damned_institute | Nightshift 26; Room M35

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/183215.html?view=13110703#t13110703)!]

Sheska burst into the room and held the handle as she bent double to to catch her breath. The moment she had strength to lift her head, she did, just to make sure it was the right place. A few pants later and she could just about speak.
"S-sorry," she breathed, "should have...knocked. Ran....only up...hall.... Oh my..."
She moved forward, still half bent, and collapsed on the floor by the bed. A moment later and she was sat up with her back against it, eyes closed.

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/184780.html?thread=13328588#t13447372).]

Hikaru strolled casually into the room (with Kaoru not far behind), doing his best to look bored with the situation. His eyes lingered on the girl who was stitting on the floor looking like she'd just run a marathon, but--other than a meaningful glance back to his brother--he chose not to acknowledge her. No doubt Tamaki would make introductions once they were all settled.

"Evening, Milord," he yawned.

Kaoru followed his brother in, also having a good look at the girl and then Hikaru. "Looks like the Brunettes aren't safe from Milord, either," he said, quietly.

"Evening, Milord," he said, perfectly in time with his brother, yawning just the same. He took Hikaru's hand and pulled him towards Tamaki's bed to sit down.

"Sheska-chan!" Oh no, she looked exhausted! "Here, you can lay down if you'd like..." Tamaki fretted some, wondering what had happened. Other than her running. Why had she run? The same reason he and Kyon had run to get her?

But then the twins had arrived, and Tamaki turned to them with a tired smile. "Hikaru! Kaoru! Oh, I'm so glad you made it!"

He brandished the bag full of medical supplies triumphantly. "Look! Medicine!"

Sheska pulled herself up and collapsed on the bed with a mutter that may have been thank you, or possibly something rude. But it was most likely to be thank you. hand over her heart, she whined "I think I'm going to die."
Well, good thing she was dying in a first aid class.

She hugged her journal and pillow to her chest.
"I've never seen twins before..." she informed the room.

[[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/183215.html?thread=13378479#t13378479).]]

Finally. Raine stood outside the door, out of sight, for a second to get her bearings; she'd admitted to Reinforce how unstable she was feeling, but she wasn't going to show it if she could help it. She schooled herself to at least look calm and collected (at least she couldn't get much paler) and then entered, giving everyone inside a friendly smile. It mildly surprised her to only see children in the room, but she knew well not to underestimate people just because they were young. "This is the Aid Society, correct? I'm Raine Sage--it's been a while since I had to work with so little magic, but I thought I'd try to help; I'm a healer." To Tamaki, "I'm glad to see someone managed to find supplies. What do you have?" She'd take stock, ask if there was anything they needed to know, and then go from there.

She wasn't actually intending to take charge, since she had no idea if anyone here was experienced, but she would if they needed her to. The familiarity of the scene, despite their surroundings, actually made her relax a little. This was just another class, that was all.

And where Raine went, Rein followed, mirroring her partner/charge/whatever's geniality. "I'm Reinforce. I'm with Raine." She addended Raine's introduction without actually saying anything useful about herself, which was a bit of a pattern with her.

"So these are the young hospitallers," she said to nobody in particular, but she tried to sound impressed. People needed encouragement. Tamaki in particularly seemed... well, emotionally volatile from what she'd read on the bulletin, but the circumstances of their first meeting at least had convinced her his heart was in the right place. And the young woman on the bed seemed depressed. Everyone probably was, from what Raine had reported about this strange aura.

"With Milord," Hikaru replied, just as quietly, "Nothing is sacred."

This was familiar. Being with Kaoru...mercilessly ribbing Tamaki...even in this place--with all its terror and uncertainty and whatever--was comforting.

He arched an eyebrow at the bag that the overeager ~~Host Club~~ Aid Society president was thrusting at them. "That's...great, Milord. Now, the big question is this: do you actually know how to use it?"

It was a fair question! Hikaru wasn't entirely sure whether or not Tamaki knew how to properly apply a Band-Aid, much less administer first aid. Well...as long as he was happy.

