A/N: I'm doing pretty good with these updates. The inspiration is strong at the moment. Let's hope this carries on. Another lovely review too. I'd like a few more, please guys, that would be nice. I like knowing you guys are enjoying it any what you're enjoying so I can give you more of it (and figure out the best way to be absolutely heartbreaking). Still considering pairings, but it could be a lot of different messy pairing, because that's how relationships are, especially with slightly unstable people like these. Anyways... enjoy.
Divine didn't return to Kiryu for nearly a month. It wasn't that Kiryu cared, or that he wanted to see him, it was just suspicious. He was in the building. Kiryu saw him around only a few days after they'd last spoken, but he didn't come in to see him.
Kiryu had been working on his own plans. As time passed, his self-control returned. The fact that they were lowering his medication helped. He wasn't completely clean, but he was now clear enough to think. And with the ability to think clearly, came the ability to rationalise and keep calm, even when things reminded him of his old life. Things began to settle.
Settling down and controlling himself gave him more freedoms too. He was allowed to keep himself busy, allowed out of his cell, even out into the grounds. Of course, he was never fully trusted, but it was easier now. He'd stopped thinking about home, the Satellite, his dreams and goals and his friends. He'd pushed it all aside to focus on short term goals. Like getting free. He'd even stopped thinking about Divine. Obviously he'd found he was too much of a hassle or found someone more interesting. Who actually cared?
Kiryu was on his morning run when he spotted Divine coming in, flanked by two men in weird robes. It was surprisingly early for him. Half six in the morning? The guards had only just changed shifts. Last night's lot were in the parking lot, chatting over coffees. Lady was with them. Kiryu ran the same route every morning before, along the inner perimeter fence. The guards were used to seeing him by now and paid him little attention. Lady offered him a slight smile and a wave along with a few of the others. They were still cold and professional, but people were starting to believe he had honestly snapped that night and was recovering. He was still dangerous and could never be released, but he wasn't wholly responsible, so they began to soften up. He was just a kid who'd mind couldn't cope, and as long as he was in a safe environment he would manage.
Divine, on the other hand, seemed surprised to see him out and about. He was being let in, the two men in robes waiting outside the gate, and his gaze never left Kiryu. Of course, Kiryu wasn't going to be allowed near the gates while they were open, so he paused a little way off, far enough to reassure the guards he wasn't going to be a threat. The inner gates opened and Divine was led in. The moment the gates closed again, Kiryu resumed his run, ignoring Divine's gaze. Honestly, who cared about some guy with weird powers wanting to manipulate him? He had better plans in action.
Seven o'clock. He glanced up at the clock as he came back in and headed straight for the showers. Everyone knew his routine by now, the doctors commended him for finding a routine, said it would help him keep calm. There was always a clean uniform and towels outside the shower room when he came in these days. B Wing, he had learnt, was full of those who had fits of insanity. He didn't know the professional term, just that they were all like him, or what people thought he was. They'd committed their crimes in moments of insanity. They were people who'd been pushed too far. Some were still in the clutches of insanity, some would never recover, some weren't and some just needed help, but they were all too dangerous to ever be released. They were good people at heart.
If Kiryu was honest, he imagined he belonged in jail, in the Facility. He didn't regret it, he'd kill again if the need arose. He was pretty sure he'd always had it in him. He was sure he always would be like this. Then again, who was to say that wasn't his insanity? Perhaps his mind was still in pieces and one day he'd woke up and realise he'd done wrong, but he couldn't see it happening.
Breakfast was seven thirty. Since his mind had cleared of the haze, he'd realised how much better meals were here compared to what he was used to. And apparently today was special because he was offered a hot drink. Hot drinks were reserved for the employees. The patients had water or fruit juice, milk in the morning or right before bed too. Nothing added and completely natural. Of course, he was naturally suspicious. Divine was watching too, so perhaps that was it.
He took a tea though. He used to like tea in the morning. He got one in a plastic cup to take back to his room too. Despite being allowed out, he liked being in his room. He had a journal to write in now. That was useful. He just wrote everything and anything that came to mind. It was good to get it out somewhere, even if it was just a book.
