Chi finally came back to her room, after spending the rest of her afternoon in the library. Ostensibly, to find something that might help her with the robot design. The truth was, she just needed some quiet time, to think some things over. Today's "meeting" with Agatha made her realize a thing or two.

Just...go and say it, dammit...How hard can that be... Chi was pondering, with her head hung over some book about robotics. No surprise, she wasn't even reading it, nor was Aiko. She's eventually going to find out, one way or another...Just think what you want to say, and then say it... With a loud sigh, she closed the book, and placed it on its place, then left the library. Going straight to her room, she hesitated before turning the doorknob. Inhaling deeply, she slowly opened the door, and entered the room.

"Hey Pasca-..." She immediately heard the music, most likely coming from Pascales headphones. "She's one her computer, isn't she?"

"Yes." Aiko's answer was the shortest possible. Chi sighed, sat on her bed and muttered. "Maybe some other time then..."

She really didn't want to make a huge deal out of it, nor lead to an awkward situation.

"Mi prenderò cura di lui." chimed in Nurse from the living room couch.
"Nil. make sure to leave your bedroom door open...and try not to do anything you wouldn't want me to walk in on."

===

With a sigh of resolution, Pascale took of her headphones and stood up from her chair to stretch.
"Oh, your back Chi...how was dinner?"

Nil covered his eyes as he rubbed his forehead. From his phone, he heard his gran say, "Grazie. My own husband was ten years my junior, so I've no real concerns with you, dear." She gets a gleam in her eye that Nil had recognized from several times when he was younger.

"Love you, Gran. Hanging up now..."

Before he can hit the button, his grandmother, being sure to speak nice and loud, says "Et ne vous inquiétez pas , il est trop innocent pour ce genre de chose . Il n'a même jamais embrassé une fille~!" Nil hungs up to the sounds of her and her friends laughing, his face a deep shade of scarlet.

"I'm going to bed," he says, leaving his phone downstairs. He really needed to sleep and pretend all of this was some fever dream or something.


It was his continued misfortune, that that night, he was stricken with a terrible, terrible nightmare. His thrashings are loud, and his silent screams make his throat hoarse and dry and scratchy. All over, his body is racked with pains, continuous pains from the past, while his mind relives years upon years of abuse and harsh words, a childhood without love, of betrayal and fear of those who he most should've been able to trust. Memories of cigarette burns, lashes with a belt, cuts by knife and broken bottle, and the punches, the kicks, the smashing against the wall. The hospital visits with needles and scalpels, and the silent threats to keep quiet or else. Trauma crashes through him like a typhoon through the night, and through it all, the only thing he can think is...

'...this is all a zero deserves.'

"Dinner?" Chi once more forgot to get herself any food today. "I um...I actually got full, after this cheese bread that Nathan brought us after the club." She lied, however it was true that she wasn't really hungry.

Kuso...Now or never...

She hesitantly got up from her bed, and made sure that the doors are closed. "Hey, Pascale..." She started, turning towards her, once more she was rotating that imaginary ring on her finger. "Can we...talk, for a moment?" She had a forced, awkward smile on her face, while her eyes still remained sort of sad.

Pascale smiled happily and plopped her self on her on bed, careful to take her glasses off first. "You can talk to me about anything."

====

"Nil...get up Nil." cooed Nurse as she shook Nil awake gently. Her pale brunette hair was free from its typical bun instead flowing past her shoulders and down her back. Wearing a simple fuschia nightgown, Nil could see scars running down her arms.
She looked as concerned as she could be although partially disinterested.

Chubs went down the elevator of the factory. He wanted to escape everything, for everything seemed worthless.
This was the place where he was free. One of the few places, despite only being here for a little while, that he can feel secure.
"You really think that your life will not be like others? Heh, eventually, your spark will die like the others. People will feel bad for you out of pity, then discard you like a toy."
Chubs sat at the computer, but didn't do anything. He just rested his hands.

Nil slowly awakens, before flinching away in terror. Though his eyes see Nurse, his mind sees his mother, looming over him with the hot poker again. The fear, the betrayal, it's present in his eyes for a moment before he snaps back to reality. "N... Nurse? What're you..." He closes his eyes, letting the proper memories come back. "...yeah, I hit my head. Ah, I was having a, um... just a bad dream is all." He notices the scars on her, them holding his attention, though he doesn't speak up about them. "Sorry if I woke you. I'll... I'll try to keep quiet."

"Don't worry about me, I'm not sleeping...here, take this," Nurse handed him a steaming mug of minty tea, "Promise I didn't put anything in it this time, it's just chamomile and mint. Helps me when I have nightmares. Funny, its about the only thing Madeline can make correctly. Don't tell her I said that. And don't worry, it's not sweet or anything like that."

===

Meanwhile, in the Factory, the computer screen came alive the instant Chubs touched the console. A variety of files and folders came up at once.

Decryption Process: 100%


===

He glances at it, hesitant at first, but ending up taking it and taking a sip. "Ms. K never did strike me as the cooking type. Mostly she just struck me with a shinai."

For a second, Nil caught Nurse offguard, but then she burst out laughing. Wiping the tears from her eyes she broke a smile.
"Laughter is the best medicine, you should so your funny side more often."

He smiles a small amount, taking another sip at the tea. "And you should laugh more. It's not a bad sound, though it sounds like you almost forgot how to do it."

>Login

Having slept in the hidden clearing for quite some time, Sora got up feeling much better than he had previously. Despite this, he was still sick, but he didn't let that bother him for the time being.

Wow... fresh air I guess?

Rubbing his eyes as his surroundings brightened up slowly within his vision, Sora sat up with a half-legitimate smile on his face. Looking up at the sky with a refreshed burst of energy, he squinted, trying to see what appeared to be a rainbow in the illusionary distance

Suddenly realizing what time it was, Sora was quickly able to identify the lunar rainbow as his mind sorted out the faint colors separately into projected beams. Forcing himself to stare at the image for what seemed to be several minutes, he frowned slightly. He still couldn't find any reason or urge to really appreciate the beauty of things. The feeling... it was something he understood very well. He just couldn't experience it like a normal person, despite how much he reassured himself he wanted to.

Frantically trying to preserve the fresh, cheery mood he had awoken with, Sora grabbed his things and wandered into the trees with his hands in his pockets. He wasn't really sure where he was going, but he hoped a random stroll through the park would help keep his mind off his chronic depression, at least for a short while.

>Logout

"Oh..."
Nurse's face became unusually cold.
Picking up the Nil's mug, and heading back out of door, she returned to her normal monotone voice.
"Good night, Nero."

"I'll try telling you some more jokes in the morning... Miss Penny."

"Nero...please don't."
Nurse followed her arms. The moonlight caught her bare back and it revealed a myriad of gashes and scars of various ages and severity running all the way up to her neck.
"Ah sorry, only Madeline calls me that...it's a bit...unnerving from anyone else..."