[ Easy to not be disappointed when he has no expectations to begin with.
They fall into idle chatter that quickly peters off into exhausted silence, trade off a couple hours of sleep each while the other stays alert. He wishes he could let Akechi sleep longer, watching him curled in on himself on the floor using his good arm as a pillow. It's incredible, how much pain was able to take – and deeply troubling in a way Maruki hasn't yet had time to grapple with. The last time he saw someone so injured–
There's no need to think about any of it. There's no need to think at all. He lets Akechi sleep, listens to the quiet metronome of his breath and the distant sounds of destruction. Stares into space, lets his eyes unfocus and mind go hazy.
When he does sleep, sprawled out on his back with an arm slung over his eyes and Akechi sitting watch, it's dead and dreamless. Thank god. Small blessings. If he had to counsel anyone in his cognitive Shujin office right now, he might actually snap.
Morning dawns, a weak and dingy light filtering into their temporary safe haven – and it is temporary, the rumbling having grown closer all throughout the night. They don't discuss much. It's implicitly understood that they will not wait here to see if it passes or if they're crushed and killed. Moving out is the more dangerous option, but it is at least an active one.
Maruki pours bottled water into Akechi's cupped hands for him to splash over his face, his fringe plastering against his forehead, and he marvels all over again at this strange companionship.
Their trek through the ruined city takes on a different tone on the second day. Akechi is no more subdued despite his injuries, still clearly tempering his delight at cleaving through the monsters, still commanding Robin Hood with a vicious efficiency. And Maruki–
Watches. Wants to watch.
He's still doing what he needs to do, taking cover until it's clear, seeking out paths of least resistance that they can follow. But his focus has shifted, and his new interest in the battles is sharpened, keen.
If this is power nerfed, he can't imagine what Akechi is capable of in the cognitive world.
If this is how Robin Hood does his work, he can't wait to see what the blind idiot god will be able to do, even in a weakened state.
Unfortunately, it doesn't keep him quite so far out of the fray as he was on the first day. There are a few close calls, bitten-off shouts from Akechi to please remain hidden where you belong, nothing too dicey until–
Robin Hood brings down a monster that's only mid-size compared to the others, that same fucking flash of light that Maruki knew he saw from Akechi's room – and it's down, certainly, crushing an abandoned drugstore beneath it as it goes, but it's not out.
He sees Akechi abandoning all pretenses with Robin Hood and going for it with his knife and ducks out from behind a mangled husk of a bus to– to do what, he doesn't know, shout at him to be careful, remind him they need to keep moving– it doesn't matter. Too close, too sudden, and he just barely dodges out of the way of the thing's flailing, writhing claws. ]
No–!!
[ It isn't an artful dodge at all. He hits the ground hard enough to rattle his head for a moment, eyes wide and wild on Akechi above him. Ears ringing. Dagger clutched uselessly in one hand. And the monster staggering closer to them with a grim grip on its remaining life. ]
no subject
They fall into idle chatter that quickly peters off into exhausted silence, trade off a couple hours of sleep each while the other stays alert. He wishes he could let Akechi sleep longer, watching him curled in on himself on the floor using his good arm as a pillow. It's incredible, how much pain was able to take – and deeply troubling in a way Maruki hasn't yet had time to grapple with. The last time he saw someone so injured–
There's no need to think about any of it. There's no need to think at all. He lets Akechi sleep, listens to the quiet metronome of his breath and the distant sounds of destruction. Stares into space, lets his eyes unfocus and mind go hazy.
When he does sleep, sprawled out on his back with an arm slung over his eyes and Akechi sitting watch, it's dead and dreamless. Thank god. Small blessings. If he had to counsel anyone in his cognitive Shujin office right now, he might actually snap.
Morning dawns, a weak and dingy light filtering into their temporary safe haven – and it is temporary, the rumbling having grown closer all throughout the night. They don't discuss much. It's implicitly understood that they will not wait here to see if it passes or if they're crushed and killed. Moving out is the more dangerous option, but it is at least an active one.
Maruki pours bottled water into Akechi's cupped hands for him to splash over his face, his fringe plastering against his forehead, and he marvels all over again at this strange companionship.
Their trek through the ruined city takes on a different tone on the second day. Akechi is no more subdued despite his injuries, still clearly tempering his delight at cleaving through the monsters, still commanding Robin Hood with a vicious efficiency. And Maruki–
Watches. Wants to watch.
He's still doing what he needs to do, taking cover until it's clear, seeking out paths of least resistance that they can follow. But his focus has shifted, and his new interest in the battles is sharpened, keen.
If this is power nerfed, he can't imagine what Akechi is capable of in the cognitive world.
If this is how Robin Hood does his work, he can't wait to see what the blind idiot god will be able to do, even in a weakened state.
Unfortunately, it doesn't keep him quite so far out of the fray as he was on the first day. There are a few close calls, bitten-off shouts from Akechi to please remain hidden where you belong, nothing too dicey until–
Robin Hood brings down a monster that's only mid-size compared to the others, that same fucking flash of light that Maruki knew he saw from Akechi's room – and it's down, certainly, crushing an abandoned drugstore beneath it as it goes, but it's not out.
He sees Akechi abandoning all pretenses with Robin Hood and going for it with his knife and ducks out from behind a mangled husk of a bus to– to do what, he doesn't know, shout at him to be careful, remind him they need to keep moving– it doesn't matter. Too close, too sudden, and he just barely dodges out of the way of the thing's flailing, writhing claws. ]
No–!!
[ It isn't an artful dodge at all. He hits the ground hard enough to rattle his head for a moment, eyes wide and wild on Akechi above him. Ears ringing. Dagger clutched uselessly in one hand. And the monster staggering closer to them with a grim grip on its remaining life. ]