semi-open ( I will break the chain and run )

[dormition]

WHO: Minato Arisato, and whoever noticed him being kidnapped and worried about it.
WHERE: De Chima #001 mostly, but elsewhere if you'd like!
WHEN: March 19
WHAT: Minato returns home.
WARNINGS: Nothing really except minor injuries.

It's the third time Minato's been injured since he got here, not yet two months ago. This time it's a twisted ankle and a variety of bruises and scrapes once again. Although Tadashi had healed his ribs last time, he doesn't think he's imagining it that he can feel them ache, too; maybe all this exertion was too soon after bruising them a couple weeks ago.

He's exhausted and feels one like massive ache, all over. By now he's nearly numb to it. Minato had changed into clothes bought at the airport at some point, ditching his wrecked school clothes, which had become tattered and dirty from trekking through the wilderness for two days. The ones he's wearing don't fit exactly, and are more brightly colored than he'd normally pick.

He's carrying his Evoker in his hand, unwilling to let it down now that he's finally gotten it back, and he's limping slightly, favoring his left, as he opens the door to De Chima #001 and trudges in. No sense going home when everyone waiting for him is here. (Has Ken been waiting here, too? How had that gone-- too tense?) Minato had called ahead a few hours ago to say he'd be returning and coming here, so if there's anyone waiting for him, they'd know where to find him.

"I'm home," he calls out softly as he steps in.

Comments

[microbrobotics]

[ Hiro's upstairs working on his generator when he comes in, but he'd received the message earlier and knows to come down once he hears someone come in. Although he's kind of filthy - face and arms primarily, though he hasn't brushed his hair either and miiight have just worked through the night? - he's flushed with excitement from what he was working on. And most importantly, that damn cast is finally gone. ]

Minato! Hey, you're just in time to --

[ And then he pauses. His gaze immediately flicks to Minato's injuries before sweeping back towards his face. Also, those clothes. Like Hiro cares about fashion really, but something feels off. ]

... What happened?

[tadeadshi]

[He heard the door open too and Tadashi pokes his head out his bedroom when he hears Hiro going down. Better follow up, make sure Minato's okay. He makes it to the bottom of the stairs; he's been doing better since he's gotten actually sleep for more than a few hours a night so he's pretty happy to see Minato around.]

Hey, how's it--

[Oh. Oh. He ends up behind Hiro, just. Watching and taking stock of the injuries. Hiro beats him to asking what happened but he's already figuring out what he needs to do to help.]

[dormition]

[Truthfully Minato doesn't even notice Hiro's cast is gone, though it'll occur to him later.

He shuts the door behind him and resists the urge to sag against it, purely so he can trudge over to the nearest couch and collapse into it. At least he's sitting up instead of laying down. He's having that post-crisis energy drain where all the adrenaline leaves him, and everything starts to sink in. His ankle is definitely prickling more and more painfully as the numbness leaves him.]

Someone kidnapped me and Annie and hunted us around an island for two days, [he says blandly, still holding his Evoker in his lap.] I didn't get my Evoker back until this morning.

[microbrobotics]

[ Hiro's eyes go wide with shock. He'd known Minato was out for a few days, but he'd been assuming something much more mundane. A cold, maybe, or just not wanting to drop by the house every single day. Not being kidnapped and hunted. That sounds traumatizing and awful and - and shouldn't he have done something? He should have known and at least noticed one of his friends was gone. What kind of a person does that make Hiro? ]

Wh-what? Did you - hospital? Tadashi, can you -

[ He's babbling and he knows it. But he doesn't know what to do with injuries save have his brother heal them. That's always kind of been the case even before powers were a thing. In the mean time, all he can think of to do is to get Minato a glass of water. So he does that. ]

[tadeadshi]

Already on it.

[Give him something to do. Anything to do so he doesn't think about the words that just came out of Minato's mouth - kidnapped and hunted - and freak out. What good would freaking out do right now, right? Nothing, that's what. Focus on getting Minato's foot elevated because he can see the bruising from here. Only when he gets closer does he see the Evoker and remembers being told about it. But it's still... Unsettling to see it.

Injuries now, potential dangerous weapons later.]

Where's the worst of it?

[hoboagogo]

[Of course he'd worried. Even after being contacted by Minato and told not to, that their Leader was on the way to what had sort-of become SEES's base in this world, he'd been unable to shake that subconsciously-grating concern. And Minato having shown up in bright pastels advertising that he'd been to whatever city the airport had been in against an approximation of a city-scape, bruised and limping and scuffed.

