Nightshift 36 - M11-M20

[clockmongler]

Nightshift tended to prove just as lackluster as Dinner. At least Tyche was there to give the Gambler company for the previous shift (and she received most of his steak. Enjoy it as he may, he just never felt right about eating it). Without a roommate, there was little to complain about, so he simply watched as the kitten tunneled herself under his

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[screwthegods]

Homura had wasted no time when the night was announced. There was too much too do, so much he wanted to be finished with even before it began. Allelujah's visit would be a welcome one. Okita's would be a trial. The importance of this night for himself and for his group weighed heavily on him, but the demi-god had made his choices, and he would regret none of them.

Or so he hoped.

He left Shito to his own business, ignoring his roommate for the purpose of changing. Homura found himself caring less about what Shito might see than he had before, though he did still try and angle his body and his clothes so the other wouldn't seen anything he might not want to. It only took a few moments before he had everything on, except a final piece. His cloak.

Homura took out the garment, but after looking at it for several moments, placed it on the bed. The knock came then, and he grabbed his sword before heading into the hall. He had to talk to Allelujah about the bulletin from that day, and find out just who it was he would be looking out for in his travels.

"Allelujah." Homura's smile was warm enough, though he hadn't forgotten the events of last night. Even as fear of what this person might really be flared in his mind, he pushed it back, refusing to let that sort of wariness taint his interactions. "Thank you for this. I'm sure we'll find a way to make use of them."

[tender_cruelty]

Allelujah smiled at Homura when the door opened, glad to see the older man like he hadn't really been glad to see anyone else in this place. He held out the makeshift bag, pulling one corner open to show what was inside. "It isn't much," he said apologetically. "I only made a few last night because I wasn't certain if it would work or if they'd even be there the next morning, but I can easily make more now I know that I have the mixture right." He pulled one out, rolling it between his fingers idly. "They're smoke bombs," he explained. "If you light the fuse, when the bomb actually begins to burn, it releases thick smoke. I thought you might have a use for them."

If they were accepted and useful, then he could make more tomorrow night, or go back to his room and make some more quickly before heading out. It would be easy enough to do.

[screwthegods]

Why Allelujah was acting like this gesture was somehow less than it should be was beyond Homura, and taking the bag, he smiled. "You owe me nothing, and yet you're still helping me. Anything you offer is appreciated." He listened carefully to the instructions about the bombs, noting that they would need a fire source to make full use of them. Of course it was then that he realized that he had no idea what the members of his club already possessed, and what they would still need to find. That would have to be taken care of on the coming day.

"I won't be able to tell you immediately how they work, but yes, I'm certain we will." Everything had the potential to be useful, and considering that some members of his group--most of them, in fact--remained unarmed, a diversionary tactic would be ideal.

The transfer taken care of, Homura grew more serious, meeting Allelujah's eyes. "Do you have time to talk? I wanted to ask you about that person on the bulletin who kept posting your description." Which was almost identical to Homura's. Even if he had no loyalty to Allelujah, the similarity alone was reason enough for concern.

[tender_cruelty]

Homura's words caused a little flush to appear on Allelujah's cheeks, not used to praise like that. It felt like he owed Homura just for being the same as him, accepting what he was and not being an enemy like the others had been, like that girl Super Soldier for the HRL had been. "Good. I'm going to be looking for matches or a lighter too. Hopefully some method can be found." They would be pretty useless without that, but Badou had said that someone had matches, so it was possible to get them at least. He just had to find them.

He straightened slightly when Homura met his eyes, the seriousness of his expression worrying Allelujah a little. "I have time," he agreed with a nod, wincing slightly at the mention of the bulletin. "I met her a few nights ago, my second night. I was crossing the Courtyard." The words fell off his tongue like he was giving a report to Sumeragi or Tieria. "She attacked me, unprovoked. She could control lightning, it seemed like." His expression hardened. "She used it on me, several times until Ha-... until I managed to gain the upper hand. I incapacitated her and pushed her into the pond." And it was just unfortunate that she didn't die Hallelujah murmured.

