Incurable - A TRC Syaoran Drama/Tragedy fic

Chaptire 5 - Escape

Rating (Still) T, for violent recollections, and character death.

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"Sir, if you please, just listen." The blonde, pleaded, from a sitting position facing a stern man in a long white coat.

"Listen? Dr. Monou, you've been completely against all of the principals this institution is based on since the day you've arrived. Why should I listen to you? A really should just terminate you." The man glared through thick glasses across his desk, meeting the younger woman's determined stare.

"And just what have I done wrong? Helped a boy who clearly doesn't belong here..."

"Clearly, you have no respect for your employers. I believe it is a rule here that there is to be no contact with the patients. And another, stating doctors visits are to be monitored. Did you not break these rules?" He tossed his head back, sweeping the black hair off his forehead.

"Since when is comforting a terrified boy against any set of rules? And he is much calmer without all of the prying nurses and their medication around! He has improved, don't you see?" She slammed her palms down on the desk, standing as she did so, her blonde hair sliding over her shoulders, nearly covering her furious defiant eyes.

"An Incurable! The worst level of patient in this facility, and you, a novice doctor, think you can change him? Change this very facility?" The man responded with an equal amount of rage, which caused Kotori to stumble backwards into her chair. Her eyes were still ablaze, but she knew she couldn't argue.

"Your employment here is terminated as of today." He relaxed in his seat, and turned the chair away.

"Sir! Isn't that awfully severe!" The girl's cry was politely ignored by the man, as he continued.

"I expect that you will have all of your possessions out of here by the time I return tomorrow." He turned, and exited without looking at the devastated expression on the young girl's face. This was not how anything was supposed to happen...

"Well then, I suppose it'll have to be tonight, sir." She smiled, as the door shut, showing the man hadn't heard her. She fumbled in her pocket for a ring of keys, and exited the office.

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Nightfall, from what he could guess. The hospital had gotten quiet again, though he hadn't heard from his Doctor all day. Syaoran sighed, realizing he'd have to start fighting off sleep again. Or rather, fighting off the nightmares. Sleep itself wasn't much different from being awake, besides that.

He positioned himself in a standing position against the wall and stared up at the ceiling. He whispered phrases, bits of cheerful conversation to himself, willing away the less cheerful, the most vivid.

"I just had to show you Syaoran-kun... Thank you... Yay, Syaoran-kun smiled for me..." He played all the parts himself, a one-man acting troupe, recalling adventures he'd had as a child. He really was lucky back then...

"Syaoran!" A knocking on the door. He turned, abruptly cutting off his speech, and saw Kotori fumbling with the lock on the door, and stepping inside. In her arms was a bundle of clothes, most clean and neatly pressed, but at the bottom he could see a faded green rag... what was she doing?

"Kotori-san? It's... after-hours, isn't it? Shouldn't you..."

"I got fired. Good thing, too." She neatly replied, ignoring Syaoran's startled expression, as she unfolded the articles of clothing. A pair of jeans, a black t-shirt, tennis shoes... the clothes that he'd been admitted in, from the ones who called him 'Li'. She also carried a folded white coat, unfamiliar to him. And the last item...

"Where did you...?" Before him on the floor lay a tattered green cape. His only surviving item of his home world. He remembered well how his 'family' had thrown his other bloodstained 'rags' into a garbage can before his eyes. The resulting rage was the part of the reason he had been placed here. But they were all that remained, after all. Why shouldn't he have attacked them?

"They were with your belongings... your family must have felt you'd want this, though I can't say it's in very good shape..." Ignoring her explanation, he snatched up the familiar object, and cradled it, for a moment forgetting his sins, and where he was now because of them. He inhaled the scents, smelling mostly cheap soap from its numerous washings by the hospital staff, but still, deep down, the scent of all he had been through remained.

It was home, Tokyo rain, Okonomiyaki, snow, fog, and flame. It smelled of Fai, and his strange vanilla scent, of Kurogane, of Ashura-ou's palace, and Seishirou's sword... - all of the places he'd seen, the trials he'd been through and the lives he changed, mixed with the sweet nectar of cherry blossoms... and her. The times he'd used it to keep her warm, left her unique scent of summer and so much more... wrapped up in this tattered cloth his father had given him.

