damned_institute | Nightshift 30: F1-F10 Hallway.

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Nightshift 30: F1-F10 Hallway.

[ inside f7]

“What?” Kairi had been in the middle of getting off of the bed when she heard the announcement the head doctor made, surprise overtaking her face. Hadn’t the man on the radio been well known? Hadn’t he helped all kinds of people?

Her look of shock slowly turned into a sad frown as she moved across the room, not saying a word other than the “what?” she had muttered before. This place was so horrible –

Moving to her dresser, Kairi pulled open the doors in hope of perhaps finding another flashlight. What she found instead was something much better (in her opinion, anyway) and much more useful!

“Oh!” she exclaimed happily as she pulled the pink dress out of the wardrobe, a grin crossing her lips. It had been such a long time since she had seen the pink dress she usually wore, and to see it now just randomly sitting inside the large wardrobe was a pleasant surprise! Before she could really even think, she slowly began to change into the outfit, pausing once she was done to look down.

She looked like herself again! (Minus the bandages, anyway)

Pumping her fists, Kairi did a quick hair flip and let out a happy giggle.

Now all there was to do was wait for Axel.

After a few moments of waiting, Kairi decided that perhaps it would be better to wait in the hall. After all, nothing would happen ... and if something suspicious came, she'd just run back into the room.

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The harshness of Luxord's voice was honestly frightening as the tenth member of the Organization leaned towards her, warning her of the dangers of those who were taken by the darkness.

It was almost enough to make her promise to not see Kairi again, except Naminé could never bring herself to do that. It was the ultimate betrayal to herself, in a way, to not believe that Kairi could master the darkness that she was forced to carry.

"Kairi... Kairi is still my Other. It doesn't matter what happens to her," She defended the redhead, while also shaking her had at what Luxord was implying. "And that's impossible. We're beings rejected by the light and the dark. There's nothing for the darkness to spread to."

She was holding that empty space in her chest as she was saying this. Yes, that was why she couldn't help Kairi! Naminé couldn't understand the burden of light or darkness, even if she wanted to. And she desperately wanted to.

It was amusing, in a sense. The picture taking place, that is. Time, Memory, and Heart. Time would march forward without regard, Memory obligated to follow, yet wanting desperately to hold true to the Heart's wishes. Time does not wish Memory to stray into the darkness the Heart holds and thus attempts to turn Memory away from it.

Luxord contemplated this. He'd no wish for Naminé to be tainted by that insolent princess, not as the others had. Not as he himself had. There was too much darkness in the universe, in Time and Space. Memory needed to stay pure, stay true.

She just didn't understand that, did she?

"There is," he said at long last, his left hand risen to gently run fingers across the child's forehead and through her hair. "The Darkness spreads. And if you've not a heart, it will simply hold to something else..."

It wasn't so much a battle of wits as it was just Naminé not wishing to throw away her dearest friends. Even though she should have been able to - any attachments she felt to them were fake, supposedly - Naminé just wasn't that kind of person. Luxord had simply put her between a rock and a hard place, but she wasn't going to give up trying to convince Luxord.

If she could just prove that Kairi was no threat (and she wasn't!) to her, then this thing would be resolved. Luxord never approved of any friendships she made (especially if her friends were of the male persuasion), but he never actually went this far to get her away from someone either.

"I'm more non-existent than any Nobody here," She argued, for once stating that fact proudly. "Even for a Nobody, I shouldn't exist. I don't think the darkness has a place for me, and neither does the light. So I'll be OK."

It was hard. Naminé wasn't exactly one who understood the mechanics of her own birth, only that, according to DiZ, she was special even for a Nobody.

Luxord frowned again as Naminé spoke, hands back to resting on his knees as he sat on her bed. Why couldn't she understand it? Even if she hadn't a heart, it could still corrupt her mind and tarnish what purity was there.

"You remind me of my Other's little sister. She'd never listen either, if I recall correctly. Died about Kairi's age, too."

It was true that Naminé wasn't quite getting what Luxord was meaning, but she listened anyway as he told her about his Other's sister. Luxord having a sister was news to her.

It dawned on her then, why Luxord was so concerned. And why Luxord doted on her in the first place, but that didn't bother Naminé too much. What interested her more was that Luxord was telling her this in the first place. Obviously, Nobodies didn't talk about their past lives too much.

"... I'm sorry," Naminé frowned. She didn't mean to worry Luxord like that. "... What happened to her?"

...just because he mentioned her did not mean Naminé needed him to expand on the subject. Truth be told, he'd never spoken much about Rowan when he was alive, none the less without his heart. Still, there more room to trust Naminé than the others he might find use to speak to. Why not.

