Work Text:
“You should really be more careful,” Ten Shouin’s voice is soft even as he runs his hands through Hibikiiga’s most sensitive mechanisms. If he hadn’t deactivated their ability to move from the neck down, they’d shiver at the touch. As it is, all they can do is let out an involuntary laugh.
“Ah, but then we would be missing these moments together, wouldn’t we, your Majesty?” Confident, despite the gaping hole in their chest and their Emperor’s sharp claws currently stuck inside the back of their head as he continues to turn off critical systems to ready them for surgery, Hibikiiga continues. “After all, if this duty ever became burdensome to you, you could simply pass it on to one of your skilled underlings. Toori’s android would surely be familiar with repair protocols, no?”
“You speak as though I could trust anyone else to not use you for their own purposes.” Ten Shouin examines the wound which, luckily, managed to avoid Hibikiiga’s remaining organic systems. His blue eyes look colder than usual in the clinical light of this private repair room and he’s taken off his usual cloak. One too many lessons learned from fabric snagging against charred metal. It leaves Ten Shouin looking strangely small, the scene intimate. Hibikiiga wishes, as always, for Hassumi to step into the room at this moment.
“What did you say your system warnings were again?” Ten Shouin carefully runs a finger along the edges of the hole, pointed fingers on cold metal.
Hibikiiga wishes they could swallow to fight the dryness of their mouth and throat, or move to assuage the electric sensation that seems to have set their nerves on fire. Instead they dig within their files for the list of currently flagged problems. “Hull damage,”
“Obviously.” The Emperor moves his chair slightly, giving him more leverage as he grabs Hibikiiga’s unmoving body and turns it around.
“Internal coolant spill and associated temperature control and contamination risks. Loss of contact with certain systems, the projectile managed to sever all internal connectors to my right leg and may have damaged ones close to it as well.”
Fingers brush against their neck as his Majesty lifts their hair, pulling it over their shoulders, away from their back. “No exit hole?”
Hibikiiga, unable to nod, can only continue talking. “I believe the projectile lodged itself into the back plating.”
“And no organ damage?” Cool air brushes against their back as the Emperor methodically undoes their zipper and peels down the bodysuit. He lets out a warm laugh. “You have goosebumps.”
A claw dances down the skin of their back, and Hibikiiga wishes they could squirm. “It’s cold,” is all they can offer in defense. “No organ damage. Critical systems appear to be functioning but affected by the broken coolant vein.”
Once their suit has been pulled down far enough, now resting at their waist, they are laid back down onto the operating table. “If you’ve had a coolant spill it’s for the best we keep the room cold. Is that your entire damage report?”
“Ah, as always you torture me so~” Hibikiiga pushes aside the heat that rises in them at the remark. Ten Shouin is well-trained at pushing their buttons and seems to delight in doing so in these moments, when it’s just the two of them in these private surgical repairs. “Unless my system hasn’t been able to flag it, I believe that is everything.”
The Emperor rests one hand on the center of Hibikiiga’s chest, perfectly placed over where their human heart still beats, three clawed fingers resting on skin and two on their metallic chestplate. Hibikiiga yearns for control of their body to lean into the touch, their gaze seeking that of their Emperor, who seems preoccupied looking at the hole in their chest.
“I’ll have to check your eye”, he lies. There’s no need to check their mechanical eye.
“Of course, your Majesty, say the word and I shall give you whichever of my body parts you desire!”
At that, Ten Shouin smiles, trailing his hand up their chest to cup their non-metallic cheek, gloved hands against human skin. “You should be careful what you promise to a devourer of dreams, my dear Hibikiiga.”
“I’ve already become your left hand, have I not?” Since they are still able to turn their head, Hibikiiga leans into the touch until their Emperor’s hand moves back once more. “Will you devour my eye as well?”
“You’ll have to give me time to consider it,” Ten Shouin responds. He bends one finger, letting one of his claws run underneath their remaining human eye. “I like your eyes, both of them.” Then he pulls back his hand and sits back up straight, returning to business.
