Night 57: Main Hallway, 1-Center

[train_tracer]

[from here]From here, Vino could go several ways. The frequented Sun Room was the most obvious option, though he could also choose to either go into one of the side doors or continue onward down the hall. If he were an architect, Vino thought, where would he put a radio broadcast room in an insane asylum

Comments

[sixth_attack]

Sechs glowered at the petite patient, his head held low below his hunched shoulders as he tucked his machete away beneath his back belt.

Damnit! He had almost killed another fellow prisoner, and a young kid as well! That, and the stranger was giving him a lot of heck, which was understandable, but did he have to demand an apology too?! Sechs already said the "S" word that morning, and it was like pulling teeth for him! His frown twisted with chagrin at the thought of saying sorry a second time in a single day, even if it was the right thing to do...

"Taking a swipe at people was usually my way of saying 'hello' before I ended up here," Sechs replied grimly, "Can't blame me for not seeing ya crouched there and thinking you were a monster or something. Y'know how dangerous it is here! I already dealt with five monsters before..." he added with a growl. For all he knew, a creature could be just lurking nearby, ready to pounce...

The distress in the stranger's voice did bother the Replica with a hint of guilt and concern, and with a loud sigh that sent his front bangs fluttering, Sechs lowered his flashlight and reached out to help the kid get back to his feet.

"Fine, my bad there..." Sechs grumbled, "You okay? I don't think my blade got ya there, but y'know..."

[forgot_it_all]

That was his usual greeting? What was he, some kind of psychopath? Ritsuka felt his fluffed tail twitching behind him in annoyance and he stared up at the older man with a similar expression on his face. His reasoning was sound, but it sounded like he was bragging about how many things he'd fought here. Ritsuka didn't think the danger here warranted bragging about, least of all how many of Landel's tortured creatures one had faced. He was about to say something to that affect when the stranger actually apologized and held a hand out.

Ritsuka stared at it for a moment, unsure whether he really wanted to accept the help or not. But...It wasn't like he'd been aiming at Ritsuka and it was dark. He could understand the reaction, even if he didn't approve of it.

With an annoyed huff that came out more like a sigh, Ritsuka reached up and took the stranger's hand, pulling himself fully to his feet. His ears were still flattened against his head, but he could feel the fur on his tail relaxing back to its normal size again. "No... You didn't get me." Not that Ritsuka could feel. He might have shaved off a few hairs on the back of his neck, but otherwise he didn't feel any pain. "Where are you going in such a hurry anyway? It's not like the Institute's going anywhere."

[sixth_attack]

With the stranger unscathed and back on his feet, Sechs withdrew his hand and raised it over his shoulder, jerking a thumb towards the eastern end of the hallway. "I'm going to that medical wing to have a look at those concoctions that General guy talked about earlier," Sechs answered, tossing his head to the side to flip some spare hairs away from his eyes. "I wanna know what that stuff could do..."

Then Sechs' words trailed off, suddenly distracted by movement in the darkness. Something was moving behind that kid! A black, slithering form that poked its head from side to side behind the smaller patient's back. Without thinking and already on edge, Sechs swiftly reached for his machete. "Crap! There's something behind ya!" he warned, aiming his blade for the silently swaying creature, "Move before it gets your ass--!"

[forgot_it_all]

A common destination then, but with a dissimilar purpose. Ritsuka simply wanted medicine to help people. Whatever the General was planning, it wasn't like to be a good thing, especially if he was bribing people to do it. It seemed that the allure of the unknown, the promise of a weapon or better rank, was enough to prod people into action, however. The sad truth of the world, Ritsuka supposed. Everyone was on the march toward better things, even if those things didn't necessarily truly enrich their life.

Ritsuka sighed and was about to respond when the stranger trailed off and--

"There's something behind ya!"

"What?!"

Instinct and fear forced his body into action and he snapped his head around to look behind him while his feet pushed him away and toward the stranger. For the second time tonight his tail fuzzed and his ears snapped to attention, trying to pick out any sound that would tell him what was attacking. A rat? A spider? Something worse? "Where is it?!"

[sixth_attack]

As the stranger panicked, Sechs jerked into action, shifting to the side to get a clear look at the unknown creature he spotted.

