8Copyright, Aviatrix8, 2015. Kill la Kill and all related characters are property of Trigger, and are used without permission.
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Kill la Kill fanfic:
"Four Star General" by Avi
Inumuta was sitting up in a bed in the infirmary, with his bare shoulder wrapped in bandages, and his right arm in a sling, when the rest of the Elite Four entered his room.
"The doctor said it was okay for you to take visitors now," said Gamagori, as they all approached Inumuta's bed.
"So, how are you feeling, big guy?" asked Sanageyama.
"I'm covered in bandages and my arm is in a sling. How do you think I feel?" retorted Inumuta.
"Well, it doesn't look like you've injured that sarcastic mouth of yours, at any rate," muttered Jakuzure.
"Your concern over my well-being is touching, Jakuzure."
She snorted in disgust. "Only because there's hardly anyone around here who can keep up with the insults as well as I can."
"Knock it off, you two," said Gamagori, with a frown. "What did the doctor say, Inumuta?"
Inumuta sighed. "The x-rays showed no further damage apart from the dislocated shoulder. I'll have to wear this sling for a few weeks though, depending on how long I take to recover. In the meantime... I'd like to ask you all a favour."
"Sure thing. What do you need?" asked Sanageyama.
"Could you bring me my laptop? I'd like to process some data while sitting in bed."
"But... You're injured!" said Gamagori.
"I can type with one hand."
Jakuzure rolled her eyes. "You're impossible, you know that? You're supposed to be recovering, not working!"
"You expect me to sit around doing nothing while I lie in a hospital bed?" asked Inumuta.
"That's what recovering from an injury means, dumbass!" she retorted.
"Enough already!" snapped Gamagori. "We should let him get some rest." He cleared his throat. "And for the record... I don't think any of us could have handled the situation much better than you did, Inumuta."
Jakuzure and Sanageyama nodded solemnly.
"You managed to regain control of the uniform, even when you were hurt," said Jakuzure.
"Yeah, if it was any of the rest of us wearing that thing, we might've destroyed the whole school," said Sanageyama.
Jakuzure jabbed him with an elbow. "That's not exactly a compliment, you babbling monkey!"
"No, it's all right." Inumuta gave them a small smile. "Thank you all."
The three of them nodded, and walked out of the room. As soon as were outside, Jakuzure waved her baton lazily at the other two.
"Try and make sure that idiot dog doesn't try to work himself to death while he's in there," said Jakuzure. "I have band practice to attend to."
"Later, Jakuzure," said Sanageyama.
She sauntered off a side hallway, just as Iori was walking down the hallway Sanageyama and Gamagori were on.
"Hey, Iori," greeted Sanageyama. "If you're going to see Inumuta, he's just down the hall behind us."
Iori gave him a curt nod, and continued down the hallway.
As Iori walked away, a thought suddenly occurred to Sanageyama.
"Hey, I just realized something..." he told Gamagori. "Did you notice when the four-star uniform tried to attack us, it never went for us directly?"
"What are you talking about? We were fighting it off, weren't we?"
"Yeah, but it was acting defensively against us, the whole time. The only two people it was actively trying to kill, were Jakuzure and Iori."
Gamagori raised an eyebrow. "And?"
Sanageyama placed a hand over his face. "Wow, you don't see it at all, do you?"
"I still don't understand. What's your point?"
Sanageyama shook his head. "And this, my large friend, is why you're clueless in the ways of love."
"What's that supposed to mean?!" snapped Gamagori.
Sanageyama ignored Gamagori's annoyed outburst, as a thought went through his head. Huh, never thought Inumuta swung both ways... To each their own, I guess.
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Inumuta looked up, as he heard someone enter his hospital room without a word.
"Who is that?" he asked, squinting. "Iori, is that you?"
"Yes." Iori approached the bed. "I have something for you." He placed Inumuta's glasses in the other boy's hand.
