impartial interrogations

[try #1]

Seidou paced nervously outside of the door. He had been turned away the moment it closed for the very first time and now he was waiting for it to finally open again.

Black nails were already bitten down into practical non-existence and blood had begun dripping down the corner of his lip. Nail biting had turned into finger biting and soon he feared there wouldn't be any fingers left to bite either. The bones creaked and suffered under the pressure of teeth as the pacing continued at the same nervous speed.

Houji should be fine. The wounds he suffered hadn't seemed that substantial. Yet, in the back of Seidou's mind the fear that he himself had done something while blacked out lingered. His index finger cracked and groaned painfully.

Another tick resounded from the clock on the wall and then another, each one pushing Seidou closer to his soon be inevitable mental breakdown. He thought to himself that perhaps he didn't deserve answers, didn't deserve closure and the- relief, happiness, hope, the what?- that came with it. Yet he craved it, an innermost part of him screamed and taunted and dared him to live on just a little longer, just long enough to see the end. Stupid, so stupid.

Takizawa Seidou was a man of no hope. Or he should have been. Had been. But then this feeling, like angry red sparks in his chest took over and whispered of things he didn't want to hear. Or perhaps they were the things he wanted to hear the most, only to find that he didn't consider himself worthy of it. The whispers of a future, of a life. Of happiness and possibilities.

And then the door groaned on its hinges, old wood creaking under the force of ghoul strength. A man with dark hair and a stature that towered over him stood before Seidou, but if anyone intimidated the other it must've been him because the man ducked and shifted uncomfortably under his peering eyes.

"Is he...?" Seidou didn't even need to finish.

"He's fine. Let him rest for a few days." Banjou eked out and disappeared into the next room down the hall. He must've been afraid, or his demeanour was based solely on seeming scared. A cowardly lion, then. Seidou's frown deepened the further he strayed into his own thoughts, too far gone to catch the door before it swung shut again. He scowled and black nailed clutched the handle, pulling with too much force and electing moans of protest from the furniture.

The man waiting for him by the window only seemed amused by Seidou's irritability, displaying none of the traces of fear Banjou had shown him. When their eyes met Seidou wanted to recoil. The air felt stale and hot, far too stale and hot for the breeze rustling a pair of ugly red drapes to exist. Dark hair looked as in place as usual despite the open window and when Houji finally offered him the tiniest hint of a smile Seidou knew running away wasn't an option, for how far he might run he could never run from himself.

"I'm sorry," it was barely a whisper, yet Houji heard him somehow. His eyes shifted and something inside of Takizawa twisted, bringing with it the gut wrenching sensation of a stab to the chest.

"Hello to you too, Takizawa-kun."