damned_institute | Nightshift 36: M51-M60 Hallway

It was probably Kenshin's injury that had allowed Ayumu to give any credibility to his claim of danger, even if she kept some doubts about the rest of the story. The way he moved spoke of real pain, and she wondered what could have happened to cause such wounds.

And despite his injuries, he was still determined to give a lesson to the young foreigner who clearly didn't know anything about fighting. Their meeting for this purpose certainly hadn't been manufactured for her benefit, even if they could have invented the rest - though for what reason they would want to bother with such, she didn't know, so perhaps that meant they were telling the truth.

Her thoughts chased themselves in circles, comparing what they'd said with what she'd seen, watching their interaction, as she tried to decide how much was truth and what their true intentions might be. Outwardly, though, she only watched Robin's efforts with every semblance of fascination. Perhaps after the 'lesson' was over she'd be able to persuade him to give her some more information...

Robin caught on quickly. That was good. "Yes, that's it!" Kenshin said, delighted. His shoulder was still screaming at him for moving it, but at least he could move it. There didn't seem to be any nerve damage, in spite of the fact that Okita's sword had gone clean through. That was a very good sign.

"Next, we should try some basic technique." The rurouni positioned his hands like he was holding an invisible sword and "swung" slowly, hissing through clenched teeth. He could feel a couple of stitches pop. "The young teacher at the dojo where this one lives has her student practice individual moves hundreds of times until his form is perfect." Kenshin laughed. "This one thinks that might be a little excessive, given the circustances. Twenty swings should be enough for right now. We can practice more, if it's needed."

That was it? Swing it a few times? Matt wasn't sure what else he expected, but he supposed this should have been on the list. And he was rather glad he wouldn't have to be doing it hundreds of times. Yes, he was very thankful to Kenshin for that.

Especially since he'd be doing it in front of Sen, and just these few times were embarrassing enough. Then again, if she was from a similar point in time it probably wasn't all that odd to her.

"Don't strain yourself too much, sensei." He added the title again out of politeness and the hope that it might make Kenshin take in the situation better. While how much the man wore himself out wouldn't be too much of an issue for him regularly, it could end up being detrimental to his lessons.

The little bits of information were duly noted and filed away, with Ayumu wondering just which dojo Kenshin lived at. She certainly hadn't heard about any with a female instructor - were things different fourteen years in the future (if he really was from the future; the concept was extremely difficult to believe) and if so what did that imply about the future of her country?

"Himura-han? You're injured," she said, tearing her attention away from Robin with apparent reluctance and halfway moving as though to rise. The man was certainly stubborn as the men she knew and had had to patch up from time to time. "Please, be careful..."

"This one thought he asked you not to call him that," Kenshin laughed, working through the pain. A little bit of blood had seeped through his bandages and his shirt. That, more than anything, was what convinced him to put his arm back into the sling. "We can't go on from one technique without first mastering the one before it." Robin was impatient, he could tell, but there was no way he was going to learn to protect himself if he tried to do it all at once. "Swing a few times, and then we'll go on to the next set."

He shook his head at Sen, still smiling. "Thank you for your concern, Sen-dono. This one will be all right. What about you? How are you holding up?" Even he hadn't missed the looks she was giving Robin, and the tension he could see in the young man's shoulders every time he sensed her eyes on him. It was kind of...cute.

"You did," Matt answered with a light smirk. "But expect it at least a couple more times. I like the way it sounds." The young man was impatient, but not so much that he didn't understand the importance of taking the time to learn everything properly.

He glanced briefly to Sen without being able to help it, blushing again faintly, before he began performing the swings as instructed.

"But you're bleeding," Ayumu pointed out, unsatisfied by the response and not settling back again just yet. The fact that he wore the sling that he had been ignoring showed that his wounds had been treated, so his exertions must have re-opened them. His injury, then, must not be insignificant, and she could only feel curious about what could have caused it.

"I am fine, but - what happened?" Her eyes widened for a moment in alarm, and she glanced over toward the door. "Was it...was that why you warned me about the hallways?" The idea of beasts wandering the halls didn't make all that much sense to her, and there'd been no sign of such on her way here, but beasts who walked on two legs? Now that was entirely possible. To be expected, even.