And it hadn't taken long for him to growl and insist that Minato take the couch and get off of that foot he's limping on. The coffee table is dragged closer, some throw pillows stacked on it to provide elevation, and by the time Shinjiro stops moving about while griping about Minato being an idiot and getting himself hurt, he's returned with some reheated pasta and a bag of frozen vegetables wrapped in a towel to apply to that ankle.

Sheesh, leader.]

-So what the hell happened?

[The Leader is safe and somewhat tended to now-- and so the actual conversation can begin, as opposed to him just mother-henning over Minato constantly.]

[dormition]

[Minato doesn't mind the mother henning. He might go so far as to say he likes it, since it means he gets to sit down, rest his ankle, and sink into the couch cushions. He's still cradling his Evoker in his lap like a lost puppy he's afraid will wander off. (That's pretty much the truth.)

He's already half asleep by the time Shinji gets back, not that he'd been gone long. His eyes flutter open and he cracks a wide yawn before answering blearily,] Annie and I got kidnapped. This guy hunted us around an island for two days. We didn't have our powers back until we took out the emitter. A couple of Annie's friends helped us get home.

[He rattles this off with the tired desensitization of someone who's not really thinking about what he's saying.]

[hoboagogo]

[He sits down on the edge of the coffee table, instead of the couch- might as well let their leader sprawl or whatever, if he wanted. Or at least have the space to breathe and decompress. He's made note of that needing grip on the evoker, sure, but sees no reason to try and pull it away or change it. After all, he looks like he'd been through hell- Shinjiro would be grabbing onto a source of control or power, too, if he were in the same place.

As Minato explains, his expression grows a bit stern: frown deepening, eyebrows creasing, blinking a little bit less at the simple, emotionless explanation- one that he imagines Minato would nearly get sick of explaining to everyone who worried about him. And... it's frustrating, only knowing about this all after the fact, having been so unable to do anything.

Mostly because... the situation doesn't exactly sound unfamiliar.

On a smaller scale, sure. But the theme of abduction, powers restricted and restrained, thrown into a life-or-death situation.. After a moment, his eyes close, and he exhales out slowly.

Obviously there's no sense in getting riled about it now- not with Minato safe and recuperating right in front of him.]

...How'd it happen? The kidnapping, I mean? [Sure, there's other questions he has about the event, about Minato's state.... but that's the one he's most curious about now, wondering how similar this truly was to the mass abduction the previous summer.]

[dormition]

[While Shinji sits and frowns, Minato gets up enough to shift the frozen peas to better balance on his elevated ankle and grab the bowl of pasta.] I don't remember much, but I think it was a long distance tranquilizer while I was walking. Whatever happened after that... I don't know.

[Minato is a formidable opponent, when someone actually faces him. There's not much he can do about tranqs; he just isn't paranoid enough to walk around on the look out for things like that, and not even this incident will change that. It's not the way he lives.

He digs into his pasta with perhaps more focus than the food is due. It might be day old, but it tastes a lot better than anything he's had over the past few days.]

[hoboagogo]

[A sigh. And really, Minato, he's kind of sorry he doesn't have more to immediately offer. He can always make something new, but the poor guy needed something in him now. (With as many teenager guys as they have, as well as a biotic and their insane metabolism, leftovers aren't exactly something they have often.) But it's something warm and filling, so that has to count for something.

But after a moment, he glances up as Minato eats, finally responding to that.]

It ain't the first time something kinda like that's happened. [A frown, and he glances down towards the carpet.] We didn't get hunted or anything- But last summer, a whole mess've imPorts and native kids got knocked out and dragged to some mountain facility. We pretty much had to fight and take out whatever was in front of us, or they'd start killing off the civilians.

[His nose wrinkles as he talks, and it's obviously not a topic he enjoys bringing up.] So I'm wondering if it was the same kinda thing. Powers cut out, shoving you in some kinda do-or-die situation... If anyone, though, at least it was you two.

[He's not pleased it was two people he'd consider friends- but he recognizes their abilities and knows that the both of them can handle it better than many others.]

[orangehoodie]

Ken arrived in the morning. It may have been before or after Minato, but either way he's worn out and blinking sleep out of his eyes still when he approaches Minato with as many blankets as he found around to add to the pillows. Koromaru comes ahead of him and places himself next to Minato with a whine.

