damned_institute | Night 66: F11-F20 Hallway

With Rapunzel occupied, Tsubaki had no one to share her amazing discoveries with, not that she really knew what to make of them.

The thick, yellowy liquid she’d ingested seemed to be exactly what the Head Doctor’s note implied it to be--a healing draft of some kind. Instead of making her ill as she’d feared, she’d taken a peek under her bandages and noticed straight away that the cuts on her chest were rapidly healing. Not enough to make them made completely, but enough to be noticeable to the naked eye. And she’d only taken a small sip!

As far as she could tell, there were no side effects, either. The only strange thing to happen all dinner shift was the moment she opened her storage box and found throwing knives tucked inside. A whole set, sleek and black. Professional grade, too.

Tsubaki had spent a long while looking them over, perplexed. It wouldn’t be the first time a surprise had turned up in her things; the vial itself was one of them, the container of poison another. But ninja weapons? What was the motive behind giving her those? The Institute had conditioned her to be wary of blessings, given how double-sided they often were.

Blades would be useful, though. There was no doubt of that.

As the start of nightshift neared, Tsubaki had slipped them into her clothes, a strange taste of home in the act. It felt weird to be armed with more than just scalpels again. Granted, a few knives weren’t going to solve her and her friends’ problems, or prove the Head Doctor’s words wrong, but they were something tangible to hold onto. Something she might have to use before the night was out.

When the lock on the door finally clicked, it was like the starting gate at a race being flung wide. Time to go!

_{[to here]}

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Shiina had been rather rudely awakened by her new roommate earlier at dinner. It may have not been a problem if the other girl hadn't done so rather maliciously. By the time night had fully set in, Shiina was only glad to be rid of her but little comfort could be had sitting in the room alone.

Try as she might, Shiina couldn't get back to sleep. The pain in her stomach was expected after a traumatic experience like last night's surgery. She didn't quite remember all the details but there was enough there to leave her sick with worry for Shou. And sick literally. She couldn't move from where she was in her bed without aching pain shooting through her middle, though she knew there had to be some drugs in her system even if they were weakening.

Staring up at the ceiling and swallowing back thickness in her throat, Shiina quietly started sobbing, glad there was no one around to witness her tears. She needed to get a grip soon but right now she was too weak to pull off that kind of mask.

[from here]

Here it was: F19. Niikura paused before the door, mentally steeling himself. He reached up and knocked three times on the door, and then, without even waiting for anyone to answer, opened the door wide enough for him to stick his head in.

"Hey, Nagasawa?" He could hear her crying, and while half of him was jumping for joy that she was alive and feeling at least enough energy to cry, the other half was shrinking back, awkward and tense. There was no way in hell he'd just let her sit there and cry all night, though, not when he'd already come this far. They'd stick through things together, for once.

Niikura crept in, closing the door behind him. Shiina's roommate was nowhere in sight, which was actually the way he preferred it. This...was probably going to get really personal and--and stuff. "How're ya feelin'?" It was a stupid question because he could kind of get the answer just by looking at her, but he felt like asking anyway was alright. It sure beat starting things off with "So is your stomach still bleeding?".

Shiina heard the knock but almost didn't believe it to be true. Not until the door opened and Shou, blessed Shou, peeked in. Unable to help herself, her tears practically redoubled at the sight of him. This time, however, they were out of pained relief.

"Sh-shou-kun?" Her voice was a hoarse whimper. Swallowing against the dryness in her mouth she tried again, with only marginal success. "Shou-kun..."

The tears continued to flow and it hurt like hell to move, but Shiina forced her arm up, a hand reaching out and wanting to be held. She didn't dare try and sit-up in bed, but she could lift her head slightly blink past the blurriness. "It hurts... It really... hurts..."

Niikura's mouth twisted into a wry smile. "Aye, it's me." He made his way over and gingerly sat down on the edge of Shiina's bed. "Came by to see how ya were." He took her hand in his loosely, and tried hard not to fidget: as smooth as the Shou Conclave was, very few of its members had ever gotten this far with a girl--Niikura definitely hadn't.

It was kind of sad, that this was what it took for him to hold hands with someone, and she wasn't even "his" girlfriend, technically.

"'m sorry," he said quietly. "Would've done somethin' different if I could, but this was the fastest way to take care of things, and I didn't want ya stuck like that for much longer. You'll get through it, though. I believe in ya."

Shiina sniffled then managed to smile despite her tears and pain. It was a slight smile, just touching her lips, but the hand that reached for his gripped fiercely when he held hers. Or at least, she tried to grip tighter. In all honesty, her grip wasn't nearly as strong as it would have been in a healthy state but she wanted her grip to make an impression. She was glad he came and she wanted him to stay.

"'s okay," she rasped out. The dryness again forced her to swallow. It was even painful to talk but she wasn't going to spend the night in silence.

Shiina shifted a little in bed, trying to draw herself up but stopped before she could get too far. Gritting her teeth, she sucked in breath of air and let it out slowly. No painkillers for this post-op evening.

Fighting against the pain, she forced herself to speak again. "Did I... hurt you?"

[9 MILLION TRILLION YEARS LATER...]

Niikura started when Shiina began to sit up, his other hand reaching for her shoulder to prevent her from moving. Once she stopped, though, he relaxed and settled back on the bed. "Heh, nah," he said, smile coming back a little wider and looser than before. "I'm okay, honest. I'm a Shou, y'know? If I couldn't do somethin' as easy as catchin' a bird, I don't know how I'd ever be able to face anyone."

Granted, no Shou had ever attempted to catch a bird that also fired lightning from its wings, but that was a technicality.

He looked down and let his thumb move in slow, lazy circles across the top of Shiina's hand. "Don't remember anythin'?"

She breathed out a sigh, the closest thing she could manage to a laugh. Why was he so charming, even in the worst of times?

She appreciated the touch. Shiina's only regret was it felt like too much work to try and take his hand completely in her own.

"Only a little..." She released a shaky breath. Last night had not been pleasant, and before that... Her eyes prickled with tears. "I don't know... Did I hurt anyone?"

She swallowed, trying to think back to before the night. Only a few images were clear in her mind. "I remember... cages. And... screaming. And it hurt..."

"Probably for the better," Niikura said gravely. "And nah, ya didn't hurt anyone--at least, no one that I saw." It was funny, because it seemed like the bird had spent most of its time targeting him...

He winced when she brought up what she did remember. He hadn't expected any of it to sound pleasant, but just thinking about cages and screaming and pain, he couldn't find any way to make it all seem better. "Wish I could take all those memories for ya," Niikura said with a sigh, "'cause I could take them. Just...try not to think too much about it all for me, okay? You're here now, same as usual--well, mostly."

Night 66: F11-F20 Hallway

F19

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