Day 50: Courtyard

[hasnomeaning]

Again, there were choices. After leaving the child and the animal, Rei had followed again. When prompted where she wanted to spend time, the pilot had no preference. If they wished her to do something, they would place it before her. If they left her with options, she would take the ones they did not want. So her response was minimal, and so the

Comments

[scintillatingly]

It had been really, really hard to let Donald go after that intercom announcement had gone off. Sora wasn't sure if there had ever been a time when his heart had fallen as far as when he'd heard the ping of the intercom come on back in the waiting room. It had been easy to try and ignore the fact that he missed his friends so much, but having it shoved into his face in such a painful way left him feeling despondent.

The boy's feelings were mixed, though. Even though Donald had left to go back to a life that wasn't his (in a body that wasn't his), they had gotten a small opportunity to talk and be in each other's company, and Sora couldn't see that as bad. He'd treasure that bit of time and remind himself of it as much as possible, so that he didn't forget why getting out of here was so important

[forgot_it_all]

Leaving Alfons had been one of the most difficult things Ritsuka had ever done. Today's theme seemed to be reconnecting with old friends, especially those who Ritsuka had once thought lost forever, and while it was never a good thing to see someone in here or brainwashed, it gave Ritsuka a bit of hope. Maybe there was a way to save them all in the end somehow or another. He had no idea how, but if he worked at it, he was certain some clue or hint or something would come of it

[scintillatingly]

When a pebble came bouncing by and plopped into the pond water, it splashed up enough to sprinkle against the fabric of his sweatpants near his ankle, soaking in just enough that he could feel it. Sora didn't mind, though -- if anything, it just made him more eager to jump right in and swim around, but that would most certainly get him sedated. Or he'd at least end up in a lot of trouble

[forgot_it_all]

Sora turned and seemed to regain his usual cheer, putting Ritsuka's mind a little more at ease. The day kids like Sora ended up getting depressed was the day when things really got dark here. There was so much that could drag a person's spirits down that seeing someone, anyone, who could withstand the onslaught was a gift. Sometimes, Ritsuka envied such people, but then he remembered that he used to be like them when he had been the other Ritsuka. Then he only worried that they might end up like him

[scintillatingly]

Glad to see that Ritsuka was comfortable enough to sit down and talk to him, Sora shifted on the grass again so that he was properly facing the younger boy. With the day coming to an end and his visitor shift already finished, he felt oddly contemplative. Sometimes that could turn out bad, and so having someone to talk to and keep his mind busy was probably for the best.

At the mention of an old doctor, Sora frowned and tilted his head at Ritsuka. "Doctor? You mean, like, a doctor you saw here? But therapy shifts aren't today..." Besides, he'd said old doctor, which meant that he hadn't seen him in a while. Maybe the doctor had decided to come and visit Ritsuka? If they'd managed to get to know each other well during their therapy sessions, then that might explain it. "Was he your visitor?" He'd never heard of that, but in Landel's, there was always a first time for everything

[forgot_it_all]

"Yeah, a doctor I used to see here," Ritsuka said with a sigh as he leaned back on his hands to stare up at the sky. While Ritsuka liked Muraki just fine, he knew better than to blurt out the guy's name. Some people here still had bad memories of him and might be trying to smear his name and reputation. "But no, he wasn't my visitor. He's a patient now. Doesn't remember anything about this place

[scintillatingly]

This was the first time that Sora had heard of a doctor coming back as a patient like that. He wasn't sure what to make of it, except that it proved that the doctors were definitely just as much under the control of Landel as the patients were, if not more. The thought of someone being forced to work for this place and then not even remembering it was pretty worrying, but Sora didn't want to say anything to bother Ritsuka. Chances were the other boy had already thought through all of that, anyway

[forgot_it_all]

"Yeah," Ritsuka said, smiling faintly. He knew he was lucky that he'd received such good treatment from Muraki, and that the man had been willing to humor him and use his real name instead of the Institute given one. Muraki had always been kind to him despite the horrible rumors people spread about him and Ritsuka had liked him a lot. Having Muraki as his doctor had been one of the few lucky points Ritsuka had received since coming here and he wasn't about to look that gift horse in the mouth. "I know a lot of people don't, but he was a good doctor. He listened and didn't try too hard to force me into believing the lies here

