damned_institute | NIGHT 65: M-A BLOCK HALLWAY

[From here]

By the time Izaya exited his own hall, he was already starting to reconsider having left Snow back in the room. He would have to be a little more cautious in his treatment of Villiers for the time being since they'd become roommates, but that didn't mean he couldn't get some use out of the arrangement. Villiers was a big, strong guy, so he'd surely make for a big, strong shield as well...

Izaya slowed to a stop on one side of the hall, keeping a lookout as he considered turning back to see if Snow had any plans, or at least waiting until Snow followed this way. He could always say that he was concerned for their mutual safety, that he was worried about going out alone tonight; Snow would probably buy it. Who wouldn't, in such an unusual place as this?

As he was still weighing his options, the beam of Izaya's flashlight crossed a familiar figure.

...Well, there could be another possibility entirely.

"Ippo-kun?" Izaya called out, trying to get a better look at the boy without leaving the post he'd taken up. "Is that you?"

When someone or something uttered his name in the dark, Ippo jumped and thrust his light toward the area of the noise. Okay, keep calm! Calm allows you to think rationally. He had to think rationally right now. Losing himself to fear would only hurt him in the long run. Whatever it was, the boxer would have to face it head on or be a regretful pile of meat in a monster's stomach.

Thankfully, the only thing his light picked up was a familiar face. "Iz... Izaya-san?!" Ippo let out a big sigh of relief as he doubled over, thanking the gods for having mercy on him for once. "W-What are you doing out here alone?"

So it was Ippo. Izaya smiled to himself at the boy's startled reaction, and stammered response. He was still as nervous as ever, it seemed.

Approaching Ippo now ran counter, in some ways, to how he'd treated the boy prior: never speaking of nighttime activity as anything but dream, not shattering any belief Ippo may have held in the words of the hospital staff... But after a week in this place, how much might Ippo still have been willing to believe? And if Ippo did have some lingering faith, who was to say he couldn't treat this very meeting as nothing but a dream once night turned to day?

More importantly: skittish though he seemed, Ippo was still a boxer. If he could convince the young man to come along, he could be handy to have around in case they met any of those 'turned' patients.

"I was thinking of taking a walk over to the medical wing to see what all the fuss is about," Izaya said, with a casual shrug of his shoulders. He left his spot along the wall to approach Ippo. "But what about you?"

"Oh..." Ippo's heart dropped to the bottom of his shoes and took with it all of his blood, if his suddenly pale face was any indication. "Th-The medical wing?" Thankfully the dim light made it a little harder to see the beginnings of a cold sweat break out across his forehead as he recalled what had happened to him the last time he had taken a chance in that place.

"Ah, well I'm... I'm not sure--I just didn't want you get out of my r-room." It made it harder to get kidnapped when you had space to run away. "But you--I mean, that is..." Ippo fumbled over his words, trying to make up his mind whether or not it was rude to pry into his friend's intentions. "Why are you going there? They're not giving out more medication are they?!" If that was the case, he needed to warn as many people as possible to stay away from it.

His slight smile lingered as he listened to the boy stammer through his response. Ippo really hadn't changed at all since Izaya had last seen him, even if he was perhaps more nervous now than the times they'd met during the day. Was it because of the night itself, or because of the experiences he'd had during past nights? Was he worried about what Landel had mentioned on the intercom—those who would 'turn'?

The mention of medication was so unexpected, however, that Izaya had to think for a moment to realize what he'd meant: pills, the 'concoction' from about a week ago that Ippo had taken. He'd said he'd been turned to a sheep then, hadn't he?

Izaya wondered whether the 'medicine' from that time had a connection to what was to be starting tonight.

"Not as far as I'm aware," Izaya said, waving a hand along with his verbal dismissal of the idea. "Apparently there's supposed to be some kind of clue there about how to cure the illness that's been going around... I wanted to have a look for myself to see if there's any validity to it."

He'd see what Ippo might do with that first. The young man didn't seem to have any plans, so the road was clear to inviting him along... But would another person finding the clue help or hinder his own goal? It would be a shame if it hindered Izaya, but at the same time... He wanted to see how it would turn out.

"Oh, thank goodness! Ah--I mean, the pills, n-not the people!" For once in Ippo's life, he could relate to someone and he genuinely felt horrible knowing these people were at the mercy of some illness. It was good to know, though, that incredible people like Izaya were trying to find a cure! He was such a beautiful human being! If there were more of Izaya, the would be a little more kind to people like Ippo.

The boxer wished he could group himself with his friend, but he had never been brave enough to face any obstacle or injustice. He had come close when Sawamura had hit Kumi, but ultimately they had settled things in the ring. Kojia... Well, Ippo regretted his actions. That hadn't been a defense or anything that could be remotely called justice. That had been a brawl and he had known better. A punk like that couldn't help others, only hurt. He didn't want to be that kind of person.

"Uhm, not that I'm very knowledgeable about these sort of things, but you shouldn't go anywhere by yourself. If... If you need a partner, I can uhmm go with you--If you want! I'm not very good help, but... I'm better than nothing..." Although, he wondered if that was really true. At least being alone, you reliably knew what moves you would make. It was hard to judge other people's characters, especially if a monster came along. He lost his head a bit when one came around, not surprisingly.

"You want to come with me?" Izaya asked, sounding surprised—as though getting Ippo to come along hadn't been his intention all along. "Really, I'd be grateful if you did... But are you sure? It could be dangerous."

Truthfully, Izaya's confirmation was only because he was interested in seeing how Ippo would react to the words "it could be dangerous"; he wouldn't stop him if the young man decided to back out because of it, but neither did he have any intention to dissuade him from coming along. Ippo had already volunteered, so Izaya was interested in just how far he could be pushed, tested. Was his courage just a flimsy and fragile thing? Or was it made of sterner stuff, running deeper and lying hidden beneath his surface timidity?

"A-Ah--Well, I..." It was hard to argue the man's logic. Looking down at his hands, both covered in his brass knuckles he had received as part of his reward for being a desperate and gullible sap, Ippo watched him wring his fingers together in indecision and worry. He certainly wasn't all that good under pressure when it came to monsters over men, but the alternatives weren't looking any better.

"I understand that, but... I'd rather go with someone than be by myself--Besides! You're... Ah, that is... You're helping other people, right? Then... s-someone should be helping you!" It took awhile to get it all out, but the boxer was proud of his conviction! Yes, he would dare to even compliment himself tonight for actually saying it all!

Deeper it was, then—or at least, the combination of various factors had bolstered his courage in this case. Further observation was needed to truly understand his courage.

Izaya's smile returned. "That's very kind of you, Ippo-kun. I'm glad I'll have your help."

He wondered how Ippo would react if he knew Izaya's real motives for wanting to investigate the clue, what kind of face he'd make if Izaya told him. But no matter how tempting it was to tip his hand, he couldn't. Not yet, at least.

He gestured with his free hand down the hallway. "Shall we?"

[To here]

NIGHT 65: M-A BLOCK HALLWAY

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