4th Worm

[waiting_for_the_worms]

[Well, Rin's party was mostly a success, except for the part where Kariya's last regain ended up getting opened after everyone had gone home.  Small blessing that only Rin and Kariya's housemates were really around to see it happen, but the package was indeed full of the Crest Worms he had carried in his body at home, and they wasted no time at all re-infesting every inch of his flesh.

Although it's been a few days, there's just no getting used to this sort of thing, especially when it happens all at once like that.  And unfortunately, there are obligations that Kariya has to fulfill or risk being droned.  He'd skipped work on Friday to plan Rin's party, and again on Monday while he recovered.  And while being droned would be a temporary reprieve, he doesn't want to worry anyone - least of all Rin.]

[Action; Mayfield Elementary School]

[Hey there, Mayfield's brightest young minds.  Ready for your writing and spelling lessons today?  You might be, but your teacher is clearly not.  Mr. Matou has definitely seen better days.  It's clearly still him, but his hair has turned stark white and his left eye is completely clouded over.  His face is gaunt, as if he hasn't eaten in days, and in a few places it's even possible to see the veins bulging underneath his skin.  He walks with a heavy limp, favoring the right side of his body as he slowly makes his way to the front of the room.]

Class--

[And there it is - another heavy coughing fit.  It's sickly and wet sounding, and his entire body shudders with the effort.  It lasts a few moments longer than is probably comfortable for anyone in the room, and it's a few moments later still that Kariya regains control of himself with a few deep breaths.]

...Open your books to page 32.

[Action; Mayfield Streets; early evening]

[Somehow, Kariya managed to make it through an entire day of teaching.  That's two more days he'll be able to go without having to come into work before he's forced into it again.  Maybe in that amount of time, he can find someone or something to help him with this little problem of his.  He's not holding out much hope, but Mayfield has people with talents he could only have dreamed of back home.  The real problem is finding someone, as he isn't exactly in the shape to be walking all over town.  But he's got at least enough strength to shuffle around for a few hours since he doesn't have the added strain of maintaining Berserker's summoning on top of dealing with the worms trying to eat him from the inside out.

...Again, small blessings.]

[Action; Salvation Church; night]

[And perhaps subconsciously, Kariya ends up at the church.  He knows Mayfield's church isn't full of Executors like Kirei Kotomine, but it's a familiar locale all the same.  Maybe he stumbled in here because the church is where he was headed next at home before passing out in an alleyway and waking up in Mayfield.  Who's to say, really.  But whatever the reason, Kariya throws open the front doors to the church, staggering toward one of the pews in the back row before collapsing into it, his breath heavy and labored.]

Tch... damn... pushed it too far...

[He can barely move right now apart from the motion of his chest as he catches his breath.  Even the task of walking around town takes its toll in his current state.  And while there are definitely worse places to have to spend the night, somewhere inside Kariya is kicking himself again for being so weak and so useless.]

Comments

[action: streets]

[doudemoe]

[Being a banker is almost more of a modeling job here. Minato can't shake the feeling that he was mostly picked for his charisma. Whatever, it paid well. Bank closed for the night, he's on his way home, where he runs into Kariya. Or, someone who looks similar to him, who is in a lot of pain.]

Excuse me. May I help you?

[waiting_for_the_worms]

[Have some more disgusting coughing before he's even able to answer.]

...Minato...

[doudemoe]

Kariya-ojisan!? What happened to you?

[Because last he checked you had black hair and looked healthy.]

[waiting_for_the_worms]

Heh... ojisan...

[He actually laughs a little at that, which sets off some more hacking and coughing.]

It's a long story.

[Action-School]

[ghostlygames]

[One of the students is more than a little concerned.]

Mr. Kariya? Are you okay?

[waiting_for_the_worms]

Mindy... don't worry.

[He muffles another cough with his hand.]

action; early evening

[gandere]

[ It pains her to have been apart from him since that night, but what could she say or do? Medical practices weren't her strongest thing and while she can repair a heart, that's quite the difference in undoing something as foul as that. Her day's only ruined further when she discovers the fate of her sister yet again, leaving her to feel more bitter this time around than before. Was it because of her father suddenly showing up that she allowed her guard to be down?

Keeping those thoughts in mind, she almost doesn't take notice of him. It's in poor taste for a user of the craft to not notice, so she wants to scold herself for it before she does recognize the shape of his body.

She pauses only to consider what's going on in her mind. Why does she remember a night so long when she was a child? Was it during the Holy Grail or some other time? It's hard to be certain with the memories of Mayfield wrapping around it, so instead she just forces herself to approach him. ]

Uncle! [ There's no running away from her as she rushes towards him instead. Yay youth. ] Uncle Kariya... I'm, I'm so sorry!

[waiting_for_the_worms]

[Fortunately for Rin, Kariya doesn't blame her at all for what happened. This has always been his own burden, accepted voluntarily and with full knowledge of what it would entail. Ironic that he should regain the worms on the same weekend that Sakura leaves them again, but it's an entirely fitting punishment by the standards of both the world he came from and this one. So when Rin comes running up to him, he makes no effort to move away. All he does is pull up his hood.]

Rin... this wasn't your fault.

