And Who But My Lady Greensleeves...? [Iori/Kasa]

[Kokomo]

[OOC: Figured Iori wanted to play too. Continued from here: http://www.ninpocho.com/viewtopic.php?f=367&t=1511 ]

There are stories that were told around the fire when Itami was a child. Stories that everyone shared, but there was none more fascinating than the amazing strength and power given to people when they were protecting a loved one. The woman who lifted a car to keep her husband from harm. The mother who held tons upon tons of rubble on her back as she hovered above her infant who would have otherwise been crushed. These stories were stories of ordinary people in ordinary worlds with nothing spectacular about them, but one story from a one-time event. And here, in the evening air, a woman standing at 6'2", barefoot and exposing burn scars from head to toe on the entire right side of her body, carried a man on her left shoulder, who smelled of burnt flesh, much more recent than her own. Blood staining that perfectly white dress she wore made of silk and lace. Her knees shaking as she exerted chakra at high amounts to keep herself standing at her of loss of blood, let alone carry her husband on her shoulder.

Nearby assistants took her husband from her, laying him on a transporter, but her hand clutched his, "What are you doing? No! Wait! I brought him here!" They pried her hand from his as the crystal eye looked panicked around the room, and a doctor quickly crushed it within his hands as she let out a shriek of shocked. "This one is injured too!"

"I brought him here! I'm his wife! I--" There it was, doubling over as the chakra finally ran out as her body fell to the floor as she hurled up her stomach contents and blood onto the floor. The white tile. The maiden. The Knight. No no no no no... She vomited again as she was dragged up onto the same transportation device, coughing violently. The ringing came back, she couldn't talk.

A mumble.

What was that?

What did he say?

No, it couldn't be true.

Not her, she wasn't able to get that.

No... No... Now was not the time to become beautiful.

She couldn't be so lucky when Kasa was not.

That wasn't the way it worked anymore.

What did that doctor mumble?

What was that he said?

No not that.

"She needs reconstruction--NOW."

 

[Honma Kotone]

[Waiting for Iori to post~]

 

[Kiriyama Sadako]

"That will have to wait." Iori would call out as he approached the scene, placing a hand on the doctor's shoulder. "This woman isn't a simple case, doctor, she will require someone with a bit more skill. Unfortunately, it seems that I'm booked at the moment." he would say, nodding in the direction of Kasa. Amidst the chaos running rampant in the emergency room, panic set in by a charred corpse carrying another and the putrid mix of blood and vomit on the floor, Iori was calm, a stoic man amidst a tempest. "Take this man to surgery room one and prep him for an examination and operation! The woman needs to be taken to the ICU!" As Kasa's body would be wheeled towards the operating room the Chief Med-nin would move along with Itami as she was wheeled to the ICU. He would fill in the doctor about her condition, that the burns on her body were much older than they appeared. After a few more instructions he would look down at the woman, a hand moving to gently take hold of her own. "Itami, can you hear me?" he would lean down, tucking a lock of that bright red hair behind his ear. "Listen, I need you to remain calm, please. These doctors will take care of you, just let them do their job. I'm going to go treat Kasa right now...do you understand?" The chief knew how much trouble a panicked patient could provide, and the last thing he wanted to do was to tranquilize her, she was his friend, after all.

 

[Honma Kotone]

Everything so blurry, and nothing made sense. His entire body felt nothing but the utter, undignified, naked sensation of pain. His skin burned, long after the fires had been extinguished through sheer will power of a dying man. Oh how this pain was unbearable, it felt as if someone was pouring lava over his body and wanted him to suffer constantly."I-Ior-" How could Itami even utter a word with this unbearable pain of another's voice? His throat had been completely scarred due to the flames and had left him very disabled vocally.

"Itami, where..." He would move his arm, causing the stiffed flesh to burst and the fluid to spill onto the sheets beneath him. Kasa could feel the opened crack from the wound, and he couldn't imagine how he could survive such a bastard wound as the pain was so intense. How could his wife, the love of his life, put up with this kind of condition? Why didn't she just give up on life too? Maybe she was just a far stronger person when placed next to Kasa; maybe Itami didn't need Kasa, but vice verse. "Eyes, Chizuru..."

