head above water

[gimu]

WHO: Choso & YOU
WHAT: CATCH-ALL log for the next indeterminate while!
WHERE: Main Base; Neo-Tokyo & Surrounding Areas; 12am shower thoughts psyche plane
WHEN: Time is irrelevant & shall be labelled as needed
WARNINGS: Jujutsu Kaisen spoilers up to AT LEAST current canon (just in case). Further warnings will be labelled in relevant threads as needed

Comments

3/22/77 - CAFETERIA - MARCILLE & YUJI

[gimu]

[ what better place to meet new faces than the very place choso had his first public power outage? with his head still swimming at the idea of cats and onsens in one relaxing package, choso ambles into the cafeteria, his peculiarly prickly pigtailed head periscoping to and fro in search of, well. an elf, he guesses.

can't be too hard, right? ]

[picky]

[ It won't be! Anyone periscoping will find it hard to miss someone with long elf ears holding a brown staff. She would look like the dictionary definition of an elf if she wasn't wearing a blue pullover sweatshirt, flip-flops, and the grey sweatpants LILITH gave her when she first woke up. A few lumpy items sit in the simple cloth bag over her shoulder.

Just like Marcille, Choso is easy enough to find. It's hard to miss the tall guy with spiky pigtails as he stalks and searches through the tables. Marcille's not sure what she was expecting, but it wasn't this. They probably lock eyes before she makes her way over to him. ]

Are you Choso? [ It's pretty obvious that he is, but just in case. ]

[gimu]

[ their eyes meet across a set of tables, and the time that he could have probably used to offer greetings or any other sign that he acknowledged her, he spends it staring instead.

wow. that really is an elf. even with his limited entries on the topic, everything about her yells “hell yeah elf”. even the stick.

pay attention, choso; she’s coming at you. ]

I am. [ the act of turning to Regard someone shouldn’t be so unnervingly stiff and wooden, but choso seems to have made it so to a fine art. egh. ]

Hello, Marcille. [ if this is not in fact marcille and is in fact another elf entirely, he will have no choice but to walk into the ocean. ]

tries to ignore how half asleep i was when i wrote that tag

[picky]

[ They're both so awkward. Marcille doesn't expect it, blinking as she's stiffly addressed. Choso's appearance doesn't suggest apprehension; to her, he's a tallman with a scar across his face and a "unique" sense of fashion. Wouldn't he be more self-assured? Fearless?

There's an odd comfort in knowing she's not the only nervous one. If she was familiar with the term, she would wonder if this is what they call "gap moe."

All of this to say: she stands a little taller and smiles. ]

Hello, Choso. [ She extends her hand. ] Nice to meet you in person.

[gimu]

[ she is so small he must look Down to regard her proper, his gaze drifting from her bright hair and ears to her outstretched hand where he frowns, as if she had just presented him a puzzle, a test he hadn’t been expecting or prepared for; all his notes were for a different class in a different school in another country entirely.

when he takes her hand, it’s with the delicate touch of someone who does not shake hands on a regular basis, knowing only of the ritual through which mediums as textbooks (manga) and projections (TV).

something in the back of his head wonders if this is how those am****ans did it. ]

Likewise. [ that seemed right. ]

Is the stick something special?

@kuzunoha14

[the_fourteenth]

[Hello, Choso is getting a text a day after Yuji has come back from his visit back home.]

Choso, if you have a moment today, can I speak to you? If so, can you stop by my room this evening?
Everlight 012. Thank you.

1/2; text

[gimu]

[ that it’s raidou’s handle is the only reason choso bothers to read it in a timely manner. ]

i will be there.

2/2 action;

[gimu]

[ and he is.

evening finds choso shuffling… well, out of yuji’s room and into everlight proper. he’d never gotten around to it, see, going to revelation’s wing, so it works out just fine when kuzunoha’s door is just a few meters away at most.

at least this time, he heralds himself with a knock at the door before he takes up residence Right In Front Of It. ]

[the_fourteenth]

[Raidou answers promptly, giving Choso a solemn nod in greeting when he opens the door.]

Thank you for coming, I appreciate it. Please, come in. Have a seat if you like.

