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Chunga Excerpt 2
Sunday, 2 September 2018 19:44Despite his momentary resolve on the floor of his office, Youzen called off sick the next three days of work, sending a text message to the office from his personal communicator. He spent each day doing mundane chores about his house, interspersed with anxious fits. He knew putting things off would only make them worse, but he couldn't seem to get a handle on his anxiety for long enough to actually face the situation. Youzen couldn't remember feeling this miserable before. He hardly ate, going through barely a half a bowl of rice in one day, sadly scraping the stale and unpalatable remains of the bowl into the trash before he went to sleep. Or tried to sleep—drifting off was hard, and he kept jerking awake at odd hours.
Youzen thought about trying to call upon Fugen again. But he still had no idea how to reach the other sennin; he'd forgotten to ask for contact information the last time they'd talked. And besides, he felt too vulnerable to be around Fugen right now. He supposed keeping Fugen continually at arm's length was counterproductive, but this felt like too much to dump on Fugen all at once. Maybe Youzen would sit down with him after everything had been resolved, but right now the only person he thought he could bear talking to was his shishou.
And so, on the fourth day, Youzen found himself heading once again to Taiitsu's laboratory, determined this time to ensure that Gyokutei was the next revival or die trying. He wasn't sure exactly how he planned to accomplish this, but maybe if he started crying in front of Taiitsu the scientist would take pity on him.
Into the lab Youzen went, through winding corridors, backtracking several times in his search to find exactly which room Taiitsu had squirrelled himself away in. Taiitsu's laboratory was composed of three large, all-purpose rooms, but the man had insisted on the construction of numerous smaller rooms, intended for more specified studies. Exactly which study took place in which room was a constantly-shifting mystery, however, as Taiitsu was about as organized as...
Youzen blinked. He couldn't complete that thought, his frazzled brain not giving him any useful comparisons. Well, the bottom line was Taiitsu was remarkably disorganized for a scientist, and it was somewhat of a miracle that his projects ran as smoothly as they did.
After an hour of wandering through the lab, Youzen finally managed to locate Taiitsu. The Juunisen was bent over some sort of workbench, his back to the door Youzen had just come through. He looked like he soldering something, as sparks were flying from between his hands. Engrossed as he was in his work, he seemed completely oblivious to Youzen's approach.
“Taiitsu,” Youzen called out, and then yelped and dove to the right as Taiitsu turned around, sending a beam of light into the space Youzen had been occupying just a moment before.
“Oops,” said Taiitsu, shutting off the contraption in his hands. “Hey, Youzen, your reaction time's pretty good.”
Youzen looked at a brand new inches-deep gouge in the wall, still smouldering faintly. “...Thanks.”
“So!” said Taiitsu cheerfully, removing the visor he'd been using to protect his eyes and setting it down on the workbench. “What brings our illustrious leader to my humble laboratory?”
Youzen squinted. “...What did you blow up this time?”
“Nothing!” said Taiitsu, a little too quickly. Youzen frowned. “Well, nothing important!”
“Taiitsu,” Youzen said warningly, stepping closer to the older man. Throwing up his arms defensively, he continued, “Hey, speaking of blowing up, I heard you and Nentou finally got into a fight?”
Youzen stopped dead in his tracks, a hot flush of shame rushing over him. Of course Taiitsu knew about it. Hell, all of Horai probably knew about it by now, and everyone was probably talking about how much of a coward he was for hiding himself away the past few days, refusing to face the consequences of his own impulsive actions—
“..Youzen? You good?”
Youzen blinked, shaking himself out of his reverie. “Yes. Fine. Yes.” Then he processed exactly what Taiitsu had said. “What do you mean, 'finally'?”
Taiitsu shrugged. “It took a while! I was sure you two would clash right from the start, given Nentou's charming personality. I guess I underestimated your self-control. You're really something!”
“Ah...” said Youzen, now thoroughly confused. “What?”
“Oh yeah, I guess you wouldn't know, would you?” Taiitsu said. “Since he was banished... how old were you? Wait, I don't think you'd even come to Kongrong yet. Anyway, Nentou was always getting into fights with people, even before he was made Juunisen. I fought with him myself a few times... Just verbally, mind you! He'd have kicked my ass if I tried to really fight him.”
“Really?” Youzen asked, curious.
“Duh, Youzen, have you seen him? He's like 200 pounds of muscle. He'd snap me like a twig.”
“Oh, undoubtedly,” Youzen said smoothly. Taiitsu made a face. “No, I meant did he really get into fights that often?”
