damned_institute | Nightshift 36: F31-40 Hallway

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Nightshift 36: F31-40 Hallway

[outside F33 to be specific]

Beatrix, with sword across back and chef knife in her makeshift oven mitt sheathe that rests on her hip, stepped into the hallway after warning Maki that one of her wards was coming to the room. She'd attempt to give the other woman and her 'date' some space when she could, but she had no plans on discussing Rena's disappearance with Hanyuu out in the hallway. She was only out there to keep an eye out for the small girl. She didn't expect there to be trouble in the F-Block hallways, but one never knew.

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He had gone down the first hall he'd come to almost on impulse, but it looked like he'd been right. Luck, that's all it had been. Luck and a random guess. Still, it got him this far, and still no monsters. If he could make it there, he'd be safe. Matsuda hurried down the hall, glancing up at each of the rooms he passed for the numbers, before continuing on until he finally came to F33.

The door was still open, and there were two people standing off in a corner, talking quietly. Perhaps one of them was Naomi's roommate? He didn't really want to interrupt them by knocking, so he came in a little ways and stuck close to Naomi's side of the room. "Hi, Maki," he said softly, giving her a wave. Then he inclined his head towards the people talking in the corner. "Sorry, should I go wait outside? Is this a bad time?"

Wow, Matsuda was quick. Naomi stood up, smoothing down her uniform pants and shook her head. She didn't even want to think what Arlene thought about all this, though she could surmise.

"No, it's fine," she said. "I was actually just going to run a small errand, I didn't expect you so soon."

She was careful not to let her voice sound annoyed - she wasn't. And she didn't want to give that impression.

If she sounded at all annoyed, Matsuda didn't catch it. His brain was distracted with not letting the visitor thing get to him.

"Oh, okay," he replied, nodding. "Do you want me to go with you, or is it private?" Although really, it wasn't like he could help with anything if he did go along. Last night had proved well enough that she could handle herself and that he hadn't known what he was getting himself into. No, he would probably be better off staying here. Near-death experiences two nights in a row didn't sound like fun.

"It's not exactly private," Naomi said, brushing back her hair. "I'm just going to grab that flask. I..think I need a drink tonight. I'm not in any shape to go running around fighting monsters tonight."

Not with her leg and arm the way they were. They were still wrapped up, and probably would be until tomorrow night. And her limp was noticable. At least she didn't need crutches of god forbid, a wheelchair.

"But, um, I sort of need to talk to you about something."

She didn't doubt that Arlene would ask about her 'company' tonight, and she couldn't risk looking like she'd been caught in a lie.

"Okay, sure," he replied, giving her a smile. He sort of remembered there being a flask in the drawer in L's room last night, but...well, he wasn't sure if that had really been for her or not. That answered what the 'spoils' were, though. After last night, though, he couldn't blame her for needing a drink, and he was grateful that she had invited him.

"I actually had a question for you, too." Maybe not something he'd planned so much as an impulse, but he still hadn't made sure that this was really Naomi. He understood going by a different name, since that was what L had had them do, and was more than willing to keep calling her Maki, but the fact remained Matsuda couldn't help his curiosity. He liked to know if and when he was right, even if it had gotten him into trouble before. "To Ryuga's room, then?"

"Why don't we take care of talking and questions here," Naomi suggested, glancing to the door. She didn't want to risk being overheard in a hallway. She couldn't risk being overheard in a hallway. Word traveled fast in this place, from what she'd seen, and she was walking a very careful line.

"I'm sorry, I just can't take any chances," she explained, taking a seat on the edge of her bed. At least Arlene had left, even if she may not have gone far.

She wondered what it was that Matsuda wanted to ask her, anyway.

Matsuda followed her glance, and noticed that the other people in the room had left. Oh. Well, that sure made things easier.

"Don't worry, I understand. I just hadn't realized that we were alone now." He paused for a second, realizing how that had come out. His brain sputtered, and he had to convince himself that that wasn't it. She just wanted a drink, and to talk. They'd only really just met each other, and by chance happened to have a common acquaintance. Even though she was really pretty and could kick ass on her own and--

Well, then there was Sayu. She was apparently waiting for him, so it would be a very bad idea to do that kind of stuff behind her back, even if it wasn't the same Sayu he knew. It could still work...somehow. Maybe.

"A-anyway, my question's just real quick. Ryuga told me about someone who was working with him, and I was just wondering if you were her or not, since you did look kinda familiar last night. He said she was going by another name. Does Naomi mean anything to you?" Only afterward did he realize that if this really wasn't her, then revealing her name might be a bad idea, but she knew L, so she had to know that protecting peoples' names was kind of an important thing sometimes.