Kasa would utter one last scurry of letters, hoping that anyone around him would link up the connection: he wanted Chizuru to have his eyes, his legacy.

Everything went dark, was he dead or asleep?

Would he wake one... Last time?

 

[Kokomo]

Sound was slowing coming back to her as her head lulled back and her mouth fell slightly ajar as her blind eyes rolled back and forth in pitiful attempt to see as the bed began to move and her body drew rigid as she stiffened in a moment of fear. Itami had forgotten what it was like to be blind and unaware of the surroundings because she had treated the crystal eye so well. It was hard for anything to be comprehended, it was moving to fast. "K-a...Kasa..." She murmured as her head rolled back and a hand grabbed hers, as her body tensed again before the familiar voice soothed her. Trying to focus on his voice rather than the chaos around them. Remain calm. You will be taken care of. Kasa. Needed treatment.

"Iori!" She called for a second, grabbing his hand and pulling him closer, "Tell Kasa...Tell him I'm sorry... and that I..." Her voice cracked as the sound of gurgled blood rose before being swallowed back down, "--That I didn't mean it...I...I don't hate him..." Her body jerked vividly as her stomach reacted with the swallowed blood, "I love him." She began to repeat as her head lulled back and she released his hand. Over and over she said it, as though to murmur herself into a lullaby and forget about the pain she had. Coughing, vomiting, murmuring...murmuring...

A mask over her mouth as she murmured...

Murmured murmured murmured...

[K.O'd--Will post if timeskips occur. ]

 

[Kiriyama Sadako]

"I will, don't worry...just rest now..." he whispered as he gave the woman's hand a squeeze before slowly releasing it, watching the orderlies take her away. Turning around he would make his way to the operating room, handing his jacket off to a nurse before getting into his scrubs and replacing his leather gloves with sanitized plastic ones after washing his hands, another nurse helping him get a cap on before venturing towards Kasa's side. "I gotta say, Kasa, this is pretty ironic." He would say as he looked over the man's burnt body, letting out a low whistle as he inspected the damage. "What in the world did you do..." he would sigh before beginning the operation, giving the man anesthesia in order to dull the pain.

-------------------------------------------

It would be hours before Kasa would awaken, Iori having finished his examination and asking the other nurses to leave, the man leaning over Kasa's charred body as he gently snapped his fingers. "Kasa...can you hear me? I know it's rude to bother you when you're in such a delicate condition, but we don't have much time." He would say as he tried to get the man's attention, eyes looking up at his heart monitor to make sure everything was stable, hoping that there was still enough sedative in his system that he would be able to bear the pain.

 

[Honma Kotone]

"What..." He would roughly say with a strained voice. Oh, how unpleasant he sounded; and yes, it was very ironic of Kasa to be in such a situation after the incidents with his wife. He ws suppose to make her beautiful, and yet, he never managed to do such... Why? It was because she was already beautiful to him, a unique body in a world with a crooked sense of what is 'beautiful'.

The burning pain, the sizzle of every cell moving was becoming so unbearable; even after the sedative had readied itself into Kasa's blood system.

"She..... OK?"

 

[Kokomo]

[Skip~]

 

[Kiriyama Sadako]

"Yes, she's fine. She strained herself getting here but she's being cared for as we speak. You on the other hand..." Iori would sigh softly as he looked down at Kasa, saddened that such a beautiful man would have his looks tarnished. "The fire burned you deep, and whatever caused your other injuries made it even worse. Kasa...you're dying, and there's nothing I can do about it." He would deliver the grim news, a hand moving down to gently grasp the man's hand, the one that wasn't completely burned. "You're beyond healing, the most we can do is keep you alive, sedated and bed ridden, for about a month before you're body will finally quit on you. However..." Iori would grin, tilting his head as his eyes became obscured thanks to the light shining off his glasses. "You actually have quite a bit of skin that was left untouched, and between that and the material from your unformed clone...it may be enough to heal Itami's body. You won't survive the process, however..." The choice was presented to the man, whether to die now in order to make his wife beautiful, or to wither away in a hospital bed. Iori wouldn't give his opinion either way as it was his decision, and either way he would finally get his hands on a pair of Uchiha eyes.

