maskormenacelogs | family affairs

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family affairs

WHO: Kaidan, Manabu
WHERE: Nonah
WHEN: a rainy late night in a suburban strip mall
WHAT: escort mission and related hazards
WARNINGS: referenced assault, most likely violence

"Are you cold?"

The boy shook his head once, still staring straight ahead, down at the storm drain and the water plopping and trickling in. He hadn't said a word since the last two -- no cops -- and remained still and silent, knees drawn up to his chin, arms wrapped around his legs, hugged tight. Though light was dim and distant from the parking lot, Manabu could see the colorization on his wrists, elbows...signs of struggle. Nothing had been revealed, and little was asked, because the few questions Manabu positioned were answered vaguely, if at all. Just no cops.

Well, his badge didn't technically mean anything here, so he technically didn't count. He managed to get a little noise of consent to sit and wait with him, having let him borrow his communicator to call his mom to come pick him up. He assumed that was a decent enough victory; why this kid was out so late, alone, looking the way he was could be a dozen or more different reasons, and very few of them good. It would've torn Manabu up to have to impose just to help, scare the boy more...

He couldn't be more than twelve, if that. Soaking wet from the rain, but for how heavy the rainfall had been all night, it was hard to tell how long he'd been out alone. Hell, Manabu was lucky to have noticed him at all on his way home, having passed by the unkempt lawn he'd been hiding out at in a hurry to get home before himself getting drenched.

He convinced the boy to wait with him in the strip mall -- an open, lit place, with some cover from the rain. There they sat, just below the darkened windows of a nail salon, watching rain fall, waiting for his mom.

Except his mom didn't show up first: Manabu's head lifted and turned abruptly to the figures stalking out of the dark into the lot, down a distance at the other end of the strip mall. He frowned, getting a sinking feeling in his gut; there wasn't a lot of good reason for groups of people to be casually strolling around empty lots on a rainy night like this. He got further confirmation when the boy noticed them, himself starting to tense up as they drew closer, calling out a name.

"Evan!"

Before Manabu can question it, the boy shoots him a gaunt, wide-eyed look that says enough. He shifts, slowly climbing to his feet.

"Evan! Come on home, now!"

Manabu didn't need to see the fire arms tucked in the back of their pants to sense their bad intentions. He felt the kid shift behind him, and he gently gestured, tilting his hand back toward him.

"That's my step-brother," the boy croaked quietly, catching Manabu by surprise. He glanced over his shoulder for a moment, but redirected his attention in front of him.

"Do you want to go home with them?" he asked, his tone still light, the way it had been with earlier questions.

"No."

That's all he needed to hear.

"Okay. Then just stand behind me, alright?"

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Kaidan wasn't exactly here for anything more than a tub of ice cream. he'd been in Nonah for unrelated business, but before he went home, he thought he'd get something to take with him, some local craft such and such nonsense that he'd heard was around here. It sounded good enough, and... well, lately if he ate some ice cream at night, it was just because he wanted it. He deserved it.

So there he was, in jeans and a button up, when he saw a little bit of something go down. Really, it was just a couple of kids yelling, but he'd pulled out one of his earbuds to hear enough of the conversation to get a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. He moved closer, and listened, peeked his head around the side of a building to see --

Manabu?

And these kids? And one behind him? This wasn't going to go over well, no matter what happened, would it?

Kaidan stepped out, and looked between the two groups. "Everything okay here, kids?" he asked, his attention focused on the punks, instead of Manabu.

By the time Kaidan entered the scene, scarce few things were learned. One thing was clear, though: the kid couldn't leave with the young man claiming "step-brother" and his small entourage.

There was talk of being worried sick, sure. Of hours spent looking, of recruiting the boys here, stressing everyone out. Warnings about running off, of hanging with strangers -- all good advice, yet the tone it was delivered, in the atmosphere built, it felt wrong. Manabu felt a gentle tug on the back of his shirt as fingers curled into the fabric.

He was thanked for keeping an eye on him, told they'd take it from here. Manabu didn't move, still hesitating to speak one way or the other, trying to understand why he felt such an ill air around this entourage claiming to be friends-- family. He hadn't yet made a move one way or the other when Kaiden appeared and cut in to the bargaining. It took all parties by surprise, but while Manabu felt a jolt of relief, it seemed the others were moved more to a dangerous urgency.

