damned_institute | Night 44: M41-M50 Hallway

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Night 44: M41-M50 Hallway

"Stop calling me Greg, it's weird!" Raz protested, but predictably his words were ignored, and the nurse left with his roommate without a sound. The door closed shut, and he was alone once again.

The events that occurred this dinner shift played through his mind over and over again, though he very much didn't want them to. It was bad enough that he got trapped here in the first place, but couldn't he have at least got a friendlier roommate? Really? Was that so much to ask for?

As he contemplated how to deal with this problem, it seemed that all he did was blink, and then the room was dark. The lock unclicked, and Raz knew what that meant.

"Time to get to work," he said to himself, as he grabbed his flashlight and headed out the door.

[to here]

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Instinctively, Haku moved and tried to cushion the fall as best as he could, or at least get the healer to stay on the bed and not fall to the floor.

Wincing slightly, he was aware of how his injuries pulled and he glanced at Artemis with a silent request for assistance.

Artemis hadn't expected Hanatarou to go quite this far with the healing, especially considering Homura needed him later. He was about to question Hanatarou about how he was feeling, when the shinigami suddenly fell over. Artemis nodded to Haku and took hold of Hanatarou under the armpits. This was certainly going to be interesting...

But it wasn't nearly as hard as Artemis thought it would be. Compared to anyone Artemis had tried to move before (including Hitsugaya and Haku), Hanatarou was light. Perhaps Artemis was getting stronger... or Hanatarou was far too thin for his height. As strong as Artemis' ego was, he had a feeling Hanatarou wasn't eating.

The boy dragged Hanatarou over to his own bed, finally deciding that there was no way he could lift him onto it, so he simply propped the healer up between the bed and the dresser, stuffing a pillow behind him. It looked like he had a bit of a nosebleed... Perfect. Homura would be so pleased to know that Artemis had squeezed most of the juice out of his healer. Not that Artemis cared much for Homura's missions, but he felt it best to be on friendly terms with the high rollers in the institute.

Now, he had two injured persons in the room, and only one of him. He looked to Haku, then back at Hanatarou. "Are you alright?"

It was a good thing that Nataku hadn't been in the room, Hanatarou thought to himself somewhat fuzzily as he struggled against the fatigue washing over him. If the boy had been there, after all, he probably would've woken up with more doodles on his face...if not worse.

He'd pushed himself too far again, he knew, but still couldn't really feel too bad about that, given how little he'd been able to do in the process. Even if using his powers damaged his gigai, Hanatarou still wasn't willing to not do so - he would feel better again much faster than Haku would have healed without his intervention, so he counted it worthwhile.

In the meantime, though, he was vaguely aware of being moved, and managed to open his eyes again a little as he was propped up. A second after Artemis spoke the words registered, and Hanatarou lifted his head, still squinting a little against his headache as he replied, "'m fine."

"Forgive me for disagreeing with you Hanatarou-san," Haku said, looking concerned and slightly frustrated. He didn't like using healers for this very reason; they always pushed much too hard.

"Perhaps I can help you now? You've given me back almost full use of my hands, and while I cannot work healing energy like yourself, I can help with the pain..." He wouldn't push though.

"Haku's right," Artemis said, crouching down by Hanatarou. "You don't look well. Haku is very excellent at what he does, I highly recommend you let him help you."

The boy genius looked back over to Haku. "My only question, I suppose, is are you up to moving around now, or should I bring him back to you?" He didn't particularly want Haku to be getting up and moving around if he wasn't ready to do so. It would defeat the purpose of Hanatarou's healing if Haku simply injured himself again.

"Huh? You're a healer...?" Haku's offer caught Hanatarou's attention, and he latched onto that rather than starting an argument over how he was feeling now. He was starting to get used to the aftereffects here, and was quite certain he was just fine. A few minutes to catch his breath and the headache would subside, and he could be off and on his way and not bothering these two any further.

