damned_institute | Night 66: M51-M60 Hallway

Entry tags:

aidou,
sechs

Night 66: M51-M60 Hallway

Rationally, Aidou knew that any correlation he drew between himself and Landel’s warnings of surprise attacks was imaginary, but it still incensed him to hear it. There was no good way for a vampire to conduct himself in these circumstances, noble or not. Either he joined the ranks of monsters and violent prisoners, and wasted time trying to find a suitable candidate to feed from without letting his identity be known, or he did what he had never wanted to do: feed from a volunteer who really had no business offering their blood.

Both options were distasteful in their own ways. But if he went looking for blood, Aidou couldn’t helping thinking that he would be exactly what Landel was warning his captives about. The rogue attacker, taking advantage of the fearful atmosphere to scare undeserving victims in the dark.

How disgusting!

The only other option, though… it also involved taking advantage of someone. There was, in the end, no easy choice.

When Aidou had finished preparing himself, his first stop was Sasuke's room. After what had happened last night, there was no way he could leave the hallway without at least checking, even had they had other business to attend to.

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Sasuke's nurse had appeared again at the end of dinner, abrupt and cheerful enough that Sasuke had immediately tensed, hands tensing on the utensils he was still holding in preparation for another attempt at capturing him for experimentation. Even with his roommate still present and no orderly in sight, he'd almost expected the attack -- had been ready to fend it off, no matter how futile efforts had been in the past -- up until she'd briskly pried his eyelids open and commended him on dutiful application of the eye drops all day.

Yes, because I have had enough of blindness was what he'd wanted to say. Instead he'd snapped at her to leave and let him put in the next round of the drops on his own, a message that had been growled with enough malice that even her often-impenetrable chipper tones had become clipped when she bid him good night, only minutes before Landel's voice warped.

But as mind-numbingly irritating as she could be, it was at least welcome news to hear that his eyes were healing as well as could be expected. Sasuke had only just blinked away the excess liquid from the eye drops when the knock came -- was wiping the stinging trail of them off his cheeks, in fact.

It could only be Aidou, since Albedo had just left. Hadn't the vampire mentioned needing to feed? Sasuke opened the door with considerably more speed than nights previous, noting with pleasure that the vampire's features and dress were much clearer in his vision than they had been in the morning.

"Aidou," an easy nod of recognition. "I'm ready."

Yes, it was him. As if anyone else would be paying such a speedy visit to Sasuke's room. As far as Aidou knew, there were very few people left who remembered Sasuke's original "surgery" and what had been done to him; that Sasuke was now healing from a second one probably held less implication to newer prisoners. Unless Sasuke had mentioned his room number to that Rock Lee fellow... he'd seemed quite eager to see the boy himself.

"For the record, you're already injured," he began without preamble. "Taking blood from you would be essentially worsening your health to better mine. There's still the option of waiting while I handle that business and check on Aigis."

Until the issue of where Aidou was getting his blood was settled, he felt the options needed to be presented right off the bat. Sasuke had made it clear that he was as open to a businesslike arrangement as much as Aigis was, but no one would be accusing either of them of great wisdom. Aidou wasn't exactly proving himself very wise, either, but such a stringent diet left him weak.

And he needed strength as much as wisdom.

Aidou started in on what he had to say abruptly and without even pausing for a greeting, something that might not have been unusual in itself without the fact that his voice was something close to sharp. There was urgency in his stance as much as there was irritation, the words revealing reluctance that had little to do with the need he had expressed earlier in the day.

Sasuke had forgotten how much could be read about the truth from something as simple as stance. Aidou had always held himself with the precise, natural correctness of someone who had been taught to present himself a certain way from birth -- it was almost Hyuuga, the intense insistence on propriety, if lacking the particular tenseness of the shinobi edge. Tonight there was tension, though; between that and the fact that Aidou had spoken at all of his unique brand of hunger, Sasuke was fairly certain that the vampire's options for vampirism were running low.

"This is no injury I can't handle," Sasuke said, and that much was true: the pain was negligible. It was the blurriness of vision and the too-bright haze of daytime that was troubling more than anything else, but with nightfall that too would become a minor hindrance (and if he recalled correctly, Aidou wasn't one who relied heavily on his flashlight).

"There's no point losing time when this is the most efficient option," and with every sign of having drawn the final conclusion, Sasuke stepped back to allow Aidou into the room and shut the door behind him.

Everyone kept saying that, that they could handle their injuries. Perhaps it was true for Sasuke, but in this case it was more the debt, not the physical wounds, that bothered Aidou and made him hesitant to proceed. He had no wish to weaken Sasuke further by taking his blood, and neither did he want to take what he couldn't easily repay.

Despite his attempts to maintain a certain level of self-sufficiency, Aidou owed a number of people, Sasuke more than most. Relying on others not of his own kind felt somehow... passive and selfish. Like he was a weak-kneed vampire who couldn't be bothered to rise above mindless predation.

