damned_institute | Day 26: Intercom, Evening

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Day 26: Intercom, Evening

The intercom clicked on with its usual jingle, the Head Doctor clearing his throat before he made his last shift-changing announcement of the day.

"Well, now that everyone is clean and having fun, I suppose it's time for everyone to be escorted back to their rooms for dinner! Yes, yes, I know the game room can be entertaining and doctor sessions can be fulfilling, but we only have so much time in the day, don't we?

"Ah, and speaking of dinner, tonight, we'll be having an old favorite--seasoned steak, a baked potato, and peas! Yum, yum. You also get a choice of vegetable soup or caesar salad--just tell your nurse which you'd prefer--and may also choose from our usual variety of drinks."

He made his usual pause, perhaps contemplating what the night would have in store once the sun fully set. Now, however, wasn't the time to reveal such musings, and so he ended on his usual cheery note:

"That's about all for now! I hope you all enjoy your suppers."

And again the intercom turned off.

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“Me?” Kairi repeated, her eyes growing hard and cold. A sad smile crossed her lips then; it made her feel horrible to know that she had worried Rukia. Then again, she felt bad that she made anyone worry. “Yes. I was … taken for experimentation last night.” Her voice fell low then, and she turned her eyes away from her roommate for a moment before returning to look at her.

“I guess they knocked me out or something, and I woke up on an operating table.” She knew Rukia would want to know, so she told her straight out. “They injected darkness into my heart with a needle. I don’t think my body has accepted it yet though, because … well, everything I touch, or every movement makes it feels like there’s a fire burning me from the inside out.” At this point, she lifted her hand and ran it through her hair as if it were nothing. “But I’m getting used to it, so don’t worry.”

Rukia blinked, wondering how Kairi could talk about that so nonchalantly. She put her injured hand to her mouth. "Oh... Are--that's awful!" she said. "Is there anything you can do? Have you told your friend, Sora?"

Rukia wished there was something she could do to help, but she didn't even know how darkness could be injected into a person.

“Yes, Sora knows.” Kairi responded softly, nodding her head to add an effect. “A few people know. Well, … I haven’t told many people about the fire or anything.” For instance, she hadn’t told Renji … but she got the feeling that she didn’t want to bring him up at that moment. Reaching out a hand, Kairi smiled and placed it gently against Rukia’s shoulder, as if to tell the girl that she was okay.

“But really, enough about me. I’m fine. Please don’t worry. How was your day?” Her voice lowered then, a small smile crossing her lips. "I saw you walk away from the table before and got worried."

Rukia glanced at the hand on her shoulder but didn't pull away. Offering a tired, smile, she said, "I'm glad you told him. Just... be careful. And if there's anything I can do to help, let me know."

"Anyway, let's eat," she added, turning toward her tray again. "We'll need our energy for tonight." Rukia didn't start eating just yet, though, instead nodding slowly in response to Kairi's question. "Yeah... Renji hit Ichigo. Stupid, really. Oh, you haven't met Ichigo, have you?"

Nodding her head, Kairi turned back towards where the nurse had left her food, and sighed, moving towards it slowly. Sitting down, she began to eat her food, but froze at Rukia’s words, nodding her head. “Yeah, I saw that. I hope your friend is okay.”

At the mention of Ichigo, Kairi shook her head, a smile crossing her lips. “Nope, I don’t know him. But I’m sure if he’s a friend of yours he must be nice.” Or at least trustable. In any case, Kairi began to eat again, pausing for a moment to speak again. “Have you known him for a while?”

"Hn." Rukia shrugged, swallowing. "I guess you could say that. Once you get to know him, anyway." Looking over at Kairi, she leaned back in her chair a little, taking a sip of water. "Not so long. Only a few months. How about you and Sora; you've been friends for a long time, right?"

"Yeah, he was one of my first friends when I arrived on Destiny Islands." Kairi smiled at the memory, her eyes shutting. "Him and Riku were the first people to actually confront me. All of the other children were afraid of me because they didn't know where I came from. I guess it makes sense, since I don't remember my childhood and all," and at that she laughed.

Turning back to Rukia then, Kairi smiled, tilting her head to the side. "Maybe you can introduce me sometime? I'll introduce you to Riku. I promise he's not as mean as he looks."

