damned_institute | Nightshift 33: M35, Clinic

It was always dangerous, but for Tamaki to admit to it was something else entirely. Saying the obvious like that meant it was going to be worse than usual. It meant something evil was lurking out in the halls, something that was going to be preying on them tonight. Clutching his flashlight, Ritsuka aimed it at the floor and focused on keeping it from shaking.

"...I am, too." Without Soubi, he knew he was just monster feed. He couldn't bring himself to hurt them, even after being here so long. Miku and Sousuke were a long ways off and Alfons was gone now. All he had was Soubi and he lived each day wondering if one day, even Soubi would leave. "It's okay though. We'll get through this."

Tamaki moved to sit beside Ritsuka, nervously reaching for the other boy's hand. He as glad that he was still here, and he hadn't been left alone in his room, waiting and afraid.

"I know." But that didn't mean they weren't scared. "I... I wish we had more people here. At the clinic. It's only going to be me and Raine tonight and...."

Tamaki didn't know how long he could hold himself together like this.

"If you want, Soubi and I can stay," he offered, looking up at Tamaki. It would give him something to do, some purpose here other than straying out into the wilderness of the Institute. And maybe it would force Soubi to get along with people again. He'd been getting increasingly anti-social lately without Kio around. Ritsuka had always thought Soubi was a little strange, but Soubi had always been somewhat polite and caring to Yuiko and Yayoi, even to the Zeroes for the most part. It was unnerving to see him focus solely on him, especially when he wasn't accustomed to being around the older man this much.

"Soubi knows first aid a bit and so do I." He could dress wounds one-handed, as if that would come in useful. It was a bit of a relief to hear Tamaki ask for help though. Ritsuka really had no idea what he would have done otherwise with his back and arm in the state they were in.

"Oh, Ritsuka-kun, that would be wonderful!" Now that he could, Tamaki turned and embraced his friend, tightly. "We use the two rooms on either side for patients who need to rest, and do most treatment in here," he explained, so glad that this roommate - and his....friend - would be helping them this evening.

And not only because it was of benefit to him. Because he knew Ritsuka wouldn't be out there, getting hurt. And he'd feel better.

He would still worry terribly for Ed and the rest of the Host Club, though. He hoped they were alright....

Ritsuka was glad he could help, but he really, really wished Tamaki hadn't hugged him. Pain shot up his back and he grimaced, grinding his teeth together to force back any indication that he was injured. He didn't want Tamaki to refuse his help just because of a gash or...six. Being inside would definitely help tonight.

"It's no problem," he managed to say without letting too much of the pain bleed through. "What should I do while I'm here then?"

Tamaki didn't note any hint of pain, and he was so wrapped up in his own worries he didn't even think that Ritsuka could be injured beneath his shirt. But he did release the other boy quick enough.

"First aide, if that's what you know. I have books and notes on other things - stitches, surgery, setting bones - but lots of people come through with things that are easy to treat."

Ritsuka hoped that things wouldn't come to stiches or to surgery. He'd be useless if that happened only because the blood...he didn't deal well with it. It was a little embarrassing to admit that he was so squeamish over blood when people here were fighting for their lives, but it was the plain truth. He didn't do well around it.

"Alright...whenever Soubi shows up, I'll let him know." Ritsuka cast a nervous glance at the door. What if Soubi didn't show up? Then what? Had he been taking him for granted again? Why this sudden anxiety anyway? Pressing his fingertips against his forehead, he forced those thoughts out of mind. No good in getting worked up yet. "Do a lot of people come?"

"Thank you so much," Tamaki repeated, extremely grateful. "Ah, it depends. Last night we....didn't have many. The night before we had at least a dozen. I guess some nights are just more dangerous than others."

And he had a feeling tonight would be one of the dangerous nights.

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/393089.html?thread=31990913#t31990913).]

Hikaru paused at the door to M35 before slowly opening it. He was still angry, and that anger was helping him. If he focused on the anger, he wouldn't have to think about why he was so angry. He took a deep breath and pasted on a falsely cheerful face.

