damned_institute | Day 43: Sun Room, Second Shift

When the newcomer reached into his pocket, Brainiac 5 tensed up slightly, suddenly wondering if this was something else organised by Luxord or Grell, but instead all that was produced was a candy of some sort. He blinked at it before doubtfully accepting the gift.

"Brainiac 5," he said automatically, still staring doubtfully at the treat. He glanced up at Kio, nodded at the request to join him, and continued uncertainly. "Thank you, but I don't see how this could be of any help to me. It's largely sugars and additives; nothing of any nutritional value. I appreciate the thought but..."

He sniffled without meaning to and a look of irritation crossed his face as he tried to wipe away the last of the tears without seeming too obvious. "Really, I'm capable of handling this on my own."

Kio sat down, unfazed by the unusual name. He was slowly getting used to it, the way the others seemed to call themselves. Maybe he was the fifth son of a guy called Brainiac? Westerners could be so strange sometimes.

The refusal of candy only heightened Kio's pain. He frowned for a moment, saddened. "You don't like lollies? They always cheer people up. It might not be food, but it sure tastes better than the stuff they give us here, doesn't it?"

Kio wanted to wipe the boy's tears away and hug him, but Ophelia's reaction stopped him. The memory of that flinch was enough to make him stay still. "You don't look like it, you know," he replied blankly. "Who was that guy?"

"It's not that I don't like them," Brainiac 5 clarified, "it's that I don't see the point in them. They offer nothing of any real benefit, and they don't really cheer people up on their own." He frowned slightly. "Though chocolate does have some affect on the brain, I suppose. But this," he raised the lollipop a little, though was careful not to let the nurses see it, "won't really have any similar effect."

He sighed, looking away from Kio and down at his hands and the brightly coloured candy. His fingers played with the edges of the wrapper absently as he spoke. "If you must know, he's someone I had a... disagreement with. But it's no longer much of an issue."

He couldn't afford to say anything more, not when Luxord might still be close at hand, keeping an eye on the situation. He couldn't help but shudder at that thought, and try to surreptitiously check the room again. But from what he could see, either Luxord had left the room, or he'd positioned himself so that he was out of Brainiac 5's field of vision. He had a sinking feeling it was the second.

Kio face fell flat. So this kid was perfectly content with wallowing in the river of moe, stranded on the channel islands of ronery, crying himself to sleep every night, all because he saw no nutritional value in a lolly? He wasn't asking for his soul, good grief. "Lollies have always made me happy. It gives you something to focus on, the burst of sunshine and strawberry flavour. It isn't like they serve a higher purpose or anything, but then, what does?" He finished with a shrug, careful not to have a nurse bustle over and steal the precious thing away.

"He seemed like he knew you. And enjoyed tormenting you." As ever, his eyes were his greatest weapon of recognition. "You sure you don't want to talk about it?"

Kio didn't care much for enemies. He didn't have a deathwish, but he was pretty sure that he could handle this guy. With words, not punches. Scooting closer to Brainiac, he smiled again. "Look, Brainiac-chan, you seem like a nice kid. What could you have done to get a bully like him on your tail?"

Brainiac 5 cocked his head to the side, fixing Kio with an incredulous look. "It really means that much to you?" he asked. "Then why did you give it to me? Why not keep it for yourself?"

He was beginning to think it might be simpler to agree to eating the candy, if only to get some peace about the matter, or else to return it to Kio since he seemed to like it so much. But... debating the matter might mean that he didn't have to answer any questions about Luxord...

Or not. Apparently that had been too much to hope for. "As I said, we had a disagreement," he repeated uncomfortably. He flinched at the name, though the 'chan' part threw him off. "Please, it's Brainiac 5, or simply 'Brainy' if you prefer. Not Brainiac."

"And if you must know, I suppose all I did was inadvertently cause him to meet with someone."

Kio blinked in surprise. He had always enjoyed lollipops and they offered a welcome distraction during more difficult projects. He could say that lollies were to him what cigarettes were to Soubi, except perhaps with less danger to his health. "It's... it's to make you happy," he replied somewhat subdued. "It's something that reminds me of being a child, so it's meant to make people nostalgic and happy. I can find others tonight." It was a bold-faced lie, because if everything went according to plan, he would be doing somewhat more dangerous things.

Huh. Just like Ritsuka, a stubborn one. "Okay, Brainy it is." He threw what he hoped would be a casual glance around the room. No sign of the other. It didn't mean they were safe. "I have disagreements with my friend all the time. That looked like something more."

