FicWad

Tokitoh first reaction to coming home from after a very brief excursion to the 7-11 for milk and candy to a Kubo-chan less apartment is irritation, because what the fuck? Kubota was here when he left and if he was going to vanish all of the sudden he could have bothered to call Tokitoh and share his plans first.

That first thought gets quickly shoved aside in favor of the next, which is that, number one, Kubota is not actually in the habit of vanishing for no reason, and two, there's a message on the machine.

Tokitoh hits the button and makes a face when he hears the freakish sounding accent on the other end. He'd never known how possible it was to mangle a perfectly nice language until he'd met Speaks English-san. Shelly. Whatever. Worse, half the message is in English, everything after the 'Shelly desu', which would have been the part that was fine to say in English because it's not like he couldn't recognize her voice or something. Why would someone even go somewhere people only spoke Japanese if they didn't speak it themselves? After all, it wasn't like Tokitoh is going to England or whatever wasteland she came from, speaking their stupid language or otherwise, so why should he learn?

Tokitoh figures his options are to stay put and let Kubota do whatever he was doing or to find Kubota and kick his ass for not waiting five fucking minutes for Tokitoh to get back. His decision is easy, but the finding Kubota part might be hard, if only because he has no clue what Shelly actually told him.

Lucky there's a plan.

He's out the door in the time it takes to grab his shoes, and shoves them on his feet on the stairs. He thinks about heading right for the bar, but Shelly's apartment is on the way and it'll save him looking around if she's not there. He doesn't bother with a train, figuring that waiting around on a platform will kill him, he just runs the whole way, and then up the narrow staircase in her building.

The door takes a minute to open so Tokitoh applies his fist to it, and then waits, twitching with both hands stuffed into his pocket until a pair of blinking golden eyes stare at him from the other side of the doorway.

"Tokitoh?" Goku says blearily, like he'd been asleep. Which, there was just no way, because he got to the door too fast for that. Too slow, but still too fast for that.

"Where's that girl?" Tokitoh demands, pushing past Goku into the apartment. "Not here?"

"Shelly?" Goku asks, and Tokitoh wonders how the hell Goku gets his tongue to make the weird sounds of her name.

"Yeah, her. " Tokitoh looks around, but there's no sign of her and he has to admit that at least she's not exactly the type to skulk in the back somewhere.

"Oh. She's not here," Goku says and rubs his eyes, though Tokitoh can tell Goku is staring at him through his hands. "Why, is something wrong?"

"How the fuck should I know?" Tokitoh mutters, because it's not like people tell him what's going on. Kubo-chan seems to think it's funny when he doesn't know things and Shelly's an asshole. Even if she's a girl, she's definitely an asshole.

"So, you have no idea where she is, right?" he adds turning toward the door already. No time for this shit. He has to go find Kubota and kick his ass.

"Hey, wait, I didn't say that," Goku calls after him and Tokitoh can hear the sound of someone stumbling into their jeans. "Wait up, I'm coming with you."

That doesn't seem worth arguing about so Tokitoh just shouts, "Yeah? Well you'd better keep up because I ain't waiting for your ass." Then he dashes back down the stairs and out into the yellowish lamp lit streets.

He almost brains Goku when he feels a hand on his shoulder holding him back half a block away. Only Goku's palm keeps his fist from connecting and he bites back a scream that's only partially from frustration.

"What?" he forces out.

"Wait. I'll get us a cab."

Tokitoh narrows his eyes but keeps the commentary down to, "Well, you should have said that before."

There's one on the corner that they hop into, and Tokitoh can't remember ever having actually been in a taxi before. This one seems okay and he plays around with the onboard karaoke machine to distract himself while Goku stares at him like Tokitoh's the one who is insane.

The cab is probably a good idea, but Goku doesn't have to stare like that. It's not like it's Tokitoh's fault that he didn't have the money for one. At least it makes up for wasting his time at the apartment. Goku pays off the cab fast when they get to the block with the club. He has to because Tokitoh is already out the door and sprinting toward the sound of gun shots.

