Nightshift 27: Second Floor Hallway, Between Railing and SC Final Prep Area

[idolism]

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The area he had traversed only yesterday was empty, devoid of the wicked phantom and her godawful touch. Still, Aidou couldn't help but to be tense when passing through - he kept watching the stairs and the people behind him more than anything else. Better sense told him she was no longer there, but the part of him that was just about to snap from the violation couldn't calm itself.

Hesitation had never suited him, and it only made him angry. Cold, tired, and angry.

At the faint red glow that illuminated the open square over top of the Sun Room, the vampire looked up through one of the windows. And right into the eye of the moon, which was red and bloody.

"A sanguine moon that holds no delight for creatures of the light."

His mouth curved into a dark sneer. It didn't portend good fortune for denizens of the night, either.

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[always-a-victim.livejournal.com]

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Kain's fingertips lifted from the wall as he came to the end of it. The last two doors looked like they had been broken in to; the second last door was the Pharmacy, and if people got injured it made sense that it was one of the first places to go for pain killers. Something to definitely keep in mind.

He turned to retrace his steps, absently thinking he should've brought something to write on, and froze.

Hanabusa. The shock of seeing his cousin standing right there kept him silent and still, but there was no mistaking it. He had grown up with him, knew nearly every physical quirk, and he had a very distinctive way of standing. The figure almost perfectly highlighted by the red light filtering in from above was most definitely Hanabusa.

Still, Kain hesitated, not quite trusting his eyes. There was only one way to find out for sure.

"Hanabusa," he whispered, volume pitched just high enough to be heard.

[idolism]

For a vampire not paying attention, another vampire's presence was like a intelligible whisper in the ear, raising the fine hairs on the back of one's neck. Normally it was hard to confuse the presence of someone familiar, to be caught off guard enough to be spooked, but Aidou was anywhere but in a good frame of mind.

And he thought 'enemy' and spun, eyes cold and red and merciless - kill whoever was trying to hurt him first -

It was only his name on the air that made him stop in mid-motion, just as he would have struck for the jugular, putting an abrupt and unnatural halt to the movement, like ice had taken route in his joints and frozen him in place. This wasn't Hinasaki Miku's inappropriate misuse of his forename, no, no one ever used his given name -

Except those closest to him, and that hurt in every fibre of his being, because that was Akatsuki, most definitely, no mistake.

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As Aidou turned swiftly, Kain's hands flew up in a placating gesture, aborted before his cousin stopped moving. Time seemed to halt; the world continued around them, he knew it was, could hear people moving, but the only person that mattered was standing in front of him. The unnatural light only emphasized the strangeness to the situation, the surreality of meeting him here.

Something was seriously wrong.

Kain wasn't sure what made him think so, past Aidou's immediate, cut off attack (and it wasn't a surprise that Aidou's first response had been to attack him, considering), but there was something wrong. He'd have to tread carefully.

The first thing to escape was a sigh that spoke volumes of his relief and worry, fingers raking his hair back. "I was looking for you." He took one step forward, but no further, trying to measure how much personal space Aidou wanted.

[idolism]

His breath rattled, felt wet on his lips. Akatsuki, he wasn't an enemy... but familiar faces meant nothing - his body wavered between relaxing and tensing further, caught on a fine and dangerous edge.

Slowly, gingerly, he dropped his arm. Fingers curled into a loose fist.

He didn't move at the approach, didn't say anything - didn't think his voice would be steady - but his eyes remained crimson, an inhuman glitter, evidence of Aidou's suspicion. Turning his head slightly, he examined Kain, lips twisting into a indecipherable little frown.

That was his cousin's presence, a blood relative, and it felt disgustingly wrong to be accusing him silently, but there it was.

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Kain's hands dropped to his sides, then slid into his pockets. He didn't move or say anything more as Aidou inspected him, fighting the urge to fidget, to step forward and check him over for injuries. Aidou was suspicious, and Kain understood why, but it still hurt, and his hands balled, nails digging into skin, at the thought that Hanabusa might not believe he was who he said he was.

The uncertainty didn't last; anger rose from somewhere deep inside him, not at the figure watching him with a look that had never, ever been aimed at him before, but at the people in charge. What had this place done to Aidou?

"I don't know how to prove to you that it's me," he finally said. "I heard during lunch that there are things that can look like people you know, but -- " But what? How was one supposed to prove their own identity? Frustration made his mouth twist up into a tiny grimace.

[idolism]

Aidou's head jerked like he'd been struck. It felt like it.

It felt like someone had take a bludgeon to his midsection, preventing him from taking a proper breath or gathering his thoughts - or gods forbid - take a moment to hope (or loathe) that this was, for a fact, the cousin he had known his entire long life and not an all-too easy blow delivered by his captors.

Lunch was hours ago, and if that was true, that Akatsuki had been here, then how had he not noticed? How could he have not noticed? He'd been - with that kid - talking with that kid and -

- and if it was the truth, then he was so -

He opened his mouth to say something, to relieve the sudden pressure building in his chest, but words came to a standstill in his throat. Looking somewhere to the left, with eyes fading to a flat winter blue, he tried again. "There's no real way," Aidou croaked. That couldn't be his voice. "But let's not talk about it here."

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Kain took a step forward, his hands lifting, before he was even aware that he was moving. Seeing Aidou like this was a blow, not just because he was obviously hurting, but because, as a team, Aidou was the one who made the decisions. He was the one who led, and to see him this uncertain, this shaken --

His hands clenched tighter, the physical pain enough to keep his thoughts from spiraling, but still, he couldn't help but hurt. There had been a little portion of him that hadn't believed Aidou was here, because how could he not have felt him around? Had the humans really orchestrated their movements so well that they just hadn't been in the same room at the same time?

It was yet another troubling thought to add to the pile that was rapidly growing.

"There's -- the room -- " His eyes dropped to the floor, focused on it until he could think again. "Someone's broken into the room behind me. Unless there's a better place that you know about."

[idolism]

Having seen only one example for himself, Aidou had no definitive basis with which to judge the mimics. How well they could copy one's temperament, how intelligent and adaptable... But the embrace, however bold in an open area, was suspect for obvious reasons. And simply foreign... because he and Akatsuki didn't often feel the need to touch...

To say the least, Aidou was a house of cards under threat, but he still moved, albeit a little jerkily. What was he supposed to do? What should he do?

Sidestepping Akatsuki's broad form, he shook his head. "I don't."

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