[There's a headless body standing in the center of this enclosure now! Wowee. It's just standing there like a normal, living person would, save for the fact that it's missing its head. Actually, it appears to be looking for something? As if it still has its head, its neck turns to and fro like it's surveying the area.
Outside of that initial scream, though, it seems like anyone in eyesight has been shocked truly speechless out of terror. Immobilized, even! There's a strange stillness in the air, like it's holding everyone captive.]
Nah of course it's Risu's body. And as soon as Aikawa's within its range of "sight", it just raises a hand, pointing in Aikawa's direction before speaking. The voice comes from where the head should be, ringing loud and clear as if it has a mouth to speak with that they just can't see. It sounds like Risu's too, unsurprisingly - though it's strangely flat, void of emotion.]
From over near the medic tent, Sieghart will hear Dio shouting:] Get the hell off of me—! [As several armed soldiers who clearly do not see the wholeass drama playing out in center field move in to tackle him to the ground in an arrest.
Closer to them, the familiar figure of Lucretia runs to the edge of the guard tower. How did she get up there?? A mystery. Apparently this is where her search for the elusive Higher-Up has led. She leans over the rail, shouting down toward the group.]
Take the cart and run! I— [Wait that's a corpse out there.] What is happening—!?
[HELp?!?
The soldiers, seemingly shaken out of their terrified stupor, start looking wildly around, with murmurs and accusations of demonic arts and blood magic beginning to swirl among them. Though some are still shaking with fear, others are starting to pick up their rifles and blades, their attention divided between the talking headless corpse and the band of miscreant blood magic users that have apparently graced their doorstep.
And finally, Mr. Center Stage himself, sweet Risu's headless corpse, lowers the arm that had been pointing at Aikawa and says one final thing.]
You killed me.
[Before launching at Aikawa with clear murderous intent YEEHAW.]
Just because I know a guy doesn't mean I should know how his dead goddamn body is walking around without its head.
[ Even he only does that in very minimal amounts and he also can't speak if he doesn't have a head, okay? That being said... everything SUDDENLY STARTS HAPPENING REALLY FAST. Why is this...... he immediately draws up a knife to defend himself from Risu's walking corpse, looking out at the weird sexy demon guy that somehow has avoided these supposed demonic magic rumours this entire time, and at Lucretia, and ??? ]
Stop, you fucking idiot! It wasn't me! [ AGH. HE'S LOOKING AROUND. WHERE'S NIKAIDO? ]
[Given how often he and Dio beat each other to a pulp after they get into an argument, Sieghart is actually confident in the real Dio's abilities. Whether or not the fake inherited that level of skill is the demon brat's problem. More importantly, they need to get Kondo's body to Tama.
While Aikawa has the headless body's attention, Sieghart makes an unsteady dash for the cart to prepare the horses for another run, calling for Soujirou the while.]
[WHY IS THIS.... That's such a good question, Aikawa. Why is this, indeed. It seems undeterred by Aikawa's words, simply stating:]
These hands took my head!
[Risu's corpse runs at Aikawa with only its fists of fury, trying to punch him with an ungodly amount of force behind his fist... Which is where Nikaido jumps into the fray! She slides between Risu and Aikawa, taking the hit with the side of her rifle - which promptly splinters in two like it's a toothpick, sending her stumbling back.
As Sieghart abandons all of these fakes to their fates, Soujirou will dutifully run after him when called for, which is probably a good thing because it's about to get real dicey out here. Soldiers are yelling and gathering their courage to dart in, trying to attack not only Risu's corpse, but Aikawa and Nikaido, too. They stab and slash with their bayonets, and a few fire shots, most of which lodge into Risu's corpse and absolutely do not hinder him at all. Up on the guard tower, Lucretia grapples with another soldier.
Soujirou hops into the back of the cart, scurrying around to and fro and patting at the dark corners of the cart's floor.]
--I don't see any...!
[Maybe they can ask Lucretia for some!
Or just loot her body, considering she's pushed off the edge of the watchtower and tumbles to the ground nearby, her startled yell cutting off with a sickening crack.]
[ He's just. You know. He has objections to this treatment. But then! ]
Nikaido...!
[ HOW IS IT POSSIBLE FOR HIM TO FEEL THIS TIRED... well, since Risu is headless, it's not as if Risu's... got a head... that he can bonk to knock him out or something. ]
Be careful! Weird, headless, animated, and all that aside, that's still my partner -- !
