His toes hurt.
It's ridiculous, that. That Manji guy hadn't touched his feet at all. But there was a blister forming, right where the thong rubbed in between the toes.
You had to laugh (even if it hurt like hell). Wear kutsu every day of your life, and then get stabbed in the back, you get a fucking blister. Stupid blood. Made things slicker, rubbed the wrong way.
Oh, yeah, and the big, honking holes in his back hurt like hell, too.
Magatsu wanted to laugh, he really did, but he was tired of wiping blood from his chin. And that couldn't be a good sign.
At least his arms were numb now. And his legs kept moving. And he thought he knew where he was.
Add light-headed from blood loss to the list, then.
Also, walking through the streets of Edo, covered in mud, shit, and blood, trying to make it back to the dojo; that was another interesting experience.
Tired. Damn, Magatsu hated feeling fuzzy. Hated not being in control. There was a reason he was at the top of the Itto-Ryu school, and it was the way he could focus. Focus had gotten him this far, it could get him back to the dojo.
And to Anotsu.
God, what would Anotsu say? Stupid of him to get himself killed. And over that damned sword, too.
Anotsu was going to kill him.
Yeah, probably. But Magatsu really would rather Anotsu kill him than that Manji guy. Besides, it would be nice to see Anotsu one last time.
Magatsu almost laughed again, then remembered. Blood, chin. Bad.
More streets, more buildings passed by. A blur of blood and pain. Wounds that wouldn't scab over leaked lazy, hot liquid down his back. Great idea, Magatsu. Smart man. All this moving was just going to kill him faster.
And suddenly he was at the door. Magatsu blinked and lifted his hand to slide the screen. Oh, great. That bloody handprint was going to look lovely in the morning.
He blinked again to clear his eyes, and found himself toppling over the threshold. The last thing he saw as darkness flooded his vision was Anotsu's shocked face. A bit of sound crept in, and he smiled at the worry in Anotsu's voice.
Good to be home.