damned_institute | Nightshift 46: M11-M20 Hallway

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Nightshift 46: M11-M20 Hallway

Once again the doors had opened. Cloud believed most of what Yuffie had told him, but it was still unreal the way this place operated. They were clearly being tested, mocked, or both with the nightly routine, yet they didn't have many other options but to take the chances they were given.

Still unarmed, but hopefully ready to deal with anything, the blond nodded a goodbye to his roommate before stepping out into the hall with nothing but his flashlight. Yuffie's room was in the single female block, which was on the other side of the block he was currently in. It wouldn't take long to get there, but knowing that creatures could attack the patients even within the patient block caused him to keep his guard up right from the start.

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Touya looked over at the sleeping Ken then back to Yue. It was obvious (to him, at least) that Yue was straining right now. And while his presence might have made it worse, he thought leaving Yue alone would not only be a cop-out, but would be one of the worst things he could do right now. However, perhaps this was a conversation they'd best have in private.

"C'mon," Touya said softly, reaching for Yue's hand. "My roommate's probably gone by now. Let's go back to my room."

For a moment it might have seemed that Yue would actually allow Touya to touch his hand, but just before it would have made contact the guardian pushed abruptly to his feet, the movement made just a touch more awkward than usual due to the presence of his wings. "If we're going somewhere else, why not Sakura's room?" he asked, keeping his back to Touya as his wings shifted, partially unfolding and re-folding in nervous-seeming movements. "I'm certain she's worried, as well."

Yukito would have been more than pleased to spend some time alone with Touya, which was part of the reason Yue was reacting with immediate rejection to the idea. He certainly wasn't interested. At all.

Touya frowned. Yue was obviously not doing well, but at the same time refused to accept any gesture or even suggestion of comfort. It was beyond frustrating, though Touya managed to stay calm. He wasn't the type to be on a hair-trigger to begin with, and for some reason the coliseum had made his fuse even longer. Of course, he was still a little annoyed that Yue wouldn't even let Touya hold his hand of all things.

"She's fine," Touya said, standing up and moving out the door and into the hallway. "She asked me if Fai went home after he was killed. Let her be optimistic--if we both charged in there after I told her we were all taking a break, she'd worry even more, right? Or feel like it was her fault somehow."

He looked down the hallway then back to Yue. "Even if you won't admit it, you need more attention than either me or Sakura. We weren't the ones in that arena. I may have resigned myself to letting you handle everything else, but at least let me help with something that isn't going to get me killed or injured.

"Or," Touya backed up a step out of the doorway. "I'll go back to my room by myself and you can sit here with a sleeping Ken, and replay what happened over and over again. Yuki would, at least, so I have a feeling you would too."

He crossed his arms and looked coolly at Yue. "So. What's it going to be?" This was a massive gamble he was taking, and frankly if Yue decided to stay and mope, Touya wouldn't be happy with that at all. But he couldn't drag Yue out of the room and back to his own. Not only would that creative a big scene, but Touya hadn't forgotten how much stronger Yue was. He didn't know what sorts of things Yue could or would do to separate himself from Touya.

Yue only stared back at Touya for several heartbeats, his expression held carefully blank as he considered the options. Touya was right; he knew it and Yukito knew it, but only one of them was willing to admit to it. We'd be better off with someone else tonight, Yukito murmured, his presence growing stronger enough that Yue realized he wasn't going to simply drop the issue, either. We spent all day thinking about it and nothing has changed. He wants to help. I want to let him.

Let him? Yue immediately rejected the idea without thought; letting someone help him meant letting himself care. He couldn't do that again; it wasn't even an option. And yet Yukito persisted, not in words, but in a surge of silent affection. He cared about Yue, it said, no matter what the guardian might think.

Finally Yue flicked his wings once and settled them against his back, careful to hold them close to prevent any problems getting through the door like he'd experienced the night previous. "Very well. We'll go." With the assent he stepped forward, moving toward the door himself.

Hard as it was, Touya allowed himself a small smile, face turned away from Yue. He'd been beginning to doubt the validity of his earlier thought that Yue and Yuki weren't so different, but then things like this popped up and he'd remember what he first saw the day he gave up his power.

"If anything," Touya offered, walking down the hallway next to Yue. "It will give Ken a chance to sleep without us talking in his ear while he's trying to rest?" Perhaps a different approach would loosen Yue a bit--if only a bit. He seemed stiffer than usual...

Couldn't be. Touya must've been reading too much into it. After all, Yue was already upset, why not stiff as well?

Once through the door Yue allowed his wings to relax slightly, but there was no corresponding change to his own posture. The change of topic was a welcome one, and he gave Touya a brief sidelong glance and nodded. "He's been sleeping quite a bit lately," he observed, frowning slightly. "I've been starting to wonder if something is wrong. Did he seem injured when...you last saw him?"

And then even that ended up moving around back to the night before. The realization made Yue's frown deepen; his wings twitched slightly before he moved on, walking just a little bit faster now.

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Nightshift 46: M11-M20 Hallway

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