At the edge of Hibikiiga’s vision, Ten Shouin pulls the larger diagnostic system closer and reaches for two of the wires. “I’ll have to open your chest to check for the full damage done by the projectile and to fish out any other contaminants and replace the broken wiring and mechanical pieces.” While talking, he runs one hand gently along the side of Hibikiiga’s destroyed chestplate until his claws manage to hook into the release mechanisms. “Do you want to remain conscious?”
Hibikiiga laughs involuntarily again. “Your Majesty must be joking, he should know I would never wish to miss this.”
“Do you want to watch?” Ten Shouin smiles at them.
They nod. “Nothing would bring me greater pleasure than watching you work.”
Their Emperor’s smile widens as he rolls his chair to the side of Hibikiiga’s head. It is the one thing they’re still able to move and so they concentrate on keeping as still as they can as his claws reach for their mechanical eye, wrapping around it before the tip of one claw sinks into the small hole on its side.
Hibikiiga closes their other eye as their visual system shuts down and the mechanisms holding the eye release, allowing Ten Shouin to remove it. When they open their organic eye again, they can see him holding the other one gently in one hand while plugging a wire into the hole that once held it.
Hibikiiga can feel the way their body grips at the plug, the connection to the main system of the diagnostic console flooding their own system with requests for a brief second before it’s fully established. Compatibility has never been a problem since the console has grown with Hibikiiga’s own robotics, but the process of hooking up to an external device will never not be intrusive.
They close their eye again, knowing what happens next as their Emperor puts the eye onto the side of the diagnostics console and attaches another wire. Seeing themself from the outside will never not be dizzying, and the double vision caused by seeing from two different places would not help at all. Their sight returns in less than a breath and allows them their first clear sight at the state of their body, laid out in full in front of them, with Ten Shouin sat beside it, looking very pleased with himself.
The area of the impact is coated in coolant, which has by now congealed into a sticky blue coating that still sticks to the edges of the hole in their chestplate, metal bending into their chest. Alerts ring in their head as they stare, reminders that this is incorrect and requires fixing.
Originally the coolant had resembled blood to keep up the appearance of humanity, but eventually blue had replaced red to better distinguish wounds in their severity and urgency. The change has, sadly, led to a loss in dramatic effect that has made Hibikiiga consider installing stage blood somewhere.
There’s a small click and then the change in weight as the chest-covering is lifted out of its frame. The usual resistance as their wiring releases from the plate is missing and they can feel the empty lines of coolant simply slip out of the plate and fall back into them, the impact making parts of their face wince, before Ten Shouin has fully lifted it off. A handful new warning messages pop up, but Hibikiiga shoves them to the edge of their consciousness without giving them much consideration.
The inside of their chest looks wrecked, a bundle of wiring has clearly been severed completely, and the projectile seems to have burnt some stuff before being smothered by the coolant spill, which covers almost every surface, partially to fully congealed depending on the amount of it.
When Ten Shouin turns back around after putting the plate on the side, he’s holding two external coolant lines in one hand and shears in another. “It looks like the spill is contained to this area, which means the emergency protocols worked this time.” The tips of the burnt coolant lines are severed before Ten Shouin hooks up the external connectors. “But you have the tendency to heat up during repairs.”
There’s a satisfying clunk as lines connect and the coolant lines spring to live again, now cycling through an external tank attached to the table. “I am simply a slave to the whims of this body.” Hibikiiga closes their mechanical eye, frozen in place and unable to even shiver as the coolant begins to flow through their body yet again. “Who wouldn’t overheat under the loving care of his Majesty the Emperor Ten Shouin?”
Claws dig into a bundle of wires, sending electric sparks through Hibikiiga’s body. There’s nothing hurried about their Emperor’s touch, methodically hooking his finger under each individual wire he finds and pulling those that have been fully severed into the air for easier access. “Some of these are damaged, but not severed,” he comments after a moment. “And I may need to open you up more to replace the ones that were damaged, I can’t quite see where they attach.”
“Of course, whatever his Majesty desires~”
It’s not quite the sensation of a hand digging into flesh. There are no nerve endings in the metallic cage Ten Shouin is running his fingers through. There’s no pain as he pulls on wires and presses claws against plating, and Hibikiiga has never understood the response their system does send at these touches. Electric pulses, too weak to be a shudder, that nevertheless feel overwhelming with their motionless body unable to respond to the touch.
