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[x-shinobi.livejournal.com]

Friday morning, after finding Amanda and bringing her up to the suite, Marie cons Shinobi into keeping an eye on her later in the day so that she can have lunch with Logan and cover her classes.



Marie padded out of her room once she knew that Amanda was asleep and she tapped on Shinobi's door.

"S? You up yet?"

"Mostly," Shinobi replied through the door, his voice a smidgen groggy. After a brief moment, the door opened enough for him to peek outside, his hair a sleep-induced mess. "What's up?"

"Aside from your hair?" Marie asked dryly. "Me. And Amanda's not. There's been a bit of an incident last night apparently, which we're all keeping quiet," she gave him a /look/ here, "and I'm keeping an eye on her. Problem is, I have a lunch date with Logan and classes to teach in the afternoon. Can I tag you to cover between eleven-thirty and four? I'll be in and out, but I can't be here the whole time."

Shinobi was awake enough to recognize a capital-L Look when he was given one, blinking once and nodding his head. "I owe Mister Marko the glory of my presence around lunchtime, but I can eat around eleven and just make sure I see him before I come back up. She alright?"

"No," Marie said bluntly. "But she's physically in one piece, mostly. I'll let you know if she needs to eat later. We'll see what she can keep down."

He made a face, lifting a hand to rub the last clinging bits of sleep from his eyes. "Have you let Pete know yet?" he asked after a moment, peeking at her from between his fingers.

"Scott's taking care of it, I already called him, and Maddy's checked her out," Marie said, trudging away to the kitchen to put on the coffee maker.

"Good." Shinobi sighed in relief, casting a quick look over his shoulder to eye the clock. "Hopefully, she won't be too pissed it's me who's relieving you.. I'll make sure I'm back here by eleven thirty, shouldn't be a problem."

"She's welcome to explain to Logan why I've stood him up twice in one day, if she doesn't like it," Marie said shortly, then sighed heavily. "Sorry. And thanks, S. It's good that you're here."

"Nothing to apologize for," Shinobi replied with a sympathetic smile, leaning against the doorway. "I'm just glad I can help."

"I appreciate it." Marie started the coffee pot and headed for the bathroom. "I'm going to grab a shower, I think. I'd better do something for this mood. Talk to you in a few if you're still here."

"You're coming to the play with Hank, Warren and I tomorrow," Shinobi decided, leaning out the doorway enough to grin after her. "It'll help you with your mood, and it can be our latest token fun thing."

"You can discuss it with Logan," Marie said, stripping off her clothing with the bathroom door partly open. "Weekends are his time," she said, sounding rather happy about this. "But it sounds like fun so we'll see." She stepped over and closed the door completely. Moments later, the shower started up.

Shinobi was groggy enough that he peered towards the suddenly visible pale skin, slowly tilting his head to one side before he shook his head, rolling his eyes at himself. "Such a guy," he mumbled under his breath within the safety of Japanese, smirking faintly as he ducked back into his room to get dressed.


----------

After Shinobi gets an early lunch and has his talks with Nate and Cain, he returns to the room and settles in to watch Amanda, as requested. She eventually wakes up from a long overdue nap, they talk, and after she fails to ruin his frustratingly good mood, strike a truce.



It was shaping up to be a busy afternoon, but he'd signed himself up for every last bit of it. After
his early lunch and the chats with Cain and Nathan that bookended it, Shinobi had ran back upstairs to
relieve Marie of Amanda Duty right on time, and was somewhat relieved to find the girl asleep when he'd
gotten there.. even if she looked even worse than Marie had lead him to expect. Sitting in a chair near
where she sleeps, he's clad in jeans and a polo shirt, quietly reading a book and occasionally glancing
towards Amanda's form with no small amount of worry.

A small whimper catches his attention. Shinobi can't know it, but Amanda's dreams are filled with fire
and blood and reaching, grasping inhuman hands. The fact it's the same nightmare she's been having
since she was a child doesn't help - it terrifies her just the same. And always, just as she is about
to see the face of the thing that is reaching for her, she wakes. Panting and shaking, she bolts
upright. It takes her a moment to realise where she is, another to realise she isn't alone.

