SHATTERED

"As far as I can tell."

It was a reasonable assumption. Aiko knew she had all the survival instinct of a soggy cardboard box, but somehow she'd made it this far... Though, admittedly, not without the help of a select few individuals. She survived her years abroad solely by minding her business and not taking on the kind of under-the-table work she did at home.

"You're alive, too. I'd been worried that you weren't, after I couldn't get a hold of you anymore. But we're both here now."

Rune sat up to hug her long lost friend. Mostly wanting to feel for herself if this was real. But she found herself held back by wires and tubes. Monitors beeped in objection. Her first instinct was to get free. To rip everything off. But a pain surged in her left arm and quickly took her strength. She fell back down to the bed, defeated.

"I've got.. So much. To tell you.." Her voice cracked a little. "I've destroyed so much.. It was so fun. I wish.. I could have shared it with you" Rune couldn't help but think how this was her fault. She wished for this. And it was just as lonely as she dreamed.

"I'm.. Sorry.."

lemonadecroc

What are you talking about! your still young and amazingly beautiful!" quickly spinning the other other woman to look at her, even slightly lifting her to be at eye level "Dont worry, you just need maintenance is all, like anything good, you need to oil things up and change the bearings" then pulling her close in as if she was telling a secret, even covering Gummys ear holes "Dont let her know, but my Bike has had alot of work done in the past few years, she likes to look natural, but i mean we can all tell tho" entirely unrelated, Lemons bright blonde hair accidentally got in her face as she blew it away, and flip her head to get out of the way

#lemonadecroc #dont get cut on my edges: mainverse

"You always know what to say to make me feel better" Rune smiled. "You're right. It'll just be an adjustment.. But it scares me a little.." She admitted. She never thought she'd make it this far. And now she has to deal with the consequences.

"Why don't we go get some burgers? My treat. We've had a full day of appointments so I'm pretty hungry.."

lemonadecroc

The croc sprung up to help her as she saw the other woman walk out, "Hey hows it feeling are you feeling okay with it?" linking her arm with the non braced one as her Purse Pet Gummys tongue flopped out flapping against Runes arm "Dont worry ill help with whatever you need alright"

#lemonadecroc #dont get cut on my edges: mainverse

"it's fine" Rune sighed. "Just.. A bummer. I can't believe how much function I've lost. I thought.. I was too young for this to happen. But then I remember how long I've been working for the CAU. And I fell horribly old.." She shrugged. They don't tell you when you're a child that the passage of time is so unsettling..

There weren't any words in Aiko's vocabulary to describe the blend of emotions that had been stewing in her these past several hours. A strange combination of dread and joy and regret with a heavy dose of guilt. It all sat in her stomach and convinced her that she was certainly the worst person alive, but still she was so happy to see Rune.

"It is."

She tried very hard not to think about how many other times Rune must have been hurt and she should have been there. How many times she must have woken up alone in a hospital bed, and how many times she should have gone to the hospital and did not.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here."

Emotions started to well up in her chest. Memories of nights missing her friend. Wondering if she was missing her too. Wondering if she was still missing her. Or the dark side of her life got the better of her. Lately, she'd been thinking the latter. And she felt guilty not being there to protect her like she'd done before. Rune thought she could save Aiko from herself. Like she did all those years ago. But she couldn't think she'd keep it up forever.

"You're.. Alive? You're really not dead?"

She wanted to feel for herself. There were too many dreams like this. Where she was back. And everything was fine. But then waking up means she's lost all over again. Rune didn't know how many more of those dreams she could take.

#open #((shes gonna have to get used to her broken body

Rune walked out of the orthopedic clinic. A Fancy looking brace sat on her left arm.

"Better than a cast at least.. But more permanent.."

((Its strange to me when someone blocks me out of nowhere. Especially when we just started writing. I figure they've heard something from people ive had issues with but the last time someone really had me fucked up was years ago. So thats old ass info theyre eating up. Like?? That person youre mad at isnt even alive anymore. Stop living in the past. Also am I in their mouth that often? After all this time?