"Finally!" Inumuta put on the blue lenses with a sigh of relief. "I was getting sick of seeing nothing but a blur the whole time."
"I'm sure. I have something else, too." Iori handed Inumuta his laptop.
Inumuta's eyes lit up. "You're a lifesaver, Iori!" Inumuta patted the computer casing fondly.
"Fortunately, it doesn't seem to have been damaged at all," said Iori. "Your three-star uniform seemed to have cushioned its fall," he added, as he held up said jacket with his other arm.
"That's a relief." Inumuta opened up the laptop and turned it on, as Iori turned to hang Inumuta's coat on a nearby hook. He listened quietly to Inumuta's laptop booting up, until he could bring himself to say something else.
Iori turned towards the bed. "Inumuta, I..."
Inumuta frowned, as he recognized the tone of voice. "Iori, don't," he warned. "Don't apologize."
"But I have to!" said Iori, with an agonized look upon his face. "It's my fault that you got hurt! Not to mention that I'm the one who recommended you for the first four-star uniform!"
"But that's not entirely your fault. I could've refused, and recommended one of the other Elite Four for the uniform... But my pride wouldn't let me."
"Well, it's my pride that wouldn't allow me to scrap that uniform as soon as we knew it was too dangerous to control," retorted Iori. "That's on my head, too."
Inumuta shook his head. "Please stop blaming yourself, Iori. Besides, I believe that everything that's just happened might've been best for us all."
Iori's eyes widened. "Surely you don't mean that, Inumuta? That thing could've killed you!"
"But it didn't," Inumuta pointed out. "And what do you think would've happened if any of the other Elite Four ended up wearing the four-star uniform?"
Iori fell silent.
"There's a good chance that they would've destroyed the school," continued Inumuta. "Oh, perhaps they would've had better control over the uniform, but now we'll never know, will we?"
Iori shook his head. "I still can't understand how you can be so nonchalant about this..."
"It's my job, remember?" replied Inumuta. "Strategy and Information Chair... I have to assess all the relevant data, for the most optimal outcome. And this, I'm afraid," he said, holding up his injured arm, "might have been the most optimal outcome."
Iori hung his head. Inumuta noticed his expression, and sighed.
"But if you really feel the need to make it up to me, Iori... The doctor told me I need to ice this shoulder every few hours or so... Would you mind helping me out?"
Iori gave him a small smile. "Not at all."
Iori left the room to look for some ice, leaving Inumuta alone with his thoughts.
This was certainly an experience he never wished to relive again, despite receiving some insightful data on the subject. But there was one thing he would never forget, as much as he tried...
The barely audible voice of the four-star uniform, in the back of his mind... Screaming out in an oddly feminine voice:
You can't have him! He's mine, mine, MINE!
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Epilogue: "Five Star Review"
In the testing lab of the Sewing Club, Iori and Inumuta stood side-by-side, gazing through a window at the experiment about to unfold.
"Are you sure you want to do this, Inumuta?" asked Iori quietly. "You know what happened last time, with a Goku uniform made of only 40% Life Fibers. And yet you still want to make one from a 50% weave?"
"We need the data, Iori. We're up against a Kamui here; we must test the limits of our capabilities when it comes to Goku uniforms."
"Besides, you know we've taken every precaution. This time, we're piecing together the uniform on a no-star student with practically no power level, and he's under restraint. We have Sewing Club members standing by, armed with tranquilizing guns. Not to mention that I've been in a similar situation before, and have the necessary data to deal with it."
"Well, if you're certain..."
Both boys pushed up their glasses.
"We will now assemble a five-star Goku uniform with a weave of 50% Life Fibers," announced Iori. "Commence the fitting!"
END
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So I was imagining Inumuta's jacket flopping around like Senketsu, which was the inspiration for this story. ;P BTW, I nicknamed Inumuta's 4-star jacket Ookami, which I believe means 'wolf' in Japanese... (I also chose the name for its phonetic similarity to kamui.)