It feels like falling, endlessly waiting for the impact and pain to come while the world continues to rush by, movement made entirely impossible by the switch their Emperor had flicked only a few minutes before. The impact never comes, however, and all they’re left with is claws against wires, disturbing the electromagnetic balance within their body. They wonder, idly, if he’s turned off their ability to become nauseous as well.
When Ten Shouin unceremoniously pulls out a wire with a quick yank, their systems briefly flare up red before settling once more. Their body still wants to seize up, curl into a ball, the last of their remaining human instincts screaming at what their mechanical eye calmly registers.
Ten Shouin continues to pull on cables, each one of them a jolt of a warning as it’s removed, only briefly pausing to look at Hibikiiga’s expression, a small smile on his lips. “Some days I wonder if you’re careless just for my attention.”
Claw tips brush at the edge of Hibikiiga’s skin. “His Majesty the Emperor should be well aware that I have many tools at my disposal to catch his eyes, not just the inner workings of my body.” And Ten Shouin would likely find a reason to take them apart even if they weren’t injured.
When he sets aside the torn and burnt wiring, their motionless arm strains to reach for it. The projectile had burnt a clean hole through the center of the cluster connecting parts of their hip to other systems and the hole is visible even in the disorganized cluster. Their system continues to ping it as relevant, especially as the loss of sensation in their right leg continues to dominate their warnings. It’s a strange approximation of human instinct, telling them to take the broken wires and put them back where they belong, a bright red flaring in their mind, increasing only as Ten Shouin removes another bit of plating further down their chest.
“It would be… impertinent, of a simple General such as me to presume I could ask anything of my Emperor, but—” Their voice comes out breathier than they expect, strained as though it’s taking them effort to speak.
Ten Shouin looks up, his gaze meeting Hibikiiga’s for a second, shock plainly written on his face.
“Could you move those wires?” At least they can still tilt their chin towards the wires lying in view, even if it takes a moment for them to coordinate the directions in which their body should move.
A smile blooms on their Emperor’s face and perhaps the effort of asking a question is worth it for that expression. “Yes, I’ll move them. And I should be able to install the replacement soon.”
He does get up then, setting down the platring he’d been holding outside of Hibikiiga’s view, picking up the broken wires and walking a few steps to the storage containers, leaving their view entirely.
Their systems passively log that the now-opened section of their chest is, indeed, free of any congealed coolant.
“We might have to consider adjusting those protocols in the future, if they’re bothering you right now,” Ten Shouin muses as he moves around in the dark spaces outside of Hibikiiga’s view. “Your body is, of course, quite the marvel, but we can’t have its systems become an obstruction.”
There’s the quiet hiss of a container opening and a brief moment of low murmuring. “I haven’t had the time to work on improvements, yet, but perhaps we should consider adjusting the wiring and hydraulics to be sturdier.”
“Sturdier joints and wiring would require thicker plating everywhere, we are still bound to the limits of my flesh unless his Majesty wishes to see me embrace asymmetry?”
It already feels wrong, a body that was built for them by someone else, metallic and unchanging even as they’re endlessly tinkered with by their Emperor. He really must have turned off their ability to feel nausea, because the unease doesn’t manage to settle as they consider the thought.
“You’re right. It wouldn’t be you, would it?”
“No it would not, your Majesty. And if I was sturdier, how would we make time for our little rendezvous like this?”
Ten Shouin laughs, gently. “How wise of you, I really did make the right call making you my Left Hand.”
Preening is difficult in their current position, but Hibikiiga is satisfied enough with the smug expression they’re showing off at the praise anyways.
“I still need to find what is left of the projectile,” Ten Shouin says as he returns to Hibikiiga’s side, a small container in his hand. “I’ll also have to clean the coolant and burns.”
“Ah, to be bathed by his Majesty, such a rare honor!”
