Overload [Kendra/Cecil]

He could feel it all too well - the incessant throbbing in his head. A grinding pulse rippled throughout his brain, the flesh that formed his mind aflame from the torturous strain it had suffered. The terrible consequence of its overuse had struck, the spectre of pain hanging over him to join his familiar haunts in their torment of their boy.

To put it in English, Cecil had worked himself to the point he now had a headache that made him regret the entirety of his existence.

To alleviate this terrible pain, he had decided the best course of action was to head to Tomomi's place and hang out with him for a while. Have fun, get rest, and...generally just relax with the best of his friends. He hoped he wouldn't mind the visit.
That seemed like it wasn't going to happen now, though.

Cecil had forgotten about the constant festivals in his seeking of relief, and now he found himself pressed against the side of the street, headphones working futilely and eyes scrunched up as he tried to shut out sights and sounds his mind just couldn't readily handle right now.

Kendra, paranoid, had begun to look over her shoulders as she began to walk away from the mass of people enjoying the festivals. Really, she had never understood what the point of having them constantly was besides causing irritation and swarms of people. She found it miraculous she could even think with everything going on.

But Kendra was not trying to stealthily get away from the area because she found the people there annoying. They were more of an obstacle to her, if anything. Kendra was trying to avoid her parents, not wanting another useless economy lesson or some other chore she'd never understand the use of doing.

Somebody jostled her, and she let out an irritated growl she was sure they could hear. She was going to be fine in a few minutes, but the girl thought that people should've been more alert, not that anything bad would ever have happened.

She surveyed the sides of the streets, looking for a good area to stand while she tried to find a solid escape route, when she noticed a boy with his eyes scrunched up, looking a little worse for wear. Kendra, having decided she was going to see what was happening, moved forwards, channeling as much presence as she could, and managed to end up next to him, pressing against the wall as casually as she could without having bad posture.

"You doing okay? You look like something's wrong." Her parents would've been upset if they knew she had just approached a random stranger who could've been suffering from drug withdrawal or something and loudly talked to him. The thought occurred to Kendra mere moments after, filling her with a sort of rebellious pleasure she found herself seeking often.

The girl's presence was felt more than heard. Cecil probably would have stood tall over her most of the time, but whatever advantage in height he had was diminished as he found himself somewhat crumpled against the wall. His eyes opened as he looked to one side to spot the girl there, looking at him. They'd...probably said something.
With a grimace, he removed his headphones, exposing himself fully to the festival once more. He smiles weakly, but it's blatantly apparent that he's not handling himself well right now. "Ah, eh-heh...did...you, uh....say something?" The words struggle to emerge, and he seems to shrink in on himself further at the sound of fireworks, clutching his head. "Sorry...noise...lights...it's just...way, way too much right now..." A sound that doesn't know whether it's a laugh or a half-sob escapes his lips as his eyes scrunch up again. For all his efforts to sound normal, his words only come out in a pitiful whine. "Why did I come here...?"

Kendra's face did not hide her annoyance in the slightest. Sure, the guy was clearly having a migraine from what he said, and he was wearing headphones, but he could at least act more apologetic if he had missed what she said. Still, even her annoyance couldn't last when she heard the pitiful sound coming from him.

"Was just asking if something was wrong. Clearly, you're having a really bad migraine or something." Without the slightest sign of hesitation, Kendra grabbed the guy's wrist and began to pull him away. "No clue why you showed up here of all places, but everything will be fine." Kendra made no effort to lower her voice or to tell him where they were going.

One of Kendra's favorite places, besides the dojo, was a little side street nobody seemed to go into. Maybe it was because of the general shadiness, but it was a good spot for when she just needed release. Kendra looked at him carefully.

"This place is great for quiet time. Just let me know if you need anything else, and I'll figure everything out." The girl didn't stop to consider the fact this guy was his own person. All she was thinking about was the fact she needed to make sure this guy was okay by showing him what to do. Kendra didn't even consider asking him his name, too wrapped up in her attempts to be a leader figure.

Cecil let out a startled cry as he found himself being dragged along by the girl that had showed up next to him, breathing heavily as he was dragged along. The hammering in his head and the pull on his body made his feet feel uncoordinated, stumbling along in an attempt to simply stay upright.
Things seemed to...quiet, once he found himself in the side street. The sounds of the festival could never be truly escaped whilst you remained in Little Tokyo, and the occasional explosive flash of fireworks would still alight the sky and shake the air, but the worst of it was gone. The pain subsided that crucial little increment, and while he was still hardly in a good way, Cecil found a little of his faculties returning.

