Penelope's shower lasted significantly longer than it should have, an ominous feeling loomed above her constantly ever since Marik's shift in personality came to pass, and some part of her hoped that it could be washed away by soap and water that was beginning to feel too hot.

It was no use, she left the shower before her already pink skin turned red and dried and brushed her hair and teeth, all done virtually completely on auto-pilot, her mind refusing to come back and rest in the present moment.

Upon leaving the small personal bathroom built into her room, her gaze landed on the abandoned lavender shirt on the end of the bed that rested against the wall lined with circular windows. She swallowed and her fingers gripped the edge of the white towel around her body tighter. The words of the one occupying Marik's body rang back in her mind, as much as she dreaded the very idea, she had to admit, there were things she wanted to speak to him about. As soon as she glanced towards the door and envisioned herself approaching his room, however, she immediately involuntarily shuddered.

There's no way… But…

She sat on the edge of the bed, resting her head on her palms.

But I have to, don't I. I'm not gonna be able to sleep until I get some answers out of that.. out of him. Or at least, until I know that he's not going to give me any answers.

A long exhale left her, tired more than physically, and Ishizu's words surfaced in her mind next.

He's not something to be reasoned with?

Penelope had to admit, Ishizu knew more about the other Marik than she did, since she was there during the few times he had emerged in the past, but she couldn't help hoping she wasn't right.

Another glance at the door confirmed that it was still locked, she had lost count of the amount of times she checked to make sure the door was still locked, repeatedly urged by her paranoia and fear. She undid her towel and let it partially slide off of her, it was too hot, she didn't know if it was just her due to the length of her hot shower, or if the temperature in her room really was too high.

After briefly combing through her dresser, she pulled out and slipped into a thigh length blue satin nightgown which she covered with an ankle length night robe. There was no way she was going to even approach the lion's den without consulting Ishizu first.

Penelope couldn't say she was surprised that Ishizu appeared conflicted, on one hand, the man's sister was deeply concerned about him and would've liked any kind of reassurance that her brother would come back. On the other hand, she knew far too well how dangerous his dark personality was and feared for Penelope's safety if she attempted to interrogate him.

"I mean, what's he gonna do, kill me on this ship? There's no way, he can't get away with something like that here. …Right?"

From across the small table they shared tea on, Ishizu's concerned expression was softly blurred by the steam rising from her cup, but her silence only unnerved Penelope.

"We have to at least try, you know that, and I really doubt he's gonna talk if we both try to interrogate him at the same time. Well, not that I have high hopes that he's gonna talk even to you or me separately, but still.."

Ishizu appeared to be partially thinking, but mostly lost in thought, her mind replaying distant memories. The other woman couldn't tell for sure if her eyes were beginning to grow watery, or if it was just the steam of the hot tea, or just her own tired eyes, seeing as it was past midnight and neither of them could sleep.

"I do wish for peace of mind." Ishizu finally spoke softly, her gaze turning to the window and the lights of the distancing city "But there is nothing to be gained from speaking to that man. I believe in what I said, he is not something to be reasoned with."

Penelope's own expression softened upon hearing her sad tone of voice and words, then perked up slightly when she continued in a noticeably more upbeat manner

"However, I know how stubborn and optimistic you can be when you think there's even a small chance of something positive to be gained. Satisfy your curiosity, but please, be careful. Come back to me afterwards to let me know you're safe."

Penelope nodded enthusiastically before saying their goodbyes for the time being. Ishizu's words gave her an odd feeling of excitement and motivation, which melted almost immediately upon remembering that she herself had very little hope that anything useful could come out of this, on top of the risk she had to expose herself to. She chalked it up to the small possibility of the unlikely to happen, but it did nothing to alleviate the fear that came back to her.

When she began walking down the hallway, she made a decision that worsened that fear considerably. It was so tempting to get back in her room, her eyes kept lingering on the left side towards it, but she forced herself to turn her attention on the right side where Marik's room was, knowing that if she went to her own room it would take her a long time to gather the courage to leave it again and do what she wanted to do.

The feeling was too reminiscent of when he emerged earlier, she found it difficult to move, as if her soft slippers had magically been filled with solid lead, making each step needing a conscious effort to take. It felt like it had been too long since the tea she just drank with Ishizu, her mouth already beginning to dry the closer she got to the dreaded door.

Once she reached it, she placed a palm against it, the feeling of the cold metal against her warm skin was refreshing and brought her some slight clarity of mind, along with which came some courage, enough to knock on the door. Once. Then twice. And nothing, no kind of response came from inside.

