Broken Bones[[Lucien//Open]]

[Lucien DeChain]

Lucien held up his hand, a bit shaky, and removed the cloth. It wasn't a bad break, but his pinky finger was visibly broken. It was starting to swell, too.

"That was a bit hard for my fist, it's not used to punching bricks."

It was no big deal, though. He'd broken a finger once before, and at any rate, breaking a small bone that heals in 4 to 6 weeks to prove a point? Worth it. Even if he was going to get in trouble when he got back to the Nest for being so careless, it really seemed to help Shugo Yuy out.

And for that, he was glad.

[Date Masamune™]

I took the kid's hand in mine. I was right. It was broken. I sighed a bit and felt bad that the kid did that to make me feel better. But I was impressed by his conviction.

"Look. It's broken. You gotta make sure you set your broken bones properly or else it'll heal improperly and you'll have to break it again just to set it right. This might hurt a bit so I'm sorry in advance."

I pressed his broken bones into the right place again. In my time. I've broken enough bones to know where most of them are supposed to be. That and having a super genius girlfriend who made me study anatomy helps as well.

"You okay?"

[Lucien DeChain]

Lucien winced and struggled to not pull his hand away as his finger was re-set. That almost hurt more than the initial blow. Especially now since it was so tender, every inch cried out.

But he got through it, and immediately after wrapped the cloth around it again, reminding himself to make a splint for it when he got home.

"Thanks, Shugo Yuy. I'll splint this when I get back to the Crow's nest."

But damn, his finger was starting to hurt. Realizing that Shugo Yuy had been the first one with an injury, he looked to him with a questioning look.

"How'd you break your ribs, anyway?"

[Date Masamune™]

"You can call me Shugo you know."

I took a look down at my ribs. How did I break these? It wasn't when I was inducted as a Dragon was it? No Matthew didn't hit me hard enough to break my ribs... The belly flop didn't do it either...

"Dammit..."

I just remembered how. I broke my ribs. The most embarrassing way. I had fought a group of Barker soldiers a week or two ago. They had got the jump on me unfortunately.

"I just remembered... I uhh got caught by a couple soldiers. They beat me with their batons till my ribs broke. Luckily I had my gauntlets on so my arms didn't break. Speaking of which! You should invest in a pair of padded gloves. If I didn't have these bad boys my arms would be a wreck."

I lifted up my right gauntlet and tapped it.

[Lucien DeChain]

Shugo it was, then.

"Thanks for the advice, I'll keep it in mind." He replied.

Lucien's face became a bit confused as he explained his story. Barker Soldiers... Beating him? And, beating him until he broke his ribs?

"You won, right? You're stronger than any Barker Soldier I've ever heard of..."

[Date Masamune™]

"I won in the end."

Some people might call me naive for what I'm about to do. But even though I just met this kid, I felt like we were on the same side and the kid was trust worthy enough to keep this secret.

"When I use my QI power it weakens my body by a lot. They surprised me after I thought I dispatched all of them. Got me on the back of my head beat on me after wards. Took a few strokes, but while I was woozy they managed to crack two of my ribs with their batons."

[Lucien DeChain]

Lucien was honestly surprised he was being so confiding, when they had only just met. Though, on the other hand, he had just broken his finger for the man.

"Oh, I see. Your Qi is like that. I bet you can guess what I do." He smirked, trying to be a bit friendly with the man.

[Date Masamune™]

"Yeah it basically removes the natural limits on our bodies that our brain imposes. Makes me stronger, faster. I can think clearer."

Was I divulging too much information? I mean my QI was my last trick that Barker's soldiers hadn't seen. I had shown them the power of my Steam Golem by melting through their armor and melting that one guy's face off. Oh don't worry it regrew. And of course, they've felt first hand how much my electricity stings. I'm capable of knocking someone out with one touch if I hit them in the right spot with my electricity.

"Invisibility must come in hand for recon and scouting. Is there anything else your powers can do?"

[Lucien DeChain]

Lucien nodded, as he understood perfectly the kind of restrictions Shugo was talking about. As many people have said, the only restrictions we have are the ones we place on ourselves.

In response to the question, Lucien pondered for a moment.

"Well, I'm not sure. I think water has a healing effect on me... That's about it. Oh, I can make other objects invisible if I'm touching them. But, I've only ever tried it on small things, like a piece of paper or a knife..." He trailed off, wondering how far his power could stretch. He hadn't really stress tested it that much, if at all.

[Date Masamune™]

"Really. Water huh?"

I grabbed the flask at my hip. Yes this was purified drinking water. Yes the purifying process is a pain and takes a while. And yes, I'm in California during the summer and would most likely need the water. None the less, I popped the top off and took Lucien's wrist. I removed the cloth he was using to cover it up and poured a little bit of the water onto it first.

"Is that feeling better?"

[Lucien DeChain]

Lucien's hand felt the cold trickle of the water, and as soon as it made contact with his skin, his finger started to repair itself. Since Shugo was kind enough to put it in its proper place, the bone mended, and just with that little bit of catalyst, it felt instantly better.

"Wow..." He flexed his finger a few times. It was still brittle, but it felt like it was 4 weeks along in the healing process.

"I had no idea it was that... powerful..." He looked up at Shugo, amazed.

[Date Masamune™]

"Maybe the more pure the water the more effective it is?"

I had no idea. I didn't want to pretend like I understood how QI worked. I should by now but it was a concept that still confused me. Bottling up the flask, I would put it back onto my hip.

[Lucien DeChain]

"Maybe... At any rate, thank you." He smiled.

Lowering his hand to his side, if Shugo would let him, Lucien would feel the weight his finger carried, thinking about just how stable it was. Maybe he would run it through a bath for a few hours before trying to fight another wall...

[Date Masamune™]

I let go of the boy's hand as he retracted it. I had checked it out enough to be sure that it wouldn't break again. So long as he didn't punch anything with it right away.

"So what are you doing all the way out here?"

I stretched my arms a bit as I asked the question. I was a bit sore from punching a building down but. It wasn't too bad.

[Lucien DeChain]

"Well, it started out as a patrol, but I guess I went a little far in past the borders, so I decided to try and map out the area in my head." He replied. It was a good exercise, and one that Marcus had demanded he do every once in a while. Having to look at a map to see where you were, and where you needed to go, it was quite inconvenient. Knowing the streets, really knowing them, was a skill that had immense value. Especially now.