[ That being said, of course, still going in to slam Risu down on the ground, stop that you. And as he's doing so: ]
[Well, that's not good. Detouring to her body on the way to the cart, Sieghart slides his left leg back to lean down and filch the matches from Lucretia's fake person. Then he's darting back to the horses.]
[Sieghart's really just speedrunning this shit and meanwhile, smashcut to Aikawa--
Except when Sieghart darts back toward the horses, a few other soldiers have managed to make their way over there. One attempts to fire at him! But it's a fckin Chassepot holy shit, so the gun backfires and essentially explodes in that soldier's hands. Another dashes forward with a yell, attempting to bayonet Sieghart away from the horses.
Meanwhile, Nikaido seems a little startled by this declaration, but. Well.]
--Alright, you got it!
[Apparently, even though this is a weird, headless animated corpse, she will still honor Aikawa's request. As Aikawa slams Risu's corpse onto the ground, she turns her attention to keeping the soldiers off of him instead. Though she's doing a kickass job, she is still outnumbered, so it's possible that a stray bayonet may do Aikawa a stabbin', or that one of the bullets flying by may hit him.
Risu's corpse, in the meantime, is attempting to grapple with him as well, perhaps so he can try to toss Aikawa like a frisbee.]
[ CAN THESE SOLDIERS STOP USING GUNS THAT DO NOTHING BUT HURT THEMSELVES. THIS IS THE WORST WARFARE AIKAWA HAS EVER SEEN.
Aki is just being so polite about hurting Aikawa. I will be kind, and give that a bayonet stabs him through the hand and a bullet goes through his thigh. Anyway, Aikawa is a good 70 pounds heavier than Risu including the head, so this frisbee plan doesn't have good prospects maybe. ]
I said, quit it! [ And more to himself, glancing around -- ] The hell is causing this?!
[ Sieghart trying to speedrun but Aikawa trying to actually solve problems (and may accidentally cause more instead in trying to do so, such is his life). ]
[The gun backfires while Sieghart pockets the matches. He reaches for his side, then leans away from the bayonet and snaps his arm out to wallop the incoming soldier on the head with the bottle from the clown costume that he took back at the house.]
[Sieghart reaches out and whacks that incoming soldier on the head with that bottle, which shatters on impact. The dude drops like a sack of potatoes!
Unfortunately, a third soldier takes the opportunity presented, darting in with a raised blade and neatly bringing it down on Sieghart's left arm, severing it. Bye, useful arm! Soujirou is just yelling from the cart by now, holy shit.
Risu's frisbee hopes and dreams are now dashed on the rocks... He may have turbo-powered punches but Aikawa manages to keep him wrangled for the time being. Nikaido also takes a bayonet to the gut because she can't keep this wall of frenzied soldiers away from these stupid gay wizards forever!!
anyway no one seems to have answers for Aikawa's very legitimate questions and honestly lowe shouldn't have been kind and given these injuries to me when i asked politely because i will take them by force. From the entrance they came from, there's a by now familiar loud and low growl... Their bear friend, now looking a little singed and with a bloody muzzle, barrels into the enclosure. SOLDIERS ARE SCREAMING ALL OVER AGAIN... It's literally so large that it can simply step on one of them and snap their back with a horrifying crunch.
It then gallops immediately in the direction of Risu's corpse, but of course, sweet Aikawa is already there. This is apparently the meal it's after, though; in an attempt to get at it, the bear swipes a heavy paw down, claws leaving a gash all the way down the back of Aikawa's head, neck and upper back.]
[ Aikawa could really be living his best bisexual life but instead he lives a nonsexual life. Anyway. ]
Nikaido!
[ As he will instead, wrestle this wandering Risu body up and shove him into those soldiers to get them away from her. And I guess that's the last thing he'll get to do before he just gets a BIG BEAR SLASH DOWN HIS UPPER BODY? ??? Can this be called upper body, well anyway. He falls over because of that, of course. He may be big but he can't just stay standing after he got bitch-slapped by a goddamn wild-swinging bear who can't even see what he's swinging at, it's so sad. ]
F -- uck...
[ Ow. I had considered having him just take Nikaido and have them both flee by cart but that is no longer immediately possible. ]
[He feels the absence of weight before his body registers the loss, and is already whipping around to stab the soldier in the neck with the broken bottle, which he then abandons to break into a sprint toward the heart of the scuffle. That stupid idiot!