"Amanda?" Shinobi's voice is quiet, as gentle as he can make it, his book abandoned the second the
whimper had escaped her. He leant forward slightly, but stopped himself from reaching out, frowning
worriedly as he watched her.

"'M fine. Bad dream," she mutters, trying to breathe more calmly so her pulse will stop thundering in
her ears. "Where... what time is it?" She looks suspiciously at Shinobi. "An' why are you here?"

He cast a quick look down to his watch before responding. "In that order.. Marie's bed. Half past noon.
And because Marie asked me to be, and I wanted to be." Shinobi looked up again, unbothered by the
suspicion, offering her a slight smile. "You want a glass of water or anything, luv? Tea?"

"I think I'd sell me grandmother for a cup of decent tea," she replied, a ghost of a smile crossing her
face. "Americans just don't understand it." She yanked the pillow up, leaning against the headboard,
and leaned back. The smile slipped. "Should've know Marie wouldn't trust me t' be here when she got
back."

"She's just worried about you," Shinobi smiled, rolling his shoulders in a fairly helpless shrug as he
was silently thankful for his God-given talents with bullshit. Drama club's a good fit for him. "I'll
put on a kettle, then. You need anything else while I'm up?" He pushed himself to his feet, cocking his
head to the side curiously.

She shook her head. "Still ain't hungry. Think Marie poisoned me with that protein shite."

"She gave you one of those?" He made a face. "You *do* need some tea. I'll be back in just a tick,
then." Shinobi flashed a smile before turning to duck back into the main room, and set about the task
of putting the kettle on.

Amanda contemplated escape whilst he was gone, but short of going out the window, there weren' many
routes she could take. And she felt like death warmed over - the sleep had helped, but her body had
obviously come to a point where it wouldn't co-operate with her any more without some actual care.
"Fuck," she said quietly. These people... no matter how hard she tried to push them away, they still
hung on, like bloody limpets. And they expected so much of her.

Surprisingly, perhaps, Shinobi took his time in the kitchenette, giving Amanda a couple of minutes to
contemplate escape, the ceiling, her stubborn housemates and what all else before he returned, absently
wiping his hands off on his jeans. "Should only be a couple minutes," he offered absently, crossing
back to his chair, though he glanced between it and the edge of the bed, sort of hovering in place and
not yet sitting on either.

She pushed her hair out of her face tiredly and nodded at the bed. "Sit wherever you bloody well like.
'S all the same t' me," she said, but there was no anger in her tone, only weariness.

His expression was an odd mix of sheepishness and gratitude as he stepped over, claiming a bit of the
bed for himself a companionable distance away, though he made sure to leave her some space to herself.
"Ta." He fell silent then, folding his hands in his lap. Now that she was awake, he had no idea what to
say - or, rather, what was safe to say.

"No lecture?" she asked after a suitable amount of time letting him squirm. Marie might be too bloody
stubborn - and too bleeding tough - to fight against, but she wasn't backing down. She remembered the
smell of burned flesh and garbage, and shuddered. Not while she had the power to do such things.

"No lecture. Not from me." Shinobi glanced over, smiling crookedly. "Already lectured someone today, so
I've filled my quota. Besides, you probably don't need to hear it." One of his eyebrows crept upward
slightly at the shudder, and he hesitated a moment before speaking again. "Need another blanket? Or an
ear? I think you're stuck with me for a couple more hours yet.. suppose I could drag you out to the
sofa, let you kick my ass at video games for a bit.."

"Never got that hang of those things. Magic an' technology... the two don't really mix. Blew up one in
one of me foster homes, an' they never let me near anythin' after that." She looked over at him
hopefully. "I don't s'pose yer'd just let me take off? Marie... she doesn't need t' deal with my shite,
on top of her own."

"But she wants to," Shinobi countered, grinning apologetically and slowly shaking his head. "Sorry,
luv. She'd do bad things unto me if I let you go, even if I wanted to."

