As the rain beat down on the Institute's walls, the intercom's static once again filled the hallways.

"At least two more bite the dust," the Head Doctor sighed, sounding a bit bored. "That's too bad. Then again, I suppose there's little choice when it's out of self-defense." A soft snort.

"I wonder if your 'friends' will forgive you, though. Maybe you can ask them in hell?"

With that, the intercom clicked off, and Nightshift suddenly ended.

Although the torrential rain from last night had subsided, an eerie fog settled over the grounds like a thick blanket that only seemed more pronounced as daylight spilled from the horizon. Those who were superstitious might have seen it as a bad omen.

"Good moooorning, ladies and gentlemen!"

The Head Doctor's enthusiasm, on the other hand, wasn't deterred by the weather in the slightest.

"Did you all sleep well? I know some of you are still feeling a bit ill. Rest assured that we're doing everything we can to monitor the situation. In the meantime, I want to stress how important it is to keep your hands clean. Your nurse will be happy to either provide you with a little hand sanitizer or escort you to the bathroom sinks if you so desire.

"Now! As for breakfast, you've all got some fresh waffles waiting for you in the cafeteria! Included is our usual assortment of water, juices and milk, as well as an optional side of bacon, scrambled eggs, or sausages. Mmm-mm! I can practically smell all that from my office. Enjoy!"

As soon as the announcement ended, the staff began to round the patients up for another exciting day in Landel's Institute.

For the first time since Kyousuke arrived, waking up didn't feel the slightest bit strange or out of place. It was still like night had suddenly stopped, with nothing in-between then and now, but instead of being disorienting, or like there was something missing, it was like waking up from a nightmare. His breaths came heavy and anxious, everything flooding back to him, but unlike last night, he had more mental clarity, and he actually understood what it meant.

Sora... was dead.

After a moment, his breathing seemed to ease up, and he sat up slowly, and simply stared down at his blanket. The motion hurt quite a bit, a lot worse than it had yesterday morning, but he seemed to be in decent shape, all considered. Sore, battered, a little faint, but compared to worst of it...

He wondered if he should feel upset right now, or want to yell, or cry, but the truth was, he didn't. If anything, he was just numb. Tired and listless. He wasn't sure what to think or feel about anything, but somehow it seemed distant and disconnected, like something that hadn't actually happened. Yet, if he lingered on it too long, the lifelessness grew into something nauseating, heavy and constricting in his chest, and he didn't even notice until he realized he was gripping his bedding unnecessarily hard. So he forced himself to relax, and not focus on it too much. ... He preferred the cold sort of nothingness.

When the nurse arrived, she wasn't empty-handed, unfolding a wheelchair by his bedside and looking at him expectantly, as if she wanted him to settle himself into it. Looking at it was strange and uncomfortable, and he found himself refusing automatically.

"... I can walk fine. I don't need—"

"What you don't need," the nurse said sternly, "is to be overexerting yourself. You got to walk around yesterday, and what do you do? You go and reopen your injuries! Honestly, Mr. Taylor, you might be young, but you need to take better care of yourself! Today, you're resting, and if you're good about it, we'll see about maybe taking the chair away tomorrow."

That was bad enough, but then she wouldn't even let him wheel himself, and pushed him along from behind. This was totally unnecessary... But though it made him feel helpless, Kyousuke didn't have the energy to argue, so he let her do what she wanted. She asked if he wanted to make a quick trip the bulletin, first, but... Would the news be there? There were people who deserved to know, but there would be reactions to it, questions he didn't want to answer, and feeling his stomach give a lurch, he decided he didn't want to deal with it. Any of it.

Once in the cafeteria, the nurse asked him about breakfast, but Kyousuke insisted he wasn't hungry. ... He wasn't. Sensing he wanted to be left alone, she wheeled him off to an easily overlooked portion of the cafeteria, but quickly returned, setting food and some juice in front of him, "just in case." She set a small paper cup with a couple of painkillers on the tray, and after that, she left, leaving the boy to stare down the meal he didn't really want.

[ Kratos! ]