damned_institute | Day 71: Sun Room

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Day 71: Sun Room

For the first time in a long time, Sora woke up in a comfortable bed outfitted with sheets and pillows. It wasn't like the Landel's standard beds were even that nice, but after sleeping in various places in Farwell (generally not in anything bed-like), it was definitely a change.

Sora's eyes opened slowly -- blinking once, twice, and then taking in the white ceiling above him. Of course, he'd expected this. He'd asked for it, even. Now that he was back in the institute, though, he had to admit that he felt his stomach churn with the knowledge that he'd been caught once again, even if it was by choice.

That feeling was what got him up out of bed, but as he stood up he heard something fall to the ground. Right, it was that bone bracelet that the skeleton had given them! He'd said that it would take them right back to that underground lake area, which meant that Sora would be able to return to Farwell pretty easily. The question was, would he be able to take someone with him?

For now, though, he was really only focused on one thing, and that was getting back to his friends. Speaking of which, one such friend was laying in the bed opposite his. "Link," Sora said quietly, but he knew that he probably wouldn't be able to wake up his roommate. He'd just have to catch him later on in the day.

Instead, Sora quickly hid the bracelet, making a face as he was reminded of where the materials for it had probably come from. There wasn't much he could do about that, though.

A nurse stepped into the room and sent him a bright smile. "Matthew!" she greeted, as if he had never been gone. "Where would you like to go this morning, the chapel or the Sun Room?"

Sora needed to get to the bulletin board first and foremost, so the answer to that question was easy. The trip from his room to the Sun Room was one that he still remembered in perfect detail, but it was weird having to fall right back into this routine when he'd had a break from it for a few days.

Once there, Sora moved over to the bulletin, grabbing for a pen as he started to draft up a note. He was really looking forward to seeing all of his friends again, so it was too bad that none of them were here yet...

[For Tsurugi.]

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Landel can bring people back. ... So something like this must have happened here before. Kyousuke had been wondering why people thought that checking the morgue would make any difference. Kratos talked about it like people almost expected Sora to show up there still alive, but of all the things he'd swallowed here, that was the one thing he hadn't believed for a second. Deep down, he thought those people must be in denial, and the only reason he agreed to check was so they could realize that and start to move on. ... But it looked like he was wrong.

He thought that, but he was having difficulty actually believing it. Even as Sora spoke he continued to look on with a frown, almost not convinced he was actually sitting right next to him, like the illusion could break any second now. Maybe that was why he couldn't be glad to see him.

He could tell what he was saying was important, and it did raise a lot of questions, but he felt like they were getting a little ahead of themselves. With someone who had been gone, living and breathing right in front of him, unraveling this place's mysteries wasn't quite the thing in Kyousuke's mind. He shook his head. ".... Hold on. There's some things I want to ask you before that."

But where did he even begin... He would have tried to start with something more practical, but there had been one question weighing on him for a while now, and it rose to surface before he had much chance to think on it. "... Why didn't you tell me what you were planning to do?" A host of other bitter questions came with that, but he bit them down.

What Sora had expected was so different from what he actually received. He'd imagined that Tsurugi would be relieved to hear about the rebel effort, curious to know more about Farwell and what it had to offer, any number of things along those lines, and yet instead—

Tsurugi was looking at him like he was still a ghost. Sora realized that it was a lot to take in, but he was here, and the sooner that Tsurugi realized that, the better off they would be.

The question he asked immediately kicked Sora's mood down a few pegs, but he didn't blame Tsurugi for it, either. It had been wrong, keeping that all to himself, but at the time he'd been scared and desperate and hadn't known what else to do. Sora scooted a few inches away from Tsurugi and wrung his hands in his lap, letting out a deep sigh.

It wasn't as if the memories were any less present, but he'd been able to forget about it while in the far-removed area of Farwell. Now he was being dragged back toward it, and Sora knew he had to face up to it. "I'm sorry," he said first. "I knew that if you heard the plan, you wouldn't want to accept it. It's not like I wanted the result to be like that, I was hoping that it would all work out, but I asked Kratos just in case..." He couldn't bear to look Tsurugi in the eye then, and so Sora just kept staring at his knees.