"Good morning, Kiryu." He glanced up at Divine, who shut the door behind him. The door was generally kept open these days. When he was in there voluntarily, the guards like to be able to check easily. "Well, that's a warm welcome, did you not miss me?"
"Not particularly," Kiryu replied, returning his attention to his journal and tea. "What do you want?"
"Well, I have a present for you," Divine said, moving over to sit on the bed. Kiryu frowned, drawing up his legs to curl up in his chair, shutting his journal quickly. Letting a man like Divine see it wasn't going to be good for him. "Have you forgotten already? What a soul numbing place this must be for a mind like yours." He held out an envelope. "I'd didn't want to return to you without something to show for my work." Kiryu frowned and took it slowly. Everyone was being nice today. What on earth was going on? "I put one of my best investigators on it. It cost me quite a bit for not a lot of help, but it got you this."
Kiryu frowned, slowly opening the letter and his eyes widening at the familiar writing. He glanced at Divine, who offered him a soft, probably fake, smile. He slipped the letter into his journal and set it aside. He wasn't going to deal with that while he was here.
"You found Jack."
Divine nodded. "Not personally, no, but as I said, I sent out my best investigators." He pulled out a folder and offered it to him. "This is everything he found."
He took the file, slowly looking it over. There wasn't much. Kiryu's own files mentioned he'd been known to hang around three other boys under Martha's care. They'd quickly found Martha's name relating to Crow's arrest and then finding Jack and Yusei hadn't been hard. But, of course, those two didn't have records, and given Kiryu's arrest, they'd probably closed ranks and were hiding out at Martha's. Getting any information in the Satellite was expensive, let alone when it came to people like Jack and Yusei who kept to themselves most the time. Even when Yusei made friends, he was never the most open talkative person in the world. He just didn't like bothering people with his problems. There were one or two hazy pictures of Jack and Yusei, marking out which was which and anything of interest. There was nothing of interest to Kiryu though. They weren't suffering or hurting or anything. It was no different to before he'd turned up. It was like he was never there. And it just brought back painful memories.
"Do you miss your friends, Kiryu?"
"Not anymore," he said quietly, tossing the file away. Divine nodded. "I did at first, but I don't anymore. I'm better off without them, I suppose."
"I believe you are," Divine said, nodding slightly. "I believe you have more power than they can imagine just waiting to be unleashed. I believe you've been held back by that place."
"Why is everyone being so nice today?" he laughed.
"You really don't remember?" He chuckled and beckoned him over. Kiryu took a moment to consider before moving to sit on the bed across from him, keeping his journal close and away from Divine. "Do you want to duel?"
"I… don't have a deck, remember?"
Divine nodded. "I remember." He pulled a deck from his brief case and set it on the bed in front of Kiryu. "You can't keep it, they won't allow you a deck in here, but I thought it would be better than nothing. It's a basic deck we use to training and testing."
Kiryu picked up the deck slowly and went through it quickly. It was a very basic, all round deck. No really specialisation or particular focus on a single strategy. He could work with it. It wasn't what he was used to but it could certainly work. He hadn't duelled in so long anything would do.
"I bet your deck is set up to beat it." Divine shook his head and offered him a second deck from the briefcase. "Take your pick, we'll both use these training decks."
Kiryu looked them through and nodded. "Sure, ok."
"So, your friends?" Divine said, taking the deck Kiryu held out. "You're over them? Why did you want to duel Jack then?"
"That was a month ago," he muttered, shuffling quickly. "And I wanted to duel him because he's the only person who's a challenge in that dump. Yusei… Crow…" He frowned and drew a hand. "They were the younger… it wasn't the same."
Divine nodded. Kiryu didn't think for a moment that he actually cared, he was looking for a way in. Not that Kiryu really cared right now. Maybe it would be best if he let Divine into his mind. If he played the part of a manipulated child, perhaps he would be able to get away and find something better, then break free when the time came.
"You need a challenge," Divine said quietly, drawing his own hand. "You don't strike me as the type who'd enjoy anything that came easily. You like to work, don't you? You like to get what you deserve."