Using his teeth and remaining hand to fire up a match, he lights the last of the smoke bomb and hurls it at the ground by the bear. As much as he'd love to fight, he can't let Aikawa suffer more damage. Driven by a surge of adrenaline, Sieghart runs into the smoke in order to grab Aikawa by the collar and drag him toward the cart.]
[Oop there goes a man, downed by a bear... Nikaido whips around just in time to see that!]
Aikawa—!
[She dashes over to help him, but Sieghart interferes, tossin' in that smoke bomb and bathing the area in thick smoke. Though the bear isn't particularly affected this time because its quarry is right under its nose, the bear also 1) causes most of the soldiers around them to scatter out of pants-shitting fear and 2) doesn't seem that interested in either of them, so that's good! It follows Risu's corpse, decimating the wholeass group of soldiers that Aikawa threw the corpse toward. Then, it locks down on Risu's middle with its gnarlyass teeth and starts to drag him away. At the same time, Nikaido will dash over and grab Aikawa's other side, helping Sieghart drag him to the cart.
Meanwhile, there's another friendly voice coming from the entrance gate!]
Oh, no... My sweet Gennou... Gracious, what a mess you've made...? Didn't I tell you that you'd get scolded for attacking your teammates...? You never listen to me... But it looks like you've found something good tonight...?
[It's hard to see because of the smoke now, but they might happen to catch a glance of the bear dragging Risu's body over toward Ikoma.
To the surprise of no one, that man do be a cannibal, so they might catch a glimpse of him raising his handy cleaver and starting to carve through Risu like a turkey.
On the plus side, there's absolutely no one trying to stop them from leaving in this absolute clusterfuck of a pandemonium.
Since Nikaido was stabbed but still has working arms, she'll look between the other two.]
[ He's really in no state to be able to make a second attempt to get this bear to stop trying to attack and-or eat Risu's body, and that stupid cannibal man that we were right about all along, either. If he were more functional, he would actually stab that man though for being heinous (or [Manga Chapter Voice] Repulsive).
Realistically speaking, he should be fully aware that Risu's body getting decimated is not a problem. That man has come back to life from being literally nothing but a head, and a head that was dead for two years at that. It's just sentiment, really. And again, it's having sentiments that ultimately get him fucked over.
Is it worth it, then? Is it worth continuing to be a person if it's ultimately pointless and only causes hurt and pain for all involved? Well, those aren't really his current thoughts, his current thoughts are a lot more incoherent, with the sheer amount of pain and blood that comes with getting clawed down the entire backside of his head, neck, shoulders, whatever. Owie :(.
Anyway sorry he's sorta dead weight, like he's trying? But it's evident that his brain and body aren't exactly well-coordinated right now! ]
[It's Sieghart's hope that Aikawa can't glimpse the repulsive display through the smoke as he loads the latter onto the cart.]
Go!
[The muscles of his shoulder where the soldier severed his arm are still contracted, stemming the flow of blood for the time being. Sieghart takes advantage of this to roll Aikawa over and attend to the back wound by pressing down with the full force of his weight. He doesn't have spare cloth on his person, but his hand is already wrapped in fresh bandage to act as a makeshift gauze.]
[SWEET AIKAWA... SWEET SIEGHART. who could have done this to them.
Nikaido runs to the front of the cart, quickly leaping up and taking the reigns and directing the horses to get the hell out of dodge. Several of the barrels fall over with one or two rolling out the back end, but fortunately none of them contain any corpses. They tear out through the exit gates, leaving behind the bodies of fallen soldiers and lifeless friends alike.
It doesn't take long before the shouting and gunfire and other cacophonous sounds fade into the distance. The horses rush along the path and the cart jostles around, which probably isn't great for either of their injuries, but. They're making good time, at least, and no enemies come swooping in to stop them. Their forces are all probably too busy dealing with the absolute confusing as hell news about what happened at the checkpoint.
Nikaido is silent from where she sits at the front of the cart, for the most part. Soujirou is still back here too, but he's tucked himself away beside a barrel, and is silently watching the absolute mess that is a dude with one arm trying to staunch the bloodflow of a dude with a massive set of claw marks down his back.
Eventually, after what probably feels like a small eternity, the horses begin to slow down. Should anyone be willing or able to look outside, they'll see they've entered a stretch of farmland village, with small buildings dotting the fields around them.]