But time was so short.

It bothered him a little that a human boy could see that more clearly than him, but then the vampire knew he was letting his feelings eclipse the practical decision: that he needed blood, that Sasuke's blood was more than acceptable, and most importantly, that Sasuke was willing to part with some.

Still... still...

"At this rate I'm going to get a taste for your blood," he said a little cynically, entering the cell at Sasuke's invitation. "Who would have thought our bond would grow so deep."

There was reluctance in the way Aidou entered the room -- but so there had been reluctance in the way he had stood in the doorway. It was clear that Aidou wasn't one who enjoyed racking up debt, and equally clear that he considered this 'blood donation' a debt. Sasuke himself had been inclined to think the same, but they had been allies too long (and he had seen how the Institute operated for too long) for him not to see it as equally, if not more, a matter of efficiency.

At the same time, he could understand. Because that did seem to be the way the Institute operated: forced dependency in a place where nothing was dependable. (That word, even. Bond.) Even Landel was at a moment's notice ousted by Aguilar, whose role in turn had been usurped by Landel again. Death passed like a sharp blade straight through vital organs: too quick to be felt, too deep to be healed.

Whatever grief Aidou's teethmarks caused inadvertently, they at least healed over quickly. Sasuke hadn't noticed if there were scars, but then -- even if there were, they would hardly be the first puncture wounds to his body.

"It's a resource that will replenish itself," he said, finally allowing himself to be amused enough by the vampire's reticence to cock and eyebrow at him. "And uncontaminated, this time."

Spoken like a true human. It was a strange quirk of nature that they could have such life-sustaining blood but not recognize the import of it themselves, nor the act of sharing it.

But Aidou did, and maybe that was why his relationship with it while under the Institute's roof had become so annoyingly complicated.

As for the sad reality of contaminated versus uncontaminated blood... Aidou gave the boy a look that was both weary and a little forlorn. "The amount of healthy blood left in this place seems to be dwindling day by day. I don't suppose you've noticed it the same way I have. Landel might as well have poisoned the well."

There was definitely no way he was taking blood from Aigis even if he'd wanted to, given her state. For someone with his particular dietary needs, it was a pain in the ass, and part of the reason why he was more open to feeding off of Sasuke now than he would have been otherwise.

"Well... I'll only take a small amount from you," he continued, turning the topic back to the matter at hand. "Is the wrist suitable?" Sasuke seemed to have enough problems with people getting too close to his face with sharp implements.

For all that Aidou seemed to admit to needing the substance, he was oddly reluctant to be forthcoming about the fact that he needed blood periodically -- Sasuke still wasn't sure which others in the Institute Aidou used to sustain himself, and while random attacks in the darkness fit the vampire legends he'd heard as a small child, he suspected they were far from safe right now with the infection. That suspicion was confirmed in the next moment by Aidou himself, sounding weary enough with the awareness of it that Sasuke made a note to himself to pay closer attention to the population.

Now that he could. Now that he was less handicapped than he had been in weeks, thanks to ... he wasn't sure whom to thank, if anyone at all. If the other shoe had dropped already or if it was still waiting in the wings.

"I have only noticed outward symptoms," he admitted. "But the chakra of those infected is noticeably tainted." Or at least Aigis' had been.

"I am not infected," he continued, as certain of health as he had been certain of disease after Itachi's corpse had been desecrated, and held his wrist out with confidence. "Take enough to make it through the night. There's no point holding back now only to hold us back later."

"I imagine we must be sensing the same thing," he mused, and went on to add, "I know you aren't sick, at least."

The only thing wrong with Sasuke was... well, whatever had been done to him in that experimentation room. Aidou didn't know if the experience had left a mark on his blood--if the presence of a foreign body would leave a taste, a smoky, shadowed flavor--but if it had, it would likely be nothing Sasuke was aware of. And nothing he would be able to help, for that matter.

Regardless, there was blood. Blood that he needed if he didn't want to risk something much worse happening should either of them be injured during the course of events. In that sense, Sasuke was right.

"You don't have to worry about that from me."

His gaze went to the boy's wrist and the pale swathe of skin there. Somehow it was easier to cross the distance and curl his fingers around Sasuke's hand than even the thought of it had been with Aigis. Maybe it was because Sasuke wasn't afraid, or brimming with nervous emotions. Maybe it was because of the history they already shared. Either way, with Sasuke's permission Aidou felt a certain sense of calm at bringing his lips to the other's wrist and pressing in with his fangs.

There was nothing particularly new in the act. Aidou supposed that helped keep things simple.

Although there was a difference between enough blood for one night and enough blood in general, the vampire was exact. His hunger was insistent, but it didn't prevent him from letting go the moment he'd reached the limit he'd set himself. As young and healthy as he was, Sasuke wouldn't notice any changes in his vital signs, which was the point. Impairing him would be pointless.