It was hard to say what had Kyousuke so frustrated. Back then, it had seemed like they had everything squared away, and when Kratos told him what was really happening, it came as a pretty big shock, so it was easy to feel like Sora hadn't really trusted him. Then again, they may have just been starting to get along, but it was unreasonable to expect some to put their full faith in someone they barely knew. He knew that. ... Maybe it was knowing that his hunch had been right all along, and if Sora had believed him a little more, and Kyousuke had acted right away instead of trying to be so cautious, they could have gotten a hold of the cure and spared everyone from getting involved in that mess. It wasn't just Sora he was angry with, it was himself, who hadn't been able to do anything.

But seeing Sora's reaction, it was easy enough to see it hadn't been like that, and Kyousuke immediately regretted asking. ... It wasn't really an issue of trust. He'd been scared, and who wouldn't be? Now that he thought about it, there had been plenty of people asking after Sora after what happened, but out of everyone, he'd only reached out to two, one he'd barely just met. He must have spent that entire time worrying by himself like an idiot.

In any case, Kyousuke didn't have much right to be upset with him. How did he put this... "... You're trying to do too much on your own," he said quietly, finally softening a little. "But you're okay now, right?" That was what he should have asked to begin with.

Trying to do too much on his own? Sora didn't know if that was true. In the end, he always ended up relying on his friends. He couldn't do very much without them. Kratos had been the one to put things to rest in the end, and who knows how terribly things could have gone if it hadn't been for that. Sora had injured them, but at least he hadn't killed anyone. He had no idea how he would have faced himself if that had happened. The thought still left a lump in his throat and a tightness in his chest, even though he'd been cured for some time now.

Sora thought he had already made it clear that he was fine, but he didn't really blame Tsurugi for asking again, and so he nodded. "Yeah, all healed up. In Farwell we had our powers back, so I was able to heal all of us." He placed a hand against his chest and then slid it down, adding some pressure to show that there were no traces of the wound from where Kratos had stabbed him.

Tsurugi, on the other hand, had been stuck in here at Landel's, and while healing went pretty fast here, it was nothing compared to a Curaga spell. Sora looked him over. "How about you? I know I..." He paused and sighed. "I know I scratched pretty deep."

Being told about it a couple of times and seeing it weren't the same thing. He started slightly, seeing Sora begin to bring his hand to chest, still unable to get rid of the vivid detail of Kratos' sword piercing right through him, but the other boy was able to touch it without so much as cringing. ... He really was okay.

Realizing he'd been wrong, and finally managing to get what was happening right in front of him through his head, proved to be exactly the combination Kyousuke needed, and some of his tension finally began to lift. ... So in the end, things were fine. He hadn't cost some boy everything because of his own oversights. He wasn't only here because someone else wasn't. ... He hadn't lost the first friend he'd made here. The only one, it had seemed at the time.

The boy let out a breath. "... I see. That's good." It was a plain response, but there was no mistaking the raw sincerity in his voice. Honestly, he could cry. He could already feel his throat closing up on him, and he had to blink back some tears, but he had to hold it together. He couldn't do that here, where anyone could see him.

"I'm fine," he assured Sora, shaking his head. "You don't have to worry about it." He pressed his hand firmly against his chest the way Sora had, to show him almost everything was gone. That was the best way. As much as he wanted to to tell him none of it was his fault, saying that wouldn't mean anything if Sora didn't believe it himself. He'd have to realize that on his own.

"Sorry I interrupted. Do you mind telling me what happened next?" He did genuinely want to know, but part of it was because it seemed like they could use a distraction, before this all became too much and he really did start crying.

The tightness in Tsurugi's voice grabbed Sora's attention, but it was hard to be sure just what was going through the other boy's head. He was pretty good at keeping himself closed off, and he didn't reveal all that much with his words, either. Still, what Sora could tell was that Tsurugi had been affected pretty heavily by his death, which was hardly a surprise. He knew there was no way that he could make up for that, other than being a reliable presence now.

At least it looked like Tsurugi was more or less healed up, too. Sora didn't know if he'd asked someone here to help him heal faster or if it was Landel's magic at work, but either way, at least the physical pain of what had happened was gone. As for any deeper trauma, well... both of them were going to have to work hard to move past that. Getting out of this place would be a good step in that direction, and Farwell had given Sora a taste of it.

"It's fine," Sora said when Tsurugi apologized. He would have spent the whole conversation answering for the choices he'd made leading up to his death, but it looked like Tsurugi was satisfied with what he'd said. "So I woke up in this city called Farwell... There were two other people with me, Locke and Byrne. But all of us were still injured from our... deaths. The good part was we all had our powers back, so I was able to heal everyone."

