Broken Wings - Chapter Twelve
She remained silent throughout the examination, letting them test her in whatever way they saw fit. She honestly had no idea what they were doing, and there was too much to think about to truly care.
She didn't look at Hojo because now she knew the truth. He was a monster.
Perhaps that was too light a term. Sephiroth's attitude toward him told her that he thought the same. Unlike her, however, he had the courage to stare daggers at the doctor's back while she couldn't even muster the will to meet his eyes.
"It doesn't hurt, does it?" Joyce asked, putting something cold and metallic near her elbow.
She shook her head.
"Her body seems to have accepted it," she continued, speaking to Hojo. "How long do you think it will be before we can test?"
"Before the week is over," he said casually. "She's recovering at a remarkable rate, really. If all my subjects were like this I might get more experiments in instead of having such a line up…"
Sephiroth's expression could have killed, and his tightly clenched fists were quivering slightly.
After they had verified that she was quite all right, Joyce helped her to stand. Hojo exited and the nurse led her to a corner that could be blocked off by curtains. "Here," she said as she offered Aralyn a pair of light pink sweatpants and a white, long-sleeved shirt. "It's not much, but it's better than that gown."
Aralyn smiled in gratitude and retreated behind the curtain to change. She found a bin in the corner and threw the old gown in, glad to be rid of it. When she emerged, she found Joyce over Sephiroth's shoulder. The boy held the clipboard, and he ran his fingers along it as he scanned the information. His eyes were intent on it, and Aralyn soon realized why. Her name was on the back. He was getting to the bottom of what they were doing with her.
"You can understand all this medical jargon?" Joyce asked, amazed. "And you're how old?"
He didn't reply, and handed the board back to her. "I'll take her to her room."
Joyce seemed uncertain for a while, but smiled and ruffled his hair. "I'm glad you have a friend, Sephiroth. You need the company." She left without further comment.
"Joyce doesn't seem too bad," Aralyn offered once she had left.
"She isn't," Sephiroth replied. "Except when she's mad at you she treats you like a two year old."
"It could be worse."
Sephiroth laughed uncomfortably. "Yeah. If you get Hojo mad, you get some foreign substance stuck in you and you stay under the monitor for the next forty eight hours."
Aralyn grimaced. Sephiroth realized he was making her uncomfortable and quickly changed the subject. "But some of the Turks are great! Like Reno! I swear you can get away with doing anything to him! He makes some really great sound effects when he's startled too…"
The conversation continued on the much lighter note as the pair went down the hallway and into the elevator. After a short venture, they came to two doors, one marked with Sephiroth's name and the other blank.
"They said you could have that one," he said, gesturing to the unmarked door. "It's a great location, almost as good as mine! The vents go almost anywhere in the building, so it's easy to get around undetected. You get an open window, which I might have to make use of sometime because mine was barred after I got caught sneaking out."
"Don't they block your vents too?" she asked.
"I haven't been caught yet. Don't you dare tell!" He smiled slyly at her. Aralyn chuckled and pressed a finger to her lips in an unspoken vow of secrecy. He nodded in approval.
"I'll teach you the routes sometime after you're settled in." He went to her door, grasping the silver knob that was at the level of his eyes. "Come see your new home!"
He leapt inside, Aralyn following timidly after. The room was bare, the harsh lighting making the white walls blinding. Like the offices, the main color scheme seemed to be white, with silver steel furniture only when necessary. A small, child sized bed was in the corner, dressed in white sheets, and at its foot was a small desk. There were closet doors opposite her bed that were adorned with only plain, dark steel knobs. The floor was tile, and was the predictable while streaked with gray. And, true to Sephiroth's description, an unbarred window granted her a view of Midgar, though currently rough white curtains held the sunlight aloof.
"It's…nice," Aralyn said halfheartedly, dismayed by the lack of color and the arrangement that reminded her of the rest of the building.
Sephiroth frowned. "No it's not. It's horrible. But it's a roof over your head, I guess." He shrugged as he pulled open the curtains. "Mine's not much better, to be honest."
"You miss the color too?"
"I tried coloring my walls with some crayons Joyce gave me for my birthday one year, but Hojo said I ruined the 'professional atmosphere' or something and made me clean it up."
"Maybe we could sneak something in!" Aralyn suggested.
Sephiroth grinned mischieviously. "I like having an accomplice! And I know just the lady to ask, too."
"Who would that be?"
"Dr. Crescent. She's really nice, but she's always so sad when I show up. Hojo doesn't like me seeing her though. I think it's because she has a really soft spot for me."
"Why's she so sad?" Aralyn asked, climbing onto her bed and gesturing for Sephiroth to sit beside her.
"I don't know," he said. "Gast said she wasn't always like that." His expression turned from pensive to scheming. "But I just have to find a time to talk to her when Hojo's not around. She'll get us some paints!"
Aralyn smiled and sighed contently. She really liked this unfamiliar side of Sephiroth. He was lighter, and a lot less tense, although still not a jubilant as your average seven-year-old. "I'd like that," she said. But she knew that even if it fell through, she could call this home if he was always just next-door.
Aralyn had never seen Sephiroth smile so genuinely.
A/N: I'm keeping Lucrecia around for a while on purpose (yes, I know what happens to her and I will be consistent with that, at least), and I just had to bring Reno in. He's going to provide the comic relief in future chapters. Other than that I think I'm sticking to the storyline pretty well...? Please tell me if I'm not. Remember, I've never played. sniff