Kariya Matou (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
vermicompost) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
towerofanimus2013-01-13 02:33 am
vermicompost) wrote in towerofanimus2013-01-13 02:33 am
Long lost days of you and me
Characters: Kariya Matou and open
Setting: The dormitories and the meadow (or anywhere else, if anyone would like to take him somewhere, as he isn't very mobile on his own– he likes visitors, and trips.)
Format: Action to start, but prose is fine, too
Summary: It's only been a year or so, by Kariya's reckoning (when he can remember), but time and magical parasites have taken their toll.
Warnings: blood and possible body horror or angst
Kariya's Room:
[It's difficult for him to move at all, yet he has his wheelchair, and he can push it a little ways. It's hard for him to leave the dormitories, yet sometimes he still tries. Not now. For the moment, he's resting in his room, his eyes closed, even though he isn't sleeping. It's hard for him to fall asleep.
His body is smaller than it used to be. He's shrunk. Both his eyes are oddly whitish, both sides of him equally affected by what lives within him. His pale skin is all lines and veins, and the movement of the worms within him is evident beneath it, where it shows. His skin appears so thin, it seems it might break at any moment. All of him seems like it might break. Sometimes it does. His skin cracks in lines where it's thinnest, and the blood seeps out. He hardly notices when that happens. Maybe it's because it happens all the time, or maybe he simply isn't thinking clearly enough to realize.
He mutters to himself sometimes, and today is no exception. Sakura, he says often, or he mumbles something about going back home. Back home. He's going to get there. He'll go back to the War, he'll fight and he'll win, and he'll make everything all right again. Suddenly, he speaks, his voice firming, loud enough to be heard clearly.]
I'll help everyone go home.
[That's what he'll do.]
The Dormitory Hallways:
[Kariya wheels himself slowly along. He probably won't get very far, but he likes the feeling of moving forward. (He hasn't told anyone he was going.) He likes to travel. He used to travel once, didn't he? He feels so confined when he's in his room too long, trapped in one place. It's better to get out and around. Unfortunately, the corridors are so confusingly, frustratingly similar.
When he's gone a certain distance, he forgets how far he's come and where he was headed. He stops in the middle of the hallway, not sure whether to go forward or back. Maybe if he waits here long enough, he'll remember. Or maybe it wasn't so important. This is a change of scenery, isn't it? He sits back and gazes down the corridor, a wasted figure with white hair, waiting for someone or something interesting to arrive. He can't see very well, but his expression, if anyone were close enough to read it, is a hopeful one.]
The Meadow:
[It's a good day when he can get to the meadow. Some days, he's stronger, if only a little. The meadow is his favorite floor. It's beautiful there. It makes him smile. The grass and the flowers remind him of the park where he used to play with the children. Sometimes he thinks it is that park. But not today. No, he's thinking more clearly today. He moves a thin arm and manages to take out his photograph, from where he always keeps it, in the pocket of his jacket. It's wrinkled and torn and stained with blood, but it's his. His picture of his family: that's Aoi standing beside him, his wife, and with them are two little girls: their two daughters, Rin and Sakura. When he goes home, he'll see them again. They'll be happy again.
He's forgotten that he never married, that he never had children. But why would he want to remember a thing like that?]
Setting: The dormitories and the meadow (or anywhere else, if anyone would like to take him somewhere, as he isn't very mobile on his own– he likes visitors, and trips.)
Format: Action to start, but prose is fine, too
Summary: It's only been a year or so, by Kariya's reckoning (when he can remember), but time and magical parasites have taken their toll.
Warnings: blood and possible body horror or angst
Kariya's Room:
[It's difficult for him to move at all, yet he has his wheelchair, and he can push it a little ways. It's hard for him to leave the dormitories, yet sometimes he still tries. Not now. For the moment, he's resting in his room, his eyes closed, even though he isn't sleeping. It's hard for him to fall asleep.