[gandere]

[ Her fear when she looks at him remains clear in her eyes just like the ocean they stole the color from, Rin forcing herself to stare down at the ground. It's a gesture not out of shame for him, but to shield herself from the man who's becoming too knowledgeable of who she is. ]

It is my fault.

[waiting_for_the_worms]

No, it isn't. I knew exactly what I was getting myself into when I volunteered for the Grail War. This was always a burden I'd have to bear. If anything, I was stupid to think I deserved to live any other way in Mayfield.

streets

[answerer_sword]

Kariya.

[Bazett greets the familiar man. There seems to be something strange with the way he walks.]

[waiting_for_the_worms]

Bazett...

[Yes, there certainly is something strange with that. And his hair. And his eyes. And most of the rest of him, too.]

[answerer_sword]

[The voice is the same, as are the clothes, but everything else looks completely different.]

[She stops and stares at him.]

Are you Kariya? If not, what are you?

[waiting_for_the_worms]

It's me. I told you about this before, remember?

[He's unable to keep from sneering a bit, though it's mostly at his own circumstances.]

...I got it back.

Mayfield Elementary

[splashpuppy]

Uh... Mr Matou? Are you alright?

[waiting_for_the_worms]

I'm... I'm fine, Hajime.

[COUGH COUGH]

[splashpuppy]

Do you need some water?

[His answer to everything, really]

[waiting_for_the_worms]

I just need some rest.

[Action; Mayfield Elementary School]

[imjustpicky]

[Picky was just as concerned about his teacher as his classmates were, but he expressed it differently. He's used to being quiet and waiting for the right time to do something. So he turns to page 32, he does his work... and he waits for the end of class. When everyone else has filed out, he lingers behind.]

...hey. Mr. Matou. You need some help?

[waiting_for_the_worms]

It's all right, Picky.

[He's trying not to make eye contact. Something is clearly wrong that he's not talking about.]

[imjustpicky]

[He quietly considers if it's actually alright, his own gaze wandering around the room.]

...no, you sound really sick. Really, really sick. Is the town doing... stuff again...?

[He didn't remember hearing any calls or anything on the radio or TV, but... the last time he had seen someone looking so wretched it was right around the time that Ms. Johnson was ripping out organs and cracking open skulls in the name of science.

You gotta investigate these kinds of things carefully.]

[waiting_for_the_worms]

It's not the town. This happened before that. But it's nothing you need to worry about.

[He tries to move around the desk and toward the door, but all he's able to manage anymore is a pathetic hurried shuffle. It's hard when you can't feel half of your body anymore.]

Church

[ex_seventh238]

[The population of conscious people has notably declined since the beginning of the month. Not that Ciel has grown far too accustomed to the Church's usual calm (and friendly even, now that it's amassed a certain locale of usual crowd) atmosphere, but both reasons tallied might be why she's also gotten used to... not really expecting anyone. At this point, being present during the evenings became more simply part of a routine, rather than truly expecting any new faces to show that legitimately needed help of any sort.

...

Until tonight, apparently. She was on the second floor folding away some sheets (a vain effort to always keep the entire place tidy, but re: habits) when Kariya stepped past the bounded field that doubled as her personal 'doorbell', so to speak, and the twisted prana signature puts her on guard immediately. Ah, there's no hostile intention, but that's definitely an irregularity that shouldn't be. Quickly putting the sheet aside, she won't waste time making her way back down to the main hall, to which point she will catch sight of the slumped man with white hair collapsed onto the back row.

Frowning slightly, she begins stepping forward.]

...Hello?

[waiting_for_the_worms]

[The only response until Ciel's actually within his field of vision is his labored, ragged breathing echoing around the chamber. He did at least manage to collapse face-up into the pew, otherwise he might not have noticed her approaching at all, as most of his effort at this point is going into staying conscious. His good eye takes a few seconds to focus before he recognizes the voice and the form hovering over him.]

...Ciel?

[ex_seventh238]

[...So that's why the presence was familiar, despite the unsettling feel that came with it.

...

It wasn't hard to put one and one together. After all, when Sakura Matou first came to Mayfield, before both her sister and her own Servant arrived, she lived under the same roof as Ciel. The purple-haired girl had to explain her situation after the town pulled a nasty one on all of them, but it wasn't anything that couldn't be overcome.

But this...]

Matou-san.

[her pace picks up, and once by her side, she crouches down to reach his eye level. ...Ah, this is unmistakable. The craft of the Makiri...]

Mm, it's me. Please don't strain yourself.

[Saying the obvious, her mind is already racing. This is a body ravaged by worms. Exorcising a good portion of them won't be a problem, the issue lays with the fact that they likely possess all of Kariya's prana - and by extension, life force. It'd be like trying to get rid of bad blood cells by letting the victim flow dry; the risks of dying in the process are too high. That's not even considering any further complications, of how the worms are placed inside his body and which vital organs they have control over, or how they will react inside the host if they feel their existence to be threatened.

Her frown deepens. For the time being...

All she can do may be lessening the pain. Beyond that, it's going to take more careful analysis. Having concluded that much, she'll kneel beside him and attempt to carefully help him sit up straight with support.]