The girl on the floor got an equally incredulous look. Jumpy, wasn't she? "Well, now you have. Wonderful, isn't it? Now, I think it's about time for us to grab each other and cry before the credits roll." Honestly. People here were worse than the people back at home! Multiple births weren't that uncommon. He was having a really hard time believing that all of these people had gone their entire lives without ever seeing a set of identical twins. Or even fraternal!

It was probably best that two more people barged in when they did, or else he might've gone off on the poor, unsuspecting target of his annoyance.

Hospitallers? Uh...what? "Nobody here but us chickens," he replied blandly. "And Tamaki's the one to ask about supplies. We're just along for the ride."

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/183215.html?thread=13529263#t13529263).

Soubi had heard voices, but knocking first had never entered his mind. What had entered his mind was 'who the hell was in Ritsuka's room?'.
Still holding the door open, he looked around. Kids. Older than Ritsuka. Everywhere. He also took note of the fact that it was a double room.

"Where's Ritsuka?"

Kaoru chuckled quietly with his brother. He really did love Tamaki, honestly. For his silliness, for being an easy target and for the fact that he genuinely did seem to care about people. But mostly because of the easy target thing. If it hadn't have been for that, the twins never would have put up with him and become his friends.

"If we get bored, they might make good props," Kaoru said. "We could just go back to Hosting."

He looked at the girl on the bed and then his brother. What was with people? Maybe they really could go back to selling the brother thing. Roll up, roll up, come and see real live twins.
"We're not a circus attraction," he said outloud, before he realised he hadn't let anyone in on his train of thought. He decided it was time to be quiet and leaned into Hikaru a little more.

The new intruder was... old. Why was such an old man looking for Ritsuka? He hoped it wasn't anything pervy, that would only be invitation to a Host Club ass kicking.

Suddenly there were so many people in the room! And Kyon hadn't even come by yet!

"Ah... lovely maidens! Yes, this is the Saint Francis Aide Club..." Tamaki said, looking from one person to another. "I know basic first aide and there's medicine and bandages and things in here. Sheska-chan knows about medicine, though. And I'm going to be learning other things from other people. Ah, Ritsuka-kun isn't here right now. Who are you?"

Tamaki knew it wasn't Ritsuka's brother - he'd met him once, before he disappeared. Who this person was, he had no idea. He was trying desperately to keep up with everything and answer everyone's questions.

"Ah, I'm Tamaki, the twins are Hikaru and Kaoru, that's Sheska-chan there." he was positively bewildered as to how his room had become so very high traffic all of a sudden! And he was having to restrain himself from playing Host!

"May I see?" Raine ignored Tamaki's calling them "maidens" (better than "hunnies, at least) in favor of hoping she'd recognize the medications; failing that, it seemed logical that the bottles would have labels with instructions. Not that logic often gets us very far here. Curious, she added, "Where did you get these?" The nurses' supply closet seemed most likely; she'd been entertaining thoughts of breaking in for a while, but the near-certainty that it would be well guarded made her keep putting it off. Since Washu had promised her a kit of her own, she might not even need to. Still, knowing someone else with a medical-supply stash--and presumably how to get more--was something of a relief. Supplies only lasted so long.

She could... guess that Tamaki had no idea what he was doing; "I know basic first aide" could mean a lot of things. She'd see what he had here, make sure he understood (he didn't seem stupid, just overenthusiastic), and then go from there. Presumably the others were also there to learn; this, at least, should go well.

Rein was pretty sure she'd never been called a 'maiden' by anyone before. Her memory wasn't one it had once been, but generally when people put her on a pedestal it was out of respect (or, as had been the case with depressing frequency, mad lust) for her power. She could claim none of the purity the word connoted.

But the thought persisted regardless, and she found herself toying with a lock of hair. She might make a good Rapunzel...

