RP Log: Kaidoh & Rin

[https://users.livejournal.com/-rattlesnake/]

Date: Thursday last week
Rating: G
Summary: Kaidoh tries to help Rin figure out how to use his new claws. They're moderately successful~



It was perhaps a little hilarious, that he -- supposedly an instructor -- was asking his student for help with his mutation. Granted, what he had a problem with was hardly covered by the word 'mutation', it was rather an effect of a freak surgery. A proof just how sick humans' mind could be. It didn't change the fact that Rin had to figure it out somehow. How to pull the blades out and pull them back. He also should get used to the pain... and somehow get rid of the soreness, because it was really starting to annoy him. All these dropped plates and glasses and... no, it wasn't fun at all.

The training room was empty, sans the lone figure of the blonde mutant. After all this time, getting used to such short hair was still hard. He wasn't depressed about it anymore, no. Ryoga in his own (really sweet, in the blonde's opinion, then again, for him almost everything the other did was sweet) way managed to convince him it wasn't that bad, or rather as bad as Rin thought it to be. Especially after Echizen-san took care of the mess and made it much more presentable.

Rin sighed, and stretched and leaned back in his chair to stare up at the white ceiling. White, huh... This school was a jail for him once. Not only for him. For many other mutants. He almost broke his neck twice, on the stairs, when completely powerless, he tripped. And yet, he was back. They both were. But the feeling was different and honestly, Rin was glad to be here. Somewhat. He sighed again, then looked down at his fingernails and a whole hand. There were no outward signs, it looked perfectly normal, but gods only knew how not normal it felt. Yet another sigh -- no, he wasn't annoyed he had to wait, as he arrived a little early, he was just in a mood for sighing -- as he adjusted the headband, keeping his hair orderly and messy at the same time.

After explaining to Ken that he had an extra training session with Hirakoba-san, Kaidoh made his way back to the training room, hoping he wouldn't keep his... well, teacher waiting for long. He was glad Hirakoba was feeling well again, and that he'd decided to stay here and teach - Kaidoh hadn't gotten to talk to him a lot, when they were in hiding, as the other had been grumpy and in pain and not in a talking mood. But he understood, and he had always gotten the sense that the blonde was really a nice person underneath. Pain was never good, and Kaidoh understood how it might make one seem much grumpier than one would normally be.

Finally approaching the room, he opened the door and slipped inside, spotting the older boy already there, looking a little bored. He quickly approached the other, sketching out a quick bow. "S-sorry if I kept you waiting. But I have a couple of hours now, um, so we can take as long as you like." Ken had promised to save him dinner if he didn't show up, and Kaidoh didn't mind spending a while here, if he could help the other. He didn't quite have the same problem as his teacher - though he'd managed to create claws before (and often when he hadn't meant to, like the first time it had happened), it had more to do with his mutation, while Hirakoba's were... unnatural. But maybe they'd be similar enough that Kaidoh's viewpoint could help. He hoped so.

"Hn?" Rin tilted his head towards the boy, who just entered, "Not at all," he gave the other a smile, "Just needed some time for myself before we started." Not exactly alone, just time to think without any noise interrupting him -- and as he found out rather early on, the training rooms were perfect for that, since they were soundproofed. He didn't hear all this typical for a boarding school noises, sounds of conversations and the like -- which were much more audible with his senses highly sharpened.

The smile stayed on, as the blonde continued speaking, "And no worries, not gonna keep you away from dinner and your boyfriend for so long," a wink, as the smile stretched wider, corners of the thin lips curling up.

Kaidoh felt himself blush a little, but he nodded to the other, offering a small smile. "I don't mind," he said, and looked at the other a moment. He'd been looking much better (obviously) than he had a few weeks ago. Kaidoh wondered if he was still in pain. He hoped not. "Um... but I guess, just, um, let's figure out what you wanted to know, and I can see if I can maybe help?" He wasn't really sure if he'd be able to explain much about this to the blonde, but he knew that he also might be the only one who would have the... right words to do so. So he'd do his best. "What, um, well... I guess, is there anything you want to, um, do that I could explain?"

