Night Shift 24: M11-M20 Hallway

[screwthegods]

((OOC: Starting off in M13, moving into the hall.))Homura closed his eyes as that familiar voice filled the air, let out a slow breath to ease into the proper mindset for what was about to happen. Short this time, which was good, as he didn't have any desire to listen to the head doctor prattle on endlessly. No, Homura was eager to get things

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[broken_exorcist]

Cat things? Allen frowned. He had a hard time believing there were things even Akuma were afraid of. Or shinigami. Whatever they were. They were the monsters after-all. He'd been silly enough to indulge the notion that vampires might exist when they were on the Crowley mission, but even then, it'd been nothing but fallacy. The only real monsters were Akuma(the Noahs as well, but they were actually human, not animated dolls). All of that aside, Allen did not think it was possible for anyone to be more monstrous than his master, Marion Cross. He still had nightmares sometimes...

And Mustang was a Colonel? It did explain a few things. A man of rank in the military was a little more likely to have a cool head about things. Think them through. Which would mean, and he hated to admit it, that there was possibly some truth to all this.

"I'm not afraid," he said, a bit defensively. In fact, if there was a battle, it would probably be more dangerous for Rukia than it would for him. "In fact," he said with some hesitation, "if there is a confrontation, it would be wise to keep yourself far from me. My weapon is specifically suited for dealing with Akuma."

"And... And while I'm doing what I can to... to trust you," he continued with some difficulty, his cursed eye still glowing red in the dim hallway, "I can't promise I will have the control to keep myself from... hurting you." The last was said as he cast his eyes to the floor. Was it shame at his lack of control, or regret at the thought of hurting her? He wasn't sure himself.

[notmyfather]

What in the name of the ancestors and progenitors had Renji gotten him into?

Valyn had been more or less rather bland about his company up until the man - what had his name been? Had Valyn even heard it? - started talking about hurting people. Whatever the reasons - madness or some other condition - it was remarkably careless to send him out on any sort of mission if the man couldn't control himself! Even Valyn knew that much!

He was growing more and more pleased he'd made that deal with Adelheid.

He cleared his throat, feeling very much uniformed and like dead weight once more. "Is there something I should know before we proceed any further?" he asked, his voice almost droll and one eyebrow arched.

[haiiro_no_chou]

Rukia had to wonder why - and how - Allen's eye had been glowing, but decided to address more pressing concerns for the moment. "Like I said, Allen, I'm not one of these 'Akuma', so it shouldn't be a problem. What, exactly, is the nature of your weapon, and why would you be unable to control it?"

Rukia glanced at Valyn, who seemed more irritated than before. Something about him reminded her of Byakuya, but she couldn't say exactly what...

[broken_exorcist]

Allen looked worriedly to Valyn, feeling like he'd just been called to report to Komui's office. The boy looked close to hid age. It was Valyn, right? He shook his head and stuttered to a start, "N-no, I mean, um, you wouldn't be in any danger, it's just that Miss Rukia, er, Rukia I mean... She's an... but well, she's not... she..."

He paused for a few seconds to collect himself before he started trying to explain a concept he himself was already having enough trouble with.

"I can um... see Akuma. And in my world it's something... really bad. But Rukia, she and the others like her here say they're not. But I really can't help what I see..." He held out his left hand. The skin was a vibrant red and looked to be somewhat veiny. The nurses kept telling him it was a horrible burn wound, but he knew better. "My weapon, it's called Innocence." He turned his palm over to show the silver cross that was embedded in the back of his hand. "For most exorcists, their Innocence is an... item. Like a sword or a mallet or any number of things. But some accomodators, their Innocence is a part of their body. The Innocence... it wants to purify the Akuma... more than anything. It has... been difficult to control on a couple occasions in the past."

He withdrew his arm, covering it by crossing it over with his right. "Even now it wishes for me to pursue Rukia, because of what she is. No..." he shook his head, "because of what I see her as."

"But..." he glanced up at Valyn. "But you're human, so there's no danger."