As Raine started asking questions she drifted to the background. She knew how much the young woman loved teaching, and was content to let her have the spotlight as long as her advice was sound. With the powers-that-be providing effective medical care at the end of each night, what really mattered was short-term life-saving techniques for groups without access to healing magic, and those she was pretty sure Raine would know as well as she. Her knowledge of advanced medical techniques was entirely superfluous here.

"What do you want with Ritsuka?"

Hikaru's voice was cold. He looked at the stranger suspiciously, eyes narrowed and generally not exuding friendliness. Nothing good could possibly come from this...old guy looking for a prepubescent boy. Ritsuka was still a little kid, and had to be protected, even in absentia. Hikaru was ready and willing to lay some major Host Club smackdown on the pervert, if necessary.

Kaoru nodded to the new 'maidens' and Sheska, unable to wonder what these freaks had for a backstory. Not that he had anything against them, as such. No more than he did anyone else. It was just.... he'd have liked some normal people.

Kaoru shot the old guy a dark look from beside his brother. He didn't know Ritsuka that well, but he was up for protecting people.

"Ritsuka-kun," he repeated to himself, quietly. "And where is he?" It was difficult to stay calm and polite when he was becoming so frustrated. And what was with all this hostility? Just because he was looking for Ritsuka didn't mean he was a pervert.

"I'm a friend of his brothers. I'm too look after him in the absence of Seimei." It seemed like a safe answer. "Which side of the room belongs to him?" he looked left and right and cursed everything for being identical.

Sheska suddenly felt as though the room was getting smaller. She slid off the bed and onto the floor, legs crossed.
"I have some writing to do," she quietly informed people. The twins seemed a little unpleasant and the way the tall guy was looking around made her feel like an intruder.

She pulled some sheets from her journal and held them up to Tamaki. "It's just a basic First Aid manual I found in a hospital waiting room," she told him in a loud whisper. "I'll get to work on some more stuff..."

Tamaki had met Ritsuka's brother once. And it had been strongly implied that he didn't have any friends.

"Good sir, as a friend of Ritsuka-kun's, I would be shamed if I were to allow you access to his things! He's never mentioned you and I'm very sorry, but I've no reason to trust you." Tamaki wasn't quite as blindly trusting as he'd been when he first arrived. "Now if you'll excuse us, this room is a clinic and we have business to attend to."

Hopefully that would work. He took the sheets of paper that Sheska offered and nodded. "Thank you, Sheska-chan. Now, ah, beautiful maidens, we welcome any help you can bring to us! Here, please, you're welcome to see what we have. More is coming, of course."

He held out the medical kit to the white haired woman, bowing as he did so. He couldn't help himself. There were gauze bandages, sterilization pads, butterfly sutures, pain killers and band-aides inside of it.

Despite not wanting to encourage him, after a quick look-through Raine said, "This is impressive--most of this can't be improvised." Hopefully it would last a while, but somehow that seemed doubtful. "Is there anything in particular you'd like to know here?"

She paused, then added before he could answer, "...and please, call me Professor." Zelos always cheerfully used that title, so the boy should take to it just as well... she made a mental note not to forget herself and hit him, as he was helping her. It never left a mark (ignoring the time she'd punched Zelos in the face), but she could guess he wouldn't take it well. To say the least.

Rein's attention settled on Tamaki and Soubi. This was the one from the board, then. "You're Soubi?" she asked by way of confirmation.

Then turned her eyes to Tamaki. "I will vouch for him. I cannot say what Ritsuka thinks of it, but I believe this one is loyal to him." Of course, there was always the chance his writings had been an elaborate deception, or that his was an entirely onesided obsession, onerous to its target. But she thought it far more likely that they were turning against a loyal man over nothing.

And then perhaps the events that had brought her here made her less suspicious of claims of loyalty to a youth. Had not she laid down her life for her young master scant days ago? It would be the height of vanity to believe her devotion was unique.

Oh, so Tamaki was taking care of the pervert-looking-for-Ritsuka situation. Well, that was good. Hikaru gave him one last glare and turned to the matter at hand:

The medical kit.

