Shaky Foundations
(A/N) Woah! That generated a lot of buzz! :D
I don't think I've ever had such a quick reaction to a fic! Many thanks for the faves, follows, and reviews! :)
On a special note, I'd like to thank the guest user Dark Drow, who has reviewed quite a few of my other stories with interesting feedback and constructive criticism over the last three months or so. Alas, due to the whole guest thing I can never reply with my thanks! .
Now, let's move on to the next chapter!
WARNING: A Tsundere Kokonoe, a sort of OOC Ragna, awkward sexual tension, inaccurate portrayals of standard medical procedures, some British Cockney slang coming from two Japs, and some naughty words courtesy of our favourite bitter cat and demon! :D
Chapter 2: Scratch the surface
Weeks later, on a dark and dreary night, Kokonoe was still gritting her teeth. Where did this sudden affection for Ragna even come from? She'd never really liked him before. In fact, she found him to be a stupid, hot-headed, badmouthed fool.
She should have felt like that now, but they'd known each other for quite some time.
He'd matured into a handsome, pleasant man with a snappy sense of humour.
"He's just teasing you." Tager had said after the Grim Reaper had left on that fateful day. Kokonoe had elected to return to her paperwork silently, not registering the plight of the giant mechanical man out of some sort of childish protest. She slammed the tenth sucker of the day into the maw of her mouth, and struggled not to gnaw on it in frustration.
"Come on, if you suck on that sweet any harder you'll lose it." Tager chuckled warmly, patting her shoulder. Not getting the response he had hoped for, he turned tail and left for his workstation to continue his own experiments.
Where the hell was that big metal bastard when she needed him? Why was she doing overtime tonight?
Probably because he did it for the other six days of the week.
Having run out of sweets no more than an hour ago, Kokonoe currently had as much will power and commitment to work as a Swiss banker. Nevertheless, she continued to scribble gibberish and nonsense on paper, hoping that some of the bizarre shapes that she deemed as handwriting could be deciphered by the higher-ups.
She needed someone to talk to during a busy day like this: Yelling at someone seemed to get her mind going, something that she'd often use Tager for to great effect. Without him, she had the same intellectual capacity of your average Science teacher, which was certainly not enough for the type of work she was doing.
Well, that probably wouldn't be enough to tie your shoes.
*Knock*
A knock?
*Knock*
At the door?
*Knock*
This late?
Part of Kokonoe wanted to stay frozen, fearful that it could be a robber or a murderer out to get her for some previous misdeed. Yet again, why in Christ's name would a robber knock on the door?
The other part of Kokonoe relished in an excuse to toss her notes aside and abstain from work for a bit. Sliding out of her seat and slithering away like a snake, she quietly approached the door. She debated whether or not she should bring the chair with her to clobber a potential foe over the head, but decided against it.
"... Who is it?" She inquired firmly, trying to make out the figure behind the translucent windows. A rough, fatigued – and little bit irritated sounding – voice replied quickly.
"Terumi." He said sarcastically, causing Kokonoe to do a double-take. "It's Ragna, open the door."
Kokonoe suddenly found her hands shooting for the lock, as if drawn by the man's voice. Half-way through she stopped to think, her fingers still gripping onto the key firmly.
What the hell was Ragna doing here at this hour? Surely he wasn't here for a cup of...?
"Hang on a sec." She grumbled, ignoring her perverted mind and putting on her usual angry voice.
To be honest, it was the only defence she had against him.
As she heaved the door open, she was surprised to find the large figure of Ragna leaning against the doorframe, the side of his head doused in a rather large amount of claret. His torn sleeve displayed various cuts and bruises as his hand rubbed his temple soothingly.
"What the... What sort of shit have you been up to this time?!" Kokonoe roared, worried for the extent of his injuries. Ragna scoffed irritably, grimacing as pain shot through his body.
"Had a run in with that damned blob monster, but I managed to chase him off before he took the whole bloody arm." He walked through the doorway, only to be stopped by the cat girl.
"G-Go to Litchi's, she'll fix you up..." Kokonoe stuttered, suddenly realising what Ragna wanted her to do. He shook his head solemnly, looking her in the eye.
"She's not in, and you're the next best thing. Come on, please?" He asked. Kokonoe knew she couldn't deny his request, and stepped to the side. His shoulder brushed against hers gently as he walked in, surprising her with its chill. Eventually they entered the lab, where she led to him to her desk chair.
"Just take a seat, and I'll... I think the First-Aid kit is just over there." She pondered, trying to recall where Tager had put the cursed thing. He always insisted in putting things in shelves, apparently so they "Wouldn't lose anything". True, he knew exactly where they were, but her?
No idea.
"Hmph, aren't you gonna kiss it better or something?" Ragna laughed dryly, grunting in discomfort as he sat down.
Kokonoe only heard one word of course.
Kiss.
She really was just a silly little girl, wasn't she?
She returned with the medical equipment silently, observing the wounds of the man with care: Both his arm and hand were coated in scratches and cuts, while his head seemed to have been hit by something blunt, possibly a club. Even then, he was still flashing the usual cocky grin he always held with her nearby.
