would you break before you twist the knife?

[reneger]

WHO: jason todd & cain
WHERE: shady underground fight rings
WHEN: october 23rd
WHAT: tmw you piss someone off so they send some assholes to try and murder you
NOTES OR WARNINGS: attempted murder, blood, stabbings?? etc etc

( he's gotten a little too comfortable hanging around the fight rings, maybe. jason doesn't get in the ring himself much anymore; when he's angry, when he wants to punch someone's lights out, when he's feeling a little more stiff than usual--sure. why the hell not. but he's here for information, to chat with the usual customers, talk with members of the warlocks and laugh at all the right jokes, start shit with all the wrong people.

it's a home away from home; the rougher crowd reminds him of life back in gotham, helps fill in that bit of homesickness he gets while satisfying that craving for something a little more. and sometimes, shit happens. fights start. knives get thrown, people pull out all their shiny tech or show off their enhancements and it's fun.

what isn't fun is that jason's gotten overly comfortable with it all. enough that he lets himself get just tipsy enough, grins at the man in front of him--wade--as they talk through the new supply route sen has been planning out when someone approaches him from behind. moves to step to the side of jason with just enough space jason doesn't see it as anything shady but--

there's a knife in hand. a knife he's holding in a tight fist and thrusting it right for jason's chest with a quick step in. fast enough that jason doesn't have time to dodge, but does have time to wrap his own goddamn fingers around the blade to keep it from sinking in too deep. he hisses, gripping tight as the man moves to try and thrust it in deeper despite the hand in his way. if it had landed any higher, jason'd be fucked.

the guy may have been fast enough to get the knife in, but jason's reaction time after getting the shit stabbed out of him is better. he takes a step forward with his hand still gripping onto the knife, hisses through the pain and leans in to shove a forearm against the man's upper arm. lets go of the blade just long enough to wrap his fingers around his wrist and forcefully pull the knife out, keeps hold of that wrist and turns the man's arm in before slamming his elbow into his humerus and raising a leg to slam his knee directly into the man's crotch. )

Ow, fuck. ( he's down. jason can't bend over to grab hold of the knife, but wade's snapped out of the momentary shock enough to try and grab it with a shout back to someone else. jason raises the bloody, cut up hand to his chest where the knife dug in--right between floating ribs, a great shot for his fucking liver which he'd be thinking about if he wasn't. busy collapsing down onto his knees and trying to keep pressure on it.

it's definitely going to leave a mark. )

Comments

[blyat]

[Cain's eyes drift between the two brothers, watching the exchange, fine to sit it out as much as he needs to. He did what he intended: got Jason somewhere marginally safer than an open crowd and kept him alive until help could come and fill in the gaps. That's what Dick represents here, and regardless of the brief exchange they'd had what feels like ages ago now, Cain's neutral to that. He just wanted to keep Jason in one piece.]

I'm fine. [Echoing Jason.] Doesn't matter.

[While he does have a real, legal job in the outside world to pay most of the bills, this place is an outlet for him. It's also potentially useful in the event of underground rumors. That said, Cain's been coming here less since the arrival of Abel and the progression of his and Prompto's "friendship" with Hideki Maeda -- too much occupying his time and attention. Dick isn't wrong that there were other witnesses. He doesn't care, so long as it won't impact his position with Hideki.]

Besides, I helped him because I was here. [One boot lifts, hooking the heel into the stool's lower rungs.] You guys want me to stick around, or what?

[Maybe they need private time... to yell at each other... or whatever brothers do.]

[preceded]

[He's pressing gauze to the wound of Jason's hand first thing, pressing down sharply in a way that he knows is going to hurt, fingers wrapped around his palm in the mockery of a loose hold. He's aiming to stem the blood flow, only temporarily, enough that he can wipe it clean and see just how bad the wound is, without more coming out on top.

While he waits, he listens, and his mouth thins- there's plenty he could say to that- a whole tirade that's been formed of bits and pieces of others over the years, that gaining respect amongst the crowd here is something that Jason aimed for, that of all the possible angles to work in this city, this is the one he picked. But he's not here to start anything he doesn't intend to finish, in the face of his brothers injuries, he says nothing. Just rolls his shoulders to release the tension, lifts the gauze slightly and wipes it down the length of the wound. It's a clean edge, deep- but not enough to cut through his tendons, not deep enough to hit bone. It's all he manages before it fills in again- but it's more than enough. He makes quick work from there of cleaning it out, putting more gauze beneath for padding, and then wrapping it tightly. Enough to discourage some mobility, knowing Jason- he needs it.