“Yeah, all the time!” Taiitsu said. “His attitude pissed a lot of people off. He's pretty controlling, even if he doesn't mean to be. And the way he talks, even when he's trying to be nice, he says things in a way that makes them sound mean. So it was easy to get mad at him. I felt kind of sorry for him, to be honest.”
Youzen felt a wave of guilt wash over him. He should have been more tolerant. If he hadn't let his temper get the best of him, he wouldn't be in this situation now...
“But!” Taiitsu continued, clapping his hands together and making Youzen jump. “I guess that worked for him. Since it's what made the big row he had with Genshi Tenson so believable. Everyone was just like, 'oh, yeah, Nentou must have just finally crossed a line', you know? Nobody thought twice of it. Maybe he's mellowed out a bit since. Or maybe he's gotten worse since he was all alone after he got the boot. Has he apologised to you yet?”
“I, um.” Youzen looked at the floor. “He. No. I've been out of work the past... I haven't gone in.”
“Oh?” Taiitsu quirked an eyebrow. “You feeling ok?”
“Stomach bug,” said Youzen feebly.
Taiitsu patted him on the shoulder sympathetically. “You've been eating fine, right? I remember when you were a little kid you had a lot of trouble with the food Gyokutei gave you. Everything's been fine in the move?”
“I've had to adjust some things,” Youzen admitted. “If I'm not careful I'll make myself sick again, but for the most part I've been alright.”
Taiitsu nodded. “That's good. If Gyokutei came back and found out I'd let you get sick or something, he'd get real mad at me.”
Youzen felt a pang in his heart. He so desperately wanted to see his shishou again, but he wasn't sure how he could face him when he was barely holding himself together.
“Anyway, why did you come see me? I'm sure it wasn't to listen to me gossip.”
“No, but it's been enlightening,” Youzen admitted. “I just came to...” He couldn't very well admit the real reason he'd come now, especially now that he knew his row with Nentou was just an overreaction on his part. “Just checking up on you.”
“Oh, I'm fine!” Taiitsu said cheerfully, flexing an arm as if to prove it. “Nothing to report. We're all good here. Revival project's on track, Nataku is hale and healthy, and I remembered to eat three meals yesterday!”
Youzen couldn't help but laugh a little. “Glad to hear it. Keep up the good work, then.”
“Sir yes sir!” Taiitsu responded, giving Youzen a mock salute. Youzen rolled his eyes and turned to leave.
“See you around, Taiitsu. Try not to explode anything else before I see you again.”
Taiitsu's yell of indignation followed him out the door.
Youzen thought about trying to call upon Fugen again. But he still had no idea how to reach the other sennin; he'd forgotten to ask for contact information the last time they'd talked. And besides, he felt too vulnerable to be around Fugen right now. He supposed keeping Fugen continually at arm's length was counterproductive, but this felt like too much to dump on Fugen all at once. Maybe Youzen would sit down with him after everything had been resolved, but right now the only person he thought he could bear talking to was his shishou.
And so, on the fourth day, Youzen found himself heading once again to Taiitsu's laboratory, determined this time to ensure that Gyokutei was the next revival or die trying. He wasn't sure exactly how he planned to accomplish this, but maybe if he started crying in front of Taiitsu the scientist would take pity on him.
Into the lab Youzen went, through winding corridors, backtracking several times in his search to find exactly which room Taiitsu had squirrelled himself away in. Taiitsu's laboratory was composed of three large, all-purpose rooms, but the man had insisted on the construction of numerous smaller rooms, intended for more specified studies. Exactly which study took place in which room was a constantly-shifting mystery, however, as Taiitsu was about as organized as...
Youzen blinked. He couldn't complete that thought, his frazzled brain not giving him any useful comparisons. Well, the bottom line was Taiitsu was remarkably disorganized for a scientist, and it was somewhat of a miracle that his projects ran as smoothly as they did.
After an hour of wandering through the lab, Youzen finally managed to locate Taiitsu. The Juunisen was bent over some sort of workbench, his back to the door Youzen had just come through. He looked like he soldering something, as sparks were flying from between his hands. Engrossed as he was in his work, he seemed completely oblivious to Youzen's approach.
“Taiitsu,” Youzen called out, and then yelped and dove to the right as Taiitsu turned around, sending a beam of light into the space Youzen had been occupying just a moment before.
“Oops,” said Taiitsu, shutting off the contraption in his hands. “Hey, Youzen, your reaction time's pretty good.”