[scintillatingly]

With the way that Ritsuka described it, that really didn't sound too bad. Sora eyed the small ripples of the pond water and rested his chin on his knees as he thought it over. Maybe it would have been nice to talk to someone like that, but he could usually just use his friends for that sort of thing, so there didn't seem to be much of a point when he knew he wasn't sick. Still, he was glad that things had worked out for Ritsuka, and that some people could get along with their doctors

[forgot_it_all]

Ritsuka brightened at the thought that he and Muraki could get to know each other better and nodded. "Yeah, that's what I'm hoping. Sensei is a good person, and since he doesn't know much about this place anymore, he's going to need allies. I'm hoping Soubi and I can help him out some, although I don't want to crowd him, you know

[scintillatingly]

It was true that new patients needed all the help that they could get. Someone who had been qualified to be a doctor was probably pretty capable, but still, Sora could understand why Ritsuka felt obligated. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind your help," he said with a smile. "But who's Soubi?" Sora didn't think he'd heard the name before, but now he felt like he was supposed to. Sometimes it was tough to keep track of all the names he heard here, especially of people who he'd never met. And yet... why did it sound so familiar

[forgot_it_all]

Without realizing it, Ritsuka's face flushed slightly when Sora asked about Soubi. "Soubi's a friend," he said, almost a bit too quickly for his own tastes. Taking a mental step back, Ritsuka tried again. "A friend from home. He's an adult, but he takes good care of me." They were partners after all, but Ritsuka had always hoped it was more than that which kept Soubi around. "...I rely on him a lot. Maybe too much, but he's important to me."

It wasn't until those last words tumbled out of his mouth that he thought that maybe he was saying too much. It wasn't like Sora was asking for an in-depth on how confusing his relationship with the Fighter was. He was just...asking who he was. Time to switch subjects. "Um anyway yeah, Alfons thinks this world is his own and he doesn't seem to remember anything that happened here at night, or rather thinks it's like some kinda dream or whatever. It's frustrating, but there's not much we can do to convince them otherwise. I'm just glad that they don't end up like those people in

[scintillatingly]

So, a friend of his from home. That was a simple enough answer, although Ritsuka seemed to have a lot to say about Soubi. Sora knew how that was, since it wasn't as if he would have been able to describe either Kairi or Riku in just a word, if asked. Unless he was trying to keep things simple, but "best friend" didn't quite cover it. "I don't think it's bad to rely on people," he said with a smile and a shake of his head. Other people made them stronger; Sora knew that was true for him, at least, so maybe it was the same for Ritsuka. Or maybe the younger boy just need an adult to help him through all of this, which made sense too

[forgot_it_all]

Ritsuka didn't want to rain on Sora's parade, but he wasn't sure if he could accept that it wasn't bad to rely too much on people. He'd relied on Seimei for so much and then Seimei had left. His mother had relied on Ritsuka and Seimei both to save her and then she'd lost them both and gotten a stranger in her baby's place. His father relied on Ritsuka's silence and his mother's negligence to go on with his life where he didn't have to be bothered by his crumbling household. Ritsuka had seen what happened when someone relied too much on one person and that person was taken away. He didn't want to hurt like that again, but he also didn't want to stay alone forever

[scintillatingly]

The moment that Ritsuka got a little closer to him, Sora also took the cue to scoot in. It wasn't like they could ask one of the nurses to take it for them, since Ritsuka probably wasn't supposed to have that camera in the first place, and so they were just going to have to do it on their own. It looked like Ritsuka was pretty accustomed to doing this, though

[forgot_it_all]

Sora had a nice smile. It was open and kind, bright and sunny despite all the bad things that must have happened to him here. He had an honest smile, one that came from the heart and reflected the heart as well. It was the kind of smile that Ritsuka couldn't replicate and thus the kind he liked to take pictures of the best