He had been... looking, actually. He noticed Minato was missing a couple days ago and he ran around since then. All he found were a few just barely useful leads before he ended up at the Nonah ambassador's place and learned that Minato was on his way back. He's relieved of course; he thought he might cry when he first heard that Leader was okay. He holds out his armload of blankets once he's close enough to him, giving him as good if a smile as he can.

"Are you feeling better, Minato-san?"

[dormition]

Minato had slept all night on the couch without a twitch for any interruptions. It's only Koromaru's whine, a sound he's so familiar with, and the feeling of cold dog nose pushing at his hand flopped over the edge of the couch that rouses him.

He comes to muzzily with a wide, silent yawn, then rubs at his eyes and tries to sit up. His hair's a mess but he's been conned into changing into normal pajamas instead of his airport tourist atrocities, he's eaten something, he's been healed, and he's slept. He'd like to go back to sleep for approximately another week, but he supposes he can't. He has school, and work, and a concerned teammate.

Who he's actually glad to see. "... Yes. Tadashi-san healed me, and Shinjiro-senpai made me food. I'm sorry to have worried you. --Ah, thank you," he adds, as he accepts the blankets and adds them to his nest.

[orangehoodie]

"You can stay down." Ken's helping with the blanket. He spreads it over Minato, one hand gently placed on a shoulder to keep him down. He's going through motions, just trying to remember what his mother would do when he was sick and she tucked him in, trying to busy himself so he doesn't start shaking with how worried he actually is. Minato is all right. He's here. He's safe. He's saying he's all right. He makes sure the blankets are secured and kneels down by the couch as Koromaru nuzzles Minato'a face affectionately.

He's glad to see that he was sleeping. He doesn't know yet what it was that Minato went through wherever he was, but he knew enough about the circumstances of his disappearance. It's good that he's getting rest, with people like Tadashi or Shinjiro who actually can take care of him.

"Are you all healed now, then?"

[dormition]

Nonplussed, Minato allows himself to be coaxed into laying down again, biddable as ever and even moreso when he's still sleepy. He'd been sleeping with his Evoker on his lap, and has to shift it as he moves, not letting it get too far. He'll be absolutely paranoid about losing it again for weeks after this, he knows. He's not used to thinking of himself as powerless and he hadn't taken it well.

One hand automatically reaches out to gently push Koromaru away from his face, but he then uses it to pet him, finally starting to relax with his teammates next to him. It's not that he was tense in sleep; he's just now starting to believe, the next morning, that it was all over.

"Mostly... It makes Tadashi-san tired, but I'm just achy now." He yawns again. "Have you been okay? Nothing happened while I was gone, did it...?" For potentially the first time in his life, Minato briefly hopes there's nothing he has to be leader about, because he'd really like to sleep for another few days.

[orangehoodie]

'I ran around without sleep or enough food for two whole days trying to track you down and I eventually ended up at the ambassador's house. I slept at the kitchen table.'

Ken just shakes his head, a carefully constructed smile on his face while Koromaru licks the hand that pets him. They were both worried, but Koro is better at expressing his relief than Ken, and he's more than happy to leave that sort of communication to the dog. He himself is full of questions -- is he really okay? what happened? who did it? -- but he holds back on those, too. Leader's exhaustion is obvious, and he can get the story later if he wants. For now, he stays quiet about the information he got, too.

"I'm all right. I heard you were on your way back, so I got here earlier this morning. I can see if Nemesis can do anything for you later when you're more rested?"

for shinji;

[orangehoodie]

After Minato falls asleep, Ken is quiet. He's usually quiet, but today's tired comes with fifty extra servings of tired, as he scoots around so his back is to the couch, legs drawn up to his chest and his chin on his knees. Koromaru doesn't whine, as not to make noise and wake up the leader when he needs rest so badly, but he curls up on the floor between the boys in order to stay close and give company to both of them. The only reason why the dog isn't as tired is because Ken carried him half the time, but that just means the kid is more tired from that, too.

And he's shaken up. Death is always on his mind. When he realized Minato's disappearance, he feared the worst. It's good that he only saw him after Tadashi's healing, but that only slightly eases his nerves over what could have happened. He still struggles to keep himself from shaking, and he hardly notices anybody walking past or through the room. Only Koromaru will raise his head to look at Shinjiro when he's nearby.