The temptation to just turn on her heel and walk away was immense, she shook her head and decided to knock once more, and if there was no answer, she would leave with a huge sigh of relief yet mild regret.

Just after the final, barely-audible knock, however, she noticed the door wasn't actually locked, only closed.

Penelope's brows softly furrowed with an idea, especially since she still received no answer. It wasn't an idea she was particularly fond of, but she thought, if he wasn't there, she could just take a second-long glance inside to make sure, then leave.

She bit her lip with apprehension before tapping the button on the unlocked security device.

The view revealed upon the door sliding open made her involuntarily gulp and freeze up. Instead of the empty room, she was met with the sight of Marik sitting at the small table next to the window wall across from her, his back facing her, yet clad in a long purple cloth.

Is that.. Marik's Ghoul robe?

Penelope blinked in surprise, then jumped upon hearing the eerie low chuckle followed by the disturbingly unfamiliar voice

"Not only did you come, as I expected, but you wanted to come to me so badly you would trespass?"

She couldn't believe she caught a sense of shame rising in her before dismissing it, in any other circumstance it would be justified, but she couldn't help feeling strange for someone like him making her feel embarrassed for opening his door without permission. Still, she decided to apologize, just in case

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-.. I was..." she didn't know what kind of excuse or justification to come up with on the spot, and he didn't give her the chance to find it anyway, cutting her off with a lingering smirk

"Get in already."

It took her a few long moments of contemplation and hesitation until she fully stepped inside, feeling her heart begin to pump faster once the door slid closed behind her.

After a purposeful deep breath, she wrapped her arms around herself in a self-calming gesture and dared to step closer to the man ahead. She noticed the gold chain and hood of the purple robe he wore almost as a cape, confirming that it was indeed what Marik wore not long ago with the Ghouls, as well as the cream colored pants and black sleeveless t-shirt he replaced the previous clothing with.

On the table in front of him, her eyes traveled across the multiple stacks and rows of Duel Monster cards, and the pencil and scratch pad with a number of notes jolted down, before lingering on the Millennium Rod resting near the edge of the surface.

Her staring was abruptly interrupted by her own flinch when Marik leaned back in his chair, placing an arm over its backrest and partially turning to look at her. It was pitifully obvious how nervous she was, and unbeknownst to her, he already delighted in it and intended to test the waters more.

"I know it looks alluring, but you can't have it. I can adorn you in other precious metals and shiny gems, but that one, it chose me, you see, so I remain its master."

Penelope lightly frowned for multiple reasons and resisted the urge to take a step back, urge which became increasingly difficult to resist the longer he continued to stare her down, even more so as his gaze began traveling down her body. She gave in and took a step to the side, away from him, before clearing her throat

"What can I say, I know what you can do with that thing so.."

"You don't know the half of it." Marik suddenly interrupted, still with a smirk

"Oh, well, either way. What incomplete knowledge I have was more than enough to realize that it would be safer for everyone around if that rod was away from you, so.. I'm not going to apologize for what I tried earlier."

She mostly kept from looking directly at him, but when she did throw a quick glance at his face, she saw how her last words made his smile suddenly drop. The serious, perhaps mildly irritated expression was enough to make her change her mind on the spot

"U-unless you really need me to, that is…"

Her words were followed almost immediately by the return of Marik's smirk, she had to make an effort to not visibly scowl, suspecting that he was trying to toy with her.

To some mild relief, he returned to sitting on his chair normally, finally detaching his piercing gaze from her, and resuming searching through cards, placing some aside, changing some locations

"I suppose a 'have a seat' is in order."

He sounded almost bored, and Penelope tried to not allow his casual tone to draw her into a false sense of security and lower her guard.

Her eyes darted at the two chairs on either side of the table, table whose small size meant she would be far too close for comfort to him. Seeing as she was already a few feet away and he wasn't staring a hole through her anymore and she still felt uneasy, she couldn't even entertain the idea of sitting down so close to him.

When her eyes landed on the bed on the left, next to the wall, the distance between the end of the bed and Marik seemed a lot more acceptable. As far as she was concerned, it wasn't the most proper place, but she would much rather pick it than be within less than an arm's reach from him.

Hesitantly, she discreetly stepped towards the bed and sat on its end, the closest to Marik yet far enough to feel as comfortable as she could while being alone in the room with him.