He glanced back at Artemis again and blinked once, then shook his head and started to push himself to his feet again. It was a little slower going than he would have liked, in order to convince them that he really was okay, and he had to grab hold of the bed frame for support as he did. "N-no, really, I'm not that tired," he insisted, but still gave Haku a look that was hesitantly curious. He wanted to know what Haku had meant, but didn't want to be a bother, either....

"Not a healer like yourself. I merely know a few tricks to ease pain or provide first aid." Haku offered a smile and moved to sit on the edge of the bed. He glanced at Artemis and then back to Hanatarou.

"I don't wish to undo all the good work you've done by walking over and dragging you back to sit down on the bed, so if you'd be so kind as to come over here, I can at least help with the headache you must have."

"Yes, yes, I know you're fine, but I'm sure Haku would feel much better if you at least let him help with your headache. After all, it would be like someone making you dessert and not offering to share."

While he spoke, Artemis gently pulled Hanatarou to his feet and guided him over to sit next to Haku.

"It's quite interesting really," he said, conversationally--throwing Haku a look that indicated Hanatarou might become a little nervous or skittish. "It's really more like acupressure than what you use. Perhaps he would be willing to teach you sometime. No doubt it produces less headaches and nosebleeds, and could be used when the injury isn't so very serious."

The metaphor didn't entirely make sense to Hanatarou, and he blinked quizzically at Artemis before realizing that he was being guided over toward where Haku sat. At that point he glanced from one to the other, the words finally sinking in, and he perked up a little in sudden interest.

"Acupressure...like, um, spirit points?" he asked, looking wide-eyed at Haku. "I, uh...er, learned about that, but..." It hadn't even occurred to him to try that here, considering most of the injuries he'd dealt with so far. He was foolish, wasn't he? Such a worthless healer.

"I don't really know what 'spirit points' are," Hake said, shifting to make room, "But I think they might be similar. I can't use them properly, as I don't have full use of my power here."

He held up his hands to show that they were empty. "But I'd like to try?"

"Well, considering how different your worlds must be, the technique can't be exactly the same. At least I would wager it isn't exactly the same," Artemis offered, trying to quash whatever doubts Hanatarou was undoubtedly feeling about Haku using a technique he already knew on him.

"In some ways, Hanatarou, being here is a gift to those of us who are willing to learn from others," he said with a smile. In fact, if one ignored the fact that they were all prisoners against their will and couldn't come and go as they pleased, being amongst those from other worlds wouldn't have been all that bad.

Noticing the invitation inherent in Haku's gesture, Hanatarou cautiously settled on the edge of the bed just in case he'd actually been mistaken. "Um...I'd be curious to see?"

His curiosity about what Haku meant was enough to distract him a bit from the headache which was, indeed, rather strong at the moment. At least his nose had stopped bleeding, so clearly he was just about ready to leave. As soon as he'd seen the demonstration, at least.

Reaching out, Haku settled a light, cool hand on Hanatarou's arm and smiled. "Tell me if you want me to stop and I will. No hard feelings."

He carefully took the healer's hands in his own and quickly found and pressed on the correct points to ease the pain the young man had to be feeling. He couldn't have done anything for the nosebleed, so he was glad it had stopped, though knowing it had happened in the first place was frustrating. After a few moments, Haku's hands moved to touch a few more spots on Hanatarou's arms, his hands getting a bit colder as he worked.

Hopefully, it would work as well on a Healer as on Artemis, but when Haku had done all he could, he drew back his hands and folded them neatly in his lap.

[skipping Arty with permission]

Hanatarou watched Haku work with complete fascination, only halfway aware that the work was being done on him. It was similar to the technique he knew, but subtly different, and it completely distracted him from the pain - until he realized that the treatment had worked and there wasn't as much to notice anyway.

He blinked down at his arms, then glanced up again and offered Haku a shy smile. "That's amazing, Haku-san. Thank you." And if he didn't have to wait a minute to recover, he could hurry off and find the rest of the group, who were undoubtedly waiting for him by now. However long it had been.

Haku smiled and bowed his head. "Perhaps when you're not in a hurry, I can show you a bit?" He settled back and nodded at the door.

"I don't want to keep you from your appointments though. Thank you for letting me help Hanatarou-san."