[screwthegods]

A blush? Homura still didn't understand the reason, but that ultimately didn't matter. He nodded in agreement when Allelujah said he'd be looking for some method to start fire. "I'll have my group members keep an eye out for such things as well." Homura too thought it was likely that such things were somewhere on the grounds.

He listened carefully to the recollection of that night, not failing to notice Allelujah's near slip. He let it go, however; whatever it was that had been about to be said, Homura knew he would be told when the time was right. What was more important was that this person was vicious, striking out for no reason, and now putting up Allelujah's description for no apparent reason.

"What does she look like?" Homura knew he'd have to keep an eye out for this woman, and instruct others to do the same. Fighting among the patients seemed an unnecessary waste under most circumstances, but for this, he would easily make an exception.

[tender_cruelty]

Allelujah was relieved when Homura either didn't notice, or didn't seem to want to question his near mention of Hallelujah. It wasn't something that Allelujah was comfortable talking about. Multiple personalities usually meant that a person was crazy after all, but there was also a thread of possessive jealousy there. Hallelujah was his and he was Hallelujah's and they'd always been together. And if they knew, they might consider him too dangerous to associate with.

"Short, maybe five-one or five-two," Allelujah replied, recalling her appearance with ease. "Slim and blond. Blue eyes. A cute face, tries to pass herself off as being innocent. Very child-like," he added, remembering the childish insults and behaviour at times. She'd been very odd. "She's probably injured too at the moment. She was attacked by a demon last night on the balcony over the Sun Room."

[screwthegods]

Recent experience made Homura very tempted then to run back into his room and grab something to write the information down with. He resisted the urge, however, knowing that being so paranoid about his memory would only make the information more easily obtainable by people who shouldn't have it. Instead he listened, committing the details to his memory. It would be practice, in a way, now that he was to be the leader again. Homura thought he'd need to remember a great deal, after all. Better to start off with something that could be repeated if necessary.

"I'll keep an eye out for her." Homura had nothing else he needed to talk to Allelujah about just then, and another appointment pressing. Okita had yet to arrive, though that would likely change shortly. Thinking of the meeting made his heart pump faster, if only because it was the impending reminder of all the issues he still faced, and that couldn't be avoided. "If that's all, I don't want to hold you up any longer. Be careful tonight, my friend."

Outside M13

[notachick]

skipped from here

When Okita came upon Homura's room, he could hear voices inside. Through the door, he couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but he knew it had to be the "appointment" prior to his. Whoever it was hadn't left yet, so Okita stayed outside for now. When it was his turn, Homura would call him. Until then, he had a moment of peace to himself.

For all the good it did him. Okita put a hand on the hilt of his sword and leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes as he soaked up what he could of the conversation inside. The meeting was almost over and Okita tried his best to clear his head. Moving as quickly as he had made him feel nauseaus, but he wanted this whole thing over with. Homura, if he were back to his real self, would probably lecture him, possibly throw him out for breaking the truce - who knew. All he could do now, was wait.

Re: Outside M13

[tender_cruelty]

"Be careful around her. She's unpredictable and sadistic," Allelujah said. he didn't want Homura to get dragged into a feud on his account, but knowing that he had some kind of support was always welcome. More reason for him to keep Hallelujah his own secret. His own sadistic side.

He smiled warmly at Homura and nodded. "You too. Good luck with what your group is doing." He turned to leave, only to nearly bump into someone standing in the doorway. A woman? No, too muscular for that, like Tieria. "Ah, sorry," he said, stepping around them and glancing back at Homura for a moment. "I'm leaving now, if you're waiting for him," he said to the newcomer before setting off along the corridor, only remembering too late to make any difference to smooth his hair back over his eye. Well, if he was seen, he was seen.