Sensing the same thing made a certain amount of sense, except that as far as Sasuke was aware, sickness shouldn't have changed chakra. Altered flow or weakened it, to be sure, but the lingering filmy darkness that had hovered around Aigis' arm had been abnormal, closer in colour and nature to the grotesque nature of the creatures Landel kept as pets. His own illness had generated the same sensation of wrongness in a way that the common cold didn't -- but trying to explain wrong chakra to someone who could neither see nor sense it was a task that would take longer than they had.

That fact was one that they were both keenly aware of, at least: Aidou's movement toward his wrist was sure and swift for the first time since Sasuke had opened the door. There was again the not-unfamiliar feeling of something sharp piercing flesh and then the strangely hollow pull of blood.

This need for blood was a handicap for Aidou that was more pronounced now that the population had been contaminated, as it were -- what value was there in ensuring that none of them could utilise the full extent of their abilities? Orochimaru had made no effort to hide his interest in natural talent and prowess; his fascination with bloodline had been enough proof of that. Landel, however, had a bizarrely egalitarian approach to testing that made precious little sense.

Or was the goal to play with their minds above all? Sasuke blinked his brother's eyes clear, slowly, and watched as Aidou drew back. There was no noticeable change in his own body, trained as he was to withstand a sizeable amount of blood loss without concurrent loss of function.

"If you're certain that's enough," because it hadn't felt like much, but Aidou was his own judge. "Let's proceed."

The ring with its glittering jewel -- and he could see now that it was red, as might have been expected -- was on the hand not in Aidou' grasp.

Using his thumb to wipe away the beads of blood that welled in his fangs' puncture marks, he said, "It'll do for now," before releasing Sasuke and stepping back. It was habit, to bring his thumb to his lips and lick away the remainder; it made his eyes flare crimson.

Yes, he knew this taste. It'd been a long time since Aidou had bitten the same person more than once and thus had the opportunity to learn their blood. At its core, Sasuke's was still healthy and strong... which, in a strange way, reassured him, knowing that Sasuke was truly not sick, nor physically compromised. Beyond words, beyond what his eyes could tell him, blood was the most honest substance. It never lied.

As his eyes faded from red to blue again, so did the urgency of their limited time creep back in, pulling him from his thoughts. He licked his lips carefully, then nodded to show he was ready--it was a gesture Sasuke was capable of seeing now. "This next part should be just as quick, if fortune is on our side. Aigis is staying within the bounds of the female block tonight, assuming the infection didn't overwhelm her. I'll check on her position and then we can go."

Aidou had to admit, those stupid rings weren't completely useless. It would save on the time needed to travel downstairs on foot, which was a far more treacherous route than merely passing from one cell block to the other.

For now was an interesting addendum, but then again, it wasn't as if Aidou hadn't made it clear that his need for nourishment was an ongoing handicap in the Institute. How long did the vampire go between meals, Sasuke wondered, and how much did the Institute test his limits? Landel had made no such tests of sheer endurance with Sasuke --

But the Institute had tested him in other ways, and he still had no idea what to make of the score. If he thought about it ... if he thought about it, there was a dangerous edge of darkness that he couldn't afford here, cramped and claustrophobic and reminiscent of a time he didn't remember clearly enough to recall how he'd survived.

The only thing to do was put one foot in front of the other and claw towards strength and vengeance, the promises he'd made his blood and the ones that were bound up in his alliance with Aidou, now the oldest here. Retribution was to be had; in the meantime, there was this complication of bonds and debts owed that Sasuke had no time to consider.

For this particular moment -- this step forward -- he could pull his wrist back to himself and watch as the red in Aidou's eyes faded. That in itself was a strange tie, blood in the eyes, but Sasuke merely followed the nod of acknowledgement by retrieving his sword from the bed and striding to the door.

"Have you spoken to her since yesterday?" He asked, pulling the door open and stepping out to turn in the direction of the other cell blocks. "She seemed cogent during the day shift."

Despite his reservations and the negative image he was liable to develop if he made a habit of feeding off of someone he considered an ally (if not a companion), Aidou couldn't deny that Sasuke's blood was filling. A small amount was better than nothing, and it softened the sharp edges in his belly.

He supposed it was rather hypocritical of him, to complain about being dependent on someone for food when the results provided such tangible results. Even in the act of leading them away from Sasuke's room, he felt stronger, less distracted. His senses were sharper than he could remember them being in days.

A temporary relief, but a relief nonetheless.

"I have," was Aidou's answer. "The progression of her symptoms still seems very slow. I suppose she's fine, otherwise." 'Otherwise' being the key word. Although during the day her symptoms were manageable, when moonrise came it was like flipping a switch. Who knew what condition she was in now.

They would find that out for themselves soon enough.

_{[to here]}

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Night 66: M51-M60 Hallway

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forgot to mention they were in M58 before AND NOW THEY ARE NOT.

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