RP Log: Kirihara, Ryoma, Yamato

[perfect-synch.livejournal.com]

Date: This afternoon, Monday 1/16
Rating: PGish
Summary: Yamato seeks Ryoma's help in solving his and Kirihara's power-tangly problem. It does not go well. :D;;



Patience was something Yamato had in no short supply, and he felt that he had been very patient up until this point, but what it all came down to was that he could not touch Kirihara without both their powers eventually acting up – the benign power the older man possessed, of course, not being the main problem. With Kirihara in his section, now, as his student, the man had an excuse to monitor the boy’s progress with his control – both the aggressive, aided by a deck of playing cards, and the passive that was more about keeping himself centered and not flying off the handle at every little small thing. That, of course, seemed like some sort of insurmountable task when they met, thought Yamato with a chuckle.

But after months of patience, he could easily be patient a couple minutes more, as he waited inside one of the training areas for Echizen to join them – already, Kirihara was there (astoundingly prompt as he was). The cat that normally haunted at Yamato’s heels remained in his room obediently, as he was not entirely sure this would not get dangerous (though he had not exactly expressed that concern to Kirihara), and he could find his way around Ryuhana blind, anyway, only having any trouble in the newly reconstructed classrooms building.

It had probably been about five minutes when the man finally turned to Kirihara, their conversation until then minimal, and flashed a bright smile. “This will work,” he assured the boy, now pacing a rut in the carpet. “Probably.”

Akaya had only a vague idea of what Yamato had in mind with this. But if the man said it would work... then it would, right? It better, anyway... Kirihara was not one known for patience. So it was all bizarre in and of itself that he lasted that long anyway. And he sure as hell didn't like the sound of "probably"... but didn't say anything.

Sitting in a chair sucked, but he preferred pacing sucked as well... but even though it... was getting on Akaya's nerves, he couldn't sit still. His eyes never leaving the other... and where the hell was that Echizen? Damnit...

Ryoma headed down to the training area, relieved that Niou didn't seem to be opposed to the idea of spending a few more hours with the "baby"/Shadow/Ryou/whatever after he'd already hauled him around the university all day. Niou, in fact, didn't seem to mind taking care of him very much at all most of the time, which was good because Ryoma was going to have a lot of catching up to do after missing a week of class and training.

He refused to wear his training uniform (for multiple reasons, one being that he hated it and the other being that it didn't really fit anymore, with the ten centimeters he'd gained over the past few months), and opted instead for a set of everyday clothes, now that they fit him properly again.

He opened the door to see a patiently-waiting Yamato and a not-so-patiently-pacing Kirihara. Closing it behind him, he leaned on it, glancing up at the teacher. "You wanted me?"

With a grand smile, Yamato nodded, saying, "Thank you for coming, Echizen. Kirihara-kun," the name, obviously, was a formality, "and I encountered a bit of a problem with our training, and we were hoping that you might be able to help us reach a resolution." He stood from the chair, casting a quick glance in Akaya's direction, as though the boy were a wild animal that might pounce at any second. "Well, two problems, really. While I am able to use my power on him," he made a motion with his hand as though it would help explain further, "it eventually causes a reaction from his power in turn. Interestingly enough, it seems to be more prevalent with physical touch, which often forces my power out of me, than if I just try to use his senses."

Hands settling in his pockets, Yamato gave a nod to Echizen. "What it boils down to is this -- we want to see what happens if you can use my power on him without causing the reaction; maybe with a fresh perspective, we can learn a different way of controlling either my power or his -- or, in the best case scenario, both."

Ryoma considered Yamato's request, watching him gesture. Well, somehow he didn't doubt that Kirihara's powers reacted badly - given his one and only experience with them, they were... strange. Even now, there was a marked difference in the way the two mutants before him "felt" to his internal sense. Yamato was solid, normal - Kirihara was fuzzy and static.

"... I guess so," he said, still thinking - as long as he was very careful, and Yamato stayed behind him, maybe he could extend the shields in the one direction only and not synch Kirihara as well. Because that would surely throw the entire experiment off, not to mention give him one hell of a headache. That was not an experience he wished to repeat. And though he got the feeling that Yamato wouldn't mind if he declined to help, he'd just get suckered into it later on after something bad happened

He moved over to Yamato - he didn't have Luis, and wasn't looking at him like he was using Kirihara's vision, so he wouldn't be able to see if Ryoma motioned. Taking the other's elbow, he pulled Yamato gently into a position behind him, placing himself between Kirihara and the instructor. "You stay there or I'll get you both. C'n use my vision f'you want." He turned to Kirihara. "You stay there, too. Don't wanna synch you."

