damned_institute | Dayshift 43: Waiting Room / Lobby 2 [4th Shift]

"Now you just have a seat and wait for your visitor like everyone else."

As the nurse went away from him, Kurogane huffed out some agitation but refused to have a seat. Hearing that he had a visitor had been one of the last things he'd expected. It was always the magician who got one, not him. And who the hell would want to visit him anyway?

During his first protests, the nurse had been telling him to behave since it wasn't nice to be sour to girls, so he knew it had to be a girl that was visiting. There were a few of those Kurogane knew could show up as a "visitor" for him, all of which were annoying. Some were worse than others too. He could probably handle if Sohma showed up, and maybe Amaterasu, but when it came to Tomoyo-hime... she was already hard to handle normally, no matter what world she came from. The Piffle version had been pretty much the same, just raised differently. If he saw her, even a fake her, she would probably be just the same and he'd have to at put up with it no matter what.

Eventually he chose to take a seat, knowing that he would not be leaving any time soon. Of course, he picked the one that was furthest into the corner to avoid unwanted conversations. He would already have to deal with a visitor; he shouldn't have to deal with anything more.

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"I still do," he whispered. "No matter where I am, I'll still care. I promised, remember? And I will never, ever break that promise."

He really hoped no one was looking... and that his friend wouldn't kill him. Discretely, he slipped one hand down to touch just over her heart. "When I'm not with you, you can still feel me here."

A lot of good that promise was going to do with him dead. But was he really? Sheena didn't know. She felt him, even more so with the contact on her chest. Normally, the ninja would beat the crap out of anyone doing what Corrine just did, but it was Corrine and he... Well, he could get away with just about anything.

She let go of his shirt with one hand and covered his with it. "But I don't feel you when you're not here," she whispered. "It's been so lonely. The others... they don't fill the emptiness."

"Find out what does," he said softly. "We'll wait for you, as long as you need us to--but not too long, okay?" He ruffled her hair, even though that was really pressing his luck in terms of not getting punched. "We miss you back home."

With ninja reflexes, even injured, Sheena caught his hand as it finished rustling her hair. "Hey," she warned him. "You don't like it when I ruffle your fur, so don't be messing with my hair. It sticks out enough on its own."

She fell silent and looked at an interesting spot on the opposite wall again. Going home with Corrine, even if he wasn't being a fox at the moment, sounded so nice. He was sort of even offering her a home, a place where she belonged. How much Sheena longed for a place she really felt was where she was supposed to be? But what about Tethe'alla, Sylvarant and her friends? What about her pacts?

"You know, a friend of mine, someone I trust with my life, warned me that the visitors that came to see us weren't real. That they were going to seem that way, but they weren't, that they were going to end up causing us pain." Sheena bit her bottom lip. "I don't know, Corrine. I want to believe, because I feel you, but... I can't leave Tethe'alla and Sylvarant to their fate. I have to make right the wrongs I caused and stop Yggdrasil however I can. I can't just give it all up and go to this wonderful place where you say I belong and am loved." She drew in a shuddering breath. "I just can't..."

Kishin didn't know what to think; was she saying she wasn't even willing to come home? He didn't want to cry, himself, but this was his friend here.

Well...

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box--red velvet, not black, so it didn't quite look like he was trying to propose. "Okay," he said softly. "We'll be waiting, anyway. But until then..." he gave her the box. "I thought you'd want this."

Wait. What was he--

Sheena eyed the box as if it might bite her for a long moment before she accepted it. Why was Corrine giving her a box that looked an awful lot like the kind of box Zelos would randomly produce? She stared at it in her hand again for a moment before her curiosity got the better of her.

Carefully, she opened the box and then froze. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the contents. No... no... why did they have...

Fresh tears slipped unchecked down Sheena's face as she suddenly felt overwhelmed. She started to shake, a gentle jingling sound coming from the box. It was that sound that triggered the first actual sound of Sheena crying.

He simply pulled her close again; he didn't know why the sight of the bell was making her so sad, but it didn't matter. Just like I promised, I'm here for you. I promise.

No pressure to talk, no asking her to hurry up and come home; he just held her silently.

The jingling sound was heard again and then the box clattered to the ground, the bell clutched in Sheena's hand. She practically folded into Corrine's chest, sobbing pathetically against him. She couldn't even get her brain to focus on anything other than what that bell represented.

He just nuzzled her gently; they only had so much time, but he wouldn't rush her. If she needed to cry, he would be here for her as long as he was allowed.

"That's my girl," he murmured as she quieted. "I hope you know how much I've missed you, too..." He'd considered bringing a teddy bear or something, but the bell was more personal even if it wasn't as cuddly. Maybe he'd give her a stuffed animal the next time he saw her--hopefully, not in here.

Dayshift 43: Waiting Room / Lobby 2 [4th Shift]

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