"Bugger. Was worth a try." She pulled her knees up underneath the blankets, began to wrap her arms
around them and winced as she brushed the partly-healed cut on her forearm. "Somethin' you can do, if
you want t' feel useful. Get me somethin' t' cover this?" She turned her arm over so he could see the
two parallel lines.

Shinobi tilted his head curiously at the paralell lines, pursing his lips in thought before nodding and
sliding to his feet. "You want a band-aid, or an ace bandage?" he asked, taking a backwards step
towards the door in preparation of raiding the first aid kit.

"Bandage. They're too big for anythin' else. Couldn't heal 'em enough."

"Do I want to ask? Or, well," he waved his own question off, smiling wryly as he turned to duck back
out of the room, raising his voice so she could hear him. "Do you want to talk about it, is what I
should be asking, 'ay? I do want to ask, since I tend to worry, but I'll not press if you'd rather
not."

"Not much t' tell. It's payment, fair 'n square." She waited until Shinobi had come back and taken his
seat on the side of the bed again. She pointed to the older cut. "That's what I owed Patches from when
you an' Ange went for me. This one is from last night. Money ain't the only currency about, an' this
was all I had."

He didn't take long, returning with a balled-up ace bandage tucked into the crook of one arm and a pair
of mugs in hand. He reclaimed his seat, offering on mug as he set his own aside, letting the bandage
drop into his lap in the process. "Well, after you get back, you let me foot your bills from now on,"
he replied after a moment's thought, nodding to himself. "Patches accepts cash, doesn't he?"

She grimaced. "Not unless he has to. 'Sides, it weren't much. An' it's not like he was interested in
anythin' else I had." She took the mug cupping both hands around it for warmth and taking a long sip.
Rom was right - tea fixed a lot of things, and the things it didn't fix, it made seem easier to bear.
She surrendered the arm with the cuts again so Shinobi could bandage it. "I did a healin' spell, but
there was too much t' cover an' I didn't have enough power."

"Well, Patches has to," he said simply, scooping the bandage up so that he could carefully begin
wrapping Amanda's arm. "Just let me know if it needs to be loosened up at all." He glanced over,
offering her a slight smile. "For what it's worth, Amanda, I'm glad you're still here. If you want to
co-opt the sofa or Marie's bed - the weekends are Logan's, you see - I certainly wouldn't mind the
company."

"Maybe I do. Mind the company." Her eyes clouded. "You think I'm doin' this for fun? Pissin' people
off, tryin' t' keep out of the way? I'm... I'm losin' it, an' I don't want you lot in the firin' line.
'M an addict, plain an' simple, an' I will sell you out t' get me next fix, if that's what I have t'
do."

He just shrugged, continuing to wrap her arm up, that irritatingly calm expression never leaving his
face. "You think I'd invite you to share the suite if I didn't feel safe with you?" he asked simply. "I
feel safe with Sarah, I feel safe with Marie.. hell, I feel safe with Jono. Don't tell him, though.
Fucking prince of darkness can't know he isn't scaring everybody away." He grinned, making sure the
bandage was secure before he gave her arm a quick, gentle pat. "Besides, I learned a bit more about my
own powers over the weekend. You aren't the only one who can hurt people, and will if they think it's
necessary."

"Thing is, your 'necessary' an' mine are two different things. You don't have this fucking cravin'
messin' up yer head, makin' you do all sorts of shite t' satisfy it. Wanna know how I got into town? I
gave a sleazy scumbag of a salesman a blowjob for twenty bucks an' stole his wallet into the bargain."
Amanda's voice was heavy with self-loathing. "An' why? Because I needed it. Needed the feelin' so bad I
was willin' t' do anythin' t' get it. Ever since that demon dimension, it's all I can bloody well think
about. If I had the power t' open anohter portal, I probably well would, an' to hell with anyone who
happened t' get in the way."

"And I don't care 'bout any of that. I'm your friend, whether you like it or not, luv. Here for the
long haul. Even if that means hopping into more portals to demon dimensions to bring you back." Shinobi
shrugged, scooping his mug up from the nightstand and bringing it up for a quick drink. "I used to
spend my every waking hour planning new ways of killing my father. I've got a couple hundred methods
jotted down in a journal I keep in my desk, all planned out. I update them when I figure out loopholes,
or better ways of doing them, and add more as I think of them. It isn't on the forefront of my mind
anymore, though - I got past it. It's still there, but it's not all I think about. You'll get there."