Ten Shouin, his face turned away from their eye as he settles back in his seat, makes a small sound that might be a laugh and runs another hand over the soft skin of their stomach as if in response. “Perhaps I will bathe you properly, after, this, you seem to have gotten quite sweaty as well~”
The touch tickles uncomfortably, with Hibikiiga unable to squirm even if they wanted to. Luckily Ten Shouin quickly turns his attention back to their robotic half, once his claws pass from skin to metal. “That, too, would be an honor, your Majesty.”
Ten Shouin, seemingly having forgotten the current location of their eye, smiles at Hibikiiga’s face, an expression they cannot quite read from their current location. “Then let us arrange it. For now I’ll contend with making certain nothing sticky stays inside of you. Hopefully the projectile will turn up in the process.”
A cloth and brush are pulled from underneath the operating table, as is a small hose, which Hibikiiga knows is attached to a similarly small tank of cleaning liquid. Ten Shouin’s care for them is, as always, meticulous, the liquid itself one adjusted from use on androids to their amalgamation of a body, acidity reduced so as to not harm their skin in case it comes in contact with it, but kept cold enough for them to feel every drop of that does touch their non-mechanical parts.
The cavity in their chest is self-contained, plating sectioning off different areas, both to allow for easier cleaning in case of a coolant leak like this and to better allow containment in case of worse emergencies. At this moment it provides the convenience of holding the cleaning solution while Ten Shouin uses it to wipe away congealed coolant and burn marks.
The liquid feels heavy as it fills their chest, pressing on the systems and mechanisms still protected under plating. Hibikiiga does not enjoy talking during the cleaning itself, and their Emperor is by now well aware of this, humming a melody only he seems to know as he pushes the wet cloth between the remaining wiring. Hibikiiga mourns the ability to squirm and applauds their own ability to control the parts of their body still capable of movement.
“I’ve always wondered why you dislike this, Hibikiiga,” Ten Shouin says after a moment of gentle brushing.
“Ah, you must be misreading my emotions, your Majesty, perhaps I am simply enjoying the luxurious treatment and contemplating whether or not a rubber duck would suit the occasion.”
Ten Shouin turns, now to their eye. Has he remembered, or has he always been aware of where they’re actually watching him from? “There is no offense, Hibikiiga, I was simply curious. I’ve had a feeling that some kind of sensation remains even in your robotic body and since my own remains entirely organic, I have little to compare it to.”
“Your Majesty, are you accusing me of lying about my feelings?”
“Would you lie to me?” A redundant question. Both of them know they have.
“I would never lie to my Emperor,” Hibikiiga lies.
“In that case, will you describe what it feels like? This?” There’s a splash of liquid as it moves in small waves from side to side, pressure against the metal separating metal from air and metal from flesh.
They laugh, strained. Of course, an obvious lie would backfire immediately. “Shall I compare me to a summer day?”
“The sound of your voice is a lovely companion during my work, if you don’t mind.”
They attempt to swallow before remembering they cannot, immobilized, liquid just above their lungs. “My systems flag the presence of anything that doesn’t belong entering my body. I imagine it’s not unlike the way a human might feel pain as a foreign object enters their body, though for me there’s no pain. An eyelash inside your eye might be a fitting analogy, if the eyelash was cleaning your intestines.”
“Do you feel this?” Ten Shouin brushes over a cluster of wiring and Hibikiiga watches the coolant dissolve into the liquid surrounding it.
“Yes, your Majesty. There may not be a fitting analogy, however. I can feel the movement, the touch, it… influences the readings I’m getting, the information being sent. Not a disturbance but like a flicker? A vibration?”
Ten Shouin’s continued brushing does not aid their ability to concentrate. The liquid, heavy and cold, moves with Ten Shouin’s hands, making small splashes. Perhaps it is convincing part of their human mind that they should be drowning.
“A vibration you say? I wonder how an actual vibration would feel, then~”
Hibikiiga manages to smile convincingly. Perhaps an upside to their current external view is the ability to monitor their own expressions much easier than usual. “Ah, if his Majesty re-enabled my ability to move, I might be able to demonstrate. I can only assume it would feel like a vibration, physically, and a jackhammer against my electromagnetic field!”