Kirihara watched the two mutants with sort of bored stare. Well... he was bored. And he couldn't do much, just... wait till Echizen synched Yamato, and then become a guinea pig. So... amusing, really, and interesting too. Rolling his eyes, the boy plopped on one chair just because standing randomly like that was getting annoying.

Though... he started getting some doubts about this whole experiment. Just a gut feeling, but still. Kirihara wouldn't voice them though, surely... the worst that could happen was his energy would fight the invasion. Nothing else came to his mind. And that... wasn't all that bad.

One elbow on the table, chin propped on the hand, the boy continued to watch (there was nothing more interesting to do anyway), red eyes partially hidden beneath eyelids. "Think it’s gonna take long?"

Yamato turned his attention to Kirihara, offering a smile and said softly, "Akaya, you can't already be bored." He winked, knowing very well that it would not go over well with the younger mutant, and let his power drift to Ryoma, it was more invasive than Ryoma's power, but it was also a lot less severe than Ryoma's had proved to be on several occasions. Seeing the room from Ryoma's perspective, Kirihara was, as suspected, looking decently unhappy while Yamato himself looked like he had dressed in his Sunday best or for court, or something, as he had been working earlier in the day.

"Echizen," the man said. "Whenever you're ready. But, take your time. Akaya's just impatient."

"Yeah." Ryoma closed his eyes a moment - this was going to be tricky. He'd done it before, true, but he really didn't want to slip up this time; it would likely make Yamato sick as well if he was using Ryoma's senses at the time. He extended the shield behind him, carefully inching it back and back until something clicked into place -

He opened his eyes again - and didn't see anything for a moment. He blinked. "Ah, shit -" He was using Yamato's senses, as though that would do anyone any good. Another few breaths, and he'd managed to pull the power back into himself, restoring his sight as he blinked owlishly. But things looked normal again, and his senses were his own. Though he could almost convince himself he could feel Yamato's bemused patience, if he thought about it too hard.

Which he didn't care to. He glanced back to Kirihara, glad the front half of the shield had stayed firmly in place. "Okay, m'gonna try you now." He didn't want to risk getting Yamato's senses again, if he had to push through his own mental shields; he took a step forward and grasped Kirihara's forearm -

And felt his senses immediately pulled toward the seated mutant.

Stronger, harsher... more forceful. That's how if felt to Akaya at the moment. So much different, yet somehow similar. Probably because it was the same kind of power... just... uncontrolled... and yes, definitely stronger. His own energy's reaction was painful.

Violent twist, squeeze and the killer intent was there. Somehow... The boy made a face at the feelings. Damn... nothing pleasant, but at the same time nothing he couldn't deal with.

Control, control... He had to keep a firm grasp on his own power... even though focusing like that was difficult, when all the power demanded was to leash out. Leash out and smash... break... blast the invader.

The boy closed his eyes, to focus better... a split-second and there was nothing. Just a noise in his ears... no pain anymore. No feeling. Akaya didn't feel the energy anymore. Dangerous... really dangerous... noise... annoying. Black, darkness... even though his eyes were opened now. What the fuck? He just sat there, one arm on the table, staring blankly into the space.

At first, the boy's face twisted with what looked like pain -- Yamato could see it through Ryoma's eyes as though it was playing out in front of him... pain turned into deep confusion. Only a split second later, a ghost of power -- something Ryoma was experiencing, not Yamato himself -- slid up his arm, realization dawning on the man. Something was not right -- Kirihara's power was no longer under any control. He tried to order, "Echizen, let go." But only about half of the command before the familiar bang he had heard many times before -- the sound of Kirihara's power overwhelming an object -- erupted somewhere behind him -- the table, he realized, drawing his power abruptly away from Ryoma.

"Echizen, you have to pull your power out of him -- and don't touch him!"

It seemed like everything suddenly went crazy all at once. There was a loud bang! as the table Kirihara was seated at exploded, flinging bits of wood in all directions. Ryoma hissed and ducked as a few not-so-small splinters scraped trails across his face and arms, snatching his hand back as the tickle of power that had snaked up his arm turned to burning pain.

No kidding, he thought bitterly, shaking his tingling hand out, blinking a few times. His vision was blurry - in fact, all of his senses felt blurry, but they were still working. But they were also his, and not Kirihara's. Which meant he had no idea what the other was experiencing.

With a glance back to make sure Yamato seemed all right (and he did), Ryoma turned back to Kirihara, a little worried at the indescribable emotion on his face. It was somewhere between pain and utter confusion - and the other boy was staring as though he couldn't see anything. "On it," he said shortly, steeling himself for whatever this might do, and tried to pull his presence away.

... And it wasn't working. His senses felt tangled in the other's explosively rampant power. He yanked harder. **Let go** he demanded directly in the other's mind.

And... Kirihara had no idea of what was happening around him. His arm was bleeding, severely cut, but he didn't feel any of it. It felt... like death? Death?! He was alive, for crying out loud, he was still aware of that. But... the darkness... and the noise... it was driving him crazy.

