Night 57: Disciplinary Therapy Corridor
[from here]Niikura edged around the corner into the corridor proper, heart suddenly beating faster than ever. And yet there was no one. The hall was a little eerie in that way...but honestly, what had he been expecting to see? Writhing bodies? A mini boss? In some ways, just seeing nothing was worse, because now he'd hit a dead end
( Read more... )
But of course now he couldn't do that. Sesshoumaru was his ally and also far more powerful than him; Niikura had the combined brainpower of hundreds of Shou's within him, but he was still an otherwise ordinary human. That wasn't to say that being called a fool didn't irk him just a little bit, though.
"Aye, that's what I figured. No harm in checkin', though," he said, turning away and walking further down the hall in a slow, measured pace. Now that they were here, maybe the only thing they could do was wait until the experiment was over. Playing the waiting game was his least favorite thing to do, but that was their only option, other than leave.
His hand flexed restlessly. He needed something to distract, something to engage all the nervous energy he had. This was the time to be a loud conversationalist, except Sesshoumaru was hardly likely to reciprocate. Well. He had always been rather good at talking to himself.
"Say." Niikura pivoted gracefully on his heel to face his ally for the night. "We've come all this way, and we don't even know each other's names- shame, ain't it? Anyway, I'm Niikura." He raised a hand. "For future reference."
Reply
These incidents tended to include any time when Sesshoumaru was even marginally injured - most of the time, he was effectively invincible. And, though Niikura had warned him of his recent change in fortune, Sesshoumaru did not quite believe him yet. He had experienced his own weakening - his muscles were still tight with the effort they had just been forced to exert, over a job which should have been as simple as breathing in and out. That casual power, his command over his senses, the potency of his poison, they were all diminished drastically. But despite this, Sesshoumaru didn't quite believe yet. After all, the experience of millena was behind his estimation of what he could do; a complete change of heart and ways of thinking would take far longer than the meager amount of time he'd been in this place. And, regardless, his relative power at the moment could not touch his station, though he had to hold himself motionless at the thought. Weak as he was now, should he encounter a real enemy he could theoretically be defeated (though even now he did not quite believe it). Defeat would mean the loss of his station and his lands, his family's house and his family's honor.
Irrelevant. Such thoughts did nothing for his situation, after all, and it wasn't as though he'd be here long enough to lose his ancestral lands. And he was Sesshoumaru, and strong. Momentarily he would rectify the situation as it was and take back all that was his. His power, his place, his proper clothing and weapons. His nails scraped lightly across his skin as he flexed his hand, gently, and blinked.
He wished there was something here for him to kill, if only as a diversion. Unfortunately the movements of his companion appeared to point to blocked ambition and frustrations, not ones that were about to be fulfilled. He was speaking again, and Sesshoumaru looked at him. His expression, as usual, hovered somewhere between calm and bored. There was a reason for it; control implied that you had something to hide, this implied that you simply couldn't be bothered to care. One provided a tactical advantage. It was probably unnecessary in this place, but old habits.
"Sesshoumaru." He watched, with slightly more interest than he was showing.
Reply
He was about to go suggest they help the guy out, if only to take his mind off of things for a while, but it looked like the two other men who had followed them into the hall had already gotten to him, so there went that idea.
"...damn it. Not our man." He turned back toward Sesshoumaru with a sigh. "Guess we'll have to just--" And once again, he was completely unable to finish his original sentence as, just beyond Sesshoumaru's shoulder, he saw a sheep crash into the wall. On instinct, he rubbed his eyes: a sheep? Seriously?
"What. The hell. Ya see that too?" Niikura pointed a shaking finger at the sheep in question. "'m not just makin' things up in my mind to pass the time, am I? There's really a sheep in the hallway--oh, and him too." He made a face as Badd followed the sheep in- or rather, crashed his way in. The teen stifled a chuckle; he had to remember this little episode for the next time they met.
Reply
And then there was a sheep.
Sesshoumaru almost looked startled for a second there, which of course was normally as close as he got. He turned to look at them, seeming bored again after a few seconds - it was a good defense, not controlled, because control implied that you had something to hide, while boredom was simply... weariness with those things and people you were forced to associate with.
"Hn," Sesshoumaru said. "I take it this is not typical?"
Reply
...or maybe the sheep was really a killer sheep. Well, it certainly seemed to be doing a good job trying to kill itself if that was the case. He could probably discount it as a threat. Badd hadn't stabbed it, after all, so that had to mean something. In fact, the older man seemed to be talking to it, which was...well, it wasn't much better.
"No," the teen replied dully. "No, it isn't. I mean, it's benign, for one thing. And tryin' to do itself in instead of us. I dunno...maybe it's a new kinda monster that uses reverse psychology? Ya would have to be really stupid to fall for that, though."
Reply
"Are you suggesting that those in charge of this place send out killer sheep in an attempt to subdue one such as I?" Especially one so stupid as this one appeared to be - though, perhaps Niikura's surprise over its behavior meant that not all of them were so.
Reply
A second later--
"--actually, nah, that'd be hilarious. No killer sheep here as far as I know!" Niikura said happily as he switched between watching The Badd and Sheep Show and the doors for any sign of Mike. "I'm just surprised 'cause usually anything unusual 'round here wants to kill ya, but that's just..." He paused, struggling to find the right word.
"...that's just sad."
Reply
Perhaps he would be as well, he tried to think - he was weaker here, and it was best not to always judge by appearances. But he really couldn't bring himself to believe that. Honestly.
Reply
Leave a comment