damned_institute | Day 32: Sun Room (2nd shift)

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Day 32: Sun Room (2nd shift)

After the couple glasses of water Leon managed to gulp down during breakfast, the mage felt immensely better. He was still a bit tired, but that was nothing a little lounging on one of the sofas wouldn't cure. Stretching his arms above his head, he couldn't help but wish he'd had the chance to grab one of his new doctor's coats before leaving his room that morning. Maybe they would have let him get away with wearing it. Maybe.

He grabbed an empty sofa, pulling out the journal he tried to keep on him at all times. It was nearly complete now. Just a couple more pages to go. It might not improve his spellcasting that much, but any improvement was better than none. It was getting to where it might be too dangerous for him to use spells at all, if it left him so worn out without even finishing a monster off.

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The fact that Kadaj referred to him as 'big brother' still somehow brought about some level of comfort. The familiarity caused him to close his eyes and sort through the fog still plaguing his mind. He let out a little sigh, finding Kadaj's words clattering around in his brain until they seemed more than a little silly to concentrate on.

Blinking his eyes open, he looked around. He shrugged and simply plunked himself down in the spot that had opened up. Kadaj must have agreed if that space had been provided. "Thanks," he murmured and rubbed his fingers through his mussed hair.

Sliding his hand along the couch to feel for more room that would allow him to lie down behind Kadaj, he made a soft noise. "Little more," he asked hopefully.

He wasn't-- damn it. Furious at this blatant misinterpretation of his intentions, Kadaj stretched as much as he could and arranged his limbs so that he covered as much of the couch as possible, hoping to force Cloud off as a result. "Go away, Big Brother. Is it that hard to understand? I don't want you here. Leave."

He nudged at him with his foot, not using quite enough force for it to count as kicking just yet (he'd almost forgotten about those stupid nurses-- damn it, they were determined to make this difficult, weren't they?) but still using enough that he was sure Cloud had to understand it was a definite possibility if he kept this up. "As much as you adore me, sharing a couch isn't going to work. I loathe you, and if you don't get off this instant, I'm yelling for the nurses. Don't think I won't."

Frowning when the offer had been taken back, Cloud slowly drew his blue eyes up to regard Kadaj. He could see how the space on the couch was eaten up by the silver-haired boy taking up all the room, and it suddenly seemed very childish for Kadaj to do. He said nothing in regards to that though and simply stared at the last fragment of couch available, which was too small for him to lie on.

The nudge seemed to make him come back to himself, and he looked away from the couch again. "But the nurses want the patients to make friends," he murmured and looked over to the patrolling individuals in question. "Besides... we are as close to family as either of us is going to get here."

Normally, he would never admit such a concept outloud. He rubbed his face with the heel of his hand and sighed heavily. "...please?" His voice bridged on the edge of pleading.

It was incredibly childish, but Kadaj was completely unaware of this; he just wanted his damn couch back. Yazoo and Loz would have respected this wish, but no, he had to be stuck with the stupid brother. Hearing Cloud admit to their relationship and say "please" was making him feel slightly more charitable than usual, though, so maybe...

Hmm... nah.

"Don't you have any other people you could ask?" Kadaj said, taking a look around the room. He didn't see any of the traitor's irritating friends, but they had to be around somewhere, right? "Failing that, the floor is still an option. I like this couch and I don't want to share." Which was true, sort of, but definitely not the entire story. There was no way he was telling Cloud that he was injured, though, so that would have to do.

At the question, Cloud lifted his head and looked around the room again. He really had not even looked to see if there was anyone that he knew around here. Oh, there was Brooklyn, but he was not so keen to wander over and sound like he had missed the beat the night previous. Plus, he was feeling more than comfortable where he was seated.

"No, just you," he murmured as he turned to look to the other side of the room, feeling slow and ragged. "Hmmm... will you come on the floor with me then?"

Somehow, being on the floor curled up alone would probably draw attention to him. He was not looking to have another pill pushed down his throat any time soon, and besides, Kadaj really should be used to his pestering. He never really asked for much, why not give him more than a sword to the throat and a few icy words for once?

