FFVIII: Final Cry (Ishu and BlisteredBlood)

At first, Alphonse was ready to unload one last attack on the Mantis, but since it was practically frozen in place, he decided against killing it this time. Besides, it wasn't going anywhere unless if it broke off its own limbs in order to get at him. A sigh was all Alphonse gave before replacing his weapon at his back once again with a sigh. Following this, he gave out a wince before reaching for his injured and bleeding side before dropping down onto his knee for a moment then stood up onto his feet once again, albeit slowly.

"Yeah..." Alphonse answered with the same wince on his face as his hand remained at his side, even as he felt Ishu's hand was now there, helping him in guiding him away from the savagely flailing Grand Mantis. "As for how I feel, I'm a little shaken up, but I can manage." He added.
 
She frowned worriedly as she watched him struggle with the pain. He told her he would be ok but she did not want to believe him, We can go back- we should go back. Ishu reached out and held onto one of his hands, We can- it'll be ok. Her eyes trailed down his side and stopped when she saw his bleeding wound, This is... you can't keep going with that- we should go to the infirmary. She was trying to idly pound the idea in his head that they should go back because she did not think saying it once to get through to him. She expected him to want to continue- plus she was sort of panicking.
 
"Hey." Alphonse chimed in after Ishu's mental voice was basically in a fully blown panic over his current condition then looked over to her with an arched eyebrow. "Listen to me Ishu," He began again as he continued to keep his hand at his side with a smile on his face. "It's not my first time at the rodeo, y'know. I've been through something like this before and I became a better person for it afterward. As long as I take it easy and rest up a bit," He added before motioning to the backpack in front of where his sword was. "Not to mention get a Potion into my system as well as rest up a bit, I should be alright. I just need a little bit of time, is all." He said before smiling at her again.
 
Oh... oh! Rodeo? Alright... I understand. She nodded a few times and looked to the bag he pointed at. She moved behind him and stood up on her tippy-toes, unzipping one of the pockets and going through it until she found a potion. She zipped the backpack back up and moved to his front. Let's get you... her voice trailed off as she looked around them. The Grand Mantis snapped at them before hissing and crouching down on its feet. Ishu gulped and smiled nervously, looking away from it, ... over here! She held onto his hand again and carefully led him over to a few rocks. She helped him sit down and opened the Potion, handing it to him while making sure it didn't spill.
 
A glance over to the Grand Mantis also would also convince Alphonse that moving elsewhere was probably the best idea that Ishu could think up, really. I mean really, who in their right mind would consider that healing up right next to a still alive and agitated monster - especially one that was still frozen to the ground - a good idea? Nobody that wanted to keep their head on for long, anyway! But now that they had moved away from the Grand Mantis after Ishu sat him down on the ground slowly, Alphonse looked up as she took one of the Potions he had out of the backpack and offered it to him after having opened it. "Ah, the liquid painkiller." Alphonse joked with a smile on his face as he slowly extended one hand out to hers, taking a hold of the wide-bottomed vial and brought it back towards himself before taking in an open mouth slug of the contents, making sure to get every last drop of the healing fluids, cringing afterward from the aftertaste. Sure, it didn't taste very good, but it was medicine and that was enough. Besides, what was one going to expect it tasted like? Cherry flavored? Hell no.

"Thanks, Ishu..." Alphonse answered with a sigh before putting a hand up to his side once more, wincing a bit still.
 
She nodded and took the bottle from him, tucking it back into the pocket of his backpack. She was very much against littering. Most people just tossed the bottles aside and left them for monsters to take care of. But she believed in proper disposal. Plus, leaving bottles behind was the same as leaving bread crumbs.

You should take a few minutes to let it kick in. She held onto his hand with both of hers, trying to be supportive while he healed.
 
Soon enough, the potion Alphonse ingested did in fact kick in, but it was pretty slowly. Not for nothing, but he'd probably be like this for a while. Not long, but long enough for him to not have any further complications later on. However when he saw Ishu putting the used bottle back into the bag, Alphonse arched an eyebrow at her questionably. Normally, he'd be the kind that just pitched those things off to the side of the road, but apprently this girl was a bit of a neat freak. Oh well, he figured. No harm done.

"Might as well," Alphonse answered. "Besides, I'll only make it worse if I moved too quick." He added with a shake of his head as he felt Ishu hold one of his hands with both of hers.
 