Aww, blushing~! Rin wondered how far did the two go, then asked himself why for the love of God was he curious about that, and then thought that he was better off not knowing. He stretched one forearm on the table, with the other hand pointing from the wrist and down to his elbow, "It's here, I figure," quite easy to realize actually, any higher and he wouldn't be able to move his wrist, any lower and he wouldn't be able to bend his elbow, "I know it's here, but only because of the ache, like there's just too much stuffed inside," describing it was weird, but the feeling was just as weird. "The problem is, I don't know where to focus to feel them, so that I could move them," he really tried his best to be as clear as possible. After days spent thinking on this, he figured out what he needed, but didn't know how to achieve it, "I'm guessing it should sorta feel like moving a limb, but yeah..." And after that, he fell silent, wondering if there was anything else he had to add.

Kaidoh nodded - he knew that feeling - sometimes he got it when there was new bone about to push through. He hadn't always registered it, before, when everything had been a dull ache a few years ago, but by now he'd actually learned to read the different kinds of aches, as odd as that sounded, and what Hirakoba-san was describing made sense. Especially for someone whose mutation was not usually pulling sharp things out of their skin.

Kaidoh frowned a bit in thought, trying to think of how best to put what he was thinking into words. "I don't... um, usually try to pull things through my skin, is all..." Though honestly, he knew he could, and Hanamura-sensei had spoken with him about that possibility before, when the claws first manifested. That he could create pieces of bone that weren't attached to his skeleton in the usual way, and pull them out as he pleased. At the time, the idea had repulsed him - especially when he'd thought he'd hurt Ken - but now... it was exactly what Hirakoba-san wanted to do.

"W-when I pull something out, I guess I just do it... But, um, it might be like moving a limb for you, yeah." He paused. "When I managed to create, um, claws... when I pulled them back in, it was like... asking for part of myself, um, back." He blushed - it sounded so clumsy and stupid in words. "But... um, maybe you kind of want that in reverse? Take that piece of your and... um... push it out?" He glanced at the floor. He didn't think he was very helpful...

Rin rested his chin on one hand, golden eyes studying the younger boy carefully, as he listened to every word. That would make sense, since he didn't experience it like a limb, perhaps he could try to use it how he felt it. A part of himself which should be pushed out. Maybe the feeling of a limb would come with time, for now he'd have to use whatever he could.

"A part of myself, huh? Just a part, not a limb," his pupils dilated slightly, eyelids falling over his eyes half-way, as he focused on his right hand, which was still lying on the table, "And push it out?" A slight frown pulled at the light coloured eyebrows, a second... two... twenty and a little more... first there was an annoying itch under his skin, before a sharp, dull noise filled the room for a second. Rin jumped up, knocking the chair in the process. Three tiny trails of blood running down his cheek -- there went his attempt at trying to have some sort of the slightest control over this. The cuts closed up quickly enough, the blood stayed. Just as the blood between his knuckles. It'd also take a while for his body to get used to the feeling. This time the pain was subdued by the surprise, but it was still there... at least his forearms felt... normal. Though his hands felt heavier, obviously.

"Well," what did one say in a situation like this? "I guess that worked." Rin flexed his fingers, it felt normal. His hand felt somewhat full, but not as bad as his forearms felt when the blades were inside.

Kaidoh couldn't help but jump as Hirakoba... well, got it - in the blink of an eye, he'd grown long claws of metal, and though Kaidoh had seen them before, they still looked... formidable. He frowned as he realized the blonde had cut his face in the process, and though the cuts were closing, there was blood on his face and between his knuckles. Kaidoh pulled the bandana off his head, offering it up to the other if he wanted to wipe the blood away. It was... kind of strange, to see another healing factor at work. Hirakoba's was much faster than his own; Kaidoh hoped the cuts on his face and hands didn't hurt much.

