The Silence After the Storm

[vrdr_mods]

The Ken Amada who made certain threats, whom Igor didn't bring to the Velvet Room and didn't welcome, has been permanently contained within his other-world self. Many of the Velvet Room residents mobilized in the effort to neutralize the threat he posed, and now, in the moments after the devastating battle that sealed Ken away, perhaps you have business to conclude.

Maybe you're a fighter, left in the rubble the battle made of its surroundings—or maybe you were a noncombatant this time, left behind to wonder what's happening or prepare for the aftermath. Maybe you linger around the battle site, or maybe you have other things to do.

Or maybe you didn't survive. Maybe you're one of the glowing forms slowly coalescing in front of Igor's desk in the Velvet Room over the course of the subsequent half hour. Igor presides over them gravely, with no sign of his usual smile. Near his desk sits a box of snacks, familiar to anyone who's used the operation's training room.

[[ooc: This post is a general catch-all for the aftermath of the battle! It's backdated to February 26, the day Ken got got.]]

Comments

[willowandoak]

He presses his head against Goro's hand like a cat, like he always does.

"He was actually shocked when I said we would've covered his retreat. Dumbass face and everything. He was like, 'Wait, I was part of that plan, too?' Fucking idiot. Before that he was like, 'Yeah, they wouldn't have thought about my safety. Is anyone surprised?' " He stops for a second to seethe silently. "I mean it. He literally said all that."

[lakebrat]

His hand tightens a little too much in Ren's hair. "If he didn't want to be hurt, perhaps he shouldn't have leapt in. I was about to heal him, when he did all that crap with the tentacles."

[takutomaruki]

Maruki for a moment really was taken aback by Drake's words. In fact, he even blinked back at him in surprise- like he seriously wasn't expecting him to say those words to his face.

...Is he even being honest?

Does it even matter.

The danger has passed, right? The doctor is known to always shift to a more positive approach on the side of things and then- for the miscommunication to be splintered off this severely from the middle. For a moment he closes his eyes and brings the juice box to himself, sucking from the straw just to feel something other than this torrent of heaviness.

"Oof- seems like I walked right into that one, didn't I?"

He chuckled easily, playing along with Hamuko's joke.

[takutomaruki]

After that however....his chuckle really did die down.

"..." He looked away, a clear sign he was only staying quiet to maintain the peace.

[unfoggedlotus]

"Oh, god." Ren has to look away. "It looks like a broken leg. Jeee-ay-sus."

[thedevilinyourdetails]

"Yeah..." deep breath in, deep breath out. "Where d'you wanna sit...?"

[willowandoak]

Ren isn't ever going to complain about Goro pulling his hair, though he would usually like for Maruki not to be involved.

"I said that," he mutters. "Hamuko was like, 'It's done now! All we can do is learn for next time!' And I was just thinking, yeah, I've learned Maruki is even less trustworthy than I thought. I've learned if anyone ever comes to me with another warning like Phoenix did, I'm staying the hell away from whoever I've been warned about. No more fucking... maybe I can compromise, maybe it'll be safe. Nope. They're fucking gone."

[lakebrat]

He tugs Ren's hair a little more, for good measure. Just a bit. "It wasn't a bad decision just because it worked out unpredictably, you know. There are always things you can't account for."

[fogboundcrow]

"I asked Sagiri-san about it once, and he thinks Yaldabaoth is a poser who 'copied his homework' without understanding the intentionality behind it." Though, ultimately, Raven shrugs. "You'd have to ask him for more details... Or her, I suppose?"

He pauses.

"I suppose only Sagiri-san can elaborate on matters of gender identity, but Izanami is a fairly feminine entity for obvious reasons."

[fogboundcrow]

Raven quiets, letting Hamuko speak. She clearly knows what she's talking about. There's an undeniable weight and maturity behind her words.

"Truthfully, I wasn't sure how I'd compare. I trained hard, of course. Ken and I worked together to ensure that I'd be ready, but it's still hard not to be self-conscious when Crow was right there."

[fogbornphantom]

Before long, the Inaba door flies open, and out comes Hiro, wheeling along a wheelchair with wide, worried eyes. "Ren! We're here!"

Behind him, Crow wheels along a cart with proper wrappings, painkillers, alcohol and peroxide in case anything needs to be sanitized, an ice pack, and copious bottles of water.

"Thank you for helping him, Drake."

[undyingcrow]

Goro could bicker. He could put up walls, shun Ren's "pity"...

But, damn it. It's Ren. He's much too sincere to resort to pity. No doubt he means everything he says.

Some of the tension fizzles out of him, shoulders slumped. "I will defeat you." It's more halfhearted than usual. "...But I suppose some additional guidance wouldn't hurt."

[vampirethief]

That gets Ren to laugh. "That and I don't think he thought through letting me make bonds if he wanted me to become jaded enough to turn against humanity."

The death goddess, eh?

"That does explain that note about Yomotsu Hirasaka being listed as a potential dungeon to train in the TV World back at the training room."

Yep, he saw Crow's note. Ren is familiar with japanese myths, so he figured it had to do with Izanami.

Though the Hollow Forest does sound like an interesting challenge to try, provided he had a team with him. He knows it would be a bad idea to try to do it solo.