“Not very fun, then.” Ten Shouin lifts some wiring to wipe underneath it, only to make a triumphant sound. “Finally, I found it.”
There’s some fumbling, as his hand needs to be held at an odd angle and Ten Shouin’s claws are less dexterous than normal fingers would be, but after a few seconds Hibikiiga’s Emperor is holding the projectile in the air, against the light above the two of them, inspecting it before presenting it briefly to Hibikiiga’s detached eye.
“There doesn’t appear to be anything special about it,” Hibikiiga says after looking at the projectile for a few seconds. It’s a small bullet, as they’d suspected, compacted by the impact against their plating.
“No, there isn’t, but as always it never hurts to check. I would not put it past our enemies to shoot you with a listening device, hoping to overhear sensitive information.”
“How disappointed they must be, then, to bear witness to his Majesty the Emperor’s terrible bedside manner instead.”
“Terrible bedside manners? I didn’t know you felt that way, Hibikiiga.” There’s a splash as Ten Shouin’s hand once more dives into the water, this time aiming for some wires to squeeze them, causing several alerts to pop up at once and Hibikiiga to let out an undignified sound in surprise. “Tell me, how does this feel?”
How exciting, to discover that the Emperor Ten Shouin can still surprise them after all this time!
“And so the accused proves the allegations!” There is no threat to the gesture, not with the time and effort their Emperor has invested in building them and rebuilding them again and again, and he lets go of the wiring after only a few seconds.
“I am terrible, am I not?”, Ten Shouin asks, sounding more amused than anything. Perhaps he means it.
“Terrible and terrifying, your Majesty, were I anyone else I may have begun disassembling myself on the spot.”
“You’ve been spending more time with Toori’s android, by the sound of it.” Ten Shouin sounds amused, clearly enjoying the pushback.
“Only because you abandon me so, your Majesty! What else is a girl like me to do, when one must get shot to catch your eye.” Were they in control of their arms, they would pretend to swoon. As they are not, Hibikiiga settles on fluttering their eyelashes at their Emperor.
“So you admit you got shot to get my attention?” Ten Shouin’s voice is light as he continues to clean the remaining coolant out of Wataru’s chassis and wiring.
“I admit to being glad to have it, I will not admit to anything else, your Majesty.” If they’ve said too much, they will find out soon enough, but Ten Shouin has never been vindictive, not when it came to them.
“Perhaps I should make time for you then.”
“Hassumi will be excited to hear about this change in priorities, your Majesty, shall I inform him of it right now?”
“If you want him to interrupt this, go ahead, but you know he’ll want to inform us of how he feels immediately.”
Hibikiiga can feel when the final bit of coolant has been removed, though Ten Shouin brushes over everything a few more times to make certain of it, and they know from experience he won’t listen to them if they insist on being done with this step.
Once the inside of their chassis is cleaned to both of their satisfaction, Ten Shouin pulls out another hose and lowers it into the liquid, before pressing the button on the underside of the operating table that starts the pump.
The sound of it is loud and unpleasant, grating and, especially as the final bits of liquid are sucked up, kind of gross, and Ten Shouin’s dislike of it is written on his face.
Hibikiiga, on the other hand, can read the relief on theirs very plainly, even after they relax into something a little more neutral.
Ten Shouin luckily does not see their face journey, as he turns to clean his hands and change the gloves he’s wearing. The final drops inside their chassis are wiped away with an absorbent cloth, Ten Shouin taking particular care to catch the connectors and plugs the new wiring will eventually go into. Hibikiiga’s wiring, thankfully, is not susceptible to small amounts of moisture, a crucial design element for a cyborg whose heart continues to pump blood through their veins. A bleeding wound should never be able to fry the systems that help keep them alive.
When Ten Shouin reaches for the container of replacement wiring, he must catch a glimpse of Hibikiiga’s expression. “You seem excited for the end.”
“As much as I enjoy being completely at your mercy like the lamb before the slaughter, I am looking forward to being able to move again, your Majesty, I’m sure you understand.”
A clawed hand runs down their chest again. “I do prefer you mobile, it suits you much better.” Ten Shouin is speaking directly to their face, voice soft. Honest.
“A jester must dance, after all!”
