savetheearth

[Suzaku dials up the network from his phone, attention clearly fixed on something in front of him. His focus lies there, phone bobbing along as he walks. It's unclear exactly what he's doing until a loud pop rings through the air, and he abruptly drops the phone]

Damn-

[He clamps a hand over his shoulder, blood welling up between his fingers, and turns around. He's just in time for a pair of men dressed up in Blood Key attire to drag him offscreen, curses and threats belted about as he goes.

The sounds of struggle a short distance away are obvious. One voice remarks that the guy doesn't go down easily, and Suzaku's profanities fluctuate between English and Japanese as time drags on.

Eventually, silence settles in. It's a long, heavy silence, followed by footfalls and nothing more.

At least, until Suzaku's voice drifts over the air, weakly]

I...have to live...

[There's some scraping and shuffling, followed by a surprised cry. The sound of gunfire erupts, interspersed with thumps, thuds, and cracks. Electrical crackling joins the violent chorus, and a lone Blood Key stumbles within view of the phone's tiny screen.

He backs up one step, then another, and begins to take a third.

That's when a dark blur darts right at him, slamming into the man, the impact sending him sailing out of view. The blur stills with the scrape of boots against pavement, resolving to Suzaku's familiar form. Distantly, a crash follows.

For several long moments, Suzaku stands there, utterly still. His expression is blank. If he's aware that he's bleeding from no small number of gashes and at least one gunshot wound, he doesn't show it. Far from it, he just stands there.

Then, abruptly, he wavers, struggling to stand. He glances around wide-eyed, as though he's not quite sure where he is]

Wh-what the hell-?

[Electricity crackles and pops somewhere offscreen, and he braces in an attempt to stay on his feet. With the amount of blood on his clothes alone, it's obvious why he inevitably sinks to his knees on the pavement]

What is this...?

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Yes, please do. I'm on my way.

[He's pedaling as fast as he can, and he can't keep the worried note out of his voice.]

[It takes him a while, but he makes his way to the street corner, leaning heavily against the wall beside him. He squints up at the nearest sign. It's half rusted over, but he can still make it out]

Oak Circle.

[And give him a few moments, judgement is trailing behind him here]

...It's not safe.

[Luke makes a turn and hops a curb, cutting through an empty lot.]

That means you're not safe, so I'm coming to help.

[He's being more assertive now than the rest of his life put together.]

I'll be there soon.

[There's a quiet little laugh-turned cough on his end]

Fair enough.

[Not that Suzaku can't argue until hell freezes over, thaws, and freezes again, but...it strikes him as wasted time. So he focuses on looking around and making sure no other gang members are prowling about.

Granted his vantage point is where he's leaned against a wall, but better than nothing]

Seems clear, but...watch out for yourself.

I will.

[Luke doesn't say anything else, but keeps the line open until he gets there just in case Suzaku moved or something else happened. When he finally does spot his friend bloodied and battered against a wall he screeches to an abrupt halt, his bike clattering against the ground unceremoniously as he jumps off. He runs up, sword drawn, looking around the street for any more threats.]

What happened? We need to get you to the clinic.

[Fortunately for Suzaku, he's managing to keep upright as long as he's got that wall there. Maintaining some clarity's a struggle, but he's nothing if not stubborn]

I was trying to get some information. That gang's been attacking people and businesses...seemed like it was escalating.

[And it seems to him that not enough people are both willing and able to act, so...]

Didn't realize I was being tailed, too.

[Meanwhile he's not commenting at all about the Blood Key members strewn about the street. Or that one quite some distance away that apparently smashed into a wall]

[Luke sees the bodies. If he was still unsure about what he'd done before, or about the idea of killing in general, all of that evaporated the moment one of his friends was hurt. He has memories of striding forwards into danger, facing monsters and volcanoes and parasites, but now he really understands why. It wasn't about a kneejerk reaction to a dangerous situation. It was about doing what needed to be done to protect the people he cared about. And if that meant violence, then he wouldn't hold back.]

Did'ja get em all?

[Luke eyes Suzaku up in more detail now that he's closer, and realizes that getting him somewhere else wouldn't be as easy as he hoped. He scurries back over to his bike, and brings it over to Suzaku, sheathing his sword momentarily to adjust the handle bars as far up as they would go.]

Here, you can lean on this, and I'll help you keep upright.

[Suzaku watches Luke adjust his bike, trying to think of an answer to his question. Did he get them all? Did he..?

All he gets is a headache, sharp and jabbing, when he tries to recall. He's never had trouble remembering much of anything in his life. But what happened between being dragged off and beaten, and standing amid robotic limbs and dead bodies is a complete blank]

I don't know...I can't remember.

[They're words he's reluctant to say, particularly because something serious happened here. People are dead.

Despite what he said to some friend of Luke's over the network, he hadn't killed anyone. Well, outside of those strange memories, anyway]

Haven't seen any movement though.

[Luke is worried. Suzaku's not in good shape, and more questions aren't helping. They need to get a move on.]

Okay. We can worry about that later. Here I'm holding the bike steady, see if you can lean on it.

[True to his word, Luke is bracing the bike, and beckons Suzaku to lean against it.]

[Suzaku looks around one more time. Half because he's trying to recall what went on here, and half to make sure there aren't any immediate threats.

Having concluded that it's safe, at least for the moment, he straightens and walks over to the bike. Or shuffles, but he gets there in any case, tentatively resting a hand on the bike]

Seems fine.

[While he doesn't lean against it as heavily as he did the wall, it's support enough]

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