#the kats meow: ooc #((nothing happened im just reflecting #((if you gonna hate me make it count. make it creative. make it better than me. good luck tho

It was during surgical prep that the dots connected themselves. There were all of the scars that she remembered, injuries that she'd treated. Memories bubbled to the surface of nights spent on her bathroom floor stitching up this wound and that one while Rune talked like the needles didn't hurt. Waking up in the morning to Rune's arm draped over her, the music from the Desolation of Smaug DVD menu still looping. It was the first time in a long time that Aiko had to bow out of a procedure. She said that she just wasn't ready yet, and nobody questioned it. She had been gone for so long, after all. She was in the recovery area in her civilian attire after all was said and done, sitting in the bedside chair. It was a side of the hospital that she hadn't often scene, and it was foreign to her. She wanted to be on her feet, but she knew that she couldn't. There was too much weighing too heavily on her mind, and maybe a younger Doctor Iwasaki could have balanced those things, but not now. She took hold of Rune's hands as she began to slowly wake, waiting for the anesthesia cloud to lift.

This wouldn't be the first time she woke from surgery crying. This time was different though. It felt like heartbreak. Like she'd lost something. But didn't yet know what it was. Rune's eye's opened. Tears streaming out instantly. They made her vision blurry. And the fog from the anesthesia still lingered a little. Her senses slowly fought their way to the surface.

Rune tried to move the fingers on her left hand. But she couldn't tell if it was working. She was afraid to look. She wasn't in her twenties anymore. All her injuries have been adding up. She knows her body won't last.

She turned her attention to her other hand. And only then did she notice someone was holding her hands. The hands holding hers looked familiar. Yet strange at the same time. Like maybe she knew them in another life. She gently gave them a squeeze. Her eyes followed up her arms to her face. For a second she thought she was wrong. But how could she ever forget her person. Rune reached towards the woman.

"Is.. This real.. Aiko..?

#katdraws #((I gave her my cats bday bc i love that creature way too much lmao #((WHat other info should be on the card?

She's walking around the park at 1 am.

"Damn.. My arm's hurting.. I guess that's what I get for breaking it for 10 years" Rune rubbed her left arm. It tends to ache more at night. Even keeps her up like tonight.

#open

Made another attempt at a work ID card for Rune. I like this one a lot more. And for the first time ever.. Rune bday reveal??

pocket-sized-lawyer

Junsui also was super oblivious. When wasn't he? So this stranger essentially on top of him was... You know. Just someone he was concerned about. Not someone on top of him yet. His brow raised in confusion and concern at what was happening before realising from her blush the position they were in.

"No need to apologise, accidents happen... And that was my fault anyway. I bumped into you... My apologies!" He said, his own face now turning red as it all clicked with him. He didn't try to force her off - wanting to make sure she was okay first.

"Bl-blood? Where?" Oh. He was bleeding. He just hadn't processed the pain yet. It didn't seem too bad, and the shard of glass seemed to only cut him a little. But there was a small pool of blood forming, and his shirt was pinkening. "Uhm... I think so? But I should probably get this treated...." He was trying to stay calm in front of the stranger in top of him, especially as the wound didn't look too bad from this angle. Or hurt too much. But honestly, inside he was a little bit scared.

"...Could you give me a hand up once you are able to move, please?" Not realising how blunt he was being.

#pocket-sized-lawyer: jun #neokinetic: ic #tw blood

"Huh.? Uh- Right. Of course-" Rune did her best to hurry off of him. But with one hand and a tight dress, it was a little more difficult than she anticipated. But she managed after a few seconds of awkward angles and stiff movement. Rune was back on her feet, holding her bleeding hand.

She held her hand out to help him up. "I guess we kinda skipped names in our introduction.. I'm Rune" She offered him a smile. Though it may be a little late for a normal first impression.

"Here.. I know somewhere we can get cleaned up" She was familiar with this venue. On one of higher floors there's labs and medical supplies. And this was a pretty good excuse to ditch the party. It never took long for her to get her fill of socializing. Too many people asking about her life. Too much having to pretend everything is great.

