damned_institute | [NIGHTSHIFT 35] M31-M40 HALLWAY

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[NIGHTSHIFT 35] M31-M40 HALLWAY

[from here]

Still no one. Although he could hear muffled voices through a few doors, the corridors were so black that if it hadn't been for his flashlight, he wouldn't have been able to see where the walls met the floor. The circle of yellow light bobbed with his footsteps, periodically swinging towards the walls. He'd been caught off guard before, and he wouldn't let it happen again.

He counted the room numbers: M34. Easier than last night, that much was certain, but the design of the institute still infuriated him. Landel had gone to great lengths to make their stay difficult, with the monsters and sedative-armed nurses. Something like bad architecture just seemed petty. He gave the door a solid knock then leaned against the wall beside it, the beam of his light still darting around the shadowy space.

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Sheena darted to her feet and reached out to wrap her arms around Ritsuka, trying to pull him back against her chest in a hug, not caring about the backpack at all. She been an idiot and not clarified that Soubi not liking being a fighter was her opinion and not Soubi's. Damn her and her ability to communicate properly sometimes.

"No! He didn't tell me that," she said in a hurry. "It's just what I think from the way he sounded when he talked about it. Please calm down!"

He felt hands start to pull at him and he panicked, twisting around to push Sheena away. He didn't like being held by strangers, especially not when he was angry. People reaching for him usually only meant one thing to him and even if Sheena wasn't Misaki, that didn't mean his gut reaction wasn't to get away. Her hands caught in the backpack and Ritsuka struggled to get away. He wanted to scream at her to not touch him, but nothing came out. Instead, he slipped and his knee hit the ground as his hands came up to cover his head on instinct.

When the blow didn't come, he realized he was being stupid and lowered his arms to rub his sore knee. Now he didn't know what to believe. Had Soubi really said that and Sheena was just covering for him, or was she telling the truth? He didn't want to think about this. He felt tired after his outburst and now he just wanted to see Soubi or sleep. "...it's fine," he said, a little too quietly now that he had calmed down a little. "Just forget it."

Sheena flinched when Ritsuka automatically reacted as if she was going to hit him, exhibiting a terror she'd not seen in... like ever. Someone seriously hurt this boy in the past and that made her blood boil. Still, though, she wanted to pull him close and give him a sense of honest comfort he'd probably never had in his life before.

The summoner knelt down next to him. "I'm not going to hurt you," she said in a quiet, honest voice. She held her hand out, palm up in an offering. "Come here... please?"

Now that Sheena had let him go, his heart rate was returning to normal. He hated how worked up over nothing he seemed to get here. It was so stupid, especially when it seemed that no one here was going to hurt him. Other than the monsters, of course. But Sheena wasn't a monster, she was Soubi's friend and a good person. Then again, his mother was a good person, or had been until her Ritsuka disappeared.

Ritsuka checked his knee, but since it was only going to bruise up, he probably didn't need to worry about it. He was about to stand up when Sheena knelt next to him and held out a hand. Why did she want him to go to her? He gave the hand a wary look and then sighed, shaking his head.

"I'm fine. Really." Standing up, Ritsuka brushed himself off. He knew what she was going to do and he didn't want it. Even at twelve years old, he didn't want to be treated like a kid. Sure, he secretly wanted to be held and go to the grocery store with his mother like all the other kids, but he wasn't ever going to admit that. He had to learn to stand on his own two feet, even when he had such immature outbursts like he just had. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I overreacted."

For a moment, Sheena looked hurt at the rejection, but she pushed that away as she stood up and refastened one of the buttons that had come undone on the white dress shirt she was wearing thanks to the trip. Had Ritsuka not been the young boy he was, she would have turned red at the embarrassment of having accidentally flashed the boy the top of her bra. Showing off cleavage was normal but that was usually it. Why did they have to give her such a tight shirt anyways?

"It's okay," she replied. "I'm sorry for talking about stuff I probably don't understand enough to."

Ritsuka wished he didn't have to hurt people's feelings in order to be independent. Soubi was always asking him to let him in and Ritsuka never did. He couldn't, really, because anyone who came too close could eventually hurt him. It was the same with Sheena. She was so eager to help that Ritsuka knew he'd regret it if he learned to lean on her for support. One day, she'd be gone and he'd be at a loss for what to do. Sort of like how he was now that Soubi was still AWOL.

"I already said it's fine, so don't worry about it." Now he just felt awkward. Staring down at his feet, Ritsuka shuffled his toe against the ground and hooked his fingers around the straps of the backpack. "...I don't like being hugged. It's not your fault."

"Oh... okay," Sheena replied, ruffling the messy tail her hair was pulled back into. "You just... looked like you needed one."

Now she felt stupid and it was all awkward and...

"Where were you going to go?"

Where was he going? When he ran away all the times before, he had just headed blindly out into the Institute. Back home, he'd always zeroed in on the park. Here, he realized, he lacked such a safe haven and now he really didn't know where he had been heading.

"...I guess Soubi's room," Ritsuka said, still toeing the ground. "If that moron hasn't come to get me already, I should probably go see what's keeping him."

"Mind if I come along?" Sheena smiled and tilted her head with the question. She didn't want Ritsuka wandering around on his own because of the monsters and she wanted to see Soubi.

She had to give the Fighter a stern talking to now that she knew his Sacrifice.

Ritsuka eyed Sheena warily for a moment. Did she think he was going to get lost or eaten in the time it took him to go one hall up and over? With his track record, he wouldn't be surprised, but still! He was old enough to take care of himself! Sort of. He was almost thirteen at any rate. The cold weather outside and the approaching winter told Ritsuka that in a month he'd be having a birthday. December 21st and he'd be a teenager. ...what a disturbing thought.

Another thought hit him and he realized that had to be the real reason - Sheena wanted to see Soubi. That made sense and the boy relaxed, nodding. "I don't mind. It's not far away anyway."

Clicking on his flashlight, Ritsuka waited for Sheena to get ready and then he started off down the hall.

Not knowing where Soubi's room was, Sheena let Ritsuka take the lead. She pulled her cards out just in case they ran into any monsters along the way. It never occurred to her to tell Raine she was leaving...

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/454044.html?thread=37475740#t37475740)]

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[NIGHTSHIFT 35] M31-M40 HALLWAY

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