Day 73: Breakfast

[lighthearted]

When Sora woke up, he was so worked up that he practically thrashed his way out of bed. He probably would have fallen straight out of it and onto the floor if he hadn't caught his foot against the ground and then forced himself upward into a sitting position.

But it didn't feel like he'd slept at all. His heart was pounding, his face flushed with worry. Tsurugi... It had been Tsurugi, but he'd looked different. And he'd barely even been able to talk, he'd been so out of it. What had this place done to him?

If Sora went out to the cafeteria, would he end up talking to a Tsurugi who had purple hair? And what would that mean? Would Tsurugi even show up for breakfast this morning?

There was just too much he didn't know, but sitting around in his room worrying about it wasn't going to do any good. Sora stood and let out a bracing breath, glancing over to Link's sleeping form in the opposite bed before he approached the door and anticipated his nurse.

She seemed to sense that he was worried, because she didn't chat with him too much on the way over to the cafeteria. Sora didn't even have the presence of mind to stop by the bulletin. He just went straight to the mess hall and got a tray of food while half-distracted, parking himself right near the entrance from the Sun Room. He barely ate his food, instead keeping an eye out for Tsurugi with two shades of hair in mind.

[For Tsurugi.]

Comments

[knightspirit]

Sora didn't seem all that surprised by this. It was almost impressive; Kyousuke might have some trouble swallowing all that in his position. Not that he wouldn't trust it, but he had to admit, it was a pretty unbelievable story, almost even for him, who had lived through it. Maybe Sora was just good at taking things at face value.

"... Probably," Kyousuke agreed tentatively. "It doesn't feel like it's being blocked out like my other abilities, but I didn't really get to use it, so it's hard to tell." It certainly worked here, since it had been powerful enough to save him, but other than that, it was hard to say much. He couldn't tell how much he'd actually gained when at the time, he'd had new memories to contend with, with the feeling of his own body destroying itself under the stress of them. Unconsciously, the boy cringed, the pain of all that still too fresh in his mind.

But that power was there. Would the same be true of everything else he'd learned in those few months that had been forced into him? Would the results of all the training show, or would he still be on the same level? And there was Lancelot... He hadn't been able to use his Avatar properly since he got here, but in his memories, it was even stronger now. Maybe it might be able to break through now. Though it wasn't necessarily the power itself he was concerned about, not directly. ... He just couldn't figure out how all this new time fit together. To tell the truth, he didn't even understand if everything he remember had happened, or if he'd already lived through part of his future.

But his head hurt too much to be thinking about all of this. With the fever pressing down on him, he didn't have much choice but to put it aside for now.

"But maybe we can find out. Are you trying to get upstairs again? I can come with you, if you want," he offered. Kyousuke had to go either way, so he might as well with a friend.

[lighthearted]

This place was tricky with what it blocked and what it actually allowed them to do, but Sora figured that Tsurugi would be capable of using that ability again, seeing how he'd already done it once. That might have been during a really stressful moment, but there were lots of stressful moments here.

Which meant that it would be better if he didn't have to use it at all, but Sora wasn't that naive about Landel's and how it worked. There was going to come a time when Tsurugi would need to pull on that power.

"... Are you sure you're ready for that?" he asked when Tsurugi offered to come along with him tonight. Sora didn't mean to baby him, but he'd just been through a rough situation, so did he really want to jump back into things so soon?

Tsurugi was stubborn, though. Sora got the feeling that no matter what he said, he wouldn't be able to change his mind on this.

[knightspirit]

Kyousuke simply shrugged. He could understand Sora's concern, since Kyousuke had certainly had better days, but by now, all that was left was a fever, which wasn't much at all in the long run. "... I've dealt with worse. Besides, we don't have time to be wasting. If we stop over every little thing, nobody's ever going to get anything done."

It was hard to worry too much about just that; it would be a lot more manageable with the cuts and broken rib he'd been sporting days prior, for instance. Of course, he couldn't say that out loud, and especially not to Sora. Either way, there was too much to contend with for him to be resting right now. Which reminded him...

"There was another note last—... before I was taken." Last night, he remembered belatedly, though it was still tough to place. His sense of time was too thrown off to reconcile right now. "Did you get one?" He kept his voice as low as he could manage; this was not something they wanted a nurse to overhear.

[lighthearted]

Tsurugi made a good point. Sora didn't know if they were on some kind of time limit, but Landel was going to figure out what the rebels were planning eventually, and they needed to stop him before that happened. He had zero regrets about tossing last night aside to go find Tsurugi, but they had to get back to business now. And if Tsurugi wanted to be a part of that, Sora couldn't stop him. It wouldn't be fair.

