The Burden of Helplessness...

[tiger_ken]

[1]

[Ever since Ken got back to base after Sol Saviour's first combination, all anyone might have seen of him in the time since is, well...]

WUOOOOOOOH!

[Him taking his training regimen to new, absurd levels. He didn't go anywhere without weights the lengths of his forelimbs. Several push ups, pull ups, sit ups, and whatever else he could think of were made before and after he entered every room. And that little gym he made for himself in the 'fake' city which covers the entrance of the base? Yeah, that's getting some real usage as he punches pretty much everything he can. Interrupt...?]

[2]

[Or do you want to try approaching him when he's in his room instead? Removing the weights as he readies for bed, Ken cringes several times over as he moves his hands over bruises, before returning to a default, sullen mood.]



...Who's there?

Comments

2

[star_of_sad]

It's me, Setsuko. It's just me.

Are you...

[Stupid question. Of course he's not alright.]

Can we talk?

Re: 2

[tiger_ken]

...Fine. Just turn around when I'm changing.

[Aaaaand almost immediately, he pulls off his shirt... revealing more bruises, plus some cuts that are only just beginning to scab over.]

[star_of_sad]

A-ah, yes!

[Setsuko turns, but not fast enough to avoid catching a glimpse or two.]

What were you up to?

[tiger_ken]

Getting ready for bed - would've thought it'd be obvious.

[He pauses.]

Been training since the last mission.

1

[empress_without_a_throne]

Ken.

[So much noise coming from your little mancave, Ken. More than enough for Mizuki to track you down.]

What are you doing.

Re: 1

[tiger_ken]

What does it look like?

[He asks, before with a spinning kick, he knocks a punching bag clear off its hook.]

Training.

[empress_without_a_throne]

Wrong answer. Training is when you're in a controlled environment and there's some moderation in what you do. This is just very fanciful self-mutilation.

When's the last day you've taken it easy after we fought the Indalph?

[tiger_ken]

Its only been a while since then, I can find some time to take a break later.

[How non-specific.]

And this is a controlled environment. I made it, I control it.

[As if to demonstrate, he attacks a self made striking post... which when struck, spins clearly faster than expected. He manages to deflect it all the same, but he was definitely caught offguard.]

2

[ugyuuya]

It's me, you taken it upon yourself to punish your failures there Ken?

[Yuuya leans against the door and gives a look at the younger man that is part annoyance, part concern, and part nostalgia.]

You know if we had to sortie right now you wouldn't be up at your full potential. Could you deal with that if something else happened out there?

Re: 2

[tiger_ken]

That's rich, coming from the guy who forced us to waste time and resources trying to find his sorry ass. Man, what would have happened if we had to sortie then? Bet we wouldn't be up to our full potential!

[Ken's clearly frustrated, but by the way his eyes dart back as he continues getting undressed, its also clear that's its not so much Yuuya's fault, as him just being the person nearby.]

If all you're going to do is complain, then you can just leave.

[ugyuuya]

I'm trying to offer up some advice as a concerned team mate. This [Yuuya firmly pokes a still healing cut in the center of a larger bruise with his knuckle] is not healthy and is probably doing more harm then good.

[Yuuya goes and pulls out a chair from the desk and sits facing Ken.]

I get that you're feeling guilty and understand that. I killed a member of my flight flying fancy and accidentally starting a landslide which buried and crushed his TSF. That was something I did on accident and is my guilt to bear, you didn't directly harm Sarah or do anything that led to her capture.

I've done what you're doing and almost crippled myself doing it, the only reason I didn't is because someone came and found me desperately trying to keep a set of weights from crashing down and crippling my left shoulder.

You keep going like this and you'll wind up in the infirmary for a sprain or worse, that is assuming something disastrous doesn't happen and leave you buried under a pile of scrap you built into another training machine.

Now I'm sitting here trying to help as an apology for our first meeting. I'd like it if we could properly bury the hatchet on our initial feud and focus on what's going to be important ahead.

[tiger_ken]

OW!

[Ken visibly reels over when the wound is touched, and he takes several moments - time in which for Yuuya to find his seat - to get the flare up to die back down. Once thats done, all he does is glare as the actual soldier speaks.]

Then lets hear your amazing plan on what exactly I should do then, eh? An actual answer would be nice, rather than a diatribe on how you screwed up but you're all better now.

2

[actuallyselfish]

"Ah!" Dido says, hopping back a bit form the room entrance. "Well..."

Her head lowers. "Nothing, no one. Nevermind."

She turns to go. You notice that she seems to be clutching something in her off-hand.

Re: 2

[tiger_ken]

Dido... come in. I can get changed after you've said... whatever it is you're here for.

[Thinking on it, he didn't know the mechanic much beyond him heaping a load of trouble on her with every sortie...]

So why are you here then?

Re: 2

[actuallyselfish]

"Well..." Dido steps into the room and opens her hand, revealing a medicinal jar.

"I heard–literally heard, mind you–that you were training yourself down to the bone. So I bought you some Tiger Balm."

She holds it out. "Tiger for ScarleTiger. It's a pun. Heh." She adds tonelessly.

Re: 2

[tiger_ken]

...Thanks.

[He takes the balm, and considers it before putting it down on a shelf.]

I shouldn't be working myself so hard after this... though I'm not quite sure what I'll do either. Don't exactly want to fight Mizuki again - woman hits hard.

1

[abugslife]

What kind of training is this?

Re: 1

[tiger_ken]

Trying... to get my body... beyond what it already is. Basic stuff, but more frequent and at a higher level than I've been doing already. I have... catching up to do.

1... 2... 3...

[Upside pull ups it is.]

[abugslife]

...You are trying to silence your guilty conscience.

1)

[tillallareone]

[There's the sound of a truck rumbling by, coming to a halt next to the gym. Should Ken go to take a look he'd see a very familiar one indeed.]

Ken.

[One of the doors opens up on its own, allowing him entrance.]

If it is alright, could you accompany me on a drive into the city?

Re: 1)

[tiger_ken]

...Uh... sure.

[Ken's... mostly confused, but had been considering heading back to base anyway. It'd be a chance to relax his muscles at least, something that he needed quite visibly as he clutched at aching joints on stepping into the autobot's cabin.]

[tillallareone]

[The door closes as Ken hauls himself into the seat. Admittedly at first glance you'd believe it to be a regular truck cab. Then taking a second look you'd notice all sorts of things... small screens and displays with all sorts of information flowing through - waveforms and numbers and an alien language flowing through. In any case, Optimus gets moving again as he drives through the empty roads of the false city.]

... Are you alright?

[A rather open ended question to ask... did Optimus mean Ken's state after the tremendous exertion from training... or did he mean what he felt after the mission?]

1

[way_of_bloodshed]

Ara, ara...What a cute little idiot.

[The sound of a woman giggling can be heard, echoing around the gym.]

Re: 1

[tiger_ken]

...Who?!

[Leaping into the heart of the room, so as to leave himself at a distance from any point of entry, Ken gets on the defensive as he looks about.]

Show yourself!

Re: 1

[way_of_bloodshed]

Show myself? How forward...But, I'm right up here.

[Up in the shadows of the ceiling, sitting on one of the support beams, is a woman-one with long blonde hair, ridiculously tight pants, and some kind of suit that's laughably small for her prodigious chest.]

Aaaah, to get the attentions of such a young boy...