Finally up. I apologize to the one who suggested the prompt, I should have no excuse for taking so long. Especially when the ending just ended up sloppy. But being optimistic I have to remind myself everything I do is of some progress and improvement.
Senketsu never really got repercussions from the violently bloody battles Ryuko would struggle through near every day. His body was numb to the pain of a blade. The only thing that could truly make him cry from pain was Ryuko's scissor, losing control to the taste of boiling blood, and having his Banshis cut. So otherwise, his hide never tore- it never got rips, or loose strings, or tattered edges. Ryuko, however, was human.
His friend was forced to endure the agony of opened flesh daily. Her skin was riddled with bruises and scabs and fresh wounds twenty-four seven. And, to Senketsu's dismay, he could do nothing about it. The least he could do was keep her from passing out due to blood loss in battle. But otherwise he was useless when it came to her pain. It was lucky that the girl was so tolerant of it, and healed so quickly. Senketsu would feel much more guilty not being helpful if that were not the case.
So, even though Ryuko had the strongest will he knew of, there were times when even she couldn't take it. She was still just a teenager; prone to mixed emotions, especially when she was in serious pain. Senketsu would often wonder if the emotions caused her to simply lose some tolerance, or if it was the pain that spurred the fickle feelings. Either way, all that mattered was that he be the best he could be while fighting to keep her from the trauma. And, when that wasn't enough, to be there for her when she felt the need to sulk.
It was Thursday. The day had been highly productive, as Ryuko tore down several of those who opposed her power during school hours. As noon came about and the day slowly etched into a close, Ryuko, Senketsu, and Mako were all headed for home. Albeit quickly; the amount of violence had Ryuko limping and gushing in so many places that she was hardly talking. Her whole body hurt and her spirit was at a damper, despite having de-clothed so many through the day.
That fact did not seem to make her feel any better at all. She had lost far too much blood, and her right arm was being constricted by Senketsu to keep the flowing blood from oozing out too quickly. She had been sliced down the arm vertically during the latest fight, just before winning then fleeing. Her vein was split and she was feeling woozy. Senketsu was worrying her constantly- pressing her to stay awake and not push her body, while Mako was freaking out and trying to stay optimistic.
The fastest way home was the tram, and also much better for Ryuko to keep her stationary. They stood among other home bound students who gave them wide girth."You'll be okay," she heard Senketsu say, voice wavering accidentally. "nothing you haven't dealt with before."
Ryuko, with the help of Mako for balance, laughed lightly. "You don't sound very convinced."
"Don't worry Ryuko!" Mako piped up, face looking ever determined to help her friend in anyway. "Dad'll stitch you up real good and give you pain killers once we reach the house!" she gave a stern nod. "He's stitched you up so many times before, he must be some sort of stitch-Ryuko-up-professional by now!"
Mako was a sweet girl. Even though Ryuko often found her to be empty-headed, Mako was her best friend after Senketsu. She was glad the girl was around, even if she didn't always show it. Mako gave her courage."I don't doubt it." she replied, voice low.
When the tram stopped, Ryuko was all but picked up by a stern faced Mako and carried forcefully back to her house. She didn't look it, but when she had the right mind set Mako had a fair amount of strength, physically and mentally. Ryuko mused over how the hell the girl could always sound so positive in terrible situations like this. Either way, she had very little time to finish her thoughts or protest being picked up before they arrived. Ryuko was shoved forcfully into a very surprised Barazo Mankanshoku.
She grimaced and verbally hissed at the contact, listening to Mako's jumbled up explanation to her father as the two were pushed towards their medical facilities.
Watching as the whole family, including Barazo, cringed as he was working to slow the blood and stitch the wound was almost amusing, if it weren't for the dizziness in her head. She almost fainted completely, but when fluids were re-introduced into her body things felt a bit better.
With an aching and wrapped arm, Ryuko was finally made to go to her room to rest. Sukuyo outright demanded, along with Mako, that she go to bed early. When it was dinner time Mako said she would wake her, because it was important to eat after losing so much blood at once.
Ryuko, unable to tell her adoptive family no, allowed herself to remove Senketsu and change into her night clothes once they left her alone. The sun was just barely casting light over the horizon, she noted from a glance out the window. At least it wouldn't feel as if she were going to sleep during the day time, given that within half and hour it would certainly be dark. The atmosphere almost made her feel worse in spirit than she was.
Senketsu had been quiet since they arrived at the house. Ryuko was somewhat grateful, because if he did speak she knew he would likely pester her about trying to be more careful in battle. But it wasn't her fault her arm got slit the way it did! Ah, but if you had not been so cocky and tired yourself out, then your reaction time would not have slowed down so significantly, she imagined him arguing back. Ryuko rolled her eyes at the conversation in her head, sighing.
Fully dressed for bed and futon laid out neatly in the floor, Ryuko plopped herself down and crossed her legs. She almost didn't want to sleep, despite how drained she felt. It was too quiet.
