NIGHT 54: M31-M40 Hallway

[sanguinario]

[From here.]In a detached way, Edward could recognize how lucky he was to have met Stefan at the time he did. Now with Venom gone, he had no one he trusted outside of Bella and no source of blood. Stefan was a lot more like Edward than Venom had ever been - beyond the most obvious ways, too - but he didn't have the time. They hadn't been trying to

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M37.

[scintillatingly]

The lack of sound also disturbed Sora. Riku wasn't exactly a light sleeper, after all, and if he'd still been there he would have known they would come looking for him. He didn't see any sign of a note left by him, either. So just what had happened to him?

Feeling a hand grasp his, Sora glanced down with slightly widened eyes as he realized that Kairi had done what he had only considered a few moments before. He tightened his grip in return, knowing that they probably weren't going to like what laid behind the door.

As they stepped in, he was quick to move his flashlight all around, but there was no Riku; not even a roommate. There was no note here, either, and... really no sign that their friend had been here in the first place. Sora doubted that Riku had ever written in his journal, either, so it was if he was gone without a trace.

While his discouraged attitude made him want to pull his hand away from Kairi's, Sora didn't let himself. He just stared at the empty room with his jaw slightly clenched. It was still possible that Riku was one of the brainwashed patients out there tonight, but...

He tried to think of something to say, but he was already anticipating the worst. Seeing how this was the fourth time Riku had come and left, Sora just really didn't know what to think anymore.

M37.

[kingdomless]

That was that.

Kairi was thankful for the dark for once. With her flashlight off and Sora's flashlight only a small glow, it was hard to see the potential pain in his eyes ... and hard for him to see hers, too. She couldn't stand to see him sad.

Her eyes looked around the empty room, hoping for at least a clue that he was there earlier ... but there was nothing. Not even an empty tray of food. The bed remained made. It looked as if nothing had been touched. Not even the pillow was slightly off center. Everything was perfect. Pristine. Waiting for the next prisoner to walk through the door and awaken to the terrors that roamed the hallways.

Kairi's grip on Sora's hand tightened to the point where it was almost painful for her before becoming gentle, and soon, she let go. She didn't want to chain him to her. Not now.

"Well," she whispered in a soft voice, her eyes falling shut as she got herself under control. He'll be back. "Looks like we should ... be on our way."

M37.

[scintillatingly]

It seemed that Kairi was having as hard of a time accepting this as he was, but Sora wasn't surprised by that. This was how it always went, right? The two of them were almost always here, but Riku seemed to float in and out, constantly being yanked back into the "real world" where he thought he was someone else entirely.

His friend would have never stood for that, and maybe that was why he kept returning. Maybe Riku's sheer will alone had caused the brainwashing to fade, and so the institute kept having to repeat it over and over again.

Sora knew that Riku was strong enough for that to be the case, and it made him feel better just looking at it that way. Not that his mood had really picked up, especially consider the way Kairi was squeezing his hand so hard it started to hurt.

But then she let go, which caused him to look at her. She was trying so hard to keep herself together, just like he was. Her half-hearted attempt to move them along forced a pang through Sora's chest, and without thinking he pulled forward to wrap his friend into a hug.

It seemed like both of them needed it.

M37.

[kingdomless]

The moment she felt Sora's arms around her, Kairi instantly returned the hug, dropping her sword with to the floor with a clang, not caring about anything else at that moment. All that mattered was that Sora was there, and was not gone. At least they were together.

Her hands grasping tightly onto his shirt, Kairi shut her eyes, trying to compose herself. This had happened before. It was going to be okay. They were going to get Riku back, and they were going to all escape the institute together, with everyone else, and go back to their homes. That was what they were constantly fighting for, after all, and she knew that if she kept reminding herself of that task, that things would be okay.

Sure, she was going to miss Riku a lot, but ... there was a part of her that hoped that he somehow was sent home.

She knew if he was, he would come back for them. He always did.

After a few minutes of embracing, Kairi was the first to pull slightly away, so she could look up to Sora with a determined expression. "We'll get him back. And we'll go home. We will, I know it."

M37.

[scintillatingly]

The fact that Kairi held onto him so tight, even dropping her weapon so that she could do so, made it clear to Sora that he'd made the right choice. Tron had done a good thing by teaching him about this. Even if it was a pretty simple thing, somehow it made him feel better too. He closed his eyes for a moment, resting his chin on the top of Kairi's head.

But there wasn't much point in standing there forever, and they both knew it. When the girl pulled away, Sora made sure to draw his arms back as well. He smiled at her and nodded, liking the determination in her tone. This was still going to be a sad night for them, but with their efforts combined he could never stay down for long.

