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."