They briefly blink open their organic eye, ignoring the dizzying double-vision to catch a glimpse of Ten Shouin’s expression. A fond smile, eyes widening in surprise when he sees their open eye. “Yes, and my Left Hand must move.” Fingers flex and spread on their chest. Ten Shouin is using his own left hand to touch them.
“Of course, there is little reason to keep a limb that has lost its purpose. You may rest assured that I intend to fulfill mine to the best of my abilities.”
Ten Shouin smiles again and returns to the task at hand. “Good.”
The wires are meticulously organized in their container, untangled and only bent enough to fit into. Ten Shouin sets the lid of the container to the side and then pulls the first wire out.
“Any preference?”
“Bottom first, that way my system won’t be confused about an unconnected wire.”
Ten Shouin nods and leans down over the hole in their torso, an expression of intense concentration on his face. He looks a little like a child, playing with a very expensive toy. Hibikiiga can feel his claws run over the plugs to locate the one in the array that will be the furthest away.
As disconnected as their leg is, they don’t feel anything beyond the change in static as the first bit of wiring is plugged in. The satisfying click of the connector does still make them breathe out a sigh of relief.
Ten Shouin carefully lays the wire into its designated area within Hibikiiga’s chest cavity. There’s enough empty space to allow for both efficient cooling, dents and movement from them, but properly sorted wiring will aid in future repairs. Usually, wiring would be labelled, or color-coded. Theirs isn’t, as only Ten Shouin is allowed to do repairs.
When the connector is plugged into Hibikiiga’s chest, they cannot stop the gasp as their system briefly flares before identifying the connected entity as their own leg. The impulse to move it, to test the new connection, is strong, and they have to concentrate to push the urge aside as Ten Shouin grabs the next wire. Being reminded of their inability to move in this moment would only unsettle their systems more.
“Is everything alright?” Their expression must have given them away once again. Disappointing, how not even an outsider's viewpoint seems to aid in masking at times like these.
They nod their head. “I am simply suppressing the urge to leap with joy, your Majesty, as I’m sure you wouldn’t appreciate my attempt to do so.”
It’s unpleasant, in moments like this, their instinctive systems and active control struggle against each other. It had been worse in the past. Before they’d figured out how to deactivate Hibikiiga’s movement, before they’d been able to deactivate it fully, they’d frequently broken heavy restraints with ease. Now, the worst they risk is a few alarms flaring in their head as they are reminded of their immobility, if they don’t concentrate on suppressing them.
Their Emperor smiles. “Patience, Hibikiiga.”
Even if they wanted to, they would not be able to rush him. Their Emperor must take some pleasure in it, in watching them laid bare, in the meticulous attention he gives the robotic parts of their body. His interest in it had grown as their mechanical replacements had, as had his collection of replacement parts and the capabilities of his private laboratory. Built for Hibikiiga alone, it holds enough replacement parts to rebuild their entire body twice over, equipment finely tuned to them alone.
Who could ask for more?
“As you wish, my Emperor.”
Their patience is rewarded, as the next plug brings half of the sensors in their leg back to life, allowing them to once again fully feel it when Ten Shouin’s hand runs over the array again, the soft whir of electricity seeking its like and being unable to find it in the gloved claws of their Emperor.
Emergency alerts slowly disappear from the periphery of their consciousness, as wire after wire is plugged in, freeing up their mind. Ten Shouin’s leisurely pace allows them to truly appreciate the change in sensory experience with each plug, and when the final wire is connected, sinking into their body where it belongs, they let out a sigh of relief.
“Do you still want to jump with joy?” Ten Shouin asks, looking very satisfied with himself as well.
“If I could dance, your Majesty, I would.” Synthetic muscle and hydraulic joints ache to be moved.
Ten Shouin grins at them, this time remembering to turn towards their mounted eye. He still looks satisfied, but with a more direct angle Hibikiiga can see that he’s tired as well.
The external cooling line is detached once more, and Hibikiiga can feel the way their system warms up without the flow of it through their body, but Ten Shouin acts quickly now, as he pulls out a new coolant line, close to perfect length to be attached to the ends now.