[Despite being here for a few months now, Raidou's room is still pretty sparse. The most noticeable thing about it is his sword, sitting on a display stand on its own table, along with its care items. On the desk there is a notebook and pencil, along with some worn-looking books on shinto traditions he's studying for the shrine. Turns out that's one place that still has physical ones.

Hanging above the desk on a wall, along a string, is something Raidou forgot about before inviting Yuji's brother to his room. It's several Polaroid photos, mostly of nature - budding trees, a few birds, a cat on a tree stump - but one of them is a selfie of the boys together. Yuji is beaming brightly in it, with Raidou smiling warmly.

There are a couple of comfortable chairs nearer to the door, which Raidou gestures to when Choso enters, but he doesn't sit yet himself. Raidou himself is looking concerned, and unsure of what to say for a moment.]

I won't keep you, I just, um. Yuji - ah, Itadori, he... yesterday, I'm sure you know about how he said he went home?

[gimu]

[ every room's layout may sit roughly the same across the wards, but something of that very sameness brought to the fore all the different shining pieces of the lives of their occupants. raidou's shine silver-bright like shards; a sword on display, books arrayed in an orderly row, pictures like flags fluttering in the air currents. how can choso not look? wandering into raidou's little room with hands in his pockets and sweater collar all unrolled to its highest, frumpiest setting, choso takes everything in, stares enraptured and fascinated despite the bags under his eyes, admires the photos unabashedly before the good summoner brings up the evening's purpose. ]

I am aware. [ it's a process, turning back to raidou; his body turns first, torso, shoulders, head, eyes tearing away from the pictures last. at least choso does them both the favour of taking a seat as indicated; he's a good guest, see? just like a real boy. from his chair, choso can peer up]

How was he? He is not one to rest in times like these.

[the_fourteenth]

[Raidou stands behind the other chair, hands gripping the backrest. He's a little embarrassed that Choso has caught sight of that selfie, but it's too late now.]

I was going to ask you the same. He's... [Bad. Completely wrecked. Falling to pieces.] He's gone through something quite terrible. I don't know if this was something LILITH did to him intentionally. Asking them is probably pointless as they are never very forthcoming with answers.

[While his words and expression are even as ever, Raidou's hands holding the chair tighten their grip, eyes cast down. Thinking back to holding on to a crying, shaking Yuji makes him furious inside; that Yuji had to go through something that's left him in such a state, while Raidou can do nothing to help, makes anger boil deep down inside him.]

I... I'm not asking for you to tell me what happened to him. I'd not want to break his trust, and he knows he can tell me as much or as little as he wants when he's ready.

[His hands finally relax their grip, but he's still looking away.]

I just... want to know if there's anything else I can do to help him. And I was hoping you would know.

4/1/77 - MEDICAL BAY - YUJI

[gimu]

[ choso waits.

sat by yuji's bed in the med bay, choso waits with elbows braced on knees, head down and face buried in his cleaned palms (still pink from the scrubbing, scratches and scrapes still raw) while shoulders rise and fall in steady turns. it's only been an hour since arrival, (sixty-seven minutes and forty-five-- forty-six seconds) and even if his technique didn't assure him that it was so, the scientists and staff and doctors and whatever else the others were assured that yuji was alive, would live, would continue to live into the indeterminate future so why doesn't he go and rest up or clean up?

no, thank you. choso chose to wait.

patient, biding, counting the steady thud of his heart in his chest, choso waits for yuji to come back. ]

[eyescar]

[ Yuji wakes up with a sharp, pained gasp.

The bliss of unconsciousness had numbed his mind to the pulse of pain threading through him, the ache of the bite to his shoulder, the agony in his bones, but eyes open has him feeling it all. It makes him groan l m almost immediately, but it’s not too bad - he’s had worse, did worse here, surgery without anaesthetics, writhing in agony all for the purpose of helping.

Shifting his weight, he blinks into consciousness and turns, and - ah. Ah. Choso. His brother, vigil at his side, a looming figure to anyone else but a sweet comfort to Yuji who sinks in relief.

Trying to smile, his eyes crack with tears and he breathes out shakily. ]

… Choso. I’m awake.