He didn't know how they would have made any progress if it hadn't been for that. Sora already missed the comforting strength of his Keyblade. While it was still there, it felt distant and weak. He almost wished he'd made more use of it while he'd had the chance, but there hadn't been much to fight while in Farwell. It just figured that he only got his powers back when he was in a place where he had little need for them.

... So he woke up with what Kratos did him. Kyousuke couldn't imagine how painful and terrifying that must have been, knowing that the blade had pierced right through him. He saw that image again, and his stomach gave a slight twist. Sora may have been right here, and Kyousuke was more glad for that than he could say, but that didn't make that moment go away. He might still have to grapple with that for a long time. ... Kratos, too. They were all connected in one of the worst possible ways.

But at least Sora had been able to heal everyone. The others' injuries must have been pretty horrific as well, considering what they led to. ... He wondered if those were the only deaths. He'd heard of at least a few, but he really didn't want to entertain that line of thoughts, either. So many horrible things had happened, and just this once, he wanted to focus one the one good thing right in front of him.

"You said something about rebels having a base there. Who are they?" he asked. Maybe it was a little odd to be exchanging information just after they'd met again, but he wanted to get it out of the way, and it would help him calm down a little. Once that was through, they could do whatever they wanted. ... They were both here, so there would be plenty of time.

Instead of giving much of a reaction, Tsurugi just moved on to the next question. Sora didn't really mind that, but so far Tsurugi's response to this had been pretty limited. Maybe he didn't understand just how important it was since he hadn't been here as long, which meant that Sora would just have to do his best to explain it. To him, it symbolized a pretty huge step in the right direction, toward a true escape from this place.

On the other hand, Sora realized that would mean having to say goodbye to all of his friends here, but he knew that they would remain connected. And if he was lucky, maybe one day he could take a trip in the gummi ship and try to find the worlds of all the people he'd become close to here. It was something to aim for.

"Well, there's actually a few of them. When we woke up in the courthouse there weren't many people around, and so we ended up wandering through the city instead. They have a few different patrol points set up, I think, where they'll give you food -- and there's even someone who sails a boat on this river that runs through the city, to make it easier to get around." It was hard to explain everything that he'd seen in just a few words, so it was coming out a bit jumbled.

"We met this man named Rockhand and he gave us radios that he said would be helpful, too. Apparently you can talk between them!" Sora was definitely going to make use of that if he could, but if he and Locke were the only ones who had them, then it wasn't going to do much good. If only they could find a way to get Locke's voice back...

They were brought to a courthouse? Why not a hospital, or something like that? Kyousuke listened quietly to Sora's disjointed descriptions, but to tell the truth, not much was ringing with him. He distinctly felt like he was missing something here, or even several things, so they'd have to do some backtracking. First, he'd start with the basics.

"That's not what I was asking," he said, shaking his head. "I mean, who are they as a group? I've never heard of this before." He'd been starting to feel like he was fairly acquainted with this place, but it seemed there were a lot of things he was fairly behind in. It couldn't be helped, really. Most of his efforts had been concentrated into helping people, first with Sora and the aftermath that followed, and now with Kratos and Lloyd. He hadn't been able to focus much on any deeper aspects.

The part about the radios, on the other hand, caught his attention. "... Actually, a handful of us here have radios now too. They were handing them out in Doyleton, disguised as toys. I wonder if it's the same thing."

Oh, wow. Tsurugi didn't even know that much? Sometimes Sora forgot that for those who hadn't been here as long, there was a whole lot to catch up on. That must have been really confusing for Tsurugi to try and follow, then! Sora offered a sheepish smile. "Oh, sorry! Guess I was going a little too fast... let me start over."

It was good to hear that the radios had been passed out to some others as well, and he took note of that even as he tried to gather his thoughts. He wasn't the best at explaining things, but he'd do his best. "So... you know the radios in our rooms? For a while there was someone who would talk to us over those, his name was Marc." Sora wasn't going to get into the people who had come before Marc, because then they would be here all day. "He's one of the rebels, and for a while he was the only one we knew about! But he disappeared for a while... no one knew why, but it's because he moved out to Farwell.

"Anyway, the rebels are on our side, working to stop Landel and shut this place down. But it's hard for them to get to the institute because of all the stuff Landel has in place, so there's only so much they can do. I bet it was them who handed out those radios in Doyleton, though. They must be working to make sure it's easier for all of us to communicate." Did that mean that something big was coming, or that they had some plan in mind? Sora didn't know for sure, but he definitely felt like they were making advances for the first time in a while. Maybe he'd had to die for that to become clear, which hadn't been ideal, but at least it was happening one way or another.