"It's okay." Naomi smiled and sat on the edge of her bed, hands folded in her lap. At Matsuda's question, her features hardened a little and she nodded. She didn't even seem to notice his little slip up, or if she did, paid it no mind.

"Please don't ever say that name out loud again," she asked, meeting his gaze. "It's very, very dangerous to use that name." Which actually helped her bring up her topic of conversation.

"As far as anyone is concerned, I'm just Maki, I'm from L.A...well...everything I told you last night before I knew who you were," she explained. "But my roommate...is under the impression that I'm a working girl, and it's advantageous to just let her keep thinking that. It...helps explain why I'm wandering off with different men each night but I never have any sort of plan or accomplishments to tell her."

She told Arlene some things of course, but not everything.

Oh. That made sense, he supposed. But that meant she pretended to be a...well, that probably was the best choice for the circumstances, so he shouldn't say anything about it. But she didn't want him saying anything about who she really was, so he would be happy just knowing the truth.

He was kind of curious why saying that name was dangerous, but it seemed like that was all she was willing to say on the matter, so he wouldn't push it.

"Oh, I think get it," he assured, looking down at her and smiling. "And you want me to go along with it, right, in case she asks questions? Don't worry, not a word."

"Yeah, exactly." Naomi nodded. She was glad Matsuda wasn't going to make a big thing out of this.

"Thanks a lot. It's...seedy, but it means I don't have to worry about keeping a lot of things straight, and when I need privacy, I get it. And my roommate already thinks I'm sleeping with about three different other guys..."

What was one more, at this point? And at least he was cute, so she wouldn't have to deal with any weirdness from Arlene. Or weird conversations, anyway.

Seedy? Just a bit, but if it helped her out, then sure. It was what he'd mistaken her as, at first, anyway, so it shouldn't be all that hard to go back to thinking that way. He just had to remember that she wasn't, and that he didn't need to arrest her for it if they ever got out. Not that he really would have...maybe. Just given her a reminder of the law, maybe, even if she was from America. Didn't they have laws against it, too?

"Th-three other guys...wow. That makes sense, though, I guess." It was a bit of a funny position, if he really thought about it, but he'd manage. She could tell him what to say, and he wouldn't screw anything up for her. "Is there anything else you want me to say if she asks? Anything specific?"

Naomi raised her eyebrow, a small smile quirking her lips. "Three guys really isn't a big number," she said, shaking her head a little. But Matsuda was Japanese, so it probably seemed like a big number to him. Geeze, she'd gone out with twice as many men in college, even if it had never really resulted in anything. She'd just never had the time or drive to date seriously, not until she met Raye.

She still felt like she'd been pressured into that. But she supposed it didn't matter now. Nothing from back home mattered here, did it?

"And we really don't need to hash out details of our make-believe sex life. I don't think anyone's going to be asking for that many specifics. If someone does, just make something up. You're a guy, guys are good at making their sex lives sound awesome, aren't they?"

It wasn't that he thought it was a big number, but didn't it make things awkward when everyone was all in the same place? Or it would, but she hadn't actually had sex with them. It wasn't really the same thing, and...why was he still thinking about it?

Matsuda couldn't help but turn red at what she said after that, though. "I-I, ah...I suppose." It had been a while, but he could probably make stuff up easily enough. Maybe. How had he gotten himself into this, again?

...Oh yeah, because Naomi was pretty.

"A-anyway, you wanted to go to Ryuga's room to grab something?" Smooth topic change.

Edited 2008-11-08 03:56 (UTC)

"Yeah." Naomi nodded. She decided she wouldn't make Matsuda suffer any more than he already had. He looked about ready to die of embarrassment.

"You all set?" she asked, though it was more out of habit than anything else. Of course he was ready, what did he need to do? But it was probably best to ask, just to be on the safe side.

She did move to the door, however.

Matsuda followed her to the door and nodded in response. After that, he wasn't s So long as they didn't run into any other monsters, they'd be fine. At least she'd let the previous train of thought die while it still left him some dignity.

Not much, but some.

Now it was just time to hope that they didn't get any more unexpected surprises when they got to L's room.

Naomi just nodded in return and headed out into the halls, to make the well-known trek to Ryuzaki's room.

(to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/488744.html?view=40724520#t40724520))

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Nightshift 36: F31-40 Hallway

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