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The first thing Toshi was aware of, in a vague, almost-still-asleep sort of way, was that he was uncomfortable. He shifted, hoping it would be more comfortable and he could slip back into the embrace of sleep. Instead, it sent a spike of pain through him and he was far more decidedly awake, much to his misfortune. He still hurt, and he could actually remember why. Some inconsiderate asshole had shot him. And even if he'd missed the most important bits - heart, lungs, major arteries - getting shot still hurt like hell.

He tried to shift again, and gave up with a hiss of pain. "Fuck."

Comments

[nicotinized]

Toshi had to lean on Souji more than he expected - everything seemed three times the effort, and by the time they made it to the bathroom, his legs felt like the might be made out of rubber. He hadn't felt this worn out since the explosion - which was probably down to blood loss and too much time spent horizontal in both cases. He grabbed the edge of the counter with his free hand for support, so Souji could get out from under him.

"Did they give you extra adhesive bandages when we left? I'm not sure these'll survive a shower."

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Souji didn't mind the extra leaning in the least, and though he ducked out of the way when Hijikata grabbed the counter, he stayed close in case it looked like he wasn't going to be able to hold himself there.

"I'm sure there are some in bag they sent." He hadn't really rifled through the contents other than to retrieve the prescription bottles, but there had definitely been bandages of some sort.

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"If you could grab those, and some clean clothes...?" Toshi was pretty sure that while he could manage to get to the shower without actually falling over, making it back into his bedroom unassisted was probably unwise.

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"I can do that." Although he was a little wary of leaving Hijikata there on his own, even if it was going to be a necessity, eventually. "But if I hear any loud 'thunk's, I'm coming right back." So he'd better not fall over.

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Toshi gave him a small smile. "Believe me, I don't want to fall over either. I'll be careful."

It was far from comfortable to get himself undressed and into the shower, but he managed it without reopening anything. Once he got his hair washed, he sat back against the wall of the shower, content to just bask in the heat for a little while.

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The medical supplies were easy to gather, as they were still in the bag from the hospital, but clothes took a little longer. It felt a bit strange to be rummaging through Hijikata's things, even with his permission, but he was able to locate a soft teeshirt and pajama pants, things comfortable to lay around in, and folded everything neatly into a pile. Then it was just a matter of waiting an appropriate amount of time before going back to check on him. He started heating some water for tea, and then finally gathered his things and went back to the bathroom, knocking gently on the door.

"Still alive in there?"

He hadn't heard any crashes or cursing, so he assumed Hijikata was probably all right.

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The knock shook Toshi out of the unfocused daze he'd been in, relaxing in the hot water.

"Yeah, just a minute."

Getting up again was even more painful than expected, given how much he'd relaxed, but he managed it. He braced himself on the wall as he shut off the water, and then carefully made his way to where he could reach a towel, one hand still on the wall.

"Okay, safe to come in now."

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He waited for the all clear before coming in, then set the bag of medical supplies down on the counter, and the folded clothes on top of the toilet tank.

"You look better."

Not great, or even good, really--he could tell Hijikata was in pain--but compared to the sight of him lying largely incoherent in bed that he'd gotten used to seeing, this was a vast improvement, a final, reassuring sign that things were going to be all right again.

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Toshi raised an eyebrow in clear indication of well, obviously, though out loud he said, "Well, I certainly feel better - less like a sweaty unwashed panhandler."

The extra towel he'd been using on his hair went on a hook, and he carefully made his way to sit on the edge of the closed toilet seat. The shower hadn't completely unstuck the bandage on his stomach, but he could tell it had gotten loose, and peeling it off all the way only stung a little. It looked disgusting, though, and he gave it a grimace before folding the sticky edges together and dropping it in the trash. The one on his back was a little harder to peel up, and he winced as he accidentally put pressure on the wound trying to get a grip on the edges.

"...Don't think I'm going to be able to clean that one myself - not properly anyway."

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"I'm glad." Both that he was feeling better, and that this had worked out without aggravating his injuries unduly.

"That's all right. I can take care of it." It wasn't as if he was easily bothered by that sort of thing. He'd seen some of his own insides before, after all. A bullet wound was nothing, in comparison.