[To here]

Re: Outside M13

[screwthegods]

Homura had been able to surmise Allelujah's warning from what he'd been told, but he still nodded if only to offer the other man reassurance. "I will." That was a large part of the reason Homura had brought it up, after all. And he didn't want Allelujah to leave their meeting worried about him. There was enough to focus on.

As expected, Okita was waiting for him when Allelujah left. He nodded a farewell to the departing man, then looked to the newcomer. "Come in." Now that the moment was here, Homura hesitated, unsure of exactly where to begin. Again, that feeling of lacking crept up, and Homura turned to face the other man.

"I heard everything about last night." Homura's voice was firm, so much that it almost surprised him. "Do you intended on going after Himura still?"

[notachick]

The other guest left and Okita was treated to an unusual sight - another man with eyes similar to Homura's. He thought there weren't anymore of what Homura was, though, meaning Okita couldn't help but follow after the stranger with his eyes as he passed. Someone else to remember for later.

Homura ushered him in and Okita followed, quiet as always when he knew he was about to get scolded. The drugs made him much more cautious though; afraid he'd say or do soemething he wouldn't normally due to their influence. It didn't take long for Homura to cut straight to the heart of the matter and Okita's anger flared at hearing that Homura already heard 'everything.' He likely heard it from Himura and that friend of his and decided that was enough. Okita wasn't allowed to make a report of his own and that irked him. Standing a little too stiffly just to be sure he didn't falter because of the drugs, he met Homura's gaze as evenly as he could.

"The truce is broken. I see no reason to adhere to it." Unless provoked, he wasn't allowed to attack Himura. Well, he had been provoked (albeit on rather shaky grounds) and he had attacked. The truce was over and even if it wasn't, Okita saw no reason to maintain it. "If I see him, I must finish what I started."

[screwthegods]

“Because you’re dying?” When Homura said he had heard everything, he did not mean that he wouldn’t listen to Okita’s side of the story. He meant that he had heard both of the confrontation, and of the cause. It wasn’t just because Hijikata had vanished, but because of his disease. Homura had no doubt of it, though he fully expected Okita would try to deny it. It seemed the kind of person he was.

“What do you expect to gain from attacking him?” There was some curiosity when he asked the question, and not solely because Homura wanted to know Okita’s answer. There was something about the choice, if not the conversation, that seemed familiar to him. That same sense that had sparked when he first heard of the disease again renewed itself, and for the first time Homura realized that this was how he had felt each time some memory returned. A thought, foreign at first, but that fit so naturally into place among all the other memories he couldn’t deny it was his. Perhaps it was simply the importance of this recollection that made him aware of it; regardless of the cause, Homura was aware, enough to again be certain that the answer was the memory.

“Are you hoping to die?”

[notachick]

"Because you're dying?"

This was the second time today that his world had stopped and he wasn't able to keep the shock off his face. How the hell had Homura heard about that? He'd been careful to cover it up and keep his coughing quiet. It hadn't even been that bad lately, nothing compared to the Ikedaya and yet--

Himura. That little- Fury broke through the shock and the drug haze to sharpen Okita's mind on a single point - Himura had to die. He had no place telling their leader that Okita was ill. He had no place talking about his disease at all! It changed everything from the way people handled him to the way they looked at him and it was an unforgivable blow to his pride. He was a swordsman and that meant he either died of old age or on the battlefield; not by wasting away like a weakling. Okita's grip on his sword tightened and his eyes narrowed as he faced the demi-god.

"I'm hoping to kill him for the dishonor he's given me. It's my duty as a Shinsengumi captain to follow my Commander's orders, and his last orders were to kill the Choushuu rebels if provoked." And oh, was Okita provoked now. Himura was going to learn just what he shouldn't talk about just before he never talked again. The swordsman's voice was cold as he took a step back toward the door. Himura's room was M55 and he'd be moving slow thanks to the sword and pen wounds. Okita could easily catch up and take his head. "Throw me out if you wish, but I will kill him. He had no right telling you about that."