"Thank you for your assistance, Hanatarou. I really do appreciate it," Artemis assured him. He was glad that Haku had been able to deal with the healer's headache--not only because it would leave Hanatarou fresher for whatever Homura had in mind, but also because wandering around alone at night while compromised was never a good idea. Hanatarou had grown on Artemis, insecurities and all. If he were prone to thinking things were adorable, Hanatarou might have been one of those things.

"Haku's right, though, I don't want to keep you from Homura for too long. Something tells me that he isn't particularly pleasant when things don't go as planned," he said with a smile. "But if you ever need anything, please don't hesitate to ask."

The reminder that he really did have somewhere to go caught Hanatarou up short; he would have liked to talk to Haku some more, but he really should wait until there was more free time. During the day, maybe, and maybe he should ask if Haku was free tomor--no, he needed to go. He was already late enough and Homura was probably going to be unhappy.

It didn't help matters any that Artemis also seemed to think Homura was the grumpy type. Hanatarou hastily rose again and stepped back, pausing to bob a bow to each of the pair. "Um, I was glad I could help. A little. And thank you for your help, Haku-san." He smiled a little, shyly, then grabbed up his sword again and scurried off.

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/728500.html?thread=60624308#t60624308)]

Haku watched him go with a small smile. Honestly, that young man was just begging for someone to come along and kill him. It made Haku feel a bit protective, but he didn't think he could handle following around two people with limited defensive skills. ~~no offence meant of course~~

He looked up at Artemis. "I hope he doesn't get into too much trouble," he said.

"He's protected," Artemis said, moving back to the bed once Hanatarou had gone and he'd closed the door. "Not only is he working with the History division, he's from the same world as Hitsuagaya and the other shinigami.

"I will admit, though, it is a little endearing that he has so little self-esteem, considering the things he can do," he said with a small laugh. Artemis couldn't imagine not taking pride in what one did--but he did tend to associate with a lot of people who knew what they were doing and knew that they knew what they were doing. It was... interesting to meet someone who thought he was useless when he was so useful.

"Keeping someone in that sort of mentality is an excellent way to keep control over them," Haku pointed out. He was smiling however.

"He's a good person though and very useful to know."

Artemis chuckled a little. "Well, you know how I feel about 'controlling' people. And there's the question of mind over matter," he said, sitting down on the bed. "If Hanatarou's ability is useful and finely tuned now, think of what it would be like if he didn't doubt himself--if he didn't hold back while thinking he was going to fail. I think he would increase his ability threefold."

He frowned a little at the ceiling. "It's the 'good person' part I worry about, though. He's involved in a tug-of-war right now between Hitsugaya the Second and Homura. No doubt they both make him nervous, and I'm afraid that his decision won't be his own when he makes it."

"Good people are usually being manipulated by someone. It's how things work." Haku smiled and then turned most of his attention to his injuries,flexing his shoulders carefully and moving his leg.

"Still, he is good. If he's this skilled here, in his world he must be quite impressive."

"Who knows, really. Hitsugaya told me he was skilled, but Hitsugaya never was one to do anything but understate what was worthy, and overstate the severity of situations."

Artemis fell silent for a moment, folding his hands in his lap and looking at them.

"Is it terrible that I miss him, even though he's returned?" he asked.

Haku thought about that, then shook his head. "No," he said, shaking his head. "You miss the young man that you met and grew to know. While this returned man shares the face and the past of the old, he lacks the experiences that created the man you knew and respected."

Artemis nodded. "You're right. And I know you're right but it's still... strange to feel as though someone you're seeing right before you is still dead. Even if he seemed a bit jumpy around you."

It was strange. Artemis had never encountered the death of someone close to him until Renji and Hitsugaya. Even when his father was declared dead, he refused to believe it. Perhaps that was supposed to be a stage of grief, but Artemis had never shed a tear for the death of his father--because he'd known Artemis Senior had been alive. There was no other option.

"It's been over a week. I shouldn't still be feeling this way. I only knew them for two weeks..."

Night 44: M41-M50 Hallway

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