[hoboagogo]

He'd mostly given the living room space today- Letting Minato rest was top priority. He knows their leader well enough to be aware that Minato wouldn't complain if woken- that he'd show far more concern for the rest of them than he would for himself. And that's all the more reason not to disturb him, to make the man pull up that strong face and ask about everyone else, when he needed to be more concerned with himself.

So it's later than usual when Shinjiro is finally coming down the steps quietly, glancing over to the couch as though to ascertain that Minato is still asleep- and pausing at the sight of Ken and Koromaru.

"...Hey." He murmurs it quietly. Just enough to carry as he rounds the banister and steps into the living room properly, looking over at Ken. He looks like a wreck, really- Exhaustion is evident, the tense posture and withdrawn expression, and it makes Shinjiro sigh quietly.

Every single one of them is a mess.

"I didn't know you were here." It's- almost apologetic sounding. Because hey, if he'd known that Ken would be over to sit with their leader, he would have... well. he's not sure. Done something. Let the kid take a rest, maybe. And he'll crouch down, a slightly distance away from the younger teammate and dog, looking over him. "...You okay?"

he knows what the answer is. And he knows it's not likely the one Ken will give him. But he might as well ask.

[orangehoodie]

Ken isn't surprised by Shinjiro's appearance. The man lived here, after all. It's only natural that he'll show up after a while.his shoulders do tense when he's addressed, but resignation is quick to wash over him as the look on his face turns into a frown. Is he okay, hug?

Usually, Shinjiro would be the last person he'd confide anything in. Minato would be his go-to, as the leader and the one Ken felt at ease with the most. But Krn knows, too, that Minato would be quicker to try to reassure Ken than accept any concerns for himself. The nab would take any excuse to turn the focus from himself. He's not about to let him pull that trick this time.

But he's startng to reach his limit to how much he can keep bottled up, too. Without looking up, he curls up into a tighter ball and finds himself answering quietly.

"I heard that he fainted, when Koromaru and I looked around. The paramedics came... but the person who apparently called them never did. I thought... I thought he might not come back, but Nonah's ambassador told me he was found."

[hoboagogo]

For being so quiet, spoken down as the boy curls up, the words still bring a faint lump to Shinjiro's throat. Yes, he was worried about Minato as well. As functional as they all were, the leader meant a lot of every member of SEES... but more than that, Ken's sheer, earnest response here makes his chest clench that much more. And so he moves to sit on the floor as well, legs curled up under himself and one palm resting on a knee. There's still a distance between them, but... he's hoping it will make it a little bit easier to speak.

"...Yeah. We were pretty worried, too."

It's a lame addition, but he's not sure what else to say. His eyes touch down to the carpet between them, giving Ken a bit more space to curl and shake and physically work out those emotions. (And it makes him worry-- what if Ken were to find out Minato's fate? How much would it tear the kid apart even more?

Unconsciously, he'll decide to make sure Ken has no need to discover it.)

"But he's back here now. You know he can pull up out've damn near anything." He finally glances up. There's no reassuring smile or warmth to his expression- instead just a simple conviction. "He just needs us here to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

And Shinjiro does truly believe that. Yes, their leader is important- irreplaceable, good at damn near everything. But no one truly stands up that well with no supports.

[orangehoodie]

Shinjiro has seen Ken at his worst. His lowest, his angriest, his nastiest, and also the moment he gave up on everything and let Takaya's gun point at his head. He's seen more than anybody, in fact, including the things Ken refused to even acknowledge now. Shinjiro isn't going to take any of this and ignore himself to worry about it. He'd proba let him have this moment and then let him pretend it never happen. He'd lik that.

Besides, he's too tired to care.

"I know he'll be okay now." Minato is strong. Stronger than the two of them, and differently from Akihiko. Minato know at always seemed to be looking at something nobody else could see, but he also paid a lot of attention to them, his team. There wasn't anybody else they could've called their leader. But he isn't immprtal. He isn't an actual hero like on television shows. That was why they were a team. But were they capable of the support he needed? Ken isn't so confident he measures up to that.

He can't help the whispered admittance that follows. "I thought he would be gone. Again... That someone was going to -- I don't want to see that happen again."

Aaafter everyone- assuming Minato's been chilling at home since he got back?

[ktfod]

He's been at school, at work, at the gym, and so on. Akihiko's days are always so full it often makes it difficult to spend any time with him. So he's not there when Minato shows back up. It won't be till later in the afternoon that he finally arrives home, only to find Minato there. Which comes at a big surprise considering how extensively he had been looking in between classes. Lately he's even been taking half shifts at his bouncer job and omitting his late night fighting completely to search. Of course- only to find nothing, even if he ability to travel as energy covers a lot of ground.

