maskormenacelogs | a catch-all;

Jaime-san, can you help me?

[Ken can win an award for ominous texts of the year. But he doesn't have the mind to preface it with small talk, to beat around the bush with pleasantries. He held together for five days, making a splint on his own and swallowing Ibuprofen. It helped that Nonah 05 has always a lot of medication around for Tetsuo's headaches; he didn't have to struggle to get any.

But it's been five days, and Ken can't avoid it now: he needs help. He could heal with Kala-Nemi -- and Diarahan will be more than enough to do it -- but in battles they always had someone to set any fractures for them before using a spell. He needs someone... but he can't bring it up to Kaneda or Minato. If they know, and if they ask, he doesn't want them to realize it was Tetsuo who did this, however accidentally.]

[God, how's that for an ominous text message? As if Jaime could do anything but reply right away and hope that nothing's gone too catastrophically wrong! Are you okay, Ken? Do you still have all your limbs? Both your eyes? Have you been turned into a newt?]

Yeah of course. What's up?

[It takes a minute for Ken to text back. He's trying hard to type, but left-handed typing is a first for him, and he also keeps dropping his phone. Eventually he manages to send]

I'm at heropa's portre. Can you co,me?

Be right there

[Jaime's tempted to fly over, but he doesn't, just in case Ken needs a ride. It's not too far away, though, which means it's not long before Jaime parks his beaten down bike in the lot and rushes his way into the building, looking around for Ken.]

Hey, Ken? I'm here!

[Ken is here, but it's Koromaru that comes running up to Jaime. He's not too distressed; knowing that help was coming has eased his nerves, so he's just moving a little faster than usual when he bounds over to Jaime and nearly bowls right into him. He barks once, expression serious before turning right around to lead Jaime.

Ken will be in a corner with his headphones on. This time, it's actually playing music for his own distraction, and he has his hood pulled up over his head so he hasn't seen Jaime come in yet. He's curled up on a bench with his knees drawn up. It's pretty cold this time of day, so maybe that's why.]

Oh -- hey, Koromaru.

[Jaime greets Koromaru as always, but nothing more; he doesn't even stop to scratch the little guy's ears like he usually does. Seeing Ken all curled up like that immediately makes his stomach sink, and he's quick to rush over there, looking down at him to take a look at his face, gauging whether the help he needs is physical or emotional.]

What's going on?

[Ken looks up before Jaime gets close. A nudge from Koromaru and he raises his head, pulling down hood and headphones clumsily with his left hand. Relief floods him along with exhaustion, and while he smiles sheepishly at him he doesn't make an effort to get up or act tough.

It's been a rough couple of weeks. He hasn't been able to sleep well in years, but he honestly hasn't slept at all lately. Even now, he feels sluggish and there's a headache starting to form around his temple. But more than that, his hand aches, and he tries to draw Jaime's attention to it by looking down -- resting gingerly on his drawn-up knees, the fingers of his right hand stick out from the sleeve of his jacket, and a couple of them look like they've seen better days. There's blood under his last two nails, and they're swollen and discolored in general.]

... I think I need a doctor.

Oh my --

[Jaime looks surprised to see the injury, but surprise quickly gives into dismay as he gingerly yanks Ken's sleeve up to get a better look, holding his hand by the wrist. It's an ugly injury, and one Ken certainly didn't get from playing soccer.]

You should have seen a doctor as soon as you got hurt! Ken, I think...

[He squints at them, waits for Khaji to give him verification. Yes, he discovers, his hunch was right.]

...yeah. These are broken. What happened?

[However gently Jaime may touch him, Ken still hisses upon contact. It hurts, even days later, and he's been out long enough today that the medicine is wearing off. Koromaru whines worriedly next to them as Ken waits for the initial agony to fade away. It's only then that he can answer, only vaguely realizing that Jaime came to that conclusion as if he'd had a quiet confirmation from somebody.]

I wasn't looking when it happened. It was probably on accident, but.. um, a door. A door closed on my hand.

It messed you up pretty bad. Was it --

[He pauses in mid-sentence, frowning, then shakes his head.]

Okay, no, I'll ask about it more later. There's no way we're riding my bike there, so I'm gonna call a cab and have them take us to the emergency room. You're registered, so you've got health care.

[And god, he never thought that the day would come when he'd be caring about health care, but he never provided for himself before. Now, with all the injuries that imPorts seem to get, it seems like a vital service, and one he'd hate to pay through the nose for. He holds up one finger, gesturing for Ken to hold on a second as he digs his phone out of his pocket, looks up the phone number for Heropa's cab company, and gives them a call.

Once he's certain that they're on their way, he shoves his phone back into his pocket and turns back to Ken.]

They should be here soon. How long ago did someone shut a... what, a car door on you?

[Last he checked, nobody slammed the doors in an elementary school that hard.]