With what Sora was saying, Kyousuke was honestly a little surprised he'd never heard any of this before. It seemed exactly like the sort of thing that people would want to spread around, if only for morale. Though he supposed it wasn't like he'd ever asked. He'd dismissed the idea of reaching out to anyone in Doyleton right away, never thinking much about the idea of anyone who might understand and sympathize with them. They weren't located there, but apparently, they did exist.

"... So we have people trying to help us from the outside. That's reassuring," he mused out loud. It sounded like there were certain circumstances holding them back, but that was still good. They could use all of the help they could get. It bolstered his confidence some, thinking that not only were there people fighting outside of Landel's influence like those of them trapped here, but that they also seemed to be on the move.

"Probably so," he agreed with Sora's assessment of the radios. "It did seem a bit like the person handing them out knew who we were. Have you checked your number yet?" That could definitely come in handy if he needed to contact Sora quickly for some reason. ... He'd have to start writing these down somewhere so he could keep track of them.

"Do you know anything else about what they're doing, or is that about it?" he asked.

It was reassuring, especially for someone like Sora who had met a few of the rebels now and could tell that they were good people. If they made some kind of breakthrough, then they might even be able to stop Landel for good. That might be a long way off still, but Sora hoped that with the patients helping too, they might have a chance.

When asked about his radio, Sora frowned as he realized that he hadn't actually memorized the number yet. It hadn't seemed all that important when the only other person he'd known of who had one couldn't speak, but it was definitely something he was going to have to check now. "No, not really," he admitted after a pause, offering a sheepish smile. "I'll look at it tonight! What's yours?" So long as he had Tsurugi's number, he'd be able to contact him, right?

Though Sora wondered what he was going to do when night came around. Now that he knew about Farwell, the institute felt pretty constricting. He'd figure something out, though.

As for what else was going on with the rebels, Sora took a few moments to think it over. "Well, when the military was in charge here, the rebels were able to help flush them out. They had a few spies in the ranks!" It was pretty exciting just thinking back on it, even if there hadn't been any sign of those people since then. Harrington was one of them, right? Sora wondered what had happened to him.

So Sora didn't have his number yet, huh? Well, that was fine, since Kyousuke knew his own. That meant they'd still be able to contact each other, and he could just get Sora's later. "It's ten," he answered with a nod. The ace's number, like his soccer jersey, which he had to admit was a pretty weird coincidence, especially considering the other two frequencies he had were considerably higher. They must have made them all random instead of a certain order so there would be less interference, or something like that.

"The military was in charge here?" he asked, folding his arms in thought. "I heard this place gets backing from guys like that, but..." He guessed he shouldn't be particularly surprised, especially with the rumor he'd heard that they were actually tying to raise them into soldiers here. It was a little disturbing to think it went that far, but the opposite was true too. "It's impressive they managed to get in that far. That may be exactly what we need."

It had been a lot like this with Fifth Sector, too. They had the Resistance, made up of former leaders the soccer world and Megane's hacker corps acting as the intelligence and head of operations, while he and everyone at Raimon were the proverbial soldiers carrying everything out. Together, they might have the power to turn things around. Still...

"If they managed to chase those guys out, then why is Landel still here? Couldn't they have prevented that?" he asked with a frown. Maybe they just weren't that strong yet. Or could it be the Head Doctor was actually doing something like Gouenji-san had been? .... Yeah, right. There was no way that guy was actually moving things from the shadows.

Well, that was easy to remember. Ten. Nice and simple. Sora nodded, making a note to himself to try and use the radio to talk to Tsurugi when he got back to his room tonight. He thought it would be pretty neat if they could keep in contact even while they wandered around different parts of the institute. It would definitely cut down on how much he worried about others. Sora didn't know how many other patients had actually gotten their hands on one, though.

It was no surprise that his explanation had only led to more questions. Sora didn't know if he was the best source for all of this, but he had been around for it, so it was better than nothing. "Well, they came in and took over, basically firing Landel because they didn't think he was handling things properly.

"The rebels worked to take the military out of power, but that made space for Landel to move back in. So even if it got rid of the general and his men, then we were just forced back to where we started." Which made it sound like it had been a pointless exercise, but Sora didn't think so. It had taught them a little bit more about this world and how it worked, at least.

