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The sneezing from Near has stopped; he's coughing now. But he's able to look up at Mello and grin; clearly he's done well.

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"See, Mello has let him go. Everything is fine, A. L is fine. You can ask him if he needs medicine, yes?" Kusuriyuri says softly, for him, the words are a coo, as one would speak to a frightened child. He keeps a hold on A, though, not letting him go until his student is no longer shaking.

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When L approaches, A is able to relax, able to slowly return his breathing to normal. Kusuriyuri's gentle words help.

"I can... yes, yes, I can do that."

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"So... I take it Mello won, then? Have I missed anything else?"

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"Yeah, I won," I say, though I'm not sure how I feel about it.

"Yeah, we should again," I reply to L as I move over to Near.

"Did you take anything?" I ask as I sit next to him and hold him. He's too warm through his clothes.

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"He did. However, it was close enough that it is obvious we both have things we could teach each other."

Saying he's fairly sure that it could have gone either way would sound too much like bragging, or cheapening Mello's victory, but he knows that in a rematch he has as good as a thirty five to forty five percent chance of winning. Slightly higher when his ankle is better, and possibly slightly lower when A is not present. He's also fairly sure Mello knows it too.

"You're ill, Near?" Mello is holding Near, L is hanging on to A's arm, curled around it. "That's bad luck."

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Before Near can answer, he sneezes again.

"Unpleasant, but not catastrophic," he points out with a faint smile. It's pretty likely that it is, indeed, the expected ill-luck. "It's just a cold, Mello," he says, trying to be calming. "Why would I need to take anything?"

Another sneeze.

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Mello's concern is obvious, as is Near's discomfort. Since L has A in hand, Kusuriyuri reaches for his medicine chest and begins mixing together willow bark, wild cherry bark, fever few and mint. In a small dish, he heats some water to steep the herbs in.

"Is there anything else I should add?" he asks A softly, knowing that A watched him carefully, even when it didn't seem like he did.

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A has to consider that. "Echinacea or goldenseal, and ginger, to help him fight off the infection. Ephedra, perhaps, as a decongestant, but that can be too stimulating for some. It would be dangerous if he had heart trouble."

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Matt raises his eyebrows at A - but then, he had said that he was interested in plants. And he had been first in his generation, after all; it shouldn't be surprising, that he had an encyclopedic knowledge already.

He shoves his hands into his pockets. "Congrats, Mello." Pause. "If you're going to be beating up Ryuuzaki instead, does that mean I don't need to spend three hours a day in here any more?"

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I watch A and Kusuriyuri. I'm only familiar with a couple of the things mentioned. But, it sounds like it'll help. "You'll take that," I tell Near. I don't think he'd really argue, but I want him feeling better.

I turn to Matt. "No, it means I get to spend longer in here. Three hours with you, three hours with Near and however long Ryuzaki's got. You think I'm going to let up on you until you can beat me?"

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"However long is needed," L agrees, with a certain blankness of tone that only ever really hides worry.

Privately, he decides he's going to brush up on his healing charms. He wants to keep working with Mello, and he doesn't want either of them to be afraid to actually get violent. Obviously not with A around, but it's an opportunity to know how far you can push yourself that neither of them have ever really been able to afford to take. Especially if you can knit a bone with a wave of a wand, and you're unable to die. It wouldn't hurt to ease Matt or Near into that kind of thing, gently, either.

"Please, Matt."

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Near, too, is startled to hear A volunteer medical advice. But he does trust Kusuriyuri's abilities.

Perhaps A is not so lost a cause after all.

The idea of practicing so long makes Near groan, but he can see the use in it.

"You're going to enjoy beating me up, aren't you?"

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When the medicine is prepared, Kusuriyuri rises and goes to kneel in front of Near. "Drink it all. You will need more in a few hours, when your symptoms start to come back. I will prepare you some. For now, this will help." He remains a little longer, adding the mantra silently as he watches Near eye him and then drink.

He then turns to Mello. "Rest would be wise. If you push yourself too hard, you will find yourself unable to protect those who are dear to you."

Kusuriyuri retrieves the empty cup from Near and returns to his seat by A.

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A had been calmed by being asked to review his growing knowledge of herbs, but that hadn't stopped him from grabbing at L's hand and clinging tightly. He had hated watching Mello strike L, strike him repeatedly, and he could see that it hurt and L had let him.

Still, he'd forced himself to pay close attention to Kusuriyuri's actions as he prepared Near's medication.

"I didn't like that," he whispers to L. "Can I hex him? Just a little? For making your ankle hurt."

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Matt looks from L to Mello.

"Well... okay, what if I practice with both of you for an hour and a half each? Because, dude, there's no way you're going to be able to sustain that. And I'll probably die."

Mello's sessions are bad enough, and he hasn't forgotten L saying he wanted to teach him some things, too.

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"You can't die here," I snipe at Matt. "And, I can sustain it as long as I have to. I have to..." I feel stupid saying this, but I have to make them understand. "I have to make sure those I care about can protect themselves. I can't...can't lose you." I bury my face in Near's neck, hiding from my own admission.

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L glances at Matt. He himself was saying much the same thing in Matt's room, just the other day, wasn't he?

"If the four of us met at once, everyone would be able to sustain themselves. Six hours a day is probably not healthy in the long term, although I am sure you could sustain it. The problem is that the problem does not present an immediate solution."

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Near wraps an arm around Mello and kisses his forehead. "You won't lose anyone," he says reasonably. "If we can't be killed here, then B can't kill us, either. Of course, that means he is unkillable as well. Strengthening ourselves physically is wise, but it won't solve the issue."

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Kusuriyuri watches the dynamic in the group. He feels A tense at L's suggestion that they all practice together. He agrees with being able to defend themselves being wise, but also sees that Mello will push himself too hard without an alternate solution.

Very slowly, he says, "There are techniques in reiki that will keep him from sexually violating anyone. And, it would be wise if A were to learn to physically defend himself. Though, it seems, from his prior attacks, that B will not resort to simple physical attacks now that he has begun to use magic." He frowns at the ground in front of him. "It is a very difficult situation."

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"I..." The idea of physical combat terrifies A. B's always been bigger, stronger, faster, and fighting back only made it worse. "It excites him," he says miserably. "He likes it when I fight back."

Although being hexed seems to cool B's jets.

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Hearing that is enough to stop Matt for a moment. Because shit, if this is a threat for him it's something that A has actually had to put up with, and...

"Which is - yeah. What L said. What Near said. I know you guys are all kickass superathletes or whatever, but I'm not about to turn into a ninja overnight." A's obviously not happy with the idea, either. "We need to... I wanna hear more of Kusuriyuri's suggestion. Or - the no-kill rule doesn't apply off-campus."

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I sat up, not moving away from Near, but so I wasn't leaning on him anymore. "He gets excited when you fight back?" I say. I think my voice might have been a little weak. I feel sick.

I swallow hard and then nod. "Yeah, I agree. Worst case, we drag him off campus and take care of him. Would probably be better for us if we could solve it before it got to that point, but if the no-kill rule is only valid on campus as opposed to being valid for students, then we do have that as a resort."

I reach for Near's hand. "Do we know for sure if it's valid location or status wise?"

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"Much as it upsets me, the idea of disposing of him, lethally, I mean, does not strike me as suitable." It strikes him as something Kira would do, from what he's learned.

"Kusuriyuri, your idea sounds valuable, but also not a complete solution in and of itself." Rape isn't about desire, it's about power, but he doesn't say because he's holding on to A and doesn't want to upset him more than he already is. "It will not curb other sadistic tendencies."

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