"Ryuko, are you feeling better now?" her friend suddenly said from where he hung.
She almost jumped, not all expecting him to address her. "You know me, always getting cut up. I'm fine, just sore. But I'm always sore, so it's not a big deal." she replied, shrugging it off.
"Does it still hurt?" he asked.
Ryuko smiled tiredly. "What a dumb question."
Senketsu was confused. "Not at all. I am concerned. You don't usually lose so much blood." he paused. "You did not answer my question."
She sighed, running her hand through her hair before propping her arm on her leg to hold her head up. The pressure made her cringe, as she stupidly had used her bad arm without thinking. She quickly corrected herself and changed to the left arm, which was unbandaged. "Good enough answer for you?" she replied humorlessly. She had not meant to do that.
The room was quiet for a moment. Senketsu was thinking. Finally, he replied "May I use my transformation?"
Ryuko perked an eyebrow up at him, not expecting the proposition. "What for?"
"I would like to try something." was his answer. He hoped it was good enough reason.
She looked at him strangely, before finally agreeing. "I guess. Not like it would do any harm."
The girl waited and watched as Senketsu wiggled on his hanger. Sometimes she wondered how it was at all possible for his little body to rip and reform into a bipedal humanoid. But it wasn't as if he were exactly normal. His threads pulled together in ways that made the bulk of his body grow into strong, tightly knit bundles. And, before she knew it, he had transformed into the tall, well built Senketsu she knew so well out of school. The sight put her mind almost at ease where it had been feeling so worn before.
Ryuko kept her eyes on her friend as he came over, flexing his long fingers; they were better called claws, really. She mused over the thought as he sat down in front of her and mimicked her position by crossing his legs neatly, somewhat hunched over; or rather it was more like he was leaning closer into her.
"So, what are you going to do? Should I be scared?" Ryuko asked warily, throwing a look of suspicion up at his determined face.
"No, not at all." he smiled, moving one of his hands to brush back her hair, effectively combing through it and messing her navy locks up. Ryuko responded with a half irritated grin, amused with his show of affection. He then held the hand out, palm up, looking expectantly at her. "Let me see your arm."
Again she seemed wary, giving a sigh and gently placing her arm into his palm. "I swear to god if you bite me, Senketsu-"
"Ah yes, you figured my plan out." he responded quickly, fingers curving in. "Fresh wounds have the best blood when you reopen them!"
He must not have been very good at sarcasm. Ryuko almost flinched back, slipping her arm away from his fingers and holding it protectively to her chest. "No!" she hissed. The fast movement made the stitched cut sting when she pressed it into her, and the pain showed on her face. She was about ready to punch him in the jaw if the pain had not distracted her.
Senketsu looked concerned, regretting his decision to try and be funny. "I didn't mean it! Be careful, or it might start bleeding again!" he worried, leaning in with a hand on her shoulder. "Really, I wouldn't do such a thing. Come on, give me your arm back."
With hesitation she held her arm back out to him. The hand on her shoulder was removed and he delicately took her arm once more into his palm. "Thank you. Ryuko, please do think before you do something."
"Ha!" she laughed with aggravation. "I should say the same thing! I wouldn't have pulled away if you just said 'huh huh, I won't bite you Ryuko' in the first place!" he was certainly making her feel better, even if it was unintentional on both their parts.
He ran a thumb over the bandaged area so lightly she could hardly feel it, looking rather pitiful. Then he lowered his head and chastely kissed right where the wound would be underneath.
Ryuko, never expecting such a thing from her friend, was shocked. She widened her eyes, completely taken off guard. "S-Senketsu?" she sputtered in confusion.
He straightened himself back up, gently lowering her arm to rest on her leg. "I 'kissed it better.' So, does it feel any better now?" he asked.
Ryuko grinned dumbly, trying to force away the laughter she felt in her throat. Despite the fact that kisses absolutely could not do a thing for pain, she felt a strong obligation to not disappoint him. "You know what? It feels a LOT better. Thank you, Senketsu." she couldn't stop herself from asking. "Where did you learn that?"
The look of relief on his face brought a sort of bliss to Ryuko. "I saw Miss Mankanshoku do it when her husband cut his finger once. He acted pleased, so I imagined that it worked."
"Ah, that explains it." Ryuko replied. He had cheered her up significantly. Perhaps kisses did make things better, in a strange kind of way.
The pair were quiet for what felt like hours, letting the calmness of the moment settle in the room. Then Ryuko finally broke the silence with a big yawn, laying back on the futon and uncrossing her legs to stretch them. Naturally she pressed her feet against Senketsu's chest, which did nothing more than force her own body to scoot upwards off the floor rather than his backwards. "I want to go to sleep like Miss Mankanshoku and Mako said, but- ughhh." she covered her face with the hand from her good arm, legs splayed out. If it weren't for the pajama pants she'd be terribly exposed.
