Check it.


Two had been shoved into the room, still groggy from the sedative, turning immediately and punching straight back towards the now closed door, breaking a bone in his hand. His fist throbbed as he clenched it, rearing back with his other fist, but stopping. If someone else came back in, he would need a good hand to gut them with. He stared at the door in unbridled fury, gritting his teeth, his cyan eyes burning through the door. He sighed, letting his hands relax as he surveyed his cell. Homely. Almost... comfortable.

"Pfft. Almost makes me feel bad for..." by this time, he had turned and seen the glass wall, adorned with familiar artwork, and behind it...

"Namine!!" he stepped up to the glass and placed his hands on it, looking it up and down. Seems bulletproof? Though, there is always a weakness in every pane of glass...

"Simple physics... breaking point... axes... degrees..." he looked the glass wall over, furrowing his eyebrows, and zeroed in on a spon in front of him. He smirked, and launched his free hand at it, feeling the bones break under the pressure. For a fleeting moment, he thought he had successfully broken through the glass, and grinned, until he felt the spiderwebs of pain shoot up his arm as every bone up to his wrist seemed to turn to dust from his assault on the glass.

"SONOFA-" he recoiled backwards, his eyes wide in shock as he fell backwards from the pushback of his strike, landing hard on his rear, holding his broken hand in his not-as-broken hand. He looked up at Namine and a chill went up his spine. "So close..." he stood, seeing a crayon on a table, and a pad of paper, taking his less broken hand (thankfully his dominant one) and scribbled on the paper in dark blue script, holding it up to the glass.

Looks like we won't get that date for a while.

He smiled a sad smile and put his (broken) hand on the glass, opening his mouth and mouthing to her-

I'm here.

He felt probably the same warmth through his heart as she did hers, and looked up at the glass, finally seeing the drawings for what they were. He blushed slightly when he saw one of the drawings was of him… with Namine. He couldn’t help but smile wryly, before he looked back to see she had written something, telling him that they open the doors at… wait. They open the doors? What was this place, anyways…?/After a moment, he saw her looking up at the speaker, speaking, but couldn’t make out what she said. Finally, he saw her jump up- then sprawl down on the floor, causing him to reach up and slap the glass.

”Naminé!!” he called. He saw her retreat to the bathroom, and come back, a bloody tissue over her nose. He put his hand on the glass and furrowed his eyebrows in concern, when she wrote again that they were coming in to help, not to do anything stupid… Well, what could be more dumb than breaking his hands on a door, then a wall of glass? He was done with being dumb for the night. He sighed and, albeit painfully, brought the crayon up to the glass and wrote backwards…

To think, I was walking out to meet you.

As he truly was. He had a couple things to do, but then afterward, he was going to meet up with her at the café for lunch. He looked up and around, seeing some strange things… a couple of statues, some knick knacks, an incense burner, volumes of random books…

All things that Riku kept in his dorm.

Two swore loudly, and stood. They weren’t after him… they were after Riku. Which meant… Riku could still be in danger… and Miki’s with him!/”Goddammit…” he muttered, turning and pressing the crayon to the glass, scribbling madly./I think they were after my brother. We are twins, and I think they furnished our rooms with things that are comfortable for us. This means that he cou- he was cut short as he saw the door open, two men walking in. One was a tough, serious looking dark skinned man, while the other was blonde, short and skinny, a syringe in his left hand.

”Hello, Riku.” the blonde man said, smirking slyly. ”Did you enjoy our tensile strength glass? It’s stronger than the toughest steel.” he mused, seeing the awkward shape of Two’s broken hand. Two recoiled slightly at the man’s smile, this… eerie smile.

”Who are you…?” Two asked quietly, standing in front of the most recent words he wrote in front of Naminé, gently rubbing his back on the crayon to smudge it and wipe it away. He kept eye contact with the blonde one, to keep his attention on him, rather than his movements. The tension suddenly spiked as the blonde suddenly zipped up in front of him, jabbing the needle in his shoulder and injecting the mystery solution into his body. Sudden, gut wrenching pain filled Two as he felt as if every bone in his body had suddenly shattered, then regrouped, causing him to drop to his knees, coughing up a minute amount of blood.

”Say hello to one of my more potent creations, acclimated to your body, Riku. It was designed with you in mind… as both a cure, and a punishment, though… We are deftly surprised by your suddenly violent outbursts…” he wiped the needle, and looked at Naminé, through the glass, holding his hand up and casting a type of Cure magicka through the glass, healing her nose right up. ”I truly don’t see why you can’t be more well behaved like this girl.” He then promptly turned and left, the dark skinned man following him with a suspicious glare, turned back towards Two, before he shut the door, clicking the lock back into place.

Two sat there for a moment, sweat beading on his forehead as the pain subsided. ”What the Hell…” He stood, turning back to Naminé and flexing his hands. He walked up, and scribbled onto the glass.

