Drip, Drip Goes the Rest of My Heart

Wow, thanks so much everyone for your input! Now that High school's started, I feel as though I need to stab something, and what better way than to write Drip? And Morgana, thank you ever so much for your review! I was actually thinking of your wonderful stories when I typed the first chapter, and kept wondering if you would approve since I find your style much more developed and awesome than my own. D-ANIME-vidogameaddict, I'm glad that you like this story, and I just love your review as well. And don't feel weird, I feel the same way towards stories like this…otherwise I wouldn't write them, and sorry about your dial up. I myself have the fastest computer in the house, and have never known the annoyance of dial up (but the stories I hear are legendary horror tales). So thanks for the reviews everyone! And I'm glad you're hooked!

Phase 2 Surface

When the nurse had stepped in to part the curtains from the window, Roxas had blinked tiredly as he awoke from his light sleep, and the woman smiled gently in greeting. "Good morning, darlin'," she chirped cheerfully as she left the room, forgetting to close the door. The blond boy could hear the hustle and bustle of the hospital halls outside his room, but what really interested him and perplexed him at the same time was that the dark blue curtain was not drawn. It was pulled back all the way, and the small strap held it pinned against the wall. But most importantly, the other bed in the room was now empty. The sheets were folded so perfectly, it looked as though the entire mattress was just a fabric covered box, and the pillow looked as though no head had ever graced it.

Looking around the room, Roxas noticed, slowly yet gradually, that certain things were no longer in the room. A prescription bottle that had been on the counter yesterday was gone; the sticky-notes left by nurses to each other regarding certain ways to do something were gone, though not entirely. Some were still left, but Roxas guessed that they pertained to him and not the girl. Some equipment had even been removed from the room, and for some reason, it seemed to Roxas that that side of the room was now empty. Devoid of life, and abyssal, even. Something about it seemed to make him feel as though it didn't exist, but, it obviously did…so what was bothering him?

'The fact that it looks as though no one has been there…is the same as erasing their memory,' the boy concluded to himself, a troubled look falling within his gaze. It's not like he didn't already know that nurses and doctors only cared about you when you needed their help, and it wasn't like he didn't already know that it was their job to move on quickly to the next patient…but still…Seeing how they'd made it so that the red haired girl was completely erased seemed to bother him. To erase a person…did they all forget about her as well? The only mark left saying that she'd been here at all in a manila file in an alphabetized filing cabinet in the back of some record room?

Roxas didn't have long to continue thinking about it for the nurse returned just then. In her hands was a plastic tray with an assortment of hospital food and a Styrofoam cup. Setting it down on his lap, she helped adjust the pillows so he was comfortable. "I know hospital food must not look all that great, but it's just this last time you'll need to eat it," she said with a cheerful tone to her words. The blonde boy only gave her a quizzical look, and removed his hand from the plastic silverware placed on the tray beside a folded napkin.

"W-What?" he asked, confusion and curiosity evident in his expression. His golden brows furrowed, and his deep blue eyes stared at the overly-cheerful woman.

The nurse matched his curious look, and waited a moment or two before answering again. Beforehand, she lifted a hand to brush a stray strand of hair away from her forehead and behind her ear. "I guess you didn't know yet?" she said, almost as though to herself. "Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you, Dr. Valentine must have been planning on it but was distracted by that unsuspected surgery," she explained, pointless information to the blonde at the moment. All he wanted to know was what Dr. Valentine had wanted to tell him, and what the nurse knew that he didn't. "You're being discharged today, Roxy," the nurse chirped, using the nickname that the staff had been calling the boy lately, though it was the first time Roxas had heard it.

But he had more important things that he'd just heard to think about. "Discharged? Did my parents or relatives come for me?" he asked curiously, trying to rake his memory and attempt to think of any relatives he may have had, but only coming up with blank thoughts. "Where am I going?" he asked, his curiosity and surprise easily evident on his face.

The nurse looked as though ready to answer, but just then, the pager on her belt began beeping, and she glanced down at it quickly before sending the blonde and apologetic smile, "I'm sorry, darlin', but I've gotta go," she called out hurriedly as she left, this time remembering to close the door. A befallen look spread itself across the boy's face, and he frowned sadly while settling his hands in his lap. He really wanted to know what was going on…but he didn't want to bother any of the nurses since they were obviously busy. The remote to contact the nurses would remain untouched on the right side of the bed.