The first plating reattaches to their chest without issue, and Ten Shouin seems to have had the replacement for the destroyed piece ready with the rest of the wiring, stashed somewhere out of sight.
The coolant line is pulled out slightly to attach to the plating and then their Emperor lowers it over their chest, until it sinks down, Hibikiiga’s body closing again. With it, the last of the warnings disappear just as the hiss of internal pressure adjustment sounds.
“I assume all is well?” Ten Shouin looks at them expectantly.
“Lack of eye aside, I believe so, your Majesty.”
Their Emperor makes a dismissive gesture, less concerned with their eye than Hibikiiga. “Let me turn your movement back on first.”
Their body is hefted upright, and Ten Shouin seems careful to not dig his claws into their skin for once, even as it threatens to fall backwards. He leans closer to their head again, now to turn it to the side, away from him.
Hibikiiga can feel their hair moving even as they cannot see what Ten Shouin is doing behind their back as he uncovers the small panel in the back of their head. A few, skilled movements from clawed fingers later, the panel has slid open, revealing the controls Ten Shouin is now accessing.
It takes everything for Hibikiiga to keep their head still as claws reach into the back of their head. Warnings flare up dangerously, reminding them in explicit detail of how dangerous it is to have a clawed finger this close to their brain. Luckily it doesn’t take long for him to flick the right switches.
Motion returns to their body like a series of goosebumps, a shiver of information beginning at their neck and moving down their spine, their chest, into their limbs and the tips of their fingers and toes.
Despite their impatience, they wait for Ten Shouin to remove his hand and close the access panel completely again, well-aware of how dangerous it could be otherwise.
Only when the panel has slid shut they allow themself to finally follow the instincts of their body, stretching all limbs away from them in movements that feel alien and disconcerting, with their eye still mounted outside of their head. Ten Shouin’s hand lingers against their back as they lift arms and legs, tensing both organic and robotic muscles.
The unnatural relaxation, forced by the override their Emperor uses and necessitated by the delicate nature of their repairs (and Hibikiiga’s desire to remain conscious during them), always leaves them tense, their nerve-endings tingling now that they can finally move again.
It is Ten Shouin who begins to pull up their suit once more, silent for once as he takes Hibikiiga’s arms and helps guide them into the sleeves, their motor control severely inhibited by the mirrored angle of their eye. They know asking for it would be futile, though, that Ten Shouin likely enjoys to see them fumble clumsily for once.
“Do you still have any warnings?” Ten Shouin asks, after a long minute of silence, after arranging their hair to not accidentally get zipped into their suit.
“All clear, no damage to my leg or any motor function. As always, his Majesty the Emperor works miracles.”
Claws run over their back before the suit closes over it once more. They fight the shiver, but are unable to suppress the goosebumps. “If you were anyone else, the leg would have needed repairs after being dragged around. I am simply lucky to be working with an amazing patient such as you.”
Once Hibikiiga is fully dressed again, their Emperor rises to his feet and takes a step backwards. “You are are marvel to withhold as always, Hibikiiga.”
“A body is built to serve a function and mine is to serve his Majesty.” Eyeless as they still are, their ability to stare back at Ten Shouin is severely limited in its impact.
They wonder if he’ll make them get it themself, when their Emperor leans forward once more and reaches for the plug inside their eye socket. Luckily, with their sight still outside of their body, the urge to flinch is, in this case, nonexistent.
When the feed from their external eye cuts as the plug is pulled, they finally open their organic eye again, now able to appreciate their Emperor’s face in close proximity without the nauseating double vision. The light above adds a cool glow to the light hair framing his face, and his smile is satisfied but weak. There’s a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead.
The moment doesn’t last long before their Emperor Ten Shouin turns around to unplug their eye from its stand as well. Deactivated, it looks delicate in his hand. Without robotic visual sensors, there is nothing at the periphery of Hibikiiga’s consciousness informing them of the importance of their own eye, allowing them to focus on stretching. It’s easier than focusing on the nearing end of this particular script.
Ten Shouin turns the eye in his hand a few times. “Maybe this is due for an upgrade as well, soon. I know, of course, that you are capable of incredible things, but I worry about the wear of the fights you find yourself in.”