He stops when he gets to the doorway, because just getting his head blown off isn't going to help Kubo-chan that much.

It's not more than a second, trying to figure out where everything is, mostly, but the next sound he hears is from behind him. Pitched low, like a growl, but so loud it makes Tokitoh wince. He turns his head slowly, like moving through quivering jello.

He wants to say it's like Goku's on WA, but it's not. Tokitoh draws back defensively, inhuman hand clenched at his side, eyes wide as saucers. It's like he knows what this is without knowing anything about why this basically normalish guy who'd been rubbing his eyes sleepily and chasing him down the street a few minutes ago is now something else. Which feeling might weird him out normally, but nothing can out-weird the thing that is Goku, golden eyes narrowed to slits and a strange, strange smile twisting his face.

Goku stalks past Tokitoh like he's not even there, which is fine. Just fine. Except the part about Goku walking defenseless through the open corridor of people shooting at each other, and Tokitoh wants to yell at him, but he's scared to. So scared he twitches and feeling that just pisses him the hell off. Goku going off makes him feel stupid and bitter so about two seconds later he dives into the hall after the asshole.

What's next actually happens, that is Tokitoh can see it happen, so it must have. Where the bullets hit Goku and something- or nothing happens. He doesn't pause, he doesn't bleed, he doesn't even blink. Goku's just running and then there's red mist where there'd been a gunman two seconds ago. Tokitoh stops where he is, swaying on his feet and swearing under his breath.

This is so not okay.

"This is not okay," he yells, running after Goku, never mind what kind of stupid that is. He's so focused he doesn't see the arm in front of him, catching and stopping him, so he nearly eviscerates it.

"Shh..." It's Kubota's voice, Kubota's arm, with long bloody scratches running down it, but Kubota doesn't sound bad. "It's okay. Don't look."

"It's not," Tokitoh mutters, staring as another gunman goes down. No one's shooting at him or Kubota at all, every bit of attention focused on the monster that is Goku. It's a little better, knowing at least Kubota is pretty much intact, but okay is not the word. "It's really, really not."

"Don't look. Just come here." Kubota's hand is over his eyes, like he's a spooked animal, drawing him back with slow, steady steps. Tokitoh draws in slow, shaky breaths and lets him. All he can see is Goku's inhumanly sharp face and the red mist that had used to be people.

When Kubota uncovers his eyes they're by a pillar, with the crumpled body of a familiar blonde girl at the bottom. Tokitoh bites his lip and kneels down next to her, already reaching for a pulse. He can't tell, but he thinks she's breathing and the hole in her side is leaking blood.

"Press your hands against her side. Like this. Hard," Kubota tells him, taking Tokitoh's hands in his and showing him how to do it. Tokitoh realizes right away that most of the blood on Kubota's hands is from this, not from Tokitoh scratching him.

And, fuck, her eyes are open. Very blue, and not quite there. Shelly's looking, but she doesn't seem to be seeing him at all. She can see something, though.

"Oh, it's you," she says gruffly. The breath seems to be whistling through her body.

"Yeah, yeah, it's me," Tokitoh agrees, pressing his hands the way Kubo-chan showed him. He isn't really thinking about what he's saying at all, just the girl under his hands bleeding her life out. "You messed up your pretty white skin really good this time, huh?"

"Mmm..." she murmurs. "You're still such a freak of nature. Get lost and help someone who needs it."

"You need it more than anyone else here. Not that I care. Prick," he mumbles back, still applying pressure. The blood doesn't seem to be letting up. Her eyelashes are fluttering pink against her hazy blue, blue eyes, like she'd dyed them.

"Idiot," she spits out. "Help me up."

"What are you, completely nuts? You'll bleed out if-"

"Help. Me. Up. Or do you not understand me when I talk to you?" she spits out word by deliberate word. There's blood on the corners of her mouth.

It never occurs to Tokitoh that it's weird that he does, every single word. He's only thinking about how much it would suck if she dies. But he helps her to her feet. Somewhere in the big room, silence has settled. The shooting has stopped.

"Over there," Shelly says, gesturing with her chin. Tokitoh tries to keep at least one hand on her exit wound. "And give me my gun back."