Instead, Roxas settled back against the pillows after pushing the breakfast tray away just a bit to allow himself to lie down once again. His eyes stung a bit the longer he kept them open, and was a bit curious as to why he would feel this tired. He'd thought he slept pretty long that night, but he couldn't have known he was tossing and turning for nearly the entire time he was asleep. During his dreamless slumber, his mind had been fighting against his will as he tried to subconsciously recover the memories that he'd worked so hard to block out. His entire mental psyche was battling against itself, and for now, Roxas' mind wasn't planning on allowing the memories to come back so soon. Though, the one that slowly slipped through the cracks should not have been released so early.

The feeling of cold fingers covered in even colder medical-plastic gloves gripping his arms was enough to just send his skin crawling. But the force behind the hands was scaring him, and no matter how hard he resisted the pressure trying to hold him down, he couldn't get up…Cold metal connected with his bare skin and sent a shock through his system faster than licking a 9-Volt battery. "N-No! Stop!" he heard himself cry out in a positively terrified and crazed voice, as though he was trying to escape from the seven hounds of Hell. "Please, stop! Ah!" his begging for whatever was going on to cease was interrupted by a scream of surprise when he felt cold water suddenly being sprayed down onto him, and he shivered and trembled, his naked body becoming soaked.

"We have to make sure you're clean, Roxas," a kind, calm voice said from above him, and the blonde looked up to see the owner of the two hands holding his body down as the spray of cold water covered him. But the figure stood in shadow, except for his hands.

"No, please don't!" he screamed out again, closing his eyes against the image, and ignoring the gleaming metal examination table that stood innocently behind the shadowed figure. A tray of gleaming medical instruments was set beside the table, the most eye-catching object being the scalpel. "Stop!" he cried out again, trying to lift himself from his forced down position, and failing.

"Roxas," the voice repeated, as the grip slackened on his body. The boy used it to his advantage to force the hands away, and sit up hurriedly as the entire scene before him vanished into white, and he blinked.

Once…

Twice…

Three times…

And he saw the hospital room walls around him with a relieved expression on his sweat covered face, and it was then he realized that he was panting heavily. He was also once again dressed in the hospital shirt and shorts, and was not wet, save for the perspiration that had gathered on his body. It was then that he felt a strange stinging in his wrist, and glancing down at his hands, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped just a bit in horror and surprise. The bandages had been removed from his hands and fingers, and the pale skin marred with the ugly, criss-crossing scars was openly showing itself. But what horrified him the most, more than the many scars and pink lines lacing around his hands and fingers, were the scars on his wrists and arms, and the fact that his left wrist was now bloodied and scratch marks were visible all across his arm.

His right hand shakily moved to touch his arm, but a feeling of utter horror dropped in the pit of his stomach when he saw the blood and skin stuck underneath his fingernails. Closing his eyes, and opening them again, Roxas felt his breath become stuck in his throat, and a strange squeak-like whine came from him, before it was followed by a scream of terror. Flinging his arms away from his line of vision, he brought his hands up to his face as thought to try and block out what he saw, but only worsened it when the blood on his right hand was smudged across his cheek, and the scratches on his left arm were magnified. Another scream, and he threw his head back against the pillows of the hospital bed as an agonized scream issued forth from his lips, which was followed by another and another, as he desperately clung onto the hospital bed mattress with his trembling and bloody hands.

"Roxas!" a deep voice from somewhere beside him called loudly, and the blonde froze for only half a second before he began trembling again, and then began to shake violently. He then felt a hand touch his shoulder, Cold hands holding down his body…and immediately resumed screaming and thrashing about in the bed, banging his head against the pillows. The hand on his shoulder began applying more pressure and another hand centered itself on his stomach, and another set of hands held down his left arm and another hand on his thigh. The cries of his name were drowned out through his screaming, and he began kicking his legs, as though trying to force whoever was holding him down to let go. But his legs were also pulled down against the mattress at his ankles, knees, and just above his knees.

"Stop!" he cried out desperately in the same tone he'd used before, though his voice was hoarse, and a sob choked its way through his throat as tears made their way steadily down his cheeks, some falling near his ears, and others curving around his nose and falling between his lips, leaving a salty taste on his tongue.

"Roxas!" the same voice repeated, though it was louder and more forceful than before, commanding. The pressure on his stomach and right shoulder increased almost to the point of painful, and Roxas trembled against the force of his captors. "Roxas, please calm down," the voice repeated, and the boy's eyes glanced around hurriedly to try and find the owner of the voice, but his vision was blurry, and he couldn't focus on any one thing in the room. He opened his mouth slowly, as though to scream again, but the hand on his stomach quickly lifted and placed itself over his lips, efficiently stopping him from making too much noise. But the action only panicked the boy, and he tried screaming, though the effort was wasted, and so instead bit down on the hand, but surprisingly, it wasn't removed.

