Enter the monk! And yes, I stole lyrics from Puddle of Mudd for my chapter title. But that's okay because I'm crediting them.
Breaking Point
by Kimura
Chapter 7 - I Stumble, Then I Crawl
Over the next few weeks, Genrou slowly began to recover. As he did so, the nightmares lessened, as did his reliance on Kouji. This alleviated the enormous stress that had been on Kouji and generally made things easier for all of the bandits.
Kouji was so happy to see his friend getting well again that he barely gave any thought to the fact that Genrou was completely repressing his memories; there was only a vague nagging at the back of his mind that wouldn't leave him alone.
"Kouji?" Genrou asked brightly one day.
"Nani?"
"Can I eat with the other guys today? I've hardly seen them since I've been back!" He thought for a minute. "That's almost a month now."
Kouji smiled. "I'm sure we can manage that. I think Tyoushi was already working on something."
Tyoushi had been created some rough crutches that Genrou could use to get around a little.
"Remember that you're body isn't strong enough for you to use these all the time," Tyoushi told him as he showed Genrou has to use them. "You can just use them to get to meals for now, okay?"
Genrou nodded eagerly as he started to dash for the door.
He promptly crashed to the ground.
"You okay?!" Kouji cried, starting to help him up.
Genrou grinned. "Guess I'll need practice, ne?"
Kouji laughed, helping him out the door.
The bandits were ecstatic to finally see Genrou up and about. They cheered and clapped him on the back, offering several toasts of sake.
It was then that Genrou saw someone near the back of the room.
Tasuki screamed, pushing back his chair so hard he tipped it over onto the floor.
"Genrou, what is it?!" Kouji cried, trying to disentangle the hysterical redhead from the chair.
"GET HIM AWAY FROM MEEEEE!" Tasuki screamed, still trying to scramble away.
"Genrou, it's all right. Calm down, no one here is going to hurt you," Kouji soothed, trying to keep him still to stop him from re-injuring himself.
"NO! GET AWAY!"
"Everyone, clear the room," Tyoushi said loudly, trying to herd the men away.
"What the fuck's wrong with him?" one of the bandits shouted.
"Just get outta here for now," Tyoushi retorted before Kouji could blow up at them.
"He's g-gonna k-k-kill m-m-me," Tasuki mumbled, shivering violently.
"Who, Genrou?" Kouji asked.
"Him!" Tasuki cried, pointing at Himoto.
"Get him out of here," Kouji told Tyoushi.
Tyoushi nodded, clearing the last of the bandits out.
"Genrou, listen to me. Himoto won't hurt you now," Kouji said slowly. "He's one of us. He's the one that led us to you. We wouldn't have found you if it weren't for him."
"No!" Tasuki yelled, trying to pull away. "He's still working for him! He'll tell Makara where I am!"
Kouji sighed, scooping Tasuki into his arms and taking him back to his room.
Tyoushi left through the other door.
The bandits blocked his way, standing together in a bunch.
"We want to know what the hell's going on, Tyoushi," one of them said purposefully.
"It's not my place to tell you," Tyoushi said, trying to push his way through.
"Why does Genrou think Himoto's gonna kill him?"
"Because he used to work for Makara," another bandit answered the first.
"He doesn't belong here!" another cried.
"Please, guys, let's just stay calm and leave major decisions up to the leaders," Tyoushi shouted above the noise.
"How can we when they're locked in Genrou's room all day?!"
"Look, I'll get Kouji to talk to you, okay? Just calm down and . . . drink some sake." Tyoushi went back into the dining hall, exited through the other door, and knocked loudly on Tasuki's door.
"Just a minute," Kouji answered. He emerged a moment later. "This better be important."
"The men want to know what's going on. And now they're suspicious of Himoto, too. You've got to talk to them and make a decision."
Kouji sighed, running a hand through his blue hair. "Shit, like I don't have enough on my hands already. Genrou's fuckin' freaking out and I don't know how to help him! I just . . . I don't know, Tyoushi. I don't know what the FUCK to do anymore!" He slammed his fist angrily into the wall.
Tyoushi put a hand on his shoulder. "Do you want me to tell them about Genrou?"
Kouji shook his head. "I need to do it." He closed his eyes, trying to gather himself back together. "I need help with Genrou, I . . ." His eyes lit up. "Get a messenger to the palace immediately. We need to get Chichiri here. He can help."
Tyoushi nodded. "I'll send someone right away." At that, he turned and walked briskly down the hall.
Kouji took a deep breath before returning to Tasuki's room.
The former seishi was curled into a tight shivering ball, mumbling incoherently.
Kouji approached him quietly, silent tears sliding down his scarred face. He softly stroked Tasuki's hair, unable to do anything else. Words were utterly useless; Tasuki couldn't hear him anymore.