So... Brainy had caused Blondie to meet someone? So? It wasn't like people didn't meet others here all the time. "Well, he caused me to meet you, is that a bad thing?"

Brainiac 5 didn't raise the point that he found it highly unlikely that there would be a candy store or something similar here, even at night. Kio obviously honestly wanted him to have the treat, if his change in attitude was anything to go by, and it... reminded him somewhat of the Legion. The times Bouncing Boy would decide they needed to have a movie night, and insisted in dragging Brainy away from whatever he was working on to join them. Saying that they wanted to make sure he was okay...

He missed them.

Brainiac 5 glanced down at the treat so that he could try and get the prickling in his eyes under control and, after a moment, slowly began undoing the wrapper around it. "...I never had these when I was younger," he said quietly. "But it does remind me of my friends from before, in a way."

He paused in what he was doing as Kio scanned the area, taking another look around himself just to be sure. Luxord was still out of sight, but unfortunately not out of mind.

"The problem was more with the person he met with," he said eventually. He shot Kio a faintly pleading look. "I understand and appreciate your concern, but please. You don't want to get involved in this."

Whatever changed Brainy's mind, it tugged at Kio's heartstrings. He put his hand on the boy's shoulder, gripping it tightly for a moment before releasing him. It was his first real success. Chi had been a nice detour, but there was no sadness there. Here, though, it was tangible and real. Kio wanted to help.

His smile widened slightly. He could remind him of better times. That was good. "Don't worry about taking that. When they took me in here, I had lollies on me. I heard there's a storage room with our things. I can get some there." His head cocked to the side, he added, "Your planet must be strange, if you never had a lolly before. I'm glad you're reminded of better places, though."

Oh, nonsense. Brainy was like a child of Sou-chan, honestly. So stubborn. But he could play that game, too. "I won't get hurt, honestly." He had protection. He could take care of himself. "What happened to this friend of yours?" From the concern Brainy showed, the person was someone he'd cared about. "This blond guy... what did he do to you and why won't he stop?"

Normally, he would have alerted the nurses, but in a place like this, it seemed utterly futile.

The grip on his shoulder surprised him, but it was over before he really had time to react and wasn't that dissimilar from being around the Legion, so Brainiac 5 didn't mind so much. "Oh, the patient possessions room?" he said. He did remember seeing on the maps some time ago, and he had been intending to go there with Clark before... before everything.

He briefly wondered how Kio had figured out he was from an entirely different planet, but considering his name, discussions on the bulletin board about other aliens and the like, and other key pieces of information, perhaps it wasn't such a stretch after all.

And besides, he had more pressing concerns, such as trying to prevent others from getting hurt by Grell and Luxord. "The person I meant isn't a friend of mine," he said darkly. "The complete opposite in fact. They're dangerous, and they don't care about hurting others..."

His voice wavered and Brainiac 5 stopped and glanced away, the lollipop forgotten in his hand. "...I'm sorry. It's not something I want to talk about."

Kio nodded once, opening his notebook to where one of the maps had been rendered perfectly. "Yes, that's where. They still have my piercings. I... I agreed to help a friend out tonight, but if that doesn't happen, I'm going there. Do you have anything you'd like back?" Sou-chan had taken the file, but Kio had the pictures. He would hold on to them for as long as he could.

His eyes narrowed when Brainy explained about the one Blondie had met. Someone dangerous. Someone who would stop at nothing to hurt others. It sounded so much like Seimei he couldn't help but feel a shiver travel up and down his spine. "I knew someone like that. He hurt a friend of mine, hurt him beyond repair." His voice held the same monotone as in the car, with Ritsuka. He sounded like a machine, soulless. "I could hurt him for that, were I not against violence." His eyes focused on Brainy.

"Sometimes, the best thing to do is talk about it. I told no one about the pain my friend was in. I held it inside and then hurt someone innocent with my callous words. I'm your friend. I wouldn't hurt you. Your secret is safe with me." No matter what, Kio could be a loyal friend and a good listener, if that's what was needed.

Brainiac 5 hesitated, but shook his head. "I doubt they'd have anything of mine there," he said. "I didn't exactly have much on me when I was... brought here." Nonetheless, he made a mental note about the room. While he may not have anything here, there was a chance that Clark's things were still around somewhere...

His thoughts came to an abrupt stop as Kio's voice changed, becoming more distant. Cold. He didn't know why exactly, but the change bothered him more than he liked to admit. "Is that person... here?" he asked carefully, watching the other's reaction.

While he was relatively certain that Kio meant no harm, Brainiac 5 still couldn't bring himself to trust him enough to share what was really bothering him. It was too personal, too sensitive, and he'd only just met the man. And while Kio seemed harmless, so too had Grell.

He shook his head. "I'm sorry. I can't."

Kio smiled again. "Well, if you ever need me for anything, let me know. I didn't have a lot, but those lollies mean something and I want my earrings." He touched the empty holes in his ears. "I did most of these myself. I know the nurse will take them away if she finds them. I intend for her not to," he added with a grin and a wink.

His eyes nearly became unfocused, but he fought. He fought the images of Sou-chan hurt, unconscious, utterly alone. "No. I don't know if he was ever here or not. But I want to find out, somehow. Have you ever heard of someone called Seimei?" It was worth a shot.

He understood. It hurt that Brainy couldn't trust him, like others did at home. He meant the child no harm, but wasn't that what all the nurses said? "If you don't trust me now, I understand. It's okay, Brainy." He sighed softly. "I'm in M75, if you ever need a partner for the night. I won't let Blondie hurt you. You have my word." He gave him another small smile. Kio wanted them to be friends. He needed someone to take care of.

"Seimei?" Brainiac 5 thought for a moment, and eventually shook his head. "No, I haven't heard anyone by that name. But considering how some try and keep their real names hidden for various reasons, I'm afraid that doesn't mean much." He hesitated for a moment, debating asking anything further on what was clearly a touchy subject, but eventually added, "what does he look like?"

If there were others here as dangerous as Grell and Luxord - and he knew that there likely would be - it would be best if he had some idea who to keep an eye out for. His experiences in the Institute had been bad enough already, he'd rather they didn't become worse.

Kio's acceptance of his refusal to share what was really bothering him, as well as his offer of assistance, caused a faint twinge of guilt, but he just... couldn't do it. Trusting had gotten him hurt, had gotten Clark--

His jaw tightened and Brainiac 5 glanced away. "M75," he said eventually, though his voice was oddly distant. "I'll keep it in mind. Thank you."

It had been worth a shot. Kio hadn't really expected a "EUREKA" type of response, but he needed to find out. The bulletin would be too conspicuous and he couldn't afford to have Sou-chan and Ritsuka on his back. "I don't know the name the nurses gave him, so I can't be sure what he would call himself. He's maybe a year or two younger than me, black hair, always seems to be dressed well. Although that hardly makes a difference here. He's dangerous. He will hurt you to get to what he wants." Kio's hands balled up into fists. "Ruthless."

Kio wanted to help. He'd wanted to help Soubi too, and where had that taken him? To a mental institution, running from monsters and trying not to lose whatever sanity there was left. Whatever this boy had gone through here, it was somehow worse than Kio's fate. "You're welcome. M75's not that far from your room, I hope? I wouldn't want people getting hurt."

Brainiac 5 thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I'm sorry, I can't think of anyone who fits that description," he apologised. At least he hadn't met anyone with black hair of the right age who struck him as particularly ruthless. "But I'll keep an eye out, just to be certain."

To be honest, he wasn't surprised to learn there were others like that here. He just had to hope that they were all largely unaware of each other or unlikely to try working together to achieve their goals, otherwise the rest of the patient population would have some serious problems.

He directed his attention back to Kio as the man spoke again. M75 was in the same hallway as his room, though he didn't feel comfortable revealing that to the other man. All because Grell had managed to discover his location didn't mean that he wanted to invite all and sundry there as well. "It's close enough," he said evasively. "But thank you for your concern."

Kio didn't know if letting more people know about Seimei was good or not, but Brainy had something going on with Blondie. That much was visible to the average observer, and Kio couldn't really be sure if Blondie was worse than Seimei or not. If he was more into violence, that was one thing. But if he liked something more, manipulation and torture... he could not live with himself if anyone else fell under his influence.

Was there anything else to do for the boy? He felt sad. Useless. But if Brainy ever needed the help, Kio would be there. Getting up slowly, he smiled at the boy. "I'm a friend. Probably he told you that too, but I would never hurt anyone. No matter how bad. I certainly would not hurt you, Brainy. If you ever need the help, M75 will always be open for you."

Kio started walking away. He would protect those in need. Those sad and alone. No matter what.

Day 43: Sun Room, Second Shift

Sadly a wasted effort, Kio Dx

You've never seen him stubborn, obviously

Might be a case of irresistible force + immoveable object T___T

Does he have to turn on the puppy face?

Worth a shot. T___T

Don't say I didn't warn you ;)

Huh. Apparently it's super effective.

\o/

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