"You won't be able to hold-"

"Give it!"

"Sheesh. All right, all right. If you want to die who am I to say you can't?" He slides the gun between her fingers and miraculously she doesn't drop it.

"Over there. Move your useless ass," she grates out. Tokitoh is about to yell at her until he looks up and sees exactly what's 'over there'. He moves, fast.

It's Kubota, gun pointed straight in front of him, staring down Goku. Staring down the golden eyed creature that looks a little like Goku. And Kubota's face is still, quiet, the sort of face that makes people stop and stare and wince away when they see it. Nothing like the face he shows to Tokitoh. It almost makes Tokitoh drop Shelly and run, but somehow she's not slowing him down.

"All right! I see you!" she shouts. "What the fuck are you doing now, Goku?"

Goku turns his head and gives a very small, almost eager smile. Tokitoh wants to run, which makes him want to attack. See if the guy would still look so scary eating his fist. He can't though, because if he lets go of Shelly there's no way she'll be on her feet much longer.

"Well? Get your ass over here," she says in a softer voice. "I'm not waiting for you forever, you know."

Goku gives a tiny, almost animal growl but he comes. Tokitoh's eyes meet Kubota's over Goku's shoulder and just stay there. Kubota's got a gun trained on Goku's back, but those bullets before hadn't even made a scratch. Tokitoh tries to gesture at him to get out, to go, with his one free hand, but Kubota just gives him a gentle smile and a shake of the head.

Tokitoh's gaze doesn't move, he feels like he can barely breathe. Just watch Kubo-chan like he might not get to watch him again. Shelly is saying something, soft and angry, but Tokitoh doesn't understand a word of it and he's too distracted and caught to try.

He whispers something to Kubo-chan, but even he isn't sure what he wants to say.

"Well. That's fine," Shelly says, sounding very, very far away, and Tokitoh snaps his attention back to her as her eyes roll back and she crumples against him. She's surprisingly slender for all she's stupidly tall for a girl.

Tokitoh tries to catch her but he doesn't have to. Goku has her in less than a heart beat and he's slowly lowering her to the ground. He's whispering something in a language Tokitoh's forgotten, but he's actually talking. There's something wet on his face and only some of it is blood. Goku's face, the face he sat across from at lunch, the face Kubo-chan doesn't like, but a person's face.

Tokitoh lets out a breath he barely realizes he was holding and stumbles forward a step. Two steps, and then his forehead is resting against Kubota's shoulder.

"I already called the ambulance," Kubota says, surprisingly gently. "We shouldn't be here when it comes." It takes a moment for Tokitoh to realize Kubota's not really talking to him.

"I'm not leaving," Goku says. He's got his hand tangled in blood soaked blonde hair and he doesn't look up.

"You won't do her much good if you get arrested. The police in this country have a nearly one hundred percent conviction rate, you know."

"Shut up! I'm not leaving her!" Goku howls. Kubota's hands tighten on Tokitoh's shoulders. Tokitoh doesn't question the wisdom of pissing Goku off anymore, because there doesn't seem to be a point.

Kubota's voice is very calm and steady, without even the usual hints of teasing or anger. Tokitoh can hear sirens somewhere. "If you stay with her now they'll still take you away. Or else you'll have to kill the people trying to help her to stay near her. Is that what you want?"

"Just shut your mouth! You're not my friend!" Goku hisses. He's finally looking up and Tokitoh's glad that intense, bitter gaze isn't on him. He looks away from it, back into Kubota's shoulder. "You're no one! You're less then no one, you might as well not exist."

"That's true. I know," Kubota says with that same calm, like Goku's made some extremely obvious point. It makes Tokitoh want to scream at him for agreeing or beat the shit out of Goku, but he holds still. "So come away with no one. She'll be fine."

Goku blinks and shakes his head, like he's on the wrong side of a dream that he hates. But he stands up, shaky and slow as a newborn fawn on a nature documentary. So slowly. The sirens are almost on top of them and Kubota pushes Tokitoh gently and deliberately to the door.