Day 27: Lunch

[norainu]

Renji wasn't so certain what this grilled cheese thing was all about, but he liked the sound of some soup. Even if it was strange western soup, well... there wasn't anything bad people could do to soup, in his experience. His good mood was starting to fray at the edges, a little, from the strain of dealing with the Ichimaru issue, and even more from what had been on the bulletin board earlier.

He'd never had difficulty simply writing something before. But...

He shook his head as he entered the line. He didn't want to think about it. He wanted to hold on to the tenuous equilibrium he'd managed to find.

Renji got himself a large bowl of soup, water, and even one of those sandwiches, just to try it. Old habit, recently awakened, had him over to one side of the cafeteria, where the fewest people possible would have the chance to pass behind him. He sat there with his back toward the wall and started eating.

Comments

[twelveapathy.livejournal.com]

Still no reaction from them, but that was fine. It only meant that she would have to try harder and dig deeper. Not a problem, Larxene already knew what her next move would be. She would use their talk of X against them.

“Speaking of Luxord, he told something rather interesting lately.”

She took a sip of her juice before facing Naminé yet again. “Witch, did you know that your dear friend Roxas isn’t here anymore? The gambler told me that himself.”

If it was from X, then Naminé wouldn’t be able to disregard it as ‘another one of her lies’.

“I don’t suppose he ever told you, did he? Or VIII? I mean, he had to have known, seeing as how he practically stalks him all the time.”

[angels-inflight.livejournal.com]

"I saw most of the first floor. I'm going to try and explore more of the second floor tonight and maybe find more-"

That was enough to get Naminé's attention.

She still wasn't sure if she could believe it, but Naminé could imagine Luxord saying something like that. He didn't like Roxas, as much as a Nobody could dislike someone, and she could see him happily (as happily as a Nobody could) remarking to Larxene that 'XIII' was no more.

And she hadn't seen him in quite some time, had she? At least, with Kairi and Sora and the others, she had seen them when she glanced over a room, or read their messages on the bulletin board. But she hadn't seen nor heard from Roxas.

She looked to Axel for confirmation. She didn't even need a confirmation; if Axel reacted, she would know that what Larxene said was true.

She could only hope not.

[bond-off-lame.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, Naminé's hopeful glance wasn't enough to tear away from the truth.

Axel had been busily tuning out the woman's inane babbling when Larxene struck the very chord that made his mechanical heart plummet beyond his stomach and into his very bowels. No shock had hit him, as the inevitable had been foreshadowed ever since he spoke with Luxord himself yesterday. Instead, something calmly washed over him that caused his jaw to clench before finally going lax.

It was acceptance, and a painful one at that. The redhead bowed his head slightly, but he still fought to keep it as high as he was able. Axel had already lost his best friend once, and he'd long since been informed of being a failure for not bringing him back. This could almost be a step above all of that if he was selfish enough; after all, there was always the chance of Roxas coming back here.

...

"Maybe I should take a trip to the second floor one of these days. I haven't actually gotten a good look at it myself." Axel remarked finally, loosening his grip on his spoon.

[twelveapathy.livejournal.com]

The pause in their conversation and the silence that followed afterwards was just what Larxene was looking for. “It’s so sad, really.” She said, grinning. “The way they’ve kept such an important detail from you, my precious little witch, knowing how close you were to XIII.”

But not her. She would tell Naminé anything she wanted to know.

Why keep the truth hidden when it was so wonderfully devastating?

“Hmm, I wonder who’ll be next to follow our departed traitor.” With disappearances being so sudden and unpredictable, it really could be anybody. Though Larxene did have some picks as to who she’d like to see gone.

“Superior, the key bearer, VIII himself…”

Hopefully, Axel would stay long enough to make him pay for what he’d done in Castle Oblivion.

“Oh! Maybe that cute Other of yours, the one with the red hair. What was her name again?”

[angels-inflight.livejournal.com]

Larxene was not lying, then, if Axel reacted like that. Naminé realized, quite suddenly and sadly, that Roxas really was gone. Did he escape, or did he...?

She didn't want to think about it, but maybe that meant Roxas was actually OK. if one them made it out of this place, then shouldn't she be celebrating? Yet she had heard of people actually dying in this place, killed by monsters or other patients. Obviously, since she had no other information as to how Roxas disappeared, she naturally assumed the worst.

Axel was still talking, but Naminé was not listening. Larxene's words hurt, even if she was not supposed to have her feelings hurt, as she had none. As Larxene started listing off people whom she wanted to disappear, Naminé was slowly growing more fearful of the people she cared about.

Until Larxene mentioned Kairi.

It was very sudden, and Naminé didn't know what came over her. She might have perceived Larxene's statements as a threat, or maybe she was just sick of hearing the other Nobody talk, but Naminé did not let that comment slide.

"Or you. You might disappear too," She shot back at Larxene, looking at the Nobody in the eyes. Naminé's sudden bravado faded though. There was no use getting angry over something she had no control over. That would be letting Larxene win.

"... I can take you there sometime, if you want. I think all of the good supplies are up there. At least, I haven't found anything down here that seems useful."

[bond-off-lame.livejournal.com]

Axel felt more or less the same as what Naminé would've felt if she truly had a heart, but all of it was washed away and replaced by confusion when the girl finally snapped back at Larxene. The redhead eyed her cautiously before a smile finally broke through, taking the time to pat her on the knee from underneath the table.

"So far as I know, the Kitchen's the only real place on the first floor to get anything useful." From what Roy said on the bulletin, the bathroom was apparently another hot spot, but it wasn't really his forte to tear out tampon dispensers and toilets for the sake of weaponry.

Naminé's suggestion was a welcoming one, and Axel accompanied his grin by ruffling her hair.

"You know what? That'd be a fabulous idea. And who knows, maybe we'll be able to find something that'll help us with our roach problem." He commented in that ever so casual tone.

[twelveapathy.livejournal.com]

Silly Naminé, Larxene had already won.

The whole purpose of this visit was to cause her pain, and she had accomplished just that. Her tactics must’ve worked even better than expected for the witch to actually respond like that.

Such insolence, no matter how minimal, would have to be dealt with.

Safety in numbers truly was their best chance of survival, even more so for someone as weak as the witch. For the time being, the Nobody let her continue her conversation with Axel uninterrupted, glancing at VIII momentarily when he mentioned the 'roach problem'.

As if she hadn't heard that one before.