The brother put up both hands. "Hey, man, we're not looking for trouble here. Just picking up my little brother." There were some impatient mumbling of agreement behind him.

Manabu shot Kaidan an urgent look with the faintest shake of his head.

"Yeah?" he asked, and tipped his head, stepping a little bit more in between the two. Manabu was leaner, but Kaidan looked like he cut a much more impressive figure, tall and jacked though he was. He might be...a little softer than during the reaper war, but not by much, and he gestured toward Manabu, trying to indicate that they weren't going to be getting what they wanted, without actually saying it.

"See, my friend here? He's a cop, so..." his lips twitched, and he smiled. "I'm sure if you'e looking for him, he'll get home plenty safe. Me? I'm with the US Military, too. If you just want your little brother to go home... Why don't you wait for him there. I'm sure after we get a statement to why he's...here, we can go ahead and get him home," he tipped his head, and smiled at Manabu, and then the kid.

"Isn't that right? I mean, falling proper procedure sounds like a good idea, huh?"

The entire atmosphere began to shift the moment cop was spoken; tension that was almost palpable, like saran wrap stretched to the point of breaking, began to rapidly ripple. Manabu could see it in the way some of that step-brother's posse wavered, already intimidated by Kaidan's approach.

The hand clutching the back of Manabu's shirt seemed to recoil, like it had touched something burning hot. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the boy shuffle back, looking stricken.

"Cops?" Step-brother, tall but nowhere near the build of the space marine he was sneering at, shifted in place. Others behind him looked a mix of growing panic and growing agitation.

"Evan knows better than to call the cops. Don't you?"

Manabu turned back around in time to see two pairs of arms pulling out firearms, one for each of them.

"Fuck off and forget you were here, gimme my little brother."

Kaidan almost sighed -- but what he did do was light up with blue. Projectiles were all well and good, but kinetic barriers could stop bullets twice as fast as anything they had in this day and age, and he just tipped his head, swirling, undulating blue warped his face slightly, like it seeped into every crevice and wrinkle in his face.

"Come on, guys. Let's not," he held up a hand, and it was a testament to his control, the way he reached out to tug at their arms -- and only their arms -- to force the guns out of their grips. Shepard had always had more brute force, but Kaidan --

He had to stop that train of thought, and instead sighed, and closed his eyes. "Why don't you guys turn around, before you seriously get hurt? I'm not exactly going to --" one of the others pulled out his gun and tried to shoot him, the bullet glanced off the barrier, and Kaidan moved immediately.

It was just a twitch of his hand, tense muscles, and his hand at first limp before he lifted his forearm, palm up, and gestured up.

The man flew up twenty feet, and hovered there.

Was it bad that Manabu was kind of excited to see Kaidan use his powers? Regardless of how threatening (or not, as it was shaping up) these guys were, he shouldn't be hoping to see them get thrashed... Too bad he kind of wanted to see them get thrashed.

Confident enough in that dramatic lift to keep the men busy, Manabu turns around to address and reassure the boy, smiling apologetically.

"Sorry for not telling you about the cop thing," he said. "It's not really an official thing here for me, if that helps. But let's not worry about that-- let's get you away from these guys, okay? You're mom will be here any minute."

And there was a whole lot of parking lot they could cover to distance themselves from a fight. The hand he offered to the kid was left unanswered, but Manabu didn't waste time insisting on that, instead guiding him by the shoulder to turn and start away from the group, which pulled the attention of at least one of the freaked-out men.

Some of the useless, panicked shooting at Kaidan's barrier started to change target and course, nicking the pavement by Manabu's heels and startling him enough to spin around and pull his own sidearm.

"Are y--!"

His intention was to yell Are you crazy-- your brother's going to get hurt!, but the impact of bullets cut him off.

He dropped hard.

Kaidan had gotten used to life here. People were too-often willing to just let their weapons go for an import. Most understood the power difference, and the fact that an import -- especially one that could lift him into the air -- and they'd normally stop. But these guys.. they were either stupid, irrational, or both.

Kaidan watched them shoot in what felt like slowed time, his barrier giving him the protection against bullets, but... he wasn't the only person here, and he wasn't backed up by people with shields and armor. He whipped around when he didn't feel the tense ringing in his brain after the shot -- the tell-tale sign of his barriers changing, but instead he felt nothing.