He was no expert on first aid, of course. He knew how to clean a cut with antiseptic and put a bandaid on it, but that was it. The family doctor had always delt with injuries more severe than that. But...from the little that he did know about medicine, it seemed to be a pretty decent kit.

"No wonder why Milord's so proud of himself," he muttered to Kaoru. "That's not half-bad. I wonder where he got it."

What was with this tall 'Soubi' guy? He kept an eye on the small discussion going on, wondering who he really was to Ritsuka. But, really, why would Ritsuka be hanging out with adults, even if they did know his brother? And how did he know Ritsuka's brother wasn't even here?

"I'd be disappointed if he got it using anyhting but charm," he smirked.

Soubi moved in towards the little blond with far too much self-importance than was healthy for him.
His eyes were narrowed and mean, but before he could say anything, he was defended. Smiling once more, he turned to the girl and nodded his head with thanks.

"Have we met?" he asked, curiously.
He looked back to Tamaki, a little less scary now. "I am loyal to Ritsuka. WHat do you know of him? Could you describe him?"
He was beginning to worry he was following the tracks of the wrong person. But a gut feeling told him Ritsuka, his Ritsuka, was involved in all this.

He looked at the bag of supplies and turned to his 'supporter' with a smile. "If you need any more help, I know a thing or two," he said, gesturing towards the bandage around his neck.

Without any warning, the door to M35 swung open and in stumbled a shaky brunette. He didn't quite make it to the ground, no he held himself up that much by the doorknob. For half a second he stood catching his breath before looking at the occupants of the room. Oh thank God, there was someone here.

Quite a few, actually, he didn't even recognize. Looks like Kyon was late for the start of the meeting.

Right, Kon, being attacked, bleeding.

"I-!" He cleared his throat as the adrenaline from the mad run here wore off, "I need some help!" He looked at Tamaki and Sheska, the two he recognized and then turned slightly to the hall way. "I have a friend in the other Hall, being attacked!"

The great amount of blood that had seeped through his shirt was visible on his back and pants.

Anything Tamaki may have said to anyone else was erased the moment Kyon stumbled through the door. Bleeding. Kyon was bleeding. Cold and icy fear gripped Tamaki's heart as he saw his new friend in such a state. He could feel his body wanting to freeze....

Not this time!

"Kyon!" he exclaimed, dropping the kit and rushing to support the other teen. "Can anyone help his friend? Sheska-chan, I need...." What did he need? Kyon was bleeding. Kyon was bleeding and they had medical supplies and they could do something! He needed to be calm. He was a Born Leader, after all! This was... this was just another role for him to play. If he looked at it that way, he'd be all right.

"Hikaru! Kaoru! Help me get him to a bed! Sheska! We need bandages and those cleaning wipes!" He thrust out a hand and pointed, striking a determined pose.

"Kyon, you're going to be alright! Fair maidens, good sir, if you have any skill with fighting, please, take my sword and help Kyon's friend!"

Sheska squeaked, having managed to restrain herself from a fullscale scream. She fumbled through the bag to find what Tamaki had asked for. She handed it to him with shaking hands, still on her knees on the floor.
She really wass't used to this. Sick mothers, yes. Bleeding boys? No. Not so much. And the fact that it was that boy she'd met before... it just seemed to make it all the more terrible! And someone was in danger! Such a drama. She wondered what she should do next.

Raine jumped to her feet and grabbed the broom she still used as a weapon--she'd feel a lot better when she had a proper staff again. Tamaki's offer to lend his sword was nice, but just having watched Lloyd, Kratos, and Zelos didn't mean Raine knew how to use one. "Understood." She only glanced at Reinforce; they were a team, of course they'd go together.

"We'll get him back here as soon as we can," she promised, turning back to Kyon for a moment. Knowing what they were facing would be nice, but there wasn't time for that--and wouldn't do them much good, besides. Depending on how hurt the boy's friend was, they might just grab him and run.