Finally:]

And you didn't know him. [It's said more for confirmation, for the act of processing it out loud, however frustrating, than it is because he couldn't have guessed it. If Jason had known him, he'd have tacked that onto the end of his initial information. There's a pointed look there, for his brother. He has to have an inkling of what that means. That the reasons Dick had to be angry after their initial arrival in New Tokyo were completely vindicated, all in one well placed knife. He's not sure how much Cain does, or doesn't know- so the look is where he leaves it]

You think this doesn't matter? [It's entirely the wrong thing to say Cain, and there's a sharp gesture at Jason's midsection] I'm sure you've met quite a few people here who'd disagree with you, if you were on the receiving end. It might have benefited him that you were here, I won't argue that- but you can't always be.

People like this will root out any weakness you have and exploit it. [That's part of what he meant- when he said they saw him get invested. That he cared what happened to Jason, that he called in backup. Moved them to this room and waited to make sure no one could come in. That's one weakness right there, a means to get to Jason. Cain has those too] If I can't talk you out of coming back, be more careful. Pay attention to the people around you. Try to wear something hard to stab through, under your shirt. Make sure you have back up.

[That should be easy enough. He knows the 'probably' that Jason gives could be true too, but Dick isn't going to run with anything but 'definitely fine'. As for the other question] It'd be easier to move him with you, but I don't need you, no.

[He'll leave that up to Cain. He's already been sufficiently grounded by proxy.]

[reneger]

( there's no point in bitching or fighting against dick, so jason skips all that bullshit. winces and clenches his jaw tight when dick digs his fingers into the wound on his hand, but--it's fine. he's had worse. he can handle this bit. and he's careful to keep fingers slack, lets dick manhandle him around because he's going to anyway. not resisting only makes it easier, right? )

No, I didn't recognize 'em. It wasn't personal, he must've been following orders. ( confirming what he and dick both already know: that this is about someone up the foodchain that jason's pissed off. dick was right all along, and jason fucking hates it. especially that he had to find out like this. and then he starts--going off on cain. that's enough to really piss him off, enough that jason's focusing eyes up onto dick and shifting his weight onto his (noninjured side) forearm to try and sit himself up. it hurts, it's definitely causing the stitches on his midsection to sting a little more, but jason's nothing if not stubborn. too stubborn to give up just because something hurts. )

Fuck off, Cain's not your responsibility. ( he's jason's, and jason knows damn well better than to start giving cain orders. it doesn't go well. cain isn't an idiot, either; he's seen shit go down within the walls of the fight club, he's betting cain'll at least try to be a little more careful.

there's a glance over towards him, too. jason's expression pinches tight, before he's transferring temporary ownership of his hoverbike over to cain. not a word about it, just a text stating where it's been left. driving shit like that's not smart when he's full of holes, and he's not asking dick to move it. )

Just--help me to Loki's? And 'll be fine from there. Swear.

[blyat]

[There's a reply burning on the tip of his tongue as Dick reels those words off him -- That's not what I said -- and maybe Dick's sentiment comes from a place of knowledge and genuine concern, but he doesn't know this guy. It feels like he's being lectured. Of course he knows what happened to Jason matters, he got fucking stabbed, but Cain didn't. So his own well-being is secondary right now. If someone's going to make a big deal out of this, then it can't be avoided now. It already happened.

Still, even after Jason's done, even after he's transferred the hoverbike neural key to him with a quick message, Cain's temper flares into defiance.]

What the fuck was I supposed to do? Just watch it happen from a safe distance, pretending I don't give a shit? [He gestures toward Jason, still prone on the ground.] Let him bleed out, let that other bastard get another stab in? Fuck that. Someone wants to come after me too, let 'em. I'll deal with it. I know how, I'm not a moron who's never seen this shit before.

[And if it's something he can't handle, then he has no business being here in the underground or hanging anywhere near Jason. It's as much as he deserves for not being prepared for that outcome. Still, that this has happened at all is a shock. Maybe there was a false sense of security; he's not going to let that happen again, if he can avoid it.

Dick says he doesn't need him, Jason's passed over temporary ownership of the bike, so that's that. He whips toward the door...]

Call me if something else happens.

[... and slams it on the way out.]