Dayshift 62: Sun Room [Third Shift]

[avengingfists]

Last night had been a nightmare. That had to be what it was, but Ilia couldn't deny reality. In her anguish, Ilia had slept through the first half of the day plagued by nightmares. In her dreams she saw Rose's broken body all over again with Gamzee standing over her, his club raised to strike again. Somewhere, she could hear Martin Landel laughing.

Much like the battle last night, Ilia was overcome by her powerlessness. Was she really so useless? Why did it have to be the children who suffered pain and death? Why was she left alive here? She didn't wish for her own death, but if she could have given up her life to save Rose... But nothing could be done now

Ilia had failed to save an ally in need. If only her Captain could have been here, then just maybe his uncanny luck and drive might have saved them. He had a miraculous touch that could solve anything. Ilia now understood why she would never be on equal footing with him.

Miserably, Ilia roused herself at her nurse's insistence that she come eat. She didn't take a moment to brush her hair or wash her face. She just followed along as directed, trying to ignore the hallow feeling in her chest. Ilia wasn't hungry, but she took one of the bags offered to her and trudged to the bulletin. She addressed a few notes then added one herself. It wasn't the prettiest note, but Ilia couldn't produce the level of prose that Rose deserved. Instead, she wrote it quickly, like ripping off a band-aid. Short. To the point.

Her task done, Ilia found seat in the corner and sunk down into the cushion. Burying her face in her hands, she concentrated on breathing. She couldn't face the sun today.

[For her children Claude and Anise]

Comments

[oneman_onekill]

A...cold? How...okay, so the weather hadn't been the best the past few days, and they had run through a rainstorm a few nights before. (Kind of surprising that he hadn't gotten sick, come to think of it...) "Ah, man, that sucks," Niikura said, grimacing as he began the process of destroying his grilled cheese.

In the midst of chewing, he reviewed how he was going to present his little "detour", if it could even be called that, with Mike just the night before. As he had told himself then, the part about him climbing a trash heap was out, as was the part where he'd nearly gotten shot, as was the part where he'd shot someone instead, as was the part where he'd gotten chased by a mob wielding pitchforks and aforementioned guns, as was the part where he'd...man, he'd just have to lie through his teeth at this rate. It wouldn't be that hard to do, since not only did he already know what was coming up in the basement, but he was also just good at lying, but then there was that tricky little bit called coordination.

And, he just didn't feel right lying to Shiina when she seemed so emotionally invested in his health.

Niikura swallowed and sighed. Alright, he'd tell the truth--just, the ultra censored version that would conveniently leave out the parts where he'd been in mortal danger. No need to give her high blood pressure too in the midst of her cold. "Nah, we got, uh..." He waved a hand. "...volunteered for some mission, so we ended up havin' to do Landel's dirty work for the whole night. No big." He shrugged and had to work hard not to show that he was currently in pain. "Made it back in one piece, if ya didn't notice by now."

[requitedfate]

"Yeah, I probably caught that bug the Head Doctor mentioned this morning," Shiina said with a sigh. Of all the things to have to deal with on top of this crazy place... But there wasn't anything to do about it except maybe ask for some medicines before too long.

For a while Shou was quiet, which was unusual. Shiina didn't like it when he got like that, but she didn't push just yet. If he had something to confess then he would in due time. Until then, she was going to eat her sandwich whether her stomach wanted it or not! Food meant strength and she wasn't going to fall behind because of a little fever.

When Niikura mentioned the mission, Shiina sat up a bit straighter. She eyed him critically, but it seemed he was telling the truth about being in one piece. At least she couldn't see anything wrong with him. That only left one problem. "... What do you mean? What kind of dirty work?"

Shiina doubted Niikura or Mike really had any say in the matter for what they had been voluntold to do. And if they did, she knew a Shou wouldn't have agreed unless he felt he could achieve something better for the effort. Maybe he had learned something in the process.

[oneman_onekill]

"Oh." He hadn't heard anything about a bug, but then again, he'd woken up only ten or so minutes ago. A bug going around...that didn't sound too good. They were in pretty close quarters as it was; things like colds had to be pretty contagious. And he really didn't want to get sick. "Sure you're feelin' up to headin' out tonight, then? Stuff's probably gonna get tougher; maybe ya should take another night off." If Harvey Dent had been telling the truth, they were either in for a fight or braving the elements, whichever one sounded more appealing, and neither of those were things that even he would undertake when he wasn't at his best. Rate of success went down with your health, after all.

Niikura looked away awkwardly, one hand rising to rub the back of his neck as it often did when he felt uncomfortable. "Just...I don't know. We had to go out and capture these people that they...needed around here or somethin'." He sighed and shook his head. "I don't know why. They didn't tell me those details before they dumped us out in the middle of nowhere."

[requitedfate]

"I'll be fine," Shiina said with a dismissive wave. Staying in hadn't helped much in the long run, but if it was a bug then there was nothing to do but wait it out. "I'll be able to keep up. Just let's not head out into the rain tonight, if we have any."

Even if she got sick, Shiina felt she could power through it. She was no longer in her original body, after all. Hazama had made sure to give her something new and strong and healthy. She wasn't going to fall ill and die when he had intrusted the future to her. And besides, Niikura was the last tie to Hazama she had outside of her own body. If he was going to venture anywhere at night, she wanted to be by his side. Last night's rest had just been to catch up after the rough night at the Sphinx's chamber. She wouldn't do that again without an absolute need, and being a little fevered wasn't enough to stop her.

Shiina stiffened a little after hearing Shou's explanation of his mission objective. "Capture people...?" The obvious question was what kind of people? Shou had, literally, a suicidal moral compass. He wouldn't have done something the Head Doctor had wanted if it meant harming innocents...

She took another bite of her sandwich, chewing thoughtfully. "... I guess they figured someone versed in holding political and economic giants hostage would come in handy for something like that." Shous were very good at what they did, after all.

[oneman_onekill]

"Heh, I think we can avoid that." They'd definitely be staying indoors today; in fact, even if Shiina weren't sick, Niikura was not game for another jaunt through a thunderstorm any time soon. He could handle most things, as in, manage to stay somewhat upbeat through them, but there were a few exceptions and one of them was when he was soaked (and chilled!) to the bone.

He almost flinched when he noticed Shiina stiffen. He'd tried to tell the truth as casually and as mildly as possible, but even then, it'd managed to disturb her just a little bit. Ah, there really was no good way to go about this...

"Ehhh, guess so, huh? I had help, so it was even easier: Mike-san and I make a good team." Niikura shrugged. "We figured, better us than someone else, since we're both pretty, y'know, well-versed in that kind of stuff and all." He would of course omit the part where Mike turned into a giant turtle, although it did kind of seem unnecessary: he figured it was bound to happen eventually around Shiina.

...They would cross that bridge when they got to it.