Ever since she got to the balcony, Sapphire's concentration hadn't been broken. She had spent the last few hours lying on her stomach, peeking through the bars of the balcony. The barrel of the Ingram poked out between the middle bars, but she was prepared to stand up and aim it elsewhere at a moment's notice.

Her concentration was broken all at once, however. From somewhere that didn't sound far away, a loud cry rang out, disturbing the silence the island had previously been in. It only lasted three seconds, if even that, before it was unexpectedly cut off.

That caused Sapphire to sit upright, accidentally knocking the gun against the bars. She pointed the gun through the gaps once more, even though she knew that whoever had caused that scream was a good distance away. Still keeping a close eye on whatever activity was going on beneath the balcony, she slowly folded her legs. Leaning forward slightly, she discovered that it was easier to see from this position, as well as being more comfy. Then again, lying in one position for hours on end is bound to get annoying after a while, she thought.

It was difficult to continue thinking about such mundane things. The cry that had resonated a few moments earlier continued to resonate in her mind, and she couldn't help but wonder what had happened. As far as she was concerned, she had a pretty good idea about it.

Another person had died.

The way that cry had been cut off short, and how desperate it sounded, indicated that the person who had done so was in grave danger. If Sapphire was right, that would mean that there were only fifteen left. Or, even less.

I just want to go home already, she thought, staring out into the night. She didn't want to think about what the next twenty four hours had in store for her and the others at the clinic. They had been lucky to avoid a confrontation with Lance or N so far, with the exception of Faitsu and Gold, but they would surely take notice of the clinic soon. Even though she was exceptional at battling, the idea of killing others was too much.

There was one thing she was certain of already, though; if anyone attempted to hurt Ruby or Emerald, she wouldn't hesitate to attack. I promised Ruby I'd-

Sapphire's track of thought was quickly cut off when she suddenly felt something touch her left shoulder. She flinched, and moved forward. Turning around, she tried to consider what to do with the gun. Then, she lowered it upon seeing who it was.

"Did I scare you?" Ruby asked.

She had no idea how he walked up to the balcony without her noticing. She decided that she must have been too absorbed in her thoughts, and reading in too much into that scream. Despite that, she was relieved to see him.

Ruby continued to stand there silently, a look of concern on his face. He was holding a mug in one of his hands, and warm steam was slowly rising from it. As he continued to look at her, he wrapped his other hand around the mug, presumably for warmth.

"Nope. What're you doing up here?" Sapphire said, trying to sound relaxed. Her eyes glanced at the mug once more, already knowing why he came up.

"Now, why don't I believe that? Anyway, I made some coffee. I thought you could use some", Ruby answered, holding the mug outwards.

Sapphire laid the gun down on the floor, hoping that she wouldn't come to regret that move. Besides, it would only be for a minute at the most. She then took the mug from him, briefly letting it warm her hands. Then, she brought it to her lips, and took a small sip. She grimaced at its bitter taste, and set the cup down.

"I don't get how you can drink this stuff", she muttered, picking up the Ingram once more.

"It's good for staying awake", he explained, shrugging. Then, he looked down. "I'm sorry I didn't come to see you earlier. You haven't been missing anything downstairs. I wanted to come see you sooner, but Kris was worried I'd disrupt your concentration."

"Well, it's not like she's wrong, or anything. I don't really care. I haven't seen anyone out here! I'm still pretty sure Gold scared him off."

Ruby felt relieved upon hearing that she hadn't met any trouble, but it didn't exactly surprise him. If anything had happened, then they would have certainly heard something from downstairs. Sapphire would have had no qualms about disobeying Kris' instructions to shoot N on sight, and since there had been no gunshots, Ruby assumed that she was on the right track in guessing that he had been scared away.

Looking down, he didn't really want to discuss N, or any other aspects of the game. Every aspect of those topics were grim and grueling. For a moment or two, he tried to think of a better topic to bring up. When he couldn't think of anything, he decided to just take a step forward, and entwine his fingers in Sapphire's.

Slowly, he leant in, giving her a chance to reconsider. She didn't lean back, or protest. Ruby then brushed his nose gently against hers, before kissing her softly. Sapphire didn't appear surprised in the least, and kissed him back. After a second or two, he pulled away, and took a step back. His face was turning a shade of pink.

"Sorry. It's been a while since we got the chance to do that", Ruby said, and emitted a small laugh. Sapphire smirked, rolling her eyes.

"D'you think the others have figured out anything yet?" she asked, in reference to their newly established relationship.