Anyway like, Aikawa's already bad enough off that the jostling can't really make him... worse. I like how this is just the most awkward cart ride with Aikawa being basically in critical state and everyone just sits around him awkwardly.
I'm sorry to say he is not in a state. Can someone please wrap his head I'm begging. He's probably just in general very delirious and very unsteady. Wobblehands in head trauma. This is a weird one lads. ]
Soujirou, hand me the bandages from the kit over there.
[His right arm trembles above Aikawa from the fever racking his body now that the adrenaline has largely run its course. He swallows down the urge to retch and squeezes his eyes shut to fight off the nauseating wave of dizziness as he sways in place. Blood begins to seep from his open left shoulder wound, but he sucks in a breath—cut short by sharp pain from his broken ribs—and presses down on Aikawa's back with renewed zeal.
Once he gets the bandages in question, he asks Soujirou for assistance in getting Aikawa's head wrapped. That is, Soujirou can hold it in place while Sieghart does the wrapping with gritted teeth.
Then the horses slow, and Sieghart's eyes flit to the opening in the back of the cart. He dares not move his head around too much, lest he lose all sense of balance and tip over. He pants slowly, yet shallowly, as they near their destination.]
[Soujirou will help! Though as soon as he moves to his unsteady feet, his reason for staying motionless and silent will probably be clear: he's clutching his side with both hands, which appears to be bloody. Maybe that has something to do with one of the stray bullet holes in the cart's side! did y'all really think i'd let this child get through this cyoa unscathed.
Anyway, he's still a little trooper and he'll insist on helping to hold the bandages in place as Sieghart works, giving Aikawa's forehead a gentle little rub after wiping his hand on his shirt. He even tries to help Sieghart bandage his own arm, though that's a tall order since that ain't gonna do shit for a wholeass severed limb.
The cart comes to a stop eventually, though. They'll be able to hear the sounds of people rushing over from outside, joyous shouts of 'they're here, they made it!' and 'those are Kondo-dono's men, right?!' ringing from outside. Though there's also some concerned yelling from near the front - 'Nikaido?! Are you okay?!'
The fabric flap at the back of the cart flips open soon after, and light floods the interior of it. The excitement and teary-eyed relief of the group standing outside immediately melts into concern, though, considering how GNARLY THESE GUYS LOOK. People are immediately shouting to each other and calling for medical supplies, climbing in to try pulling out all of the injured as carefully as they can. Maybe Sieghart or Aikawa will catch sight of some others carrying an unconscious Nikaido into one of the nearby buildings as they're scooped up into the arms of people who feel like allies, like people they can trust.
Before the two are pulled from the back of the cart completely, Soujirou reaches out for both of them, giving Aikawa's hand a squeeze with his little bloody one and reaching out to rest the other against Sieghart's cheek, leaving a small smear. He speaks quietly - maybe too quietly to hear:]
...Thank you for bringing him home.
[As the welcome party begins to carry them both toward the houses, their vision will start to white out, ears ringing as they lose consciousness.
The next time they open their eyes, it will be somewhere much more familiar, at least.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
a court of fools
Outside of that initial scream, though, it seems like anyone in eyesight has been shocked truly speechless out of terror. Immobilized, even! There's a strange stillness in the air, like it's holding everyone captive.]
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Well I guess I should ask the obvious but. Is it Risu's body. ]
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Huh?
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Nah of course it's Risu's body. And as soon as Aikawa's within its range of "sight", it just raises a hand, pointing in Aikawa's direction before speaking. The voice comes from where the head should be, ringing loud and clear as if it has a mouth to speak with that they just can't see. It sounds like Risu's too, unsurprisingly - though it's strangely flat, void of emotion.]
The one who took my head...
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sweats, and holds up his arms in that soothing typical 'calm down' motion. ]
What the hell is this, now...?
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[Buddy, this is your guy.
Well, then again, Aikawa's got what appears to be a complicated history.]
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Well.
A lot of things happen all at once!
From over near the medic tent, Sieghart will hear Dio shouting:] Get the hell off of me—! [As several armed soldiers who clearly do not see the wholeass drama playing out in center field move in to tackle him to the ground in an arrest.
Closer to them, the familiar figure of Lucretia runs to the edge of the guard tower. How did she get up there?? A mystery. Apparently this is where her search for the elusive Higher-Up has led. She leans over the rail, shouting down toward the group.]