Only a moment after she sat down, Marik stood up, facing her, his smirk so wide he was almost grinning. It made Penelope instantly jump to her feet as if the cool white bed sheet under her had suddenly transformed into a hot oven, then take a step back.

Marik briefly closed his eyes and chuckled to himself almost inaudibly, before lifting his empty palms in front of him in an attempt to calm her unease and indicate that he meant no harm

"Alright, relax…"

But Penelope only began to relax as best she could once he sat back down.

He said nothing else, deciding to see what she would do, while the increasingly long silence added to her sense of unease. A thought crossed her mind, of how the humming sound of aircraft engines droning on as she listened from the inside always used to relax her, even more so if there were people around, performing quiet tasks without speaking, as Marik was doing with the cards.

Despite all the elements being there, this situation inspired only the opposite of relaxation and comfort. Her tired gaze rose to look at him while his attention seemed to remain on the cards, and that sickly feeling came back to her. It was difficult to take in the sight of the man that resembled her best friend since forever to every imperfection, yet knowing not only that it wasn't him, but also who the one replacing him was and what he had done, and what he was capable of doing.

As surreal and emotionally unacceptable as it was to see his body and face worn by someone else, she told herself she needed to keep herself together as best she could and do what she came here to do.

Taking a deep breath, she sat back down on the edge of the bed, and it took a purposeful effort to make her voice come out at a decent volume

"Where is Marik?"

His attention didn't shift to her; he continued searching through a stack of cards

"You're looking at him." The casual way he spoke in, again sounding almost bored, and without skipping a beat, touched a nerve in Penelope

"You know what I meant!" she realized too late her voice rose to a level that made her fear his potential reaction, but to some relief, he didn't have any at all. She cleared her throat before continuing more softly "I'm looking at a stranger…"

"Ooh?" his suddenly intrigued tone rang some alarm bells in her, especially when he turned in his chair to face her "Should we get to know each other better, then?"

Taken aback by his suggestion, she didn't manage to hide the frown that quickly grew on her face. It only seemed to amuse him more, he chuckled and his eyes drifted to the upper right, as if recalling memories

"That wouldn't be necessary on my part, though, since I've known you for a long time, now…"

Penelope's lips parted with bewilderment

"Excuse me?.." was all she managed to say in a whisper, not realizing that she slightly leaned towards him, expectant of answers. Answers which, to some relief, he began offering after a short contemplative pause.

"Unlike my weaker counterpart…" despite the fact that he seemed cooperative so far, she already didn't like the way he spoke about her friend, he caught the subtle frown that grew on her face upon hearing those words "Even when I am not surfaced, I am capable of staying near the surface for a lot longer, you see… I've been watching you and him and the rest of those fools along the years."

His smirk grew ever so slightly more twisted upon noticing the disturbed expression on her face, he continued when she lightly shook her head, despite the fact that she had little doubts that he was being truthful, and knowing that he could prove it to her by recounting private events or secrets.

"Yeees, too bad for him, he can't do the same."

Penelope glanced at the glowing Eye of Wedjat tilting when he slightly cocked his head to the side until a soft pop could be heard, then leaned back in his chair, sounding distant and uninterested when he spoke again

"My weaker personality is sealed deep in my heart now, he doesn't even have the strength to come near the surface, let alone take over."

Hearing those words made her hand rise to cover her mouth and briefly close her moistening eyes. She swallowed, taking a few moments to convince herself to ask her next question

"Is there… Anything at all that could change that? Any way that he could come back soon?"

Marik huffed with faux amusement, it didn't inspire her hope, and any hope she had was swiftly crushed by his cold answer

"Soon? How pitiful, he's not coming back, ever. There's nothing any of you can do about it."

If it had been her own bed, Penelope would've curled up and cried herself to sleep, but she did her best to keep herself together, drying her moistened eyes with the sleeves of her satin robe.

"I'm not going anywhere." Marik added as he turned back to the table, in a lower voice, as if the comment was more to himself.

She pulled her sleeves over her hands in which she rested her face, remaining quiet while her mind raced, but every thought holding a potential solution that she followed only lead her to a mental brick wall instead of any action she could take.

The sound made by the humming engines of the airship was the only comfort she felt, the most tired part of her telling her to leave and go rest, but she didn't feel ready, didn't feel it was enough, despite being aware that more information might only make her feel worse.

"Why do you exist…" she whispered to herself absentmindedly, then wanted to kick herself upon realizing that he heard her and looked at her

"Oi, oi, if you want me gone so badly, the only thing you could do is kill me."