His body is smaller than it used to be. He's shrunk. Both his eyes are oddly whitish, both sides of him equally affected by what lives within him. His pale skin is all lines and veins, and the movement of the worms within him is evident beneath it, where it shows. His skin appears so thin, it seems it might break at any moment. All of him seems like it might break. Sometimes it does. His skin cracks in lines where it's thinnest, and the blood seeps out. He hardly notices when that happens. Maybe it's because it happens all the time, or maybe he simply isn't thinking clearly enough to realize.
He mutters to himself sometimes, and today is no exception. Sakura, he says often, or he mumbles something about going back home. Back home. He's going to get there. He'll go back to the War, he'll fight and he'll win, and he'll make everything all right again. Suddenly, he speaks, his voice firming, loud enough to be heard clearly.]
I'll help everyone go home.
[That's what he'll do.]
The Dormitory Hallways:
[Kariya wheels himself slowly along. He probably won't get very far, but he likes the feeling of moving forward. (He hasn't told anyone he was going.) He likes to travel. He used to travel once, didn't he? He feels so confined when he's in his room too long, trapped in one place. It's better to get out and around. Unfortunately, the corridors are so confusingly, frustratingly similar.
When he's gone a certain distance, he forgets how far he's come and where he was headed. He stops in the middle of the hallway, not sure whether to go forward or back. Maybe if he waits here long enough, he'll remember. Or maybe it wasn't so important. This is a change of scenery, isn't it? He sits back and gazes down the corridor, a wasted figure with white hair, waiting for someone or something interesting to arrive. He can't see very well, but his expression, if anyone were close enough to read it, is a hopeful one.]
The Meadow:
[It's a good day when he can get to the meadow. Some days, he's stronger, if only a little. The meadow is his favorite floor. It's beautiful there. It makes him smile. The grass and the flowers remind him of the park where he used to play with the children. Sometimes he thinks it is that park. But not today. No, he's thinking more clearly today. He moves a thin arm and manages to take out his photograph, from where he always keeps it, in the pocket of his jacket. It's wrinkled and torn and stained with blood, but it's his. His picture of his family: that's Aoi standing beside him, his wife, and with them are two little girls: their two daughters, Rin and Sakura. When he goes home, he'll see them again. They'll be happy again.
He's forgotten that he never married, that he never had children. But why would he want to remember a thing like that?]
no subject
It does depend. Today isn't a bad day, but it isn't the best. I'll call for you if I need you. I promise. [He might not always remember to keep that promise, as he doesn't like to be a bother, and his memory isn't always the most reliable, but he means it when he says it.] Usually I can bear it. [He can bear a lot. He suffers more than he needs to, sometimes.]
You don't need to apologize. I like the company, too. I'm glad you're here. I used to be alone most of the time. Back home... [Back home, after he'd left his family. And during the War. He remembers the War. He shivers briefly.]
You're right. I accept death, but I'll keep living as long as I can. I have to. [Death will bring an end to his pain, but he has to keep living for Rin and Sakura. He doesn't want to leave them.]
Oh, you don't know Rin? I thought you did. She's my daughter. She helps me, too. She's very strong. I have two daughters, Rin and Sakura. I'm a very lucky man. [He pauses. They're not really his daughters, as much as he believes they are, and sometimes he feels a slight, inexplicable twinge as he says that they are.] Sakura isn't here.
no subject
Good, cuz I'll make sure to speed on over when you do, but I'm glad that you have better days.
[ It meant less pain for him and she was content to know that sometimes it could be less painful for him to deal with. She nodded again at his promise and hoped that he could keep it but it was fine if things came int he way of it. She understood. ] You're a strong person, Kariya, really strong.
[ She replied keeping her eyes off int he distance. ] To me, being alone is always kind of scary. I've been terrified of always being left behind or forgotten. I don't want anyone to be alone.
[ It sounded so saddening to hear that. It made her cherish the little things she had when she heard people talk about things like this. She wanted to do what she could to help him get better no matter what. ] I might have seen her a few times, but I don't know for sure. She seems like a reliable and strong daughter. It sounds like you are. [ She nodded her head. ]
Oh...I'm sorry to hear that.