[screwthegods]

"I'd rather not do that, Okita." Homura didn't miss that Okita was moving towards the door, nor that their position gave the other man the advantage when it came to reaching it. The demi-god tossed the bag he'd gotten from Allelujah onto his bed, then turned to face the other swordsman. He had remembered Kenren's instruction from last night, something that now seemed to be common sense to him, but words he would always be thankful for.

Throughout the conversation, Homura hadn't once let go of his sword. Now, as he calmly looked at the man so obviously enraged, he was ready to use it however he had to.

"He told me because in this place, I am your commander." As he had been or as he was now, it was the role Homura played. And though there still were so many uncertainties, gaps in memory that needed to be filled in, questions he had no answers for, Homura had made his choice, and now he would walk the path it led down.

He raised his sword up, watching Okita's movements carefully. Homura knew not to take this man lightly, that despite whatever was killing him, Okita would fight with all he was in order to make his wish a reality. That alone deserved respect; the caution came from the man's skill. Homura had seen Himura's condition, after all, and Himura hadn't had his memory stolen.

Yet letting Okita do as he pleased in his fury was not something Homura could allow. The effects would be devastating, and everything the demi-god had worked for would crumble. He would not let that happen.

"I will not let anyone tear apart the efforts made so far. And that includes you, Okita."

[notachick]

His commander was gone. Homura had been a good substitute for awhile, but then he'd left as well, in another way. Kenren had taken the position, but lacked the drive Okita looked for in a leader. If only Hijikata had never come, if only he'd never left - so many 'if only' situations and not a single one helped in any way. He had to face the present and the fact that Homura had his sword raised at him.

Okita's eyes narrowed and he took another step back, changing his grip on the hilt of his sword. If he needed to draw it, he would. Against a god, he hardly stood a chance, but a samurai never backed down from a battle; especially not a soldier in the Shinsengumi. It was written in their laws that either their enemy died or they died, leaving no room for a middle ground. Okita had already broken that rule when he left Himura bleeding in the hall, so he wasn't about to do it again.

"You were my commander, Homura-san, until Hijikata-san came." And when he left the first time, it had been Homura who stepped into the role. "And when he left, you told me it hadn't been his choice - you lied." Everyone lied. "Then you left and even now I can see you're not back." As much as it seemed he was, there were hesitations, the commanding voice that had once gotten Okita to leave a pen in Himura's arm rather than drive it again through his eye was still missing. "I'm sorry, Homura-san. I must finish the Choushuu here and now; or reap the consequences of failure."

The katana slid free of the cloth loop at Okita's side and he turned the blade around, sliding one foot back to settle into a defensive position. The tip dipped down low to the ground and Okita's eyes focused on Homura's shoulders and hips. The moment his opponent moved, so would he. "I can't allow you to stop me."

[screwthegods]

Homura watched with a wary eye as Okita drew his blade. The position the man took left them in a stalemate, for the moment. There were no openings in Okita's stance, nor in Homura's. The knowledge that had returned to him the previous night came naturally now, allowing Homura to see the whole of the situation. Being the one who issued the challenge left the demi-god in an offensive position, which was to his advantage. Okita would have to drop his guard to leave, or adjust his blade to strike. Either of these would create delays Homura would easily be able to take advantage of. So for the moment, he didn't advance. Okita had trapped himself, and Homura intended to make use of that.

"I left?" He knew that it was grief that fueled Okita's words, but Homura grew angry all the same. Left, as if he had a choice. What was it that made Okita think that about the demi-god, and especially about Hijikata? They were in a prison. Homura had been tortured, and Hijikata vanished! What about that could possibly be of their own volition? "I had my memories stripped away, and no, I haven't yet recovered them all. But I have enough of them to do what must be done."

Except there was still that piece missing, that nagging gap that demanded to be found. But there was no time to focus on it then, so instead, Homura pried into what he could. He ignored Okita's chosen mission, and instead went into the heart of the matter: Okita's uncertainty. "Why are you saying that Hijikata chose to leave? What makes you think he would ever do such a thing?"