[notmyfather]

Valyn's expression didn't change. There was no flicker of emotion across his face, but his shoulders drew back some and he seemed to draw himself up. Never in his life had he ever been mistaken for human - not even here. The time he was masquerading as a halfblood didn't count - he had been wearing an illusion at the time. And despite his loyalties and his aversion to elven society, he had been raised and trained as his father's heir. His father, who was - had been? - head of the High Council, Lord of the House Hernalth and head of the most powerful clan in society. Despite Valyn's oft bemoaning of his bloodlines, they were his bloodlines, and he did suffer from elvish pride.

"Actually," he said, his voice without emotion as well, "I'm not human. I'm elven." As for the rest....

"Forgive me if I'm speaking out of turn, but if that's the case, why on earth are you with Rukia? Logic would assume that it would be an unwise move to pair you with someone you're compelled to attack."

He couldn't honestly imagine who had thought it was a good idea to put the man with Rukia - who was apparently like Renji, not that Valyn completely understood that, either.

Despite his earlier comments on having no pressing desire to escape, he was beginning to miss home. At least there he understood things.

[haiiro_no_chou]

Rukia listened to Allen, leaning forward a little to get a better look at his strange hand. When he was finished she asked, "How well can you control it? If we were to be attacked now, would you lose control completely?"

Yes, Valyn definitely reminded her of her brother. She turned to him again, choosing to ignore the elf comment, whatever that was supposed to mean, and tried to explain. "Valyn, it was my choice to invite Allen here tonight. He just arrived here and was going to be on his own tonight. I was unaware of the full... scope of this issue, but I'm sure we can figure something out." She smiled at him, just a little.

[broken_exorcist]

Elven? That was just silly. The only elves he'd ever heard of made shoes for people or worked in Santa's shop and neither were real. He did have pointed ears though, Allen noticed a bit late. But so did Aleister back home. And he'd never said he was an elf. Some people thought he was a vampire, sure, but an elf? Valyn seemed much too big to be an elf too, but... Allen was almost sure he'd upset the man.

"Ah, I'm... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to um-" And then the rest of Valyn's words came crashing down with their undeniable logic. Why was he here with Rukia? Was he so desperate for a friend here that he'd go against what his eye showed him? They were Akuma, weren't they?

He hardly even saw Rukia's smile as he took a couple of steps back, "No, no he's right." Allen shook his head, leaving Rukia's questions aside. Ravi he could expect a measure of leniency from, but if Kanda or the others saw him like this... surely they'd have said the same thing. "Perhaps it would be best if I took my leave. I'm... I'm terribly sorry to have wasted your time."

[notmyfather]

"It's rather pointless to go running off now," Valyn pointed out, feeling somewhat guilty, as he'd obviously upset the other man. Rukia hadn't known, so he could at least understand that. It was just a simple mistake, not some sort of reckless endangerment.

"It is dangerous at night, and you shouldn't go off by yourself. If something happens, I suppose we'll just deal with it then." And maybe nothing would happen. There was always that slim chance - though Valyn knew he may as well hope there was a chance the walls would come crashing down for no good reason whatsoever.

[haiiro_no_chou]

Rukia wasn't sure what had suddenly upset Allen so much - perhaps he was feeling like he wouldn't be of any help? - but she wasn't about to let the boy run off by himself. Reaching out, she rested her hand on his shoulder. "You haven't wasted anyone's time," she said, the tiniest of smiles on her lips. "This place makes no sense most of the time, and we're all stuck here. If we don't learn to work together, despite the fact that we're from different places, and even times, what hope do we have of escape?" Rukia had no intention of escaping until this place was a heap of rubble, the Head Doctor buried beneath it, but she didn't feel the need to go into that just then.

Rukia grinned at Valyn, glad for his support. "Improvisation is often the key victory; we'll be fine." She offered that reassurance for both the boys, as well as herself.

[broken_exorcist]

They must think him terribly weak to not be able to handle himself in front of a few so-called monsters. He might not be the strongest, but he'd trained hard to get where he was.

He wasn't sure what to make of the mixed messages Valyn was sending him. Part of him wanted to leave; he'd be fine afterall, but the other part wanted to stay, even if only out of spite.

"I'll stay in control," Allen said firmly. "I just thought it important that Rukia know that the possibility exists."