1/2

[gimu]

[ choso's head lifts immediately, automatically, but his eyes are slower to open, lashes sticking from dried blood and tears when finally he summons the strength to crack them all the way.

grey-faced, dried blood flecks still clinging stubbornly to the crevices and creases in his features, choso stares wide-eyed at yuji for a long and aching moment. ]

2/2

[gimu]

[ something in choso lets go. whatever had been holding him upright even this much goes out, crumbles in him like a pillar made of salt and with a sigh of an inhale he collapses half onto the bed with his arms hanging limp at his sides, knuckles dragging the floor. his exhale comes out a huff of a sob. ]

Oh, thank you. [ a rattling breath in, shaking apart already. ] Thank goodness, Yuji.

[eyescar]

Ah-

[ Choso crumples and Yuji folds, the two of them torn asunder by the nature of their world.

Fighting, a constant fight, and despite the joy and peace Yuji has found here this is his element, where he was meant to be, born and bred for using his fists to maim and harm. When Choso drops he reaches out, falters, wonders: can his hands be used to soften and heal too, even now?

Carefully, he strokes his fingers through Choso’s hair, thumb pressing in, trying to offer comfort where he can, what little ability he has. He’s so tired, but won’t rest until he’s sure of his brother’s sanity. He knows better.

He learned.

Sinking into the bed, he tries a smile. ]

You saved me… Thank you. Sorry for making you worry.

[gimu]

[ he could cry. point of fact, he is already well on the way, but he can't do it like this, worm-like and pathetic, though the mere thought of getting up in any fashion is so exhausting of one he could die. but he doesn't. he hasn't yet, and neither has yuji, so choso gathers himself, takes heart and strength from the touch at his hair and lifts his useless hands back up to brace on the mattress edge so he may drag himself a little more upright. though his head hangs low, he still manages to wrangle control of the tight knot lodged somewhere up in the back of his throat. ]

I will always come for you. I will always come for you.

5-19-78 - LAS VEGAS - TARYON DARRINGTON

[gimu]

[ the great city of las vegas is a massive, glittering thing, and who is choso to just let his curiosity go unanswered? at some point in his wandering, he’d lost his little group, had wandered through one door too many until he found himself drifting at the ragged tail of the main strip, hovering over a sidewalk shop to peer at the lineup of shoes and wallets and other little human knickknacks arranged like brightly-coloured candy. funny, how the brighter humans neglected to come this far out when there were so many interesting things to find for sale here, where things like receipts were a myth and neo-rolex watches were in abundance.

but that was neither here nor there. right now, choso is frowning, pulling his attention from a selection of flashy running shoes to cast his gaze instead over the paper-littered street, steadfastly ignoring whatever the table-owner has to say.

he thought he’d seen a flash, a flicker of familiar colours and shapes. was that an Outsider he spied yonder? ]

[likemybooks]

[Sometimes, strangers aren't the friendly sort. Sometimes, they decide to attack you out of nowhere. Strangely, the last time that happened, said attackers decided to take him in and befriend him, but after tonight, Taryon has been reminded that fate isn't always kind.

He had been wandering through the small shops after a night of gambling and visiting bars, and his flashy outfit of black and gold caught the attention of certain types. Types that knew an easy mark when they spotted one. Taryon didn't think much of walking in the dark, nor or being approached by two guys who wanted to ask for directions. Then the questions were pointedly about the cash he carried, then a knife was pulled out.

Choso has seen the last of Taryon before he's shoved against a dirty concrete wall and ordered to give whatever valuables he can in the next five seconds.]

Now, hold on, we can figure something out--

[He's given a punch to the gut in response. The two muggers take advantage of his keeled-over state to rifle through his pockets and remove a new phone case, set of earbuds, and a couple tokens from the casino.]

[gimu]

[ choso isn’t one to memorize the face of every outsider that’s come through the portals, but That Guy, that Roomba Guy, he always decked himself out in eye-catching colours and combinations, not unlike the living billboards flashing overhead and in every street-facing window. of everyone from Neo-Tokyo, that one fit in with the blinding Vegas strip the most. this in mind, it isn’t all that hard to notice when the glittering man vanishes behind a flurry of motion, ushered off the main run in much the same manner as the other brightly-plumed ones had been (that choso had noticed at least).

perhaps… perhaps it was not friendly, this sweeping-away of fancy men. the thought lodges itself in choso’s head like a stick betwixt bicycle spokes, has him straightening up to frown down the road with a growing itch in the back of his mind. it would be frowned upon if he just left without at least looking. it would be deplorable if he ignored it. yuji would go see. but if it was dangerous, surely help would be called for. and yet.