He whipped around "Mana--"

He'd already dropped, and Kaidan swallowed, before he rushed the group this time. He didn't say anything, he just used his biotics to lift the whole group of them, all the same height as their friend before he tensed another muscle, and they all slammed down to the concrete, most dropped their weapons at the same time, but Kaidan wasn't done. Not after that. He lifted them into the air, the few with weapons he hit with a slight shock to their systems, and his biotics sang in response.

"I've lost a lot of people lately," he said, his voice a lot calmer than the sudden outburst would suggest. Normal, bland, controlled Kaidan looked them over, before he turned. "Let's hope you haven't made me lose another," he stated, before he turned to look Manabu over, swallowing a small strain of trepidation down while his fingers started to feel for wounds.

Pain didn't register right away; it was too unexpected and sudden, and it was more the surprise that he seemed to be on the ground, water soaking his hair and clothes, drops dripping into his ear.

Huh? What's this-?

He heard yelling, but it was distant and muted, like sounds on a TV screen in another room. He saw--little, just dark shapes and the glow of parking light posts over and behind him. The rainwater made glowing shapes around him, and that did little to bring him back to his senses.

Weird, he thought dimly. I can't move...

But why did that matter? What was he doing, again?

Upon hard impact, his breath had been held. Alarm only began to set in when he tried to breathe in and felt a fast, hot, radiating pain blast across his chest and, when he started to recoil, his side. He started to writhe, to attempt to curl up against it, letting out a sharp sound when suddenly touched.

"Kuh...!" What-?! Did I get hit? By what? When? Where? Manabu's eyes grew wide and his teeth set, lips drawn back in a painful grimace, feeling a rising wave of dread wash over his whole body.

Bad...this is--bad. I'm--

"Mana --" Kaidan tried, but his breath left him, a little surprised and breathless, the word died on his lips, when he placed his hands over the wound, trying to gauge how bad it was. If it was a scrape, it would hurt -- or if it went through but didn't hit anything vital, but blood loss was a distinct problem, and he looked up at the kid.

"Hey, can you call someone? We need -- " he placed a hand over the wound, trying to feel the pressure there, and how bad it was. "We need someone to help. An ambulance, if you can't call the cops," he paused, and looked over his shoulder.

Thankfully, his barriers were holding, but the strain was enough to force pressure between his eyes -- behind them -- and he could feel the migraine back there, fighting to blossom into a full one. He choked back a sound of pain. He could hold on, he wasn't the one shot.

"Please -- He's..." in trouble? Hurt? He looked back up at the kid, hoping that he would at least help.

Wide-unblinking eyes darted from place to place-- screaming bodies suspended in the air, the man curling up on the ground, the other pleading with him. Save for his eyes, the boy looked like some pale, waxed figure, fused to the ground in fear. If Kaidan's words reached him, it didn't outwardly show.

Bright lights suddenly bloomed from across the lot as a car rolled in and came to a sudden, squeaking halt. The high beams flickered on and off quickly, the driver caught off-guard by the sight of Kaidan's power in effect. More seconds ticked by before a decision seemed to be made, and the car began to roll forward, curving away from the glow of the barriers. A window rolled down and a woman yelled loudly to cut through the sounds of rain and distressed, floating bodies.

She called for the boy, who took another moment gawking at Kaidan's pain, before jolting back to life. The dilemma played out in a series of back-and-forth looks between the car and the Marine.

He ran.

"Kaidan--"

Manabu managed to blindly snatch at the wrist of the hand pressed into his side, grip tightening to brace against the swell of panic the pain caused. His teeth chattered before he could bite out words again between clipped breaths.

"Kaidan, leg. My--leg, get it." He winced, losing the sound of his own voice when tires squealed on the concrete nearby for a getaway.

"Kuh-Kaidan!" he yelped, his breath hiccuping and getting stuck in his throat.

"Shh, hey! Don't talk," he tried to soothe, his hand still over the wound, while he started to look him over. His leg? his lips twitched, and he tried to look it over, one hand nervously moving to see what he could do, not sure what he was looking for, biting back the question, even when his vision blurred slightly from the migraine -- the attempt to keep the boys suspended.

He realized when he looked at his hand, that his barrier was still up, but he couldn't disengage it, not with the chance that they might have another weapon tucked away somewhere.

His wrist not over his side twisted, and a bright orange light appeared over his hand. "H -- Hang on, I'm going to call for some help, just --" just hang on --

He started calling 911, his voice rushed and low, trying to express the urgency, even while he tried to administer field medicine at the same time with absolutely no supplies. "You're -- You're going to be okay, I promise."