Tasuki whimpered at the touch, afraid of being hurt.
"Shhh," Kouji whispered. He carefully covered Tasuki with a blanket and hummed quietly to get him to sleep.
But the tortured younger bandit could not be comforted that night.
~~~
Kouji took a deep breath. "Men, Genrou is sick. During his time with Makara, he was tortured. I can't go into any details. But it's going to take some time for him to get better. I'm sorry I haven't been around more lately, but Genrou needed my help. It hasn't been easy for me to keep things balanced. I ask all of you to be as patient as you can."
"What about Himoto?" a bandit near the back of the room asked.
"He's going to be dismissed, for safety's sake," Kouji answered.
The bandits seemed appeased and slowly left the room in groups. Himoto and Kouji were left alone.
"I'm sorry about this," Kouji began.
"Don't be," Himoto said, managing a smile. "I should've realized something like this would happen."
"You come back if Makara gives you any trouble."
Himoto nodded. "I will."
~~~
Two days later . . .
There was a knock on Chichiri's door.
"Who is it no da?" the monk called cheerfully, quickly donning his smiling mask.
"A messenger has arrived for you. He claims it's urgent. He is awaiting you in the stables."
Chichiri blinked. "All right no da. Tell him I'll be right there." He picked up his kesa, wrapping it around himself and made his way to the stables, trying to think who would be calling him.
"Chichiri-sama," the bandit said, bowing.
"What's going on no da? Who is the message from?"
"It's from the leaders of the Mt. Reikaku bandits."
Tasuki, Chichiri realized. Is he hurt? "What's happened no da?"
"Genrou is ill and Kouji asked you to come back with me to help him get well again."
"Of course no da. We can leave immediately."
~~~
"Genrou, just calm down!" Kouji cried.
Tasuki struggled desperately as Tyoushi and Kouji tried to hold him down.
"Easy, easy, we won't hurt you," Kouji said, trying to calm him.
"This isn't gonna work, Kouji," Tyoushi gasped out. "There's no way he'll sit still long enough to eat."
Kouji sighed. "All right, let him go."
The two men released Tasuki, who curled back into a ball.
Kouji sat beside him, rubbing his shoulder soothingly. He was the only one that Tasuki would allow within a few feet of him.
"What happened, Tyoushi?" Kouji asked hoarsely. "Why is he doing this? I thought he was getting better . . ."
Tyoushi sighed. "I don't know, Kouji. I just don't know. But if we can't get some food into him, he won't last much longer." He quietly left the two alone.
Kouji leaned over and picked up a small bowl of water from the bedside table. He held it out in front of Tasuki.
Tasuki pulled away a little.
"It won't hurt you, Gen-chan," Kouji told him. To prove his point, he took a small sip. When he again held out the bowl, Tasuki drank a little.
Kouji gradually coaxed him to drink the whole bowl -- very slowly since he hadn't drunk anything in two days.
Thank God, Kouji thought. Maybe I'm finally getting through again. "You've just gotta come back, Genrou. You can't stay like this. You're stronger than that." Kouji swallowed hard before a lump could rise in his throat. To his surprise, Tasuki had moved a little closer to him and was leaning against his side. Kouji softly smoothed the disheveled hair from his face.
"You did good, kid," he whispered, kissing the top of Tasuki's head lightly. "You did good."
~~~
Another two days later . . .
Chichiri was brought straight to the Leaders' Room as soon as he arrived.
"Konnichiwa, Kouji no da," Chichiri said, trying to hide his impatience.
"Chichiri-sama --"
The monk held up his hand. "There's no need for such formalities no da."
Kouji nodded. "You might want to sit down."
Chichiri sat, noticing the grave look on Kouji's face.
Kouji took a deep breath. "Four months ago, Genrou was kidnapped by rival bandits. They faked his death to keep us off their trail. Three months ago, we captured one of them and discovered that Genrou was still alive and being held not too far from our headquarters. When we rescued him . . ." Kouji's throat grew suddenly tight.
"Take your time no da," Chichiri said gently.
Kouji swallowed hard. "They tortured him. The guards beat him and their leader used some kind of strange machine on him. It took him a while, but over the past month he's been recovering. The enemy bandit we captured asked to join us and I allowed it, since he had led us to Genrou. Four days ago, Genrou was having his first meal back with the guys when --"
"He saw the enemy bandit," Chichiri interrupted.
Kouji nodded. "I don't know what happened . . . he just totally lost it. I . . ." Kouji stood, staring out the window and carefully keeping his back to Chichiri. "I just don't know what to do anymore. We only barely managed to get a little food and water into him. He won't let anyone near him 'cept me. I just . . ." Kouji noticed that his hands were shaking and quickly balled them into fists to make them stop. It didn't help.