[While Jaime is making the call, Ken is carefully lowering his feet to the ground and cradling his injured arm to his chest with the other, preparing to move if necessary. With Jaime, he knows help is coming, and the realization that there might be an end to the pain brings a wave of fatigue. He's a little worried he might start nodding off, but he blinks quickly to push the tiredness away as the other turns back to him. What was that? A-- oh.]

No, it was one of those... sliding doors? They're in a lot of the houses around here. [Which, sans the context of who it was and what sort of tension there'd been at the moment, is exactly what happened, so he's not too nervous about Jaime's mysterious lie-detecting system.] I think it was before Halloween...

Then they should really be more care --

[Jaime just about interrupts Ken, because honestly, you can't go slamming doors like that (which Jaime admittedly does himself, but he'll get pissy whenever it's Ken getting hurt), but moments later, he's too appalled by Ken's admission of how long ago it was.

He's only telling the truth, but if Ken were trying to throw Jaime off the scent, he did a spectacular job. Jaime's reaction is, as usual, reassuringly predictable. He gestures for Ken to follow him outside the facility, knowing that the cab will be here soon, but that doesn't stop him from talking.]

Ken! That's gotta hurt so much -- why didn't you get someone to help earlier than now? Or have Kala-Nemi heal you up? That's a long time to just be walking around with broken fingers.

S-sorry. [he blurts that out before he realizes he is, then shakes his head as he follows Jaime. Koromaru trots along behind them, and as they walk, Ken sticks close to his older friend. His jacket flaps open when he does, and Jaime will be able to see that his Evoker is, in fact, present.]

Honestly, um, I didn't realize it was broken at first. I've broken bones before, but never like this, and it's always in the middle of battle so it never hurt as much. There was always Fuuka-san to check, and someone to set it. I don't know if -- if I healed without that -- the bones might stay out of place. It's why I called you. I mean -- you knew, didn't you?

[He tilts his head back to peer at Jaime's face, squinting against the streetlight above them.] You looked at my hand and knew it was broken.

[Jame's been meaning to tell Ken the truth for a while anyway, but the time's never seemed right. This time isn't right either, not when he knows that the cab's coming soon, and that any questions Ken has can't possibly be answered in the middle of a waiting room.

To that end, he doesn't elaborate, but he doesn't deny anything either. Instead, he just looks down at Ken and says, simply.] Yeah. I did. It's one of the things that I can do. So next time, if you're not sure how bad you're hurt, you can just come ask me first.

[He leans forward a little bit, as if he'd be able to see the cab coming around the corner at any minute.]

Maybe you can get her to heal it up once the doctor's set the bones properly; that way you don't hafta be in pain any longer than you already have.

[Ken doesn't press. Suspicions confirmed, he's satisfied for now and simply nods. He doesn't want to let go of his hand, so he opts to stand as close as he can without bumping into Jaime and cranes his neck for the cab with him.]

I think so. Even if it's bad, I'm strong enough with Kala-Nemi now that I can get it mended mostly.

[Not completely, however; if the doctor he's going to see will contact Minato, he'll probably suppress the spell a little so it seems more like a Diarama. He'll figure it out.]

Sorry for calling you out so suddenly like this.

I wish you'd called me sooner. I would have gone to Nonah myself if you explained what had happened.

[The cab turns round the corner, and Jaime waves his hand in the air, as if they could have possibly missed the two people clearly waiting on the curb for them. Jaime can't stop dwelling on the fact that Ken's fingers have been broken for days without notice.]

Did none of your roommates think to take you to the hospital? Your teacher never noticed?

Didn't tell them, didn't show them. I bought my own splint and held it together the last couple days, so I think my teacher thought it was already treated.

[He pauses. Turns his head to watch the cab come closer, then sighs.]

I 'unno. I hid it, I really didn't think it was as bad and I thought it'll go away with some pain killers. There isn't a big reason behind it. I've always done this sort of thing myself.

Oh, Ken.

[Jaime sighs. After all this, he's not sure why Ken still feels the need to pursue his own, fierce sort of independence for things as simple as this, things as human as this. To ask for help after getting injured is just the building blocks of basic relationships, but Ken always seems to want to handle things on his own.

He doesn't sound mad, though, mostly because Ken came to him for help instead of letting Jaime notice it on his own. Lecturing Ken always seems to be a futile effort.]

I guess you know better now, anyway. You can always ask for help, especially if it's 'cause you're hurting. You must know over a dozen people who would've taken you to see a doctor if they'd known.

[He steps into the cab, and motions for Ken to follow him before saying, politely,] The hospital, please. Could you take us round to emergency?

I know a lot of people, yeah. [Which is part of why he didn't want to, he thinks to himself, stubbornness and habit aside. If someone less used to Ken's ways than Jaime had asked -- if someone found out who hurt him... it's not that Ken doesn't think Tetsuo did something bad. He did. But he knows that between him and Tetsuo, a lot of people will antagonize his roommate over it, and he doesn't want that to happen. Tetsuo doesn't need more of that, and Ken, too, doesn't want him to get mad over being called out and take it out on him again. He knows that he's been the target of his anger.