The word-- what was it? Manabu couldn't bring it up. He just knew if he got it off his leg, he would be okay. Somehow. Because he'd be feeling better if it weren't for that, right? He thought so.

While Kaidan made the call, Manabu struggled to remember the word, head growing fuzzy. When pain eased up enough for a moment, he let go of Kaidan's hand and sent his own blindly searching, dragging over to his knee, curling at the fabric of his pants, and feeling out for the metal clipped around his ankle. He was nowhere close and very soon completely absent from the task; just thinking about it was suddenly very exhausting, and even pain seemed too much a chore to fight.

Never mind, he thought. I'd just get hit if I...

There was at least some mercy for Kaidan, since the commotion of gunshots seemed to have caused alarm enough for someone, somewhere, to call about it. Red and blue brightly flashed when a police car drew up from the road and saw the barrier-- unusual enough to be cause for alarm.

Kaidan watched his hand try to fiddle with his leg, and try to find a way to get onto...something? he didn't know what, and his hands started and stopped, but trying to hold onto the wound, and trying to figure out a way to keep him still was enough of a struggle, and then -- and then when Manabu fell stiff, he was about to try again when --

Hands up! Police! Kaidan felt the edges of his migraine intensify, and his eye twitched.

Of course.

"My friend was shot --" Kaidan raised his voice, but only so they could hear him, and he lifted his other hand. "Please -- I can't remove my hand from the wound, he's bleeding out --" just please, please don't make him remove the pressure, he though. "The boys there are restrained because they opened fire. I'm military, I'm unarmed," he explained, and kept his voice calm.

He was, of course, an import, and that was obvious. He turned his wrist so they could see the 'registered' in glowing light.

Of course, counter to Kaidan's point, the boys in the barrier yelled bloody murder, begging for help. But compliance speaks louder than panic in a situation like this -- or maybe Kaidan was just a little lucky -- and while one of the officers took point out of caution, the other approached to assess the damage.

Lots of demands and questions were dished out, some not even waiting for a response. Let us handle this, put them down, why are you out here. The officer who approached made the case to let him take over the first aid, called for support over the radio, and bullied in without waiting for Kaidan's response. For Manabu's part, there was no protest, because he was barely aware of anything happening; he was just tired.

Kaidan didn't take his hand away, and looked over at him with an even glance, but he didn't budge. He stood his ground, and kept his hand where it was. "If I move my hand, he will lose pressure and bleed out," he kept his voice calm and focused on Manabu, rather than the officer. He knew better than to meet his eyes defiantly.

"If you would like, my military ID is in my back pocket. I'm trained in field medicine, and served in the Marines," breathe in, breathe out. He wondered if his voice sounded strained? It felt like he was strained. He wondered if that was going to be alright? Would the officer notice -- or care? "I will let the boys down, but please -- I don't want my friend to see irreparable damage. Just let me hold him here until the EMT comes," and with a show of good faith, he lowered the boys to the ground slowly, although the strain on his face was clear -- tight and his eyebrows drawn.

The last thing Manabu's eyes could focus on was the shape of Kaidan's arm in front of him, which was a blackness that grew and grew until there was nothing else to look at. The noise of rain and Kaidan's strident, strained voice muffled, dimmed, and faded.

He suddenly realized he and Kaidan were still in trouble. Manabu's eyes snapped open and he moved to sit upright, but--

"Guoh-!!" It was very painful, and he flopped back down, the back of his head hitting a pillow. After the wave of pain from his side began to ebb, he had enough of a mind to wonder about that. The pillow--the ceiling.

"Hh, huh?"

He blinked a few times, then squinted up at the ceiling tiles while his fingers twitched and blindly pressed into the bedding. What the hell-?

Kaidan never did get his ice cream.

Instead, he got a trip to the hospital, his military ID pulled, and only when they had the EMTs on him did he let go, and explain. He flashed his registered badge, offered his personal audio logs -- a habit he hadn't let go from the military, and finally, finally Kaidan was allowed to follow Manabu to the hospital.

When he woke up, it wasn't that long after, but long enough for the painkillers to subside, and he started, when he woke. "Manabu? Hey! You feeling okay?"

