Day 21 - Sun Room

[soul-defender.livejournal.com]

Ichigo was only too eager to leave the cafeteria and its fresh memories behind when the softened chime of the intercome rang clear. What had begun as another ordinary meal, a rather agreeable one despite the lack of the proper utensils, quickly became somewhat unnerving. His conversation with...what was his name again?...took so many sharp turns, he should've felt dizzy. It was easy to feel a little sorry for the guy, though; surrounded by stangers in a very strange place, it was hard to blame him for being so alarmed.

The Sun Room occurred as a more enjoyable choice to spend the time; he had nothing against music, but something about being surrounded by some of the most unruly characters he'd ever met, each of them armed with cacophonous weaponry, didn't sound smart. Once his nurse departed, the young man picked out a cozy little spot near a flood of sunshine and settled in, cradling his head in the palms of his hands. There, he stared up almost bitterly at the ceiling with sharply focused eyes, still exuding the same unapproachable sense of being as ever.

The room was warm, even a little comforting, for any of the tired, weary masses found in Landel's halls, or even those who just craved a little peace and quiet. All he could hear, from end of the room, were soft footfalls and hushed voices. That sounded just fine to the 'berry head.

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[reunion.livejournal.com]

Kadaj simply snorted. "The only person I care about here is Yazoo, and he's already been warned. If I get picked and he finds out, I won't need to worry. The rest of you I couldn't care any less about."

He shifted in his seat, having difficulty meeting Nowe's eyes for some reason. "Revenge is a funny thing, you know. It takes you over, doesn't it? Imagine having to do it on an entire planet. A mental institute like this is easy compared to that. Not enough to make up for the things people like the president have done to Mother, but it's a start."

He fell silent, staring down at the floor. He wanted to break something, but that wouldn't be received well by the staff, now would it? All he could really do was wait until tonight and see if he could kill anything. That would make this hellish day infinitely more enjoyable. He just had to wait.

[not-a-savior.livejournal.com]

Nowe let the harsh words fade away, ignoring them. He could understand why the man was upset, at least. He'd glanced at the bulletin board long enough to see what was going on there. People sure could be cruel to one another.

"You're right. I can't really imagine being faced with an entire planet of people I've sworn revenge against," the boy admitted, frowning. All your revenge... you're doing it for your mother, right?" He brought his knees up to his chest thoughtfully.

"I suppose you and I are alike in some way, then. I'm looking for the man who killed my adoptive father. And I suppose, in a way, what I was doing before I came here was revenge for the Knights who tarnished my father's name, too." He didn't know much about Kadaj's world, honestly. He couldn't make too many judgements on the kind of person Kadaj was, but he did seem... lost.

[reunion.livejournal.com]

Of course it was all for Mother. Wasn't that obvious? Kadaj gave Nowe a disgusted look, already fed up with speaking to him even if he really had nothing better to do. It was either glare at inanimate objects, argue more on the bulletin board, or talk to Nowe. Yazoo didn't seem to be around, so...

He heaved a sigh, moving restlessly in his seat again. "Yes, it's for her. Who else would it be for? Not Sephiroth, that's for sure. He doesn't deserve it the way she does, but he'll be the one to reap the rewards anyway..." Mother's favorite. Why couldn't he be the one? Mother had picked Sephiroth in the end, hadn't she, and Kadaj had gotten stuck with some impostor instead. Things never worked out in his favor.

The information about Nowe's quest for revenge was a relief, honestly, even if Kadaj didn't give a damn about it. Anything to take his mind off of Mother. "Tell me more about that?" he asked, his expression clearing slightly. Might as well pretend to be interested; that might make him talk more.

[not-a-savior.livejournal.com]

Nowe knew he probably wasn't helping, but persisted anyway. Self-consciously, he looked around the room, searching for the silver-haired man he'd seen hanging around Kadaj's table, assuming that was the "Yazoo" guy Kadaj was referring to. He didn't see him immediately, so he decided to go ahead and just keep on talking. Kadaj seemed to bristle at the topic of his own revenge, so Nowe figured it would be best to just talk about himself and let Kadaj speak up when he felt like it.

"Ah, well, actually... the man who killed my father is here," he said, awkwardly, "I think he arrived around the same time I did. He's from further in the past, so he doesn't know who I am, or who my father was yet..."

