Hogosha
Chapter 12
Arc 3: Sensei's Favorite
A/N: Just a brief note. I'll be going over the previous chapters and doing more edits soon. Thank you so much to all of you for being so patient and waiting for me to update! Here's a brief chapter to tide you over until I finish editing the next chapter. Sorry for the shortness!"Fear makes strangers of people who would be friends."
-Shirley MacLaine
The woman stood on a street corner, under the feeble light of a street lamp. She was short and lithely muscular with long bottle-black hair. The roots of her hair were just starting to show a much paler color, almost white. Dark bangs fell over her pale red eyes, shadowing them to any passersby. She wore faded jeans and a black button-up shirt that hung open, revealing a white T underneath. The only jewelry she wore was a plastic stub in the left side of her nose.In one hand, a beat-up old khaki duffle bag dangled from three fingers. She lifted the other to take a long pull off a cigarette, surveying the surrounding street without expression. In the silence, her cloudy exhale seemed to echo, even as she stepped off the curb.When she reached the other side of the street, she dropped the cigarette butt and crushed it underneath one white-sneakered heel, face still disturbingly blank. She snorted, looking up at the old building she now stood in front of."Home sweet home," she muttered, voice dry. I'm still not very impressed.Hefting the duffle, she slung it over her shoulder, anchoring it with the same three fingers. Then she walked into the building, a hotel, leaving the street empty once more.xXx"I had another nightmare," Seiju murmured, leaning back in the comfortable couch. He was sitting across from a psychiatrist, and he didn't like it. However, in order to get back to work, he would have to put up with it. As this was mandatory, he wouldn't be able to return to active duty until the psychiatrist decided he was completely well mentally.The woman in question smiled slightly, something that he hated. There was never anything real behind that smile, besides real annoyance. She obviously was just doing this for the pay, which irked him. "Really? Please tell me about it," she said, clipboard and pen ready.He wondered if she actually took notes, or if that was just for appearances and the paper there was in fact littered with various doodles. He didn't ask."It was Yusa, again. We were back in the lab," a term they'd begun to use to refer to the place that Juan had killed and prepared his victims, "And she was sitting there at the table again. It was..." He stopped, remembering the nightmare vividly. It had been so real, so painful that he'd woken up in a cold sweat, gasping for breath only to realize he was screaming the victim's name desperately.Kimura Sayaka lifted both chocolate brows and tilted her head. "Yes?" she prompted, curious."It was... Usaki-san," Seiju murmured, looking down at his hands. This nightmare had been somehow worse than the others. Before, he'd dreamed of Juan and Shota and Igarashi, even Aizawa. Seeing Usaki there, gutted and butchered, had been... painful.She hummed thoughtfully, making a notation on her clipboard. "And what happened? Was it the same as the others?"He nodded miserably. "Yes. She... ate him.""And you were tied up, just like before," she said, mostly just for confirmation.Seiju nodded anyway. "I couldn't do anything. I was helpless.""I see. Did you get the medicine I suggested, Seiju?" she asked, and he gritted his teeth; he hated it when she used his given name. "The sleep aid? It really will help you sleep without them."Seiju sighed. "Dreams are the mind's way of getting one to cope with things, right?" he murmured, picking at the threads of his plain black shirt. It was getting rather worn, but as he'd had it for three years, that was only bound to happen.Kimura nodded. "Yes, that's right.""So I'll just let them happen," he replied, and looked at the clock. Still twenty minutes left of the session.Kimura sighed. "Seiju... You really should use the sleep aids. They'll help you get rest," she said, pouting slightly. When he shook his head, she pursed her lips in annoyance. "Then at least stay somewhere you feel safe. You've told me that the apartment just makes the nightmares worse, so go stay with a friend. You get better sleep in the car on the way here than you do in your own bed."He thought about it, then frowned. "I don't know if I really have anyone I couldstay with. Sho-kun lives with Tama-chan, so he's out. Aizawa is staying with her sister. Igarashi... well, no, not going to happen-""What about Usaki-san?" Kimura suggested. "Maybe if you stay with him, you won't have those sorts of nightmares, huh? At least not about him.""But he's so... so private," Seiju protested, shaking his head quickly. "I wouldn't want to intrude on him." Though, if he were to be honest with himself, it was a bit more than that. Still, he didn't want to tell heras much. She'd only analyze it, which really wasn't something he was ready for.Kimura gave him a look. "At least ask him. If he says no, then that's that. If he says yes, just find little ways to make it up to him. It's not like you're moving in. Just staying with him until the nightmares stop," she reasoned.He sighed. "I'll ask," he relented. A part of him was afraid that Usaki wouldsay yes, then resent him for it later. Would such a thing even happen? There was just no telling with Usaki, because the blond still had this awful habit of keeping them all at arm's length.Kimura smiled. "Good! Now, about last week's session..."xXxBaaah, I'm SO FRIGGIN' SORRY! I haven't updated in a while, even though this arc was finished ages ago. *bows deeply* Many apologies! But I'm back, and I'm working on the next arc after this one! So please review and enjoy!