Rukia nodded, smiling. "Yeah, I'll introduce you tomorrow. Can't be all business all the time," she muttered, knowing that she should be more focused on organizing people for Arts & Crafts, but wanting to just pretend things were normal every now and then.

"What does Riku look like? I may have seen him around before..."

“I’d like that very much,” Kairi said with a happy smile, setting down her fork so she could grab at her cup of water. Setting it down, she turned back to Rukia, excitement in her eyes. “I’ll be sure to introduce you to Riku if I see him wandering around.”

At the mention of what he looked like, Kairi placed a finger to her lips, tapping the soft flesh for a moment as she thought. “He’s tall … then again, most people are tall compared to me.” A laugh. “He has long silver hair, it’s even longer than mine, really. He has a constant angry face, kind of like …” at this point, she did her mock Riku face, but soon stopped as a smile cracked her face once more. “And has aqua eyes. But because his bangs are always in the way, it’s hard to tell.”

Rukia smirked a little at the height comment; she certainly knew the feeling! One of the only people around shorter than her was Captain Hisugaya... who hopefully wasn't too angry with her over this morning...

Despite everything, though, Rukia actually giggled a little. "Hehe, looks like Renji, or maybe Captain Hitsugaya." She sighed, feeling a little tension seep out of her, then gave Kairi a knowing smile. "I should talk with you more often, Kairi. You're much more fun than those guys, anyway. "

Kairi smiled a delighted way, perking up in her seat at Rukia’s kind words. “Really? I like talking to you too. We should talk more often. It’s a shame we barely get to see each other during the day. We should hang out soon, maybe go to the game room and play something boring like checkers.” At this, Kairi grinned and turned back to her food.

After a few moments of silence, she turned back to Rukia and tilted her head to the side. “What’s Ichigo like? He must be pretty strong if he can take a blunt punch to the face like he did.” She nodded her head, as if she knew these things from experience.

Rukia didn't know what checkers was, but she didn't think it was an important enough point to ask just then. What mattered was the sentiment. "Yeah," she said, "That would be nice."

She remained quiet, chewing, until Kairi finished speaking. "He's strong," she snorted, "And... persistent. He's not the kind to give up on something when he's set his mind to it." Rukia glanced at the other girl. "How old are you, Kairi? Ichigo can't be much older than you..."

"Sounds like Sora and Riku." Kairi said with a smile, nodding her head. At the mention of how old she was, the copper haired girl suddenly remembered how young she was and blushed, looking down. "O-oh, I'm 15. Though, sometimes people think I'm younger." Letting out a soft laugh, she turned back towards Rukia then, lifting her legs up onto the table so she sat indian style.

"What about you? How old are you? I mean, you look young ... but ... I can never really tell." After all, the Organization was made up of full grown men that were all younger than she was.

Rukia smiled. She could see why some people thought Kairi was younger than her fifteen years; in a lot of ways, the girl was similar to Orihime, which was probably why Rukia liked her so much. They were both so sweet, and always thought of others before themselves.

Orihime... At least Ichigo had said that she was okay, even if she was still in Aizen's hands.

Rukia pushed the thought away, shrugging at Kairi's question. "I've lost count, actually. I... well, Renji must have told you, but we're not actually alive. I died over a hundred and fifty years ago, when I was just a baby." It wasn't a sad topic for Rukia, though; she had never known what it was to be alive, so couldn't miss it.

Kairi blinked in surprise at Rukia’s comment. “He never told me anything like that. Well, not along those lines anyway.” Perking up again, a soft smile crossed her lips, and she ran a hand through her dark coppery locks. “You look so young, too! It’s amazing.”

It made Kairi sad to think that Rukia had died in the real world, though. Yet, another thought crossed her mind and she smiled, nodding her head. “Well, I’m glad we were able to meet, even if you … died.” It was odd, she knew a lot of people who had died, yet were still alive. Axel being one of them, of course. She hadn’t actually been there when he passed on, but Sora had told her and …

Shaking her head, Kairi took another sip of her water, trying to dispel the thought.