 

[Honma Kotone]

Ah, what a load of shit...

Kasa would attempt to laugh for a second, but the factual pain ripped through his body and made him choke (albeit momentary) on blood. "Do it, Iori-san..." How did Itami ever do it? Words, just mere words were painful to utter? Is that why she was in so much pain that night at dinner? What would happen to her now... Where would she go? No, you can't worry now... you're about to die, you can't fill your mind with worries when you meet the eternal, bitter darkness.

"Protect her..."

[I'll take a time skip too~]

 

[Kiriyama Sadako]

Iori would nod as he looked into the eyes of his friend, that grin growing even wider. "As you wish, and I swear I will keep Itami safe. Kasa...I will miss you. Good bye." Leaning down the man would plant a soft kiss on his lips, a hand caressing the side of his face as he reached over for a syringe. "Good bye." He would softly repeat as he injected the contents into his arm, sending Kasa to his final sleep.

---------------------

It had been two weeks since Kasa's death, two weeks since he had placed Itami in a chemical coma in order to perform the intensive surgery in order to heal her body and so that she would be oblivious to the pain of her new flesh healing. As he stood by her bed he would smile, looking over her mostly bandaged form, nodding to the nurse to inject her with a compound to wake her up. After asking her to leave he would stay by Itami's side, gently taking hold of her hand. "Itami...can you hear me? Wake up, dear..." he would lean in as he spoke, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

 

[Kokomo]

BGM

There was something ironic about a coma. To be completely unaware of your surroundings for two weeks, and think you've only taken a slight nap--it was uncanny. And there, as the injection slowly ushered her brain into livelihood again, the words would beckon her back into the light. There was a shudder through her body, as it jerked from the sleeping muscles that wakened from their long slumber and anti-climatic movements. Iori's voice whispered to her, and called her as her blind eyes opened as though to expect sight. His fingers pressing against her bandaged hand... and she could feel it. As the oxygen traveled down her throat, she could feel it. Her tongue was smooth, her mouth was moist, her lips no longer permanently chapped. Running her tongue across her lips, her eyebrows pulling into a scowl--and both sides of her face moved. Moving shakily, she grabbed her right hand with her left, and tore at the bandages viciously, and ran those fingers across the back of her hand.

She could feel her hand. Her hand could feel. Sucking in a deep breath, her body trembling as her fingers touched her tongue and her lips--long eyelashes batting as her fingers played her her bottom lip:

"Where is my husband?"

To talk! Without pain! Without blood! Without worry! It was clear, and beautiful! A voice! She had a voice!

. . .

But who to share it with...? The woman under the bandages was nothing without someone to share it with....

 

[Kiriyama Sadako]

Iori smiled as the woman began to wake up, letting her realize the change her body had gone through. He released her hand as she tore at those bandages, feeling that soft skin there. "Take it easy, Itami, I know this is quite a shock. Deep breaths..." he would ignore her question for now as he moved closer. "I'm going to remove the bandages now, alright? Just stand still." He would begin to do just that, removing the clips that held them together and beginning to unravel them, soon the woman's new face would be exposed to his eyes. He would smile happily as he saw her, proud in how great of a job he did, but then again who else could do better? Retrieving a mirror he would hand it to her so she could see herself. "You look stunning, Itami." He would simply say, letting her bask in the sight of her reconstructed face. The man would go quiet for a few moments before speaking up again, approaching the delicate subject of Kasa. He would move to kneel by her side, a hand moving to gently take hold of her previously ruined one, removing his glove before hand so she could feel his warmth.

"I couldn't save Kasa." He would say as he looked towards her, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "His injuries were too severe...I tried everything I could within my power, but it wasn't enough." He would let his words hang in the air, letting her process that information. "The first thing he asked when I talked to him was if you were safe...even when he was dying all he could think about was you. And the skin I used to heal your body was his own...I just wish he could have seen how beautiful you are...but then again I don't think he loved you because of what you would become, but what you already were...."