"Good evening, Milord! Look who I found."

Tamaki was in a bad place? He'd suspected as much from hearing so on the bulletin board, but something about the way Hikaru said that put Mori on edge. Someone had done something. That someone was going to have to pay.

Stony faced as usual, Mori ducked under the door frame, spotting Tamaki, a short kid and an older man about his height with reddish hair. Apparently this clinic was a pretty popular spot at night. Turning off his flashlight, Mori raised it a greeting and wondered just what they were going to do tonight. No one seemed injured yet and with that kid here, they probably weren't going to discuss Club matters. Letting the wooden closet rod slide off his shoulder to rest at his side, he waited for Hikaru to do the talking now.

S"Yeah, I guess the nights vary..." Ritsuka said, a little nervous as to what the darkness would bring for them. He didn't have to wait long because suddenly there were so many people in the room! Someone was asking for a sword and Ritsuka just stayed out of the way of that conversation. He didn't really need to say anything since it wasn't his sword and he had no clue who the tall redhead was. He returned the curt nod, but stayed out of the way, moving over to his bed to sit down.

That was, of course, until Hikaru and some other really tall guy came in. What was with the Host Club and having tall people everywhere? Or he assumed he was part of the Host Club since Hikaru seemed to know him and Tamaki was apparently supposed to.

After handing his sword off -reluctantly - to Kratos, Tamaki turned and offered a tired, weak smile to Hikaru and Mori. He was very happy to see the tall, quiet Host, but he couldn't manage any more than that.

"I'm glad you made it safely," he said, sitting back down on the edge of his bed. "Ah...Kratos is doing something else tonight, and I don't know where Raine is. So...it's just us - Ritsuka-kun was kind enough to offer his help, and the help of his friend." But they were still rather understaffed and inexperienced. "Ah...where's Kaoru?"

"Sick, apparently," Hikaru replied, sounding almost...defensive. Yes, Kaoru wasn't with him and yes, that was probably his fault because he was the older brother and had to look out for him. But they didn't need to rub it in. "I'm going to go check up on him in a few minutes. He's just the next hall over, unless he's been moved again." And damn it, he prayed he hadn't.

That would just be too much.

Sighing, he turned to the smaller boy and forced another smile. "Ritsuka, this is Morinozuka Takashi, a third year at our school. Mori-senpai, meet Aoyagi Ritsuka. He's...Milord's roommate." He flashed a slightly more cheery grin. "And a Commoner." God, it felt weird to be falling back on old 'Ouranisms' after everything that had happened...and especially after what had happened last night. The Host watched Kratos leave and shook his head.

"Tamaki, there's nobody else here right now. We should talk. Now."

This wasn't like Tamaki at all. What had happened in the time when he wasn't here? How long had everyone else been trapped in this place? There was still so much that Mori didn't know and this wasn't exactly the time to talk about it. Perhaps tomorrow he could corner Hikaru or Kaoru and get them to explain. Or he'd just have to pick up what was going on from their conversations.

With Kaoru sick, he knew Hikaru had to be worried and guilty. The two of them were so dependent on each other and Kaoru had been pushing away lately. It certainly made things difficult for them. Looking down at the youngest (perhaps youngest - appearances were deceiving) member in the room, Mori nodded to him in greeting. A Commoner rooming with Tamaki? This place just got weirder and weirder.

Apparently, though, it was time to talk and Mori's attention snapped back to the two other Hosts. Things needed to be clarified and soon. He needed to know who he had to protect his friends from.

"Yeah, if he ever shows up," Ritsuka mumbled under his breath. Soubi was late. Worse than late because Ritsuka didn't even know if he was coming. He figured he would since he always did, but taking Soubi for granted was something he'd been doing far too much lately. What if something had happened to him? What if he was hurt somewhere again and refused to call for him? Or...what if he was calling and Ritsuka couldn't hear him? So w\many 'what ifs' were flying around in his head, that he almost missed the introduction and the fact that Kaoru was sick.