"Oh," Rukia said, somewhat surprised that Renji hadn't told Kairi he was dead. At Kairi's compliment, she smiled, chuckling quietly. "Well, we age very slowly in Soul Society - uh, the after life." She and Renji were just about the same age, but he had died as a young boy, whereas Rukia had died as an infant. Rukia suspected that was why Renji looked so much older than her, though she didn't hold out much hope that she would grow any taller.

"Don't worry about it," she added, noting the other girl's discomfort. "I don't remember anything from when I was alive, so there's nothing to be sad about." Taking a few bites of food, Rukia was silent again for a few moments. Then, "So, what are you doing tonight? Something with Sora?"

Kairi nodded her head. “That’s kinda like me, I guess. I don’t remember my childhood, my family, or even where I was born.” Shrugging her shoulders gently, she sighed and pushed away from her food, moving to sit on her bed. Flomping herself down, she quickly grabbed at her pillow and hugged it to her chest, looking at Rukia with a happy smile.

“I’m traveling with my friend Axel tonight. I wanted … to give Sora a rest, you know? I worried him so much last night, I want him to be able to travel around without having to constantly worry about me every few seconds. Though … being away from him tonight will probably just make him worry even more. I should have thought of that beforehand …” Letting out a soft sigh, Kairi shut her eyes, resting her cheek against the soft pillow. A few seconds of silence, she opened her eyes, smiling at Rukia once again. “What about you? What are you doing tonight?”

Rukia finished her meal - she'd eaten all of it for once - and pushed her tray away as Kairi went to her own bed. "Do you ever daydream about who you were before?" she asked, standing up and moving to pull the sheets off the bed.

Having gotten used to the routine already, Rukia quickly stripped the sheets and began to wind them up to make her usual belt. "I bet he will worry," she agreed, "But if you're with a good friend, someone you trust, then I'm sure Sora will trust you to keep yourself safe." Rukia hated being away from Renji at night here. She couldn't seem to shake the worry that he might up and disappear, like Ichigo had done.

Wrapping the "belt" around her waist, Rukia bent to retrieve Renji's katana from under the mattress. Thankfully that gave her some time to school her features into a neutral expression after Kairi's question. "I'm going to meet Colonel Mustang, to get a weapon... Then I'm meeting Renji. After that, I don't know."

Kairi blinked, having never thought of such a thing before. After a moment of thinking, she shook her head and smiled. “Nope. I think … I’m happier not knowing about my past. I mean, I’m very happy now, and if I found out something that I didn’t want to know … I don’t know what I’d do.” She had never thought about it before. What if she found out her past, and it was something she was horrified of? The thought made her worry.

Watching as Rukia did … whatever she was doing, Kairi tilted her head to the side in wonder. “Yeah, I can take care of myself. Plus, Axel is pretty strong too, so there’s really nothing for Sora to worry about. And besides …I may not look it, but I can also wield a keyblade. I just … haven’t practiced with it yet.” Kairi puffed her chest out as if she was some super awesome something or other, but really she was just being silly. After a while, she rested back, watching Rukia once again in silence.

At the mention of Renji, Kairi’s eyes turned away from her roommate and to the ground near her feet. “Rukia? … Can I ask you something? It’s kind of personal, but –“ quickly, she cut herself off, lifting her hands as if to say she was sorry. “Y-you don’t have to answer it if you don’t like. I’m just curious.”

"And if I remember correctly," Rukia said, grinning, "you've also got a good kicking leg." The first night they had met, Kairi had helped dispatch some cat creatures with a well-placed kick.

The katana went into the makeshift belt, then Rukia gathered up her notebook and three pens, tucking them into the back of her pants and her pockets, respectively.

She paused in her preparations at Kairi's sudden change of tone, then looked up. The question was probably going to be about Renji; Rukia was sure of that. Whether she could answer it or not, she didn't know, but it didn't seem right to tell Kairi no. "Um, sure," she said quietly. "Go ahead."

Taking a deep breath, Kairi turned her gaze towards Rukia once again, concern filling her eyes rather suddenly. “Are you … okay? You seem kind of sad. I can see it in your eyes.” Turning her eyes away from Rukia once more, Kairi looked to the ground, not wanting to feel like she was pushing Rukia into doing something she didn’t want to do. “If … there’s anything you want to talk about, anything that’s bothering you … you can tell me. I promise I’ll never tell another living soul.”