The concern that the black thing could have just been another drug-induced illusion briefly passed Sechs' mind, but with a brief glimpse at it with his flashlight, he could tell that the creature wasn't smooth and inky like the tendrils that plagued Sechs' sight. What was worse, it had already planted itself right on the stranger's back, like some sort of leech! "It's on ya!" he cried, "Hold still and I'll--"

Yet the strike from his machete never came. A closer look at his target, and Sechs' attack faltered as it dawned on him that the wiggly parasite was fuzzy and a part of the kid! Sechs' sharp eyes widened and blinked almost comically at the sight. "Wait... You have a tail?" he asked, too flabbergasted to realize just how rude and stupid-sounding his question was.

It was then that Sechs noticed the ears perking up on the boy's head, alert and twitching with agitation; something he had not seen before when they were hidden amongst the stranger's dark hair.

Confused and a tad wary of just who he was dealing with, Sechs took a step back with a huff. Tilting his head to the side with a puzzled frown, Sechs lowered his weapon and eyed the strange boy before him. "Hey... No offense but, just what the heck are ya?"

[forgot_it_all]

On him?! But....he didn't feel anything. Ritsuka wanted to do as he was told, but if there was some creature on him, he had to get it off and make it run before the stab-happy stranger took it out. Maybe the guy wouldn't understand his reasoning, but Ritsuka couldn't let anything be hurt because of him. He felt guilty enough because of the Spell Battles and those didn't even leave physical scars. Quickly, he reached behind him, swiping his hands across his back in an effort to get the unseen and mysteriously weightless creature off him.

"Wait....You have a tail?"

....Seriously?

Seriously?

Ritsuka dropped his hands and felt his face flush pink with embarrassment. This had been over his tail?! Now he just felt stupid. Really, really stupid. His ears dropped low against his head again, his tail curling between his legs as he brought his hands up to cover his face. He did not want to show a complete stranger how flustered he'd just been over something so.... so stupid!

"Y-yes, I have a tail! And ears! If you must know, that's normal where I come from," he snapped, trying to sound angry and likely failing at it. Ritsuka took a deep breath and then lowered his hands, dropping them completely to his sides when he let out a heavy sigh. "I'm human. It's just that where I come from, people are born like this. Everyone is."

[sixth_attack]

"H-hey! Calm down, will ya?" Sechs exclaimed, stuffing the machete away once again. Now that he had a good look at the stranger, Sechs couldn't help but feel an inkling of familiarity, reminding him of Alita's short stature and cat-like demeanor; a pair of ears and a tail probably would have fitted well on her...

The thought of his Original caused the knot inside Sechs' chest to tighten briefly, and he banished the image of a feline Alita out of his mind. He had to postpone his search for her until he could be sure that she was still in the institute. Tonight, he had other business and the kid with a tail to deal with.

Even though the other youth was partially illuminated by Sechs' flashlight, it was obvious to the Replica that the kid was pretty ashamed, tucking his tail away and slumping over with admonishment. Sechs' frown twisted into an awkward pout. Great. Seeing the kid cower like that planted a grain of guilt inside Sechs, and he didn't like it one bit!

"And quit hiding your tail like that, sheesh!" he growled, his guilt flaring up into annoyance. Like he wasn't feeling stupid enough as it is! "I'm not gonna try and chop it off again, okay?"

Growing increasingly irritated, Sechs shuffled on the spot, feeling the urge to just leave the abashed kid behind and continue on with his business. Seeing such weakness annoyed the battle-obsessed Replica. Yet after all he had been through and learned from his allies since he arrived in the institute, another part of Sechs urged him to stick around... The kid was likely just another innocent victim of Landel's after all.

Biting down on his annoyance for now, Sechs took in a deep breath of his own and released it with a bearish sigh. "Look, I've just never seen anyone around here with tails before, okay?" Sechs said, his grouchy voice softening slightly. "Where I come from, most people are cyborg one way or another. So I know what you're talking about there..." he explained.

Speaking of tails and cyborgs, how was it that this kid could be in his original form? Obviously he couldn't have had his tail and those ears during the day...

"You get your tail and ears back during the night, right?" Sechs asked suddenly, wanting nothing more than to steer away from the embarrassment they both felt. "Man, what I'd do to be back to my original self like that! This place would've been toast a long time ago!"