"Right! We've done fine without him before, right?" Figuring he might as well work to make the mood light, Sora then bent down to pick up the girl's sword, handing it to her carefully, hilt-first.

"The question is what we do now," he said, holding back a sigh. His motivation had been squashed somewhat by Riku's sudden disappearance. There was still the chance that their friend was out there, brainwashed and attacking patients somewhere, but the chances of finding him were pretty slim. "Any ideas?"

M37.

[kingdomless]

Kairi smiled and nodded to her friend, taking the sword when he offered it to her. "Thank you," she said with a small laugh and a curtsy, since he had been quite the gentleman to pick it up for her. However, his question has her pausing, trying to think.

"Hmm," she glanced around the room. Was there really anything that she wanted to do? Honestly, she wanted to just stay in and talk with Sora. It felt like forever since they were able to just ... hang out like normal teenagers. Every night was spent trying to save others, or to protect others, or to try and find out secrets. Was it so wrong of her to want to do something different? And, if she asked, what would Sora think?

Still. Even though she knew it was wrong, Kairi moved over to the side of the room Riku once inhabited, and sat down on the bed, patting the spot next to her as she smiled up at Sora. "Honestly? I want to just stay in tonight. I think it's a good idea. You and I can hang out and talk and just. Not ... potentially be stabbed or shot at or electrocuted," she said with a small laugh, brushing her fingers through her hair. (Yes, she still remembered that horrific bird.) "I mean, if you don't want to, we can find something else to do. But ... I just ... think it would be nice if we were able to be together. That's all."

Even though they saw each other almost every day, Kairi couldn't help but feel like they still had a lot of catching up to do. For instance, she never asked him what had happened after she left; had they told her she had been released? Obviously that was not true, since she had been in the medical ward, but still. She wanted to know.

M37.

[scintillatingly]

While Sora had expected Kairi to suggest something like heading upstairs or trying to get over the wall again, that wasn't what she ended up deciding on at all. The boy watched curiously as his friend moved over to the bed, seeming to settle in rather than heading for the door. Maybe she wanted to spend a bit more time in here. Even if there was no sign of Riku having stayed here, they still knew that he had -- that he'd probably been in here just this morning. It wasn't much of a comfort, but it was something.

And then Kairi explained what she was doing, and Sora couldn't stop a guilty frown from taking over his face. He was always the one who wanted to keep going and keep trying and never give up, but he had to remember that not everyone was like that. Kairi was probably drained from the news of Riku's disappearance, and also fed up after what had happened during the day with that gas. Could he blame her for wanting to take it easy?

It was something she'd only asked of him once before, and hadn't that been when they'd discovered that Rukia was gone? There seemed to be a connection there, and he couldn't fault her for it all. So after a pause, Sora offered a sad smile and shook his head. "No, that's fine! We can just rest for now."

He moved over and sat in the spot that she'd pointed out before, remembering that this had been Riku's bed. Maybe it still was, if he was brainwashed and not gone, but Sora couldn't help but feel like that was just wishful thinking. (And it was messed up that brainwashing was the better option here.)

Part of him felt bad for abandoning his duties as a club leader when he'd sent out the others to work hard through the night, but he got the feeling that almost all of the members would have understood, given the circumstances. "So what did you want to talk about?" he asked her once he'd gotten comfortable, setting his flashlight down next to him on the mattress.

M37.

[kingdomless]

Her smile only grew as Sora took a seat next to her, and she curled her legs under herself, leaning back against the wall just as Sora got himself comfortable as well. Once settled, Kairi turned towards him with a smile.

"Anything!" she told him cheerfully, though a few moments later, she really began to think. "Hmm, well ... let's talk about things that don't include the institute, for starters. It's always good to think of home, once and a while," she agreed with a nod. It may make them sad in the end, but ... Kairi also knew that thinking of home would also make them only regain the resolve they had potentially lost at the loss of Riku. At least, that was how she was currently feeling.

"What do you think Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka are doing without us?" she asked with a small smile. It was funny to think that the three of them were like a trio of their own, just like how she, Sora, and Riku were one as well. "Last time I saw Selphie we were walking home from school ... she wanted to go somewhere, but I declined," she said with a small smile. "I was too busy trying to remember you and Riku. I knew something was missing, but I just didn't know what it was."

"Speaking of," she suddenly said, a realization hitting her. "Why ... why did I forget about you? I still don't understand it."

M37.