Hibikiiga stretches their arms above their head. In some rooms, they are able to touch the ceiling, but here it’s just slightly out of their reach. “If his Majesty believes this to be a reasonable concern, I won’t turn away from his attention.”
Ten Shouin lets out a breath of laughter. “You won’t? How kind of you, Hibikiiga.”
“Kindness is what I’m known for, your Majesty. My kindness, insight, and of course ruthlessness in the name of his Majesty the Emperor Ten Shouin, striking down all who may oppose him.” They make a small sound of distaste. “Unless, of course, they manage to shoot me in the chest, disabling my leg and forcing me to drag said leg all the way back to you.”
“We’re lucky your former allies still seem to have a weak spot for you.”
“And I’m lucky to still have his Majesty’s attention despite my near-fatal mistake.”
Ten Shouin turns back around to Hibikiiga, apparently done inspecting their eye, and hands it to them. “Will you put it back?”
They pause for a moment, staring first at the eye and then at Ten Shouin. “If his Majesty insists, but–” something inside them balks at the idea. “I would greatly appreciate your skilled hands assistance.”
They wonder if he asked them to make them ask for it. Ask for him. Does he want to know of their desire the same way they yearn for his? They push their questions down.
Ten Shouin does beam, at their words, and takes the eye quickly but carefully into his claws once more. “Of course, it would be my pleasure.”
The process of reattaching the eye itself does not take long, even if Ten Shouin enjoys taking his time with it. With a small press on their shoulder he gently guides Hibikiiga to sit down once more. He continues to leave his right hand on their shoulder, stabilizing for both of them, as he leans forward with the eye in his hand.
His brows are furrowed, and Hibikiiga has to squint slightly against the light behind him, but they also cannot make themself look away. Perhaps it is remaining caution, perhaps it is the magnetic nature of their Emperor himself, his force of personality that has brought them here in the first place.
Skill, practice, and care, mean that when Ten Shouin aims the eye into its socket, the plug sinks into the socket without any further required guidance. There’s a split second of strange double vision before the connection is fully re-established, but Hibikiiga is soon able to look at their Emperor with both eyes again.
The mechanical eye does not need to squint, adjusting automatically to the light conditions. Ten Shouin looks at them, clearly satisfied with his own handiwork.
There are only a few lines remaining of this script, which they’ve repeated enough times for Hibikiiga to know them by heart now.
“Thank you, your Majesty.”
Ten Shouin uses his hand on Hibikiiga’s shoulder as leverage to push himself upright, and takes a step back to allow them to stand up once more.
“It is a pleasure to work on you as always, Hibikiiga.”
They know the lines and steps now, they’ve both gone through them enough times already. Hibikiiga allows themself a smile, just as Ten Shouin turns around and away from them again to go towards the hook where he’s left his cape.
“Unless something else happens. I have ideas for your eye, but they may require new materials. I’ll hopefully have them in a few days.” Ten Shouin turns towards them, now far away enough for them to not quite read the look on his face.
They still respond: “In that case, I believe it’s a date, your Majesty.”
Ten Shouin grins. “Good. You should rest.” Usually, this is when he leaves, but this time he lingers for a while longer, pausing. “Try not to scare me again, in the meantime.”
“... I’ll do my best, your Majesty.”
Ten Shouin smiles, softer than usual. “Report to me tomorrow as usual, but sleep in if you need it.”
“Thank you, your Majesty. I shall endeavor to get the rest I need after today.” They pause briefly. “As should you.”
Ten Shouin’s smile widens into a grin. “Is that an order Hibikiiga?”
They shake their head. “Tactical advice from your loyal Left Hand, your Majesty.”
“Usually I would have to review any tactical advice with my Right and Left Hand together, Hibikiiga, this is highly unusual. Hassumi will surely suspect the worst of you if he finds out about this.”
“In that case, your Majesty, he will simply not have to find out.” They grin, basking a little in the extended attention.
“I’ll take it into consideration, thank you Hibikiiga.” Ten Shouin pauses for a moment. “Until tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow, your Majesty.”