Where was up? Where was down? Goddamnit! Scary... reallyreallyscary... or not. Maddening... Was he still sitting? The boy's breathing became uneven, heavier. These few seconds seemed like hours already... insanely long hours... Echizen's demand was lost somewhere in the noise. Even though it was spoken in Kirihara's mind... he didn't catch it, focused on... nothing... the noise. Annoying, annoyingannoyinggoddamnannoying.

As Akaya fell to his knees from the chair, both hands pulling at his hair, face pressed into the floor... a loud, desperate scream escaped him. Sound, anything but the noise. It was worse than silence. Anything, sound, really, scream... but... no, he didn't hear himself, was he really screaming? There was the noise... and noise only.

And he didn't feel the energy leaking into the floor, charging it in the process.

Among the things that Yamato simply did not do, one of them was swearing -- normally. But at the sound of Kirihara hitting the ground (he could not actually charge the floor, could he?), a fairly unpleasant curse escaped his lips, swallowed entirely in the blood-curdling scream from the boy on the floor. "Echizen -- Hanamura's power. Knock him out." That was all the explanation he offered as he, too, dove to the ground beside Kirihara, yanking the boy violently from the floor by his armpits, just to minimize the contact with the floor. Shrieks of what no longer sounded like pain but madness pierced Yamato's eardrums while an unpleasant tingle began to creep up his arms...

...And turned into dizzying pain -- if he could have found his voice, he might have yelled. White-hot pain crawled under every inch of his skin, his head throbbing as though staring at a strobe light with a migraine. His teeth, even, began to hurt -- a deep pain rooted in his jaw, echoing in his chest. Much like Kirihara, the older man wondered vaguely if this power could kill him in his last moments of coherent thought before the ringing of his ears grew to a maddening decibel. If he could hold Kirihara still just a moment longer... Echizen would figure out how to knock him out. Physically, if need be. Just a moment longer. He could stay conscious a moment longer.

Fuck. All hell really had broken loose - Ryoma could barely think straight with Kirihara screaming like that. It was the most horrible sound he'd ever heard - a hysterical screech that made him want to curl up into a ball until it stopped. But that was simply out of the question. The floor felt strange and hot, even through the soles of his shoes - holy shit -

But then Yamato barked an order at him and dove for the boy, pulling him up off the floor. Ryoma's mind was still spinning - what the hell had happened? What had he done wrong? He hadn't meant to -

No. He had to do what Yamato had said - and now. He steeled himself, building the power a moment before yanking back on his senses as hard as he could. Something snapped back into place - the world went clear around him, even as he fell dizzily backwards onto the strangely hot floor - and then he threw all the mental energy he could into an unnecessarily devastating blow that should render Kirihara unconscious. And probably Yamato as well.

No more... Akaya couldn't take it anymore. Nothing... darkness, noise, numbness... nothing... and it wasn't stopping. Would it ever? But then... there was this-

And the boy's mind gave away. Falling into unconsciousness... the flow of energy snapped shut again, as the senses slowly returned. Breathing evening...

There came a point when the pain was so great, it was impossible to remember the time before there was pain -- what it was like to feel comfortable and to not hear that almost inhuman shrieking in his ears. Traveling up Yamato’s body, as though carried by millions of tiny ant feet, was the relaxation of muscles giving in – starting with his thighs, his abdomen, and his arms giving in to the boy’s surprising weight – as pain overpowered logic and strength.

Kirihara became dead weight – suddenly – the shrieking stopping and the pain subsiding abruptly as it had begun. Yamato, shaking, only had a split-second to think this before he was hit with Echizen’s power – dropping like a rag doll with Kirihara to the floor; around their bodies, the floor dissolved almost peacefully, dropping the two into a crater where the charged floor had once been.

Ryoma didn't know what was going on anymore. He was sliding downwards, but it felt like he'd left half of himself at the top... The world was fuzzy and his mind was trying to tear itself apart -

Shields, he thought desperately - the mental blow he'd delivered had blown his shields to hell and now he was trying to synch Kirihara with about as much success as the previous time. He blearily tried to get some measure of shield to work - anything would do - and nearly cried with relief when it worked; he blinked to find himself lying on his backside just inside a - holy hell, a small crater in the floor, at the center of which were Kirihara and Yamato, both unconscious and lying in a heap.

But at least that inhuman screaming had stopped. His head hurt terribly - his inner ears were still spinning, and he had to fight very hard not to be sick. His face and arms stung. But he was still awake -

**Hey, Hanamura. We need some help down here,** he sent shortly, glad it took no effort at all to communicate with her. Then he lay back and stared at the ceiling and let the room spin around him until someone came to get them.