[Kisei Takatō]

SLEEP NO MORE

Even with the mild pain-relieving effect of his yocha, tenderly sipped over time, Taka was in excruciating pain. Having the flesh of his arm stripped nearly to the bone was too brutal an injury even for the Kisei’s carefully-crafted blends, it seemed, and though he staunched the worst of the bleeding with a long strip of fabric ripped from the bottom of his shirt—leaving him in what might have been a fashionable crop top, in any other context—he was feeling somewhat woozy, likely due to the unfortunate combination of pain and blood loss. The journey back to Kusagakure was not overly long, though it would be a longer walk back than it had been a sprint outward. Yusei, unfathomably, was still at his side, and though he felt that he must be nothing but a burden to the other man, he found himself selfishly grateful for the company regardless. He offered half his tea to the chuunin, eyes heavy with exhaustion. "I’m well enough to make my own way back,” he said after a moment: loathe as he was to be alone, he did not want to take up any more of Yusei’s time than he was willing to give. "Please don’t feel obligated to watch over me. You’ve gone above and beyond to help already.” Taka stumbled for half a step before gracefully recovering as though the slip-up had never happened, and he made no comment as to his body’s distinct betrayal of his words.

juryoku yusei -- 246

LAIKA OF THQ

[juryoku yusei]

Yusei by all accounts was unscathed, if a bit shaken. He looked like he'd worked out: muscles looking tight, sweat rolling down his brow. His breaths were slow, but he had no difficulties here. That dark cloth clinging to his skin paired nicely with his clan's relationship to the sun. He had a healthy glow about him, and felt fever-warm to the touch. He'd bounce back faster than he had any right to.

The journey back to Kusagakure wasn't that long, all things considered. Yusei was used to a jog or sprint however, so this left him bored. Bored to tears.

Takato offered him tea, but Yusei declined with an outstretched palm. But he wouldn't leave just yet. Takato worded it perfectly; he felt obliged to stay.  Yusei's concern stayed on that otherwise stolid face. "That's very polite of you, but you need to stay hydrated. I have a blood pill in my bag, too."

Takato stumbled, and Yusei leaned in. He'd offered himself for Takato to lean on, only for him to regain his footing. He felt kind of silly doing all that. "If you keeled over and I didn't do anything about it, I dunno what I'd do with myself." A little dramatic, but he felt this instinctual need to look out for people.

Kisei Takatō , 283

Mercy on me coming down

SPOILER: Click to show

Enhanced Chakra Reserves
His chakra control is subpar, at best. Offsetting this is his clan's relationship with the sun. Exposure to sunlight is more of a "backup generator" for his body, a necessary companion to the continuous use of his clan's techniques. In either case, prolonged missions and battles in areas with more cloud cover can negate this advantage.

[Kisei Takatō]

SLEEP NO MORE

Maybe it was the delirium talking, but Yusei’s pale complexion and light hair made him look spiritual in the afternoon sunlight: it would be turning to dusk soon, but the sun still hung heavy and warm in the sky, and it lit him up like a star in daylight. He caught Taka as he stumbled, offering a hand to help him steady himself: a small act of consideration that made him feel at once immensely grateful and horribly selfish. Yusei’s skin was hot as a fever, and Taka’s brow creased with concern even as he murmured a thank you. In lieu of the yocha, Taka produced a different glass bottle instead: genkicha, unopened, acquired only a few days prior. He was unconcerned about his own ability to make his way home eventually but Yusei seemed listless about the eyes and gleamed with sweat, and Taka thought he might benefit from a gentle pick-me-up. "Please,” he said softly, "I insist. It’ll make the journey easier.” He washed down a blood pill with more yocha in an effort to alleviate some of his wooziness and tried to pick up the pace, speeding his sluggish shuffle up into a respectable speedwalk. He didn’t feel quite up to jogging and jostling his arm around just yet, but chose to be cautiously optimistic about what changes the next hour might bring. "... if you’re feeling unwell, we should stop to rest,” he said after a brief pause. "You’re very hot.” He looked healthy, and Taka was no med-nin, but he knew a normal body temperature when he felt it, and Yusei’s was not.

juryoku yusei -- 268

LAIKA OF THQ

[juryoku yusei]

Yusei caught Takato as he stumbled. He raised a brow with confusion at his look of concern, however. He had an answer, but he'd have to ask first. In either case, the two kept walking in towards town.