"No." What did Cloud think this was, a sleepover? Kadaj shifted again, closing his eyes. He was so tired-- why couldn't Cloud have chosen a different day to bother him? Maybe he should have asked to be taken back to his room instead of this place.

"I don't see why this matters so much to you, you know," he said vaguely, curling up on his side. Comfy couch, pain medication, the traitor's spirit crushed-- what more could he ask for? "You could just as easily push someone else off their couch and take that spot-- more easily, in fact. I'm not letting you have this one." Petty of him, yes, but damn it, he'd been here first.

He opened one eye to stare at him again, seeming almost amused. "Or is it that it really doesn't matter to you, but you're just so pathetic that you can't summon the will to try somewhere else? I'm disappointed, Big Brother. I thought better of you."

"Ah, okay," Cloud murmured but still made no move to remove himself from the spot he was sitting in. He shifted himself over to lean against the arm of the couch and rubbed his itchy eyes.

He rested his arms on the couch arm and then rested his chin on them, closing his eyes. It would be so easy to just drift off, but he trusted that Kadaj would take advantage of his open back enough to shove him away. It was childish, but still Kadaj. "Ah, throwing someone off the couch is not very nice," he said simply.

Shrugging nonchalantly, he sighed. "I am feeling apathetic today, and I cannot remember too much of last night." He lifted his head enough to cast his eyes over to where Kadaj was at the other end of the couch. "Liar. You never think better of me."

"Betraying someone isn't very nice either, but you didn't seem to have any trouble with that, did you, Big Brother?" Kadaj shot back. "Neither's killing people, but you don't care about that, either. Didn't even bat an eye, did you?" That example was a little more unfair, considering the fact that Kadaj had been trying to kill Cloud at the time, too, but that was irrelevant. He was a traitor after all.

"And you're right; I don't. Does that bother you, or do you just like pointing out the obvious?" It didn't seem like he'd be getting any rest at this rate. Damn it. He might as well surrender more space to Cloud. That didn't mean he was going to, though. "Why don't you remember what happened last night, anyway? I'd think that nights at this place were, you know, unforgettable."

That was heading quickly and unaided into unfair territory, and Cloud did not like it. "The only one I betrayed back then was Aerith," he said, somehow keeping his voice from going steely. "You would have killed me while laughing and enjoying my blood on your hands. You would have killed all those children as well... you did well to use them as body shields." He was tired to arguing, but now it seemed that they were heading towards there. He just wanted to have more than twisted anger from Kadaj.

"At least you admit it." It sometimes seemed that reasoning with Kadaj was about as easy as escaping this place. He frowned at the question, but no matter how hard he tried, there was nothing in the fog to tell him what he had been doing. It seemed so important at the time; he was sure of it. "I cannot say..." He dare not mention the fact he was being medicated. "I was out in the Rec Field and then I had something to do... but I cannot remember what it was or where I went. It is all... clouded in my head."

"Seems you know me very well, but I don't see how that's relevant. You deserve that and more, you know. Haven't you realized this already? I'm only doing what's right, whereas you... you cling to those people like they're actually worth something, reject your ties to Mother, and refuse to see any sense no matter what we do to you." He sighed. "And you used to be such a good little puppet, too."

As for the events of last night, well... "Maybe whatever happened was so traumatic that you blocked it out," Kadaj suggested, smirking at him. "Killed some friends, maybe? You know, that happened to you once. Did I ever tell you? One of your friends, you know, had a chainsaw, and..." He trailed off significantly, his grin widening. "Must have hurt an awful lot. I only wish I could have seen it." Of course, the effect had been somewhat ruined by the fact that another Cloud had appeared almost immediately after the old one had died, but he wasn't saying that.

This was an argument that he doubted would ever be truly worked out between them. "It would not make a difference even if I did embrace Jenova," he murmured quietly. In his mind, it would only twist him into something that he had already overcome. "And those people are my friends. It is right to trust them." He looked at Kadaj for a moment before nodding his head and going back to staring at the couch. "I was a good puppet, almost bridging on perfection I think."