"I... um, I guess it did." Kaidoh watched the other move, the way the metal flashed in the light. "I.... I'm sorry," he said, glancing at his feet. He felt like this was his own fault - there was no reason to feel that at all, but somehow he felt guilty. Why had they done this to someone else? He didn't know why they'd done it to him, but... why did they need more? "Does it hurt much?"

"A little," Rin cracked a little pained smile, shaking his head at the offered bandana. There was no need to have his blood smeared on Kaidoh's bandana, instead he used his own headband instead -- which only made his hair more tousled than it normally was. "No need to get your stuff dirty," he said, wiping the blood off his cheek and from between his knuckles. The skin there, around the blades was a little sore, due to not being able to close up properly. The feeling was barely there, though, and it wasn't bleeding except for that brief second of skin breaking.

But huh? It took him a while to register the apology, "What are you apologizing for?" The blonde took a random swing, slim claws ripping through the air with a soft ringing sound, "That's what we're here for, isn't it? Doesn't matter that it hurts," he flexed his knuckles again, thinking that perhaps when he finally got a hang of pulling them out and back in, he should relearn martial arts and adjust to the weight and additional range. The question was, would he ever be using them? Probably not, but it'd be good to learn anyway. "But ah, it does feel much better to have them out like this."

Kaidoh nodded a little tying his bandana back around his head as Hirakoba wiped at the blood with his headband instead. He felt himself flush a little again, still staring at his feet - he knew it wasn't really reasonable to feel guilty. But he couldn't stop. "It's just... I guess, um, well... I feel like maybe... maybe I wasn't good enough. Maybe that's why they did this to you.... It's stupid," he frowned - it did sound stupid, when he said it out loud. But there, it was out. "I m-mean, I don't have claws like yours.... they're just, um, bone. And they don't.... they're not the same, I learned how to make them go away because that's what I do already. But... You don't... you can't make them go away. That's not fair to you."

He stopped - right. Hirakoba probably didn't want to hear this. And it was silly. Kaidoh was here to help him, and he had to do that, instead of standing here and feeling guilty for no good reason, because that wasn't going to get them anywhere. He glanced up again, a little relieved at least that Hirakoba felt better, even a little. "B-but it's good that it feels better now, I guess... just, um, be careful, um, it's hard to remember you can't just, um... pick things up. Heh." He tried to flash a small smile.

For a moment there, a serious mood fallen over Rin, to the extent of making him frown, but then everything changed with Kaidoh's last comment at which the blonde couldn't help, but laugh. "Yes, that's very true," and Rin wanted to pat the other on the head, but remembered in time not to do it. Only then, when the amusement died down a little, did he allow himself to think over what the boy said earlier.

Life wasn't fair, was what he wanted to say, but instead he just kept the smile, "They'll pay for it eventually," even though Rin wouldn't actively work on finding out who it was, who did that to them, vengeance was never worth the effort and he had no illusions that the process could be reverted, "For what they did to you, to me, to all who were in that place." If it wasn't him, who made sure of that, karma certainly would come and bite them in the ass. "It's not fair for everyone they experiment on, Kaidoh-kun, and humans are simply insatiable." He shrugged, "But whatever. Shit happens, gotta deal with it as best as we can," Rin winked, he wanted to flick Kaidoh's nose, but when he raised his hand, he thankfully remembered in time that it wasn't possible at the moment, "Uh huh, and I think it's time to pull them back." Now... the problem was he couldn't exactly feel the claws anymore.

Kaidoh nodded; he supposed Hirakoba had a good point, at least. He didn't like the idea of revenge, but he knew that life always had a way of coming around and making things miserable, if you weren't careful. He wasn't sure if anyone deserved that or not, but he supposed that wasn't really up to him to decide, or to carry out. He was just glad that Hirakoba was dealing all right. He'd seemed more than a little depressed right after they'd broken out of that place, though that was nothing if not understandable.

