NIGHTSHIFT 28: M-B BLOCK HALLWAY

[byname_bynature]

( From here.)

"And as for you, Farfarello," He said, turning the corner and striding down the hall, "If you and Hinamori don't care for my strategy, do not discount me. Do not dismiss me, do not treat me as though I do not know what I am doing--because I have been here long enough to understand both the danger and the risks, and do NOT handle me

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[jei]

There was no transition at all, really. One instant Farfarello was on his best behaviour, walking calmly beside Artemis. The next instant Farfarello's free hand was knotted in the front of Artemis' shirt and he was slamming the boy against the nearest wall hard enough to knock the breath out of him. "Shut. Up," he hissed into Artemis' face, holding him pinned to the wall with one hand, the boy's feet no longer even touching the ground.

The Captain was still carefully and safely over Farfarello's other shoulder, his left hand on Hitsugaya's back. He looked to Momo, his face set in a scowl. "Take the Captain. Artemis' room is M47. We'll catch up to you shortly, after I explain a few things to him." He hoped the girl would both prioritise the Captain's safety above Artemis' pride and understand that if Farfarello had wanted to seriously harm or even kill Artemis he would have done so in that first strike, instead of just winding him.

He also hoped Artemis understood how bloody lucky he was to still be alive after speaking to Farfarello that way, but with the petulant mood Artemis was in he doubted it would be that easy to knock some sense into him.

[OOC: scene has been discussed with Artemis-mun beforehand]

[byname_bynature]

[Indeed it t'was! :D]

Strangely enough, Artemis was almost expecting this attack, and instead of shouting or panicking, began laughing of all things.

"I knew it'd be you--which makes things much easier for me! I've already brought you halfway, so just go ahead! Snap my neck! Kill me!" His eyes were glittering, as though challenging Farfarello to actually go through with it. Apparently, he'd forgotten where he was and who he was with. The only things in the world right now were him, the wall, and Farfarello. He didn't even acknowledge that Renji had run by twice.

"I told you two nights ago to wait until my pain actually meant something, and here's your chance. I'm sick of this place. Nothing here makes any goddamn sense. People caring about me when I've just met them. And no matter what I do, things never seem to work out--as though something is always, constantly working against me. This logically shouldn't happen. I just want to get out, so why not just hurt me for a second and then it'll be over?

"Everything will be over... done. I can finally sleep," The glistening in Artemis' eyes spilled over. Fuck, he was crying again. Fuck. He was suddenly very aware of everything in the hallway, and the icy hand of shame gripped his heart. "Please just kill me Farfarello, I'm begging you," His tone was more desperate now, and it was difficult to get the words out without his voice breaking. "I hate it here, I want to go home where things make sense. Where people can't beat me and nobody gives a damn, please!"

[hajike_tobiume]

[swapping posting order with permission]

As the drama unfolded before the shinigami, Momo did not interfere. She stood there, her hands folded before her just as they had been with the facial expression. She had picked up Farfarello's intent a split second before he moved and had she sensed and true malice in his movement, she would has flash stepped between the two. Unfortunately, Artemis had overstepped his bounds and being a fourteen year old boy there were some lessons he'd only be able to learn the hard way. Why was this the case with the young and incredibly bright?

"Please place his feet back on the ground, Farfarello-san," were the first words out of her mouth, the tone even, calm and quiet.

"Sumeragi-san, please take Hitsugaya," were the next.

Momo stepped up next to Artemis, her age and existence as a shinigami clear on her face for the first time since she'd been in Landel's, and she slipped her fingers into the boy's hair and stroked it back from his forehead. "Death is never the end and death is not freedom. The dead do not sleep," she said to Artemis in a voice only one with true knowledge of death could have. "Death will not bring you the escape you so desire." Her hand traveled down to gently caress the boy's cheek before she removed her hand.

She fell silent for one moment before setting her gaze upon Farfarello. "Five minutes," she said in that same voice. "And should his injuries increase in any manner because of all this, I will kill you," she said to the Irishman. It wasn't a threat; it was simple truth.

"Let's go," she then said to Hokuto once she was certain the girl had secured Hitsugaya and turned from the two males. Her footsteps carried her steadily down the hall.

[akarusa]

Hokuto took Hitsugaya quickly; he was a little heavier than she'd expected, but he was small enough so she could carry him without too much trouble. Aside from being worried that she'd drop him if she moved too fast.

Before following Momo, she looked at Artemis, meeting his eyes if he let her. "We care about each other because all we have in this place, or anywhere, is each other. Everyone has the right to be loved." What kind of life had he lived if most of the people around him didn't care? She had no time for more now, but when he came along later she'd see if she could get him to talk.

Hoping that Artemis at least really would be along in a few minutes, she turned to follow Momo down the hall. They'd get somewhere safe and then try to plan from there.

[[To here.]]

[jei]

Watching the girls leave, Farfarello made sure they got the captain to Artemis' room without incident, then turned his gaze back on Artemis. "Well now. Here we are. And I'll tell you this right off, I have zero interest in killing you. It'd be like kicking a kitten, and I grew out of that shit a decade ago."

