damned_institute | Night 51: F1-10 Hallway

Yukari had wanted to sleep, to think about nothing, but it was hard for a mind like hers to remain idle for too long. And it didn't take long at all for her mind to home in on that one sensation so relevant to what had been bothering her all day - Sheena.

Her tentative sleep was constantly betrayed by that ever-present knowledge of where the ninja was, whether it be down the hall, heading towards the exit of the block, waiting, coming back. And now Yukari knew she was standing just outside her room. Peeking out from under the covers, the youkai considered her options.

She could continue to hide in hopes the ninja might go away and pretend to be asleep. She could call out to her. She could go to her. Or she could sit there in indecision and confusion and guilt and anguish and unsureness and not do anything at all. Which was exactly what she was doing.

Sheena took a few steps away from the door, toward her own room, but then stopped. No, she couldn't run from this. She put herself in that room last night, knowing full well she didn't have any mana and was sick as a dog. What the hell had she expected? Still, she was human and humans had instincts. Sheena had been trained to control most of those natural instincts, but sometimes things were just too powerful, to much, to be controlled.

If the youkai thought she could pretend to be asleep, she was mistaken. The youkai's emotions leveled out to the easiest for Sheena to handle when asleep. Yukari was not asleep now. In fact, it felt like she was having just as hard a time deciding what to do as Sheena was. And yet the ninja didn't move. She could go, just let Yukari think she thought the youkai was asleep, but no. What she was feeling was very unusual from Yukari and it made her heart go out to her.

So, hand shaking, she grasped the door handle and turned it. But then she stopped. Should she? Maybe she should just let this be for another day. Talk to her when it was light out and the youkai wouldn't eat her because there was staff around. And that had to have been the stupidest thought borne from her fear that she's had all damn day.

"Come on, Mizuho. You can do this," she said to herself and opened the door.

Part of Yukari knew just how foolish she was being, trying to fool the ninja despite the pact between them. Surely the girl would notice that spike of both pain and relief when the youkai sensed her starting to walk away. But then Sheena was coming back and her mind became a sea of turmoil again - something colder and more detached, something more like what had been in control last night, laughed at the spectacle. The great Yukari Yakumo, hiding under her bedsheets in fear of confronting a little human girl not even two decades old. Pathetic.

The rest of her though was more than content to hide under her sheets, freezing up as she heard the doorknob turn, peeking out curiously when it wasn't followed by the door opening. But then the door did open and the youkai zipped back under the sheets, as if she could still pretend to be asleep despite the fact that the ninja had surely seen that quick movement.

Go away, go away, go away, go away!

Her thoughts were a panicked train of that repeated command, but the feelings underneath them painted them more lie than truth, though there was a mix of both desires.

The ninja did indeed pick up the quick movement, but she didn't say anything. She did pause and consider just turning around and leaving. No, that would just be giving in, running away, and letting the youkai's childish side win. And it hurt Sheena to know Yukari was feeling the way she was, even with her own twitchiness.

Closing the door behind her, Sheena walked over to the bed and looked down at the youkai-lump under the covers. Should she say something? Should she pry her youkai out from under the cloth barrier?

No, the ninja moved down to the foot of the bed and climbed up onto it. She put her back to the wall, sitting sideways, and curled her legs up under her. And there she waited, not sure what to expect, trying to relax and knowing she couldn't.

It was almost like having her powers back again, being able to sense the presence of another without using her eyes or ears, but simply by virtue of the very existence of a warm human body in the same room be able to know where they were - only this sense only applied to one person only and she couldn't turn it off. Yukari was acutely, almost painfully aware of the ninja's movement, of every hesitation and pause in step, but without any knowledge of the thoughts behind them.

There she was beside her bed, stopping. What kind of expression did she have on her face? Yukari didn't want to know. And now, all too close, the girl was climbing onto the bed, sitting down on it, close enough to touch, almost touching. And still Yukari did nothing.

A youkai, hiding from a human. How pathetic was that?

Her impulse was put on a different expression, to act like she was still the ineffable youkai of boundaries who no mortal could dare try to understand and that Sheena's puny human concerns were really quite laughable in the grand scheme of things. But she couldn't do that. Besides the fact that Yukari literally could not put such an act on for the ninja without being betrayed by their bond, the youkai simply could not belittle the girl's feelings like that. That pain, that confusion, that fear that Sheena surely felt, that Yukari had inflicted on her, were no trivial thing, not to the girl and by that token, not to the youkai either. Because she cared.

And because she cared, she wouldn't let this charade go on any longer. She'd been acting foolishly, but now was the time to do what was necessary. At least a little bit.

Making up her mind, Yukari straightened out, letting her head come out from under the covers in a mess of long blond strands. A moment to stare at the ceiling, then slowly she sat up, falling to one side and leaning against the wall listlessly. But although posture hardly proactive, at least now her eyes were on the girl sitting at the other end of the bed, peering out from between golden locks with violet eyes.

