Even though Zhang Xuanhe had claimed that the sect leader was awake and not in whatever sleep—unconscious because his body was trying to fight the toxin? Or an induced coma to slow down his heartbeat?—he had been in, it still surprises Leiji a bit when they spot him talking in front of a crowd of disciples.
The crowd is dispersing however and Leiji makes use of it to go through the open entrance halls. The transportation array glows briefly and Leiji doesn't feel as nauseous as when they used one to the abandoned city.
Does farther distance translate to more nausea? How does that work?
...ow, that hurt. Leiji hisses as the pounding in their head seems to intensify, the bones in their legs seem to creak and why the fu—dge does their hand hurt so much?
Leiji remembers to block their bonds this time.
'Slowly,' whispered in the back of their mind, 'slowly reach in front of you. A tree. Yes, walk forward. Right before left and slowly, don't fall.' Why of course, why would Leiji want to fall? Except for the fact that laying down and waiting to rot feels like something nice at the moment.
Zapfino doesn't answer that, instead continuing, 'Ask someone to get you.'
"No way!" Leiji snaps back, because they don't want to be coddled. Hongyun has never peft his injuries bother him no matter how serious they are, why should they?
Whispers fall silent and they feel guilt. She had just been trying to help and...Zapfino was right. Leiji should ask for help. Pride isn't being proud of shrugging off anything, it's being proud if doing something they don't want to even though they need to.
Leiji just...wants something.
Except they don't know what that something is and therefore this entire thing is stupid. Why did they leave the medical bay in the first place? Was there something that urgent?
They sigh and lean on the tree's trunk. "Sorry," Leiji mutters.
"Who are you talking to?" An unfamiliar voice suddenly says from behind them.
Leiji reacts by whirling around to punch whoever it was. The person easily catches it and pushes them back and why does the human body decide that sudden movement of any kind mean worse headaches? The person is tall, is Leiji's first impression. Seems to be a male and is wearing dark greens and blacks. He smiles genially and says, "Apologies, did I surprise you?"
Very much, Leiji doesn't say. They don't particularly want to deal with random strangers right now, the headache simply wasn't worth it. The person feels slightly familiar, but that's all, so they turn around and walk away.
Is it considered rude in this world to stare? Leiji doesn't know, but they can very much feel the stranger stare at them. It's rather disconcerting, considering that they have never met before and they want nothing to do with getting troubled by random strangers. Well, they'll deal with it later when the headache is gone.
It doesn't take Leiji more than several steps to reach out and lean against another tree's trunk. Everything hurts.
"Ji-er," a hand on their shoulder, safety and worry echoing through the bond...mother? Leiji cracks open their eyes, wondering when they ever closed them and sees that it is indeed Lu Yanhei. She is still taller than they are.
"The two of you really are similar..." mother sighs.
There are so many words left unsaid in that statement and Leiji knows none of them. They don't dwell on wanting to ask, instead simply leaning on her instead of a tree. Mother still easily lifts them into a carry Lu Leiji calls a princess carry. It's almost weird hos easily she does it, does mother have supernatural strength? If she does then why...does Leiji exist? They have questions, so many, but no answers.
...perhaps because part of them is afraid of what the answer would be.
Leiji knows that if they dive into the mess that is the information in the back of their mind, they might just find the answers and such a thing is terrifying.
"You'll tell me someday, right?" Leiji whispers, more to themselves than anything, but her grip is bordering on painful and that in of itself is enough of an answer for them.
"My Ji-er is smart enough," Lu Yanhei says after a moment, "you'll realize it yourself sooner or later." She slowly releases the borderline painful part of her grip and smiles, the same smile she shows everyone everyday and most certainly the most convincing mask Leiji has ever personally seen on anyone.
"But I want to hear it from you." Leiji wants to simultaneously cry and yell, mother was so...so unfair! Even if they can figure it out, so what?
Figuring it out and being told are different things. Leiji just wants mother to tell them something about herself for once. Even if she never does it again, that's fine. They won't ask again, even if they want to.
Just once. So it doesn't feel like mother doesn't trust them.
She doesn't respond at all this time.
Instead, they bump into the duo that is Light and Tian Lanbing. Tian Lanbing is talking animatedly to Light and is the one who points Leiji and mother out to her.
Light is understandably angry. Leiji doesn't try to refute anything she says, mostly because they just can't register anything at the moment. Nothing really...makes sense anymore, they want to sleep and fight at the same time because this numbness is scary and maybe Hongyun can help them through it.
Leiji thinks their name is being called. They nod slowly, blinking once, twice.
Everything still hurts. Mother does something, shifting Leiji onto Light and said person proceeds to slip something in their mouth. They gulp it down, trusting her not to hurt then. Whispering in the back of their mind says that it's a pill.
Time feels like it's on standby even though Leiji knows that they were brought somewhere between point A and point B. Point B being Ling Hongyun demanding a fight.