[ And they have reached their destination as she turned the knob on the door. Ishtar didn't know that so she assumed whatever he was telling her was the truth. ]
no subject
[He shakes his head.] I'm not that strong, really. I do what I need to do, that's all. I did all this for someone else, so that makes it easier to bear. I like to think I'm lucky I had someone I cared about that much. [If he thinks about it that way, it does make it better, even if it doesn't hurt less. How many people have someone they love enough to die for?]
It can be hard to be alone. I was used to it. [As a child, his family had given him little personal attention and even less affection. But he's confused for a moment about what he's said. How could he have been alone later, when he had his wife and daughters? He tries not to dwell on the confusion, because he doesn't like the feeling. It must be his mind playing tricks on him, that's all.] But here, I have so many friends, even though this place can be so cruel. I don't want you to have to be alone, either, but you don't have to be. If you ever need anything, you can ask me for it. It's the least I can do for you, Ishtar.
You don't need to be sorry. I only wish Sakura and my wife could be here with me. Being without them is the hardest thing. [Harder even than his body falling apart.] But I know I'll see them again someday.
no subject
I think you are. I would have given up on everything, if I were in your position. I mean, you still can smile sometimes, even though hit hurts to even move sometimes. [ She replied with a sad smile. She thought it was amazing how long he was able to endue this. She didn't have enough tolerance to fully do that. ] Yes and I'm sure they'll appreciate it very much.
[ She added as she pushed him into the room. ] I still don't think it's much fun being alone; but I guess you can't change what's already been done. [ She agreed with him. Sometimes even she was used to being alone. Ishtar didn't know a lot about his life, so it was hard for her to say much regarding it. It seemed like whatever he told her, Ishtar believed it wholeheartedly and would never doubt him for it. ] Yes, there are many people who care about you here and I will always be there for you as well. [ There's a pause for that. ]
Thank you, Kariya. I'll hold you to it, hehe and thank you. It means a lot to me that you consider me a friend.
[ She giggled a little. ]
It would nice to have family here to support you, because they are important to you. [ Ishtar replied nodding. ] Yes, one day, we'll be able to leave or see people we care about again. Shall I help you the bed? [ she mused closing the door behind her. If he wanted to be more comfortable, she didn't mind helping him over to the bed, but only if he was okay with it. ]
no subject
There are still things to smile about, even here. Like my friends. And Rin.
You can count on me. [He knows there's little that he can actually do, but he would do anything for her, if it were within his power.] So you're not alone.
I'm glad we're friends, too. I've always said that we should take care of each other here. That's one thing they can't take away from us. Even if I leave someday, you can remember me and know that I still care about you. [If he goes home, or if something else happens to him...
He considers the bed, thoughtfully. Gone are the days when he was too proud to let anyone help him move, when he would put up a struggle and try and strain to do it himself. He knows his limitations now, better than he used to.] I might need a little help.
no subject
I think having people that also care for you and share some of the similar feelings are the best to have in a place like this.
Thank you, it really means a lot to me. I really do.
[ She repeated the words again. It was true. It was nice and comforting to hear that there are people out there who would care for you and help you through all the pain and sorrow. Without them, Ishtar would have died a long time ago. ] Yeahh...hehe.
Always, the truth. No matter how bad things get, it's always better to have each other. I will, trust me. I would never forget the people who are precious to me.
[ Ishtar knew what he meant and she loathed those days where her friends would all suddenly leave and she would be left alone and empty without them. She knew it was going to be hard, but she had always stayed strong for all the losses she had face. ]
Of course, here, give me your arms.
[ She walked around the wheel chair to get to him and offered her arms and shoulders for him to lean on as she would help him over to the bed. Ishtar might look frail at times, but she picked up a lot of things here. She wasn't so flimsy anymore but it still required a lot of effort to carry a person's weight over to a bed, even if it was short distance. ]