It had been a bit of a struggle getting up to her room. She had been drinking on and off all day and she knew she would regret it in the morning but ....
"C'EST LA VIE! La nuit est jeune!"
She giggled to herself as she collapsed on her bed, looking around the room in the dark. "Ah! Minibar!" she squeaked, rolling onto the floor when she found her legs didn't want to work properly. A shuffled crawl was all it took before she had the bar opened and a tiny bottle of bourbon opened up.
Quickly emptied. She grabbed another small bottle. Downed once again. She was reaching her limit for the fourth, or was it fifth? Maybe the seventh.... Whatever number it was, her limit was being reached once again and she would soon have to stop. But with the day nearing an end, the full knowledge of another birthday passing without freedom, she wasn't inclined to stop. She was out to enjoy herself! For the first time in, who the hell knew. She could see why people drank, got lost in those bottles. Everything was drowned, smothered, suffocated by the fuzziness over her eyes and mind. No worries. She didn't care about getting caught, didn't worry about never getting better, didn't really mind if Zinger decided to wake up and kill someone else she loved. Why not keep drinking? The more she swallowed, less shitty she felt. And the less shitty she felt, then she got to experience happiness. Even if it was a fake one. So, she wouldn't stop. She'd open another bottle, drink it, then open another one until her body told her to sleep it off again. She had no intentions of stopping.
And she wasn't. Until half way through the next minibottle, her hand pulled it away from her lips, grabbed the remaining bottles in the bar and clumsily tripped to the bathroom, pouring out each one very, very carefully.
Koei couldn't believe, as well as he could believe suddenly plunged into a mind fogged with alcohol, that Hana would do this to herself. No. He couldn't.... headache. He grabbed a rag from the bar along the wall, widening his eyes in hopes that they would focus. Cold- no, that's the hot. Want the cold. Wet the rag. Make it to the bed. Prop yourself up; can't lie down. No, never lie down in this state. Rag over the face. Relax.
Koei had a much high tolerance than higher did and this would not have affected in normal circumstances but suddenly taking over cause him to get sick. And worry.
Hana felt out of control, lost without a clue or a safety net. And Koei felt responsible. He was failing in his duty to protect this young girl, like a daughter to him, a precious being who gave birth to him, an extension of her own self. Zinger had done a better job than he, and she had removed the girl's parents from her life. A weak laugh passed over his lips. The pupil, though wayward, was surpassing the teacher. And what the of the place meant to help her?
He was to protect her. They were to help her. But that had been nothing. No alerts, no warnings, nothing. No bulletins to be on the lookout for a runaway. Did they not care? And what of..... His body was slowly acclimating to the alcohol she had consumed but not quick enough.
His lack of triggerings, he considered it a blessing. He missed the woman who had captured his heart recently but if it meant that Hana was improving, a sacrifice he would have to make. But, it was a sign of something far worse. And she had told no one. She spoke to no one. And no one spoke to her. And no one worried about her absence. Not even she whose charge she was under. Was his fault? Was he to blame for this lack of care? What could he do? What could they do? What-