As they came to a halt, the blond boy staggered over to the nearest wall before crumpling against it, letting out a pained sigh that nonetheless conveyed a sense of mild relief. "Thanks. I...agh..." He winced and clutched his head, swallowing. "Sorry, sorry...still hurts. Just...do what you think is best. Sorry you have to do with this right now." He took deep breaths to steady himself, though from the way his breathing shook, the action was more of a holding measure than something that was making him feel any better.

Kendra continued to stare for a few moment afterwards, eyes scrunched up and disbelieving, before she decided to stop. He seemed to be better, at the very least he was talking more, so she probably didn't have to worry as much. She knew what she was doing after all, and this side street was the perfect area for peace and quiet. As peaceful and quiet as it got with the festivals, anyways.

"Glad you're trusting my judgement here. That'll make things easier. Anyways, I'm Kendra, your new caretaker until I figure out where you live. Might take a little while for the festival to simmer down a little." If it was up to Kendra, she'd have managed the festivals better. Give hours and days for quiet times so people would have an opportunity to browse and shop without feeling like their ears were going to burst. Did it really matter how many people were drawn in, like moths to a flame, if others managed to reach the light the festival was and burn?

Kendra moved to, slowly, get closer and hug him. He was so much taller than her she had to resist the urge to scowl. Once he got better, because he would, she'd do that. "I'm going to hug you. Hugs tend to help people, right?" It was a miracle she kept her posture perfect as she invaded his personal space again. "Just push me away when you want me to stop."

"H-hey, no...no need to go...that far. I can...I can get home eventually, I swear! No need to waste more time than you need to on me." He might have just misunderstood the situation, but an escort home wasn't necessary right now...and honestly, it would probably result in torture for both him and...Kendra, that was it, Kendra. That's what they said.
He'd had enough of a wind-up just for Tomomi, but to have a girl he'd never met take him to his home would only guarantee teasing for an eternity onward.
He slouched forward before jolting stiff as he realised something - and then letting out a pathetic whimper and sliding to the floor as the back of his head bashes against the wall. It's all he can do for a moment to hold on as physical trauma mixes with mental strain, before he swallows and struggles more words out. "Cecil...I'm...Cecil...!"

He doesn't resist as Kendra moves in to hug him, and honestly, wasn't entirely in the mental space to be capable of it anyway. The only sounds from his form are the gritted, uneven breaths that flow between clenched teeth.

Kendra snorted slightly. This guy was in no shape to be walking around by himself, at least in her eyes, and he was definitely going to need some help. He'd get better, no doubt about it, but that didn't mean Kendra was just going to leave him here. What kind of person would she be then?

"Look, I can just take you there through the least crowded area. It wouldn't even be a lot of trouble." She didn't really pick up on why he was being so hesitant, assuming it was because he didn't want to be any trouble. She was dead set on taking him back home at that point.

She bit her lip slightly when she saw him hit his head against the wall. It seemed like he had, anyways. "Alright, Cecil, you clearly are lying through your teeth about wasting time with you. You need as much help as possible all things considering." She continued to hug him, thinking of her next plan of action. The sound of the festival, however faint, made her jumpy.

"We can't go back that way. The festival's still there. I'm going to have to take you through a few more shady side streets. Nothing too serious, but feel free to lean on me or hide behind me if you need to." Nobody had ever hid behind Kendra, because everybody was way too tall, but it might help Cecil if he thought he could. "What do you think?" Despite her thoughtful words, Kendra didn't bother lowering her voice.

She wasn't wrong. Cecil didn't want to be trouble. People had better uses for their time than Cecil, especially when spending time on him involved ruthless teasing by his family. Sure, it would suck for him not to have the help, but frankly he wasn't the important one in this equation.
Or most equations.
"Just because I'm talking through my teeth doesn't mean I'm lying!" He turned his head towards Kendra, starting to stiffen in her arms as his mind started to properly acknowledge the situation at hand. "Even if the help would be nice, it doesn't mean it's worth your time to give it!"