[scintillatingly]

Sora's definition of comfortable was letting his legs hang over the side of the bed while he leaned back on his hands. It was kind of funny -- he usually didn't even spend this much time on his own bed, since at dinner he always sat at his desk. While he woke up in that bed, he had to admit that even after all this time it didn't really feel like his.

But it had been some time that he'd slept in his own bed for any long period of time. He'd barely been home for a day or two before he was brought here. Still, it was no surprise that home was what Kairi wanted to talk about, seeing how both of them thought of it so fondly.

As she brought up their three friends from home, Sora automatically smiled and then shrugged. "You know those three. I'm sure they're doing what they always do, running around the islands together and being bored in class. Tidus is probably trying to get the others to spar with him all the time, Wakka is probably still set on setting up a blitzball game, and Selphie is probably wondering if she should give the paopu to one of them." It was kind of interesting the way that trio mirrored himself, Kairi, and Riku, but they were also very different from each other. Still, there was no doubt in Sora's mind that the three of them were doing just fine.

Though then Kairi brought up her memory loss, which drew a sigh out of Sora. He really didn't like the concept of losing memories in the first place, seeing how he'd been a victim of it. He was just glad that Kairi's version of it had been temporary. "I think it has something to do with Roxas," he admitted. "When I was sleeping, they were messing with him... And my memories got screwed with too."

He grinned at his friend then. "But I see that you weren't able to forget me for too long."

M37.

[kingdomless]

Kairi couldn't help but laugh at Sora's comments about their friends, and she nodded her head, grinning. "I wonder how they're doing in school ... without me there to teach him, I doubt Tidus is doing very good with his homework," a laugh. "But I'm sure Selphie is kicking the two of them into shape as we speak."

If she was being truthful, she did miss their friends. After all, when Sora and Riku were gone for that year, they had been the ones to keep her company and chase away her loneliness. However, despite the fact that she missed them, she couldn't help but be glad that none of them were there stuck in the institute like she and Sora were. Sure, they each were able to defend themselves, but not like Sora and Riku could. Especially Selphie, considering she used a jump rope to whip Tidus and Wakka most of the time. Were there even jump ropes in the institute? She doubted it; and she really doubted whips being somewhere as well. At least Tidus knew how to use a sword, and Wakka ... used the blitzball, but still. It wasn't very deadly, now that she thought about it.

At the mention of Roxas, Kairi turned and looked at Sora with a soft tilt of her head, frowning. "I see ... I hope they didn't hurt him."

Just like that, the frown that had appeared was instantly replaced, and she gave Sora a sly smile, eyes narrowing slightly. "Of course. How could I forget someone with hair as spiky and silly as yours? I could spot you out of a crowd of a thousand," ... minus her incident with Neku, of course. "It was strange. When I was with Selphie, I said your name suddenly, and just like that, the memories came flooding back. I couldn't believe how I forgot about you. I'm sorry for that."

M37.

[scintillatingly]

While Sora was tempted to say that Tidus was better off having to learn on his own instead of relying on Kairi all the time, he knew that he'd been just as bad about asking others for help when he'd still gone to school. Part of him felt bad for abandoning all of that, but saving the worlds from dark creatures was a little more important in his opinion.

"He'll manage one way or another," Sora said with a smile. "And yeah, Selphie will keep them in line!" She was much like Kairi in that sense, after all. While Sora did miss all three of them, he knew that they were taking care of each other -- and he'd get to see them eventually. That wasn't something he'd ever give up on.

As for Roxas, Sora wanted to say that he hadn't been hurt too badly, but it occurred to him that he was pretty sketchy on the details of what his Other had gone through while he was sleeping. He knew bits and pieces, but not nearly as much as he should have. He was going to have to ask Roxas about that sooner rather than later, now that he'd thought of it. "I... think he came out of it okay," he said, though he didn't sound as confident as he would have liked.

It was interesting to hear about how Kairi regained her memories, and Sora only smiled as she explained and then apologized. "Oh, don't worry about it," he said with an emphatic shake of his head. "It's not like it was your fault!"

M37.

[kingdomless]

Nodding when Sora agreed that things would be okay on the island, Kairi couldn't help but allow her thoughts to wander to the time when she forgot about Sora. Those few months were strange to her, like a dream within a dream ...

"I know, but ..." she gave him a small smile, almost sad. "This whole time you've been looking out for me, saving me ... just like Riku has, and yet I forgot about you. It makes me feel like an ungrateful child, even though I know I couldn't stop it, but ... it makes me think that maybe I could have remembered you if I was stronger."