Take the cart and run! I— [Wait that's a corpse out there.] What is happening—!?
[HELp?!?
The soldiers, seemingly shaken out of their terrified stupor, start looking wildly around, with murmurs and accusations of demonic arts and blood magic beginning to swirl among them. Though some are still shaking with fear, others are starting to pick up their rifles and blades, their attention divided between the talking headless corpse and the band of miscreant blood magic users that have apparently graced their doorstep.
And finally, Mr. Center Stage himself, sweet Risu's headless corpse, lowers the arm that had been pointing at Aikawa and says one final thing.]
You killed me.
[Before launching at Aikawa with clear murderous intent YEEHAW.]
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[ Even he only does that in very minimal amounts and he also can't speak if he doesn't have a head, okay? That being said... everything SUDDENLY STARTS HAPPENING REALLY FAST. Why is this...... he immediately draws up a knife to defend himself from Risu's walking corpse, looking out at the weird sexy demon guy that somehow has avoided these supposed demonic magic rumours this entire time, and at Lucretia, and ??? ]
Stop, you fucking idiot! It wasn't me! [ AGH. HE'S LOOKING AROUND. WHERE'S NIKAIDO? ]
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While Aikawa has the headless body's attention, Sieghart makes an unsteady dash for the cart to prepare the horses for another run, calling for Soujirou the while.]
Soujirou! Check if there's a match inside!
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These hands took my head!
[Risu's corpse runs at Aikawa with only its fists of fury, trying to punch him with an ungodly amount of force behind his fist... Which is where Nikaido jumps into the fray! She slides between Risu and Aikawa, taking the hit with the side of her rifle - which promptly splinters in two like it's a toothpick, sending her stumbling back.
As Sieghart abandons all of these fakes to their fates, Soujirou will dutifully run after him when called for, which is probably a good thing because it's about to get real dicey out here. Soldiers are yelling and gathering their courage to dart in, trying to attack not only Risu's corpse, but Aikawa and Nikaido, too. They stab and slash with their bayonets, and a few fire shots, most of which lodge into Risu's corpse and absolutely do not hinder him at all. Up on the guard tower, Lucretia grapples with another soldier.
Soujirou hops into the back of the cart, scurrying around to and fro and patting at the dark corners of the cart's floor.]
--I don't see any...!
[Maybe they can ask Lucretia for some!
Or just loot her body, considering she's pushed off the edge of the watchtower and tumbles to the ground nearby, her startled yell cutting off with a sickening crack.]
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[ He's just. You know. He has objections to this treatment. But then! ]
Nikaido...!
[ HOW IS IT POSSIBLE FOR HIM TO FEEL THIS TIRED... well, since Risu is headless, it's not as if Risu's... got a head... that he can bonk to knock him out or something. ]
Be careful! Weird, headless, animated, and all that aside, that's still my partner -- !
[ That being said, of course, still going in to slam Risu down on the ground, stop that you. And as he's doing so: ]
Can someone explain what the hell is going on!
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Leave it, Aikawa! We're setting out!
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Except when Sieghart darts back toward the horses, a few other soldiers have managed to make their way over there. One attempts to fire at him! But it's a fckin Chassepot holy shit, so the gun backfires and essentially explodes in that soldier's hands. Another dashes forward with a yell, attempting to bayonet Sieghart away from the horses.
Meanwhile, Nikaido seems a little startled by this declaration, but. Well.]
--Alright, you got it!
[Apparently, even though this is a weird, headless animated corpse, she will still honor Aikawa's request. As Aikawa slams Risu's corpse onto the ground, she turns her attention to keeping the soldiers off of him instead. Though she's doing a kickass job, she is still outnumbered, so it's possible that a stray bayonet may do Aikawa a stabbin', or that one of the bullets flying by may hit him.
Risu's corpse, in the meantime, is attempting to grapple with him as well, perhaps so he can try to toss Aikawa like a frisbee.]
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Aki is just being so polite about hurting Aikawa. I will be kind, and give that a bayonet stabs him through the hand and a bullet goes through his thigh. Anyway, Aikawa is a good 70 pounds heavier than Risu including the head, so this frisbee plan doesn't have good prospects maybe. ]
I said, quit it! [ And more to himself, glancing around -- ] The hell is causing this?!