"I know how to treat small things like this. If stitches are required, I can do that too. But we'll have to see.. If you're fine with that" Her tone was calm. Like she'd done this a thousand times. And anyone who knew her would know that's not far off.

cursedtraveller

Saph looked at her with the most 'what do you think expression possible. "I can't trust my arms to stand... No. Unless you tie me behind you I will fall off in seconds... I'll probably do it in minutes unless you glue me to the bike." She said. Even as she said that her body slowly snapped back into better form though. A crack here and there as she adjusted a bit. "Give it a bit... I should recover... We aren't in immediate danger are we?"

#cursedtraveller #neokinetic: ic

Rune thought about it. She could probably find a way to secure her.. But. "You can heal?" That must handy.. "We can just wait then. Hopefully you're not in too much pain. We're not in danger though. I made this mess.." She sighed. "So that.. Thing you came out of. Was that you or me?" Rune glanced back up to the sky as if looking for another tear.

Aiko had thought that she'd take some time off work when she got back to Japan, but she'd been in her house barely two weeks before her inability to keep still got the better of her. The hospital was all too happy to have her back - there were not many doctors who were flexible enough to swap departments the way that she did. And so she found herself standing in the ambulance bay on her third day back. EMS had reported a severe fracture, possibly surgical, and it seemed an easy enough case for her to jump on. Broken bones were far easier than the viral outbreaks she'd been working with for the past… How long had she been gone? Close to a decade if she'd done the math correctly. It hadn't felt that long while she was away, but coming home had been a brutal awakening to how long it really was. "Good to be home." She said to herself as the ambulance pulled into view, lights and sirens immediately dragging her back into her younger years. The doors opened and the stretcher wheeled out, and when Aiko caught sight of her patient, she stopped dead for just a second. She thought that woman could have been Rune, maybe, in a different life. If the years hadn't been kind to her, if she were still around somehow… And if that were the case, surely she'd have known. She exhaled heavily and stepped forward to take the report from the EMTs. No name noted for the patient - not terribly unusual, but she had hoped for something that would satisfy that nagging feeling in the back of her mind. She made a mental note to unpack those feelings later, then took control of the stretcher. "I'm Doctor Iwasaki. I'm sorry you're not feeling well, but hopefully I'll get you feeling better real soon. We'll get you off this stretcher and onto something a bit more comfortable, okay?"

She was fading in and out of consciousness again. This time what kept her awake was the doctor's voice. Directed to her. Though she didn't quite catch everything she said. Rune nodded anyway. The transfer was painful. Her wrecked arm screamed out. The muscles in her chest cramped. She always found it shameful to cry in front of others. But she couldn't hold back this time. Though she only expressed a fraction of what she felt. Her groans and whimpers died down fast enough.

Rune watched quietly as they worked on her. Again her eyes started to feel heavy. And she found herself opening them often. She also found herself watching this doctor. Her head was fuzzy. But something kept nagging at a name. Someone she knew. How long has it been now? Since she last saw that person.

She still couldn't make out much of what was being said to her or around her. But one thing she heard was something about prepping for surgery. So she figured that's where she was going next. A mask came down on her face. She didn't know if it was oxygen or anesthesia. But she didn't have much time to linger on it before a warm feeling swept over her. The swaying feeling did feel nice though. Like it could rock her right to sleep. "Ai..k-" She didn't even finish her thought.

Starter for @plaguebearing

Rune laid on the ground. Her body numb and screaming in pain at the same time. Her vision blurred in and out. It was difficult to tell what was going on. Or recall what happened. All she knew is she used her Quirk. And it broke her arm. Again. Sirens and voices could be hear faintly. But those noises soon faded away as she lost consciousness.

Rune laid in the back of the ambulance. The movement of the vehicle kept waking her up. As did the poking of the medical team. And the beeps of their machines. She woke up about 5 times before finally they pulled into the loading bay. More noises and voices and shouts and yelling filled her ears as the door opened. "Here we fucking.. go. Again.." she muttered to herself glimpsing out at the staff waiting for her.