"It was an accident, really. Her and Rould were having an argument in town, as teenage siblings do. I cannot remember why they were so annoyed with each other, aside from the vague idea that he'd not wanted to be seen with a 'little girl.' So, as a joke, he began chasing her with a stick. Rowan got halfway across the street before being hit by a carriage. You know," he ended with a shrug. "The regular childhood trauma fare."

A nice, blunt ending to that horror story, then. Hopefully that would keep the witch from asking again.

"Oh."

It was rather blunt. And had nothing to do with the current situation, which made Naminé feel bad for asking. When it came to feeling guilt, Naminé didn't exactly question that emotion, since she was sure that she had felt more than enough of it during her short lifetime.

"I'm sorry. I didn't ..." What good was apologizing, the act was done. "But... I really will be fine, Luxord." The witch didn't want to leave Kairi, and probably nothing short of death would have stopped her, but she didn't want to be insensitive to Luxord's memories. "I promise, if Kairi... If Kairi turns on me, I'll know when to run away."

If, that is. Naminé couldn't ever think of Kairi trying to hurt her. It just seemed impossible, even with the darkness in her heart.

Ugh, Naminé! Did he have to take out the Clue-By-Four?

"She won't be trying to, peanut. That is not how the darkness works. She merely will. And when she does..." Luxord paused, eyes narrowed in some sort of emotion, be it anger or just disappointment, "it will cease to be my concern as to who shall assist you. By then, you've obviously ignored my pleas for your safety and will remain ignorant long after the darkness takes hold of your mind."

The Gambler shrugged then. If she wouldn't understand, he'd just be honest, as cruel as that could be. "By then, I shan't care."

"By then, I shan't care."

It shouldn't have bothered Naminé as much as it did. After all, she made choices like this before. Pick one, or the other. It should have been simple. But... why did she have to always have to choose? Couldn't she have both Luxord and Kairi are friends, for once?

She fidgeted for a moment, as if trying to work out a solution. Surely there had to be some way that she could remain with the both of them. But in the end, she knew there was no such way.

"Does this mean we won't be friends anymore? Or we'll be friends until something happens to me?" She asked. It was OK if she could be friends with Luxord for a little while longer. Then Naminé could just work something out. It was odd asking the keeper of time for some time herself.

"It means what it means, peanut." He shrugged again, not sure what to follow such words with.

It was not as if he weren't used to losing everything on the table anyhow.

Naminé was used to losing things too. That was all she had been doing, lately. Losing, and losing, and then losing more. What was one more loss to add to her growing list?

"I won't accept that."

She was tired of losing things now.

"Luxord, I won't accept losing you. But I won't lose Kairi either. You say that if I stay with her, I'll get influenced by darkness, but I have traveled the paths of darkness before, and it's never led my astray. I spent a year with DiZ, who was corrupted in his own right, but I never bought his ideas of revenge. I spent so much time in Castle Oblivion, and sometimes he came close, but Marluxia never broke me."

She was babbling now, trying to grasp onto the last remnants of Luxord's trust. That's what she wanted the most. Couldn't the Gambler of Fate take a chance with her?

"I promise, nothing will happen to me. Nothing has happened to me, and nothing will happen to me."

The discussion was over now, really. If Naminé ever became hurt due to Kairi's inability to protect her, Luxord wouldn't stop it. That was all- he'd be around until then.

The intercom was a blessing in disguise, interrupting the conversation as well as the silence that followed the witch's words. After the doctor's rambling wore away, Luxord fixed Naminé with a small smile. How she's grown...

She really didn't need him anymore, did she?

The blond reached forward and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, voice taking on that relaxing tone it had before. "'Tis late, princess. Perhaps you should get a bit of rest now."

For some reason, Naminé was restless again. She had been content with just listening to the radio and keeping herself updated on what had happened to the man on the Radio and the woman who replaced him, but now she felt like she was wasting time just sitting around and doing nothing.

It was because she was doing nothing, while everyone else was taking risks and disappearing. That's why Naminé was losing everyone. That was why everyone but her died in Castle Oblivion, right? All she did was sit around and draw pictures...

"Yes, maybe it is," She agreed, sitting back down on the bed with the radio in her hands. It was easy enough to decide that she had to do something, but what would she do? Going out recklessly again would just put her in danger, the very thing that Luxord wanted her to avoid.

"I'm sorry, I'm not ignoring your words. I know Kairi is dangerous in her current state," Naminé thought back to how horrified with herself she sounded when she mentioned attacking Sora. "But I have faith in her. I have to, because I have faith in myself too."

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Nightshift 30: F1-F10 Hallway.

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