He didn't sound nearly as serious as someone suggesting something like that should be, and the sound of him grabbing the Millennium Rod drew her attention, while the sight of him actually removing its lower handle, revealing the sharp blade, made her eyes widen and body tense with fear

When he stretched the arm holding the Rod towards her, however, even with neither the blade nor the head of it aimed at her, she felt her frown deepen, unsure what kind of twisted test he was putting her through

"As if… Even if I wanted to, I would never be able to hurt someone like that. Not even.. someone like you."

Marik chuckled at the way she seemed to shrink back at the sight of the blade and the suggestion of violence, as he expected.

"Of course not." With frightening speed, he retracted the supposedly offered object and slammed it vertically on the table, piercing the blade through its surface.

Penelope nearly jumped out of her skin, she flinched and abruptly sat up, taking a large step backwards.

"Of course not, remember that this is my weaker counterpart's body as well, so if you kill me, you kill him too."

As much as she wanted him gone and her friend back, she didn't even want to entertain the idea. It was all just cruel, if anything bad happened to his body, it would be her friend who suffered as well.

The sound of the chair being pushed across the floor snapped her out of her short internal protest about how unfair the situation was, and seeing him stand up and begin walking towards her made her heart skip a beat before starting to thump heavier and faster against her chest. She mentally told herself she needed to leave, immediately, but it only took moments to have her stuck between the wall with the bed and himself, closing the distance before she could act on her desire to flee.

"Fortunately for his pitiful existence, if you can even call it that, I want to preserve my life." It was a small silver lining that he at least didn't grab the bladed Rod as he approached her "I like being here…"

His voice trailed off, and Penelope felt frozen like a deer in headlights, even more so when he stopped right in front of her and his arm reached for her neck. To the mildest of relief, he only pushed her long locks behind her shoulder, but when his hand rose to her cheek and caressed it, she didn't know how to react. Her gaze remained fixed straight ahead, in his direction but not looking at him, rather staring into space in fear and confusion as to what she should do.

"Did Ishizu send you?"

His voice was even lower than usual, both in pitch and volume, it took Penelope a few moments to process his words and gather hers together for a response

"N-no, not at all, in fact she was against talking to you, I had to convince her…"

She thought she was being discrete when she ever so slightly moved back as she spoke, distancing herself a small step away, but he didn't lower his hand. The way he stared at her with that lingering smirk and lightly furrowed brows while his empty hand remained where her cheek used to be made her feel like she did something wrong.

The gentle up and down movement of his shoulders and chest in a sighing motion drew her attention only for a moment, it was quickly followed by a sharp yelp when he tightly gripped her shoulder in that empty hand and roughly pushed her to sit onto the edge of the bed.

Almost as soon as she began looking for a way out, she realized she didn't have much to work with, she was more or less in the corner of the room. Her internal panic rose to new heights when Marik not only stepped as close as he could to the edge of the bed, but also placed his knee on it, right next to her. The proximity along with the fact that the position allowed for his crotch to be perfectly level with her face made her back away in fear as much as she physically could, which was not a lot, considering the bed, like all others, was relatively small, sized for one person.

"Of course she wanted nothing to do with this. Typical of my sister, always would rather have others do the dirty work while she stays at a safe distance.."

Penelope wasn't even aware of the way her chest rose and dropped with noticeable speed, her fear and anxiety causing her breath to accelerate along with her heartbeat. She also wasn't cognizant of the way her robe had parted near her chest when she fell on the bed, and completely clueless of the fact that Marik's gaze kept lingering on the exposed cleavage of her admittedly risqué nightgown, which was supposed to remain obscured by the robe.

She wanted to protest against his words about Ishizu, shaking her head in disagreement, but for a few long moments, felt it difficult to collect her thoughts and form a convincing sentence in her position. Just when she thought she found her words again, she lost them when he reached down and ran his fingers through her hair, once, and then twice, as he hummed, seemingly thoughtfully.

"You, on the other hand…" she felt herself tense up further when he dug his fingers into her hair again, but this time didn't remove them. "Always by my weaker counterpart's side, weren't you." She could have sworn she picked up some animosity in his voice, not towards her, but towards what he was saying himself.

Briefly glancing up revealed that he was still staring down at her without that unsettling smirk on his lips, although she didn't know if she found his demeanor more disturbing with or without the smirk.