He looked at the long claws, and then back at the blonde. "Y-yeah - pulling them in is... um, a little harder. But, um, I managed to do it... it took a little while, though." As in a few days... but Hirakoba seemed to be a fast learner. Kaidoh hoped he'd get it sooner than that. "It's kind... well, like the opposite. Like, um, what I said before, but in reverse..." Of course, Hirakoba wouldn't reabsorb the metal the way Kaidoh had reabsorbed the bone of his claws. It was still, strange, to think that they weren't the way his normal growths worked - and that, essentially, he could grow them anywhere. But this wasn't about him - it was about Hirakoba, and what he could do right now. Kaidoh offered an encouraging smile and waited for the other mutant to give it a shot.

A little harder, huh? With his foot, Rin pushed his chair into a standing position, so he could sit again -- standing around like this was a little silly, he thought. The feeling of something being attached to him was faint, and it was hard to grasp... hard to focus on.

The first time he did that -- pull them out, still at the labs, was the adrenaline and feeling of danger speaking, a very unconscious reaction, they retracted when the danger was gone, and the level of adrenaline dropped slightly, also unconscious. Then, back when he was still at the Echizen household, when he pulled them out, it was just a brief moment, out-and-back-in, there was no time to think then, what happened that they went out, what's more how he got them back that quickly. All he knew was that there was a lot of frustration and general bad feelings involved, and perhaps that's why the effects were so poor.

Now... now he was calm, and actually trying. And of course, life being a bitch and all, and always doing the opposite of what one wanted, refused to change its ways for him. No, after these few long moments that Rin was silent, nothing happened. Not a single thing. "Eeeeh," a sigh, and a soft thud of the blonde's head hitting the table's surface, "Maan, I can't feel it well enough," a mumbled sentence, spoken partly to himself, partly to the other boy in the room.

It looked like Hirakoba-san was having trouble pulling them back in; Kaidoh understood, and at the other's comment, said, "Er... y-yeah... when, um, when I tried the first time, it took me.... um, a couple of days." He paused, sensing the other might not like hearing that. "But... um, I mean, you might get it faster than that. I'm sure you will." He stood, a bit awkwardly, watching the other's back as he rested his head on the table. "It might... um, help you get used to them, to have them out?" Though it could be dangerous, Kaidoh knew - he'd been so worried the entire time his had been extended that he'd hurt Ken, or Neko, or just ruin something without meaning to. But thankfully, those had been temporary. These were more permanent, and so maybe it would be a good idea to get used to their range, sooner rather than later? He hoped Hirakoba could see it that way.

If he didn't pull them in before he had to get back to the apartment he shared with Ryoga, it'd be bad. He'd have to finally tell the other mutant, and his reaction was hard to predict. And one could say Rin was a little scared of that. But Kaidoh had a point, it'd be good to get used to them. Though he'd still stay away from Ryoga, better not run the risk of hurting the other. And ohhh, he'd have to sleep on the floor, or chair, or somewhere faaar from both his roommate and the cat. The thought made him pout into the table, as his forehead was still resting against the cool surface. Then, he thought that eating would prove to be difficult too, and typing on the laptop, and even opening the fucking door. Taking clothes off and putting them on was going to be hella problematic, and Rin idly wondered what Ryoga would say to helping him undress and get dressed... he expected the other wouldn't be amused, and most probably say no. Especially if he were to be annoyed with finding out only now.

Rin sighed, and raised his head finally, once again looking at the younger mutant, "You're right, it'll be good to get used to them, but I'm fearing the consequences of telling Ryoga only now."

Kaidoh watched the blonde, and frowned a little, even if the other couldn't see him with his face against the table. "E-Echizen-san?" Well, he knew the other was staying with Echizen's older brother. And he knew that said older brother was curious about what had happened. He'd asked Kaidoh about it, even. He seemed concerned.

"W-well... I mean... you should tell him." Hirakoba was going to have to, eventually, right? "He's... I think he's worried. And, um... he'll only keep worrying if you don't, um, tell him what happened, right?" He was aware that it really was up to Hirakoba in the end - he could choose to tell or not tell his friends as he saw fit, but he seemed to be very close friends with Echizen-san. "Sometimes... um, having someone close who knows can, um, help," he offered, glancing off to the side. Ken had helped him so much, trying to cheer him up and keep things just like normal. Kaidoh was very thankful to have had someone to help him like that.