He watched Takato swallow the pill, and start to walk a little faster. Yusei once again looked at him like he needed a hand. There was an unevenness and a stumble in his step. minutes ago. That thank you didn't go unnoticed, Yusei met him with a nod.

Takato was being so insistent about these things. Yusei accepted his bottle, holding it in his free hand. He glanced at its contents, and as he is wont to do, the cap slowly drifted off as he held the bottle down. Yusei sipped at the tea, looking up at. Takato. "...If you insist."

At his offer to slow down and rest,  Yusei felt it necessary to speak up. He was running a fever? He was loathe to say more than he had to at work,  but this was something he had to say. "...That's the secret behind my chakra reserves. I feel like I can fight forever, when the sun's cooking me. Even back to our founders... it's been our back-up generator." He said, pointing to the sky with his bottle, before taking another sip.

Kisei Takatō , 288

Mercy on me coming down

SPOILER: Click to show

Enhanced Chakra Reserves
His chakra control is subpar, at best. Offsetting this is his clan's relationship with the sun. Exposure to sunlight is more of a "backup generator" for his body, a necessary companion to the continuous use of his clan's techniques. In either case, prolonged missions and battles in areas with more cloud cover can negate this advantage.

[Kisei Takatō]

SLEEP NO MORE

The blood pill was helping, to an extent; his makeshift bandage was helping to keep his liquids on his inside instead of his outside, and the blood pill meant that the deficit he was operating at was somewhat less egregious, narrowing the gap between what his body could produce and what his arm was freely leaking. He was in no danger of bleeding out, which was the important thing, and only slightly secondary to that was his ability to pick up the pace and avoid unnecessarily wasting Yusei’s time. His footing wasn’t as sure and silent as it might normally have been, but he wasn’t about to faceplant either, and that was good enough. Yusei assured him that he was fine, and Taka almost felt guilty for asking—it was necessary, in the end, but he knew how secretive most clans could be about the nature of their abilities, and putting Yusei in a situation where he felt like he needed to unveil some of those secrets was uncomfortable at best. Taka just nodded, not quite sure what so say, unwilling to pry any further Yusei was difficult to read, as placid and neutral in the face as Taka himself, but now that he was looking at that sun-warm glow and the sheen of sweat on his skin more closely, his muscles wound up tight like a spring, he thought maybe he saw some restlessness there. "... could you scout ahead?” he asked softly after a moment. "I don’t know how much of a fight I’d be able to put up like this, and I’d rather avoid confrontation if possible.” If Yusei felt obligated to stay but restless matching Taka’s slower pace, then the opportunity to go run around and check their surroundings could help alleviate some of that boredom… unless Taka was horribly incorrect in his assessment, and was only imposing further responsibility on someone already overextending himself for his sake. His stomach knotted; he felt vaguely ill. It would be another few hours before they reached Kusagakure, and the sun was already starting to make its final descent, falling ever-closer towards the horizon.

juryoku yusei -- 354

LAIKA OF THQ

[juryoku yusei]

Yusei watched Takato stabilize. He was bleeding a lot a while ago. While he was able to staunch the bleeding with a tourniquet, the pill offset the bloodloss. He still looked a little less... graceful than he did when they first saw eachother, but this was a marked improvement.

Yusei was at peace with this. He had used his hijutsu for public works programs over and over. He was willing to answer any question he had... a legitimate answer to. He even half-remembered the clan's foundation. But it was incumbent on someone else to ask.

Takato wasn't as muted as he was. He could definitely emote more. But these two met in the middle when it came to "not wanting to bother anyone". Unless it required medical attention, Yusei was inclined to walk it off, and play dumb if someone asked. He met his match.

That healthy glow, that heat radiating off him meant one thing. He was operating at 100%. His battery was full. While he liked bouncing on the balls of his feet, sprinting, that was to sublimate a tension he didn't feel here. But he had to respond to Takato. "...That'd leave you defenseless, on the offchance that we were tailed."