 

[Kokomo]

A gentle hand pushed against her back to get her to sit up, and no stiffness caused her pain. No movement was restrained by the crusted burns and charred skin. She stood to her feet, her foot supporting her without a limp or a crook. Bandages being removed from her body and dropping to the floor as a nurse would provide her with a hospital gown. Her hands searching blindly for help for getting into it as Iori handed her a mirror. She groped at it blindly before she realized what it was and gave a gentle smile and handed it back as the sand from the world outside would creep through the window and to her side as she performed a few seals to create the crystal eye.

The sight knocked her off her feet. Collapsing to sit on the edge of the hospital bed, the woman ran her hands all over her newly founded skin, in utter shock by the things that Iori could do. The crystal eye circling her over and over again--begging her to admire herself in pure vanity. She was soft, pale, beautiful, and flawless--hand-crafted by a man!

But the happiness wasn't to last forever. Iori was quick to shoot down the sensitive bullet as her head snapped towards him, his hand squeezing her delicate one as she stared at him, his story continued on to talk about the way she had been reconstructed so well. Kasa had died in his own flame of fury, but he was a grown man--he had enough skin to give to Itami. Iori had the right chemicals and skill it make it look like her own. That what it was. The widow was wearing her husbands skin--and probably had some of his organs...

Tears shook her for a moment--which was a strange feeling. The wetness from her tears duct had been sealed off for over twenty years. Her delicate finger lifted and brushed her long lashes that had droplets of salty tears clinging to them. The Crystal eye staring at Iori as she nodded a few times before pulling him into a hug.

He lost his life, and gave Itami the beauty he promised. He kept his promise straight to his deathbed...

 

[Kiriyama Sadako]

Iori would take a step back, letting Itami look herself over with that peculiar crystal eye, quite proud of how shocked the woman was at her new found beauty. It had been an incredible amount of work, not just to repair her skin but also healing the extensive damage her organs had, some of them even being outright replaced. Still it was worth it to see her reaction, though it lessened after he had to tell her about Kasa. He remained quiet, letting it sink in, giving her time to mull it over before he was slowly pulled into a hug. He felt awkward at first, not expecting her to do such a thing, but he would return that embrace, a hand running through that silky black hair. "Itami..." he would begin to say when she finally released him, his hands moving to gently take hold of hers. "You're body has been adapting spectacularly to your new skin and organs, but I'm still concerned that there may be complications down the line. I'd like for you to stay with me at my estate for a few weeks so I can keep a close eye on your progress." The man said it would just be a few weeks, but he knew very well it could be longer than that. He had no idea about Itami's own family or if she actually had one, not to mention that he had promised Kasa that he would protect her. A hand would move up to gently rest on her cheek, now smooth where it had been previously scarred, his eyes meeting her own blind ones. She had always seemed lonely, withdrawn, perhaps a stable family life would do her some good? Or as stable as the Yamazaki could be, in any case...

 

[Kokomo]

Those youthful hands ran through her black hair as the awkward redhead embraced her back, as though he was trying to adjust to a new habit. Was affection not on his list of 'normal' things? But as she pulled away and wiped the salty tears that were so foreign to her,, Iori offered up his home to her--or rather demanded it. The young woman looked at him with curious eyes for a moment before she played with her new and soft-white fingers. "Alright..." Her home was charred and broken, and had some memories that Itami would rather not return to. Besides, living alone in the Unohara estate didn't sound so appealing. Her family would certainly disown her vanity. The entire Kanashimi clan was blind, and her father had charred hands just as her body had been. Her 'selfishness' would certainly cast her onto the street. Her eyes were looked up at the ceiling--those multi-colored eyes-- but her face faced his as though she was looking at him. His hand touching her smoothed skin. "Thank you, Iori."

[TOPIC LEFT]

[OOC: I'm assuming there isn't anything left you wish to say? xD Feel free to continue if you really need/want to.]