Part of his mind whispered for him to find a way to kill Caim. That it would be easy in a place like this, where most powers had been sucked away from the patients. But Nowe had no weapon, and Caim was a lot bigger and a lot more muscular than he was. Even if he really wanted to do so, Nowe doubted he'd be able to kill Caim here.

[reunion.livejournal.com]

That sounded familiar. Cloud hadn't known who he was either, but his big brother had disappeared before Kadaj got the chance to... to what? Kill him? In this place? His powers were weakened, and his big brother had beaten him too easily the first time around anyway.

Forcing his mind away from those thoughts, he pressed on. "What do you plan on doing? Are you going to kill him? You should. It has to be better than seeing him walk the halls of this place unharmed. Even if a monster gets him first, it's not the same, is it?" He began to slowly smile, finding this almost fun. Nowe seemed too hesitant to make a move on his own, but maybe with a few nudges here and there...

[not-a-savior.livejournal.com]

"It's tempting. It really is. It's possible Caim is part of the reason I ended up where I was, back in my world. Being chased around by the Knights, being labelled as traitor, having to look over my shoulder wherever I go..." He sighed, scratching his head. It was difficult to think about.

"But he is from a different time. If I kill him here, what happens to my world? Its balance is fragile as it is already. What if killing him completely screws everything up? I mean, killing him might somehow mean the end of my world, or something."

"You're right. If he's killed by someone other than me, then it's not the same as if I were to do it myself. But I don't know if I can, at least while I'm here. He's a lot stronger than I am, in any case."

[reunion.livejournal.com]

And of course, he wasn't cooperating. That was fine; Kadaj wouldn't enjoy it as much if it wasn't a challenge.

Tsking softly, he shook his head. "The balance of your world isn't something you need to worry about. If Caim coming here from your world's past had upset any balance, you would have already known about it, right? He can't have disappeared to here and killed your father without something going wrong. Besides..." He trailed off, thinking fast. "My big brother died here, you know, a couple of nights ago. More people came here after that, and none of them had anything to say about the end of the world."

He paused, half to let this message sink in and half to prepare what he was going to say next. This had to be handled carefully, otherwise Nowe might start to think that something was wrong. If he asked about it, Kadaj already had a lie cooked up to throw him off, but he couldn't be sure it would work. Better be careful. "If he really is stronger than you, then rely on speed and skill. Strength in numbers too, if you listened to what I told you before. Did you? I'm sure one of your friends will be able to help you take care of him. That's what friends do, isn't it?"

[not-a-savior.livejournal.com]

Kadaj's big brother? Nowe had figured Yazoo was a sibling of his (they looked too much alike to not be), but he hadn't seen any other silver-haired characters around here that looked like they could be related to him.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he murmured. But if what Kadaj was saying was true, then if Caim died here, then it wouldn't make a difference on Nowe's present, would it? He wanted his revenge. Badly. He'd taken off Gismor's arm for poisoning Oror in the first place.

"My natural skills aren't anything compared to Caim's. Without my sword... or any weapon, really, I'm completely useless here." Nowe shook his head. "I do have friends, but even if I did have a stronger desire to kill him, I'd want to do it myself, with my own strength. Surely you understand that. It wouldn't be my own revenge if I relied on everyone else to help."

The intercom clicked on, and Nowe sighed, starting to rise to his feet.

"I will think about what you said, though. Thank you, Kadaj. You've helped me again, in a way. I hope things get better for you."

[reunion.livejournal.com]

... Tch. Just figured the man on the intercom would be the one to signal the end to his fun. Kadaj resisted the urge to growl under his breath, instead forcing himself to smile and rise to his feet too. Had to keep Nowe from thinking anything was off... although by now, he was pretty sure he could attack the poor man outright and he'd still not suspect him of anything. Maybe he could test that theory out later.

Giving Nowe a slight nod, he took a few wandering steps in the direction of the exit and replied, "You're welcome, Nowe. I hope you get yourself armed, too-- the sooner you can take your revenge, the better. Wouldn't you agree~?"

With one last significant look, he began to walk away, being accompanied more than led by his nurse back to his room. This nightshift was already shaping out to be an interesting one, and it had barely even started yet! Things could only get better.