He probably wouldn't have used those particular words if he was thinking straight, but dear god did his head hurt right now.

He shook his head, letting out a long sigh. "...nevermind. Just...get me out of the district. Please."

Kendra didn't do much at first, looking a little bit stunned. She had heard similar outbursts from time to time, but none of them had been about it not being worth her time. Still, her mind had been made up earlier and that wasn't going to just go ahead and change.

"Don't snap at me." That wasn't what she had wanted to come out of her mouth. It had just been on the tip of her tongue when she had opened her mouth and then it jumped off her tongue. "Look, it's all fine. You're not wasting my time. Just don't raise your voice at me again and we should be fine."

She listened again to see if the festival, somehow, had calmed at all. She was disappointed, but not surprised, to learn that it was as loud as ever. Getting up and letting go, she dusted herself off with her hands briefly, straightening her clothes. She mentally cursed herself for doing so, but it had become natural.

"Follow me." She grabbed his hand again, pulling him along. There was no reason for her to have told him to follow her when she was just dragging him along, but that didn't seem to occur to her.

Cecil flinched, and nodded at the rebuke. He truly hadn't intended to say that, but it was too late for that now. Best he could do was to go along with this and try not to do anything like that again.

As he was finally let go, a measure of tension exited Cecil's body, only to return has he was grabbed and pulled about once more before he could even get his legs under him. "Hold on, let me just-!"
Cecil toppled forward, just catching himself before he hit the ground as he was pulled along before he was given the chance to get up. He scrambled to his feet and chuckled awkwardly, before wincing and rubbing his head. "There...there we go...let's, uh... get moving."

Though she didn't look like she was, Kendra was genuinely surprised at how quickly Cecil shut up. She was glad he had the common sense not to snap back at her, to respect her demands, but most people didn't really listen to her without complaint. It was odd in a way.

She didn't bother to stop, even when he fell forwards. She didn't want to waste any time trying to move ahead. "We can take a breathe once we're closer to wherever it is you're going. I don't know where that is, so I'll just be leading you as far away from here as possible." It worked out well for both of them anyways, giving Kendra an easy excuse to use if she did run into anybody questioning what she was doing, which wasn't likely considering she was using side streets.

""Do you even know why you have a migraine?" It came out skeptically, as though she was judging him, when in reality she just wanted to see if he knew how to avoid such migraines in the future. She figured she was being helpful rather than rude.

"I just didn't want to be pulled across the floor...probably easier on you to not have to slide me across the floor too."
There was a limit to how much he was willing to make himself suffer silently.

"Uhh..."
Oh, deep down, he had a very good idea of how he got like this, but it was something deemed utterly necessary in his mind. He still knew he couldn't just say it straight without inducing yet another rebuke, though. "I just...had a lot of work to do at once. I'm fine normally."

Kendra seemed to consider his point. "First of all, I'm plenty strong so you didn't have to worry. Still, it's really considerate of you, so thanks!" She didn't seem to consider stopping her dragging of Cecil, determined to keep going forwards.

She took a sharp left before she stopped suddenly, looking around. "This is the area. If you need to take a break, let me know. we're going to take a break now, of course, because I think that's best for you." Once again, basic social skills failed Kendra and she decided to forcefully take control of the situation. She refused to sit, desperate to look somewhat taller than she would if she crouched down.

"Work overload, huh? Well, being organized and sticking to a schedule helps. I'll help you organize better and help you make a better schedule. Just let me know what's been messing with your schedule and I'll fix it without a problem." Kendra had an intense look in her eyes, the girl once again determined to do something lwithout Cecil's consent that would affect his life.

The sight of a girl dragging about a boy nearly a foot taller than her, insistent that she was plenty strong enough to properly haul him along as he was dragged along the floor was one that would be amusing to many. To Cecil, the assertion was simply dubious, and it made him wonder just a little what on earth she was thinking.
Human bodies were heavy. He was heavy. And truth be told, Kendra didn't seem that strong that it wouldn't be a major strain, let alone at her stature.

Once more as they came to a halt, Cecil flopped down onto the nearest space that would accommodate him, simply nodding at Kendra's insistence to take a break because that would be good.

Cecil shook his head, wincing at the motion as he waved his hand in the air. "No...no need. It's just...a one off thing. Yeah. No bombardments of work in my future." Just far, far too much studying.