and yet the outsiders were choso’s to mind nonetheless; who was he to let stray the oddballs from the rest of the gaggle? this may not be his circus, but that certainly was his monkey.

it’s fair timing all in all, for by the time choso ambles his way around the fated corner, the locals have managed to fill their hands up with Roomba Man’s possessions. they’d done the courtesy of tenderizing the fancy little man as well, if Roomba Man’s shrimp impression was any indication, and choso takes in the chaotic little moment with a sweeping and utterly unhurried look.

well, now.

still possessed of that flat air, choso steps forth with a slowly rolling gait, and the scuff of his boots on the ground pulls up the head of one of the cocky assailants just in time for his unwitting mouth to meet the heel of choso’s bare hand. the force sends the fellow spinning to the grimy asphalt, his handful of ill-gotten casino tokens scattering on impact with a delightful tinkle. by way of following up with a proper greeting, choso follows through the momentum with a step forward, pivoting on his heel to drive the top of his other foot into the side of the head of Buddy 2.0 in a friendly roundhouse. the earbuds go flying.

leg still raised, knee crooking to pull his calf in like the winding of a spring, choso regards Pal 3.0 and remembers to furrow his brow in time to deliver (what he hopes is) a disapproving scowl. ]

Do I have to hit this one too?

[ this, he asks of Roomba Man, crinkled as he is. ]

[likemybooks]

[He can tell that he will be covered in bruises the next morning, no matter how much of his minor healing spell he cast. The worst is on his front, but his forearms have gotten a terrible beating, and the gang of muggers had taken a pipe to his legs a few times in case he tried to attack with those. Not that he could have done much good — he's reminded of the cruel that at his core, he's useless in a one-on-one fight. It's a bitter comfort that his face will look the best after this; the plugsuit can cover everything else and salvage whatever dignity he has after this.

He has to use his best arm to support himself against the gritty concrete wall instead of reaching out to the retreating hoodlum to retrieve his tokens. With the pain searing through his muscles, he stays on shaking legs, wishing they would all leave instead of loitering and counting their spoils, adding insult to injury with each passing second.

That relief won't come anytime soon, he realizes when he hears another set of casual footsteps approaching the scene. Another guy. How Taryon wishes he could reach into his pocket, pluck an enchanted diamond, and cast Prismatic Spray on the entire group. Wouldn't it be so easy to create one in his room without the money, time, and resources necessary? Wouldn't it be wonderful if his powers didn't rely on having tools?

The light of the street lamp doesn't reach this far into the alley, which means Taryon cannot discern the face of the approaching man nor properly shoot a defiant glare at him. The pathetic, bruised look adds a unique flair to the fancy man's glamorous fashion but is at odds at the outgoing personality he displays to others.

Just as he clenches his abs to keep himself from collapsing, one of his assailants makes a confused noise just before he flies backwards and strikes the asphalt. Then another. And the fourth man gears up for another attack, which is when it finally registers that this isn't Taryon's enemy. This is his savior.

And that odd hairstyle reminds him of the Blood Guy. No...it is Blood Guy! Doing non-blood things! Taryon could leap and cheer if he wasn't in incredible pain. Instead, his widened and shining eyes express all the gratitude he feels when he answers:]

...Yes. Please.

[He can't find the energy to shout or muster up vengeance.]

09-04-78 - MEDBAY - YUJI

[gimu]

[ The procedure done, Choso is spat back out into the world, a fresh and new man-shaped thing with a thin line of stitches just behind his ear. ]

[eyescar]

[ Yuji is there as soon as he can be, whiplash and lightning fast, rising up from his chair to step over and reach out and take his brother's hand in his own, to offer his body for the curse to lean on. ]

C'mon, aniki. Let me take care of you.

[gimu]

[ Reflexively, he pulls out of the hold, hand snapping back from this boy’s to curl against his side defensively. A small frown pinches his brows together, consternation and confusion warring for supremacy on his strange, wan face. A small trickle of blood has run down his face from his mark at some point, forgotten and dried against his skin. ]

Who?

[eyescar]

... It's Yuji?

[ Reaching into his pocket, Yuji pulls out a hanky to try and clean up the blood on his brother's face with careful fingers. ]

You must be tired, huh?