badfic_manor | Spell 008 [In person]

[Soubi is in the hospital. The constant wounds on his neck have not bled in a number of days, but he knows only too well what happens when wounds are not cared for in an unclean environment like this. He's here to find some bandages to replace the old ones he's wearing now.

He's found one of the old examination rooms on the first floor; he doesn't particularly want to go up to the unstable upper floors unless he has to. He gently eases a few drawers open, and then picks at the drawers that are rusted shut until they pop open. An upper cabinet, a lower cabinet... Oh. These bandages seem to be disintegrating.

He searches carefully through the next room and then the one after that until he finally finds some bandages that have been preserved at the very back of a storage closet. He takes all of the bandages he can find and puts them into the pockets of his jeans, and then moves back into the hall to change the bandages already on his neck. From the sharp peeling sound that the old bandages make when they come off, he realizes that dirt has probably gotten into the wound already. How annoying...]

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[While Robin was asleep, Sheldon decided to grab supplies from any source he could find. He approached the hospital with caution and his senses were hyper aware, he opens the door. With the flashlight in hand which is nothing more than a mini-mag pocket flashlight, he spots Soubi and glares.]

Interesting that I would cross your path again.

[He stepped through the lobby and toward Soubi. Despite that he wanted to chew his ass out for the two weeks that he was bonded with Robin, something happened between them that he couldn't shake especially since it was in himself that he couldn't. Now wasn't the time to talk about it.]

Here, let me help.

[Soubi looks up, not wholly surprised by the intruder, but squinting from the flashlight all the same. When he is able to figure it out who it is from the voice, he stands up from where he was kneeling to greet him.]

I suppose it is. But you don't need to help me.

[It may not be time to talk about the past plots now, but if Sheldon's light falls on Soubi's neck, he will see what is under Soubi's bandages for the first time: The Fighter name, "Beloved". But it isn't a natural marking or a tattoo; it's a scar, carved into his flesh years before. Soubi calmly starts to wrap it up in the new bandages.]

[His arm lowers so the glare from the light wasn't in Soubi's eyes. The light caught the mark and he nodded his head. Something happened that made that mark unable to heal.]

At least let me keep up the light so you can see.

I can't see what I'm doing anyway, on my neck.

[Quickly and expertly he wraps the new bandage around the deep wounds and clips the ends in place with a butterfly clip. His movements are of one who has done this for a long time. He rolls his head once experimentally, checking to see if the bandages are tight enough. When he's satisfied he looks back at Sheldon.]

Are you here for supplies?

[Sheldon pretty much figured out that Soubi was used to it but he still offered just the same. He pans the light to any cabinets that would have anything that they could use.]

Yeah. I'm taking care of Robin and I don't want to take any chances that she'll lack her feminine supplies should that time come. I figured the best place to look was the clinic. We're also going to need supplements. Have you seen any?

[Soubi raises an eyebrow. He's never heard the words "feminine supplies" used this way. Perhaps because where he's from, people never feel the need to speak delicately around him. He is dirty, one to be used for sex or fighting: there is probably no reason to use anything but blunt, dirty speech with him anyway. He nods slowly.]

There are some old supplies in the drawers of the third room down the hall. But I wouldn't look for anything to feed her. Everything here seems long-expired.

Thanks. I'll keep that in mind.

[He could think that way and he's just as dirty but he felt that it was better to keep her dignity despite that she wasn't present. He paused and turned around to face Soubi again, this time his face showed a question that was about to form.]

Have you ever had the feeling that you bonded to the point where you can't think of anything but to keep that person safe for the rest of your life? Ever since that week....it's been a noose around my neck.

[Soubi had been looking down, carefully folding the old bandage in his hands until he could find a safe place to throw it away, but now he looks up quickly at Sheldon. This is not something he had expected to happen.]

Is that how you've been feeling? You must be more suited to be a Fighter than the Author realized.

[He gives him a hard look.]

But you should remember, you aren't a Fighter. You have no real bond with Robin, not anymore. You'll only hurt yourself if you let yourself feel that close to her.

[He turns to face Soubi squarely.]

You and I both know that. I don't know if it was the atmosphere that caused it or if it was something else entirely but the demand is there. Look, I didn't expect this to happen either. It did and I want nothing more than to keep her safe.

Granted that the Fighter ability is no longer there and the bond isn't the same as it was before but it's there only now the rules have changed. I'd give my life for her and that's something I didn't expect.

[Soubi's face bears absolutely no emotion at all as he answers with a question.]

Do you want to lose your freedom?

[Sheldon didn't have to give it much thought. He was never free to begin with. He was tied to something whether it was to the government or to his job. He was a slave to the system and that was his purpose.]

I lost it long ago when I signed my life away.

[Soubi shrugs and starts to walk down the hall again. Sheldon's statement makes no sense to him; in his mind, nothing but a Fighter and a Sacrifice can share a real bond of love or caring.]

Then it's your choice, protecting her or not. But you have no reason to protect her. There is no true bond, nothing holding you together. You may come to find that you do not even enjoy each others' company. Why sign away your life again for something like that?

You're talking between me and Robin? There's something there. It's nothing like the contract I signed, that's for damn sure. This is something deeper. As a patriot, I uphold the ideals of my country to protect the laws and uphold democracy. As a Fighter, I have decided to help Robin and protect her for the sake of...

[He paused and his face softened.]

...I think....it's love.

[Soubi turns again and looks Sheldon straight in the eyes for several seconds before turning away and scoffing.]

The love a Fighter and a Sacrifice share can't be shared by people who aren't truly bonded. It's only a residual feeling, Mr. Sands.

[He keeps quiet and walks away. He had other things to do and getting the necessary supplies was his priority at the moment. There was no need to argue the point. He knew what he was feeling and he hated even admitting that openly. He knew that she's not only 15 but also that she's more than capable of handling any given situation to the best of her ability.]

Forget I said anything.

[And he was out the door.]

Spell 008 [In person]

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