He would pretty certain he would remember killing some of his friends, though the mere though sent a river of cold to his stomach. "No... one of my friends killed me?" His frown tightened slightly. A chainsaw probably would have hurt too. "It probably would have hurt a little more than being shot in the back and then blown up by materia," he murmured. "Have you ever killed anyone here?"

Kadaj snorted. "It wouldn't make any difference now, no, but if you'd done what you were supposed to and continued doing it, Mother wouldn't be in the situation she's in right now, would she?" He sighed. Stupid, stupid Cloud. "You can trust your friends all you want, you know, but that doesn't mean they're worth the effort. As for your time as a puppet, well, you certainly weren't perfect enough."

This conversation was beginning to tire him. Why did the traitor have to be so obstinate? "Yes, you were killed by them. Did you really not know? And as a matter of fact, no, no I haven't killed anyone. Thank you for reminding me, though; I'll have to look into fixing that." ... All right, so he wasn't really going to go out and kill someone, but Cloud didn't need to know that.

Cloud honestly was not certain what condition Jenova was in, but he knew that mentioning Kadaj's 'mother' was a rather taboo subject that he wished to be careful of. "I have not seen Sephiroth around in the last day or so," he mentioned instead of Jenova. "I think they are worth the effort. They saved me from being nothing more than a puppet afterall."

He had not really heard how he had died previously, just knew that it had been gruesome. It was strange to think of a previous him having died and then being replaced by the same person. "Anyone on your hit list to kill then?"

"I haven't either. So? At least that's one irritating brother I don't have to deal with anymore." Kadaj still hadn't quite forgiven Sephiroth for that stunt he'd tried to pull. Ridiculous of him to have thought it would even work. "I think your criteria for people who are 'worth it' could use some work, you know," he continued, giving the traitor a disbelieving look. "How could people who 'saved' you from Mother be considered worthwhile?"

The question about his hit list, however, surprised a short laugh out of him, and, giving Cloud a mischievous look, he replied, "Do you really need to ask?" He didn't even know where to start. Wasn't it obvious?

"I had just wondered if you had had contact with him lately. Perhaps the institute has disposed of him?" That was true. After their run in Doyleton, Cloud could not say whether he felt Sephiroth's disappearance was alarming. It did send a shiver down his spine, knowing someone as potent as Sephiroth could just -disappear-. "He seems too arrogant to just fade into the background anymore."

He lifted an eyebrow at Kadaj's disbelieving look and sighed. "I would have been more warmed to Jenova if I had not lost my memories," he murmured softly. "My friends helped me to remember. That makes them worth it."

He gave Kadaj a slightly suspicious look before shrugging. "I was more curious on what name topped it. I am certain that it had more than a few names though. So, who tops your hit list, hmm?"

Kadaj's eyes narrowed. "I haven't. Why? Do you miss him?" He did not want to talk about this. Why did Cloud? It wasn't like it was important. Getting out and getting back to Mother was far, far higher on his list of priorities than figuring out whatever it was that had happened to him. It wasn't like the oldest couldn't take care of himself anyway, so why bother thinking about it?

He let out an exasperated sigh and looked away, glaring at nothing. "So stubborn, aren't you? It's such a shame to see all that potential wasted. Oh well, I suppose you're used to that by now, aren't you? Being a waste. Wouldn't surprise me if you liked the fact that you've perfected it into an art by now. Do you?"

He shifted his glare to the floor in front of him, but for whatever reason, the way his eyebrows had knit together was shifting into something subtly different. "What do you care, anyway? Do you want to run off and warn them or something? You'd have a hell of a time doing it, you know. I suppose you could always post it to the bulletin, but I don't see why I should tell you if that's what you're going to end up doing. As much as I'm sure you love undermining my efforts, I think I've had enough of it for now. You need a new hobby."

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Day 32: Sun Room (2nd shift)

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