Mending Loose Ends

Chapter 2

It had been a few hours since Ryuko and Senketsu had emerged from the infirmary of the Kiryuin mansion and taken up residence in the room Satsuki had said was hers. She had since changed out of the awful hospital gown into some soft pajamas that had been left for her on the dresser, along with a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt that had been left for Senketsu. The thought was nice, but Senketsu had torn the arms of the shirt almost immediately trying to fit his hands through the holes, and as such just went topless.

As far as she knew, Satsuki hadn't told anyone what had happened yet, other than that Ryuko was awake and stable, for which she was thankful. She wanted to see Mako, and her other friends, but still felt extremely weak. She was so tired and didn't feel up for what would no doubt be an endless train of questions directed at herself and Senketsu. It could wait a day, at least.

She looked up from the meal she was unceremoniously devouring at Senketsu, who was pushing around the food on his plate with one of his talons, chopsticks unused at his side. He looked rather strange, sitting there in a pair of pilfered sweatpants, with a plate of croquettes in his lap.

"Have you tried eating any of it yet?" she asked.

"No. The idea of eating food seems very strange to me."

"You'll like it if you try it!" she assured him. "They're croquettes. Mako's mom's recipie, but with actual meat. They're almost as good as the original." She picked on off of his plate and shoved it into her mouth. "You juff puh it in your mouf like thith an chew it," she said around the mouthful. Senketsu looked mildly disgusted at the croquette shrapnel that flew from her mouth as she talked, but picked up one of the fried lumps between two talons and inspected it closely. He sniffed it once and then shoved the entire thing into his mouth as he had been shown, chewing slowly. Ryuko looked at him expectantly as he masticated.

"It's...good." He said slowly. "Though all I have to compare it to is the taste of your blood." he put another croquette in his mouth and chewed thoughtfully.

Ryuko was about to speak when Senketsu's face took on a look of pain.

"I...think I feel sick," he said.

"Sick? Like you're going to throw up?" she said, standing.

"I-I don't know but whatever it is feels urgent." he said, rising quickly, accidentally spilling the plate on the floor.

"The bathroom is over here!" she said, taking his hand and leading him to the pristine master bathroom attached to her room. Apparently not having got the memo about the toilet being the appropriate place to throw up into, Senketsu doubled over the sink and spilled his guts. Ryuko cringed as blood and what she could only assume were chewed up croquettes coated the white sink. She rubbed his back in circles as he groaned, still hunched over the counter.

"Looks like it's an all liquid diet for you still, huh?" she said jokingly, earning her a glare from Senketsu. She turned on the tap to rinse away the mush in the sink. Senketsu splashed some water on his face and wiped his chin.

"It was foolish of me to think I could eat human food. After all I am still a kamui," he said, wiping his face with the plush towel Ryuko handed to him.

"Still, it's pretty incredible," said Ryuko, once again marveling at his new form. "You never had this power before, what gives?"

Senketsu shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure, to be honest. If I were to guess, we probably took this power from Harime Nui when we absorbed what remained of her through Shinra Koketsu. She too was an artificial human; a bundle of life fibers masquerading in a human skin, but that's only a guess."

Ryuko's shrug mirrored Senketsu's. "It's as good a guess as any," she clapped him on his shoulder. "Look at us, just two not-human-not-clothing peas in a pod."

Senketsu laughed. "Indeed we are. I also appear to be off to a great start," he said, gesturing to the sink.

Ryuko waved her hand at him dismissively. "You've got time to iron out the kinks," she said, wiggling her eyebrows at him.

"And in that time you can work on your jokes," he replied, crossing his arms.

Ryuko scoffed. "Excuse me! Look at you, Mr. I-just-got-my-human-body-and-now-i'm-putting-on-my-sassy-pants! I oughta turn you back into rags!"

He raised one elegant eyebrow at her. "Please Ryuko we wouldn't want you to hurt yourself."

Ryuko gasped in mock horror at him. "Oh, I know you didn't just imply you could take me in a fight."

"You said it, not me."

"That's it! You just bought yourself a one way ticket to the washing machine!" she exclaimed, pouncing at him.

Senketsu easily sidestepped her and caught her around the waist with one arm as she flew past, lifting off her feet, leaving her dangling and kicking there. "Oh? And how were you planning on doing that? Maybe I'll put you in the washing machine instead."

Ryuko kicked and writhed until she managed to squirm out from his grasp, landing on the bathroom tile in a crouch, whirling to try and grab at him again. Still slow from being bedridden, he danced out of her reach again and took off out of the bathroom.

"Running from a fight you coward?" she cried after him, giving chase. She followed the sound of his laughter and footsteps out of her room and down the hall. He was fast! Not cowed by this, Ryuko put on the gas, pushing her body to keep pace. She followed him round a corner, almost upon him. "When I catch you I'm gonna-"

She almost crashed right into Satsuki as she rounded the corner. "You're going to go back to bed and rest, is what you're going to do," Satsuki told her, voice like ice. Somehow she still managed to look commanding wearing a plush white bathrobe and towel on her head. "Both of you!" she commanded, kicking Senketsu with a slipper clad foot, who was laid out dazed at her feet.

"Urk. Yes Satsuki," Senketsu said weakly.

"The Mankanshoku family will be here tomorrow, so you had better look rested!" Satsuki scolded.

"Okay, okay," Ryuko replied weakly, trying not to show that this was the most intimidated by Satsuki she'd ever felt. She grabbed Senketsu by the wrist and dragged him away from her terrifying sister.

"Your sister is scary," Senketsu whispered to her when he was certain she was out of earshot.

"Somehow she's scarier now than she was when she was kicking me through buildings."

As soon as they got back to Ryuko's room, Senketsu immediately jumped into her bed and pulled up the covers to his chin. Ryuko stared a moment. He looked ridiculous, all tucked in as he was, looking like he was waiting to be read a bed time story. Senketsu stared back, seemingly wondering why he had suddenly become an object on confusion for Ryuko.

"Ryuko, aren't you going to get some 'rest?'" he asked

"I mean yeah, but you know there are other beds, right?" she asked with a laugh.

"Why would I sleep in another bed, you're sleeping in this one," he told her, matter of fact.

"Well I mean I don't really mind, but you're not a girl, and girls don't sleep in the same bed as a man usually unless they're dating, or married."

"Why?" he asked.

"Well it's intimate!"

"It 's not as if I haven't seen and touched every inch of you already," he said blandly.

"Y-you pervert! You can't just say stuff like that! It's different when you're not a sailor fuku," she told him, arms crossed. She felt her face beginning to get flushed again.

Senketsu sat up in bed. "It's just that I'm not really used to being so far from you," he said, quieter.

Ryuko softened. "I know. I'm sorry, this must all be really strange for you. You can sleep her if you like, it's fine," she told him, closing the bedroom door and flicking off the light. She padded across the room and sat on the edge of the bed, taking off her socks. As she sat on the bed she realized all at once just how tired she was. She yawned and stretched as she slipped under the covers. "Goodnight Senketsu," she told him, turning on her side away from him, getting comfortable.

Senketsu's long arm looped around her waist, pulling her close against him for a moment as he nuzzled into her hair. "Thank you," he told her, before giving her back her space in the bed. Ryuko was almost disappointed for a moment at the loss of contact, but it left her mind as she felt herself being pulled into oblivion.

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this short chapter. Over the next couple chapters we'll start getting into the real meat of the story, so put it on your alerts if you want to follow along. As always, please review and favorite if you like the story.

Or if you don't.

that's fine too.