He was surprised by Rukia's touch, not by the gesture itself, but by the warmth of her hand. He could feel it easily under the thin fabric of his borrowed Landel's clothing. Akuma weren't supposed to be warm. Had the tall red-head been the same? Had he just been to dumbstruck to notice? His eyes widened and he couldn't say anything for a few moments. How was that possible? The shock wore off quickly enough though and he simply nodded his gratitude to the young woman.

[notmyfather]

And that was that. It was settled, for better or for worse. Valyn glanced up and down the hallway, wondering when they were going to get moving. He specifically hadn't asked Raine to accompany him tonight because Renji had given him something to do. But when it amounted to just standing around in a corridor dealing with friction between the group....

Valyn knew he was in a mood, and he knew he had no right to be, but he couldn't help it. He felt like he as right back in the woods, going in circles and dealing with people who didn't exactly always get along.

"How long before we meet with Mustang?" he asked, folding his arms and leaning against the wall.

[muted_flame]

[ From here. ]

It wasn't much longer at all. Roy tried to keep his posture straightened as he exited M12, but he could only hold it for so long before he found himself leaning his back against the nearest wall.

There were three people gathered in front of the room, and it was obvious they had been waiting for him. He only recognized one - the boy who had wanted to kill Renji at lunch? What was he doing here? Considering Renji and Hitsugaya must have arranged his support, he didn't see how the boy, Allen, could have been included.

Wiping any remnants of sweat from his face, he regarded the tallest of the group, considering him the leader without really thinking about it. "I assume you're here for me. We're going to the Entry Room." He was ready to leave without further ado, but he probably shouldn't be the one actually taking the lead, seeing how he couldn't move very quickly at the moment. He would wait for someone else to volunteer, then.

[haiiro_no_chou]

"Thank you, Allen," she said, removing her hand from his shoulder. Why had he reacted so strangely to her touch? Maybe he was just one of those people who needed a lot of personal space.

Rukia was about to answer Valyn's question with an "I don't know" when the door to M12 opened, and a couple men came out. They didn't so much as acknowledge Rukia and the two boys, and she was about to call after them when another man came out. Rukia recognized him from this morning, when Allen had attacked Renji. She was pretty positive he was Colonel Mustang.

When he addressed Valyn, Rukia fumed internally. This being treated like a child stuff was getting old. An she didn't look that young! Before Valyn could answer, she turned to the dark-haired man. "Assuming you are Colonel Mustang, then yes. I am Kuchiki Rukia, this is Valyn, and Allen Walker," she said, gesturing to them in turn. She felt a little strange, introducing Valyn without a family name, but there was no helping it. "We have been informed of the situation and are ready to accompany you."

[broken_exorcist]

Allen still wasn't sure what to make of Valyn, but he did have a point. The sooner they could get moving, the better. Rukia's touch had unnerved him, if only a little. He would shake it off and he would do his job as he always did, he told himself.

Mustang soon arrived and addressed them and Allen only nodded his head slightly at Rukia's introduction. He offered a smile, if a weak one. The sooner they got moving, the better.

[notmyfather]

Valyn didn't miss that this Colonel Mustang addressed him as though he were someone of importance. And it certainly appealed to his vanity and breeding. But when Rukia cut him off, he internally fumed. Mustang had spoken to him! He was perfectly capable of responding to the question.

Drawing himself up once more, he nodded to Mustang - not quite a bow, but certainly an admission of respect.

"As Rukia already said, you assume correctly," Valyn said, refusing to simply fade into the background yet again. His hand tightened on the large knife in his hand, reminding himself that he was warmed and hadn't used hardly any of his magical resources yet. He was useful, and he'd prove it. One way or another.

"Please, lead the way."

[muted_flame]

It seemed like this would work out just fine. All three seemed to be more intent on getting down to business rather than asking pointless questions or fussing over him. Roy would rather his weakened state was not pointed out time after time, and they seemed to realize that.

Though he was curious to find out how Allen had ended up involved, if they weren't going to provide the information then he wasn't going to ask. They wanted him to lead, and he was willing to do so as long as they didn't point out that he was moving slower than usual and using the wall for support from time to time.

So he started down the hall... slowly.