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Hayden's eyebrows inched upwards at her story, though he said nothing at first. Instead, he pretended to be preoccupied with parking the Jeep. To be honest, he hadn't been expecting anything like that and needed a moment to try and absorb what he'd just been told.

Eight years ago was a long time, considering...it sure seemed like it anyway. Afterall, he'd been here at CRONUS for...what? Six years now? That sounded about right. It was hard to say actually, but it seemed like an eternity. Eight years though would land somewhere in the middle of what he dubbed his 'wild years.' Years where partying and socializing had taken priority over anything else.

Needless to say, the news and current events hadn't placed too high on his radar. However, even Hayden vaguely remembered something about the event, so it must have been big. He'd not recognized her name though, so he wasn't too up on the details. He had an idea though that he'd be better off asking someone else this point if he wanted more information. He wasn't likely to get anything else out of her, it seemed.

"I see..." he finally commented, quietly. "I guess I look pretty foolish for asking now, don't I?"

Like a complete moron.

He sighed, still not ready to look at her again. He really did feel like an idiot. Not that he could help being so uninformed here at CRONUS, but he didn't have much of an excuse for the time before that.

Sighing again, he reached up to rub the bridge of his nose with two fingers. He barely caught himself before saying something about being sorry for all that...he'd been listening, thanks. Instead, he finally dared glance over at her.

"Your personal business is yours alone. I'm sorry for asking and bringing up such things. I really am an idiot sometimes." While he may have been acting out of habit earlier, the regret in his eyes was honest now and hinted that he knew something of personal loss.

Hayden only frowned at her brief, cool response. Perhaps what bothered him the most wasn't her answer earlier, nor even the thoughts that accompanied that knowledge...

It was the cold, emotionless way that she'd said it, calmly explaining that she'd been shot by her own brother.

It was more than unsettling. Downright creepy in a way. Eight years was a long time...but not that long.

Shaking his head, Hayden hurried to shut down the Jeep, then hopped out to walk around to the back to help Koorie with her bags. "Here, just let me handle those. I'll make sure everything is safely stored in your room while you meet with Dr. Hakan." He spoke quietly, but without a trace of emotion in his voice, nor did he meet her eyes again. The problem was that there were too many emotions to deal with right now, including shame, pity, and self-loathing (that one was quite familiar by now). Instead, it was easier to keep it all inside and show nothing.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," he muttered, turning to pick up the remaining items. It wasn't that he doubted her threat; he got a distinct vibe from this one that she would almost happily carry it out if given the slightest chance. It was more that the threat was getting old already. It didn't help matters that Hayden was relatively used to being threatened in some way after this many years working for Dr. Hakan. Hell, he was pretty sure that anything Koorie could do would still seem tame compared with the doctor's threats.

Rolling his eyes a bit, he led her towards the door. "You know, I'm starting to hope it is just me you have a problem with. I can't imagine you treating everyone you meet like this. If so, you're going to have a problem making it around here if you can't be more sociable." He'd started off muttering to himself, eventually seeming to speak to them both, even if he knew he should never have started speaking. And that last line? He felt like the world's biggest hypocrite with that one.

He'd crossed the line and he knew it. At the same time though, he really didn't care. Here was another one, foolish enough to sign away their life and come to this place...but, by the way she was acting, he was finding it harder and harder to be upset that she had done so. Because of the way it pained him to see the others come here, he thought he'd remained unchanged by his time in this place. Unfortunately, that probably wasn't true and he was disconcerted by how little he felt for this girl, even though she was making the same mistake by coming to this place. And the difference? All because she was rude?

He was becoming more and more like the individuals at CRONUS he referred to as 'lowlifes' and 'moralless sickos'...truly, a living nightmare in itself. Perhaps he wasn't as untainted as he had believed...

Without thinking, Hayden snorted and snapped back. "Oh don't worry, I'm not flattered...but you shouldn't be either. If you think hating me is unique, you've got a thing or two to learn yet. That seems to be the favorite pasttime around here," he muttered, rolling his eyes again. Dammit, there he went again, speaking without thinking. Why couldn't he keep his damn mouth shut?

"And I wasn't worried about your social life. That's not what I meant at all...but you know what? It's not my problem, so nevermind." With a muffled huff of irritation, he hefted the bags he was carrying and pushed through the door into the main lab building. He was supposed to bring Koorie to meet with Dr. Hakan first, but since she insisted on carrying so much of her own stuff, he had no choice but to take her to her room first. That would make them later than they already were thanks to the boats running slow today and probably put him in even more trouble. Lovely. Hayden loved his life.

Setting down the case containing Koorie's clothes, he pulled out his security card and swiped it in the door. "This is the dormitory wing. Welcome home," Hayden muttered grimly, glancing around at the barren walls and cold floor of the hallway. Unwilling to dwell on unpleasant thoughts, he quickly lead the way down the hall and around the corner to a side hallway before stopping in front of a door that was marked by nothing other than a number. He pushed the door open without a word and entered, setting Koorie's keyboard and clothes down out of the way. "Alright, as soon as you're ready, I'll take you to meet Dr. Hakan." He kept his voice emotionless, knowing he'd have to watch himself more carefully from now on.