"Through the thick and thin of it" he continued with the malice in his voice a lot more obvious, and she involuntarily tensed up further when she felt his grip on her hair tighten, not allowing her to pull back even half an inch "Even when your affairs started pushing the edge of the law, eh? And you always present yourself as such a good girl, moral, law-abiding girl." The sudden way in which his spiteful tone was replaced by a mocking one threw her off, as did the chuckle that followed.

Penelope shook her head as best she could, her movement restricted by the tight grip on her hair

"He was my-.. He is my friend, of course we stuck together, and.. I'm well aware of the way we.. bent the law, but.. Marik said it was for a good cause, there were multiple.. factors involved, I-I don't have to explain myself to you-"

She drew in a sharp breath when he pulled on her hair towards him, doing her best to not allow him to shrink the already way too small distance between them, even though it hurt to resist.

To some relief, he then released her hair, barely having the time to stroke her head in a supposedly gentle manner before she quickly pulled it back. Her gaze landed on the door behind Marik, and she decided to force herself to move before it got any worse.

"I think it's time for me to go-"

She hadn't even finished standing up when he roughly shoved her back down, her already racing mind surging her internal panic up to eleven. Just when she didn't want to think of how it could get worse, the panic dial was cranked up even higher when he sat down next to her, but as he descended, he hooked his thumb on the edge of her robe on the back of her neck, pulling it down to her hips in one motion and holding it down against the mattress.

While Penelope tried to process the danger she was in and find a way out, Marik bunched the fabric of her robe tightly in his fist, holding her arms together at the elbow behind her back. Her frantic attempt to stand up again was thwarted by him simply pulling her down by the robe that restricted her movement. Once she landed back on the bed, she panicked further when he leaned towards her, and at the feeling of his hand grasping her thigh, both as a way to prevent her from trying to get up again and to intimidate her.

"How ungrateful and selfish you all are, really."

In her panicked state of mind, she couldn't even begin to decipher what Marik meant, her eyes darted at him and the door between rapid breaths with a confused, pleading look

"I-I don't know what you're talking about, please, I have to go, let me go, there's nothing more I want to discuss."

"Tsk." She already didn't like the sound of that, and when he spoke, he sounded plainly irritated "It's always about you and him, and his dear siblings… Free to run around the surface, with your little plans and affairs." Penelope swallowed at the pain caused by his grip on her leg tightening, tensing up further at the increasing malice in his rising tone "Who do you think allowed them out of that tomb, huh?! If it wasn't for me killing those geezers, they'd still be crawling around in the dark under those rocks! All those years I was forced to live deep inside the ground, and deep inside his psyche, the only times I surfaced were to offer him and his ungrateful siblings freedom, freedom which he was too weak to take for himself!"

Penelope blinked with some realization, beginning to understand that he seemed to have some serious unresolved issues about the past. Her eyes darted back to the door, but didn't dare to try to get up again, terrified of how Marik would react this time, in his angered state. The thought of screaming for help also crossed her mind multiple times, hindered by the same reasons, plus the fear that nobody would hear her in the first place, and even if they did, what Marik could do to her before anyone managed to reach her.

"It was.. unfair, you're right." She made a weak attempt to calm him down by agreeing with him, she didn't know if he ignored her because he wanted to or due to how her voice came out barely audible. At the very least, she was slightly thankful that his voice wasn't raised anymore, although it was still thick with animosity

"And when you'd come along, spoiling them, taking them out of that dark hole, while I was stuck in another dark void, in his mind… It was like drowning, I could come close to the surface for a while but never break it, and when I'd be close all I could see was you, spoiling and indulging them, and later, them being ungrateful of the freedom I gave them."

His words were followed by silence which, the longer it went on, the more it added to Penelope's unease. Her jaw trembled with fear when she parted her lips, not wanting to say anything that would anger him more, but wanting him to calm down

"I'm sorry, I know it was terrible, the way they had to liv-.. E-everything that happened, really, it shouldn't have.." she hoped she hadn't made it sound like she dismissed what he appeared upset about

The heavy exhale he gave made her suspect that he had cooled down, confirmed when he spoke up in an almost normal tone, although she had to admit it was scary how abruptly his outburst came and went

"No matter, now…" the very slight relief she felt was replaced with more unease when his grip on her thigh loosened, but only to begin rubbing the skin "I may sound bitter, but, I'm not planning to live in the past." Penelope drew a sharp breath in and felt it freeze in her lungs when he began moving his hand upwards and leaned so close that he pressed his head against hers and spoke right next to her ear "I plan to make up for it."