Ishu watched him as the potion started to hit home. She rubbed his hand between hers and asked, Do you want to turn back? We can go back. I don't mind, really. She was trying to push him to let her take him to the infirmary if he didn't feel capable of continuing on. She didn't want him to strain himself too much and then, inevitably, hurt himself more. We can't take that test tomorrow if we're not alive, right? Ishu smiled up at him, stroking the top of his hand as she spoke.
 
"Yeah, you might have a point. What say we call it an early night and get some rest for tonight? Besides, I'll be in better shape then." Alphonse answered with a smile on his face before slowly standing up onto his feet then smiled at her softly. "Come on. Let's head back." He offered before gesturing back to the entrance with his head.
 
Ishu nodded and moved her hands up his arm, helping him up to his feet. She did not let go of him and led him to the entrance of the cave, carefully waking up the ledge with his hands in hers. They met no resistance in the open area and continued along the path, stepping over the picked carcasses of the Granaldo and Grat they had killed earlier that afternoon.

Finally, they made it to the entrance of the Training Grounds and walked into the Garden. She breathed a sigh of relief, squeezing his hands lightly in hers, We're almost to the infirmary. She continued to lead him by hand as if she'd forgotten she was holding it- all the way to the hallway that dipped and stretched out past a sign labeled "INFIRMARY".​
 
Once up on his feet, Alphonse put his other hand to his side, wincing just a bit as he stood with a reassuring smile on his face that he aimed over to Ishu as the two began to walk back from the cave. Luckily for them, they hadn't met any resistance from here on out, but at least now he could take a breather from all of this crazy fighting and maybe even get some rest for right now. Besides, they still had a major league test to fulfill tomorrow and hopefully they would be able to help get Ishu her full SeeD recognition.

After some time, Alphonse would find himself being carted over to the infirmary area by Ishu. As much as he didn't want her to carry him all this way, he figured he might as well let her get away with this just once. After all, it was supposed to fall on him to care for her every waking hour of each and every day. Soon enough, Alphonse spotted the "INFIRMARY" sign and then gestured at it with a hand before he spoke. "There it is." He said to Ishu after a moment. "I think I can walk there, but you're more than welcome to hang around with me for the rest of the night." He offered.
 
She smiled at his off and nodded, I'll take you in to be seen. She probably wouldn't stick around the hole time. She needed to get rest, as did he, because of the test he would be helping her with the next day. Still holding his hand, she walked with him until they entered the Infirmary. They were greeted and seated immediately.

The doctor came to them pretty quickly and didn't bother asking what was wrong, "Please remove your armor so we can get a better look at your wounds."​
 
"Heh. Gonna hang around while I get looked at from top to bottom?" Alphonse teased her with a playful tone in his voice as he then glanced over to the doctor that came into the waiting room before slowly standing up on his own, despite there was still a present wince on his face.

At the doctor's direction, Alphonse unattached the armored mantle that was over his shoulders and pulled it up over his head before placing it down on the chair beside Ishu then turned the injured side of his body towards the doctor and pulled up that side of his partly ruined undershirt. The wound he suffered at the hands of that Grand Mantis looked pretty deep, but the potion he took to combat the damage he suffered looked as though it would require time to heal.

"How's it look, doc? Am I gonna be able to walk again?" He asked jokingly to the doctor.
 
Blushing, she laughed softly and nodded, Sure. Ishu looked over at the doctor and asked, Will he be able to accompany me with my SeeD testing tomorrow?

The doctor laughed and nodded, "Yes, yes you'll be fine!" She leaned over and dabbed at him with a moist cotton ball, "I will give you an overnight ointment and a Potion set. You can take it all throughout this afternoon. Put the ointment on when you go to bed. You'll be ready for that test tomorrow."​
 
"Just what I wanted to hear from you, doc." Alphonse answered as he then hissed out painfully from the disinfectant that was dabbed onto the slowly healing wound on his side before looking back over to Ishu once again. "Besides, I'd wanna be at 100% for when I get this little gal her SeeD license tomorrow morning." He added to her with a chuckle as he then took the ointment and potion set, thanking the doctor with a nod of his head.

"Alright Ishu, what say we go back to your place and chill out for a few? Besides, I might as well let this stuff settle into my system." Alphonse said with a shrug of his shoulders.
 
Beaming up at Alphonse, she kept herself from hugging into his side. Instead, she hugged his arm and stood up, helping him to his feet, Sure! We can have a snack together, or something, if you'd like. When he was ready to go, she led him back to the elevator. It went up and she put in the code, turning the elevator until it opened up into her entire bedroom. She stepped out and took him to a chair, sitting him down, Can I get you anything?
 