"Roxas, please calm down," the voice said gently, the pressure on his right shoulder lightening a little. "You need to calm down yourself, or we'll have to sedate you," the man leaned over so that his face and Roxas' were directly in each other's line of sight, and Roxas blinked a few times, his eyes losing the crazed gleam, and his struggles against his captors slackening to nothing. The sight of familiar ruby red eyes, and also the thick black hair pulled back into a ponytail made him realize that the man was Dr. Valentine.

His grip on the man's hand slowly, but gingerly, loosened till his lips were closed and the man was able to remove his hand from the boy's face. Tears still slid down his cheeks, but his eyes were only watering. The other nurses in the room followed Dr. Valentine's example and let go of the boy, but the man who had held down his left shoulder patted it gently before removing his hand, and the boy glanced over to him to see a tall blonde he hadn't seen before. The man didn't smile or anything useless like that, but just gave him a gentle look. The boy then turned his head to look back towards Dr. Valentine who was gently massaging his right hand where Roxas had bit him.

"I-I'm sorry…" he whispered, his voice very hoarse. It even sounded as though it was hurting him to speak. Dr. Valentine noticed, and motioned for one of the nurses to get the boy some water. He then turned back to Roxas and smiled gently towards him.

"Don't worry about it," he replied. His gaze then flickered over to Cloud, who was still getting over the shock of coming in to find the boy in such a crazed state. "Roxas, this is Cloud. He's going to be taking responsibility of you until this situation is all worked out, like a foster parent," Vincent explained to the boy, watching his face to see if there was any sort of noteworthy reaction. But the boy only nodded, glancing back over towards Cloud. Vincent then reached over and placed his hand gently on Roxas' shoulder, frowning softly when the boy flinched under his touch. "Roxas, was there any specific reason to explain your episode just now?" the doctor asked inquisitively, his eyes trained on the boy's.

The blonde bowed his head, and brought his knees up to his chest, causing the other nurses in the room to flinch from the movement, as though they expected to have to restrain him once again, and the boy bit the inside of his cheek. He wrapped his arms around his legs, and embraced himself tightly, though he would rather embrace a person. "I…I don't know…" he murmured, his voice just a bit muffled. "I…think I remembered something, but I…I…" the boy's voice wavered through his quivering lips, and he buried his face in his knees, quiet sobs quaking through his body and causing him to shake.

"Roxas," Vincent said, rubbing the boy's shoulder in a comforting motion, but knowing it would do no good. The only logical assumption the doctor could make, and also quite easily due to the evidence presented to him, the man knew that the boy must have recalled something. The dark haired man felt his chest ache just like yesterday afternoon after his talk with Cloud. He'd known it was only a matter of time before the memories began to come back, and he hadn't warned Roxas in any way of what kind of nature the memories he remembered contained.

"Dr. Valentine…" the boy said softly after a few moments, lifting his head from his knees to stare directly up at the man. His blue eyes were wide and still tearing, and his expression would have been enough to cause the most uncaring person to feel just a bit of empathy. "Please, tell me…" he began, averting his gaze for a moment as he held both his arms out over towards the man, his arms shaking just a bit, "Tell me…did Ido this to myself? Please tell me what caused this, please!" he begged, his voice cracking as tears threatened to spill forth once again.

Dr. Valentine frowned, narrowing his gaze as he glanced around the room to see the other nurses watching with interested curiosity. "All of you leave, now," he ordered directly, his eyes flaming. Each and every nurse widened their eyes, and left the room quickly, albeit disappointedly. Cloud made ready to leave as well, and was at the door when Vincent glanced over his shoulder and said, "Cloud, you are allowed to stay, anything concerning Roxas is now your business as well," the dark haired doctor explained softly. Cloud nodded, and closed the door, walking back towards the man and the patient.

Turning back to Roxas, Vincent reached out and took a hold of Roxas' hands, gently pulling them down to rest on the bed. His gaze was filled with sympathy, and his touch had been gentle, but this was so that his words weren't taken in so cruelly. "Roxas, the truth is, we truly aren't exactly sure of what was caused by your…accident…or what you did yourself. With all that happened in your situation before…it wouldn't surprise anyone if a few of these scars were done by yourself," Vincent explained, watching painfully as the boy's expression fell from desperate to broken right before his eyes.