Instinctively, she attempted to shoot up from the bed as if she was sitting on hot coals, unsurprised that she was immediately stopped again by a rough tug on her robe. Worse, he placed his leg to the side, so that when she landed back down, she sat on his thigh, and the hold of the robe around her elbows was replaced by the much stronger hold of his arm around her waist.

When she kept whining and struggling to break free, however, his hand around her throat in a firm grip both silenced and stilled her. It wasn't tight enough to restrict her breathing, but it was more than enough to make her feel like an utter fool for doing this in the first place.

You freakin' idiot, why did you come to his room, what did you think was gonna happen?! I should've known better, shit, shi-

Her self-berating was interrupted by Marik pulling her closer to him, speaking over her shoulder next to her ear, the proximity of both him and the voice so close raising the hairs on the back of her neck

"I always did wonder…" His voice returned to that almost amused tone along with that smirk, which concerned her, but not nearly as much as the feeling of his hand grasping the flesh of her upper thigh again. She tried to cross her legs before realizing it was a lot easier said than done due to the position she was stuck in, with his thigh holding them apart. On the dimmest bright side, placing his hand on her thigh meant he had to partially release his hold around her waist, although she didn't feel brave enough to attempt another escape just yet.

His following words, however, instilled a different kind of fear in her

"Why he didn't fuck you…"

Her panicked reaction, the way she shook her head with a variety of negative emotions and reasons, and the way her cheeks flushed red within seconds, it all seemed to amuse him further, stretching his twisted smirk wider.

"W-we didn't have that kind of a.. relation-"

"Another thing he was too weak to do? I'll enjoy taking care of that."

Penelope felt her muscles go limp with dread while her stomach made brand new knots of anxiety, her sickened sensation only worsened by him parting his lips and letting out a chuckle that she couldn't describe in any other way than downright creepy and deeply disturbing, especially after what he just said. Her whole body screamed that she needed to get away, and another part of her warned that if she could stand up, she might fall over due to how dizzy with nausea and fear she felt, while her breath more or less completely froze in her lungs.

It was all only made worse by the sensation of his hand on her thigh beginning to travel upwards, she reflexively whined and made a mostly failed attempt at crossing her legs. Her eyes darted between the door and the hand that disappeared under the hem of her nightgown, as distressing as it was, there was a surreal aspect to it. It was Marik's hand, the hand she held as a child when they became friends, when they ran around in the sand of the desert villages while their parents worked, then the sand of the exotic beaches in brief happy moments of freedom for him and his siblings, the hand she held as they grew up, supporting each other through difficult times. Marik had never dreamed of putting his hands on her like that, it was the last place that hand belonged in, it was a violation of both herself and him.

It was like a blessing from whatever god was watching and feeling merciful that Penelope's phone suddenly started ringing, and that Marik still had human reflexes. The abrupt, loud noise startled him for just a moment, long enough for Penelope to feel it, feel his loosened grip, and immediately rip out of his hold, landing on her knees but quickly scrambling to her feet and answering the phone.

"Ishizu!" she shouted the woman's name as soon as she heard her speak hers

Marik's frown announced how displeased he was at the interruption, he stood up, but Penelope wasted no time in rushing to the door

"Where do you think you're going, we're not done, not even close."

Despite listening to Ishizu, she heard Marik's words too, but the last thing she wanted to do was stay

"I just left his room, I-I'm fine, yeah, I'll come over in a minute."

The seconds it took for her fingers to frantically search for the button that operated the door and for it to slide open were some of the longest she'd ever felt; once she was out in the hallway, she rushed to her room without looking back. Only after locking her door behind her did she let out the biggest sigh of relief in recent memory.

On still trembling legs, she rushed to the bathroom where she splashed cold water on her face and did her best to recompose herself before going over to Ishizu. She already knew that there was no way she could bring herself to tell his sister everything that happened, no, she could only tell her what she spoke with him and live with the guilt of lying by omission to her. She didn't like it, but she felt there were reasonable motives for her to withhold information, mainly how stupid she felt for walking into the lion's den in the first place, and not wanting to add to Ishizu's worry or make her feel like she was somehow partly to blame, so she figured sharing their dialogue alone would have to suffice, at least for the time being.

Sorry for any typos or bad writing, I proofread it myself but I don't have a beta reader anymore so :( Feedback welcome.
I'm not convinced this fic is up to the standards I set for myself when writing so I don't know how long this will stay up.