Keep who I am between us, for now, please.

He needed to find a way to get it out to Riku that he was missing, captured in some cell in some godforsaken facility in the middle of whogivesashitland. But, for now, he would let on that he was Riku… for his sake, and both of his brother’s sake. He wiped the message away, and put in it’s place-

Are you ok?

Two couldn't believe his eyes when they let her out of her cell, then into his. So, to curb the feeling of being prisoners, they actually provided some semblance of freedom for their inmates? Incredible.

She moved forward, and stood in front of him. Hesitantly, she gripped him in a hug, apologizing for everything, making Two's heart sink. "You misunderstood me... I am... I'm actually glad they nabbed me. I think not being able to see you again would have driven me nuts."

He looked down slightly, and saw her sit on the floor, kneeling himself and taking one of her hands, smiling reassuringly at her.

But, deep within, he knew that they would most likely not make it out of this place. He sighed and looked at her small hand in his, keeping the emotion he felt within, deciding one thing, that no matter what...

I'll protect you. he thought to himself, looking into her eyes.

He sat down fully when she suggested that they do something. He stroked his chin thoughtfully, looking around the room, then turned, grabbing a stack of blank paper and two pencils, setting the items in front of them. "Here. We'll draw together. Get to know each other. Might be a while before they let us out of here." he smiled and leaned back on his hands, glancing up at the speaker. His smiled faded a bit when he realized that he would most likely be found out, if they still have people running around out there. When they see Riku, will they think of him as escaped? Realize they have the wrong Riku? Come back and kill him? It was hard to think about, because no matter what scenario flashed through his mind, he could only see blood. He looked to the paper, leaned forward, and picked a pencil up, scribbling an object on the paper. Once finished, he held up a picture of what looked like a deformed turkey, smiling nervously.

"I'm not that good at drawing things. I like to bake, really... one of the few things I picked up from my mom." he set the paper down and waited to see what she would do.

Two felt her hand on his and his heart skipped a beat. He blushed slightly as she guided his hand, and all he could do was look up at the focus, at the look in her eyes. She was finally enjoying herself. He smiled a bit, and went back to paying attention to what she was showing him, and he nodded, listening to her advice. He then tried it himself, sketching up what looked lik a much less deformed turkey. He smiled, and looked up at her when she questioned what they wanted them for. Then his heart went cold at what she said about being a distraction. At this moment, it was as if he was yanked out of his body, and all he could see was her, in front of him, being gunned down while he screamed hopelessly.

He shook his head, realizing he had broken out in a cold sweat. He then pushed the papers aside and pulled her close, hugging her tight, letting out a shuddering breath.

"I'm not leaving you behind." he held her for the moment, then broke away, losing balance and hitting his rear off of the floor, looking down. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me..." he closed his eyes, then looked up at her, gritting his teeth.

"I am not leaving you behind." He said quietly, looking at her with a stubborn, serious look. He sat up and sighed, putting his hands in his lap.

"I understand how you feel... sort of."

He sighed, and crosses his legs, letting his shoulders relax. "I remember telling you there was an accident... that something had happened to me. You saw how scared Mikhail was, and he had good reason to be. When I was younger, I had gotten separated from my family. I had rolled down a hill... I think I broke my ankle. I had gotten wedged under a tree root, and barely had the breath to cry out, let alone speak. So, I laid there, slipping in and out of consciousness..."

He let his mind wander back to the feeling of being in the dark... hearing the wolves howl... afraid that something was going to find him and kill him if the cold didn't take him first... and also giving up. He closed his eyes for what seemed like the final time before someone stumbled across him.

"... I never asked them, but... I thought they gave up on looking for me... that they had left me there to die, since they had... him."

He looked at his hands. "The one I spoke of a bit ago... since they had him, I figured... I was... expendable."

He looked up at her and sighed, not realizing a tear was sliding down his cheek. "... Sometimes, I wish... I would have just died then." He blinked, and reached up, quickly wiping the tear away. "Since then, it was just me. Only me. Just the person that mattered. I was selfish. Cold. I pushed my brother, my best friend away, and distanced myself from my family. Once I get an education, and get the money... I planned on leaving this country behind. Leaving them all behind. Until I met you." he looked at her. "Namine, I swear that... no matter what, I'm not leaving you here. I don't care what you think is right, or whatever, I'm here." he looked at her, a determined look on his face, a flame lit inside of him that was long forgotten.

He felt her arms around him, eyes closed as he hugged her back. She then turned and leaned against him, and he wrapped his arms around her torso, eyes closed.

"...I guess... Since you told me your story I should tell you mine...."
She was suddenly tense, and Two opened his eyes, furrowing his eyebrows.