It looked like Tamaki had at least a vague idea what to do in this situation, so she didn't bother giving him any instructions. The other bed was clear, and by the time they returned the kids left here should have laid out everything she'd need. She did have one spell left for the night, but with two people hurt already she was grateful for what Tamaki had gotten.

Looking back at Reinforce, she said, "Let's go."

Reinforce, not nearly as picky as Raine about weapons, grabbed the sword and fished her batteries out of her pocket with her other hand. She would have preferred the weapon she'd designed... but had it been finished on time, she would have spent the night picking it up. It was good fortune to be here instead, where she was needed.

"We'll take care of it." She nodded to the room in general and left, heading up the hall.

[[Heading to the M35-40 Hall (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/183215.html).]]

"As would I!" Hikaru laughed and squeezed Kaoru's arm. "It would be an affront to his training as a Host if he got it any other way, after all."

Turning to Soubi, he frowned and started to talk before Tamaki could. Ritsuka might've been Tamaki's roommate, but he was Hikaru's friend. "'Loyal' to Ritsuka? And...what? Describe him?" Hikaru blinked. "Is there any other Ritsuka here? ...Whatever. He's...uh...about this tall, and he has dark hair, and--"

The arrival of a bloodied, dark haired boy stopped all conversation cold. Oh shit. Not this again. Paling, Hikaru stopped and stared, hand seeking his twin's. He had to do this. Tamaki was being brave. He had to be brave too.

(This was so fucking retarded! Why was he acting like a stupid kid?!)

Time to take charge.

"Kaoru," he said, voice shaking, "I'll take one arm, you take the other. We can support his weight that way. Tamaki, you make sure we don't drop him."

Kaoru stared at the bloody heap on the floor. At first he wondered what the hell he should be doing. All these voices from TV came back to him. Pressure on wounds and heart rates and whatever else. Then he even began to wonder what he could get his brother to do, Hikaru needed this for his self esteem.

He smiled and nodded to his brother's orders, getting down beside the boy, ready to lift him.

Soubi looked at the twin that had spoken. Technically that had sounded like Ritsuka and the boy seemed to think there was only one here. Soubi was certain it was his Master, but what bothered him was this gap in time. And all these people assuming they meant more to Ritsuka than Soubi was. Insolent fools.

He turned to look at the bleeding boy in the doorway who had come to distract them. Smiling to Tamaki as the other two ran off to attend to the friend, he said "It looks like you're stuck with me."

For a first aid class, they didn't seem entirely prepared, so he supposed it was useful for him to hang around.

He looked at the girl on the floor and nodded his head towards the other side of the room, a silent order for her to move.

"Put him on the bed," he told the twins, rolling his sleeves off. "What happened to you? Do we have any clean water? Is there a reason nobody is fetching a nurse?"

Kyon was starting to get more than a little woozy now. He couldn't remember how much time had passed between him getting clawed in the back by the large cat-beast, and him running to the room, but he supposed it was enough to lose more blood than deemed healthy.

Trying to focus now, he heard Tamaki's voice calling out commands. Where they going to help Kon? He hoped they were, he couldn't stand the thought of a friend being killed just because he'd failed at being anything other than useless. When Tamaki spoke to him, he said, "M' fine. I'm too young to die." It was some kind of morbid joke, though really, that's how Kyon thought. For some reason death wasn't scarring him right now.

As the two redheads came over to him, he gladly let them help him over to the bed. He had to think for a moment, wondering if he had started to see double, but he realized that they were twins.

As he got to the bed, he carefully lowered himself down on his stomach, so that they could examine his back, which had four large claw marks visible from the ripped shirt. "Stupid cat-monster attacked us while we were trying to get here." He paused now, worry for Kon came back, got what a coward Kyon was. "Snuck up behind us, I guess it realized I was the weaker prey and jumed me first."

"Ypu'll be fine, Kyon," Tamaki said again, as they moved him to the bed. Oh dear. He could see the wounds partially through the shirt and they looked awful....

