A Decent Distraction? || Robin || Chapter One, Closed for Nori
For some time after the trial, Robin had done nothing. Nothing but sit on the floor of the Main Hall, staring off at the far walls. He heard that the West Hall was safe now, but didn’t actually do anything about it. He merely filed it away in his mind, paying a brief glance at the hall’s entrance, before turning back to look at nothing.
As he sat, his mind turned. He mulled the events of the last few days over, thinking about what had happened, wondering if there was anything he could have done differently. If that would have changed anything. Maybe it wouldn’t have, maybe it would’ve only changed who was here now, but it was a tempting thought, that he’d had some sort of influence. Dismal as that was, to Robin, it was better than accepting that he had no impact, that his actions were entirely inconsequential.
Still, one could only ponder fit so long. Eventually, Robin found himself looking less at his actions, and more at the walls of the hall. Letting out a sigh, he thought of what he could do, something good… Nori! They’d seemed distressed at the end of the trial, and he hadn’t been able to help them then. Would seeing them help now? Had he waited too long?
Well, he’d try to help if he still could. Robin picked himself, walking over to where he saw Nori. "Hey, Aragaki-san. You okay?“
{tw: self harm, sort of?} Nori was shaking as they sat in a spot in the corner of the hall. They were itching furiously at their skin, right where they bit themselves before. It felt like their skin had ants crawling all over and it just wouldn’t stop. This was how they used to be, so why did this have to happen again? Did they deserve this, then? They laughed nervously to nothing in particular as they just sat there, staring at the wall. How could everything ever be ‘ok’ here? They knew for sure that at least two, if not more of the students here were waiting for the moment they could strike Nori with their back turned. Their skin looked raw on the arm they scratched at, keeping it close to their chest. Their glasses too were on the floor, a few feet behind them. If you looked into their eyes, you could only see confusion and fear, even now. Just what the hell were they to do? “Ah...Statlender-kun?” They began to pat around for their glasses without turning around. They really didn’t want him to see their eyes or vunerable facial expressions. But then, they’d already been seen as such in trial, so hiding it was very difficult, if not impossible. As the unoccupied hand searched from behind for those glasses, it was easy to tell how badly scarred it was. Thin white scars decorated the whole of their hands as they tried, in vain, to find their glasses. They then turned around and covered their eyes so Robin wouldn’t see them. “No....I-I....don’t think so.” Well, at least they were honest, even if they didn’t wish to be. Still, their scratching persisted.
