Day 72: Sun Room (3rd Shift)

[dividedby]

Finally, it was lunchtime. Second shift had gone by way too slowly for Zero's liking, although spending his time sitting and waiting impatiently for the shift to be over didn't help him any. Having a staring contest with his nurse probably helped even less...but it did give him something to do that wasn't sitting or staring at the board, at least.

But that was then, this was now. Another awkward intercom broadcast aside, Zero was very much ready for the next shift to start - and he was welcoming it by standing from the couch he'd been restlessly sitting on for who knew how long and staring at the prisoners leaving the Arts and Crafts room. Ciel had to be one of them. He hadn't seen her come out of the showers at all, and the nurse had prevented him from going into that room for a reason, right? So she had to be there. Had to be.

She better be...

[Ciel-chaaaans]

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[dividedby]

And there she was. Coming out of the Arts and Crafts room, just as Zero had thought she would.

He didn't waste any time moving in her direction, focusing only on her and ignoring his surroundings. Of course, the nurse followed immediately, but unlike past shifts, she didn't try to physically stop him. Rather, she went over to the nurse guiding Ciel and agreed on some 'rules' or something with her. Whatever. It wasn't like Zero was going to hurt her or anything. Why were they reacting as if he would?

Maybe it was another one of Landel's tricks, making it difficult for him to talk to Ciel on purpose... But at least they were letting the two of them talk period. Zero wasn't going to lose this chance, even if they were going to be overheard by both of their nurses. It just meant he'd have to be more careful with his words. So - while refusing to acknowledge the nurses in any way - he took a step closer to Ciel, seeming eager but also anxious somehow in his movements.

"Ciel..." He could read the mixed emotion on her face, and he'd be lying if he said it wasn't hard to see her like this. At the same time, though, it was relieving in a way, as it was more proof that she was the real deal. Her reactions were genuine, her face was genuine...and she didn't seem to be calling him 'Yūdai' yet...

There was a subtle look that came over Zero's face as he continued to stare at her, one that seemed to quietly ask, Is it really you? and Are you...okay?

[toujoursalarecherche]

The last time "Yūdai" took a step towards the one the staff knew as Celia Giroux, she took a step back, a scared expression worn on her face. The same word used once before, a name apparently sprung from the ill mind of that patient.

And yet... "...Z—... Zero...?"

Rather than correct him like before, she hesitantly voiced a different word, the number of nothing identified as a unique something. Something that had no other equal, not even compared to the concepts of alpha or Omega.

Perhaps in her own delusion she had already given up and accepted that Yūdai would never think differently about himself. Maybe this was why she finally broke. Whether the nurses thought this, they didn't voice it.

Meanwhile, in the true reality shared by the two of them, the girl known as Ciel instead wore a relieved, though perplexed face. "I'm... alright." At least she managed to get a better head on her shoulders about their circumstances by now, even if she wasn't really alright, so no one needed to be worried for her sake. She meekly asked, "How...?" while her eyes wandered across his form, trying to make sense out of what she was seeing. Then her eyes found the bandage on his arm. Her eyes widened and she gasped silently, fearing that something like what she ran into last night had found him too. Her posture, with her standing on her right foot to leave her left leg without pressure, as well as her earlier attempts at running and walking, showed a limp of her own.

[dividedby]

'How'....? Was she reading his mind? If only Zero knew 'how' any of this was possible, like how and why Ciel was here, and how she could be seemingly normal again when just a week ago, she hadn't seemed to truly recognize him...

He wanted to repeat her question out loud, but before he could, he saw her notice something alarming on his form. What could she be...oh. Glancing down momentarily reminded him. Funny how that bandaged cut had been of little importance to him today; the way he stared at it for a moment showed as much, even.

"...I'm fine," he said calmly, in an attempt to make Ciel feel better about it. She always worried so much about him, but really, it was her that deserved more worry here. She wasn't like X or Harpuia; Ciel was not trained in combat. This was the last place she should be. And he needed to be able to protect her, or at the very least warn her of everything Landel was capable of.

But where to start? What to say? What to ask? Despite so much ground he wanted to cover in the little time he knew they had, Zero found himself unable to say anything at first. At least he knew better than to bombard her with questions, but then it was difficult to decide what to ask first. Or maybe he shouldn't ask anything, and should just start explaining. Or maybe he didn't need to explain; that limp hadn't gone unnoticed during their first meeting this morning, and he could only imagine how she'd gotten it.

After a silent moment of pondering, he finally decided to ask one thing, rather than try to explain her 'how' at length. Break it down into chunks rather than tackle everything at once. "Did you...just get here last night?" Not the most ideal starter question, perhaps, but it would be good to confirm if she'd seen the nightshift already or not. If yes, it would cut down on the amount of explaining he had to do.

...It might also help him figure out if she had any memory of being here the week before. That would...also be helpful.