Senketsu took to drumming the tips of his fingers together. "They are right, you know. It is best you try and rest. Aren't you sleepy?" he asked, watching her body gently touch the ground again, back contacting the with blanket of the futon beneath her.
Her hand slipped from her face, dragging to express her internal frustration. "A little. But. . ."
The beast in front of her sighed with notable sadness. "Ryuko, I know I can't dream in the same way humans do, but I understand they can become very scary. I do take notice when you appear stressed at night." his voice was sympathetic and understanding. "Especially after tough battles."
This was almost embarrassing for her. While there was now very little that could make her blush and shy away, there was something about she and Senketsu's relationship that felt much more intimate than any of her other relationships. It was as if with everyone she knew there was a cracked door between them; with Senketsu the door was wide open. Sometimes it could be hard to cope with the fact that someone knows all your weaknesses. She had not told anybody about her nightmares, which had been frequenting her the past month to the present day. But here Senketsu was, admitting he had known about them all along.
Ryuko let herself grimace, staring up at the ceiling. "They're just dreams." she tried to brush it off.
Senketsu frowned deeply. "'Just dreams' don't forcibly wake a person in the night, and they shouldn't make one whimper either."
Yes, this was embarrassing. She of all people whimpering in fright. Her feet once again pressed into his chest. "Stop sounding so emotional! I'll go to sleep now, alright?" she snapped. "It's not a big deal!" she turned onto her side to feel less scrutinized, curling into the fetal position and glaring at nothing.
Again the room was quiet. She tucked her chin down and scrunched her eyes closed; not in an attempt to sleep of course, as she had yet to crawl under the covers, but as a way to take her mind off the world around her. Then the blankets shifted and she felt Senketsu finally move from his position; for a second time her friend surprised her. Ryuko felt him lay down at her side, her back to him. A thick arm was draped over the curve of her waist. She opened her eyes and was forced closer into what was his chest behind her, suddenly feeling very small, albeit warm.
Bewildered, though not feeling at all unpleasant, Ryuko said "You don't have to do this. I don't need someone to hold my hand to make me feel better." her voice betray her; she was obviously not looking to push him away, but rather hear him assure her.
He nuzzled her neck, sending tingles through her spine. "I know, you are very strong. But it makes me feel better."
She carefully turned herself, making sure to not cause unnecessary pain in her arm. The two now faced one another; Ryuko felt dwarfed by his size. It was one thing to sit side by side with Senketsu in this form, but to lay so close to him was another story. "What could you possible need to feel better for?"
He let his forehead touch hers, his single eye intense as always. "Because when you hurt I hurt, and there's hardly a thing I can do about it. Making you feel safe comforts me."
She felt her blood rise to her face. "You are so fucking cheesy." she finally breathed out. "Thank you, Senketsu." He smiled, content that she was pleased.
Ryuko pushed herself up on an elbow to locate her pillow; Senketsu stretched out his arm so that she could prop the pillow against it, at the same time bending the arm at the elbow to makeshift his hand into his own pillow. In this way they could both be more comfortable, being that Senketsu's arm could not go numb. Once situated properly, Ryuko let herself snuggle up to his chest. His chin lightly rested on her head and his other arm now stationary over her body, hand against her back. "Just for tonight, okay?" she said, loud enough for him to hear.
He kissed her head, as if that would make it so no bad thoughts came to her in sleep. "If you have nightmares again, I will be beside you. This time I promise to wake you up."
Ryuko let one of her legs rest on top of his, while one of his stayed between hers, keeping them apart. Her arms were pressed snug up against her chest, and even without the blankets over them she was very cozy. Senketsu, being made of cloth, might as well have been the blanket. If Ryuko thought she was drowsy earlier, now she was utterly exhausted. With the heat radiating between the two and a air of security, Ryuko feel into a deep sleep within the first five minutes of closing her eyes. Neither one of them seemed to care that they left the lights on, either.
When Mako finally came barging into the room to announce it was time to eat, she was answered with an annoyed Ryuko flipping her off. As typical of her bouncy friend, attempts were made to drag her out by the legs, but that only resulted in Senketsu automatically clinging on and an almost kick to the face. "Too tired, go away!" as hungry as Ryuko was, and as much as she loved her friend, it was simply too comfortable to move. At least until morning. She could eat then.
Mako, uncharacteristic giving up, slumped out of the room yelling "Moooom she won't wake up!"
Ryuko, already finding herself falling back into slumber once more, heard the distant "Oh, just let her be." So the lights were flicked off and the two slept peacefully pressed into one another until morning. It was the most refreshing sleep Ryuko had in weeks, and, to her utter joy, lacking in any manner of nightmare. She only had Senketsu to thank for that; while being offered more breakfast than she really needed, she made a note to appreciate his concern more often. She started by not nagging him when he urged her to eat all of the food the Mankanshokus thrusted at her, because there was no way in Hell she could eat all that. Seriously.
Is this even anywhere close to the prompt you gave me? Suppose it's better than nothing I guess. Thanks for reading!