Tamaki glanced up at the creepy older man and narrowed his eyes.

"A nurse? The only nurses out at night are the ones who wish to feast on our flesh! We are the medical aid at night. Now if you'll please excuse us and let us do our job - this may be Ritsuka-kun and mine's room by day, but by night it is a clinic!"

He tried to be as commanding as he knew how. He was Suou Tamaki! He was a leader! And people were going to listen to him!

"Let's get his shirt off and get the wound cleaned," he said, a bit more calmly. He had to prepare himself to actually see the injury without the shield of the shirt. "Kyon-kun, why don't you tell us about your friend Kon? Who's going to be fine, the fair maidens went to rescue him." It was best to keep the patient occupied. Tamaki was recalling all he could from television and manga and his own brief experiences. "Sheska-chan, this will probably hurt... could you please hold Kyon's hand?" He knew he always liked someone holding his hand when doctors were doing unpleasant things to him. "Hikaru, Kaoru? Could you help me with his shirt?"

His heart was still pounding as though it would burst and his hands were shaking but... he thought he could do this.

Sheska nodded. This was definitely something she was qualified to do. She took the boy's hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. She liked hands. They were the best part of people. Other than maybe their eyes. Her thumb began to stroke his hand to soothe him. It was automatic to her after long hours sitting beside her mother's bed.

"Okay, Kaoru," Hikaru said softly. "On three. One...two...three." With a grunt, he lifted Kyon, trusting his twin to take the other arm, and led him toward the bed. Okay, so that was one thing taken care of.

"A nurse?" The Host snorted derisively, brushing his bangs out of his face. "Right, because we're all suicidal emo kids. Nurses don't exactly help at night. They...kind of try to kill us all." Or at least that was what he had heard. He hadn't graduated beyond oversized zombie housepets, himself. "As for water, I have no idea. There's a bathroom down the hall, but I don't know how clean it is."

When Tamaki asked for the twins' help, Hikaru saluted jauntily, trusting that Kaoru would do the same. "Yes, doctor!" He'd gotten that from a television drama about doctors. It probably wasn't too accurate...but...

Kaoru helped Hikaru, wondering how on earth he was able to get his body to obey him. It felt so small and weak and shaky. And cold. His blood felt as though it had literally run cold. But he was glad for whatever it was that made him able to move.

"If you want water, go get some. We're not stopping you," he told hentai-san.

He couldn't help but smile as he saluted Tamaki. The situation may be serious, but that was all the more reason to find a way to smile.

"I see," he said, in regards to the nurses, "good to know."

He watched the boys and smiled.
"If your supplies are limited, it would be an idea to clean the blood up with a damp cloth. But... I'm sure you boys can handle this."

He gave them another smiled and turned away. The boy's life was of no concern to Soubi. it would be a shame for him to die, but there was little he could do. Especially around those hostile young things. He knelt down in front of Ritsuka's bed and stared at it, sadly. He reached out slowly and stroked the pillow. Had Ritsuka's head been resting there recently? Did it still smell like him...? Soubi lifted it, trying to subtly breath in any lasting scents of his master, so he could see underneath. Ritsuka must have left some sign he was hear. Intentionally or not.

Kyon felt someone take his hand and he lifted his gaze to see Sheska-san. There was a small smile from him before he set his head back down on the pillow and listened to what Tamaki was saying to him. Talk? He could do that.

"I met Kon earlier today, he was newer here than I was. We talked for a little bit and I told him that if he wanted to come with me here during the Night Shift, then that way he wouldn't have been caught out alone." He paused and gave Sheska-san's hand a small squeeze, suddenly frustrated with himself. "I was trying to help him, and instead I wound up being the helpless one. Hilarious, huh?"

Kyon stopped there, not sure what else say other than, "Oh, he can kick really good. He punted that cat at least 15 yards down the hall." If Kon was still alive, then he'd have to ask how he did that ...provided Kyon didn't kill over from the blood loss, first.

