The last 24 hours were enough to leave him feeling as though he'd been pulled in several different directions, with no clear sign of which way was right. Even if he hadn't made a deal with the head doctor, there was no possible way he would've been able to leave Sakura to him and his experiments. Despite how little of his magic he had left, there was enough of it to know without a doubt that that was his Sakura. Not a copy or something from a different world, but the very same one they'd traveled with for so long. And if that wasn't enough to convince even Kurogane, then he couldn't imagine anything that would be.
It didn't help that he'd had a visitor the very next day. There was always something about it that felt good, made him feel wanted, important even. But guilt took that away too. How could he just let go and believe it when he was so close to getting his brother back? Still, it was the first time since he'd faced his own death and the shocking injuries that followed, that it'd seemed to matter. Kurogane and Yue were upset, that was different, wasn't it? Kurogane was always angry when he got injured and Yue was... Yue had enough to worry about with the real people he was supposed to protect.
He tried to stay cheerful though, at least to keep up the act. He still smiled in the right places and said the right things. It wasn't until the doctor's familiar voice echoed over the intercom that he seemed to startle out of his daze. When he went to change for the coming night, sure enough, the ring was there, staring him in the face like the traitorous object it was. Did it look any different from the ones the others might have? He wouldn't make it so that they'd be able to easily tell, would he? If there were others, new people in his party, they'd know straight-away if it took them there, wouldn't they?
So many questions and so few answers. He dressed quickly, and sure enough, the ring fit perfectly on his finger. Should he go alone? Kurogane would be against it, wouldn't he? And Tsubaki...? He'd only just met her. How would she react? Maybe it was better if he did. He could bring Fai back and protect Sakura on his own.
The path was one he knew well and took often - not a straight line by any means, either way, but simple enough. The ninja had done so much thinking to himself over the course of the day that something so ingrained in his mind as the trip to Fai's room required no thought or pause. When he was to the last hallway, he slowed and came to a stop before the Magician's door. It wasn't that far into the night, but he could have gone already. Either through the hallway or by way of that thing Landel had mentioned.
Fai would go. There had been no question of that once they'd entered the Doctor's office last night. He was willing to follow along with anything. And to bring someone back. At least Kurogane had a better reasoning for why he'd decided to, for the moment, go along with Landel's plans. This was their first lead. An invitation to find the one who had Landel worried enough to ask for their help. Finding him would get them closer to the truth of this place, and hopefully to getting out of there.
And besides...
Kurogane opened the door then without so much as a knock. Instead of simply finding Fai and ordering him to follow, he entered and shut the door. They had things to sort out first.
When he heard a sound at the door, of course he hoped it was just Allie, having forgotten something or other. But no. He considered breaking the ring's jewel just then himself, if only to get away and possibly avoid this confrontation. Even now it was tempting, as Kurogane glared across the room at him.
Yuuhi was careful, unsure. Would the ninja even wish to go along with it? Or was he here to make sure Yuuhi didn't? After last night, he could hardly say he wanted to face the other man. So many of the things he'd kept secret were now known and if Kurogane wanted to lecture him on it... well, that wasn't going to change anything. Even if he weren't doing this for Fai, he was certainly doing it for Sakura.
When he finally did glance up at the other, there was a coldness in his gaze that perhaps hadn't been there before. An odd sort of finality, hollow somehow, in the way he approached the change in circumstances. As much as he wanted to believe Ashura and believe that his worthless life held some value, the more things changed, the more he felt like just another tool, a means to an end. It was true then as it was now.
"Are you coming?" he asked, nothing in his voice but false cheer. "We should probably hurry."
"What the hell for?" Kurogane snorted, looking away from Fai completely as he turned and had a seat on the opposite bed. "That bastard hasn't given instructions, or whatever he said he'd do." They wouldn't be 'orders' to Kurogane, only instructions - clues for them to follow. Orders were done for the sake of the one giving them, and that was hardly the case here. "No point in heading out yet."
As they both knew, simply going blindly hadn't led them anywhere or gotten them very far. Last night had only been chance, and by the Doctor's doing at that. And besides all that, Kurogane wasn't particularly interested in rushing to do what the Doctor wanted him to. Fai was another matter.
"I'm going," he said at length, "But not for any reasons you're thinking. This is the first chance we'd had at getting anything accomplished here other than being herded around. If nothing else, I'm going to take advantage of it."
He didn't mention Sakura, nor did he want to. There were too many questions surrounding that alone. Reason told him that Landel could easily create another copy, just as he had that one night, but they had also met the Sakura they knew once before in this place. Kurogane had never let go of the idea that Landel had the rest of their party locked away, and now he was questioning that scenario once more.
When the radios clicked to life, Kurogane expected the Head Doctor to come on, but a new voice spoke with more excitement than anyone should have in the evening hours. "Marc..." Kurogane repeated, putting the name to memory as well as the voice. It wasn't one they'd heard before on the radio, though he was sure it would not be the last time this man was heard. "That's who he wants us to find, huh?"