[forgot_it_all]

"It's not like I'm trying to hide it!" Ritsuka said in a rush, quickly turning his head to the side. His fists balled at his side as he once again cursed how honest his tail and ears could be. When he was calm and collected, he could hide it better, but after what had just happened he was anything but. He couldn't exactly explain that it was a natural reaction either, not without...well, explaining a lot of things. That he simply didn't have time for.

"...." But it seemed the stranger was calming down, the weapon was put away and he was trying to explain himself. "I'm the only one anymore," he said, breathing out a sigh himself. Leon, if the board was to be believed, had disappeared and with Soubi and Kio gone, it meant that Ritsuka was the last one he knew of here who had ever possessed tails and ears. "But yeah, I get them back at night. I don't know why or...I'd help you get your original self back." Likely a cyborg.

...Although.

"...But not if you were just going to destroy this place." There were too many innocent people in here to do that. And even if Ritsuka hated it, he couldn't just...let someone blow it up or whatever else without thinking of that. He wanted to believe that this stranger wouldn't do such careless things, but he'd been jumpy so far tonight and Ritsuka couldn't be sure. "Anyway, my name's Ritsuka. Aoyagi Ritsuka. What's your name?"

[sixth_attack]

Glowering down at the shorter youth, Sechs would have felt jealous of the stranger's ability to return to his original self at night, but it was apparent to him that such a rare privilege had its limitations; Landel would not have allowed anyone to have any or enough powers to fight back against his institution, Sechs knew that for sure from some of the people he knew, like Kibitoshin's repressed Ki energy. It was likely that all the youth had from his original form was enhanced hearing and better balance with his tail, not a whole lot to brag about.

"Only one, huh?" Sechs mumbled, crossing his arms and allowing his torch to lower its light towards the ground. By the sounds of it, the stranger had likely lost a fellow patient he could relate to, maybe another kid with cat ears and a tail? The Replica's frown softened slightly, his face darkened by the shadow cast by his lowered flashlight. He knew full well what it was like to lose someone who had a similar background...

Yet Sechs' moment of gloomy empathy with the stranger was brief. "Oh c'mon!" Sechs retorted with an indignant pout. "Just 'cause I'd be no more than happy to destroy this damn place doesn't mean I'll kill all the innocents trapped here!" he growled. In the past before Sechs spent time with Zazie and saved Misha in the Z.O.T.T, he cared little for any casualties in his actions. But ever since he had ended up in the institute, things just weren't that simple anymore... "I may be a warrior but I got some standards! Sheesh!"

The Replica gave the cat boy a sidelong glance. Great, yet another long name to remember...

"Sechs," the former android simply answered, "And how 'bout I call ya Ritsu? I don't go by all the formal stuff in names, you see," he added gruffly.

"Anyways... You going to that medical wing for the military's concoctions too or something?" he asked, raising his flashlight as he turned to face the east end of the hallway, "Either way, I'm heading over there now and I'm not gonna slow down for anymore chit-chat!"

[forgot_it_all]

Ritsuka jumped slightly at the stranger's outburst. How did he figure out what Ritsuka'd been thinking?! Well...he supposed it was a natural jump from his insinuation to the stranger's conclusion, but it did put some things in perspective. The guy seemed violent and ready to blow this place up without a care, but he actually thought things through. That actually...raised Ritsuka's opinion of him. Maybe he wasn't just the usual warrior stereotype like he seemed to be with the weapons and the gruff attitude.

"Sorry, jeez..." Ritsuka looked away and felt his ears fall back. He felt bad about assuming things, but he kept doing it. It was hard not to, really. Even if he had so little experience to draw on, he had his ideas set on certain things, one of them being violence.

At least now he had a name for the guy. Sechs. Interesting. That was...a number, wasn't it? A number in a German if he remembered his reading correctly. Well, maybe his parents had an affinity for the language. Ritsuka himself had an odd name, too, so he couldn't say much on it. "And it's Ritsuka. Not Ritsu."

Ritsu reminded him of that guy...The one in the video game. "I was going that way, too. But not for the drugs." Well, not those drugs. Leaning down, Ritsuka picked up his backpack and slung it over one shoulder. Better to walk while talking since they were heading in the same direction anyway.

[to here]