She grabbed a firm yet delicate grip on his arm to analyse its state further, the tenderness of her fingers being a welcome surprise to Ragna.
"So, will I ever play the piano again?" He asked. She responded with a pinch, glad that she had control over him for once.
"Yeowch! Sorry..." He apologised.
Strangely enough, those were really the last words the two shared for a while. Kokonoe rummaged through the first-aid kit, pulling out all sorts of bandages and pills and sending them rolling away as if they were on the run from her wrath.
She began with his head wound, dabbing the blood away with a cool and soothing cloth. The groans of pleasure coming from the white haired man were certainly awkward for her, flooding her face with a vibrant red.
She was happy that he was feeling good at least.
Soon enough the crimson liquid had been removed – for the most part. Now the sore and somewhat swollen mark where the blunt injury had occurred was revealed, Kokonoe reached once more into the first-aid kit to procure a small icepack. It was in surprisingly good condition, Tager likely having freshly frozen the contents barely hours prior. She pressed it against his forehead, and motioned him to hold on. He complied without question, his gauntleted hand taking a firm grasp of the pack.
Yet she still wasn't talking.
"... So then Kokonoe, how's the work going?" He asked, trying to start a conversation like any normal person would. She didn't reply, moving down to work on his arm.
Not well She said to herself. Not to mention that because of this little intrusion of yours, my damn paper's going to be in late!
Not that I'm worried or anything, it's not like any of the crap I write makes a difference.
Leaning in to observe his injuries once more, Kokonoe was surprised to find that these "Scratches" were in fact rather deep cuts, as if the flesh had been pierced by a sharp blade. She pitied the injuries that the man before her had suffered today, and indeed had been subjected to for the entirety of his life.
This was the least she could do.
Perhaps she really should just "kiss" it better?
"... Any new books you're reading, or something?" He continued, still doing his best to start a conversation. It's not that she had nothing to say back to him, rather she feared that she'd say something stupid again. She'd already ballsed that up once a few weeks earlier, almost letting it slip.
Then again, maybe it was a sign?
Biting the tip of her tongue softly – a habit of hers when she was deep in thought – Kokonoe pulled out a disinfectant spray. The label on it said "Zero Sting", but she knew that this stuff would probably hurt even more than the actual wounds.
She applied it.
"AWW SHIT, THAT STINGS! GAAAH!" Ragna cried in a yelp of pain, his eyes tearing from the hard hitting sensation. She felt so guilty for putting him through such horrors, but both he and her knew that there was no choice in the matter. Rapidly and with trembling hands, Kokonoe unravelled a large roll of bandages and messily wrapped the bounds around his throbbing arm. As unappealing to the eye as the job was, it was secure enough to stay on but loose enough not to cut off the blood flow.
Not bad for her first time.
She looked up from her position to see that Ragna still had his eyes shut tight, his mouth curled into an agonised grimace. The twitching of his torso showed the extent of the pain, his entire body sore from what she had just done.
She didn't have any sweets to pop into his mouth.
So she did what her mother did, and held his hand firmly.
Absentmindedly he clenched back, surrounding her small and frail fingers in his warmth. Slowly his twitches began to recede, as the stinging sensation finally began to wear off.
To be honest, this was probably the first time Kokonoe had ever held hands with a boy. She was surprised to find how large his hands were up close, and how rough and hot his palms seemed to be. She was relishing in the tingling feeling, her chest warming up as if his body heat was mingling with her own.
He wasn't the only one being comforted.
"... Are you gonna let go now?" Ragna asked, his composure coming back faster than a filling Curry when you're 100 miles from the nearest Petrol Station. Kokonoe quickly leapt to the defensive, having finally discovered that Ragna was just as vulnerable as she was.
"So you want me to let go? Hmmm, it looked like you were enjoying holding my hand, cry baby." She grinned, reluctantly letting go of his palm.
Ragna didn't miss a beat.
"You were the one who held onto my hand, and from the look of your face, YOU were enjoying it quite a bit." Ragna grinned, baiting Kokonoe into a trap. Her eyes widened, feeling as if she'd ballsed up once more.
"O-Oh yeah? Well... S-Shut up!" She blurted out, forfeiting the exchange. Ragna closed his eyes and shook his head calmly at her display. Swinging his arm to try and get some strength back into the limp appendage, he heaved himself off the bed and left for the door.
"Where're you going? You should lie down and regain your strength; you might collapse if you stress yourself out too much!" She gasped, sincerely worried for his wellbeing and doing little to hide it. Ragna stopped and turned, his eyebrow raised sceptically.
"Hmmm? So you want me to stay with you? How endearing..." He chuckled, still a tad bit weary. Kokonoe's face flushed a vibrant red, embarrassed by such simple jokes as usual.
"I DIDN'T MEAN-" Kokonoe didn't get to finish, for he'd already left at that point.
Yep, he certainly was as vulnerable as her wasn't he?
Well, almost as vulnerable.
(A/N): I hope Ragna came across as a bit ruder this time around :P
Plans are for there to be 7 chapters in this, so hold onto your hats for an adventure lads and ladies!