"He said the ring would take us to town," he said in an even tone. "And that we should begin the investigation there. Was that not clear?"
Yuuhi was eager to get going if only to feel like he was actually accomplishing something. He didn't want to hear Kurogane's reasons because they didn't matter anymore. Yes, they had to save the princess, but that was where their similarities ended. He was doing this for his own reasons and when it came time to part ways, he was much more self assured in his decision to stay.
Just before he tried smashing the jewel though, the radio sparked on, giving them a much-needed hint about their intended target. Marc? There was a slight hesitation as he picked up the radio once the broadcast had finished, and tied it at his waist, just in case another one should follow.
"At least we know who we're looking for. That seems to be enough for me." he raised an eyebrow but didn't wait for a response, twisting the ring from his finger and setting it on the ground under his boot, ready to crush the jewel.
"That's what we're supposed to go by?" Another snort and Kurogane was already irritated by the whole mess. He hadn't expected things to be clear, but he'd hoped for more than what amounted to "go explore".
Again, Fai showed his desire to get moving as he showed the ring the Doctor had mentioned. He had checked his own room for one but had found nothing. So there was only one between the three of them? Then that left one part of their group missing.
"You're forgetting someone," Kurogane spoke up as Fai bent down to position the ring. He was so eager to get moving that he was thinking this was just about getting things done. There was no way to know what the Doctor would do if the three of them, Tsubaki included, didn't work together. And Kurogane was not about to let Tsubaki get punished for Fai's recklessness. "We can't leave he out of this."
Luckily, it wasn't the only message they received. While Marc's ended with a screech, the radio picked up again only moments later with more specific instructions that he could only hope were audible only to them.
"Hello, there - Tsubaki, Kurogane, Fai, if I do indeed have your location correct. It would seem that the very pest I'm sending you after is forcing me to take some... extraordinary measures in preventing his communication with the patients. But no matter - I know you will all stay loyal to me - or at least, you will if you don't want that poor, beautiful girl to be hurt or your own great wishes granted. If my calculations are correct, you three will be safely immune from the... hypothetical spell that I'm about to cast on the rest of the Institute, but if not, I have some important orders to relay to you before you can no longer understand my words:
"The man you're looking for goes by the name of 'Marc' - probably an alias, but you can never know for certain with these thugs. His last seen location was the woods to the north, but his last known location seems to be in the residential area south of the Doyleton proper. That would be a good place to search for him, I believe, and once the day rolls around... ask around. Do a bit of espionage, and remember, you shouldn't try to speak of our... arrangement or the events involved in it, because if you do? Well... you'll find yourself unable.
"I believe that's all, Team, and I'll keep you all appraised of the situation. Good luck in your work."
He glanced up from the radio, gaze meeting Kurogane's for a moment as if to confirm he'd heard the order. If he'd been wanting nothing but more specific instructions, there they were. If he wanted them to go find Tsubaki on top of all the rest... well... he'd rather leave her out of danger, if at all possible, no matter what the ninja said.
It didn't help that he'd had a visitor the very next day. There was always something about it that felt good, made him feel wanted, important even. But guilt took that away too. How could he just let go and believe it when he was so close to getting his brother back? Still, it was the first time since he'd faced his own death and the shocking injuries that followed, that it'd seemed to matter. Kurogane and Yue were upset, that was different, wasn't it? Kurogane was always angry when he got injured and Yue was... Yue had enough to worry about with the real people he was supposed to protect.
He tried to stay cheerful though, at least to keep up the act. He still smiled in the right places and said the right things. It wasn't until the doctor's familiar voice echoed over the intercom that he seemed to startle out of his daze. When he went to change for the coming night, sure enough, the ring was there, staring him in the face like the traitorous object it was. Did it look any different from the ones the others might have? He wouldn't make it so that they'd be able to easily tell, would he? If there were others, new people in his party, they'd know straight-away if it took them there, wouldn't they?
So many questions and so few answers. He dressed quickly, and sure enough, the ring fit perfectly on his finger. Should he go alone? Kurogane would be against it, wouldn't he? And Tsubaki...? He'd only just met her. How would she react? Maybe it was better if he did. He could bring Fai back and protect Sakura on his own.
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The path was one he knew well and took often - not a straight line by any means, either way, but simple enough. The ninja had done so much thinking to himself over the course of the day that something so ingrained in his mind as the trip to Fai's room required no thought or pause. When he was to the last hallway, he slowed and came to a stop before the Magician's door. It wasn't that far into the night, but he could have gone already. Either through the hallway or by way of that thing Landel had mentioned.