Rin kept his hands on the table, even though he had this strong urge to run one through the short locks. "I know I should," the longer he waited, the more anxious he actually became. Why was he anxious, though? He couldn't tell. But he knew Ryoga was worried, and his roommate was showing it, in his own way. After all these months there were little things Rin figured out about the other, they were constant, but there was only a few of them. Unfortunately. Most of the time the blonde mutant still found it hard to figure out the other.

But there was this one amusing thought which came with Kaidoh's words, Rin cracked a smile and gave the younger boy a devious glance, "Just how close do you think we are?" Why did he ask? Oh well, it didn't matter. It could prove amusing though. Rin laughed quietly to himself.

"Um!" Kaidoh flushed - he hadn't meant to imply - he only knew that - "Um. I just... h-he asked me about you, um, and I just, um, knew you were friends. You just, um... you seem to talk to him a lot, I.... I figured you were good friends. I'm s-sorry if... um, I didn't mean to..." There were disadvantages to keeping to yourself - it made you bad with dealing with other people, and Kaidoh just glanced down at his feet, hoping Hirakoba wasn't mad at him for assuming.

The only answer Rin gave at first, was a laugh. Not a mocking kind of laugh though, just genuinely amused. After a moment, the laugh subdued, but the blonde didn't stop smiling, as he spoke, "I don't mind," he winked, but then his expression became a little more serious, "But don't you ever mention that to Ryoga." Who knew what would happen then? His roommate certainly wouldn't want anyone to think them being close or whatever.

Kaidoh glanced over to Hirakoba - but he wasn't laughing at him, just... laughing. He nodded, a small, relieved smile creeping through. "N-no. I won't." At least he'd been right - Hirakoba and Echizen were good friends, it seemed. And it was good that Hirakoba had good friends. "B-but you should tell him about... this." He motioned to the other's hands. "Sometime." But it was up to Hirakoba when that would be, in the end.

The blonde nodded and sighed, "I will, most probably today, since I don't see myself retracting them any soon." Scary thoughts these were, but Rin did have his reasons for not telling sooner. Or so he thought. He thought they were logical and valid, but perhaps in the end they weren't? "Well, in any case, thanks for help, Kaidoh~kun~," the instructor smiled nth time that day. Life seemed better when one was smiling, so why not. "I guess I shouldn't be keeping you here for any longer. Unless you have some questions."

Kaidoh nodded. That was probably for the best, though he certainly didn't claim to be any sort of expert or anything. He ducked his head as the other thanked him - "I'm just... um, I hope it helped." He supposed he'd half-helped - Hirakoba had gotten the claws out... just not back in.

The other's smile was contagious, though, and he mirrored it. "I... I don't think so. You should, um, make sure you get some dinner too. Just... um, heh. Be careful when you eat it." He nodded to the claws again - eating with them could be difficult. But not impossible. Especially with help. "Um, I guess if you have any questions that you think I could help with, let me know too." He bowed slightly, turning for the door if they really were done. Dinner might not be over yet.

"It did, enjoy your dinner, 'm gonna eat, no worries," Rin smiled and waved at the younger boy as he left. Mm, there was this random, amusing thought again, which made his smile more edged. Would Ryoga be kind enough to feed him? Or at least help with eating. That'd be fun, but he sincerely doubted his roommate would agree.

The blonde stayed in the training room for few longer moments, enjoying the infinite quiet of the soundproofed room. Quiet and only few scents. One his, one Kaidoh's still lingering in the air, and one of the wooden table. These were the strongest. Then there were other faint scents which he couldn't quite place. Enough was enough, though and at some point Rin had to move and get back to the faculty apartment he was sharing with the older Echizen sibling. Mentally preparing himself for the worst and making up an explanation in his mind.