"If he has been moved, you'll find him," he said, trying to be reassuring. The twins seemed to share a bond not unlike a Fighter and a Sacrifice - able to move in synch and find each other without much difficulty. Ritsuka frowned at Hikaru calling him a Commoner, the word having decidedly Aidou-esque tones about it. He didn't sense the same sort of contempt here though and let the word slide. Looking over to Mori, he blinked when the guy didn't say a thing and bowed his head in return. "Nice to meet you."

Why didn't the guy talk? Was he mute?

Hikaru moved on to something far more pressing than his friend's taciturny though and Ritsuka fidgeted. Should he leave the room? Was it appropriate for him to be there? Not sure what to do without looking completely awkward, Ritsuka just sat on the bed, fingers curled nervously around the hem of his shirt.

"It must have been something he ate...." Tamaki mumbled, almost distractedly. He sighed and nodded, knowing that Hikaru was right. But what exactly did he mean?

"Ah, do you mean about...last night? Ritsuka knows...." And he didn't think there was anything left to talk about. He'd let out what he had to a little with the younger boy, earlier, and now he felt he really needed to focus. "Or about... everything?" If Mori hadn't been told everything, then they really needed to bring him up to speed!

Or maybe Hikaru meant both.

"Everything would be nice." Hikaru shrugged, sitting down on Tamaki's bed. Ritsuka's reassurances got the boy a weak--but genuine--smile, but he still looked worried. Leaning back, he looked up at Mori. "How much do you know about this place, anyway?" Hopefully, the other Host had been here long enough (and had been social enough) to at least learn the basics about Landel's.

"...But I'll settle for what happened last night, if you're feeling up to it." Mori was the national Kendo champion. He could probably kill the bastard that had hurt Tamaki.

Good.

Mori remained at the door, keeping an ear out for anyone else who might show up. Whoever hurt Tamaki was still out there, somewhere. His eyes narrowed slightly as he glanced sideways at the door. Whoever it was...

"---know about this place, anyway?"

Hikaru's question broke through and he blinked, looking back at the group. He knew enough, he thought - monsters at night, hospital was really a lie, don't travel in groups, Mitsukuni wasn't there. He hefted the closet rod on his shoulder as an indication that he knew it was dangerous and left it at that. Nia had been kind enough to explain everything to him, despite his lack of conversational skills. Same, really, with Chopper.

He, like Hikaru, was far more interested in what Tamaki had to say. The Club took care of their own, and with Haruhi, Mitsukuni and Kyouya missing, it meant they had to protect the ones remaining all that much harder.

Ritsuka remembered seeing such concern before. All siblings had that sort of affection, a protective instinct to be close to each other. Hikaru and Kaoru had that in spades - a closer relationship than he ever could have imagined. He and Seimei...they had been close, but there had been so much Ritsuka didn't know about his brother. He was missing ten years with him. Hikaru and Kaoru had the sort of closeness Ritsuka wanted and he envied them for that. He tried to return Hikaru's smile, but he'd never been very good at smiling for no reason. He tried though, just to give his friend reassurance.

The prospect of hearing what happened last night made Ritsuka uncomfortable. He wasn't entirely certain why, either. The idea that someone had hurt his roommate and he hadn't been there to help - it made him angry and frustrated and confused. He was at a loss as to what to do and so he just sat there, watching like some sort of strange voyeur, privy to the Host Club's reality. Mori still didn't seem like a talker and that was unnerving, so Ritsuka scooted a bit further away from him and picked at his pant leg, not sure what else to do.

Tamaki sighed.

"Well, as long as you've been warned, Mori...." Tamaki managed, understanding what the quietest of the Hosts was indicating. "And last night..."

What more was there to say? Other than things he'd never ever say to anyone.

"There isn't much more to it than I said," he admitted. "I... he tried to do something to me, and it shook me up something terrible, but he didn't hurt me or....anything. And it's over and done with and.... I have the clinic I have to focus on." He offered another weak smile.