[[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/183215.html?thread=13941679#t13941679).]]

Raine hadn't forgotten how bad Kyon looked, and that had been at a cursatory glance; when she finally dashed back into M35 she got a better one--and was even less happy. "Let me," she told the kids. "I can't heal him all the way, but I should at least stop the bleeding." Luckily, magically healed wounds seemed to clean themselves. Kyon looked bad, but between her magic and what Tamaki had found, he'd be all right.

She considered putting more magic than standard into the spell, but doing so here had already knocked her nearly unconsious once already, and fainting or nearly so in front of Tamaki would likely be at least as bad as in front of Zelos. He wouldn't touch her (she was reasonably certain--the amount of witnesses helped), but she could just imagine the fuss. Besides that, she wasn't sure if pushing herself past her limits even did any good.

She still had to consciously refrain from putting too much magic into the spell--it was hard having to leave people so badly injured--and so when she finished it, she had to wipe sweat off her forehead. Between how she felt, running to save Kon and then coming back, and the spell, she was worn out. "All right," she said. "That's all I can do magically, but I can finish up the bandaging." After that, she planned on trying to relax...

"Just Kon. Though, technically, it's short for kaizou konpaku." Kon shrugged at the name explanation, not really thinking much of it anymore. Modsouls were modsouls, and he was the last. That was just how it was. He followed after Raine as soon as she was in the room, although was smart enough to stay out of her way when she used her magic.

But when she was done, he shook his head and frowned as she wiped away the sweat. He was perceptive at the moment, and they couldn't have her tiring herself out more than she already was. "Don't worry, Raine-san. I'm sure everyone else can handle the rest, if this is a meeting for medics. Don't tire yourself out."

Though he did glance down at Kyon and wince a little; it was much worse than his leg. He was lucky he could fight. But Kyon couldn't, and if there were monsters in this place at night... who knew what would've happened to him if Kon hadn't agreed to tag along to the meeting. Now he was glad he did.

Rein set Tamaki's sword against the wall and joined Raine over the prone Kyon. Even though Kon's wounds were still open and Kyon's had already been closed by Raine, the greater extent of Kyon's injuries and the amount of blood he'd already lost convinced her to use her remaining magic on him as well.

It was a gaudy affair as usual; she didn't mind showing off, and that was for the better because manifesting a spinning rune-inscribed triangle ten feet on a side when you cast a spell made it hard to keep it low-key. Her blessing for this boy was the magic of the Knight of the Lake, which further mended his wounds, and brought with it the release from pain and feeling of rejuvenation that was the hallmark of Shamal's healing spells.

The spell burned through a half-day's stored power in an instant, and on top of the two smaller spells she'd already cast and the feelings of hunger brought on by Ichimaru's aura she felt a measure of exhaustion. So even using stored power there were limits on how much she could exert herself, as she'd feared.

It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but she still felt compelled to march rigidly to the wall and still herself before she could wobble. Her concern was of a different character than Raine's- it was her duty as given in her name to support those here in all ways, which meant raising their spirits as well as protecting them directly. She counted herself relatively strong amongst the prisoners, and for their sake she must appear stronger still. To give hope, she could show no weakness at all...

To this end she quickly shifted to giving orders, allowing the calm of her voice to be her strength while she recovered physically. "Tamaki, please see to Kon's leg as well. My hands are too dirty." The blood on her hands that she had worried would prevent her from helping in a critical moment now served as a convenient excuse not to move.

She fell silent for a few seconds while she mentally shifted gears, then responded belatedly to Kon, nodding at him to indicate to whom she spoke. "Do you mind telling me what exactly that means?"

Tamaki moved quickly, the sterile pad in his hand.

"We'll take care of it!" he announced, ripping open the packet. Now he was being useful! He set to cleaning the wound immediately, trying not to recoil away from the blood. Clean, then pressure, then bandaging. That was what the first aide notes said.

They could manage that!

Nightshift 26; Room M35

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