Youzen looked at a brand new inches-deep gouge in the wall, still smouldering faintly. “...Thanks.”
“So!” said Taiitsu cheerfully, removing the visor he'd been using to protect his eyes and setting it down on the workbench. “What brings our illustrious leader to my humble laboratory?”
Youzen squinted. “...What did you blow up this time?”
“Nothing!” said Taiitsu, a little too quickly. Youzen frowned. “Well, nothing important!”
“Taiitsu,” Youzen said warningly, stepping closer to the older man. Throwing up his arms defensively, he continued, “Hey, speaking of blowing up, I heard you and Nentou finally got into a fight?”
Youzen stopped dead in his tracks, a hot flush of shame rushing over him. Of course Taiitsu knew about it. Hell, all of Horai probably knew about it by now, and everyone was probably talking about how much of a coward he was for hiding himself away the past few days, refusing to face the consequences of his own impulsive actions—
“..Youzen? You good?”
Youzen blinked, shaking himself out of his reverie. “Yes. Fine. Yes.” Then he processed exactly what Taiitsu had said. “What do you mean, 'finally'?”
Taiitsu shrugged. “It took a while! I was sure you two would clash right from the start, given Nentou's charming personality. I guess I underestimated your self-control. You're really something!”
“Ah...” said Youzen, now thoroughly confused. “What?”
“Oh yeah, I guess you wouldn't know, would you?” Taiitsu said. “Since he was banished... how old were you? Wait, I don't think you'd even come to Kongrong yet. Anyway, Nentou was always getting into fights with people, even before he was made Juunisen. I fought with him myself a few times... Just verbally, mind you! He'd have kicked my ass if I tried to really fight him.”
“Really?” Youzen asked, curious.
“Duh, Youzen, have you seen him? He's like 200 pounds of muscle. He'd snap me like a twig.”
“Oh, undoubtedly,” Youzen said smoothly. Taiitsu made a face. “No, I meant did he really get into fights that often?”
“Yeah, all the time!” Taiitsu said. “His attitude pissed a lot of people off. He's pretty controlling, even if he doesn't mean to be. And the way he talks, even when he's trying to be nice, he says things in a way that makes them sound mean. So it was easy to get mad at him. I felt kind of sorry for him, to be honest.”
Youzen felt a wave of guilt wash over him. He should have been more tolerant. If he hadn't let his temper get the best of him, he wouldn't be in this situation now...
“But!” Taiitsu continued, clapping his hands together and making Youzen jump. “I guess that worked for him. Since it's what made the big row he had with Genshi Tenson so believable. Everyone was just like, 'oh, yeah, Nentou must have just finally crossed a line', you know? Nobody thought twice of it. Maybe he's mellowed out a bit since. Or maybe he's gotten worse since he was all alone after he got the boot. Has he apologised to you yet?”
“I, um.” Youzen looked at the floor. “He. No. I've been out of work the past... I haven't gone in.”
“Oh?” Taiitsu quirked an eyebrow. “You feeling ok?”
“Stomach bug,” said Youzen feebly.
Taiitsu patted him on the shoulder sympathetically. “You've been eating fine, right? I remember when you were a little kid you had a lot of trouble with the food Gyokutei gave you. Everything's been fine in the move?”
“I've had to adjust some things,” Youzen admitted. “If I'm not careful I'll make myself sick again, but for the most part I've been alright.”
Taiitsu nodded. “That's good. If Gyokutei came back and found out I'd let you get sick or something, he'd get real mad at me.”
Youzen felt a pang in his heart. He so desperately wanted to see his shishou again, but he wasn't sure how he could face him when he was barely holding himself together.
“Anyway, why did you come see me? I'm sure it wasn't to listen to me gossip.”
“No, but it's been enlightening,” Youzen admitted. “I just came to...” He couldn't very well admit the real reason he'd come now, especially now that he knew his row with Nentou was just an overreaction on his part. “Just checking up on you.”
“Oh, I'm fine!” Taiitsu said cheerfully, flexing an arm as if to prove it. “Nothing to report. We're all good here. Revival project's on track, Nataku is hale and healthy, and I remembered to eat three meals yesterday!”
Youzen couldn't help but laugh a little. “Glad to hear it. Keep up the good work, then.”
“Sir yes sir!” Taiitsu responded, giving Youzen a mock salute. Youzen rolled his eyes and turned to leave.
“See you around, Taiitsu. Try not to explode anything else before I see you again.”
Taiitsu's yell of indignation followed him out the door.