The ninja pressed her lips together, not sure how to interpret what she was feeling from Yukari. She didn't say anything, didn't move to touch her or any other impulses she had (like running) and just waited. Waited for Yukari, waited for the night to end, waited, waited, just waited. And then the youkai unburied herself from her blanket protection.

It was too dark for Sheena to see the color of Yukari's eyes with how far apart they were, and that kind of scared her. Her youkai had violet eyes, not the gold from last night. And because she didn't use a flashlight, she couldn't see them from the end of the bed. But still, she met those eyes without flinching.

Sheena was very impressed with herself.

The ninja didn't know what to say, so she said nothing. What she did do was raise a hand, trembling with her own internal struggle against instinct, and offer it to Yukari.

Yukari had been expecting some kind of words from the ninja. No, she'd been hoping for some kind of words so she wouldn't have to say them herself. When none came, she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.

That hand was a lifeline. Her first impulse was to take it in her own. Her second impulse was to playfully bite it. After deciding it was Too Soon for the latter, the youkai settled on the former, lazily lifting her arm to take hold of the proffered hand. Scooting closer, Yukari lifted that hand to her face. Maybe she was reconsidering that second one...

But instead she just brought Sheena's hand to her cheek, letting her eyes fall closed and leaning against it. That touch was warm. Real. Perhaps a bit frightened, but it was there nonetheless. The girl had reached out to her, so it was only right that Yukari reached back and closed the gap between them. Just for a moment, she wanted to ignore what had happened and just enjoy this warm touch while it lasted.

it was indeed too soon for the playful bite, what with the thick bandages around her neck and the cuts to her lip. Sheena was doing an amazing job of fighting against those deeply bred human instincts, but that would have been too much. She would have reacted and reacted badly.

She was still trembling a bit when the youkai took her hand and brought it to her face. Fingertips curled in a bit, the trembling subsided and Sheena gently brushed her thumb across Yukari's cheek. And for the moment, they could ignore what had happened. Eventually they would have to deal with it, but for now... they had this moment.

As the trembling in Sheena's hand ceased, so too did the trembling of the youkai's heart still, if just a little. She had to remember, that she had been through worse, experienced worse and overcome it. This little mishap was nothing in the scheme of her hundreds of years alive. And that hand upon her cheek was physical proof that a connection still existed between them, spanning whatever tear may have been made between them last night.

Still without words, Yukari turns her face a little and gently kissed Sheena's palm.

There was the slightest catch in the ninja's breath, her eyes falling half-closed for a second as her cheeks flush a bit, at that kiss. How Yukari could make her react so with just a simple, sweet kiss like that after what she'd put her through the previous night was something Sheena didn't understand. It had to be the pact.

Bringing her other hand up, Sheena tucks Yukari's hair behind her ear and lets her fingertips linger in the blonde strands. Trailing them down the length, Sheena lowers her eyes. Someone needed to speak. Someone did, and...

"I'm sorry."

Normally the youkai would have been teasing the girl, delighted at her reaction to such a small thing, but this was hardly a normal situation. There was a little curl of a smile as she felt the ninja's other hand approach, touch, smooth back her hair. When she heard those words, her eyes opened, easier to see now that they were closer.

"For what?" asked Yukari, a little solemnly. She knew the ninja had nothing to apologize for, yet she also knew the way the girl's mind worked - she'd likely thought of something completely blameless that she now regretted.

The ninja's hand came back up, lightly touching the skin at the corner of her eye, clearly focused on those violet eyes now that she could see them. She breathed out a sigh of relief and a few muscle in her back relaxed. Her youkai had violet eyes. This was her youkai.

"For being stupid," she replied quietly. "I searched for you, knowing... And I was still sick and drained of my mana. I know I shouldn't have, but I couldn't not-- Just... yeah. Sorry."

"Some things are just too tempting, often because of the danger," murmured Yukari softly. "Perhaps it wasn't the smartest thing, if you though that I..."

And then a sudden thought struck her.

"Sheena," she said suddenly, a look of concern in her eyes. "Did you... feel all of that? Were you still connected to me? During all of that..." Though considering how her own link to the pact had been all night, the youkai already knew the answer.

"Yeah... I did." The words were very soft, very quiet, and Sheena looked down. "Everything. You were in pain and you were... afraid. I couldn't just-- Not when it--"

She took her hand away from Yukari and brought it to her neck, covering the thick bandages. "Even though I knew what had happened, I couldn't just leave you." A tear slipped from her eye. "I had to somehow let you know I was still there and not going anywhere. That there was something stronger than this damn ranch." It's why she didn't fight back at first. "You warned me, deep inside, and I didn't listen. I'm sorry."

