[log] When violence doesn't work, try violence! [closed]

[mayora13]

Characters: Hijikata Toshirou and Tim Wright
Location O5 | bldg 92
Date: DAY 003 | Night
Summary: Hijikata discovers an intruder, immediately resorts to violence.
Warnings: None

[Hijikata had turned absolutely everything over in this house. Quite literally, in some cases, when turning a corner was accompanied with a faint whisper or creaking floorboard. Over the past two days, he'd managed to simply grind his teeth and startle without too much flailing.

But after waking up to a prick of pain in his arm and the resulting paralysis, Hijikata's adrenaline was overflowing to the point where sheer cool machismo could no longer quell what was, essentially, freaking the fuck out.

As soon as he could he bolted upright, nearly throwing his body off of the bed. The sound of a door shutting greeted him, and the man quickly ran from the room and tore into the living room. The air was still and stale, just as always, but a man's voice whipped through the house as if torn by high winds. Hijikata's fists balled and he turned-

Or he wanted to.

But there was definitely something behind him.

What the hell was he doing, shaking in fear and assuring himself in a tiny voice that at least pissing himself in fright would give him temporary warmth!? This was embarrassing, even if he was the only one around to experience it. He was the only one, right?

Hijikata whipped around, yelling with (an attempt at) courage and kicked the intruder. Take that, armchair! Certainly, it was a blow that would have defeated even the mightiest of foes, and the chair couldn't have hoped to remain upright.

He sighed.

Mission accomplished. Now to get the hell out of here-

Searching the day prior had turned up an impressive amount of jack shit, and he'd smoked his last cigarette. The man worried his lip before gathering his things and trekking out into the snow.

Only to return hours later, his tablet urging him back inside. Frozen fingers prodded uselessly at the screen as he nudged his way in the door, shutting it with a bit too much speed and force behind him. Hijikata's stomach rumbled, but before he could groan in dismay there came a thud.

And another. Another.

Footsteps.

A prickle shot down his spine before a rush of focus set in. That sort of focus a man gets when he's standing outnumbered on the battlefield or has to take a dump but the nearest public restroom is blocks away. Hijikata let his backpack and tablet down to the ground, crouching to muffle any noise they may make. Careful paces took him to the threshold of the room where the sounds continued. He heard them clearly, or was fairly certain that they repeated, so unlike any other bumps in the night.

Positioning himself to the side of the door, Hijikata tilted his head. Whatever this was, it wasn't a ghost. He could hit it. And he would, just as soon as the intruder thought to leave the room. They'd be met with an elbow to the gut and a hand shooting out to grab them violently.]

Comments

[maskintape]

[ Tim is very used to the fact that his life sucks. Like, really really sucks. But even by his own standards, it's safe to say that he hasn't been having the best day.

Still stuck in Bullshit Snowtown? Check.

Mystery shots that could conflict with his medication? Check.

Steadily worsening respiratory issues? Check.

On a scale of "done" to "really fucking done," Tim is currently registering at "so beyond done that even done-ness itself is impressed" on the done-o-meter. If the dictionary had an entry for "seriously 100% done with this shit," the definition would read "Timothy Wright." He is so done. Hella done. Done.

Yeah.

But at least he's found somewhere to stay the night! Things are officially looking up. Tim's foul mood is actually starting to lift a little as he wanders through the rooms of the house, up until the point where HOLY SHIT ELBOW TO THE STOMACH, WHAT.

Fuck this day. Fuck it.

The blow catches him completely off-guard, but he isn't completely inexperienced with being attacked by strangers in abandoned houses. He lashes out in automatic retaliation, bringing the broken chair leg he's been dragging around up in an attempt to hit his mystery attacker with it. ]

[mayora13]

[Hijikata was done as soon as he smoked his last cigarette. Somehow, through the haze of paranoia and freezing his fingers off, he'd entered into a state of irrational optimism, a nirvana of knowing that there was no way he'd be expected to live without tobacco. So running through his pack only had one logical conclusion.

Finding the way out.

Except all he'd found was more snow and since then his mood was absolutely irreparable.

Even fighting couldn't bring Hijikata back from the desolation of being out of cigarettes- wait- the desolation of being lost in a snowy wasteland. Right. That was the worst part, probably.

When his elbow connected with something corporeal, Hijikata nearly smiled. See, not a ghost. No such thing. Before he could bask in 'knowing that all along', though, a chair leg was flying at his face.

The man raised his arm, taking the full force of the blow with it to spare his head. The force sent him stumbling to the side, muscles weak from chill and lack of food. After using the wall to rebound, Hijikata launched himself forward, throwing a right hook at the intruder's head. It was sloppy, but with any luck, the retaliation would open this guy up to a more effective attack.]

[maskintape]

[ Here is a comprehensive list of everything that is okay with this situation:

- nothing.

As his attacker stumbled back, Tim took a step backward of his own. Nothing quite like an elbow in your gut to set off one of your customary coughing fits, amirite? That didn't mean he couldn't choke out a word or two, though. ]

What's your--

[ ..."problem" never makes it out of his mouth, thanks to that punch to his head. Tim reeled backwards, still coughing - thoroughly vulnerable to attack, but also clearly not attacking anyone himself, either.