Kiryu nodded. People who worked should get things. People who sat there and had everything handed to them didn't deserve anything. Why did people who were born rich think they were better than everyone else? Why were the city kids better than him when he had worked all his life to protect everyone he loved? Everything he had he had fought tooth and nail to get!
"Older children know how to fight." Kiryu nodded, trying to focus on duelling now. Even with a foreign deck, he wasn't going to go down without a fight. "He probably grew up protecting them. All Satellites have the will to survive, but I suppose older children look after the others."
Kiryu nodded. "He didn't care I was the boss or the leader, he never cared. The others… they didn't have the same…"
"Ruthlessness."
He paused, trying to figure out a word that didn't sound so negative. "…ambition…"
Yes, ambition was a better word. Divine nodded slightly. Yusei and Crow knew duelling was a way of life, a way of surviving, but Jack was the one who saw the bigger picture. What true duelling talent could achieve. How it had the power to make their wildest dreams come true. It could give people incredible power… Jack saw that more than them. Jack had never let him down, he'd left, but he'd never let him down. He was strong enough to stand by his side and understand what had to be done.
"You don't talk about the others much."
Because it hurt too much. Because Jack would have hung onto him. Jack would have understood that he did what he had to do. Jack had always valued power. He'd have understood. The other two could be far too sentimental. And it hurt.
But he wasn't going to tell Divine that. He wasn't going to let him get into his mind like that.
"Why should I? They're unimportant," Kiryu muttered. They'd left. They'd betrayed him. They'd forgotten about him. And he was going to earse them from his memory if nothing else. "They weren't the same calibre of duellist, they were children."
"And yet when you talk about them there's a bitter hatred in your voice," Divine said. "Your eyes flash whenever Yusei is mentioned."
Kiryu set down his hand, glaring up at Divine. "Why are you here today? You've been in at least twice a week, why today?"
"I wanted to give you a little treat."
"Why?"
"You're becoming irate." He gathered up the deck. "I think that's enough for today."
"Tell me why!"
Divine put away the decks and smiled down at him. Kiryu was about ready to snap. This man was playing games with him! He wasn't a toy here for his amusement. He hurried up to his feet, placing himself in front of the door and glaring defiantly up into Divine's eyes. Not that Divine seemed at all intimidated. Who the hell did he think he was? Coming in here and dragging up all the stuff Kiryu was finally getting over and then just pissing off? No! He wasn't going to allow it. He was going to get answers!
Divine smiled and touched his cheek. "You're incredibly strong, Kiryu, you'll go far."
"What do you want?" Kiryu snarled. "Why are you here?"
"I told you last time what I was after," Divine replied, gently running his hand down Kiryu's neck. Much as he didn't want to be touched, Kiryu kept his eyes on Divine's refusing to back down or allow the contact to faze him in any way. No reactions. It'd give Divine something to use. "You could be great, Kiryu."
"I am great, and I don't need your help to be any greater."
Divine chuckled, his hand closing around Kiryu's throat. It wasn't a threat as far as Kiryu saw, he didn't squeeze or act like he was going to, just held him. Kiryu didn't move. He wasn't afraid of Divine or death.
"I could kill you right now," Divine murmured, leaning down over him. Kiryu smirked. "You couldn't stop me. You've seen my power." The hand around his throat tightened slightly and Kiryu's smirk twisted into a grin. "You think anyone would care that you were gone?"
"No one would care," Kiryu whispered. "So why don't you?"
He laughed and pushed him away. Kiryu stumbled back a step and Divine turned to the door. "I'll return to you soon, Kiryu, once you've had time to think."
"I'm never going to be your weapon."
Divine nodded and strode out, Kiryu following quickly out into the hall way, absolutely fuming. He wasn't getting away with this. He couldn't just come in a mess everything up then leave again.
"I hope you enjoy your birthday, Kiryu," Divine called without turning.
His… birthday? The thought rooted him to the spot. That was what was going on? It was his birthday? Kiryu hadn't realised. He hadn't kept track. It had been over a year then… since he met the others. They'd insisted on throwing him a party last year. He staggered back into his room and slammed the door, scrambling for the letter Divine had given him.