He jumps slightly, seeing him and feeling this sudden wave of relief.

"You're back." Said almost unamused upon seeing his friend and Leader. But it's not long till he pulls on a smile and walks over to him. "And you look like shit, there a reason you're staying like that or can I call out Caesar?" Bit of a joke considering he himself doesn't often heal whatever wounds he gets. Sure when it's convenient too, but Akihiko understands the meaning of pain and how he should get used to it.

yup he's there a few days at least!

[dormition]

Minato is good enough at reading Akihiko not to take offense at that delayed reaction. He's awake for once, sitting upright and eating as he idly scrolls through network posts on his comm with his other hand. He puts all that down the second Akihiko shows up, though.

"My physical wounds are mostly healed," he says almost apologetically, "but... you know how tired I get after things like this." He abruptly and uncomfortably wonders if Akihiko knows that he'd fallen asleep before dying, too, but then realizes he probably doesn't. That's for the best; it's an association Minato avoids making as much as possible.

"Thank you, though. I've had so many offers to heal me..." Minato shakes his head. "I'm sorry I worried everyone."

Wicked.

[ktfod]

"Yeah, you have just as much 'a tendency to over work yourself as I do." Though he says it with a smirk and respect in his tone, seeing someone willing to work to such a level as an equal more than anything else, someone that deserves his attention.

He 'll make his way over and go to sit with him, nearby chair, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and hands hands meeting at the middle. There's a pause, unsure what to ask, hell, what does it matter now? He couldn't do anything for him after all, was there anything left to do? A frown sets on his face as he thinks it over, glancing up, his smile for the most part gone.

"Don't be sorry, it wasn't your fault. But it sure gave us a hell of a scare." Hm. "Where were you anyway? Somewhere that even managed to rough you up. if anyone's to blame, you better've kicked their ass or I might just go looking for them to do it myself."

[dormition]

Whenever he goes a span of time without talking to Akihiko, Minato forgets how much he appreciates speaking to someone that has his same mentality of pushing himself to the limit for the sake of protecting others. They aren't especially close friends, never have been-- not like the kind of bonds Minato formed with others, anyway, since he'd never had a social link with him-- but there's a kind of tacit understanding that can be a relief. Sometimes Minato feels almost like he has to justify how invested he is in what he does, but with Akihiko, there's no justification necessary.

Minato is relaxed in the presence of his teammate, reading that smile's absence correctly. He has a vague idea of how much Ken had been upset by his disappearance, though he doesn't know the extent of it, but he hadn't continued that thought to how it'd have affected the others. At least there's no one here from the time point he's from; imagining Yukari's reaction after his death to him disappearing again... Minato wants to cringe just thinking of it.

"They took away my Evoker and sealed my powers," Minato sighs. It's true that ordinarily he's an extremely formidable opponent, what with his changing weaknesses and self-healing abilities. He's coming to deeply resent the power nullifying devices. "Annie and I, and a couple friends of hers, went and took care of the man responsible. We were on an island near Florida."

He fiddles with his napkin but decides to admit, "It scared me, too. Taking away Persona... that's not something that should be possible." It's part of why he's so innately disturbed at Shinji's refusal to use his own, however good his reasons are.

[ktfod]

They talk but they don't really talk all the time. Minato certainly spends a good deal of time over, with him there, Shinjiro, Hiro, Minato had a lot of reasons to hang around. It was common to come home to him on the couch, drapped in Soba or holding Sugar Ray, either using the television, listening to music, or chatting with someone. Small conversations, light, little things, when Akihiko's on his way out, on his way in, seems to always be moving. But while they contrast so heavily they still have some key things in common.

Doing what you have to, no matter what.

That's the big one.

Even if it leads to what happens to Minato in the end... They can't- they can't turn back now. What's done is done, doesn't like it, but it had to be what it was, and in the end, he only respects Minato more for it. You do whatever it is you do, for whatever reason you have to do it. Most of the time? You shouldn't need to explain it, or justify it.

Well- as long as it's not really stupid. If that's the case, Akihiko will give you a slug to the face himself.

"They'll do that. There's a lot of ways to work around out powers here, you've got to train more to be ready for it. Have you been staying active? The gym I main at's always accepting new members."