savetheearth | Closed

Who:Kenji and Tadashi
Where: A park near the shopping district
When: July 18, evening
What: The plan was just for an ordinary night out, but something has other ideas.

The sun was just beginning to set when Kenji got off the bus. He was meeting Tadashi for an evening of their usual troublemaking, but a quick glance at his watch informed him that he was a little early. It would be at least fifteen to twenty minutes before his friend was off work. Being more or less allergic to work--even if it was someone else doing the actual working--he opted to do his waiting in a small park across the street.

Well, perhaps calling it a park was giving the place too much credit; it was more like a vacant lot with delusions of grandeur. There was some grass, a few trees and some shrubs, a small fountain, and a park bench--the latter of which commanded an excellent view of Tadashi's current place of business. Plopping down on the bench, he settled in to wait for his friend to emerge.

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Tadashi nodded at that. It was still a bit to get out of the sit down restaurants and onto the main drag where all the fast food... and anything still open was around.

"Of course, the dead district... You go in. I'll guard my hubcaps." For all the bitching, he did take a few moments to give his friend a better once over, just to make sure that kind of a detour wasn't going to BE the issue.

Too weary to argue at this point, Kenji just shrugged. "If you don't wanna go there, fine. Just chuck me in a dumpster or something. I don't really give a shit right now."

After a moment's thought, he added, "I'd really appreciate it if you swung by the drive-thru first, though."

Tadashi snorted and turned into a quick burger joint.

"I'm not sure I can find one big enough for you AND your bad luck. We may just have to ditch the luck and hope it holds."

Kenji barked a short laugh, but as they rolled up to the drive-thru window, shelved the conversation for the moment. After ordering the biggest Coke the place offered, he fished his wallet out of his pocket and wordlessly passed Tadashi enough money to cover the soda and whatever Tadashi ordered.

"Man, I wish it was just bad luck," he said once they were on their way again. Taking a gulp of Coke, he grimaced as the carbonation burned his throat a bit. Still, the soda was cold and sweet and after a few sips he felt less like he'd tried to swallow an entire desert. "Damned things seem to be getting a lot bolder now."

Getting another of the same, he handed the change over with the enormous soda. "And no shit they're getting bolder." He took a couple of heavy gulps before pulling out onto the main boulevard. The DD was a ways out, but traffic was thin this time of evening.

It gave him a lot of time to think, about where it was and what would have happened... "So. I probably owe you one anyway."

Maybe it was the comment itself or simply relief at having escaped with body and soul still intact--or perhaps it was just the endorphins kicking in, but for whatever reason, Kenji found Tadashi's remark hilarious. "Yeah? For what?" he chuckled, "Getting my ass handed to me by Cousin Itt's evil twin?"

Taking another sip of Coke, he snorted, amused. "Uh...no problem man. Glad to oblige." This struck him as even funnier, and as he leaned back in the seat once more, he was overcome by another fit of laughter.

Tadashi took in a breath to argue, to clarify... and just let it out in a sigh. While Kenji had his laughing fit, he just rubbed at his face. There was a simple truth that ... he couldn't make himself say out loud: If he'd been alone, it would have been worse than an ass kicking.

Admitting a weakness like that was more galling than he would have expected it to be.

"Yeah yeah." He glances sideways at his friend. "You gonna be okay. I mean... your arm..."

The mention of his arm brought Kenji's laughter to an abrupt halt. Frowning, he glanced down at the limb in question as if he didn't quite trust it to stay there and behave itself without direct supervision.

"It's...okay now, I think," he replied. "Dunno what the fuck it thought it was doing out in that alley, though." Taking another sip of his drink, he scowled through the window at the passing scenery. "I hope that ain't gonna be a steady thing, though, 'cause it hurt like a bitch."

Outside of Kenji's window, the shops started displaying protective bars over the windows, the apartments whizzing by ramshackle, the forward guard of the Dead District.

"No clue... I still don't remember a hell of a lot." He leaned forward in the seat, trying to get a better look at a faded street sign. "Kazuma seemed to like doing it, so ... might have been a one time thing."

"Tch. That bastard..." As always, the mention of Kazuma brought an even deeper scowl to Kenji's face. He still didn't buy the reincarnation theory, and no, that point was non-negotiable. "From what I've seen of him, the son of a bitch probably liked it because it hurt." Shaking his head, he continued to glare out at the darkened streets. "Motherfucker was crazy."

The silence stretched after that almost angry statement. A few turns later, the headlights starting to show more and more of the road as streetlights were a luxury rather than the norm.

Close now, two roads away, he kept an eye out for the traffic light he needed to turn on... in the mean time, he chewed at the inside of his lip, thinking. It was one part that odd irritation, and three parts something he'd been thinking about since the beginning...

"... You know, you kinda get like that when you fight."

And there it was, the very thing he'd tried to avoid even thinking about--much less, talking about--ever since this whole insane business began. Somewhere on a distant mountain top, an elephant performed an ecstatic buck and wing, trumpeting triumphantly.

At Tadashi's comment, Kenji whipped his head around to face his friend, his expression darkening. The denial already upon his lips, he shook his head stubbornly, but the memories--both his own and the ones belonging to that psychotic figment of his imagination--caused him to close his mouth again, his protest unvoiced.

"...I know," he sighed wearily after a lengthy silence. "It's almost like the bastard gets in my head and takes over or something. I dunno..."

Yeah, that sounded about right. After all, it wasn't really him taking such joy in destruction, right? Absolutely not. He had nothing in common with that bastard. Nothing.

The mercy of a reprieve was the fortune of timing. As Tadashi was thinking of a reply to that - he'd had his own moments where his actions didn't quite seem to be his - that the small clinic came into view.

He pulled in, finding a spot as close to the doors as possible... and true to his word, as soon as he had Kenji in the nurses' clutches, he was back out to the car paranoid about his recent spate of car luck.

Ankle and ribs wrapped, the deeper cuts cleaned and stitched, and a heavy anti inflammatory shot for the pain and swelling, they had him ushered back out with instructions and crutches in an impressive time, just a little short of an hour.

Tadashi gave a low whistle as he opened up the passenger side door. "The Mummy Returns, huh?"

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