"Hmm... I think if anyone's after catching on, it's Emerald. Did you see the way he kept looking over at us today? I'd be surprised if he hadn't caught on by now."

Sapphire agreed with Ruby on that point. She had noticed the way he kept glancing over at them with an eyebrow raised whenever they so much as smiled at each other. If anyone would have been able to predict when they got together, it was Emerald. Before she could make a comment, Ruby began speaking once more.

"I know that Emerald acts like our behaviour annoys him so much, but I think he's enjoying being around us just as much as we enjoy being around him. I doubt there's hardly any other group on this island who has three people from the same region. We don't need to worry about each other. We're all safe here. So, I think we should let him think what he wants to think", he continued, his tone turning solemn.

"That is pretty lucky for us", she agreed.

After that, they both became quiet. Then, Ruby took a few steps forward, and pressed his hands against the barrier. He put his hands on his hips, his back remaining turned to her. His head was turned upwards slightly, towards the night sky. The stars were slowly becoming weaker to see as each hour passed, but they still remained a sight to be admired.

"What a beautiful night. I'm envious that you had this to admire for the past few hours", he commented, still not turning around.

"You weren't missin' anything. I just kept looking down there for that guy, y'know?" Sapphire replied, before walking over to him, and looked up as well. "It is really pretty, though."

They stood side by side for several seconds, gazing up at the sky. Occasionally, they glanced at each other, before looking away embarrassedly. Neither of them seemed to particularly mind, however. This quiet moment was unexpected, but certainly welcome.

It was the first time Sapphire truly got a chance to admire the night sky, and it felt emphasized by the fact that she was watching it with Ruby. She wanted to say something to him, but nothing felt appropriate. Instead, she kept her thoughts to herself.

If there was anything she wanted to say, it was that she wanted to gaze up at the night sky like this once more, if they managed to get off the island alive together.

Then, Ruby gave a small cough, and turned around. He picked up the coffee mug, and proceeded to walk further.

"I didn't mean to disrupt your concentration, but I should go back downstairs. If you need anything, I'll come straight back up, okay?" he said, looking back over his shoulder.

"Hey, wait!" Sapphire called out just as Ruby's foot touched the second step of the stairway leading down.

He turned around, looking at her questioningly. Almost as if she didn't expect him to turn around, she raised her eyebrows, and then looked away. Even though she wouldn't admit it, she was slightly embarrassed by her next request.

"Stay up here a little longer", she mumbled, "Kris won't be mad at you."

Ruby smiled at her, noting her embarrassment. Then, he walked back over towards her, and sat down on the concrete. He patted the ground next to him, and Sapphire followed suit. She laid the Ingram down beside her, and hugged her knees to her chest.

After a few seconds, she removed one arm from her knee, and instead gripped Ruby's hand once more. As Sapphire continued to look at the stars, he stared at her for a few moments in awe. He wouldn't have minded if they could stay like that for a long time.

Emerald found the silence in the room to be incredibly frustrating. Kris and X were sitting opposite him, neither attempting to make conversation. It seemed that Kris was burnt out after the eventful night. Faitsu sat next to Emerald, occasionally running her fingers over her bandage. Gold continued to sleep in the room nearby.

Stretching his body out, Emerald began to realize it had been hours since he had gotten any sleep. Knowing how important staying well rested was, he stood up, causing Kris to look up at him. He got up out of his chair, and took shaky steps away from the area where the four were sitting.

"Where are you going?" Faitsu piped up.

"I need some sleep. Kris, you said it's important to keep well rested, right?" he replied, turning towards the older girl.

"Of course!" she agreed, and then bit her lip, and looked down.

She looked as if she was contemplating to say something extra. If Emerald had to guess, he assumed that she was worried about how Gold was doing. His arrival hadn't been in very calm circumstances, and he could understand why she would be worried about him.

Before she could speak for herself, though, there was a small cry from Faitsu. Everyone looked over at her, She was cradling her arm once more, a slightly pained expression on her face. Kris immediately rushed to her side, and put her hand over the younger girl's.

"Are you okay? What happened?" she asked. Faitsu's eyes widened, and her face turned flushed upon suddenly gaining everyone's attention.

"O-Oh, don't worry about me. I accidentally dug my nail into my arm, that's all", she mumbled, sounding embarrassed.

Kris felt slightly calmer upon hearing that it wasn't anything serious. Smiling, she removed her hand from Faitsu's, and walked back over to her seat. Emerald, who had stopped in his tracks, continued to walk towards the bedroom.