He'd just have to watch him extra close and work to keep him safe. Not that Sora didn't always keep those things in mind, but he was going to be doubly careful with Tsurugi, at least for tonight.

"Oh!" Sora exclaimed as soon as Tsurugi brought up the note, nodding. "Well, I didn't get one, but Link did. It said something about an item that could stop Landel, and also about taking down the security. I just wish there had been some more details..." Maybe Tsurugi had heard more? Sora shoveled some more food into his mouth as he waited for Tsurugi to explain about his note.

[knightspirit]

"... Yeah," Kyousuke agreed. If they were going to go out of their way to leave them notes, it seemed stupid to leave what was actually happening so vague. Maybe it was out fear that they'd be found by the wrong hands, but in that case, they weren't vague enough. They were basically only just a step above being totally useless, which meant Kyousuke couldn't really explain much more to Sora.

"That was what mine said, too," he explained. "There was something about two teams—one dealing with security, and the the other dealing with Landel. Apparently, I'm supposed to be on the second." Which meant that he'd likely be in the thick of it all, which would be dangerous. He couldn't be certain why they'd asked that of him in particular, but he didn't care much. It was something that had to be done, so he'd just have to do it. And with what he knew now, the path to their freedom wasn't the only reason to take Landel out of power.

"I can't be sure, but... I think going after him might help us with the people he's brainwashed," he mentioned quietly. At least, it would if the kind of brainwashing he now remembered and the kind that was happening here were built on the same principles. That, he honestly couldn't say.

[lighthearted]

It sounded like Tsurugi had gotten the same note that Link did, or at least one that was very similar. Splitting up into different teams made sense. They were only going to make it through this if they combined their efforts, right? "And I think I'm supposed to be looking for the archive," he added. That was the one they had the most information about for now, so it seemed like the safe thing to focus on.

Talking about all of this just made Sora more eager to get back to it tonight, so it was good that Tsurugi didn't seem to be in such bad shape. It could have been a lot worse, at least. Maybe they could see about getting him healed, though, just to be sure. "You know, you should ask Kratos if he can heal you! That way you'll be at full strength from now on."

As for Landel and the brainwashed patients, Sora got the feeling that Tsurugi was right about that. It reminded him of the darkness and the way that it could spread out from one person to another. If they cut off the head of the hydra, then everything else would fix itself too, right? "I hope you're right," he said with a firm nod as he finished off his meal.

[knightspirit]

The archive... Right, he'd gotten that note too, which meant there were three separate focuses right now. Was that such a good idea, considering their numbers? Multitasking wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but if they got too ambitious and tried to take care of everything at once, that wouldn't end up actually accomplishing anything. Maybe he'd just have to focus on Landel for now; they probably wouldn't get many chances with him, but the archive would likely still be waiting for them.

The mention of Kratos, however, made him he look up in surprise. "That's not—" he began, and paused to start over. "... I can't. He already did that for me once. Besides, I'm sure he has his own things to deal with."

... Was what he said, but it ran a little deeper than that. He didn't care how many times someone helped him; he'd just have to pay them back in his own way. But with Kratos... Kyousuke already owed too much. He couldn't possibly try to add onto that. Of course, he couldn't quite say it that way; Sora understood just as well as Kyousuke what had happened that night, and that wasn't something he should be talking about. It would make things easier for both of them if he didn't.

[lighthearted]

Sora didn't think Kratos would refuse if Tsurugi asked, but he also realized that it wasn't that easy to go to someone for help sometimes. As much as he wanted to push the subject, he realized it wouldn't do any good. He'd just keep Tsurugi safe himself.

"In that case, try to get at least a little bit of rest during dinner, okay? The stronger you are by tonight, the better." But if Tsurugi wasn't a hundred percent, then Sora would just pick up his slack, and he'd do it without saying anything about it. Maybe then Tsurugi wouldn't have to be guilty about it.

The intercom went off then, causing Sora to straighten in his seat. "So we'll just meet out in the hall, right?" It was lucky, the way that their rooms were so close to each other. Tonight, things would go the way they were supposed to, he was convinced of it. With a small smile, Sora stood up and nodded to Tsurugi. They were going to be fine.

[knightspirit]

"... I know how to take care of myself, you know," Kyousuke pointed out. He knew Sora meant well with these kinds of suggestions, but even still. "You're worrying too much. I've fought with a lot worse than just this." Not that he intended on waving his remaining fever off, but it was a little frustrating being fretted over even after he said he was fine.

"Yeah," he agreed with nod, when Sora confirmed their usual meeting spot. "I'll see you then." The nurses began to round them up after that, so they wouldn't be able to talk any more for now.