damned_institute | Nightshift 37: F1-F10 Hallway

As far as dinner shifts went, that one had actually been enjoyable. It had been nice to have somebody to talk to, to show off for, and Sen hadn’t seemed to mind all that much. Except for that one teeny-tiny little slip, just after Yuffie’d revealed that she was a ninja…

What was with that?

Yuffie knew that it was a little unorthodox to be quite so ‘open’ about what she did, both back home and here in Landel’s. She had her reasons, though; logical reasons, no matter what anybody else had to say about it. And those reasons had a lot more to them than a simple love of showing off.

Maybe Sen was going to be another one of those who underestimated her, then - the woman had seemed to soak up everything she’d said like a sponge, hadn’t refuted anything, but… Yuffie couldn’t quite shake the feeling that something was off. Sen seemed so normal and, yeah, totally defenseless - but as far as she could tell, Landel had a weird fetish for kidnapping fighters, or people with some kind of ability or significance...

Ugh, maybe this place was just making her paranoid. Besides, now wasn’t the time to be cross-examining and mentally dissecting her roommate! She had places to go, people to see, and a Turk to interrogate! With that in mind, after a quick double-checking of her ’equipment’ - a small bunch of pens tucked away in various places, the gardening claw, and her flashlight - the young thief headed out into the night.

[To here]

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Miku smiled and nodded in agreement. If she slept, then maybe she would be right as rain in the morning (as fat a chance as that would be). "I'd like that."

She did too, it was nice to have someone to watch over her, though a reversal of her usual role. Miku supposed this answered the 'who will guard the guardians' question, didn't it? "You don't have to stay, though, if I fall asleep." She wouldn't dissuade him from any potential plans, after all. Miku was glad she hadn't managed to drop the bag on their flight from the Sun Room, too, relieved to see its familiar white lump on the floor. "Hide the bag; they'll take it if I'm not quick enough." And she wouldn't be.

Sousuke nodded, but didn't move. "I'll stay with you. It's too late in the night to go anywhere, and I don't want to leave you alone. Not when you're injured." Not when she could start bleeding through her bandages, or convulsing or... something. He wanted to be here until he was certain the staff could take care of her.

"I'll take care of the bag," he moved to get off the bed.

As Sousuke moved, Miku made herself lie back. Her breath left her in a slow, pained sigh and she felt some of the tears on her skin pull. There was something else, under he bandages on her chest he'd so quickly wrapped in the cafeteria that rubbed against something else. Had she broken something? Or just cracked it? She grit her teeth and forced herself to lie back and think of something that was pleasant, and not this.

Sousuke was pleasant, Miku turned her head to watch him through half-opened eyes. The idea that someone wanted to train her, was... perhaps not pleasant, but, it wasn't painful, either. "I'm glad you're here with me, Sousuke."

Sousuke picked up the bag, pausing at Miku's expression. Back still to her, he smiled lightly. Well, that sounded normal for Miku, thank goodness. At least her injuries had only broken her body and not her spirit. Sousuke was glad for that. It meant she would recover, since he will was strong.

"I am... glad to be with you, Miku. Protecting you is very important to me." He moved to the closet and deposited the bag in it. "I only regret not being able to do a better job tonight."

"We've already established I'm rather unlucky," Miku chastised with a gentle smile, and rested her hands on her chest. It was a little like resting on tenterhooks now, and the little medium sighed again. "I'm not worried, though; I know I'll be fine in the end." Miku really did have a lot of faith in Sousuke --- faith in anyone that did what they could for others.

"There will be other nights, ah, assuming I survive whatever Sagara-san is planning," she joked.

Sousuke smiled again and closed the closet door, turning to face her. "You'll do well. Sagara will want you to succeed. And if he trusts the person he has in mind... I think we can trust him as well."

He walked back over to the bed and sat down in front of it so that he was level with Miku. He didn't want to disturb the bed and hurt her again. "Do you intend to research the ghost we encountered today?"

Well, at least he had more faith in her than she did. Miku reached out and rested her hand on his shoulder. "I was planning on it, but... this isn't the same, I don't feel... it's different." She wasn't about to describe the scenes, smells and feelings that the new marks had set off. And while she'd felt pain from the touches of the dead before, this was stranger.

"I don't know how to explain it, exactly. But, this doesn't feel like my story to tell."

Sousuke looked a little confused at this. Not her story to tell? She was researching these various ghosts, so why wouldn't she want to research this one? Perhaps... the memories were too strong? Or did she remember something? Or recognize something disturbing.

"Now isn't the time to make these decisions," Sousuke said, taking her hand gently. The rope burns still disturbed him, and though he wished she wouldn't be in pain, he knew she was. "Just rest. Everything will be okay. We can think about this later."

"I..." Miku started to speak but stopped herself. No, he was right; she wasn't of the mind to try and figure out everything that had just happened to her. A part of her wanted to just give up thinking about the whole thing anyway, and be a normal girl.

Well, as normal as this place would allow her to be.

"I will," she said quietly and closed her eyes. Miku's mind wandered for a little bit. "You know? This is the second time a ghost priestess has given me rope marks. You'd think they were buying the ropes in bulk, huh?" Miku's fingers toyed with the fake necklace she'd tied around Sousuke's wrist earlier in the night. They curled around the thin black ribbon, and touched the warm fabric in quiet meditation. And just like that, she fell inside the black-and-white world her sixth sense opened.

A great, white, mechanical... thing, with Sousuke inside. It reminds her of a knight, if a knight were several stories tall and looked like a Gundam.

Miku holds her breath, watching him. She can see something on his face that isn't unlike wrathful determination. If she added cuts, or tattoo marks, the face was more familiar.

There is a familiar word inside her mind, Arbalest. Miku shakes her head, and her hand briefly touches Sousuke's shoulder.

The little medium took a deep, sharp breath and felt everything flare up in pain. One of these days, she chided herself, she would learn to just not touch.

Nightshift 37: F1-F10 Hallway

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