Finally lowering Artemis until his feet touched the floor again, though leaving him pinned against the wall, Farfarello leaned in very close. "Now, I was trying to be 'nice', and save this stuff for private conversation. I was going to tell you as gently as I know how. Well fuck that. You want to be a mewling brat? I'll treat you like a mewling brat. And you will shut your damn mouth and listen for a change."

"This self-pity bullshit has got to stop. It's well past time you got over your fucking self and started using that brain of yours. Did you wake up one morning and know physics? Chemistry? History? No. You fucking studied them. You sought out information from experts, absorbed it, and then applied it. You probably screwed up the occasional chemistry experiment when you were five or six, too, because books can't substitute for real experience. And you think we should listen to you about battle, without question, when all you've got to go on is Sun Tzu and Machiavelli?" Farfarello snorted in disgust, and turned his head to spit on the floor.

"Let me put this in terms that might get through to you. Right now, to us, you look like some kid who keeps playing a rook, when the situation calls for a knight. You are not a damn rook! You cannot charge ahead directly at the enemy! And yet you keep doing that. So why should anyone trust you in a fight?"

Letting go of Artemis' shirt, Farfarello snarled in annoyance and turned his back on the boy for a moment. When he finally turned back, his expression was somewhat calmer. "I don't waste my time with useless garbage. You have the potential to be an excellent strategist, and a decent guerilla-style fighter. But unless you swallow your damn pride and accept that you are not and will not ever be the field commander here, you'll never be able to properly take advantage of your actual strengths."

[byname_bynature]

Artemis remained silent for the duration of Farfarello's talk, a look of mixed terror and confusion in his shining eyes. For once, he looked his age--a scared and hurt boy who just wanted to go home. It was scary how just a few moments ago, he'd wanted to hit something as hard as he could. Now he just wanted someone to hold him again. It had been nice when Renji had done it, but the small, still-functioning part of Artemis' logic center told him that Farfarello would probably kick him if he tried to hug the assassin.

And then that part decided to crash while the rest of his system rebooted. Artemis took a shaky step forward and hugged Farfarello around the waist.

"Thank you... Perhaps I'm not as smart as I seem--I needed that spelled out for me in order to understand it," He sniffled quietly, his body started to shake again. "I'm sorry... Part of me knew that what I was saying was out of line, but I was so angry I couldn't stop myself once I'd started... I'm so sorry Farfarello...!"

[jei]

Farfarello just stared down at Artemis, a poleaxed expression on his face. There was a child. Hugging him. There was something very very wrong with this. This place really was making him soft! "... If you get snot all over me, I am going to slam you into the wall again." The warrior woman would never notice the difference between one set of wall-induced bruises and two sets of wall-induced bruises.

He sighed, looking up at the ceiling, because looking at the sniffling, pathetic kid hugging him was really, really depressing. It made him feel like he was dangerously close to becoming a good guy. "Look, self-control comes with age. For most people. Not sociopaths, but most people. Until you have real self-control, you just gotta learn how to fake it. Say all the stupid shit you want inside your head, but clamp your damn jaw down and don't let it past your teeth."

Farfarello paused briefly, and added, "Except stupid thoughts about Schuldig. I would reccomend stopping that entirely. He picks thoughts about him out of the mental chatter in a heartbeat. Like that one today, about him hating you."

[byname_bynature]

"Doesn't he though?" Artemis stepped back and wiped his eyes on his sleeve. He so did not want to be in the same room with Hitsugaya when the Captain awoke. His face was a complete mess. "He called me a manipulative midget, and seemed rather testy when it came to me being close to you. It seemed like the right answer..." He laughed a little, "But I'm not exactly thinking clearly right now. If my mind was a field, it would be a crater right now. All right," He did his best to smile, but it was very weak. "I'll put him out of mind. I promise."

The boy pushed up his sleeves and began walking towards his hallway, "Now, I have a job to do," He turned back and smiled at Farfarello, a spark zipping across one of his facial cuts and sealing it shut. "You might call it one of my strengths."

[jei]

"Sure he does. He's a misanthrope, he hates pretty much all humanity except me, Crawford and River. But we're partners, and because I like you, he's gonna look out for your interests. Don't look a gift telepath in the mouth, is all."

He nodded when Artemis got moving, and went along with him. "Oh, and don't waste power trying to impress me. Save it for what's really needed. A facial scar or two isn't a big deal." Said the man with three, if you didn't count the missing eye.

[byname_bynature]

"I wouldn't dream of it," the boy said, attempting another smile. "I had no idea that he had any intentions of looking out for my interests to begin with. I'll have to thank him." Exactly how he'd go about thanking a misanthrope, though, he wasn't quite sure. But his mood was steadily improving--to the point where he would have given Schuldig a thank you card if he had one in his possession.

"Hm? Oh," Artemis raised a hand to touch his face, "I've been having trouble keeping it in check all day. It's probably the rampant emotions--nothing to worry about. I'll be back to normal very soon, I assure you."

[jei]

"Why do you think I helped River that night? Because my partner likes her. I wouldn't die for her, and Schuldig wouldn't die for you, but as long as it doesn't endanger us it's to our benefit to protect each other's... investments, to put it crudely." Farfarello shrugged--it was just a matter of self-interest, in the end. A happy partner was a good thing.

He didn't say anything else as they turned into the hall where Artemis' room was.

[ this way]