Lifting her head finally, Kairi gave Rukia a sad smile, nodding her head gently. “I mean, we’re friends, right? I hate to see my friends bothered ... especially you because we’re … practically living together.” A soft laugh escaped Kairi then, and she sighed.

She knew Rukia was a smart girl. Yet for some reason, she didn’t want to come right out and ask about Renji. She could tell that something was there, that something was wrong … but some things were just too personal to share, and she understood that.

Rukia bit her lip, looking down. No, she wasn't okay, but that wasn't really something she should bother Kairi with, was it? The poor girl had her own problems... But wasn't that also what Renji had been doing? Bottling everything up and refusing to lean on others?

Turning to her desk, Rukia opened the drawer and reached in to run a hand over the book inside. She was silent for a while, hand resting softly on the book as she looked down at it.

"I... thank you, Kairi. It's not something that I want to... to burden you with." She sighed quietly, trying to organize her thoughts. "But I will try to rely on my friends when I need them. Um, it's just... some things with Renji, which I'm sure you guessed." Rukia's hand moved lightly over the book, then she softly shut the drawer. Looking down at the desk, she continued. "It's a long story, and too complicated to explain, but I need to make him see that he can... rely on me, too." She shook her head, taking another deep breath. "But I don't know if he will."

She wouldn’t be burdened. It bothered Kairi more over the fact that Rukia was keeping something hidden. She knew what would happen if she kept those emotions hidden inside … she had seen what had happened when Riku kept all of his emotions hidden. He had welcomed the darkness openly, and … well.

Watching as Rukia opened the drawer and ran her hand over the cover, Kairi nodded her head, shutting her eyes slowly. “I thought so … I just didn’t want to say anything in fear of making you sad,” though, things had turned out exactly how she didn’t want. The urge to get up and hug the girl was beginning to make Kairi’s heart ache and the fire burn; yet she held in the want and simply clung to her pillow. “I’m sure he will, Rukia. I’ve … I’ve heard him talk about you. It’s obvious you mean very much to him.” A soft smile crossed Kairi’s lips then, and she lowered her head once again to rest on the edge of the pillow. “I know I wouldn’t be of much help currently in a fight or whatever, but … I want Renji to know that he can rely on me, too … as well as everyone else who wants to help. But … you know, he’s bound to turn to you, Rukia. After all, childhood friends hold a very deep love. You can’t just … turn away from them.”

Kairi was sure at this point she didn’t make any sense. Shaking her head, she let out a soft laugh, her cheeks turning a soft pink color. “… Sorry if that doesn’t make sense. I just ... I wish you all the luck I can give."

I’ve … I’ve heard him talk about you. It’s obvious you mean very much to him.

Rukia smiled sadly; she wished she had heard Renji talk about her like that. Lately it seemed like all they did was argue. Part of that was her own fault, for pushing him away all these years, even after he had opened his heart to her.

After all, childhood friends hold a very deep love. You can’t just … turn away from them.

But Rukia had. She had turned away from Renji twice, because she had been too scared, too weak. Biting her lip and clenching her fists, she looked away from Kairi to hide the wetness in her eyes. She wouldn't turn away from Renji this time, no matter how difficult things got. She would be his anchor in the storm, like River had said. She would be there for him.

A watery chuckle escaped her lips. "Hehe, no, it makes perfect sense." She sniffled quietly, running a hand through her hair as she turned toward the red-haired girl. "Thank you, Kairi."

Frowning as Rukia turned away, Kairi got up from her bed and took a step towards the other girl, chewing gently on her lip. “I think … that even though bad things happen, no matter what, you’ll always return to those you care about. They … may not come to you as you remember them, but they’ll always be there.”

Looking at Rukia once she turned back towards her, and at that, Kairi couldn’t help it any more. Closing the space between the two of them, she gently wrapped her arms around the dark haired girl, ignoring the fire that shot through her arms and down to her toes. While it was a light hug at first, she tightened it gently before pulling slightly away so she could look at Rukia with a warm smile. “I believe in you.”

Day 26: Intercom, Evening

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