He was still managing to hold onto that chair leg, though. ]

[mayora13]

[Hadn't Tim read the meta text!? His problem was the lack of cigarettes!! And he was cold! And something was running around this house sticking him with needles - which, so far as he knew, was you.

Mostly the tobacco though.

Yes. He will mentally go on about it every damn time.

The intruder's protests did nothing to stop Hijikata's attacks. The corners of his mouth twisted upwards with his advantage, and he grabbed the other man's collar. A quick kick was delivered towards the hand holding the chair leg with every intent of knocking it from his hand. No matter the outcome, Hijikata couldn't keep quiet.]

Who the hell are you!? [A wave of relief came from finally having someone to question. Now that he had someone to shout at, Hijikata's craving for violence took precedence. Finally, his hands were shaking not from cold or from withdrawal but from anticipation of hitting a bastard.]

[maskintape]

[ I hope Hijikata likes being coughed at as grossly as possible, because holy shit that's absolutely what is happening here. If it's any consolation, the kick does send the chair leg spinning harmlessly out of Tim's hand.

Pchooo. ]

Me? Who - [COUGH COUGH COUGH] who're you?

[ It takes another mini coughing fit before he realises that, uhm, he's not exactly in any position to be asking questions here. ]

I'm Tim, just - get off.

[ Annnnd he's trying to pull away as best as he can. What a trooper. ]

[mayora13]

[There isn't much Hijikata likes, but being coughed at as grossly as possible is absolutely on the lower half of that list. Maybe even the bottom 25%. Ew.

At least he'd disarmed the man, though even with the paranoia pervading his thoughts its difficult for Hijikata to see this intruder as much of an immediate threat.

He had him right where he wanted him.

Tim's question went ignored but for a twitch of the eye. Hijikata shoved forward, doing the exact opposite as demanded. He pinned 'Tim the injector' to the wall.] What are you doing here? What was in the needle?

[maskintape]

[ He attempts to resist, but all the coughing has left him even weaker than he otherwise would be. He has to settle for glowering instead - if nothing else, Tim is pretty good at giving people the stink-eye. ]

Do I look like a guy who knows anything about the needle stuff? Let go!

[ As he attempts to wrench himself from Douchelord McSurpriseattack's grip, Tim brings his leg upward in an attempt to knee him in the gut. Or the crotch. At this point he's not exactly fussy about codes of conduct. ]

[mayora13]

[The intruder's glaring only serves to tell Hijikata that he's guilty. That he's been caught and he's ready to swear up and down every bullshit reason why 'he doesn't know anything'. A small smirk spread on Hijikata's face.

If interrogation was what it'd take, so be it.]

What are you doing he- [He'd began to yell, but a swift knee to the crotch cut Hijikata's incredibly terrifying expert 'bad cop' level questioning short.

The man doubled over, grip not relenting on Tim's shirt, but any pressure put on the man to keep him against the wall was now gone.]

[maskintape]

I said let go of me!

[ Now that he has more room, he aims another desperate kick in Hijikata's direction while pulling up his own sleeve to reveal the site of his own injection. It's pretty bruised and livid - thankfully easy to notice. ]

Look at my arm, you stupid piece of-- look at my arm!

[mayora13]

[The kick connected, though not with an area as vital as his crotch. Hijikata's hand dragged down Tim's shirt, finally releasing it. Though this was more a continuing cringing reaction to the resonating pain from the earlier blow than the subsequent attack.

If anything, Tim's kick snapped Hijikata back to attention. His head jerked up, and although his posture didn't completely straighten, he'd recovered enough to glare at the arm being shoved in his face.

He raised an eyebrow.] Eh? What? [It looked an awful lot like this guy had received an equally shady injection, but-

That would be an easy thing to fake.] What happened? [Fine, have a chance to explain yourself. Their brief scuffle had been enough to assure Hijikata that if he needed to, he could subdue the intruder again. Unless of course the guy broke man-code for a second time. Asshole.]

[maskintape]

I assume the same thing that happened to you!

[ He backs off a few steps, wanting to put a little distance between them. For obvious reasons. Jesus christ. ]

I don't know how I got here, I don't know why, and this morning I got woken up by the gift of mystery paralysis needles. And then when I think things can't get any worse -

[ He motions towards Hijikata, adding a touch of jazz hands for effect. INCREDIBLE. ]

- I get jumped by some asshole! Thanks for that. You made my day.

[mayora13]

[The same thing-? For some reason, Hijikata's mind had imagined only one lone intruder with a needle, not an army of them invading however many fellow wanderer's shelters. The possibility almost seemed foreign, impossible, as if it was just some sort of clever trick. 'That sounds exactly like something a guy with a needle would say', sort of thing.

All of it did.

Except that sarcastic bit at the end. That made Hijikata want to hit him again, and no villain would risk that sort of repercussion. So while the man didn't trust this intruder to any extent, his blood calmed down from boiling and he backed away as well.

He leaned against the wall, as if he wasn't the asshole who just jumped some poor lost probably ill guy. Hijikata scowled, taking in the actual substance of what Tim was saying, rather than just squinting at it suspiciously.] So you're saying we're in this together.

Have you run into anyone else? [Did they beat you up too? Is that why you're so bitter? What would you do if someone broke into your house, huh!? It didn't make him an asshole, just well prepared!]