Even if Sheena took her hand back, Yukari wasn't about to let her break that connection, especially when she reacted like that. Moving closer, the youkai wrapped her arms about the girl, pulling her close and holding her tight.

"Shh. You don't have to apologize," she told her. "Even if it didn't turn out so well, I appreciate the sentiment. I only regret your coming to me because it resulted in you getting hurt. I know I hurt you a lot more than anything that happened to me, that night or any other." Such as when their positions had been reversed. Plus part of her had enjoyed it, all of it, even the worst parts of it. Yukari would not deny that what had acted out last night was a part of who she was. It just wasn't the part of her she wanted to show.

Sheena couldn't help the tensing, the flinch, when Yukari embraced her. It wasn't voluntary, her instincts still wanting to trigger that fight of flight response that all humans had buried underneath their intelligence. It took her a moment to force herself to stop, that Yukari wasn't going to hurt her. She knew that the dark, evil youkai she'd seen last night, the one that bit her, was indeed the youkai she'd formed a pact with and more. It was just a bit different when forced to face that so clearly.

Her hand slipped up to find the necklace about Yukari's neck, taking strength from its presence. "Please don't try to eat me again."

Yukari felt that flinch and she didn't blame the girl. She would be foolish not to want to run, especially after seeing that side of the youkai. Duality was part of her nature and there was no light without darkness. It was just that she usually spent her time in the gray between rather than at either extreme.

"I won't," Yukari assured her. Though with an opening like that, she couldn't help but tease, chuckling lightly and whispering in her ear. "Unless you want me to, in certain ways..."

One moment, Sheena was relaxing with Yukari's affirmation that she wouldn't have to be worried about being food again. The next, her face was turning bright red with the innuendo. What was it about Yukari that could get her to go from one thing to the other without any effort.

"Damn youkai," Sheena growled out, hoping being surly would help hide her reaction. "This is not the time to bring up those kind of things." She swatted at the youkai. "Pervert."

Besides the fact that, close as they were, it was all too easy for Yukari to feel the ninja's face heat up like that, she knew the girl all too well for any act of grouchiness to hide her reaction from the youkai. Chuckling, she withstood the blow and instead responded with a soft nuzzling of the side of Sheena's face.

"Alright, alright," she conceded, deciding to leave off any comments about the girl being delicious - Sheena's sensibilities were too pure, too human to probably ever find that funny. "But I mean it. I'll do - or not do - whatever my summoner wishes of me." A giggles and a kiss to her cheek. "Well, provided it amuses me to do so."

Couldn't sound too obedient.

Commenting on the ninja's taste was a sure way to ruin any progress they'd made regarding this whole evil youkai thing as it would freak Sheena out. Even if it was meant as a joke. Good thing, Yukari knew her well enough to not make such a joke.

The nuzzle did not make it any easier for Sheena to stop blushing, but she resigned herself to the fact that Yukari probably already knew the reaction anyways. "You know... I'm not just your summoner, Yukari."

She finger-combed the youkai's hair. "This is all a mess." She was referring to the hair, but it could refer to other things.

"Oh? And what else are you, then?" asked the youkai curiously. She could easily list a number of things, but she was interested in seeing what the ninja would come up with.

"Mm. Well, I'm sure with enough time and patience we can straighten it all out," Yukari replied, similarly ambiguous though in her case it was on purpose.

"I'm your--" Slight pause. "--friend."

Sheena then got up off the bed and moved over to the desk, looking for a brush as she continued talking. Well, trying to talk.

"And we've-- and you've-- and I think I'm--" Good thing she was too far away for the youkai to see her blushing as she rooted around the desk.

There was a smirk at that pause, one that widened into a grin as the girl stuttered on. Her arms reluctantly let the girl go, hands trailing down her body until she moved out of range.

"Go on," Yukari encouraged her teasingly. She chuckled a little then spoke up when she realized what Sheena was looking for. "The brush is in the closet with the ribbons."

As well as the outfit from last night, but the youkai didn't know that.

"Oh thanks." The ninja moved to the closet and locate the brush on the shelf over the bar. "Well, you see... that all-- Umm. I-- well, I guess 'friends' isn't really the ri--"

Suddenly, the brush clattered to the ground and Sheena stared, eyes wide, at the contents of Yukari's closet. That dress. That dress. She was frozen and couldn't move, flashes from the previous night flickering through her mind.

Yukari continued to smirk and chuckle as she listened to the ninja stumble through her thoughts. The expression changed quickly enough when the girl suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" she said, quickly getting to her feet. She'd never heard of monsters in the patient rooms before, but there was always a first time for everything. Previous lethargy disappearing, the youkai quickly made her way over to the ninja's side, placing a hand on her shoulder. "What is- oh."

While normally big frilly dresses were not an object of fear and abject terror unless they were white and came with a veil, but she could see why this one might have that effect on the ninja.

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