Nightshift 26; Room M35

[the_clown_king]

Tamaki propped his door open, turned on his flashlight for light, and sat himself down on his bed with the medical kit. He felt confident, and it felt good. He was doing something. And it was something good and important and needed

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[per_ardua]

Raine jumped to her feet and grabbed the broom she still used as a weapon--she'd feel a lot better when she had a proper staff again. Tamaki's offer to lend his sword was nice, but just having watched Lloyd, Kratos, and Zelos didn't mean Raine knew how to use one. "Understood." She only glanced at Reinforce; they were a team, of course they'd go together.

"We'll get him back here as soon as we can," she promised, turning back to Kyon for a moment. Knowing what they were facing would be nice, but there wasn't time for that--and wouldn't do them much good, besides. Depending on how hurt the boy's friend was, they might just grab him and run.

It looked like Tamaki had at least a vague idea what to do in this situation, so she didn't bother giving him any instructions. The other bed was clear, and by the time they returned the kids left here should have laid out everything she'd need. She did have one spell left for the night, but with two people hurt already she was grateful for what Tamaki had gotten.

Looking back at Reinforce, she said, "Let's go."

[1imited_edition]

Reinforce, not nearly as picky as Raine about weapons, grabbed the sword and fished her batteries out of her pocket with her other hand. She would have preferred the weapon she'd designed... but had it been finished on time, she would have spent the night picking it up. It was good fortune to be here instead, where she was needed.

"We'll take care of it." She nodded to the room in general and left, heading up the hall.

[[Heading to the M35-40 Hall.]]

[totallytheseme]

"As would I!" Hikaru laughed and squeezed Kaoru's arm. "It would be an affront to his training as a Host if he got it any other way, after all."

Turning to Soubi, he frowned and started to talk before Tamaki could. Ritsuka might've been Tamaki's roommate, but he was Hikaru's friend. "'Loyal' to Ritsuka? And...what? Describe him?" Hikaru blinked. "Is there any other Ritsuka here? ...Whatever. He's...uh...about this tall, and he has dark hair, and--"

The arrival of a bloodied, dark haired boy stopped all conversation cold. Oh shit. Not this again. Paling, Hikaru stopped and stared, hand seeking his twin's. He had to do this. Tamaki was being brave. He had to be brave too.

(This was so fucking retarded! Why was he acting like a stupid kid?!)

Time to take charge.

"Kaoru," he said, voice shaking, "I'll take one arm, you take the other. We can support his weight that way. Tamaki, you make sure we don't drop him."

[hangenki]

Kaoru stared at the bloody heap on the floor. At first he wondered what the hell he should be doing. All these voices from TV came back to him. Pressure on wounds and heart rates and whatever else. Then he even began to wonder what he could get his brother to do, Hikaru needed this for his self esteem.

He smiled and nodded to his brother's orders, getting down beside the boy, ready to lift him.

[beloved_less]

Soubi looked at the twin that had spoken. Technically that had sounded like Ritsuka and the boy seemed to think there was only one here. Soubi was certain it was his Master, but what bothered him was this gap in time. And all these people assuming they meant more to Ritsuka than Soubi was. Insolent fools.

He turned to look at the bleeding boy in the doorway who had come to distract them. Smiling to Tamaki as the other two ran off to attend to the friend, he said "It looks like you're stuck with me."

For a first aid class, they didn't seem entirely prepared, so he supposed it was useful for him to hang around.

He looked at the girl on the floor and nodded his head towards the other side of the room, a silent order for her to move.

"Put him on the bed," he told the twins, rolling his sleeves off. "What happened to you? Do we have any clean water? Is there a reason nobody is fetching a nurse?"

[bored_narrator]

Kyon was starting to get more than a little woozy now. He couldn't remember how much time had passed between him getting clawed in the back by the large cat-beast, and him running to the room, but he supposed it was enough to lose more blood than deemed healthy.

Trying to focus now, he heard Tamaki's voice calling out commands. Where they going to help Kon? He hoped they were, he couldn't stand the thought of a friend being killed just because he'd failed at being anything other than useless. When Tamaki spoke to him, he said, "M' fine. I'm too young to die." It was some kind of morbid joke, though really, that's how Kyon thought. For some reason death wasn't scarring him right now.

