damned_institute | Day 31: Sun Room (Fourth Shift)

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Day 31: Sun Room (Fourth Shift)

Though perhaps not entirely as successful as he wanted it to be, Homura walked away from lunch feeling satisfied with his efforts. Roland and Fai both had shown interest in the goal, and that was enough for the moment. Homura could be patient, had already been for five hundred years, and felt no harm in waiting another five hundred if he had to. He would have his goals realized, no matter what obstacles he faced, be they from the prison or those trapped within.

But now was time for business of a different sort, and the demi-god made his way to the Sun Room, near the common board. He made sure he could be seen from the entrance to the cafeteria, knowing that one stranger and one member of his own group both wanted to meet with him. It worked out well enough, especially given that the stated purpose of the History Club was simple.

Revenge and escape.

For now, Homura had no intention of revealing that it'd grown more complicated than that.

[Waiting for L and Junior]

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Renji leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. He didn't know where to start. He didn't really want to think about it, because it hurt, a lot. But at the same time, it gave him and Sora one more thing to fight for.

"He said that he misses you," he said, finally.

Of all the things Sora might have expected Renji to say, he hadn't prepared himself for that. (Then again, how could he really prepare himself for any of this?)

He tensed in his spot on the couch, his hands gripping his knees as he gave Renji a wide-eyed stare. "So... he remembers me?" he asked, voice a lot softer than his usual boisterous tone.

Renji nodded, clasping his hands tightly together. "He remembers both of us," he said, voice uncharacteristically soft. "And... some of the stuff we did, I guess. Like talking during the day. But... he thinks the rest didn't really happen. Kept calling us those names that aren't really ours."

It all sounded a lot like what it had been like when Riku had come to visit. Calling him by the wrong name, pretty much going along with everything the nurses and doctors always said.

Sora sighed, not sure what to make of it. If that was what had happened to Nowe when he disappeared, then was the same thing going to happen to all of them? To him, to Renji, to Kairi, to everyone? He didn't want to live that life -- it wasn't his.

"Did it... seem like him?" he asked carefully, glancing at Renji for a second before looking away again, out into the rest of the room. Making eye contact was a little too awkward right now. Riku had acted like himself despite the discrepancies, so he wanted to know if this was the same thing.

Renji nodded. "He did," he said. "He told me... he was writing. And had gotten a job to get back on his feet, and wanted to start going back to school. And had friends that he was going out with some nights. But that he still missed us." For a moment, Renji's head bowed a little lower; he closed his eyes, wishing that he didn't remember any of this. "I think he was kind of sad, in a way. Even though he kept saying he was better now and all."

Even if those Nowe had told Renji would have seemed good to most people, Sora could only think about how all of it just sounded so normal. This, for the boy who had told him about how his best friend had been a dragon.

No, it wasn't right. Even Renji seemed to think that Nowe wasn't actually happy, even if he was supposedly "better." He knew that it wasn't Nowe's fault that he had ended up brainwashed, so Sora wasn't angry, exactly. It just meant that he didn't really know how to feel about the whole thing.

"Do you think that we can snap him out of it?" he asked, knowing that Renji must have felt the same way about this as he did. He didn't know how he intended to get out and find Nowe, let alone undo what had been done to him, but he had to try.

"I don't know," Renji said, voice barely audible. He cleared his throat and tried again. "I don't know. I don't think he's forgotten everything. And the more I said about it... he got sadder, I guess. But any way it goes, we've got to try. And I even told him... I promised him we'd come for him, when we get out. And he didn't say not to."

Nothing was for certain, but what Renji said was enough to convince Sora that they had to try against all odds. It was a lot easier knowing the Renji would be right there with him - Sora just didn't do well on his own.

"Yeah, there's gotta be a way. Something... sort of like this happened to my best friend, and I ended up spending a whole year searching for him, but I did find him in the end, and things turned out all right." This would too. There simply wasn't any other option, and Sora wasn't going to allow any to enter his mind.

Renji nodded, then looked at Sora and gave him a smile that was full of confidence. "We'll find him. I promised. And I know you would've too, if you'd been there." His confidence had been wavering, but Sora had shored it up; his positive attitude always made every situation seem less desperate. Renji was used to fighting when there was no hope ahead, but it was a thousand times better when there was hope.

He nodded again. "We'll do it no matter what."

It seemed like they were just picking each other up - at Renji's smile, Sora returned with one that was even brighter. He wasn't sure what it was, but having support from a friend made it possible for him to handle any situation, no matter how bleak it might seem. He wasn't about to question it, since it was usually the way he got through all of those hard times, and he was just glad to have someone like Renji around to make sure that he didn't start losing his grip.

"Yeah, definitely," he agreed, reaching forward to clap his hand on Renji's shoulder. It was a little awkward because he wasn't entirely sure what he was doing, but he had to express some outward sign of camaraderie between them -- and a hug just didn't seem like it would fit in this context.

Renji grinned, though the expression was still kind of sober. "I think... don't be surprised. If he comes back next week and sees you. He said that he might. I'd hate to see you get as surprised as I was." It was harder to deal with, that way, and he didn't want to think about Sora getting that kind of shock. Though it sounded like he'd probably already gotten just that, in a different situation. "He was sad when he had to go. That's got to be good, that he still wants us around."

"Thanks for the warning," Sora said sincerely, his tone becoming a little more subdued as he thought over the possibility of seeing Nowe himself. At first he had been hurt that he hadn't been included in the original visit, but now he was a little apprehensive. Still, he had been able to handle having a brainwashed Riku come to see him, so he could deal with this too, especially since he would be able to brace himself for it.

"Maybe if I do get the chance to see him, I'll be able to knock some sense back into him?" He didn't know how likely that was, but there was always a chance!

Renji nodded. "It's worth a try. I kept trying to, you know, talk about stuff. But I'm not that good at talking to begin with, so it didn't work so well." He frowned. "Then he started getting kinda sad, so I just asked him about this new place they've put him in. It's all... normal. Like they've got him selling books and coffee. Seeing... movies with his friends. Stuff like that." All the things that sounded ludicrous, knowing what Nowe's life had really been like.

"I'm sure you did fine," Sora assured the older man with a small smile. While Renji said he wasn't very good at talking, Sora knew that whatever Renji said, it always came across as genuine. He was a very straight-forward person, and it was something the people around him could see. That was how Sora felt about it, at least.

It was weird to hear more details on what Nowe's life was now. It didn't seem right for him to be stuck in a lie like that, and while it bothered him, Sora was glad that he knew now. And they had a plan. "Thanks for filling me in," he said, slowly standing from his seat as the intercom went off. "And good luck tonight!" He didn't know what Renji was up to, but that sort of well-wishing could apply no matter what the case.

Renji gave Sora a confident grin, and stood as well. "Take care of yourself," he said. "And don't let Kairi get you into too much trouble. I'll see you in the morning."

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Day 31: Sun Room (Fourth Shift)

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