She hid her amusement as she caught sight from the corner of her eye of Robin blushing again. No, he probably wouldn't be too hard to persuade to talk to her. Hopefully he'd have something useful to say.

Kenshin grinned. "Then this one will just have to add on a few more swings every time you do it," he teased lightly. This was nice. It was fun, sitting here, practicing with a student. It felt a little wrong, though. They weren't in the Kamiya dojo, and the student wasn't Yahiko. For that matter, Kenshin shouldn't even have been the teacher. Kaoru should be here. She was so much better at it than he was.

Then the awkward questions began. The rurouni knew they would, of course, but he'd been dreading them all the same. "Yes and no," he said truthfully. "At night, the madman in charge of this prison releases creatures for his 'patients' to fight. Unfortunately, there are also opponents of the human variety, who come from within our own ranks." All right, so he was making it sound like he'd come up against a Special Counseling patient, but he couldn't exactly tell Sen that he was a former Choushuu assassin and that Okita Souji had tried to kill him. Not yet, anyway.

That said, Kenshin turned back to Robin, watching his movement with a practiced eye. "You're swinging from the elbow, not the shoulder. Keep your wrists straight."

"Ah.." Matt frowned, readjusting his posture. Swing from the shoulder... That didn't feel as natural, but he adjusted to do it anyway. Kenshin was the one who knew what he was doing, after all. (And he sincerely doubted he was just saying that to embarrass Matt in front of Sen.)

He kept up the strikes but also paid close attention to what the other two were discussing. The rurouni most likely wouldn't add anything to the picture that he didn't already know, but it couldn't hurt to listen anyway.

Ayumu lifted a hand to her mouth as though to muffle the indrawn breath that was not quite a gasp. Being attacked by another one of those Kenshin referred to as "patients" made perfect sense to her, but Sen was defenseless and worried.

She edged back a little, glancing from one to the other as though worried that one of the two men might attack her at any second. "I want to go home," she said quietly, but with unfeigned sincerity. "Is it possible, when I don't even know how I got here?"

"Much better!" Kenshin smiled brightly at Robin. Unlike his master, he was going to use positive reinforcement to help Robin learn. He wasn't going to make him train until his hands were covered in bloody blisters and his arms felt like they were going to fall off. Maybe Robin wasn't going to end up being the greatest swordsman in the world, but at least he would know the basics and not resent Kenshin because of it.

"We all want to go home, but none of us have managed to figure out a way yet," he told Sen honestly. "Apologies."

While positive reinforcement was nice in its own way, the way Kenshin said it also made Matt feel like a bit of a child. He didn't let this show in his expression, but he almost wished the shorter man would yell at him some, just so he didn't feel like he should be getting snack and/or nap time afterwards.

He couldn't help the raised eyebrow, however, at Kenshin's last comment. It was truthful, but almost darkly humorous the way he'd delivered it. Yeah. Sorry we're all stuck here with no known method of escape that doesn't involve brainwashing. You'll get used to it after a while.

"Not for lack of trying," Matt added without stopping the swings. "You can now at least get outside the Institute after dark, but when morning comes you'll wake up back in your room here again."

Edited 2008-11-02 23:54 (UTC)

There was more talk of being transported unwillingly, which was still something Ayumu didn't understand. Were the people perhaps drugged and carried around? Or their memories somehow altered? And why would people be able to get outside "now," if, as that implied, they hadn't been before?

There were far too many things she didn't understand here, and she wanted to explore and see what else she could find out. But the unknown could also be quite dangerous, so it would likely be better for now to wait and find out what else she could from these two. She could be patient. She could always be patient.

Kenshin's answer was rather a disappointment, though, even if it did prompt Robin to add a little more. "How many of 'us' are there?" she asked, adding a little bit of doubt into her voice along with the worry. Maybe they were lying, or keeping something from her, she hinted. "Are we all supposedly from different times and places?"

