bondsofsuffering | IC Contact; Empatheias [CLOSED]

[ A chunk of it flies off, stabbing into the ground to the right of them both. After it lands there's a moment then smoke is coming off it, the piece disintergrating now it isn't part of the section. If anything, his control is getting worse now and the form of the dense smog is becoming more jagged. It cuts deep enough that the tree groans, and before Ouma can snap back at him it's already toppling towards them. ]

[Ahhh shit.

He was prepared for this outcome, at the very least. Because that shadow leaps into the air immediately, wrapping around Ouma to yank him forcefully out of the way even as Hizumi hurries to sidestep the tree himself. The shadows will even hold Ouma in the air for a moment after the tree settles on the ground, only depositing him on the ground again once Hizumi's sure they both made it out unscathed--

Or so he thinks.]

--Haaah, maybe that was a bit much after all.

[ He sees the movement out of the corner of his eyes, and while the end result won't be great either, it's a good job Hizumi moves to help because he doesn't move an inch. Fear definitely freezes him in place, along with the feeling of it doesn't matter that he's let himself get caught up in when letting all of this out.

The problem is that the shadows that wrap around him are tight and squeeze as he's held in the air. His breath stops, panic making him try and squirm out of it and he's working himself up more than necessary while trying to not let it show.

The longer it goes on though, the less chance he has. He ends up locked in a flashback when his ribs feel like they're cracking and while it isn't his head it doesn't seem to matter anymore. As soon as he's put down his knees give out from under him and he's gasping for air, coughing hard until he throws up on the floor. He's shaking and no amount of BS will probably help him squirm his way out of talking about this now either. ]

[Hizumi had accounted for the tree - he hadn't accounted for Ouma falling sick right on the spot.]

Hey--

[His voice sharp with alarm, he hurries to the boy's side, reaching out, pausing, gingerly laying a hand on his back ready to pull away again if that makes it worse. Something happened, obviously, but he can't think of anything offhand that should have caused this sort of reaction-- the shadows moved quickly, yes, but a short jolt like that shouldn't be enough to cause lasting motion sickness, least of all to this degree.

His eyes take in the scene, searching for any clue of the cause.]

Hey... what happened...?

[His free hand, he'll use to begin fishing out a handkerchief, though he's not quite handing it over yet.]

[ He barely hears anything, too caught up in the MRRRRGH of the press coming down, the memory of the pain of poison in his system then the feeling of being crushed. His eyes are blank, breath falling so quickly it's hard to even count the number of breaths per minute.

It's only when he feels a hand on his back that he registers the fact that someone is there at all.

It starts with a gasp, sharper and louder than the breaths from before. It manages to interrupt the breathing rate, get oxygen into him so he can start trying to come around again. ]

[Okay, there's a reaction, which is good. His hand slides to Ouma's shoulder, arm loosely over his shoulders as a whole but still prepared to stop if his reaction worsens.]

C'mon, slow down and breathe.

[A quick glance around tells him there's no one else in the park, or at least not nearby. Not surprising, it's still winter and most people are staying in the warmth of their homes.

He sits himself down next to Ouma, setting the handkerchief as flat as can be on his leg. Even as he tries to keep Ouma grounded, he focuses on envy, cold and crackling and--

A shard of ice appears on top of the handkerchief, not quite shaped the way he'd like but good enough. He then shifts gears, instead thinking thoughts of love and affection and warming the air right up again, enough to get the ice to begin melting.

It'll soak through his pant leg, but that's alright, there's other things to focus on right now.]

Stay with me here, okay?

[ The next stage after shock, though, is tears. Normally the only person who really sees this is Kaito and even then he's aware enough to give him space to work through it instead of hovering too much. Hizumi doesn't know though, he isn't aware enough of his boundaries or why he's like this to begin with. ]

S...Shut up.

[ It doesn't sound like him at all though, it's harsher and cracked, like he's barely holding himself together. The worst part is that he can't even bring himself to ask for who he really wants there, he's too busy avoiding all three of them. ]

[Hey, he's talking again. Hizumi's going to take this as a sign of improvement, even if the words themselves are far from friendly.

He dumps what remains of the ice chunk on the ground and removes his hand to instead dangle the now damp handkerchief in front of Ouma's face, in clear view.]

So you can clean up.

[ He reaches up to take the handkerchief and wipe his mouth, his breathing slowly becoming more normal now. He doesn't say anything else, looking to where the tree is collapsed on the floor. ]

[He begins to stand, tugging lightly on Ouma's sleeve - he'll help him up by his arm if he wants help, but if not he'll go ahead and stand on his own to survey the damages.]

Looks like your emotions can really pack a punch. Learn how to direct 'em, and you could probably use them for all kinds of useful things...

[...]

Well, I kinda expected the first part. But not this. [And he nods at the mess in front of Ouma.]

How do we avoid that?

[Something seems to have triggered it, but he knows far too little to pinpoint what. From the brusqueness of his tone, it's pretty clear he isn't really asking for details; not really expecting that from Ouma, either.

As long as he knows how to prevent it from happening again, that will suffice for now. Yes, he's helping Ouma sort out his emotions in order to work with his dunamis, but even Hizumi can see when there's a need for boundaries.]

[ His legs still feel wobbly as he lets Hizumi pull him up. His throat hurts but he ignores it for now. ]

Isn't that what you're here for? [ But... he lets his eyes sink to the floor where he'd thrown up, grimaces a bit. ] I don't like being grabbed.

[ Understatement of the year. ]

You were doin' well.

[Up until Hizumi grabbed him, seems like.]

But this is okay?

[He says as he begins tugging Ouma along - he's mostly aiming to get them to the tree so they can sit on it like a makeshift bench, away from the vomit.]

[ He blinks, the compliment making his eyes dip away. He lets himself be pulled along towards the tree. It really took some damage, but it works as a bench, that's for sure. ]

This is okay.

[This is good information to know. Hizumi flops onto the downed tree without fanfare.]

That's a good start, bein' able to talk about it. An effect that's formless, takin' form...

[He tilts his head upwards thoughtfully.]

Once you're feelin' better, we can start workin' on shapin' it. That kinda thing can be real useful for all sorts of stuff if you can get it to take the forms you want. Defendin' yourself, defendin' others...

...Droppin' stuffed animals on unsuspectin' victims...

[He should know.]

[ They probably should have started with that. "Oh, by the way I was crushed to death so please don't grab me and squeeze tightly it will not be fun." ]

Are you training me to bully Ayumu-chan?

[ He's trying, at least, to unravel his head from flashback hell anyway. ]

[Ouma's the one who went and said it was a stabbing...

But hey, this is a much preferable topic, and he's hoping it'll help give Ouma something else to put his mind to instead of... all of that hell.]

Do I really need to? Even if you learned the basics, I'm sure you could come up with all kinds of fun uses yourself.