully petting Mitsuzane's hair as he always did, in a spot that was uninjured. It scared him, the tiny twitches in his shoulder that sent small jolts down his arm, threatening for him to lose control of himself and maybe hurt his brother, but it was a risk he was willing to take now.]

Mitsuzane, I'm not leaving. I'm still here. We'll still spend the day together.

[Takatora pulled himself up more, continuing to protectively shield his brother as he pressed a kiss to the side of his head. It was one of the human interactions he'd grown fond of, partially because of the way his brother had acted when he was younger.

Of course, none of this meant he had forgotten about Ryouma.]

Ryouma... What does that mean?

[Death was one of the things Takatora had never fully understood. He understood that if humans grew too old or were too hurt, that 'death' was a thing which happened, but for someone whose body could easily be replaced in either circumstance, it was difficult to grasp. Why were human bodies so fragile? ... was Mitsuzane really so injured? The thought of his brother never waking up brought up unfamiliar, painful emotions. All Takatora could do was search through the information stored inside his circuits, trying to pull something, anything that could help him.]

[He tried to keep himself awake, struggled to focus on Takatora, but it was hard. Everything seemed fuzzy, and too far away.]

... Sometimes it's so easy to forget that you don't grasp every idiom. He'll die, Takatora. And while you don't want to move him too much, hanging upside down like that is going to cause blood to move away from his head into his extremities. You need to carefully release his seatbelt and very slowly and gently lower him to the hood of the car now that it's stopped moving. Aggravating his wounds won't do much more, but he's going to start suffering brain damage if blood isn't getting to his head.

[Micchy made another soft noise and an attempt at hitting the release on the buckle.]

Don't let him do it himself! He'll injure himself more if he drops rather than is lowered, and I don't think he can do it without hurting himself.

Edited 2014-10-14 18:59 (UTC)

No, no, no, Mitsuzane... Don't do that.

[Takatora did his best to hush Mitsuzane and sway him from doing anything more to potentially endanger himself. He could die? Just that easily, that quickly? Everything had been normal before the collision. How was it fair that his precious brother could disappear so easily?

Before unfastening Mitsuzane, Takatora knew he had to put himself in a better position. Carefully, he released his hold on the seat and lowered himself to crouch on the interior roof of the car. It didn't take much time at all for him to asses Mitsuzane's injuries and yes, now he could tell how bad things were, but he at least knew where to not touch him.

Settling in to support Mitsuzane's body in the event that he slipped, Takatora reached up to unfasten the seatbelt. Of course, it wasn't budging at first. Setting his jaw, Takatora kept a gentle hold on Mitsuzane's body as he twisted the metal in his hand and pulled, forcing it apart. In an instant, both hands were on his brother again as he tried his best to follow Ryouma's instructions, laying Mitsuzane where he wouldn't further injure himself.

For now, just in case anything else decided to shift, Takatora placed himself over Mitsuzane again, staring down at him and watching him with a look of concern. The more time that passed, the more Takatora was concerned not only for his brother's condition, but his own as well. He could feel his own processes trying to cover for any damage he had sustained. With his right hand, Takatora reached up and messed with the spot on the back of his head, shutting a few unnecessary processes down by force. Takatora knew there would be potential consequences later, but right now he needed all of his resources focused on movement, strength, his remaining sight, his communication channel, and anything that would keep him interacting with Mitsuzane.]

How much longer?

[Faintly, he could hear the twist of metal, but he wasn't sure if it was real or not. What was real were his brother's hands on him, lowering him down. Carefully, he lowered his hands to his sides, trying not to howl at the pain of moving at all. Everything seemed far away, and he closed his eyes. Falling asleep... maybe if he just slept things would be better when he woke up. Maybe this would just be a nightmare.]

Wake him up!

[Ryouma's order was sharp and immediate. Shutting down those systems... well. Takatora could be repaired. A fragile human body, not so easily. He knew how Takatora felt about his brother... but it didn't look good.]

A minute and a half. The sirens should be coming in range now, at the edge of your hearing. ... But you may need to prepare for the worst. I can't tell the extent of his injuries, but judging from what I saw... he probably has some deep lacerations. He may have a punctured lung, or maybe both. His legs and arm don't look like they're responding properly and they might be shattered. He -

[Micchy coughed and tried to lift his head, red flecks flying through the air. He was so tired... and he felt so far away. Every movement was painful now that the adrenaline rush was gone.]

... He's definitely punctured his lung at the very least. Tilt him onto his less-injured side carefully with his good arm tucked under his head and his head tilted up so he doesn't vomit and suffocate himself. It's going to cause him pain, but at this point everything will.

Edited 2014-10-15 00:46 (UTC)

Mitsuzane!