Got a right ball of sunshine here, don't we? She's a fun one. Nice and snarky.

Oh, shut up.

Opening one eye, Hayden glanced up at her from his position of leaning on the doorway with arms crossed.

About damn time.

Despite his internal anxiety, he casually pushed off the wall and regained his footing. "Alright, this way," he replied equally as coolly, exiting the room and heading back the way they'd come. He led her out of the dormitory wing and down towards the conference rooms where Dr. Hakan frequently met with new arrivals. Oh yeah, lots of 'pleasant' memories here.

Taking a deep breath to steel himself for the impending storm, Hayden pushed the door open and was quick to announce their arrival in hopes to stave off any possible outburst. "Dr. Hakan? Koorie Shizuku is here."

"Rutherford! It's about d--" The doctor coughed, putting his temper in check as he realized the woman was just behind the guard. "Yes, I see. I'll deal with you later, Rutherford." The doctor's glare was icy and fierce; one of his patented looks that was known to cause grown men to tremble like scared little Rattatas. The guard would likely be running from the room in moments.

Instead, surprising even himself...Hayden glared back with equal venom and rebellion. "Of course you will. Good day, sir," he bit back sharply, in an oddly quiet voice. He held the door open for Koorie to enter, nodding at her only once in farewell. "Good day, miss."

Good riddance.

Alright, now he was ready to leave.

His uniform boots may have been reasonably tough...but that still hurt like hell. As tempted as he was to give into the pain, Hayden had other things to worry about at the moment. With speed he never knew he possessed, he reached out and grabbed her wrist, shoving her fist out to his side and behind him, using her own inertia against her to pull her closer. Leaning down so that they were almost nose to nose, he snarled softly enough that Dr. Hakan would have had difficulty hearing. "I've taken nearly enough out of you. You may be a woman, and I'd never lower myself to hitting a female, but that doesn't mean I'll stand here and be attacked either. My suggestion to you is that you watch what you say and what enemies you make around here. You might just run into something that even you can't handle."

His slate-colored eyes had taken on a aura more likened to steel at this point, cold and hard. There was something dangerous in those eyes, and they turned briefly to Dr. Hakan as if reminding him that he hadn't forgotten about his presence before returning to the woman. "Icy b***h," he snapped sharply in reply to her earlier insult. Whatever had come over him was fading and it was time to leave...as soon as possible.

"I'll be taking my leave now if that is all," he said louder, letting his grip slacken on her wrist, but still prepared in case she saw fit to try anything else. "I have other work to attend to."

Almost seeming amused, Hayden raised an eyebrow slightly before responding under his breath. "In that case, it's probably best we simply stay far away from one another in the future. Perhaps if you took a moment to think, you'd realize you're not the only one who has s**t to deal with in life. You think you're special? You want to be treated like a goddess because you've had bad things in your past? Here's a newsflash, sweetheart: you're not the only one. Maybe if you took the time to consider others' pain rather than just your own, you might get a little more sympathy. Of course, that requires being quite a bit less self-centered. Perhaps I'm giving you too much credit," he bit back bitterly. He didn't have time for this nonsense.

His gaze redirected on Dr. Hakan and he responded in a clipped voice. "I'll be leaving now, sir, before the young lady decides to further this juvenile exchange. Good luck with her." With that, he turned on his heel and exited the room.

Only in the hall did he take a deep breath and sigh, noting how shakily he moved. The fury was gone now, leaving only an empty shell trembling weakly.

"...you're just like the rest of them..."

Her words echoed in his ears, earning a sickened grimace from the guard. Was he? After all this work not to...had he really become just like the despicable creatures that worked here? With no sense of morals or decency? Heaven help him...if so, then all was truly lost. He'd lost his very soul at last...

Moving down the hall towards the dormitory wing and his own quarters with a slight limp, he thought only of retreating from everyone else right now. Too bad he couldn't do the same with his thoughts.

Heaven help me...what have I done...?

To be perfectly honest, even Dr. Hakan was slightly uneasy about what he'd just seen. Hayden refusing to back down before the doctor's threatening glare had been shocking enough...the following exchange was downright unnerving.

I'll have to keep an eye on him. Can't have any more uncontrolled variables around here. If all else fails, then I'll have no choice... The matter is simple enough. He'll be taken care of if necessary.

Turning back to Koorie, the doctor smiled just a bit. "No worries, my dear. Good help really is so hard to find." He rolled his eyes, chuckling a bit to add to the effect. "But, I'll deal with Rutherford personally later. For now, how about you tell me a little about yourself and we'll see if we can't figure out where you'd best fit in around here? Anything you'd like to mention is helpful: talents, special skills, likes, dislikes. Anything like that. We have a variety of departments that could use assistance." He tapped the end of a pen lightly against a clipboard, seeming ready to take extensive, detailed notes.