As the two redheads came over to him, he gladly let them help him over to the bed. He had to think for a moment, wondering if he had started to see double, but he realized that they were twins.

As he got to the bed, he carefully lowered himself down on his stomach, so that they could examine his back, which had four large claw marks visible from the ripped shirt. "Stupid cat-monster attacked us while we were trying to get here." He paused now, worry for Kon came back, got what a coward Kyon was. "Snuck up behind us, I guess it realized I was the weaker prey and jumed me first."

[the_clown_king]

"Ypu'll be fine, Kyon," Tamaki said again, as they moved him to the bed. Oh dear. He could see the wounds partially through the shirt and they looked awful....

Tamaki glanced up at the creepy older man and narrowed his eyes.

"A nurse? The only nurses out at night are the ones who wish to feast on our flesh! We are the medical aid at night. Now if you'll please excuse us and let us do our job - this may be Ritsuka-kun and mine's room by day, but by night it is a clinic!"

He tried to be as commanding as he knew how. He was Suou Tamaki! He was a leader! And people were going to listen to him!

"Let's get his shirt off and get the wound cleaned," he said, a bit more calmly. He had to prepare himself to actually see the injury without the shield of the shirt. "Kyon-kun, why don't you tell us about your friend Kon? Who's going to be fine, the fair maidens went to rescue him." It was best to keep the patient occupied. Tamaki was recalling all he could from television and manga and his own brief experiences. "Sheska-chan, this will probably hurt... could you please hold Kyon's hand?" He knew he always liked someone holding his hand when doctors were doing unpleasant things to him. "Hikaru, Kaoru? Could you help me with his shirt?"

His heart was still pounding as though it would burst and his hands were shaking but... he thought he could do this.

[verbatim_worm]

Sheska nodded. This was definitely something she was qualified to do. She took the boy's hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. She liked hands. They were the best part of people. Other than maybe their eyes. Her thumb began to stroke his hand to soothe him. It was automatic to her after long hours sitting beside her mother's bed.

[totallytheseme]

"Okay, Kaoru," Hikaru said softly. "On three. One...two...three." With a grunt, he lifted Kyon, trusting his twin to take the other arm, and led him toward the bed. Okay, so that was one thing taken care of.

"A nurse?" The Host snorted derisively, brushing his bangs out of his face. "Right, because we're all suicidal emo kids. Nurses don't exactly help at night. They...kind of try to kill us all." Or at least that was what he had heard. He hadn't graduated beyond oversized zombie housepets, himself. "As for water, I have no idea. There's a bathroom down the hall, but I don't know how clean it is."

When Tamaki asked for the twins' help, Hikaru saluted jauntily, trusting that Kaoru would do the same. "Yes, doctor!" He'd gotten that from a television drama about doctors. It probably wasn't too accurate...but...

[hangenki]

Kaoru helped Hikaru, wondering how on earth he was able to get his body to obey him. It felt so small and weak and shaky. And cold. His blood felt as though it had literally run cold. But he was glad for whatever it was that made him able to move.

"If you want water, go get some. We're not stopping you," he told hentai-san.

He couldn't help but smile as he saluted Tamaki. The situation may be serious, but that was all the more reason to find a way to smile.

[beloved_less]

"I see," he said, in regards to the nurses, "good to know."

He watched the boys and smiled.
"If your supplies are limited, it would be an idea to clean the blood up with a damp cloth. But... I'm sure you boys can handle this."

He gave them another smiled and turned away. The boy's life was of no concern to Soubi. it would be a shame for him to die, but there was little he could do. Especially around those hostile young things. He knelt down in front of Ritsuka's bed and stared at it, sadly. He reached out slowly and stroked the pillow. Had Ritsuka's head been resting there recently? Did it still smell like him...? Soubi lifted it, trying to subtly breath in any lasting scents of his master, so he could see underneath. Ritsuka must have left some sign he was hear. Intentionally or not.

[bored_narrator]

Kyon felt someone take his hand and he lifted his gaze to see Sheska-san. There was a small smile from him before he set his head back down on the pillow and listened to what Tamaki was saying to him. Talk? He could do that.

"I met Kon earlier today, he was newer here than I was. We talked for a little bit and I told him that if he wanted to come with me here during the Night Shift, then that way he wouldn't have been caught out alone." He paused and gave Sheska-san's hand a small squeeze, suddenly frustrated with himself. "I was trying to help him, and instead I wound up being the helpless one. Hilarious, huh?"