Fai would go. There had been no question of that once they'd entered the Doctor's office last night. He was willing to follow along with anything. And to bring someone back. At least Kurogane had a better reasoning for why he'd decided to, for the moment, go along with Landel's plans. This was their first lead. An invitation to find the one who had Landel worried enough to ask for their help. Finding him would get them closer to the truth of this place, and hopefully to getting out of there.
And besides...
Kurogane opened the door then without so much as a knock. Instead of simply finding Fai and ordering him to follow, he entered and shut the door. They had things to sort out first.
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Yuuhi was careful, unsure. Would the ninja even wish to go along with it? Or was he here to make sure Yuuhi didn't? After last night, he could hardly say he wanted to face the other man. So many of the things he'd kept secret were now known and if Kurogane wanted to lecture him on it... well, that wasn't going to change anything. Even if he weren't doing this for Fai, he was certainly doing it for Sakura.
When he finally did glance up at the other, there was a coldness in his gaze that perhaps hadn't been there before. An odd sort of finality, hollow somehow, in the way he approached the change in circumstances. As much as he wanted to believe Ashura and believe that his worthless life held some value, the more things changed, the more he felt like just another tool, a means to an end. It was true then as it was now.
"Are you coming?" he asked, nothing in his voice but false cheer. "We should probably hurry."
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As they both knew, simply going blindly hadn't led them anywhere or gotten them very far. Last night had only been chance, and by the Doctor's doing at that. And besides all that, Kurogane wasn't particularly interested in rushing to do what the Doctor wanted him to. Fai was another matter.
"I'm going," he said at length, "But not for any reasons you're thinking. This is the first chance we'd had at getting anything accomplished here other than being herded around. If nothing else, I'm going to take advantage of it."
He didn't mention Sakura, nor did he want to. There were too many questions surrounding that alone. Reason told him that Landel could easily create another copy, just as he had that one night, but they had also met the Sakura they knew once before in this place. Kurogane had never let go of the idea that Landel had the rest of their party locked away, and now he was questioning that scenario once more.
When the radios clicked to life, Kurogane expected the Head Doctor to come on, but a new voice spoke with more excitement than anyone should have in the evening hours. "Marc..." Kurogane repeated, putting the name to memory as well as the voice. It wasn't one they'd heard before on the radio, though he was sure it would not be the last time this man was heard. "That's who he wants us to find, huh?"
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Yuuhi was eager to get going if only to feel like he was actually accomplishing something. He didn't want to hear Kurogane's reasons because they didn't matter anymore. Yes, they had to save the princess, but that was where their similarities ended. He was doing this for his own reasons and when it came time to part ways, he was much more self assured in his decision to stay.
Just before he tried smashing the jewel though, the radio sparked on, giving them a much-needed hint about their intended target. Marc? There was a slight hesitation as he picked up the radio once the broadcast had finished, and tied it at his waist, just in case another one should follow.
"At least we know who we're looking for. That seems to be enough for me." he raised an eyebrow but didn't wait for a response, twisting the ring from his finger and setting it on the ground under his boot, ready to crush the jewel.
"Coming or not?"
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Again, Fai showed his desire to get moving as he showed the ring the Doctor had mentioned. He had checked his own room for one but had found nothing. So there was only one between the three of them? Then that left one part of their group missing.
"You're forgetting someone," Kurogane spoke up as Fai bent down to position the ring. He was so eager to get moving that he was thinking this was just about getting things done. There was no way to know what the Doctor would do if the three of them, Tsubaki included, didn't work together. And Kurogane was not about to let Tsubaki get punished for Fai's recklessness. "We can't leave he out of this."
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"Hello, there - Tsubaki, Kurogane, Fai, if I do indeed have your location correct. It would seem that the very pest I'm sending you after is forcing me to take some... extraordinary measures in preventing his communication with the patients. But no matter - I know you will all stay loyal to me - or at least, you will if you don't want that poor, beautiful girl to be hurt or your own great wishes granted. If my calculations are correct, you three will be safely immune from the... hypothetical spell that I'm about to cast on the rest of the Institute, but if not, I have some important orders to relay to you before you can no longer understand my words:
"The man you're looking for goes by the name of 'Marc' - probably an alias, but you can never know for certain with these thugs. His last seen location was the woods to the north, but his last known location seems to be in the residential area south of the Doyleton proper. That would be a good place to search for him, I believe, and once the day rolls around... ask around. Do a bit of espionage, and remember, you shouldn't try to speak of our... arrangement or the events involved in it, because if you do? Well... you'll find yourself unable.
"I believe that's all, Team, and I'll keep you all appraised of the situation. Good luck in your work."
He glanced up from the radio, gaze meeting Kurogane's for a moment as if to confirm he'd heard the order. If he'd been wanting nothing but more specific instructions, there they were. If he wanted them to go find Tsubaki on top of all the rest... well... he'd rather leave her out of danger, if at all possible, no matter what the ninja said.
Without a word, he crunched the jewel underfoot.
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