"Kris. It's been a few hours since we put that bandage on her. Should it be changed?" X spoke up quietly, with uncertainty.

"That's a good point. Would you be willing to do it?"

Nodding silently, X stood up and walked over to Faitsu. He beckoned her to stand up, which she complied to. For a moment, they looked over at Kris, curious as to what she would do. She simply smiled up at them, but her eyes kept darting towards the first room. X assumed that by the time he was finished changing Faitsu's bandages, Kris would no longer be in the room. He understood as well as Emerald did that she was worried about Gold.

The two young teenagers walked in silence towards the third door. Opening it up, X turned on the light, illuminating the room. Faitsu propped herself up on the table once more, and rolled up her sleeve, holding her arm out. Wordlessly, the boy began to unwrap her bandages slowly, hoping to avoid any discomfort.

"It looks like you're healing up nicely. Are you still in pain?" he asked distractedly as he grabbed another roll of gauze.

"No, no, I'm fine. I suppose when I accidentally hurt myself, then it'll affect me, but other than that, I'm okay", she explained hurriedly.

Giving a small nod, X accepted her explanation and began to roll the gauze slowly around her arm, starting from just below the elbow. Faitsu watched as he did so, noticing how focused he seemed on the simple task.

She felt slightly awkward at the lack of conversation, especially since he had been generous enough to take care of her as much as he had been doing so. Trying to rack her brain for potential conversation, she finally blurted out the thing that first came to mind.

"Um... Do you really think we can all get off the island together?" she asked, and immediately regretted opening up on such a heavy topic. X didn't seem particularly bothered by her choice in question, though.

"I was skeptical. But, Kris seems so determined for all of us to escape this place alive. Her faith really is something else. So, I think there's a possibility we will. We just need to expand our group, and talk about what we could do", he replied.

"I suppose you have a point... What are you going to do if we get out of here, though? What can any of us do?"

"Kris never said. I don't want to be anywhere near the public after this. That said, I want to move on with my life, though. You know, I was thinking that if everyone wanted to fight back, I could try and bandage everyone up, whenever they needed it", he explained, a small smile visible on his lips. "I'm growing to like doing this quite a lot. Much more than what I used to do."

Faitsu bit her lip as she looked at him, wondering what he was talking about. X glanced up at her briefly, and realized that she had no idea what he was referring to. Well, that's a first, he thought, but had no complaints about it.

"I won a pretty big tournament as a kid, and everyone reckoned I'd grow up to be the next Champion. I liked the sound of it at first, but there was just constant attention, and people everywhere. I had enough. It was fun, but I want to do something more low-key", he said.

"I had no idea... That could have all been avoided for you if people had learned that liberation is the best thing to do. I'm so sorry."

As Faitsu continued to look down, X suddenly came to a stop in his bandaging process. Reflecting on how hellish his life had been after winning that tournament was never a pleasant experience, but the girl's upbringing of liberation had confused him briefly. When he finally pieced together why her words sounded so odd, he stared up at her.

"Aren't those the same ideals as N's? After everything, you're still willing to share his beliefs?" he asked.

Faitsu almost lunged back from him, astounded by her own slip. She had gotten caught up in X's story, and almost revealed that she would always follow N's ideals. I need to come back from this, and quickly. How could I have been so stupid?!

"It's going to take me a long time to completely abandon his ideas. I was raised on them after all, but as for N, I no longer trust him. Could you please be patient? I promise I'll do my best to abandon his ideals but... But it's still tough", she murmured.

X gazed at her for a few more moments, and then continued to fix up her new bandages. Faitsu began to grow nervous that he wouldn't speak up. If he had begun to believe that she still stood by N, their plan would be destroyed.

"I understand. It's hard to abandon ideals you spent your whole life following. But, if you're willing to stand with us, we'll help you move past them", he finally replied, still concentrated on bandaging her arm.

"Thank you so much, X", she said, trying to sound genuinely grateful, "I'll completely support you as well. You'd make a great caretaker."

Holding the gauze together, X finally stood up properly again. Unexpectedly, he smiled once more, and held his hand out to her. She took it, and hopped off the table. Once she did, she retracted her hand once more, but saw that X remained to smile.

She mustered a smile back, feeling genuinely relived that he believed her. That was too close, she thought as they made their way back to the waiting room.

15 Remaining.

Author's Note: I'm so sorry for the late update. I was incredibly busy this week, and had a few sick days too. I also would've had this chapter up sooner if this site wasn't down for an entire day.

Anyway, thank you all again for your continuous support, and I should have the next chapter up soon!