Hello darkness my old friend, I've come to talk with you again... [OPEN]

[anonymousryuuki]

Characters: Shi Ryuuki and anyone on the Serenity
Content: Ryuuki wanders the halls of the Serenity like a ghost after a nightmare.
Setting: Random hallways on the Serenity
Time: Late night
Warnings: None as of yet.

Comments

[orphism]

Nightmares did not plague Minato, but he was awake all the same. Since he was seven, he's had difficulty sleeping every single night of his life. All he could do was wait until he finally could fall asleep. Then, during the day, he'd feel tired and nap throughout the day. He had tried many, many times over the years to attempt to break this cycle (it couldn't be good for his well being) to no avail. Eventually, he just stopped trying to fight it and reluctantly accepted it as something he could not change.

That night was no different, and all he could do was be patient. He was dreadfully tired, but his mind refused to allow him to sleep, as usual. Minato took to lurking around Serenity's halls this time. Compared to the hustle and bustle of the day, it was empty and silent, almost eerie. The sky was clear and the moon shone brightly. He stopped for a moment to look out the window, gazing at the moon in all its brilliance. It was simply beautiful, and he had to stop himself from just staring at it. On the upper deck, he'd have a much better view, and started to go in that direction when he stopped. Someone else was up and about at this hour? And from the sound of it, was coming right for him.

[anonymousryuuki]

Ryuuki knew better than to expect he could go back to sleep after a nightmare, not alone anyway. He used to wander the gardens back home when this happened didn't he? He thought with a rueful sort of smile. Before he started sharing his bed with others.

He was surprised, after walking down a hall to see another person. Ryuuki stopped and stared, not having anyone to have been awake at this hour.

"Hello?"

[orphism]

Ah. A crew member and not another lurking stowaway. The earlier incident had admittedly put Minato a bit on guard. He let himself relax a bit, stepping away from the window. As fascinating as he found it, the moon paled in comparison to another person in terms of interest.

"Good evening," he greeted back. "I didn't know anyone else would be awake at this hour."

[anonymousryuuki]

"Me neither." He smiled faintly, "I guess you couldn't sleep either?"

There was a slight nervous edge in his voice, a lingering effect of his nightmare, though he tried his best to cover it with a smile.

[orphism]

"I couldn't." Not this night, not any night. "I'm usually up around this time."

It wouldn't be long until he'd be able to sleep. It was just a waiting game. A very boring waiting game.

[anonymousryuuki]

"Usually...?" Ryuuki's eyes widened fractionally, "Don't you need to sleep?"

[orphism]

"I do, but..." Minato trailed off for a bit. He usually didn't speak about his sleeping difficulties with people. But it would be nice to be able to tell them to someone for once. To talk about his own problems instead of listening to the problems of others. "I can't. Not right now, anyway. Maybe in about an hour or so." About. He had lost track of time and there wasn't a clock nearby he could look at. "I usually make up for it by sleeping during the day."

[anonymousryuuki]

"That's not healthy." He said with a worried expression, "You need to eat three meals a day and get plenty of sleep at night: those things are important." Then he blinked. Who had told him that? It hadn't been his brother...but who else would have bothered to tell him?

He shook it off, it wasn't important right now.

"Do you know why you can't sleep?"

[orphism]

Fortunately, food was not a concern, even if Minato did look skinny as a rail. He probably ate enough for two people most days. If only the extra food he ate could make up for the amount of sleep he missed each and every single night.

"I don't," he answered. "It's been this way since I was seven years old."

[anonymousryuuki]

"Since you were seven?" Then again, his own problems with sleeping at night had happened around that period too, hadn't it?

He looked thoughtful, "Maybe there's something that can help? I know I sleep better when there are..." Suddenly, the conversation he'd had with Jennifer came back and he quickly backpedaled, "I mean...when I sleep with certain things...?" He finished awkwardly, as if unsure.

[orphism]

"With certain things?" Minato repeated. It sounded like he meant to say something else, but changed it at the last second. Privately, Minato thought that there wasn't anything that could solve his sleeping problem, but he didn't want to brush off any well intentioned help. That, and he was curious to what Ryuuki meant. "What kinds of things?"

[anonymousryuuki]

"Men." He blurted out automatically, because one conversation was no match for years of not actually believing it was a strange thing to do and he had always been a horrible liar anyway.

"But it's not what it sounds like!" He made a face. Okay, maybe it was. "I just sleep better when there are people there..."

[orphism]

Men was certainly not an answer Minato was expecting. Perhaps stuffed animals or sentimental blankets, but not men. After it sunk in for a moment, it didn't seem so odd.

"Makes sense," he answered. He wasn't going to condemn it. If it really did help, it helped.

[anonymousryuuki]

He relaxed. Maybe it wasn't as bad as Jenny made it sound. Then he nodded.

"There's probably something that could help you too!" Though he wasn't too sure how you're supposed to go about finding the thing that helped and, more importantly...

"Doesn't it get lonely?" After all, it wasn't like a lot of people would be awake at night.

[orphism]

Odds were, yes, there probably was something that could help. The thing was, Minato had yet to find it. He was, to be honest, a bit pessimistic about it after having to live with it for so long.

"It does," he nodded. It didn't bother him nearly as much as it used to. "But, I know everyone will be around in the morning, so it's not too bad."

[anonymousryuuki]

After a moment of silence Ryuuki spoke in a quiet voice, almost as if he were speaking to himself.

"But what if they're not there?"