Nightshift 25: F1-F10 Hallway
Dinner shift seemed to drag on forever. Rukia had finally given up trying to finish her dinner and resorted to pacing the room, fists clenching and unclenching as she waited for the doors to unlock. Really, she was happy that Kairi was asleep; Rukia was in no mood for friendly conversation.
Something is wrong, something is wrong, something is wrong...
She couldn't shake the feeling, and the knot of cold tension in her stomach was making her want to scream, or punch something. What had happened to Renji?? She had assumed they would just bring him to the sun room after what happened in the cafeteria, but (and she KNEW she shouldn't have let him out of her sight, unconscious like that; this was all her fault!) that was obviously not the case. She had felt him pass out, or something very close to it, twice more during fourth shift. But he hadn't just passed out; it was different. Something...
Rukia reached down to yank on the makeshift belt that had become her standard gear during the night. The sheet was already tightly wound and knotted, but she needed something to do until the doors opened. She checked her pockets again - pens - and her notebook was still safely tucked into the waistband of her pants. She had rolled up the now unnecessary sling and tucked it into her other pocket; it could come in handy. The flashlight was on the desk, waiting as impatiently as she was, it seemed.
Back to pacing.
And it wasn't just that Renji had passed out. The messages on the bulletin board were not like him, drugs or no. Bad reaction? She wasn't buying it. She might almost have bought it if it hadn't been for what he wrote to Adel: Had to fix Rukia's shoulder.
Something bad had to have happened to frazzle the red head so much. Implicating that fixing her shoulder had put him in such a state would no doubt make her feel guilty. Renji would know this, so of course he wouldn't say that. He would say something like, "I ate something at dinner that didn't agree with me", or simply, "I'm fine", or... or something! But he wouldn't be dim-witted enough to actually link Rukia to what had happened, even if it was her fault. Which told her that it had to be something much, much worse. Something bad enough that the best excuse Renji could think of was healing Rukia's shoulder.
It was complicated and hardly made sense, even to Rukia, but she felt it down in her gut.
Whipping around again as she reached the wall, she went to her desk, sliding the drawer open with more force than was necessary. Hanging open at an angle, it revealed the book she had swiped from the library a few days ago. She stared at it for a long moment, then slowly reached into the drawer. Her fingers ghosted over the worn cover; she started to open it.
Then the telltale click of the locks broke the silence. In the same motion, Rukia closed the drawer and grabbed her flashlight. She was out of the room a moment later, sprinting down the hallway on quiet feet.
Something is wrong, something is wrong, something is wrong...
She couldn't shake the feeling, and the knot of cold tension in her stomach was making her want to scream, or punch something. What had happened to Renji?? She had assumed they would just bring him to the sun room after what happened in the cafeteria, but (and she KNEW she shouldn't have let him out of her sight, unconscious like that; this was all her fault!) that was obviously not the case. She had felt him pass out, or something very close to it, twice more during fourth shift. But he hadn't just passed out; it was different. Something...
Rukia reached down to yank on the makeshift belt that had become her standard gear during the night. The sheet was already tightly wound and knotted, but she needed something to do until the doors opened. She checked her pockets again - pens - and her notebook was still safely tucked into the waistband of her pants. She had rolled up the now unnecessary sling and tucked it into her other pocket; it could come in handy. The flashlight was on the desk, waiting as impatiently as she was, it seemed.
Back to pacing.
And it wasn't just that Renji had passed out. The messages on the bulletin board were not like him, drugs or no. Bad reaction? She wasn't buying it. She might almost have bought it if it hadn't been for what he wrote to Adel: Had to fix Rukia's shoulder.
Something bad had to have happened to frazzle the red head so much. Implicating that fixing her shoulder had put him in such a state would no doubt make her feel guilty. Renji would know this, so of course he wouldn't say that. He would say something like, "I ate something at dinner that didn't agree with me", or simply, "I'm fine", or... or something! But he wouldn't be dim-witted enough to actually link Rukia to what had happened, even if it was her fault. Which told her that it had to be something much, much worse. Something bad enough that the best excuse Renji could think of was healing Rukia's shoulder.
It was complicated and hardly made sense, even to Rukia, but she felt it down in her gut.
Whipping around again as she reached the wall, she went to her desk, sliding the drawer open with more force than was necessary. Hanging open at an angle, it revealed the book she had swiped from the library a few days ago. She stared at it for a long moment, then slowly reached into the drawer. Her fingers ghosted over the worn cover; she started to open it.
Then the telltale click of the locks broke the silence. In the same motion, Rukia closed the drawer and grabbed her flashlight. She was out of the room a moment later, sprinting down the hallway on quiet feet.