Leiji doesn't quite remember what happens during the in-between of point B and point C, but Hongyun is standing above them, offering a hand. He looks worried and they take the offered hand, "Did something happen?"
Light says, from out of their range, "You weren't as present as I liked."
...ah. They disassociated again. It was a more recent development—if three years can be called recent—and Hongyun seems to blame their usual absentmindedness.
"Why didn't you just stay put?" Hongyun grumbles, looking them over for anything out of place. Leiji sighs, not feeling any pain and attributin it to Light probably giving them a pain-killer of sorts. He glances sharply at Light and she simply smiles before turning and leaving with a 'good luck'.
Leiji asks, "How long do I need the cast?"
"A week," he laments, "I have been instructed not to bother you for a spar for two. You better make up for that. Have you made any contact with the Qin clan in any way? That one kid is...annoying."
The sudden change of subject surprises Leiji, but they keep up with it, even though there is a sudden whirl of activity in the back of their mind. "Not that I'm aware of."
"...but I did bump into some weirdo earlier." Leiji says after a moment, "I couldn't feel his presence of cultivation. That or I was too in my own head."
Ling Hongyun grunts, but looks away. Hesitating over something.
In silence, several moment pass. He eventually starts, looking incredibly awkward and anxious over something, "I, talk about the...are we still alright? Do you want me to call off the engagement? Or," he fumbles with words, "do you want to talk about it?"
"Everything's fine," Leiji huffs, "I'm sorry for snapping at you like that. It was unfair and cruel."
"I'm sorry for the stupid child version of me," Ling Hongyun replies, "the only thin he knew was that marriage meant being together all the time and forever. That idiot was also a spoiked brat who always got what he wanted."
"Understood," Leiji says, even though it wasn't true.
They knew, technically, that everyone's changed. It was just hard to think that the past them and the present them are different people because they aren't. Still the same souls, the same core traits and still human. It was a simple enough concept, but actually trying to do it is hard and frustrating.
Ling Hongyun plays with Leiji's hand, seeming distracted. But then he says, "Light says that it is a custom to give the one you are engaged to a ring."
Leiji replies in an infuriatingly blank tone, "In their world, technology has advanced to where accessories can turn into weapons and vice versa. It is cutomary for the people there to gove their most sentimental transforming weapons to the person they are proposing to in the form of a ring."
He clicks his teeth, "How complicated."
"It really isn't that hard to wrap your head around," Leiji rolls their eyes back at him, "you give the one you want to stay with together the thing that has been with you for a long time...of course, it is rather different with the less sentimental types."
"Are you implying something?" Hongyun bristles, mock-offended. Leiji laughs, "No way, we all know you're actually the biggest softie deep down!"
"I am not!" He yells, avtually offended this time.
"Though it does seem so," a random presence chimes in, not surprising anyone at all. Ling Hongyun scowls though; he had been hoping that the annoying one would ignore them and leave. Leiji simply sighs and asks, "What have you been doing, Fire?"
Lightning is quiet, has been after the small whisper that Fire is near and it is beginning to be rather disturbing. Instead, it is Lu Leiji who is practically yelling as well as cursing.
...and now that Leiji looks closer, Fire seem to be in the body of someone Lu Leiji used to know. They've seen him before in some of his memories—losing bets all the time does that—but much older.
Fire smiles and says, "My name is Qin Xiaohuo, pleased to meet your acquaintance."
"You were never so polite with me." Ling Hongyun immediately points out. Qin Xiaohuo seems rather awkward all of a sudden, but then tells him, "I'm afraid that being polite to someone who attacks you out of nowhere is not in this world's standard courtesy and I have decided not to employ it."
"What." Hongyun asks, even though it doesn't sound like a question. Also, "you attacked him?"
"Of course I did! It was fun too." Ling Hongyun harrumphs, as thoigh the mere idea of denying such an accusation was a horribly offensive thing. To him, it probably was. It would probably be like someone stepping into a spar and trying to save someone.
Qin Xiaohuo laughs even though nothing was the sloghtest bit funny.
Leiji is reminded that Fire is also part of the Smiling Squad. They sigh and wonder again why so many people wear smiles all the time even though they probably don't mean them, then says, "My name is Leiji."
"No surname?" He tilts his head. Hongyun scowls at some odd unintended offense and corrects, "Ling."
It is only then that Qin Xiaohuo's smile turns strained. Leiji elbows Ling Hongyun in the side, knowing full well why that would grate on Fire's nerves. Even though the knowledge of it is rather uncomfortable to know when interacting with the man himself, Leiji doesn't regret finding out what they know.
...because Fire and Zapfino grew up together.
There was probably a lot between the two of them and that isn't even mentioning the arrangements the two of them had with Lightning in the middle. That wasn't mentioning the fact that Fire has confessed being in love with Zapfino to her face.
Unfortunately for him, the person he loves is that generation's ranked one. And the number one Empress or Emperor has a bigger duty to the world.
And unfortunately for Leiji, Zapfino is currently in their body.