Excuses to stay behind and talk more? A risk assessment? Who's to say. "...I'm not gonna disobey direct orders. I just wanna know if you're sure about this." He said, blinking.

Kisei Takatō , 302

Mercy on me coming down

SPOILER: Click to show

Enhanced Chakra Reserves
His chakra control is subpar, at best. Offsetting this is his clan's relationship with the sun. Exposure to sunlight is more of a "backup generator" for his body, a necessary companion to the continuous use of his clan's techniques. In either case, prolonged missions and battles in areas with more cloud cover can negate this advantage.

[Kisei Takatō]

SLEEP NO MORE

As the blood pill took effect, Taka felt himself reach a kind of wounded homeostasis—he was not fine and would not be until he was able to get actual medical treatment, but he felt somewhat less fuzzy in the mind, somewhat less likely to keel over if he jostled his arm the wrong way. Didn’t make him combat-ready, though, which made Yusei’s point all the more salient, and Taka frowned. He wasn’t actually concerned about being tailed, and thought it unlikely given the path of destruction the spider had wrought, but now he had been painted into a corner and needed to explain himself. … and especially fix the misunderstanding that he was in a position to give anyone other than an academy student a direct order. "I’m not the mission commander,” he said, "Lord Hisakawa is, it’s not really a…” But he trailed off as he recalled that Yamato had been knocked out and spirited back to Kusagakure, and that Yusei was presumably a chuunin, which left Takato at the top of the chain of command in this tiny two-person military unit. "... direct… order…” Well, this was a pickle. "You seem restless, and I’m being slow,” Taka said, chagrined to reveal the truth behind his request. Deception did not come easily to him, despite his occupation. "You’re right, though. Do what you think is best.” He detested feeling like a burden, and strove once more to pick up his pace, accomplishing what was now a respectable speedwalk. His gaze lifted to where the sun was sinking lower and lower towards the horizon, and his mind gave birth to a new concern, something else he could fault his own carelessness for. "If you feel stronger in sunlight, will you be more vulnerable when the sun goes down?” he asked: part genuine curiosity, part concern for Yusei’s wellbeing. He felt distinctly like a mother hen, pecking at seeds of worry like feed scattered to the ground, but he could not help himself from seeking out any angle that would convince Yusei to leave him to his own devices and take care of himself first… regardless of how much Taka selfishly wanted companionship while he was hurt and tired and slow.

juryoku yusei -- 370

LAIKA OF THQ

[juryoku yusei]

Yusei was no doubt tired, but in the way that your muscles are sore after intense exercise. He'd managed to use that Jūryoku no Kokoro, despite its twenty handseals. While he could still fight in this state, he'd likely be unfocused, at about half power. He might even have to go completely shirtless if he had to engage anyone, dear reader.

And Lord Hisakawa is... Where is he? Yusei was acting under the assumption that he got eaten, having never seen him enter or exit the field. That was fine by him, and he wouldn't say such a thing out loud.

Takato was being so insistent about fending for himself. Yusei arched a brow. There was an audible beat, as if he wanted to say something and held back. While Yusei outmaneuvered him verbally, he didn't want to overstay his welcome.

In either case, this was the least contained he'd ever been. Yusei was liable to go for a walk with a comically large container of tea, white-knuckle gripping the lid like a taken man. Any activity more, any more communication, wore him out. "...Well, if you want me to leave, I'll leave."

"It's just... access to another chakra pool. It grows back a little faster than the other one. If I had to, I could've fought that spider for a day straight." He said, as placid as ever. Yusei and Takato butted heads over this very thing: Yusei hadn't any thought for his own safety, his own feelings, even. But he had a hypersensitivity about those of others.

Kisei Takatō , 325

Mercy on me coming down

SPOILER: Click to show

Enhanced Chakra Reserves
His chakra control is subpar, at best. Offsetting this is his clan's relationship with the sun. Exposure to sunlight is more of a "backup generator" for his body, a necessary companion to the continuous use of his clan's techniques. In either case, prolonged missions and battles in areas with more cloud cover can negate this advantage.