Author's note : Hi again! I really am grateful to all of you for reading and I want to say a special thanks to Wilhelm Wigworthy for his review, the first one! I do hope it won't be the last :)
Oh, and English is still not my native language.
So here is already a new chapter, hope you'll like!
Disclaimer? See first chapter :)
White, blue and green. Some touches of purple and red here and there. That's how the walls of the nursery are. "A bit of colour doesn't hurt" always says the nurse (no one knows her real name but everyone just talk about her like some kind of fairy godmother, because she really is acting like one). Five or six seats, a room with one or two bed, it depends on the needs of the story actually, and a small table. A door leads to the nurse's office but she is not there. Just to say, the nurse is probably around her sixties, she has grey hair always well combed and wears, we could say a different one every day, long dresses full of colours. Once she appeared with a fuchsia one. Mrs. Ursula almost fainted. But let's go back to our story.
She is, the nurse, with Riku, Sora and Naminé (Hayner and Kairi left, their parents were waiting for them and Mrs. Ursula had a lot more business to do with her choir), in the room with the beds. If three of the castaways were really fine, just shattered, and waiting in the room with the seats, always silent, the last one -we said it remember?-was not that good. He has been hit by the whale's tail or by one of the huge wave it created when it plunged under water. Anyway, he is now lying flat on the back on one of the bed, unconscious.
Let's talk about this guy. As we said, his hair is as crimson as an active volcano. His eyes had been directly forged in the purest emerald. No it's not too poetic. It's true, there's a difference. The features of his face are wonderful. To be faster, let's just say that this red haired man is beautiful, not because he's conforming with an ideal, but because he truly is. Now that we said that, let's go back to business.
The nurse is trying to find out possible mental disorders, or physical troubles. Physical, well, yes, let's be realistic. He has one or two ribs broken and some bruises. Water's dangerous and heavy. Mental, well, that is harder to say, because he is not awake. So she treats the wounds the best she cans, and she cans a lot, and she asks the students to leave, or to stay if they want, but to be quiet and to let the ruby one make his way to the real world. Naminé leaves, because her parents are waiting for her, Sora stays for a while, he had warned his parents, but at nine p.m., he has to go. So he goes, leaving Riku alone with a sad smile because he really wants to stay but, well, he can't, and we understand him as much as Riku does, so we forgive him. Riku stays because he has nothing else to do. He's alone, not that he has no parents, but her grandmother, who lives in the island, always said to him that they always have to be far so they can earn money. Pointless to say he barely knows them. And he lives with that, alone in his little but comfortable house his parents bought for him.
"Will he wake up?" asks Riku, standing in the doorway of the office, looking at the bed.
"Oh, yes, he will, I'll make that sure. But, Riku, why do you stay? It's not that I don't want it, do not misunderstand me, but I'm really… surprised. It is not like you are, how can I say it… Well, caring" says the nurse, with a very soft and kind but wise voice.
"I won't say that I don't know that'd be awfully absurd. But… I won't answer, I'm sorry Ma'am…" replies Riku, watching how clean the floor is.
"Not a problem, I do think you must have your reasons" says the nurse, a little smile on her face.
Riku steps away, going back to the room with the seats and then to the room with the beds.
We notice that we haven't talk that much about the three others castaways. They still are in the seats' room. But they are more silent than death herself; they hadn't said a word since they were rescued. They were also pale. A lot. And horrified. At least they were before they all fall asleep from exhaustion, the two youngest clutching together on their seats.
Riku's wondering why. Why were they on such a tiny boat? Why are they that much terrified? What happened? Where do they come from? Why leaving? Who are they? So much questions and not even the bite of an answer. Riku sits on the bed facing the one where the crimson haired is. He looks like he just sleeps, calm, his chest going up and down slowly. Riku stands and stares at the occupied bed.
"What happened to you? To all of you?" he whispers.
Let's understand his reasons for staying there. No one's waiting for him at home. He's always alone when Sora's not near. To be clear, he is bored. His whole life, when Sora's not there, is a bore. Wake up, dress, eat, going to school, returning home, sleep. And all over again. Only Sora lights up his life, but unfortunately, Sora is not every time his. And when he is not, then he's alone and bored. He really tried to find an occupation, he reads, plays video games, watches movie, listens music, writes. But it doesn't really work. When he is over with one, then boredom's back. So we can just imagine how exciting it must be for him, that, happening to his class and so to him. He had to take his chance. He had to made his life moving. So there he stands, getting involved in a strange kind of adventure. We're sure that all of you can understand such a feeling.
"Mind your business kid" says a hoarse voice behind him.
In the doorway, the older one. Really scary with his eye patch. But still, he speaks.
"What if I don't?" asks Riku.
"Then you'll get as much trouble as me" answers the guy with a grin while going to lie down on the empty bed.
"Who are you? What-…" starts Riku, making one step toward the man wearing black clothes.
"Wowowo, calm down. I won't answer any questions. I'm no more involved with it" quickly says the man, "but name's Xigbar, that I can say".
"Involved in what?" asks Riku. Curiosity's bad, but yet, it's one of his habit. Usually, he doesn't show it, he knows how to be discreet about it. But there, he wanted to know. Anyone would want to.
"Don't ask me, I'm not telling you one damned thing" answers Xigbar, closing his eyes.
"Why didn't you talk before? Why now?"
"Because they sleep, they can't prevent me from doing it"
"They can prevent you from doing something?" asks Riku, almost surprised.
"A deal's a deal. They paid, I obey. Now, do you mind shutting up this chatty mouth? I'm tired, and still in convalescence, I'm choked you know!" says Xigbar, making fun of the situation, mimicking a damsel in distress in waving his hand like a fan.
Riku stops asking. It looks like this guy won't be of any help. He sits on a seat in the seats' room and wait. When he wakes up, the suns almost high in the sky. It must be around nine. And it's Saturday. No classes. That's a big news. He takes back the blanket the nurse put on him and goes to see if someone's awake. Someone is. Two are. The one with ash blond hair and the other with dark blue eyes. They are on the bed of the unconscious one. Xigbar's not here. Must have went away during the night Riku thinks.
"Erh… Hi" says Riku to the two boys looking at the other's face.
They turn to see who's speaking to them, almost frightened, but when they see that it's one of the students who helped them, they simply go back looking at their, so it appears, friend, waving a plain hello with their hands.
"You know that you'll have to talk right? About what happened? And who you are?" remarks Riku, walking a few steps toward them, crossing his arms.
"We don't want to bother. We will stay until Axel wakes up and then we'll go" declares the one with ash blond hair.
"So the name's Axel" says Riku, "The nurse said he must stay for a couple of days when he'll wake up. Because he might be shocked."
No one answers. They just look at Axel with an even more worried look. Who are they? Why were they on a boat? What happened? Still no answers.
"Can you tell what happened?" tries Riku, sitting on the empty bed facing Axel's one.
No answers. But the ash blond one looks at him, seeming to want to tell him something, but he does not and just goes back to his friend.
Seriously, that is one of an adventure and yet he can't do a thing for it. No answers, no words, just wanting to leave. Exciting, just like in novels. But still, that's weird. It's too much like in a novel.
Accepting the fact that none of his questions will be answered, Riku leaves the infirmary. After all, he doesn't know them. He walks down the street after going out of his college and arrives at Sora's house. He knocks one, two, three times and he hears someone running to open the door. His friend's here, all smiling in his pyjamas, knowing Riku would come, like every Saturday and Sunday. Riku goes in, kissing Sora's cheek just like a good morning kiss, and goes up to his room, knowing this house just like his own, saying out loud a hello to Sora's family. They eventually enter the half childish-half student room, even more colourful than the nurse's dresses.
"So? What happened? Did you talk to them?" asks Sora in one quick breath, desperate to know everything.
"I did. But I don't know a thing. They just told me they'd leave when their friend, I know his name's Axel, will wake up. But nothing more" says Riku, taking off his cardigan and sitting on the floor, cross-legged.
"Oh…" tells Sora, seeming a bit disappointed, "But why were they on this boat anyway?" he says, sitting on the floor next to Riku.
"Just told you I had no idea. Did you listened to me?" says Riku, mockingly.
"Yes. I think so. But still, that's weird. Like in a movie! I'm sure they're some spies in mission or something like that" declares Sora, childishly, putting his arms behind his head.
"Well, not a very discreet way to act. They're bad spies. But I'd rather think they're pursued by the Super Villain Tomato."
"Oh yes! And we'll help them with our superpowers! And seeing that they're rich, they'll reward us generously" continues Sora with a big big big grin, smiling like the sun.
"Of course. And they'll give us a castle for holidays"
And there they go, as always, starting to imagine what life they could have and what they could do if they were rich enough to buy one, two or three golden castles. Dreams are great in our heads, but they never happen, fortunately. Otherwise, life'd suck. After boats, private islands, airplanes, private stars and all that kind of stuff, our two heroes hug to say goodbye. Riku has to go, it's late, talking's a time eater. It's already 10 p.m. So he goes, waving goodbye until Sora closes the door. He walks down five or six blocks, we still can't fix our mind, and enters his house. Empty as always, so he has to light his room. He cooks, eats, reads a little and then goes to sleep.
The following day is somehow the same of this one, except the infirmary part. He goes to see Sora outside, at the beach the morning and at the public aquarium the afternoon to be more specific. They play, watch, talk and even laugh a little. As usual we'd say. But this time, something is different when he goes back home. He realises. He likes Sora, a lot, true. Sora's the only person to make him feel complete, true too. But it is no more enough. Even his time with Sora is the same every day. All his life's the same day after day. The real disaster, the one he realised that day, is that he has no expectations. Useless to say that this same day, he cried a few tears when alone on his bed.
Let's just imagine how painful it must be. No, we can't. So we won't even try.
The next day's Monday. A school day. Se he does the usual things (grey top, white pants, thin black leather jacket) and walks slowly to college. Sora shouts behind him, asking him to wait. Once again, he woke up late. They go to class, eat together, and they go home. Well, Sora does, not Riku. Riku stays at college and goes to the infirmary. He wanted to know more about those guys, if they were still there.
When he enters the infirmary, he hears voices from the room with bed. The nurse's busy with a student in a class. It's bad, but he listens, being all silent.
"You know they'll come after you if you stay here" says a hoarse voice, Xigbar obviously. So he stayed after all.
"Yes we know, but he's still…" says another voice; Riku recognises it as the one of the ash blond guy.
"Who cares, I won't stay any longer for just one. I put my life in danger and there's the reward" coldly says Xigbar, starting to walk, so it appears, in the direction of the door to the seats' room.
"You can go away, now we can take care of ourselves" says a totally unknown voice.
"Better be, because I'm off" sniggers Xigbar, opening the door while Riku, clever boy, had gone to the nurse office to hide.
"And where will you go?" pursues this same unknown, but yet melodious, voice.
"Who knows? Far from you. You are the meaning of troubles." Says Xigbar, going out of the infirmary for good it seems.
"What now? You've thrown him away, and now? He's right, and you know that" says the ash blond guy, reproachfully.
"We can't leave Axel behind. We owe him everything. He saved us, and we're his friends. Right?" replies the melodious voice.
"Yeah, that's true… That's just the three of us against the world now, I guess!"
"How can you laugh in such a situation?"
The nurse comes back and goes straight on to the beds' room. A woman stands behind the main door of the infirmary, seeming disgusted by all the colours of this room.
"Children, I talked about you to the college's head, she wants to talk with you to know what to do. She's also the mayor of the island. She's waiting at the door. She'll know what to do, don't worry" says the nurse to the two boys, smiling softly.
Hesitantly but with no other choice, the two young men just walk out the beds' room and look at the college's head. She's tall, noble, regal (even more than Mrs. Ursula) and something like dreadfully beautiful. Yes indeed, that's how Mrs. Maleficent, the college's head, is. They step toward her; looking at each other face to know if it is a good idea to speak to such an authority. But they have to, otherwise they'd be found one silently says with his mouth to the other.
"Follow me to my office" emotionlessly says Mrs. Maleficent before any of them could talk.
And they do follow her, without a word. And the nurse goes with them. Now Riku's alone on the nurse's office, and he steps out and goes to the beds' room. Here, he sits on the empty bed and he looks Axel, silent.
Perhaps I am too slow with all that. But I prefer when things are done well. Perhaps Axel will wake up in the next chapter? :)
Thanks a lot for reading and don't hesitate to review, it's a wonderful feeling to know that people read what you do and to know what they really think about it!