Kairi grew silent then, however, she soon let out a laugh, saving a hand as if to show Sora that it wasn't that big of a deal. "But that's just my thinking, so don't worry about it. I'm over it now, anyway. Especially after everything we've all been through, it seems so small in comparison."

And it was true. Hadn't they been through so much? From being brought to the institute, to being tortured and tormented, to being heartbroken and bruised. They had lived through that. They had lived through everything.

"What did they tell you when I didn't show up one morning, Sora?" she suddenly blurted out, staring at the floor. "That I was released? That I was gone?"

M37.

[scintillatingly]

It upset Sora that she would feel that way about it, since it had clearly been out of her control and it had all been fixed in the end, though he could also understand how forgetting him for a time would bother her. He couldn't imagine not remembering Kairi and Riku, after all, which was probably why he'd chosen to forget his memories of Castle Oblivion rather than the alternative.

Kairi was right about the fact that what had happened back then didn't really have much to do with their current situation, though. Even Xemnas had been captured by this place, which meant that their enemy was much stronger; for all he knew, it was them up against a whole army. While there were enough patients here to maybe stand a chance if they had their powers back, that depended on a lot of things.

Before he had a chance to reassure the girl or once again tell her not to worry about forgetting him for that time, she came out with a totally different question.

"Oh, well... It took me a while to realize you were gone, since it's hard to keep in touch here. But when I finally asked, they said you'd been released, yeah." Sora hadn't known what to think of it or if to believe them, but clearly the nurses lied sometimes, seeing how the girl had just been in the medical wing for all that time. He was going to be more clear with how he asked if this ever happened again.

M37.

[kingdomless]

Took him a while to realize she was gone. Kairi couldn't help but feel bad about that as well; she made a mental note to contact him during the day more often, so he didn't have to worry. Maybe that would help.

"Released," she whispered, frowning. "I wonder what ... that means. To them, I mean. Since obviously I was not released. ... Maybe released of whatever weird power this place has over all of the patients." At that, Kairi couldn't help but look down at her hands, wondering if she was right. If she was released ... did that mean the Darkness had gone away for that short amount of time? Obviously it was back now, however; she could feel it coursing through her veins as they spoke. Had it appeared once again?

But then, another thought. "The medical ward, where I was. ... Do you ... think there are other patients trapped there, like I was?"

It made sense. What if all of the "released patients" were simply in the ward, being made to sleep until whatever control had been taken away was placed back on them? She didn't think she had been experimented on after she woke up, however. Even if her memories were a bit fuzzy, she still felt the same as she had before she fell asleep. So maybe ... nothing really had happened.

M37.

[scintillatingly]

As far as Sora was concerned, Kairi was just giving the nurses too much credit there. He didn't hate them as much as a lot of the other patients did, but he also was pretty sure he knew what had happened. "I'm guessing they just lied and told me that so that I would stop bothering them." If they had told him that Kairi was in the medical wing, he would have kept asking them if he could be taken there, or at least pestered them about when she would be released. It had probably been easier for them to lie.

Which bothered him, but at least he would know better than to believe everything the nurses told him. Well, it would be the soldiers now, which meant that it was a completely different situation anyway. Still, Sora was going to double-check things.

However, Kairi's question about the medical wing did get Sora thinking. "That place has almost always been blocked off. I think it was open before the institute rearranged itself, but ever since then it's been impossible for us to get to."

It was kind of weird, now that he thought about it. If it was under repairs or something along those lines, then how could Kairi have been there for days? Maybe she'd been in an infirmary on the third floor or something weird like that. Sora didn't have much of a clue, and he doubted anyone would give them a straight answer about it. "So... I don't really know," he eventually admitted.

M37.

[kingdomless]

"Blocked off, really?" Kairi asked, wide eyed. "That's so strange ... I remember waking up and the nurse telling me I was in the medical ward, but I was surprised ..." But she couldn't remember what it looked like. How odd.

And if it was as old as Sora said it was, then that was even odder. If it was impossible to get to ... then how had she, and probably other patients, been allowed in and out without even knowing it? What was really going on in that ward? Of course, her curiosity was getting the best of her. She had an idea.

"There has to be some way to get into it. I mean, I know it's blocked off now, but what if it opens later on? What if it only opens some nights, and no one ever knew, because we've all thought this entire time that it was closed permanently? Maybe ... we should look into it one of these nights. You and I, especially considering Landel is gone now. Maybe the nurses and staff are gone, too? Since all I've seen since the sun room have been soldiers leading the patients to the rooms. Even the intercom wasn't a staff member." She was talking a lot, but Kairi couldn't help but feel like maybe she was on to something.

And if not ... well. Curiosity should always be followed.