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Toshi gave Souji a tired, thankful smile. "Ah, thanks. Should I put some pants on first, or...?" He was tired and sore enough to mostly not care, but a part of his brain was still very aware of the fact that he had basically nothing but a towel on.

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Souji hadn't really given it much of a thought, himself, but now that he'd pointed it out...

"I'll let you get dressed first." Probably better to just get all that over with.

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"Ah, yeah..." Maybe that would kill some of the awkwardness he was feeling. Once Souji's attention was elsewhere, he grabbed boxers and pants from the pile Souji had brought in. Thankfully, he didn't have to stand up to pull them on, though leaning over still hurt like hell. He gritted his teeth and got it done, though.

"Okay, I'm decent."

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He came back once it was safe, and studiously washed his hands in the sink before he even attempted to go poking at any wounds. He'd been off rifling through clothes and messing around in the kitchen, it didn't hurt to play it safe.

Then he moved over so he could look at the wound on Hijikata's back. "It looks like it's healing well, anyway."

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"Hn." Toshi glanced down to the matching one on his stomach. Now that he was cooling down, some of the redness from the heat of the shower was fading. It still looked nasty - a puckered red line under sutures, and the faint shininess of scabbing and new scar tissue. It wasn't oozing anything though, which was generally a good sign.

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He tugged the old bandage the rest of the way off before folding it up and throwing it out. Once that was done, he dug two fresh ones out of the bag the hospital had sent along, and handed one off to Hijikata.

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Toshi tenses at the sting of the bandage being pulled away, but waterlogged as it was, it hurt a hell of a lot less than it might have. He took the new one from Souji, and ripped open the package. It and the backing went into the trash - and shifting slightly to do that hurt more than pulling the dressings off had. He put the new bandage over the scabbed-over wound on this stomach, and did his best to smooth it down without pressing too hard on it.

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Souji opened up the bandage he was still holding, and very carefully applied it over the healing wound on Hijikata's back, careful not to aggravate the injury itself. Once that was done, he threw the packaging away.

"There we go. All better."

Well, not really. But for the moment, anyway.

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The irony of 'all better' wasn't lost on Toshi, and he let out a small huff of ironic laughter. Which hurt, a little, but not as much as moving around had, and he managed to not wince. He'd already worried Souji enough with this mess - he was going to do his best to avoid alarming him even more.

Though even just showering felt like it had taken most of his energy, which precluded doing anything more questionable or concerning. Not doing anything actually seemed like a great idea, right now.

"...God, I always forget how much this sucks."

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"Mm." He makes a little noise in commiseration. He's never been shot, or even seriously injured on accident, but he'd had plenty of surgery to recover from over the years.

"Maybe this time it'll stick, so you can avoid doing it again." He's just teasing--it was in no way Hijikata's fault that someone had shot him, but making light of it made it a little easier to cope with. He hadn't even let himself consider worst case scenarios... it was something he just didn't want to think about.

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"I don't get shot on purpose," Toshi protests, with more insistence than is really necessary. "Or have buildings collapse on me, or fall down stairs..." He realizes he's rambling - probably the painkillers at work - and cuts himself off abruptly. After a moment, he adds, "...sorry," a little more meekly.

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That actually makes Souji laugh a little, which is... nice. It makes this all a little better. "I know you don't." And then he pauses. "When did you fall down stairs?" That wasn't exactly on par with the getting shot or blown up, really...

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It's good to hear Souji laugh, even if it's at his expense.

"I was eleven - broke my collarbone in two places and gave myself a bad concussion. My brothers...weren't happy." Though with the benefit of time, he could understand why. He'd been screwing around and not being careful, and medical care wasn't cheap.

"Not as big a deal as some of the later stuff, but it was pretty memorable."

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"Oh no..." He covered his mouth with one hand, because really, he shouldn't laugh at that, but it was a little humorous to think about how much trouble Hijikata must have caused his family as a child. "I guess that's why they fuss so much." He knew it was a little exasperating for Hijikata, but it had to be nice, having people who cared that much.

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"I guess..." Growing up, he'd resented it, but as he got older, he started to understand where they were coming from. Particularly after Souji had moved in with him - he tried to be less overt in his worrying but... he still worried. "I probably would have been less reckless if they hadn't been so overbearing about it, though."