[At Ryouma's sharp order, Takatora tightly gripped Mitsuzane's chin with his hand, knowing the pressure might not be enough for his brother to feel with all of the other pain he was feeling. Still, it was an attempt at keeping him awake. Talking didn't seem as thought it would do much and he still needed to focus on listening to instructions.

A punctured lung, shattered limbs. If he'd had blood in his system, it would have drained from his face when he noticed the stress on Mitsuzane's body. No, no, this wasn't right. This shouldn't be happening. Shaking off the unpleasant emotions, Takatora continued to follow his orders, moving Mitsuzane's body accordingly and flinching as he did. He didn't want to cause Mitsuzane pain, but the last thing he wanted was to lose him completely.]

Ryouma, please...

[Takatora wasn't entirely sure what he was asking for. He just wanted all of this to be over and for everything to be okay.]

Forty-five seconds. Your father has already been informed, but it'll be several hours until he can get back.

[Micchy gasped in pain, but it was more of an automatic reaction than anything else. Everything seemed so far away. He pulled his eyes half-open with some effort, and smiled at Takatora. This was okay. If he could just keep smiling at his brother, everything was okay.]

... They'll do what they can, but it may not be enough. There's nothing else I can do at this point. Takatora... you may want to think about saying goodbye. Just in case.

I refuse...

[This was worse than anything Takatora could have imagined. His mind was racing with thoughts of what he could have done differently, even if there was no longer a point. It took seconds, precious seconds, before he could force himself back to the task at hand.

Gently, he ran his fingers through Mitsuzane's hair, all too aware that his emotions weren't functioning as strongly as they should be. Most of those processes, the ones not tied to any others, had been shut off in an attempt to converse his power. Part of Takatora knew he should be feeling more, but he couldn't force something like that. He couldn't even manage a smile, but he was intent on remembering the look on Mitsuzane's face, his little brother's smile, even if there was no emotional response.

At the very least, it meant his logical side was fiercely outweighing all other processes.]

I'm not going to lose him. I don't care what we have to do.

[Even if their father had already been informed... Takatora wasn't sure their father would approve, but he knew how much the man cared about Mitsuzane. If he had gone so far with Takatora, then... Takatora was sure he could make this work. Even if it wasn't what his father wanted... It was what he wanted. He had promised, hadn't he? He couldn't fail like this. He had to do everything he could.]

Mitsuzane... Please endure a little more.

... We'll discuss options when you get here. Fifteen seconds.

[Micchy tried to reach up, but the only free hand was his injured one and that simply wouldn't respond. Instead he just started to laugh - little chuckles, but his lips quickly were speckled with red. The sound of boots approached them, and the car door was flung open. Several paramedics knelt down, pressing hands to Micchy to assess his condition and lift him onto a stretcher. A man in a dark suit stood nearby and motioned to Takatora to get him into a car and out of sight.]

Everything has already been explained. They'll stabilize him as they can in the ambulance. You need repair before anyone sees.

[As soon as Mitsuzane was pulled away from him, Takatora instinctively reached out to bring him back. He didn't want to be away from him, not now, not when he was so badly injured. Even if he couldn't feel the fear, the thought was in his mind, the momentary flash of what if I never see him again?

It took a few seconds of staring before Takatora was willing to move, knowing what he had to do. There was no time to worry about the driver, or chase after Mitsuzane despite how much he wanted to. All he could do now was follow orders. So, Takatora pulled himself out of one car and towards the other.

As soon as he stood and tried to put weight on one of his legs, Takatora felt it start to give out under him. Oh, no. He couldn't even run his own diagnostics with the bare bones system he was working on, but Takatora knew he could try reinstating it before he got to the tower. It would at least give Ryouma time to assess his condition.

Stumbling into the back of the car, Takatora touched the spot on the back of his head to kick his diagnostics back on, gasping in a breath when his system jolted. He couldn't tell if it was from his injuries or from his attempt to get part of his system working again.

For now, Mitsuzane's condition was out of his hands. He had to focus on other things.]

Ryouma, please make copies of any visual data recorded from the time we left home until now. We need any information we can gather about the vehicle that hit us.

It's already been forwarded to legal.

[There was a brief silence on his end as Ryouma read through lines of code and diagnostic data. The driver headed towards the hospital, though at a slower speed than the ambulance. He was heading to a different section anyway.]

You'll be met by one of my assistants at the hospital. I'm going to head there soon myself. You need one of your lower leg sections replaced along with some new synthetic skin. The eye can be taken care of with a contact until we can do more detailed repairs, but I imagine you're not going to be kept from his bedside for long. We need to put some bandages on you anyway for appearance's sake. ... The driver didn't make it and there's no way anyone will believe you made it out without a scratch. You're going to have to fake sick for a little while.

I assume my arm won't be in very good shape either. Do what you have to. I know keeping up appearances will be important, especially with what happened to everyone else. ... I'm willing to sacrifice the time necessary to convince anyone I need to.