"You an' Marie make good room mates. Yer both bloody stubborn." Amanda sipped the cooling tea she'd
wrapped both hands around. "An' you both don't get what I'm tryin' to warn you 'gainst. Ain't my
problem any more." She sighed and ran a careful finger along the graze on her cheekbone. "Patches
bloody well ripped me off," she muttered.

"I get what you're trying to warn me against, luv. I just don't bloody well care. Stubborn, remember?"
He shrugged, regarding the graze on her cheek as her finger calls attention to it. "Mmh. I'd offer to
go kick his arse for you, but then we'd need to find you a new go-to, for when you get back."

"He didn't do this, that was later. Just meant he didn't give me enough juice t' heal it proper. An' I
thought you weren't gunna help me with that no more? You seemed pretty certain about it on Sunday."

"Not going to help you with it 'til you get yourself back under control," Shinobi smiled, reaching over
to lightly pat her knee through the blankets. "I *like* the magic, when you're not telling me how much
you're hurting yourself with it."

"I don't," she said quietly. When he raised his eyebrow at her questioningly, she added. "It's... doin'
somethin' to me. Makin' me dark inside. Makin' me like Rack." The spell she'd done last night, the one
that had hurt Randy... she recognised it now. One of Rack's favourites.

"Luv, you're bar none the most stubborn girl I know," Shinobi said after a moment's thought, smiling a
touch. "If anybody can chase the darkness out of their own soul, it's you. Pete, he's going to help you
with it. And if I can, so'll I. Not in a mood to lose one of me best mates, now that I know how nice
having them is."

"Guess that's why you like me, 'cause I'm stubborn. You an' me an' Marie." A faint smile crossed her
face. "Pete. Fuck. He's goin' t' go spare if he finds out what I did last night."

"Not as badly as he would if we kept it from him," Shinobi chuckled, nodding solemnly. "Don't worry,
luv. Noone's going to take away your option of coming back. Redemption's a big running theme here. I
mean, there's a bloke downstairs who did mercenary work for my father - if they're lettin' him stay,
they'll welcome you back easy."

"Nate's useful. An' Doc McTaggart ain't about t' let anyone send her bloke away." Amanda finished her
tea, savouring the warmth it brought her.

"You're useful, too. And appreciate fags and proper tea." He grinned, holding out a hand for the empty
mug.

"Least there's someone who knows how t' make a decent one," she said, handing the mug over. "An' if yer
really lucky I'll even get you t' make me toast so I can appreciate that too." She stretched,
restlessly. "That couch idea is startin' t' sound good. You got any decent movies?"

"Depends on your definition of decent, but I'm sure we could find something." Shinobi smiled as he took
the mug, taking a moment to drain the last of his own tea before he beamed cheerfully. "Up for walking,
or am I even luckier and get to carry you?"

"I can walk. Probably." Amanda paused. "'M not convinced, you know. That you an' Marie an' Pete haven't
got it wrong 'bout me. But I know when I'm outnumbered. So this is a truce, right? I'll stop fightin'
you, an' you don't blame me when it all blows up in yer faces."

"Can we say 'told you so' if it turns out we're right, or should we refrain? Otherwise, it sounds
perfectly fair to me." Holding both mugs in one hand, Shinobi slid to his feet, rolling his shoulders
before offering Amanda his free hand. "Truce."

"Only if I get to if I'm right." She took the offered hand. "Truce it is." Using him to pull herself up
off the bed, she paled and swayed alarmingly. "Um, Shinobi? Think this is yer lucky day after all."

"That would only be fair." Shinobi grinned as he helpfully pulled Amanda up to her feet, and was quick
to wrap his other arm around her shoulders when she swayed with a surprised blink. "Looks like," he
agreed, eyeing the mugs a moment before setting them down on the nightstand to free himself up enough
to scoop her up, giving her a moment to get settled before turning to move into the living room. He
could come back for the mugs later.