That was lucky-- Manabu's next, frightened thought was Kaidan. Things came back to his addled mind in foggy, out-of-order jigsaw pieces, and before he had a chance to start parsing through them, he heard his name and was pulled back into the moment.

"Uh-?" He tore his eyes away from the ceiling and looked around in confusion. On the double-take he found the blob that slowly formed into his friend, which was relief enough that he could let out his breath again.

"Kaidan?" Wow. His voice sounded weird. What happened? "What's...going on?"

They were in the middle of something important, that much he remembered. And something about his leg? Maybe?

"You're in the hospital," he said, and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, lay back down. They probably had you on quite a bit of painkillers, you're going to want to let those settle before you start moving around. Meds here aren't that great," he admitted, and shook his head. That was the kind of superiority that only came from being from the future, where this kind of injury was an application of medi-gel away.

"Sorry, I... I didn't manage to catch them, or their bullet. I -- you got shot?" his mouth was turned into a frown, the wrinkles around his eyes more pronounced from worry.

"I was pretty worried about you. I -- it took a bit, but we finally got you help. We're safe now, those kids are in custody."

Despite his want to get up and have this conversation sitting up properly, there wasn't enough fight in him. Manabu's brow knit in a mix of confusion and concentration, eased back down as he listened and tried to understand.

Shot? He didn't remember getting shot. He remembered Kaidan flinging people up in the air, though. And, once he thought about it enough, he did remember getting soaked in the rain, on the ground.

"Oh," he said dumbly, trying to find something to say. His eyes winced, catching a glimpse of the look on Kaidan's face. He felt his stomach twinge a little with a tiny knot of shame. "I'm-- I...I'm sorry. I must've...messed up somehow." He grimaced, fidgeting some, feeling a little tug on his hand and noticing the IV stuck in there. Hell.

"That wasn't even your mess..."

"It didn't look like it was yours either," Kaidan admitted, and when he settled back down, he let him go. He didn't know if his heart could take Manabu hurting himself after all the effort to heal him. He had, after all, been pretty dedicated to getting him medical care, and to see all that hard work go to waste...

"It's okay, anyway. I was just trying to get some fancy ice cream I probably don't need," his lips formed into a frown. "So, I should probably thank you," his smile a touch forced, then, before he patted his shoulder. "What happened, anyway? That kid didn't seem too keen on getting help from anyone who could actually help him, you know?"

Honestly, he'd thought the kid was a criminal too, until his mom arrived and he left.

The pat drew his attention away from the surgical tape on his hand and back over to listen. The questions drew a thin frown out of him while he tried to remember. He probably couldn't even pick the kid out of a crowd now, he realized; it'd been dark, rainy, and even after all that time waiting...

"I--I didn't actually know much," he admitted, looking down. "I ran across him while I was trying to duck the rain that came in...and what kid's out at an hour like this by themselves, in this weather?" He huffed, closing his eyes for a minute, repainting the scene in his head.

"He wouldn't talk much, just...yes and no answers. Just enough that I was able to get him to call his mother. And then I waited there, because I just wasn't sure." He looked back over, frowning deeper. "And those guys showed up-- one of them was a brother? I don't get it."

What on earth would have a guy terrorizing his little brother like that? If that's what was going on. It sure seemed that way to Manabu.

"Sounds like his brother is in a gang," he admitted, and shook his head, with a sigh. "I heard him keep saying that, but... I didn't really believe it. Or if they were brothers, he wasn't that concerned about him, you know?"

Kaidan ran a hand through his hair. "I'm glad you're okay. I was... really worried. I didn't realize they were going to shoot like that --" and he grimaced. "I always believe in the best of people, and then... things like this happen. I should have been a little more ready for them to shoot."

Manabu's eyes closed while Kaidan spoke about the brothers. Part of him was trying to imagine just what kind of person would be so twisted and torn up against someone who was supposed to be family; he tried to imagine Mamoru that cruel. His nose crinkled with distaste at the notion, shaking his head slightly to try and dispel it.

When the talk turned toward himself, Manabu opened his eyes back open and looked over, feeling a little pang of guilt, seeing Kaidan's expression. He tried to push a crooked, sympathetic smile on his face.

"Hey," he said, his hand tilting a little in lieu of a shrug. "I don't think you should beat yourself up about...about thinking better of people. I know I was hoping the same thing the whole time."

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family affairs

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I'M THE WORST

NO UR WONDERFUL AND I LOVE U

SCOOPS U UP

:>

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