[ Sieghart trying to speedrun but Aikawa trying to actually solve problems (and may accidentally cause more instead in trying to do so, such is his life). ]
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[The gun backfires while Sieghart pockets the matches. He reaches for his side, then leans away from the bayonet and snaps his arm out to wallop the incoming soldier on the head with the bottle from the clown costume that he took back at the house.]
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Unfortunately, a third soldier takes the opportunity presented, darting in with a raised blade and neatly bringing it down on Sieghart's left arm, severing it. Bye, useful arm! Soujirou is just yelling from the cart by now, holy shit.
Risu's frisbee hopes and dreams are now dashed on the rocks... He may have turbo-powered punches but Aikawa manages to keep him wrangled for the time being. Nikaido also takes a bayonet to the gut because she can't keep this wall of frenzied soldiers away from these stupid gay wizards forever!!
anyway no one seems to have answers for Aikawa's very legitimate questions and honestly lowe shouldn't have been kind and given these injuries to me when i asked politely because i will take them by force. From the entrance they came from, there's a by now familiar loud and low growl... Their bear friend, now looking a little singed and with a bloody muzzle, barrels into the enclosure. SOLDIERS ARE SCREAMING ALL OVER AGAIN... It's literally so large that it can simply step on one of them and snap their back with a horrifying crunch.
It then gallops immediately in the direction of Risu's corpse, but of course, sweet Aikawa is already there. This is apparently the meal it's after, though; in an attempt to get at it, the bear swipes a heavy paw down, claws leaving a gash all the way down the back of Aikawa's head, neck and upper back.]
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Nikaido!
[ As he will instead, wrestle this wandering Risu body up and shove him into those soldiers to get them away from her. And I guess that's the last thing he'll get to do before he just gets a BIG BEAR SLASH DOWN HIS UPPER BODY? ??? Can this be called upper body, well anyway. He falls over because of that, of course. He may be big but he can't just stay standing after he got bitch-slapped by a goddamn wild-swinging bear who can't even see what he's swinging at, it's so sad. ]
F -- uck...
[ Ow. I had considered having him just take Nikaido and have them both flee by cart but that is no longer immediately possible. ]
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Using his teeth and remaining hand to fire up a match, he lights the last of the smoke bomb and hurls it at the ground by the bear. As much as he'd love to fight, he can't let Aikawa suffer more damage. Driven by a surge of adrenaline, Sieghart runs into the smoke in order to grab Aikawa by the collar and drag him toward the cart.]
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Aikawa—!
[She dashes over to help him, but Sieghart interferes, tossin' in that smoke bomb and bathing the area in thick smoke. Though the bear isn't particularly affected this time because its quarry is right under its nose, the bear also 1) causes most of the soldiers around them to scatter out of pants-shitting fear and 2) doesn't seem that interested in either of them, so that's good! It follows Risu's corpse, decimating the wholeass group of soldiers that Aikawa threw the corpse toward. Then, it locks down on Risu's middle with its gnarlyass teeth and starts to drag him away. At the same time, Nikaido will dash over and grab Aikawa's other side, helping Sieghart drag him to the cart.
Meanwhile, there's another friendly voice coming from the entrance gate!]
Oh, no... My sweet Gennou... Gracious, what a mess you've made...? Didn't I tell you that you'd get scolded for attacking your teammates...? You never listen to me... But it looks like you've found something good tonight...?
[It's hard to see because of the smoke now, but they might happen to catch a glance of the bear dragging Risu's body over toward Ikoma.
To the surprise of no one, that man do be a cannibal, so they might catch a glimpse of him raising his handy cleaver and starting to carve through Risu like a turkey.
On the plus side, there's absolutely no one trying to stop them from leaving in this absolute clusterfuck of a pandemonium.
Since Nikaido was stabbed but still has working arms, she'll look between the other two.]
You got him?! I'll take the front!
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Realistically speaking, he should be fully aware that Risu's body getting decimated is not a problem. That man has come back to life from being literally nothing but a head, and a head that was dead for two years at that. It's just sentiment, really. And again, it's having sentiments that ultimately get him fucked over.
Is it worth it, then? Is it worth continuing to be a person if it's ultimately pointless and only causes hurt and pain for all involved? Well, those aren't really his current thoughts, his current thoughts are a lot more incoherent, with the sheer amount of pain and blood that comes with getting clawed down the entire backside of his head, neck, shoulders, whatever. Owie :(.