Kyon stopped there, not sure what else say other than, "Oh, he can kick really good. He punted that cat at least 15 yards down the hall." If Kon was still alive, then he'd have to ask how he did that ...provided Kyon didn't kill over from the blood loss, first.

[per_ardua]

[[From here.]]

Raine hadn't forgotten how bad Kyon looked, and that had been at a cursatory glance; when she finally dashed back into M35 she got a better one--and was even less happy. "Let me," she told the kids. "I can't heal him all the way, but I should at least stop the bleeding." Luckily, magically healed wounds seemed to clean themselves. Kyon looked bad, but between her magic and what Tamaki had found, he'd be all right.

She considered putting more magic than standard into the spell, but doing so here had already knocked her nearly unconsious once already, and fainting or nearly so in front of Tamaki would likely be at least as bad as in front of Zelos. He wouldn't touch her (she was reasonably certain--the amount of witnesses helped), but she could just imagine the fuss. Besides that, she wasn't sure if pushing herself past her limits even did any good.

She still had to consciously refrain from putting too much magic into the spell--it was hard having to leave people so badly injured--and so when she finished it, she had to wipe sweat off her forehead. Between how she felt, running to save Kon and then coming back, and the spell, she was worn out. "All right," she said. "That's all I can do magically, but I can finish up the bandaging." After that, she planned on trying to relax...

[expedites]

"Just Kon. Though, technically, it's short for kaizou konpaku." Kon shrugged at the name explanation, not really thinking much of it anymore. Modsouls were modsouls, and he was the last. That was just how it was. He followed after Raine as soon as she was in the room, although was smart enough to stay out of her way when she used her magic.

But when she was done, he shook his head and frowned as she wiped away the sweat. He was perceptive at the moment, and they couldn't have her tiring herself out more than she already was. "Don't worry, Raine-san. I'm sure everyone else can handle the rest, if this is a meeting for medics. Don't tire yourself out."

Though he did glance down at Kyon and wince a little; it was much worse than his leg. He was lucky he could fight. But Kyon couldn't, and if there were monsters in this place at night... who knew what would've happened to him if Kon hadn't agreed to tag along to the meeting. Now he was glad he did.

[1imited_edition]

Rein set Tamaki's sword against the wall and joined Raine over the prone Kyon. Even though Kon's wounds were still open and Kyon's had already been closed by Raine, the greater extent of Kyon's injuries and the amount of blood he'd already lost convinced her to use her remaining magic on him as well.

It was a gaudy affair as usual; she didn't mind showing off, and that was for the better because manifesting a spinning rune-inscribed triangle ten feet on a side when you cast a spell made it hard to keep it low-key. Her blessing for this boy was the magic of the Knight of the Lake, which further mended his wounds, and brought with it the release from pain and feeling of rejuvenation that was the hallmark of Shamal's healing spells.

The spell burned through a half-day's stored power in an instant, and on top of the two smaller spells she'd already cast and the feelings of hunger brought on by Ichimaru's aura she felt a measure of exhaustion. So even using stored power there were limits on how much she could exert herself, as she'd feared.

It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but she still felt compelled to march rigidly to the wall and still herself before she could wobble. Her concern was of a different character than Raine's- it was her duty as given in her name to support those here in all ways, which meant raising their spirits as well as protecting them directly. She counted herself relatively strong amongst the prisoners, and for their sake she must appear stronger still. To give hope, she could show no weakness at all...

To this end she quickly shifted to giving orders, allowing the calm of her voice to be her strength while she recovered physically. "Tamaki, please see to Kon's leg as well. My hands are too dirty." The blood on her hands that she had worried would prevent her from helping in a critical moment now served as a convenient excuse not to move.

She fell silent for a few seconds while she mentally shifted gears, then responded belatedly to Kon, nodding at him to indicate to whom she spoke. "Do you mind telling me what exactly that means?"

[the_clown_king]

Tamaki moved quickly, the sterile pad in his hand.

"We'll take care of it!" he announced, ripping open the packet. Now he was being useful! He set to cleaning the wound immediately, trying not to recoil away from the blood. Clean, then pressure, then bandaging. That was what the first aide notes said.

They could manage that!