"You know, that would be great. Besides, it feels like ages since I last ate." Alphonse answered with a snicker, obviously teasing her about the trip to the cafe from earlier before being helped up onto his feet. Once up, he then began to take steady strides with her back out of the infirmary and out towards the main hall once again where the two would once again come upon the elevator that would lead them back up to the room that Ishu was staying in. After the elevator arrived, Alphonse stepped onto it with her before it brought them back up to her room, but it apparently arrived in another part of it. From the looks of things, it looked as though they had arrived in her bedroom of all places, judging from the look of it alone.

With that, Alphonse was then directed over towards a chair in the room and was placed into it, easing himself back into the seat with a bit of a wince, still smarting from the injury earlier. "Uh, yeah." Alphonse spoke up. "Anything sounds good at this point." He added with a nod of his head.
 
Nodding to him, she moved to the other side of her bedroom, opening a door and leaving it wide open as she stepped into it. She sounded a bit far off, the voice fading just a bit as she spoke to him, I hope muffins are ok. I don't have much food- unless you would like a banana. She rifled through her little kitchen-like area, grabbing a case of blueberry muffins and a cluster of bananas, bringing them out and setting them on the table. Oh! Ishu hurried back into the doors and felt around, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge and running back into her room. She smiled at him and put the bottle down next to the food, There! I brought you some water too.

Ishu sat down in the chair across from him, laying her hands in her lap, and watched him as if he were the very center of all her attention.
 
"Like I said, Ishu," Alphonse spoke as though Ishu was still in the room with him after seeing her head out to get him whatever it was she was about to bring back, only to come back with a case of muffins and a deal of bananas, too. "Whatever it is you got, I won't mind it at all. After all, a good meal's an important part to a good recovery, especially after what happened out there." He added with a nod of his head. After all, it was basically taught to him when he was first starting out on his road to becoming a SeeD member.

However, a bit of a frown was on Alphonse's face as he sat there on the chair, somehow wishing that he wasn't at the center of the universe. After all, Ishu needed something to eat as well, especially after vomiting up her parfait when he butchered one of the creatures earlier. "Hey, get yourself some of these things. Besides, I don't think I'll be able to get through all of this." He answered her with the same frown on his face.
 
Oh... alright, She reached over and tore off a banana and set it down infront of her, nudging it over to him while smiling. She then tore off another banana and began to peel it, watching as the soft, moist center began exposed by the gentle tugging of her delicate fingers. When she looked up again, he was still frowning. Not knowing who or what he was frowning at, and honestly a bit paranoid that it was directed to her, she asked him, Alphonse, are you alright? She brought the banana up to her mouth, gently hacking off the tip with her teeth and chewing it in her mouth. It was good, like always.
 
Once he saw her beginning to eat, Alphonse began to smile a bit, knowing that perhaps all of the attention wouldn't be diverted to just him now. After all, she needed to get something to eat too, he thought. With that, Alphonse opened up the case and took out one of those blueberry muffins and held it in his hand for a moment before taking a bite out of the top of the thing, munching on it slowly a few times then swallowed it down with the same smile on his face. When he heard her speak, Alphonse shook his head a bit before he replied. "No, I'm alright." He answered her with a smile. "Why, what's up?" He then asked.
 
You just look... She nudged the tip of her tongue over her teeth as she thought about what words to use, peeved? She bit off another little chunk of banana and chewed on the soft fruit while looking over at him. Maybe he was in some kind of pain from all of the battling they'd gone through that day? Are you- are you in pain? She chewed on her lower lip, ready to reach over and open another potion for him.
 
"Actually no," Alphonse answered with a shake of his head as he settled back into the seat after taking another bite of his muffin before propping up the back of his head with his arm that he brought up to the back of his head for him to relax on. "I'm alright. I just didn't wanna be the center of the universe because I'm all busted up, y'know? I wanna make sure you got something to eat, too." He added with a shrug of his shoulders.
 
Hearing him make a claim about being concerned for her health, she smiled and bit into the rest of the banana, chewing it up and swallowing it. She set the peel down, making sure only the outside touched the table so as not to leave a streak, and she sipped at her water while looking over him. As she realized she was staring again, thus making him "the center of the universe" she slowly averted her eyes to the frame of one of the doorways that led out of her room.​
 
After a little while, Alphonse continued to smile when he saw Ishu glance away from him, possibly thinking she was taking it a little too literally. "Hey, I don't mind it if you stared at me like that, you know." He said with a teasing chuckle as he then finished up the rest of the muffin he was holding in a couple of more bites. "You know," He began. "It's alright if you look at me." He added with the same smile on his face.
 
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