[willowandoak]

...Okay, well, whatever Maruki's thinking is his fucking problem. In the silence, Ren takes a deep breath, looks down at the blanket in his arms, and becomes fully aware for the first time of the position they've put Hamuko in.

"Sorry, Hamuko. Didn't mean to..." He gestures vaguely with one hand. The blanket almost falls out of his arms, and he quickly reestablishes his grip, before putting it down on the couch. "I think I'm gonna head out."

Can't make the recently-dead girl mediate if he's not there to get in a fight.

[wipingallout]

"Hey, Ren..." Hamuko interjected softly, just barely brushing his arm before he turned to leave to get his attention. And she smiled at him, sincerely, gratefully.

"Thank you again for being there for me. Thank you again for your leadership during all of this. I'm proud of us - take care of yourself too, okay?"

[willowandoak]

"...Thanks," he says, almost uneasy now at the amount of encouragement she's giving him. No one but Goro talks to him like that, and Goro is a weirdo, with compromised judgment. But he doesn't... entirely hate it. "I will."

It's not exactly a lie. He just doesn't know how to take care of himself after something like this, and he's not trying that hard to figure it out, beyond 'fuck, I want to sleep'.

[willowandoak]

Ren stands up and takes a few steps back, giving way to Joker's boyfriends.

"No problem. I've been looking up how to deal with a broken leg." He shows Crow a glimpse of his phone. "Essentially, ice it for a while, then splint it, which... we'll unpack that one when we get there. Definitely don't try to set it ourselves, or he could end up with new, way worse problems.

"I was wondering if we could splint it and take him to a hospital. Like, I know cognitions are dumb as hell, but they're still cognitions. Setting a broken leg and putting it in a cast seems like something people would expect from hospital doctors."

[wipingallout]

"I know what you mean... feeling self conscious always feels like you've got that niggling feeling in your chest that talks you down. The best thing you can do is try to use it as fuel to motivate you to grow and change, I think? One of the most important feelings you should hold onto is hope."

[takutomaruki]

Thank you for your leadership during all this.

Maruki's finger digs into the juice box without him even realizing it. Just when did he start getting this bitter about someone else? It shouldn't matter after all. He was one person against a dozen or so Akechis, Akiras or Rens who may have been wronged by his hand or otherwise.

"I just...have one little piece to say," he starts as his gaze flickers from Hamuko, masking away his bitterness and frustration of the matter. "I acknowledge that me and Drake will never see eye to eye and...sometimes the only way you can combat the stress of dealing with an unpleasant presence is for the two parties to go their seperate ways." He's never working under or anywhere close to him ever again. In fact, he's never fighting in any large sorted battles like this.

He would have much preferred anyone's leadership over Drake's. Though maybe that may have ended up with him dying or...

Azathoth...he could still feel him gnawing at his nerves. Real. Warm with anger.

"My words probably don't mean anything but do seek some comfort from your support system. People have faith in you. Don't waste it."

"And...I will go ahead and apologize to anyone if I got in their way. That's all."

1/2

[unit_8910_wolf]

A shiver of anxiety passed over Akane when she could easily sense Hamuko’s presence closer to her then she originally anticipated.

She stopped for a moment at the door, even if she stayed stubborn enough not to glance back. Go ahead! Tell her she's being irriational! Just another grieving daughter who didn't know the truth.

What comes after doesn’t exactly surprise her though. Hamuko had always been the hospitable type- whether it was on the first day when she opened up about her tragedy or when she struck a poe with her dad's hat.

The one that laid listlessly on the ground- fervently abandoned.

[unit_8910_wolf]

"I don't..." need anything. For nearly a decade she's been dependent on Wolf, living under his and the Kirijo Group's sleuthing lies.

"I want to be left alone."

She raises her head and goes for the door knob- turning it over as she steps out.

Zenkichi dares to look at her, "I will be waiting for you too, alright?"

And disappears in a flash of static and a glitch. Zenkichi doesn't even know if she heard him or not.
Maybe it didn't matter.

[wipingallout]

Hamuko hung at the door for a moment, still a bit shaky as she rubbed her face. She still felt like crying, but-- she should've held herself together more. She's gotten more sensitive since dying the first time, hasn't she...?

After trying to collect herself (a bit of a fool's errand, but what is she if not The Fool?) Hamuko walked back to Zenkichi, looking up at him. "I'm sorry."

[wipingallout]

"I'll hit you up in a few days!" She added, giving Drake the easy social grace to just-- walk out, step away from what was upsetting. Get a breather. She's here to take over!

As Drake left, Hamuko went back to the sofa to scoop up one of the blankets, a little amused at the heft. She'd never seen one of these - for anxiety, Maruki had said? She wrapped it around her shoulders and it felt snug, almost... like a hug. A pleasant weight and warmth.

"Can I keep one? I kinda love how it feels."

[unfoggedlotus]

He reaches out to boyfriends. Fiancès. "I don't care. As long as I don't gotta move nowhere."

[fogbornphantom]

Goro moves swiftly, bringing the ice to Ren's leg and kneeling beside him. "It's all right. The wheelchair should make it easier to move around until you've healed."

Hiro, drooped over like a wilting flower, watches with a deep frown. "Should we ask Ken if he can help? His abilities are similar..."