Bowing his head, Roxas trembled, and felt his tears slide down his cheeks and drip down from the tip of his nose. "W…What the hell happened to me!? What was going on!? Why was I suicidal!? What the fuck did he do to me!?" the boy screamed, his eyes filled with so many conflicting emotions including rage, and desperation, and emotional pain. But he wasn't the only one surprised by his mention of demands. Both Cloud and Vincent had surprised and shocked looks on their faces, and Vincent couldn't help but narrow his eyes in thought.

"Who, Roxas? Who are you talking about?" Vincent asked, his voice soft, but his tone demanding.

"I-I don't know," Roxas answered, feeling as though the man was angry at him for some reason or other, and he turned his gaze away form the doctor. "I'm really sorry, but I really don't know…it's just that, I guess…" he stammered as he stumbled over the words, trying to piece together his answer. "From my dream…he was…I don't know what was going on," the boy admitted, lifting his hands to his face once again and ignoring the fact that he was still smearing his blood over himself.

"I see," Dr. Valentine replied, hiding his disappointment. He didn't want the young man to feel any worse than he already did, and with what the man knew now, he couldn't help but feel as though the fuse to a bomb had been lit, and it was only a matter of time before it exploded, but no one knew where the fuse was. "Don't worry so much about it, Roxas," Vincent said, trying to comfort the young man, even though comforting him was just as useless as feeding a fire dead leaves to try and put it out slowly.

"Now, will you let me clean and re-bandage your hands?" Dr. Valentine asked gently, motioning towards the try that held two rolls of gauze bandage and also an ointment Roxas recognized. He'd had to watch the first time as a nurse had used it on his scars and cuts before bandaging his hands. "I'd originally come to see you and change the dressing on your hands, but you wouldn't wake up, and after I'd gotten the bandages off, well, you woke up. You know the rest," the man added, reaching for one of the gauze rolls. "Ah, Cloud? Could you get me that cloth and the green bottle over there on the counter? I need to clean Roxas' scratches before I apply the ointment," Vincent explained. The blonde man hurried to get the things the doctor had asked for.

Roxas winced when the disinfectant filled the scratches he'd made upon himself, and couldn't help but feel a sickening feeling filled with dread settling into his stomach. 'They don't know…Only I would, and I can't remember if I did, or why…' the blonde thought to himself hollowly, his mouth feeling dry. But thinking about what he'd seen in his dream, and what he was thinking of now, he tried to push them out of his thoughts and merely focus on what was going on now. He glanced sideways at the other blonde man, Cloud, and looked him over.

Short blonde hair that reminded him of his own since it seemed to enjoy defying Newton's idea of gravity adorned his head. His skin held a light tan, though he still seemed to look pale. Cloud's style was pretty casual, since he wore a burgundy sweater which hung from his shoulders that showed off the black tank top he wore underneath, and a pair of faded blue jeans. The oddest but eye-catching part of his outfit was the black leather boots. Roxas guessed they might be knee-height, but he couldn't be sure since the man was wearing pants. But most of all, Roxas found himself staring into Cloud's eyes with such intrigue that he found himself unable to look away. Similarly just like him, Cloud had very feminine eyes, accented with thick black lashes that only succeeded in making his gaze all the more beautiful. His eyes were a beautiful shade of ice blue, unlike Roxas' cerulean gaze. The only thing about his eyes that confused Roxas was the way that they reminded him of his hands: covered in scars that the reason of origin was yet unknown to him.

Cloud's eyes held such a heavy stare, as though he could look at something, anything, and know so much more about it than anyone else gazing at it. The blonde teen also felt as though the man could just look at someone, and know so much more about them than even they would know with one glance. And the way Cloud held himself, he seemed so reserved, and the gaze he'd given Roxas when Dr. Valentine introduced them, Roxas felt as though Cloud knew almost exactly how he was feeling.

"There, all done," Dr. Valentine stated as he finished bandaging Roxas' hand. He'd quickly covered both hands in ointment and wrapped them up while Roxas was lost in his thoughts about Cloud. The boy nodded his thanks, and watched as Cloud walked over to stand beside Vincent. "Ah, Cloud, I suppose you'll want to speak with Roxas? If you don't mind, I really should be checking up on a few other patients," Vincent said, standing from the chair beside Roxas' bed, and turning to leave, but Roxas' hand reached out and clutched the man's cuff of his doctor's coat. Vincent glanced down at the boy with a curious expression, but not annoyed in the slightest.

"Um, Dr. Valentine?" Roxas began softly, a slightly embarrassed blush crossing his cheeks as he averted his gaze to the empty bed just a few feet away from his own. "I wanted to ask you, about that girl…" Roxas said, his voice trailing off a bit.