[There was another creak from Takatora's shoulder as he moved his arm, which caused him to stop and think better of it. What he didn't need was to ruin the entire limb outright simply by moving around too much. At the very least, hearing Ryouma's voice was... comforting, even without emotions. Ryouma was brilliant and always knew what to do. It was why Takatora had trusted him to act as his tuner for so long.

For the duration of the car ride, Takatora sat as still as possible, though he had made sure to fasten his seatbelt again, just in case. The accident as a whole still seemed horribly suspicious.]

... thank you, Ryouma.

I know. But arms are trickier. We can replace your shoulder easily but the rest of it might be compromised. I'll have to assess what I can on the move. It's not as if your systems have a big red dot saying 'the problem is here'.

[Though that might be worth putting in. ... Later.]

You might not want to thank me just yet. Initial reports from the ambulance radio are... not good, to say the least.

[It was child's play to tap into that network. He'd set up the functionality a long time ago, just in case he needed it. It was jut a matter of tuning to the right frequency.]

I trust you to figure it out. Functionality is not a priority, as you said. As long as I continue to run on basic systems and perform what is asked of me, that will suffice. I'm prepared to deal with any problems we might have.

[Of course, that meant problems concerning him and not Mitsuzane. These were things he didn't want to hear.]

... then we'll find a way to fix things.

I'm merely keeping you updated as to what's going on.

[Emotional attachment had never been his forte. He didn't even really like Mitsuzane. But he kept Takatora focused and busy which... were good things. Probably.]

Your repairs shouldn't take long. We'll know his condition by the time we've finished.

[Thankfully, despite the cautious driving, it didn't take long for Takatora to arrive at the hospital. At first, Takatora was reluctant to exit the vehicle at all, unsure of exactly what trouble he would be getting into. When the door opened, Takatora carefully slid off of the back seat and stood, putting more weight onto his left leg than his right. Now that he was up and moving around, he could tell that yes, something was wrong with his leg and possibly also his hip. His shoulder slumped a bit more than it probably should have and he was still trying to compensate for the lack of sight in his right eye.

After being pushed through the necessary channels, Takatora ended up in a room much like the one he was used to being placed in at the tower. The technology was slightly different, but clearly catering to the sort of needs Takatora required. As soon as he was inside, he'd started removing his clothing, still mildly disturbed by the creaking of his shoulder.]

[Ryouma shoved into the room past the security, hauling a cart with him. His laptop sat on top of it, wires bundled to the side. The door was closed and he motioned to Takatora to lie down.]

Leg first.

[Once he'd positioned Takatora on the table, he brushed his hair aside and plugged him in.]

We'll be able to speak while I'm doing this. Just let the process run in the background. The hip will need to be replaced but it should hold until we can get everything we need. We were starting to move out the old parts so we're somewhat short on a few things.

[He turned off the pain sensors and tugged back the synthetic skin so he could disconnect the leg.]

Do you want the good news or the bad news first?

[If there was one thing Takatora was (usually) good at, it was following orders. He moved easily when Ryouma told him to, not the least bit bothered by his lack of clothing. It was one of the things he of course knew to keep limits on, but around his tuner? No need whatsoever. He instinctively moves bit by bit whenever he needs to, but otherwise lays completely still, watching Ryouma work.

For a human, Takatora was still in awe of exactly how skilled and brilliant the scientist was. He honestly couldn't imagine life without him at this point.

... though, the next words concerned him. Takatora wasn't sure he wanted to know at all.]

Whatever order you feel is appropriate.

[He paused and put a hand on Takatora's thigh, more to keep him still than to provide reassurance.]

... Mitsuzane's body has suffered too much damage to keep functioning. He's lost too much blood and he won't be able to breathe for very long, even with assistance. He has shards of his ribs in his lungs and heart. I don't know if he's lucky or not that he's made it this long.

Is that the bad news?

[Takatora doesn't enjoy hearing that at all, though he's doing his best to avoid thinking about things too much when he already has so many processes running. It's not as though he couldn't, but he'd always been cautious to not risk overexerting himself.

It was still difficult to understand humans and that they didn't function the same way Takatora did. Here he was, getting pieces of his body replaced to be normal again, as though nothing had ever happened, but something like that wouldn't be so easy for Mitsuzane.]

It means he's going to die, Takatora.

[He pulls a part out from his cart and hooks it in, checking to make sure the ports are secure before moving on to his shoulder. He flexes his fingers before peeling back the synthetic skin and tugs at Takatora's arm to unjam it from where it was damaged.]

At least, as he is now he's going to die. There is, however, a way to save him... and fortunately for you both I'm ready to test it. Though how much of him I'll be able to save I don't know yet. It's still incredibly experimental and theoretical. He might not even remember anything.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject