AND HI AGAIN.

SO I finally got around to finishing this chapter! I'm super happy lol I don't really have much to say so enjoy~

DISCLAIMER: All Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy and The World Ends With You content does not belong to me. The lovely Rayne belongs to Arisa Kiryuu. Scarlet is definitely mine tho.

Scarlet

Hospitals.

For as long as I can remember, I have always hated them even if I've never been in one before.

Maybe because my father always avoided them when I was younger, yet he never really told me why. I just assumed it had something to do with my mother.

Now, however, I was in a hospital room and trying to remember why was a problem. It was quiet and a bit dark in here making the beeping of the machine I was hooked up to becoming ten times more annoying by the second. I honestly just wanted to get up and leave. The only reason I stayed was because Axel was sleeping on a chair across from the bed.

"Axel." He looked up quickly. "Oh, I thought you were asleep." I raised my bed enough to be able to sit up.

"I just had my eyes closed but I'm pretty much awake."

"What am I doing here?"

"….Don't you remember fainting at Ray's place?"

"….Everything's kind of blur right now to be honest…"

"Hm… Well I'll go get the doctor and know you're awake now."

"Hey, tell me how long I was here first."

"Just a few hours." He walked out and returned with a doctor.

"Well, we're certainly glad you're awake. How do you feel?"

"A bit uncomfortable and confused."

"To be expected. Your friends brought you in because you had fainted and wouldn't wake up. We did some tests and it looks like you've been having too much stress lately. Any idea what's causing it?" I shook my head. "Well… you're going to have to stay here for the night just so we can be sure you're going to be okay." He turned to Axel. "Well, I'll leave you and your brother alone now. Get plenty of rest and relax while you can."

"You said you were my brother?"

"Well, we are siblings, right?"

"We have different parents."

"We're still family, Scar." I looked away and ignored him because yes, we were family. But there were times that something felt off about us, something that didn't quite add up. We grew up together. We shared the same last name.

But…

It's almost as if he didn't belong…

And it pained me to think so.

"… well yeah, we are." I looked back at him and gave him a smile. "Um… is Vanitas here too..?"

"No. It's just Raindrop and I." I felt relieved but at the same moment.. it wasn't what I wanted to hear.

"Oh.. Okay then." I lowered the bed back down and closed my eyes. The headache started to return again but it wasn't as bad anymore. "Axel, can you please leave? I.. I want to be alone."

"Oh? Do you want me to come back?"

"Axel. Leave."

"Ok ok, I get the hint. I'm gonna leave now. Anything you want me to do?"

"Yeah, leave. Now." I watched him shrug and walk away without saying another word.

~•~

It's been a week since I was able to go home. My life had quickly returned to the same routine, home then school then home again. Except something, or rather someone, was missing from my life at the moment.

I haven't seen Vanitas since the morning after his birthday.

He wasn't even there when I was released from the hospital so Axel had to be the one to pick me up.

I didn't know how to feel in all honesty. It wasn't like I was actually in love with Vanitas. Our relationship was merely a physical one which meant emotions weren't involved. I preferred it that way, hell, we both did.

Yet why do I feel like this?

Did I really have my head in the clouds right now?

I should be wiser and realize that I've got one less problem without him.

I had been trying to ask Axel about Vanitas and where he was but all he would say is "I don't know" and "he was gone by the time I noticed." By now, it was starting to irritate me so I did the only logical thing I could think of and decided to disappear for one or two days.

After all, living as stress free as possible was exactly what the doctor ordered.

I opted for leaving my phone behind and simply grabbed my keys, deciding to go to the outskirts of the city. "I heard there was an old castle not to far from the city. Might as well check it out."

It took me hours just to reach the gardens of this city but luckily the gates to the outside weren't very far and the weather had remained cool throughout the day. The gates, however, were locked when I got there. It was expected though, since nobody came through here anymore.

It wasn't hard to jump over the gates. It felt liberating just leave, see the city get farther behind me, feel the chilling air run through me, listen to the waterfalls around me, know how dangerous it could be outside the city and on my own…

It exhilarated me for some strange reason. Almost as if this was the life I was meant for.

Sunlight began to hide away much faster as night began to cover the area with its darkness. I looked up at the sea of stars. This was not something I saw often, it reminded me of the nights back at the Islands. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, all while listening to the roar of the waterfalls

I started to miss home, miss the simple days of my childhood. Now, I had doubts. Now, I had worries. Now, I was no longer as carefree as I was before.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when I heard rocks tumbling off the cliffs nearby. I had been feeling someone following me for quite some time but I ignored it until now, hoping it was just in my mind.

"Who's there?!" No one replied yet the uneasiness in my body began to creep out. I felt movement to the side of me and jumped away fairly quickly, trying to focus on the person hiding in the shadows. "Who are you?" The figure moved back and, before I could even react, they were gone.

I kept walking forward, hoping to find the castle ruins soon. I now knew I wasn't alone anymore and the faster I got out of here, the better it would be. I soon found the ruins. They were a mixture of several contraptions and strange architecture making me stand and marvel at its uniqueness. At least until I heard footsteps behind me.

"Shit."

I was truly on my own right now but it wasn't the moment to think about trivial things. I looked behind me and then back to the castle before starting to sprint towards the it.

This was seriously the opposite of stress free.

I managed to make my way inside, always looking behind me just to make sure I wasn't found again. I still had adrenaline pumping through my body as I analyzed every single thing inside the castle. I was so positive that no one has been here in a long time yet everything looked like it wasn't touched by the cruel hands of time.

Someone had to be maintaining things here.

I went though the first door that was closest to me, quietly peaking inside to make sure it was safe. It turned out to be a library full to the brim with books. So many questions started to pop into my head, questions I did not have answers to.

What had me much more confused, however, was the fact that even these books were very well maintained.

"Maybe there's something here that can answer at least some questions I have." I looked farther into the library and saw how many bookshelves there was. "… maybe after checking out the rest of this castle."

I spent the entire night wandering around the castle, even finding secret paths here and there. I found my way into a long dark corridor, one that had absolutely no purpose. I reached the end of it and noticed it led to nowhere, making it seem so out of place.

"You know, you shouldn't be here." Wait, that voice! I quickly turned around to see a figure in the shadows, probably the same one from before. This time, however, they didn't run away. "Scar, why are you even here?" They walked out into the light and saw the one person I did not expect.

"…Dad?"

Ooooooh so what'd you guys think?

I'm glad for those who have reviewed my first two chapters. You guys make my day.

So please! Let me know your thoughts on this one and leave me a review~