But the black haired doctor smiled gently and turned to face Roxas for a few moments, patting his shoulder in a reassuring motion. "Since you seem to be so interested in that girl, her name's Kairi. She was transferred to a local foster home for girls, though it's more formal than Cloud's," Vincent explained, "She's in a situation similar to your own, in a way," the man added, a gentle expression on his face. "Well, I'll leave you two to talk then, see me in my office when you're done, Cloud," Vincent added before taking his leave out the door.

Turning to the boy, Cloud kept his expression emotionless, but still gentle, as was his way, and he stepped over to the chair and sat down, turning the chair so that his legs were spread and he could sit with his arms resting on the back edge of the chair. "So, Roxas, where should I start?" the man began, his voice not truly questioning rather than stalling as he thought his words over.

The groaning of the old mattress and scuffling on the old wooden floors echoed throughout the hallway, along with the grunts of two young teens-until another sound met the hallway, a sound of slipping, and then a rather loud thump, followed by a moan, and then a very amused laughter broke out.

"Motherfucking cunt!" the young man snarled angrily, slamming his fist into the wall as his emerald green eyes flamed. The blonde at the foot of the stairs that led up into the attic storage area looked up nervously, and with a bit of a pained expression, towards the redhead above him, his own blue eyes wide.

"Axel, it was an accident!" the blonde cried out in exasperation, though he winced and continued to hp on one foot while clutching the other tightly in his hands. His words seemed to go unheard and unheeded, though, because they young man continued to mutter curses as he stomped his way down the steps till he came to stand just before the last few steps, along with the mattress that had fallen down the stairs, and consequently, the other boy's foot.

"Shut the hell up, Demyx," Axel ordered, his eyes narrowing dangerously. He then turned towards the pink haired boy who was currently in the middle of laughing at the turn of events. "Malurxia shut your face and get your ass over here and help me with this damn thing," the red haired teen barked harshly. But though his words had been enough to make Demyx shrink back in fear, the other boy simply stopped laughing and smirked in Axel's direction.

"Chill out, will you? And why should I have to help?" Malurxia inquired stubbornly, his smirk escalating into a grin at the annoyed expression on the red head's face. "Relax, relax, will ya? I'm getting up," the pinkette said in an annoyed tone, though his grin proved that he found the situation hilarious.

Axel glared at the other, but nonetheless took a hold of one end of the fallen mattress, and Malurxia grabbed the other end, and as Demyx slid out of their way, they lifted it up to about mid thigh-height, and began walking slowly down the hallway. The blonde boy followed behind them, and beside Malurxia. Casting a curious glance towards the red head on the other end of the mattress, Demyx paused a moment before asking, "Say Axel? Why are you so moody about the new boy moving in?" Demyx questioned, his motives innocent enough, but still finding some way to make the redhead glare.

"I don't care about some fucking brat with more problems coming," the boy stated, his voice easily showing off his anger. "I'm just pissed at Cloud for telling me to get down the mattress and get everything set up for the kid," the boy explained, making Malurxia roll his eyes and grunt in more amusement. Demyx frowned and sighed near silently, and stopped at the doorway to the second bedroom to allow room for Axel and Malurxia to bring the mattress into the room. The blonde then followed them inside, and stood against the door frame as the other two boys placed the mattress on the wooden bed frame that the red head had so strenuously had to put together earlier that day. "Jesus, damn that Cloud," the young man muttered. Looking up, and over towards the other side of the room, Axel frowned and cast his leer upon Malurxia and Demyx, "And where the hell is Zexion?"

"Game room, where else?" both Demyx and Malurxia answered. Axel snarled, but didn't say anything. The dark haired member of their little group was usually always located in the game room.

"Say, do you know anything about that kid, Demyx? You were in Cloud's office when he was going over that paperwork, right?" Malurxia asked curiously as the three left the room, Axel still glowering over the fact that he had to take care of getting the bedding on the sheets.

"No, I wasn't able to look at the records before he put them in the cabinet," Demyx replied, putting his arms behind his head. "But I saw his picture since it was right there on top of the file. Cute little blonde," the boy added with a small smile.

"I hope he's nicer than you, Axel," Malurxia tipped in, a smirk on his lips once again. Axel only glared at the two, and looked away as though in disgust and anger.

There we go! I said I'd introduce the characters, and I did! But more in-depth introductions will be made next chapter. Not much for me to comment on, except that I love your reviews, and hope you like this new chapter. Also, I was wondering…should I make Cloud and Vincent a coupling? Or use Cloud-Aerith and Vincent-Tifa pairings? Of course, they won't be main couplings, but I was just curious as to how my readers might like to see it.