Chichiri stood a took a few steps closer, uncertainly. "I'll do everything I can no da. Can I see him?"
"Of course," Kouji said in a voice higher than he intended. He moved past Chichiri and opened the door. "I'm hoping that seeing you might snap him out of this . . . whatever it is," he explained as they walked down the hall.
"I hope so too no da," the blue-haired Seishi answered.
Kouji stopped outside Tasuki's door. Slowly, he turned to face Chichiri. "Listen, he . . . this whole thing has seriously screwed him up. He might not remember you at all. But he's scared shitless of everyone, so don't get offended. I --"
Chichiri put a hand on the bandit's shoulder, silencing him. "I understand no da."
Kouji nodded and slowly opened the door. He gasped, seeing the empty bed. "Genrou?" He looked around the room frantically. "Genrou?!"
Chichiri grabbed Kouji's arm, stopping him. "Listen no da."
Kouji froze.
The sound of whimpering just barely breached the tense silence.
Kouji slowly walked around the bed, seeing Tasuki curled into a corner. "You scared the shit out of me," he admonished gently as he slowly approached his friend. "Kuso, you're freezing! How long've you been outta bed?" he asked, touching Tasuki's arm. He carefully picked up the younger man, laying him back in the bed and wrapping blankets around him.
Chichiri watched the scene in amazement, impressed by Kouji's ability to handle his friend.
Once Tasuki was again settled, Kouji motioned for Chichiri to come all the way into the room.
The monk slowly did so, praying that Suzaku would let Tasuki remember him.
Tasuki stared at his fellow seishi for a long moment.
Kouji held his breath.
"Ch-Chichiri?" Tasuki asked tentatively.
"It's me no da," the monk answered, taking a few steps closer.
Kouji breathed a large sigh of relief.
Tasuki closed his eyes, as if trying to get his bearings.
Kouji put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you all right?"
"I feel . . . weird . . ." Tasuki answered.
"You may need some more rest no da," Chichiri suggested.
Kouji nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. You . . . want me to stay with you?"
Tasuki looked up at Chichiri.
"Kouji told me what happened no da," Chichiri said, answering the unasked question.
Tasuki looked back at Kouji and nodded, lying down.
"I'll have someone show you to your room. You must be tired after your long ride," Kouji said, opening the door for the monk.
A minute later, he closed the door and returned to Tasuki's bedside.
"I'm sorry to put you in this situation, Genrou, but I didn't know who else to ask," Kouji said immediately.
"Forget it," Tasuki answered. "I'm glad he's here. And I'm glad you told him."
"What happened?" the older bandit asked seriously.
"I . . . I don't know," Tasuki answered, shivering slightly. He rolled onto his side. "I don't want to talk about it right now."
Kouji sighed, nodding. It's best not to push him, I guess.
~~~
Two days later . . .
Kouji stopped Chichiri in the hallway before he could knock on Tasuki's door. "Chichiri, do you have any idea what happened to him? What caused him to flip out?"
Chichiri sighed deeply, removing his mask. "I think so no da. But you're not going to like it."
"It doesn't matter whether I like it or not!" Kouji cried indignantly. "I don't care what it takes to make him better! I'll do it!"
"He's repressing his memories no da," Chichiri said in a lower voice, in case Tasuki could hear them through the door. "He refuses to talk about it. And no offense, but you're not helping no da. Whenever he gets upset, you immediately want to calm him down." The monk put a hand on the bandit's shoulder. "You have done an incredible job with him no da. You're just remarkable around him. You stayed with him when he needed you the most. Many other people wouldn't have been able to last this long. But now that he's healing, he needs to talk about what happened and come to terms with it."
Kouji stared at the Suzaku Seishi for a long moment, then nodded. "What you're sayin' makes sense. I just . . . I just wanted him to feel better. I wasn't thinking about the fact that he didn't talk about it . . ."
"It's all right no da. I think I have an idea that might work."
"I'm listenin'."
"I think it might help him if he spent a little time away from Reikaku. It's awkward for him to be here where everyone looks up to him. He needs a break from the pressure. I think if he was away from here, he might feel a bit more comfortable talking about what happened."
Kouji looked alarmed. "Are you sure he's ready for that?"
"I think so no da. I'll be with him. He's physically ready. The fresh air will do him good anyway."
Kouji still looked unsure.
Chichiri put a hand on his shoulder. "I'll take care of him no da. I won't let anything happen to him."
Kouji lowered his head, a small smile on his face. "I know he's ready. I'm just not sure I'm ready."
Chichiri smiled. "We can wait a few days no da, so you can used to the idea."
Kouji nodded.
~~~