"Thank you." He sighed, feeling a sense of hope, in recovering this treasure, and looked up at Kotori. "Why did you bring me this?"

"Because we are both getting out of here. You and I." She grinned, passing him his shirt. "You said you wanted to, right? And your 'family' wouldn't mind, I'm sure?"

He gaped at the idea. Outside? How long had it been since he had seen sunshine, or even walked around? He glanced at his arms and legs, and how pitifully frail they'd become. Then, without a word, he slipped off the hospital clothes, and politely accepted the shirt. "Thank you."

"Heh, I thought you might agree. Though I wouldn't put on that cape just yet, we still need to sneak you out of here." Syaoran had already thrown the shirt and pants on, instinctively reaching to slip the cape on, but finding Kotori gripping the end. "We need you to wear this, so we can get out.

He sighed, and reluctantly slipped the long, stiff coat on, followed by the shoes. he clutched hugged the cape to his chest and stood.

"Perhaps... we should tuck that away, Syaoran. Perhaps I could hold it-"

"No." Syaoran answered stiffly. There was no way he'd give it up, his last reminder, even for a moment. "Shall we go?"

The doctor nodded, and gently took his hand, leading him out the door into the deserted hallway. The brightness, even of only the fluorescent lights made him wince. Kotori clenched his hand reassuringly and led him down the hall towards a staircase. The less attention they drew to themselves, in an elevator for example, the better.

Ducking into the deserted stairwell, he blinked at the even brighter lighting, reading that they were on the fourth floor. The two descended in silence, eyes occasionally meeting as Kotori glanced back at him, encouragingly.

Four flights down, she led him down a fairly deserted walkway, and out a side door, leading him out into the open air. The air was still, and the evening sky nearly cloudless. A scattering of stars were visible, even amidst the city lights - a sight that caused Syaoran to freeze momentarily, gazing upward, eyes wide.

"This is... outside?" He stared wide eyed, taking a moment to inhale the fresh air, and take in the view. Kotori gripped his arm, drawing his attention towards her, and she smiled.

"Welcome back, Syaoran. Come on." She laughed, and tugged him at a near sprint across a lot full of parked cars, over to the sidewalk, where a large - bus, was it? - was pulling up. "We're going to the beach!"

"A beach?" Before Syaoran could protest, still confused by the sudden abundance of fresh air and light, he had already been pulled up the steps, on to the bus, and thrown onto a plastic seat beside a beaming Kotori. He shook his head as the bus started moving, and eagerly threw off the starchy white lab coat, passing it to Kotori, silently. He instantly replaced it with the green hooded cloak, and gave a weak smile. At least something was right again.

"So... how far is it, Kotori-san?" Syaoran glanced at her, his face once again emotionless, but not exactly sad. His gaze then turned from her, out the window, as cars, sky-scrapers, children jumping rope, couples kissing... The city's sights passed across his narrow range of vision, and a small part of him longed to watch them closer, to feel them, but before he could think about it any deeper, it would pass by, to be replaced by another new sight.

"It's a good 3 hour ride, down south, to where the water's warm. We'll get there around midnight. You can sleep if you'd like." He shook his head, but kept his gaze out the window. He tried to absorb as much as he could, in the short amount of time he saw something. Who knew when he'd get to experience something like this again?

"I'm fine, don't worry. You can, if you'd like."

Kotori nodded, and let her head fall back against the seat. Within minutes, she fell asleep. It'd been a long day, planning to catch the appropriate bus, and stealing all the necessary keys and such to acquire suitable clothes for Syaoran. She was fairly tired.

Unnoticed by her, Syaoran draped an arm, protectively, across her lap, as he kept a constant watch out the window, the hours quietly slipping by.

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Ack, this was a bit of a lame ending but the original chaptire was getting a tad long, so I broke it off here. The next one should come soon, and the part following that (Chaptire 7) will conclude this. Stay tuned. :P