'So, I don't know if this'll reach you or not. This guy says his boss is helping you recover and this'll reach you on your birthday, so happy birthday, I guess. I won't say much, I don't want to think they're checking your mail if this does actually reach you. What you did was stupid. You changed and you did some stupid stuff. Yusei is falling apart at the seams, Martha's dealing with him. Crow is being Crow, he's got the kids and some new idiots in his life going on about making things better. They're like older versions of him. He'll learn sooner or later he needs us. But that's what we said about you too. You're an idiot. Just don't get yourself hurt. Watch me becoming King for you.'
Everything went numb for a while. He didn't know how long. The world was just still and quiet as he read and reread the note, his hands trembling and his eyes stinging. He'd just got over this. Why was this happening again? Why was this all coming back?
Then everything snapped.
Who was he kidding? He was never going to get over them. They were his friends and family. They were his everything! Yusei was falling apart? He didn't know what it was to fall apart! What did Yusei know about falling apart? They should try being in his place! That was falling apart!
King? Yeah, Jack would be King. Because Jack would do anything for that power. Hell, he'd probably screw over his friends to get there. Jack understood power and ambition, although Kiryu would have drawn the line between betrayed friends and doing them wrong and realising that sometimes you have to move on with your life. That was what Jack had done the first time. He'd been sick of it and decided to move on, right? Yusei had betrayed him. He'd hurt him. There was a difference, he'd not just moved on, he'd not been moving on for himself, he'd been malicious. Why didn't that idiot realise what he'd done?
Divine had been rather put off when he returned from checking in on his other subjects to hear mad laughter in Kiryu's room. He'd been impressed with Kiryu's duelling, even when he was distracted by their chatter, he hadn't faltered. He'd thought giving him information on his friends and letting him have that letter would make him furious and bring him closer to his goals. So why was he laughing?
He opened the observation window and yes, Kiryu was laughing his head off. What on earth was so funny? He pushed open the door slowly, not that Kiryu seemed to notice. He just laughed madly, like he'd heard the funniest thing in the world. There was a madness in his eyes. And tears. He was hurting, wasn't he? Divine was glad. Those who were hurt were easy to manipulate.
He walked over to the bed and slowly held Kiryu close. Sometimes a hug was all that was needed. To know someone cared. That letter was crumpled in his hands, but he held onto it tightly.
"You're going to be ok," Divine murmured into his hair.
Kiryu almost cackled. "I'm better than ok. I'm not making sense anymore."
"Oh?"
Kiryu quietened down, his shoulders trembling slightly as he held his shirt. Divine sighed and rubbed his back gently, waiting for him to be ready. He was still unstable. Despite his appearance of normality and the look of a boy who was starting to recover, Kiryu was terribly unstable. Divine couldn't blame him. He was more like the psychics he brought in than any of the others here. He'd been hurt by his friends, thrown aside and hurting. Confused about his power and who he was. He knew how to deal with this.
"What did I do to deserve this?" Kiryu whispered finally.
"Deserve what, Kiryu?" Divine said softly. "What's your punishment?"
"I was trying to protect them. I was trying to do what was best for them." His voice was soft and weak and broken. Divine would have felt sorry for him if he hadn't done this a million times before. "They're not even missing me." There was the crumpling of paper and Divine remained quiet. "Are they better off without me?"
Now he was ready. Divine drew back slightly and tipped Kiryu's chin up with two fingers. "No."
Kiryu's eyes were shinning with tears. A child with his heart being torn apart. That was all he was. Perfect for Divine to sweep in and get to work. He took the letter from Kiryu gently, folding it a few times and holding it loosely. Kiryu wiped his eyes and Divine took his hand, guiding him to hold the letter with him.
"You are strong, Kiryu." He squeezed his hand. "You have an incredible power inside you." He drew on his power, using the contact to try and draw out Kiryu's own powers. The letter sparked and flames engulfed it. "You're better off without them." Kiryu's eyes were wide and the flames reflected beautifully in those shinning golden eyes. "And if you allow me to help you, we will make them see that. They will burn. Everyone who hurt you will suffer."
"I could make them understand how much they hurt me?" he whispered.
Divine nodded, watching the ashes falling away. "We could do anything."