Kenshin watched Robin intently, head cocked slightly to the side. He was doing well, better than the rurouni had expected at first. They would be going on to the next step sooner than he thought. Still... "Don't let your grip slip. This one knows it doesn't feel quite right, but it'll feel more natural with time."

He leaned back slightly, giving Sen another apologetic look. He hadn't meant it like that. "For the most part. There are some from the same place and time, but there are dozens of us. Over a hundred, maybe, and all trapped here. Sen-dono, may this one ask you a question?"

[skipping Matt with permission]

Robin's practice might have been almost familiar, even if the sheath was a somewhat unorthodox weapon for the purpose. Ayumu couldn't count how many times she'd watched weapons drills back at home, but the rather obvious differences between this and that, and the fact that this wasn't home made it slightly unsettling to watch.

She blinked curiously at Kenshin at his inquiry, though, "Of course you may, Himura-han." Whatever question he wanted to ask would surely tell her something about what he was thinking, after all. Ayumu gave him a somewhat forced smile as she spoke, as though trying to be cheerful despite everything.

Kenshin watched Robin for a while before answering. How best to phrase this? He was taking a big risk by asking it, but he needed to know how much Sen knew. Somehow. "This one is originally from Kansai," he said brightly. It was, technically, true; the village where he had been born and spent the earliest part of his childhood was in the mountains in Kansai. "And this one lived in Kyoto for a time, before he ended up in...Edo." It felt extraordinarily odd to refer to Tokyo by its old name. "May this one ask where in the city you live?"

That was...an extremely stupid question, but oh well. Turning back to Robin, added, "You're doing very well. Now we should practice a basic block. This one's going to come at you with his sword; please do your best to block it."

Matt paused mid-swing, turning his eyes towards Kenshin. "Are you sure that's all right?" he asked, letting his gaze stray towards the man's reopened wound. He'd already strained himself tonight. It wasn't going to do either of them any good if he continued to do so.

Despite his question, he turned a bit in order to better face the rurouni and got himself into as good of a ready position as he could manage. This would give him a much better idea of how Kenshin planned to train him in the future, wounded or not.

Where in the city did she live? An interesting question. Ayumu rather doubted the man was asking because he wanted to reminisce about shared experiences with places they knew in common. And that brief pause before Edo's name was curious as well.

"Oh, I..." She hesitated a moment, lowering her eyes to her lap as though a little embarrassed, and pulled the coat about herself again. "I'm from Shimabara," she replied, her voice growing softer as she finished the sentence.

After a brief pause she glanced back up at Robin through her lashes. Since he was a foreigner she doubted he would recognize the district's name, but if so she was curious to see what his reaction would be. And if Kenshin truly had lived in Kyoto, he certainly should know.

Kenshin had picked up his sakabatou and was in the process of swinging it in a wide, lazy arc towards Robin when Sen supplied her answer. "Oro?" He was so surprised that it faltered, just a little. Not really enough to matter, but definitely more than usual. Shimabara, huh? Oh. Well, that certainly explained the looks she'd been giving Robin, though the rurouni wouldn't have pegged her for being a courtesan.

This was...rather awkward.

Now why did that name sound familiar? Matt had studied up on Japanese history well, but it still took a moment of thought to place--

The young man turned to blink wide-eyed at Sen suddenly, completely forgetting that he was supposed to be blocking the oncoming swing of Kenshin's sword. It was only at the last moment that he gave a cry of "Shit!" and tried to bring the sheath up, but it was far too late. The blunt side of Kenshin's blade connected with his shoulder and he yelped before sitting down rather hard.

Face very red, he hissed in pain and rubbed at the spot.

It was fortunate that Ayumu had a lot of practice in hiding her emotions, else she might have had to laugh at the reactions to her statement. Even the trained swordsman had faltered just a little; hopefully that meant he had accepted the lie as truth. Perhaps now he'd let slip just why he was so curious. She had her suspicions, but tried not to make assumptions about anything if she could help it.