"And we really are terribly understaffed tonight. We're just lucky Ritsuka offered to stay and help...." Without his roommate, Tamaki wasn't sure what he would have done.

As strange as it seemed, Hikaru was completely comfortable with having Ritsuka there. Normally, he wasn't very fond of outsiders witnessing the Club's inner workings, but Ritsuka was a good kid, and he'd already been through so much with them. He was probably an honorary member at this point, knowing Tamaki.

Seeing how uncomfortable the boy looked, Hikaru got up and walked over to him, tousling his hair slightly.

"Tamaki..." He wanted to shake the guy, tell him to snap out of it, but...he couldn't do that. Instead, he just shook his head.

"I'll go get Kaoru in a few minutes," he mumbled. "If he's feeling better, he can help out. If he isn't, I'll just let him sleep and help out by myself."

Whatever happened, Tamaki wasn't ready to talk about it and Mori would have to wait until he was to get the full story. It was something major though, something terrible enough to get everyone riled up, and to get Tamaki to close down like this. Mori set the closet rod down against the wall and moved further into the room, waiting until Hikaru moved to go over to Tamaki. Standing to the side, he looked down at his leader and said, "Tamaki."

Then he gave him a small smile, as if to say that whatever happened, he wasn't going to pry, but if Tamaki needed it, he was there. He didn't need to tell him now, maybe not ever, but Mori was going to stick by his side as long as Tamaki needed him. That included the clinic, of course. Mori knew first aid, as anyone who spent time around martial artists did. He'd wrapped his hands up earlier after rubbing them raw in trying to get the rod down at any rate.

He just wondered if Hikaru would need protection or not as he went to get his brother. Even one hallway over could be dangerous and leaving any Host undefended would be a bad idea.

It was admirable how Tamaki was trying to push forward, but Ritsuka still remembered how he had cried earlier and couldn't help but wonder if Tamaki was really alright. If he wasn't, he had friends that would help him through it though. Hikaru came over and tousled his hair and Ritsuka instinctively brushed his hand away, giving the twin an irritated glare. The expression vanished quickly though and he could feel ghost whispers of his cat ears as they flattened against his head. They should have, with the apologetic look he gave Hikaru in that moment.

"Be careful out there," he cautioned, worry displacing any other emotion as he thought of Hikaru going out into the halls alone. He didn't want his first night in the Clinic being filled with seeing his friends bleeding.

And where was Soubi? If Tamaki stayed this understaffed, the Clinic was going to be hard up on hands. Was the Fighter not coming tonight? Was he sick? Ritsuka wished he was a better Sacrifice, or even just a better friend. He had no idea what was happening with Soubi or Miku or any of his other friends and that... made him feel utterly powerless.

Between Mori and Hikaru, Tamaki felt the tears come again. And he wished they wouldn't! He should be alright! Nothing had even happened, he was being ridiculous!

Furiously, he wiped at his eyes, not wanting to show that side of him. It had been alright with Ritsuka, for some reason, but he felt childish and silly crying in front of Hikaru or Mori.

"Well!" he tried, standing up very quickly. "I... have books that are very helpful. And not just for first aide for more advanced medical techniques and procedures, so we're.... we're very well prepared for any emergency...."

He cleared his throat, knowing his voice was wavering but hoping everyone would let it slide. "And Hikaru, if you'd like to bring Kaoru something....?"

[[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/394104.html?thread=32561272#t32627576).]]

"And as outdated as some of my knowledge is, I'm a healer," Raine said, walking in. She'd only caught what Tamaki said, but she'd figured out context with far less to go on (fragments of ancient texts and intercepted class notes had a surprising amount in common). "Did someone have a question?"

Seeing that no one was hurt, she was mostly watching Tamaki, and her concern was clear. She could see he'd been crying, and while he likely wouldn't want to talk about anything that made him start again, she wanted to know what was wrong if she could help.

Nightshift 33: M35, Clinic

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