The pain aside, Ken's not in a terrible mood right now! He's calm and compliant, asking Jaime to help him with the seat belt and doing what he can do on his own. He's definitely tired and the doctor will comment on it when checking on him, but otherwise it's standard emergency room procedure.

Besides an expression of surprise over how hard the door must've been slammed, she and the nurses are quick to pierce Ken's nail to relieve some of that pain and fit him with a splint more properly for the other breaks. He's so young most of the damage went to his growth plates :( but it's a fortunately clean break that he'll heal fine from. At the end of it all he's almost embarrassed, and he glances at Jaime, away from Jaime, and back at Jaime a couple time before he mumbles,]

... You were right. I should've just talked to someone sooner.

I'd say now you'll know for next time, but I hope there won't be a next time. Your roommates should know to be more careful from now on.

[He assumes it was one of Ken's roommates, anyway, mostly on the basis that the other homes that he seems to visit all the time don't have as many rambunctious people about. The Hamadas wouldn't close a door like that, nor would Shinji or Akihiko or Minato, and the twins are, what, twelve? It has to be one of his roommates.

But Ken likes it at home. He says it feels like home, and even if Jaime's not entirely certain what to think of all of them, he's fine letting Ken decide what's best for himself in that regard. He can't say he's thrilled with Ken getting hurt, but, well... everyone makes mistakes. He's dropped Milagro before. It happens.]

Come on, let's take another cab back to my place, and you can rest it off for a while. The pain's been keeping you up, hasn't it?

[At that, Ken promptly tilts himself over sideways until he's resting against Jaime's side, closing his eyes and nodding tiredly. There was a different sort of unease that surrounded him in that house now, but the pain played a huge role in his lack of sleep, for sure. Knowing that Jaime won't let him really fall over, he hangs there, uninjured hand reaching up to hold Jaime's shirt anyway for leverage.]

Mm, yeah, I fell asleep in class instead, yesterday, so I actually stayed home today. [He yawns.] I want to hear stuff about you, too. Your... that.

Sure. But ask me once we get back home, okay? Maybe close your eyes in the cab for a while.

[It doesn't take Jaime long to call a cab - a sleepy place like Heropa doesn't exactly have cabs driving up and down the streets for him to hail - and soon, they're whisked back to Heropa 015. Jaime will have to cheat and fly to grab his bike later, but it's not such a bad walk for someone without a broken finger.

Then again, if he's going to tell Ken all about his powers, maybe he can fly Ken there too. At any rate, he ushers Ken inside, checks briefly to see if anyone's home that has the possibility of eavesdropping (thankfully, they're not), and sits Ken down.]

So... you want to hear about how I know the stuff I do, is that it?

Yeah.

[For how tired he is, Ken's actually wide awake. There's a curiosity burning in him he never had before, and he doesn't want to sleep until it's satisfied. It's a little surprising for him, too; before, like when he first started thinking of Jaime's powers five months ago, he didn't have this sort of curiosity. He didn't care much about anything Jaime didn't offer him first.

Now, he wants to know more. He doesn't want to waste time away in any level of apathy, and he nods firmly as he looks at Jaime with alert eyes.]

I do.

Right. I've actually been meaning to talk to you about it for a while now, but... it never seemed like the right time.

[He's sure that Ken knows why. They've been thrust from complication to complication together, from Ken being ported out, to Crane, to worse. Sometimes, when there's a moment of peace, all he really wants to do is let it be peaceful, whether it's dragging Ken over to his XBox or spending sometime with Koromaru in the yard.

Underneath Ken's direct stare, Jaime looks away, but that's only so he can think about how to break the news. He turns his hands over in his hands, as if contemplating showing Ken instead of telling him, but he's not sure whether or not Ken would remember such a miniscule detail as what the Blue Beetle's armour looked like on his hands alone.

And he certainly wouldn't inflict his full transformation on Ken without proper warning.]

Well, you've already seen some of my powers. You just didn't really know it at the time. [He clears his throat, rubbing the back of his neck a little.]

I'm the Blue Beetle. We met that one time...?

[At first, Ken doesn't quite realize what he's being told. He knew Jaime had powers; that much, they confirmed all the way back in June. He never asked what it was. He never felt the need to know as long as Jaime promised that those powers would keep him safe. His curiosity is a recent thing, but even then, it wasn't a curiosity that would've made him push past Jaime's comfort to find out the truth.

But now, the truth is being dropped voluntarily in his lap, and he doesn't know what to make of it. Did he just--]

Blue...san...?

[He knows who that is. He definitely remembers. The first time when they met in the sky, and the second time, at the swear-in. He remembers and he wonders, how did he not put that together before? Wasn't it strange, that the hero and the boy were from the same city and didn't know each other, when everybody brought here seemed to have some sort of connection, somewhere? It all made sense now. It's all coming back to him.

... Along with what he had said to the Blue Beetle the first time they met and with that memory, heat and color rush to Ken's face. Oh no. Oh no oh no.]

... T-that was you?!

backdated to November 3; Jaime

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