She rose quickly to her feet at Robin's yelp and moved closer with a distressed expression, reaching out toward the young man as though she wanted to help but was uncertain how. "Robin-han, you're hurt!" she exclaimed, sounding dismayed. As she got closer, though, she realized there was no blood, and gave a startled glance toward Kenshin's sword. Now that she got a better look at it - that was very intriguing indeed. "Himura-han, is...there something wrong with your sword?"

It had certainly spared Robin a more serious injury, but why would someone be carrying around a sword with its blade reversed to begin with?

[Oh crap, I forgot to mention that Kenshin swung one-handed to spare his injured arm. XD;]

"ORO!" Instantly, Kenshin had put down the sword and was rushing over to Robin. "This one is so very sorry! Are you all right, Robin-dono?!" It was his fault. He'd tried to pull his punches, had only swung with one hand, and it was a sakabatou, but...Robin hadn't blocked at all. That was definitely going to bruise.

And Sen wasn't helping that much, though he didn't expect her to do anything otherwise. Once he'd convinced himself that Robin was not, in fact, going to go into shock and die on his watch, he turned to her, holding out the sakabatou for her to examine.

"It's intentional, don't worry," he said lightly. "This one lives by the sword, but it doesn't mean he has to kill by it. Lives cannot truly be saved if others must be sacrificed. That's why this one carries a sword that can't cut."

As Sen approached, Matt was torn between responding with a quick I'm okay! Don't worry about me! or something more along the lines of A massage would probably make it feel better. Because goodness... the experience that might come with living in a place like that... Sadly, her attention was quickly drawn away, and the frown he gave was as much in disappointment over the loss of it as it was showing the same interest in what she'd turned it to.

Kenshin's sword was indeed backwards, and the explanation made it difficult for him not to roll his eyes. So he was that sort of character. He gave some credit for the backwards sword, though. That was one he hadn't heard.

He got to his feet slowly, tilting his head and shrugging his shoulders to get a good feel of how much damage had been done. "Guess I'm lucky for it too. I happen to like that arm." The bruising wouldn't keep him from continuing their practice, at least, and he got himself back into a ready position.

Edited 2008-11-04 05:51 (UTC)

When the sword was held out to her Ayumu quickly drew her hands back against her chest, as though getting close enough to touch the blade would somehow injure her, her eyes widening a little as she looked at it. An interesting sword and an interesting philosophy held by the one who wielded it, though not one that she agreed with, especially given the plan she had been attempting to carry out when she instead found herself here.

It did, however, tell her something about Himura Kenshin, and only made her more determined to find out more. Who or what was this man? Was it possible that he really didn't have anything to do with her presence here?

"I'm glad for that right now," was all she said, though, as she turned away to return to where she'd been sitting before. "For had it been a sharp blade, Robin-han would have been cut." The tone of her voice said that she would have been quite upset about that indeed.

As she passed the young man on her way back she reached out to lightly brush her hand along his arm, fingertips catching for just an instant in the fabric of his sleeve, and gave him a sidelong glance and slight smile. The gesture was brief enough that Sen might have hoped Kenshin wouldn't see it, but Ayumu was sure that he would.

And Kenshin did see it. He looked at the two, smiling, watching how they interacted with each other and how they were trying to make sure that he didn't notice. The rurouni just smiled, pretending that he hadn't seen anything. It was kind of like watching Yahiko and Tsubame, though this was...slightly less innocent.

Robin was putting on a brave face for the lady, who was appropriately concerned. Then he was back up, in the ready position like nothing had happened. That was also like Yahiko. Kenshin bowed slightly, still feeling a little bad that he'd managed to hurt him. He laughed nervously. "Shall we try that again?"

Re: [M55]

Re: [M55]

Re: [M55]

Re: [M55]

Re: [M55]

Re: [M55]

Re: [M55]

Re: [M55]

Re: [M55]

Re: [M55]

Re: [M55]

Re: [M55]

Re: [M55]

Re: [M55]

Re: [M55]

Re: [M55]

Re: [M55]

Re: [M55]

Re: [M55]

Re: [M55]

Re: [M55]

Re: [M55]

Re: [M55]

Re: [M55]

Re: [M55]