Anyway sorry he's sorta dead weight, like he's trying? But it's evident that his brain and body aren't exactly well-coordinated right now! ]
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Go!
[The muscles of his shoulder where the soldier severed his arm are still contracted, stemming the flow of blood for the time being. Sieghart takes advantage of this to roll Aikawa over and attend to the back wound by pressing down with the full force of his weight. He doesn't have spare cloth on his person, but his hand is already wrapped in fresh bandage to act as a makeshift gauze.]
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Nikaido runs to the front of the cart, quickly leaping up and taking the reigns and directing the horses to get the hell out of dodge. Several of the barrels fall over with one or two rolling out the back end, but fortunately none of them contain any corpses. They tear out through the exit gates, leaving behind the bodies of fallen soldiers and lifeless friends alike.
It doesn't take long before the shouting and gunfire and other cacophonous sounds fade into the distance. The horses rush along the path and the cart jostles around, which probably isn't great for either of their injuries, but. They're making good time, at least, and no enemies come swooping in to stop them. Their forces are all probably too busy dealing with the absolute confusing as hell news about what happened at the checkpoint.
Nikaido is silent from where she sits at the front of the cart, for the most part. Soujirou is still back here too, but he's tucked himself away beside a barrel, and is silently watching the absolute mess that is a dude with one arm trying to staunch the bloodflow of a dude with a massive set of claw marks down his back.
Eventually, after what probably feels like a small eternity, the horses begin to slow down. Should anyone be willing or able to look outside, they'll see they've entered a stretch of farmland village, with small buildings dotting the fields around them.]
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Anyway like, Aikawa's already bad enough off that the jostling can't really make him... worse. I like how this is just the most awkward cart ride with Aikawa being basically in critical state and everyone just sits around him awkwardly.
I'm sorry to say he is not in a state. Can someone please wrap his head I'm begging. He's probably just in general very delirious and very unsteady. Wobblehands in head trauma. This is a weird one lads. ]
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[His right arm trembles above Aikawa from the fever racking his body now that the adrenaline has largely run its course. He swallows down the urge to retch and squeezes his eyes shut to fight off the nauseating wave of dizziness as he sways in place. Blood begins to seep from his open left shoulder wound, but he sucks in a breath—cut short by sharp pain from his broken ribs—and presses down on Aikawa's back with renewed zeal.
Once he gets the bandages in question, he asks Soujirou for assistance in getting Aikawa's head wrapped. That is, Soujirou can hold it in place while Sieghart does the wrapping with gritted teeth.
Then the horses slow, and Sieghart's eyes flit to the opening in the back of the cart. He dares not move his head around too much, lest he lose all sense of balance and tip over. He pants slowly, yet shallowly, as they near their destination.]
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Anyway, he's still a little trooper and he'll insist on helping to hold the bandages in place as Sieghart works, giving Aikawa's forehead a gentle little rub after wiping his hand on his shirt. He even tries to help Sieghart bandage his own arm, though that's a tall order since that ain't gonna do shit for a wholeass severed limb.
The cart comes to a stop eventually, though. They'll be able to hear the sounds of people rushing over from outside, joyous shouts of 'they're here, they made it!' and 'those are Kondo-dono's men, right?!' ringing from outside. Though there's also some concerned yelling from near the front - 'Nikaido?! Are you okay?!'
The fabric flap at the back of the cart flips open soon after, and light floods the interior of it. The excitement and teary-eyed relief of the group standing outside immediately melts into concern, though, considering how GNARLY THESE GUYS LOOK. People are immediately shouting to each other and calling for medical supplies, climbing in to try pulling out all of the injured as carefully as they can. Maybe Sieghart or Aikawa will catch sight of some others carrying an unconscious Nikaido into one of the nearby buildings as they're scooped up into the arms of people who feel like allies, like people they can trust.
Before the two are pulled from the back of the cart completely, Soujirou reaches out for both of them, giving Aikawa's hand a squeeze with his little bloody one and reaching out to rest the other against Sieghart's cheek, leaving a small smear. He speaks quietly - maybe too quietly to hear:]
...Thank you for bringing him home.
[As the welcome party begins to carry them both toward the houses, their vision will start to white out, ears ringing as they lose consciousness.
The next time they open their eyes, it will be somewhere much more familiar, at least.]
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