"We need to figure out how to block Landel's power like they did. If we can do that, then we'd actually have a real chance of stopping him." Sora was no good when it came to that kind of thing, though, so he wasn't even sure where to start with it.

When Kyousuke heard the military wasn't satisfied with Landel, he snorted. ... That made two of them. But obviously, it was for different reasons, so it was probably for the best they weren't around any longer. "... So he slipped back in through the cracks. That's too bad, but at least it means we can push people back out." That was the important thing.

Of course, just how to go about doing that was a lot more complicated. "We'll just have to keep looking," he said. "This place is set up to limit what we can do, but there must be some way we can turn that against him. If we can find the secret to that..."

He shook his head. It was easy enough to say, but it was nothing but conjecture, and no matter how he looked at it, there was just no way to implement it. It required some resources they didn't have. ... But maybe with time, they would. They'd just have to keep going. Right now, however, it was hard to be worried about it, because for once, it felt like things were beginning to pick up and head in a positive direction. In spite of the serious conversation they were having, he ended up smiling quietly to himself.

It looked like Tsurugi was on the right track here. Sora knew that there were still a lot of obstacles between them and a way back home, but at least they'd been shown that there were ways to oppose Landel. Once they had that power in their own hands, it would be a cinch, right? (Well, maybe not that easy, but Sora always preferred to think positively.)

"I wonder if the rebels are working on that, too... I really want to help them, but I had to come back and let everyone know that I was okay first." Sora didn't know how to handle things from here on out. Did he just go straight back to Farwell on his own? Or did he try to see if he could take some of his friends with him? He didn't know how it all worked, but he was willing to experiment with it.

"I'm planning to go back there," Sora admitted, "to see if there's anything I can do." He would feel bad if he had to leave his friends behind yet again, but at least this time around they would know where he was, rather than thinking that he was rotting away somewhere.

Leaving again so soon, huh... Kyousuke frowned, but he really couldn't blame Sora for it. He'd found something bigger, that could potentially change everything, so it seemed natural to want to gravitate towards that side of things. Normally, he'd probably want to too, but he had some other problems to contend with, and he'd promised Lloyd he'd help him. Helping everyone was obviously a bigger, more important goal, and he was sure he'd understand if he explained, but that didn't mean he could just abandon him. ... Both Lloyd and Kratos had a lot on the line right now. Kyousuke didn't have a clue how much time they had, but it was probably better to assume none at all.

"... I'd like to come with you, but there's still some things I need to take care of here," he explained quietly. "But there's still the radios, so at least we'd be able to contact each other."

They weren't quite the ideal circumstances after just meeting again, but there were other things going on, and they both had things they had to do. It was better to just accept that.

As much as Sora would have liked to secure a companion, he didn't blame Tsurugi for refusing. It wasn't that he'd outright asked him in the first place, though he certainly wouldn't have turned down the offer. Still, it made sense -- Tsurugi had probably gotten caught up in his own things here, while Sora had been gone.

"It's not like I'm planning to leave right away, either." Tomorrow night would probably be a good time to plan for. He was going to need two days to get a hold of everyone who he wanted to talk to, probably -- or he should at least plan for that. "But yeah, we can try out the radios. Hopefully we can talk even from that far."

If not, then at least Tsurugi would know that he was all right. That was the most important thing.

Before he could say anything else, the intercom came on, signaling that it was time for the next shift. Sora was eager for it, because he knew it was brunch and he was starving. He glanced over at Tsurugi before he stood up. "Thanks for understanding," he said. "I'm sure I'll see you again before I leave."

That was true... It was safe enough to say the radios worked within the walls, but farther away was still suspect. Hopefully it still worked, but if it didn't, it wasn't a terrible loss; they already provided convenience they didn't previously have.

But it looked time was up. ... That was a little annoying. There were a lot of things Kyousuke still wanted to say, but instead of being able to catch up properly, they'd gotten distracted by all this. Not that this wasn't important, of course, but so were simple greetings, especially at a time like this. More than that, he just didn't want to separate, even if he knew he should clear the way for others.

"Hey," he began, before either of them could leave. The rest seem to stick in his throat. 'I'm sorry,' or 'I'm glad you're alright', but those weren't really him, and they were too difficult to say. "... Welcome back," he finished instead, a little awkwardly. Maybe that was fine—it had the same sentiment hidden in it. After that, he turned to leave himself. The rest could come later.

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Day 71: Sun Room

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