"I.... Grew up with my mother... Since my father wasn't really around all that much and I learned what I know from her, when I was six, I found out I had a half sister who was a few months older than me..... She's called Kairi... My... Father abandoned us to stay with her........ So I kept my mothers last name..... I never used his." He felt her tremor slightly, his heart sinking when he heard about her father leaving her. He tightened his grip a little, squeezing her reassuringly.

"Then.... My mother died.... And I..." She trembled and pulled her knees up, causing Two to rest his forehead on the back of her head, listening still.

"I never told anyone I had a father because I didn't want to be a burden to him or his family, he liked them more so I didn't want to ruin it...." ... She gave up so much... He closed his eyes again. No wonder she wants to give herself up for me... she feels that she has to...

"So.... S-So I got put in to foster care... They never really wanted me, they just wanted the munny that came with having me and I got pushed around at home and school... Because I'm an easy target.... I'm not exactly strong and because I'm not..... Exactly loud and don't like crowds too much.... I got singled out but it's okay.... I managed to deal with it.... I saved every single bit of munny no matter how tiny it was that I got for allowance, for five years.... So I.... Could get in to the academy.... Get away from them and one day when I came home and went to check it so I could work out how much I'd need for travel and to pay for on site accommodation along with my classes...." He could almost feel her fury at these words, his eyes widening slight at this anger... this fury that seemed almost alien for someone like her to express. He took her hands this time while she spoke, holding her as she was shaking in her anger.

"I'd saved... So much munny.... And my foster brother, he just.... Took it... Like as if it didn't matter, and he went and spent it all! He didn't even spend it on anything truly useful! He already had a scholarship for a school! He... UGH!!!" He could hear the despair in her voice, the anger, the hate for this boy... Two looked down slightly, squeezing her hands as she spoke.

"I had to go back to my old school and beg my head master to help me get a scholarship... He managed too.... After I'd missed three years of the academy....He got me a scholarship in art.... So... That's why I've taken so many classes so I can catch up on things I've missed..." She leaned back on him, and he resumed holding her around her torso, internally shaking at the hell she had gone through... she deserved better... so much better...

"But the main thing that matters Two.... Is that we're both here.... We're still here... We've survived..."

"Yes, we have. We've survived. We're both here. And, Namine? We're both going to be here. I'm not letting you give up your life for me, or for anyone else... not if I can protect you. I'm here for you, now. I was brought here, and now, I know that you more than deserve the caring from another. I'm... asking, Namine, that you let me be that friend. You let me help. If I have to do one good thing in my life, I want you to be that good thing. So, I want you to promise me... that you're not going to let yourself die." he said these words slowly, speaking softly into her ear.

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"Did she just call him 'Two?' What does that mean?"

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He squeezed her again gently. "I think you deserve having someone else look out for you for a change."

Two's heart turned to ice when he heard the way she replied. She was fully prepared to lay her life down for him, and anyone else here that was captured. He had never met anyone who would willingly do such a thing for someone who wasn't a blood relative... He knew that he'd lay his life down for Riku and Miki in a heartbeat... Even Naminé, now. However, to just... open your arms and die for a complete stranger was unheard of in Two's mind. This broke his heart and mended it at the same time, his left hand twitching slightly as the voice called for her to return to her cell.

Before he could protest, she was already back in her cell, giving him a swift, tight hug before departing. It was bittersweet, her promise suddenly fading away as he realized something.

... They won't let us go.

He walked over to the glass, putting his hand gently on the glass. Resting his forehead, he picked up a piece of crayon and wrote in small, but neat lettering.

How about I take you on a real date?

He lowered the crayon and smiled through the glass. Any feelings he had needed to come out. This wasn't a time for giddy crushes and keeping secrets. It was him and her... and if they were going to die here, he wanted her to know that he did have feelings, and that he was more than willing to be hers.

He raised the crayon again:

I know this isn't... an ideal time for this, but... I would have done this later, if they would have never caught us. So...

Will you go out with me? Yes No

He motioned towards the "Yes" and "No" and blushed slightly, wondering if he would freak her out with this. He left his left hand on the glass, a look of care in his eyes, but, an underlying feeling of despair laced his aquamarine irises. With her already feeling like she would have to lay down her life for any reason, he knew that she had come to the same conclusion as he. But, if they had to die here, he wanted to make their last the best possible... and give them the chance to see if they would have worked out in the world.

He closed his eyes silently, letting out a pained sigh. Being in this place.. gave him perspective. He realized that, without a way to contact Miki and Riku... they would just think he split. He had spoken of it often, making comments about just up and leaving the Academy, Hell, the Continent. Just... going somewhere else, escaping from the Sinclairs, from the world, and paving his own path...

He never realized how lucky he was that his brother stood by him, even when he made Riku's live hell.


... I'm sorry, brother... he thought to himself, a pain in his heart growing from the revelation that he would never see Riku again... and that, in a way, he was a martyr for Riku.

After all, he was here in his brother's place.