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damned_institute2007-04-21 11:04 am
be-my-tool.livejournal.com) wrote in damned_institute2007-04-21 11:04 am
Nightshift 23 -- Hallway Outside Sun Room/Entry Room
[from here]
Zabuza left the M-Block and continued down the wide open hallway towards the other end of the hospital. This was the path they took every morning to get to breakfast so it was familiar enough for him to do in the dark. It was whatever lie further down that was a mystery. Zabuza couldn't help but like it that way.
He was leading Haku into the unknown.
Zabuza left the M-Block and continued down the wide open hallway towards the other end of the hospital. This was the path they took every morning to get to breakfast so it was familiar enough for him to do in the dark. It was whatever lie further down that was a mystery. Zabuza couldn't help but like it that way.
He was leading Haku into the unknown.
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But this was something new. Besides, River hardly seemed threatening, especially now.
He reached out to touch her shoulder, tentatively. Genuine empathy was not a strong point, although Kyouya had faking compassion and sincerity down to an art. More than once had he had to comfort girls in the host club's run. "River-kun? Are you all right?"
Still, at least some of his concern for the girl was real. He suddenly wondered how Haruhi was dealing, if she was even here.
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she told herself thatat least some of what River said was wrong... Raine wasn't faking calm, she was calm, as much as she ever was in the face of danger. Even if right now she was barely holding onto it.She gave the girl a strange look for a moment, trying to decide if she should say anything or not, but decided she would regret it if she did. River looked almost as troubled now as Hisoka had that morning; maybe Landels really did have a few mental patients.
Raine was also not entirely sure of what she would end up saying if she let herself reply.
Instead, she told Homura, "I've at least been through the Sun Room, cafeteria, and the kitchen during Nightshift; Reinforce and I were there just last night, so we know the layout reasonably well." Raine had still been fairly distraught at the time, but she'd still managed to get a look around, and she thought she remembered it all well enough.
None of them could afford to be distracted right now, so she forced her mind back to the present moment as much as she could. At least River's words had likely been too cryptic for Reinforce especially to learn anything new.
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Whose lives was obvious. Raine had worried about how her friends would do without her when they'd talked over dinner. Homura had called himself a 'heresy' on the message board. Anyone could know that, but even Reinforce hadn't known that one of these companions of Raine's was her brother. Both had visibly reacted to what the newcomer had said. Before coming here Reinforce would have attributed it to a little luck in guessing specifics on top of the usual fortune-teller's tricks, but at Landel's, and after meeting Schuldig, it was all too easy for her to accept that the girl was a telepath.
Easy to accept, and easy to mistrust. Reinforce's eyes narrowed, and she moved closer to Raine, as though she could interpose mental as well as physical bulk. For all she knew she could- after all, if telepathic abilities had no regard for distance there would be no discerning between near and distant minds, would there? And if minds had anything like size and opacity perceived telepathically hers likely was well beyond human extremes in both. Her suspicion quickly flagged in the face of River's obvious distress at the use of her abilities, but Raine had been guarded in speaking about her origins when they'd talked, and Reinforce would protect her privacy as well as her life if she could.
That protective intent didn't stop her from being curious, though. River's odd phrasings, spoken with little in the way of context, had the quality of a riddle. Once (still?) a broken being herself, the part about Raine being not whole especially intrigued her...
As did the part at the end. The many magics present in this place suggested that on some level their native realities existed concurrently, and by definition a 'different' reality contradicted any other, but whether there was a deeper insight into the nature of Landel's hidden in those words Reinforce couldn't tell.
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It was why she'd dealt with the devil. Why she had to go through with it. No one wanted her like this. She didn't want herself like this, a broken doll with severed strings. A puppet for a puppeteer. It was still better than this.
Homura seemed more intrigued than offended, and Kyouya even attempted some form of semi-sincere comfort. It was appreciated, and it was half-expected. Still, it would have to be said. But could you apologize to the farmer for killing his cows? The cows were always guiltless, would an apology be accepted for a reflexive slaughter of trust?
River shook her head, hanging it as she kept her feet trotting along. Two by two. Odd one out.
"Can't help it. I can't. I'm..." The girl bit her lip, steadying her voice as much as was possible. "I'm sorry. They cut it out. I can't. It's not mine. I have no right, but they're always there. At least thirty at once."
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Once the chosen sword of himself, Homura had little tolerance for useless things. Still, River too was young, and obviously upset by her own words. She could be inexperienced as well. Her age did seem to be betrayed by her apology, as Homura didn't understand what drove her to apologize.
River hadn't been the one who killed Rinrei, after all. And while he might not advertise his past, he wasn't ashamed of it either.
"If you can move on, then we move on with you. But if you cannot control your emotions or your abilities enough to remain focused, I will leave you here." His words were directed both at Kyouya and at River; there was only so much risk he would take, despite his fondness for one, and the potential of the other. "Our situation is perilous enough without unnecessary liabilities, and everyone here has a purpose. Now let's continue."
He kept his stare on the two young ones just long enough to let his words sink in, then nodded to Raine before moving forward. "Good. What sort of enemies did you encounter?"
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"Ahh well," Kyouya sighed, in the manner of himself discovering that the third music room was out of a certain tea brand, rather than being stuck with alien people in an even more alien environment. How the hell had his silly, sheltered friends coped until now?
He half-listened to whatever would be Raine's reply as he leaned in closer to River. The girl seemed to be more composed now, but it couldn't hurt to offer reassurance. "Come now," he said, putting some false cheer in his tone, "you'll be fine with us."
Kyouya moved his hand to lightly touch River's back as if she were a skittish animal, and returned to watching their surroundings for threats.
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