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Shiro knows his room like the back of his hand by now, considering how much time he's been spending there. After his short talk with Piotr, he went back up there, shut and locked the door, and lay down on his bed. For hours, he's just been staring at the ceiling, trying to clear his head.

A faint knock resonates on the door, followed by a voice calling out a few seconds later. "Shiro? It's Alison..." She leans on the doorframe, staring down the hallway with a pensive look, having taken a peek on the others and noticed that he wasn't part of that group. And if nothing else, Shiro's been very good at keeping to himself, since Alex left.

Wonderful. Alison is sure to rip him a new one, since he put two defenseless children in danger. He rolls over to lie on his side, his back to the door, and ignores her. Maybe if he pretends she's not there, she'll go away.

That ploy might have worked, were it not for what Alison overheard earlier and read in the journals. Badness happened, she suspects, and Shiro locking himself away when Marie is attempting to get all the others together? Not good, she figures. "You know, we can talk through the door, but I figure you don't really want half the discussion to be overheard by others, right?" She keeps her voice even, not really knowing what happened of course, but knowing there's not that many people Shiro does talk to in the first place.

She's right, of course, on both counts. With a grudging sigh, Shiro gets up and opens the door for her. He doesn't say a word to her as she enters, and closes the door behind her before sitting back on his bed. He has a nearly overwhelming desire to pull his knees up to his chest like a little child, and awaits the inevitable scolding.

Instead Alison simply closes leans on the door, crossing her arms absently as she takes in his appearance. Dispirited would be a good word to use right now, she decides, and knowing exactly what happened takes on a new urgency. "Are you going to be all right?" she asks instead, carefully phrasing the sentence so that he doesn't need to answer with an immediate - and knowing that if there's to be an explosion, it's likely to be at that regardless.

"All right?" he repeats, scoffing. "All right? If I stay here, I'll undoubtedly be killed by some irate classmate. If I leave, my 'friends' will see to it that I don't step foot out of the city without a coffin. No, I don't think that I'll be all right."

Alison remains silent for a moment, taking that information in, and then slowly slides down to sit on the floor, cross legged, hands loosely placed on her knees. "I don't know what happened, Shiro. Not exactly." She tilts her head, still speaking calmly. "What happened?"

He should tell her. He likes her and trusts her, and she deserves to know. But on the other hand, he feels that what he helped plan was so horrible that she would kick his ass right there. In the end, he decides to spill. "I was contacted a few days ago by some people I know back home. They wanted to speak with Piotr, so I was told to lure him to a specific location where they could do so. But it all went wrong and they lied to me." He starts to sound a little frantic now, and tries to keep himself calm. Won't do any good to freak out now. "They took Illyana and threatened to kill her if Piotr didn't listen. So we had to fight them to save her. I endangered a little girl's life . . ."

A glacial sensation shivers its way down her spine as she listens to him, his emotional distress not escaping her despite the impact of his words. That the children were physically unharmed she already knows - there would have been a far greater explosion upon their return if it were otherwise. And the others are being taken care of right now... "People you know back home?" she asks instead then, wanting to know exactly what happened rather than jumping to any conclusions.

"Yes," he says simply. He can't, or rather won't, tell her anymore than that. It's still family, and he still is obligated to keep their secrets and silence. "I was told it would be simple and no one would be hurt. But they lied and would have killed her if Marie and Paige hadn't shown up."

"It never occurred to you that they might lie?" she asks, pensively. "Or that whatever business they might have with Piotr might not... go well?" She waits, giving him time to process an answer.

"Of course I didn't!" he snaps, offended, although he doesn't quite know why. "These people . . . no, not to me. What would happen to Piotr was no concern of mine. He could take care of himself if things did not go well for him. I did my job, and I expected the others to do exactly as they had agreed."

Life lessons are rarely easily learned, or without ill effects. Alison suspects that this one will stay with Shiro for quite some time, regardless of the intent he had going in. That he set up Piotr deliberately, knowing things might go badly... she clenches her teeth and takes a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment, before letting it out slowly. "And what if Piotr had not managed to take care of himself, Shiro?" She's not even thinking of bringing up the children just yet. Losing her temper right now wouldn't do anyone any good, but the thought that Miles might have been with them- she stops that train of thought there.

"I didn't let myself think of that," he admits, ashamed. "I had a task to accomplish, and if I didn't cooperate . . ." Shiro shudders at the thought. He'd likely have ended up missing limbs. "I had no choice. But I tried to make sure that no one else would be involved. I never even told them who else was coming with us to the cinema."

They never think, Alison reflects, to just talk to someone. Ask for help. She represses the feeling as best as she can, but there's a reason why she quit the counselor post, and reasons like this being offered to her is one of them. "There's always a choice, Shiro." She pauses, taking a deep breath. "If you had to do it again, knowing what would happen. Would you?" She looks at him straight in the eyes, waiting for his answer.

He finally meets her gaze, his eyes betraying the guilt and fear his body tries to keep hidden. "Ms. Blaire, you don't understand. It would have been a thousand times worse if I had told anyone."

Alison tilts her head, still holding his gaze. "And if Illyana had been hurt." She pauses, letting that sink in. "What if she had been killed, Shiro?"

Shiro gulps, but forces himself to keep her gaze, too. "Then I would have had yet another death on my hands, a horrendous one at that. And I would have offered myself in compensation."

"If this happens again, Shiro... what will you go? If these people contact you and tell you to give them someone from this House?" The words are whispered, but still loud enough for him to hear clearly, the intonation of the last word giving him no doubt as to what she means.

"Now that I know that they do not play by the rules they claim to," he answers slowly, "I would refuse and offer myself as I should. 'Damned if you do, damned if you don't,' ne? Now that they've shown me this, I would rather not endanger anyone else."

Hard lessons. Alison sighs, repressing the urge to tell Shiro that what he did was stupid - even though she thinks it was. Because she also knows that there are cultural issues in the mix, and that to him, there was likely no stupidity involved. Although a frightful amount of misplaced trust and naivety, mingled with a ruthlessness he might not see the scope of are. "You'll need to talk to the Professor." Because Alison certainly isn't the one who should or even can deal with this, but she can certainly make the statement one that isn't going to be argued with.

"Of course." He knew he would have to do that eventually, but hearing it from somebody else in such a forceful tone nearly makes him wince. "I really did not mean for this to happen, Ms. Blaire. I'm sorry."

"I'm sure you didn't." Because 'I should hope not!' isn't going to do it, and yelling at him or threatening him will only make him withdraw and refuse to communicate. And he's listening and communicating instead of being sullen and self-righteous, which some students certainly indulged in before hand. Betsy's kidnapping comes to mind... as well as her behaviour of late, although Alison firmly sets that thought aside for now. "I'll walk you there." She pauses, giving Shiro the chance to offer that they go now, rather than forcing the issue herself.

"Okay," he says and nods before rising and following her out.