To break bad news [Attn: Sora and Luffy]

[swordofzero]

Characters: Suzaku Kururugi and Sora (OU) and later Suzaku and Luffy
Setting: Cafeteria and then room 2-06
Format: Whatever we feel like
Summary: Suzaku breaks the news to Sora and then goes back to his room and breaks it to Luffy.
Warnings: I just think all of Animus needs a talk of death, and horrific soul talk tag atm.

Suzaku hadn't slept. How could he have after everything that had happened. He had tried to find Feferi after her post but she had already been found by friends better suited to looking after her than someone she had only met once. He was just glad she was alright...

So he had spent the rest of the night killing monsters. He stuck to powered floors, for once glad for his Geass. Glad that it had prevented him from having his soul... recycled... more times than necessary. And glad tonight for the memory loss it created. He didn't want to think, and so a night full of holes in his memory later he headed downstairs to the cafeteria.

He didn't really feel like eating, Dax's death had hit him hard. He had never had any particular opinions on the administrators. He had hated Jason for what he had done in the competition, but Dax had always tried to help them, given them decent food, if he killed he did so painlessly and effectively.

And he was the one who had helped them learn the truth, they owed him for that. Suzaku took some pancakes and water and looked around for a place to sit. Spotting Sora he headed their, hoping the kid was alright.

"Hello Sora."

[Later] After he made sure that Sora was alright Suzaku headed up to his room, now that people were awake he felt less like roaming the tower, and he had to feel Arthur, if the cat hadn't gone bullfairy hunting again.

He opened his door and nodded to Luffy politely before going over to his trunk.

Comments

[gomu_ningen]

[Luffy was in mid-snack as Suzaku walked in, helping himself to a healthy portion of food he had smuggled out of the cafeteria not long after his trip down earlier in the morning.

Looking up as he took a large chunk out of a loaf of bread, he nodded back at Suzaku in greeting.]

"Oi! *chew chew* What's up, 'Zaku?"

[swordofzero]

[Really this kid did nothing but eat... Suzaku put his gun back in the trunk and folded up his cloak.]

How are you holding up? [He seemed alright, but Suzaku didn't know him well enough to tell completely.] It must be a lot to take in. [Suzaku had had a week to get used to the idea, and a year and a half to be resilient to the horrors of the tower, Luffy had barely been here a month...]

[gomu_ningen]

[Luffy stopped mid-bite to swallow what food remained in his mouth.]

"I couldn't find any spots in the wall to punch through. I got hungry so I came back here."

[Cue all the pouting and whining... now.]

"I don't get it. Is this some kinda' prison owned by the World Government or somethin'? Why would they put a buncha' innocent people in here?"

[swordofzero]

[Suzaku sat down on his bed, and pulled his boots off.] It's another world. I'm not sure what the world government is I'm afraid, no such thing exists where I am from.

[gomu_ningen]

[Luffy gave a shake to both of his hands, still getting used to the bandages upon them.]

"Another world, huh? And there's no getting back to my "home".."

[His eyes almost glow from under the brim of his hat, piercing their gaze across the room as he looked at Suzaku.]

"You really think there's no way out of here, do you?"

[swordofzero]

No, in light of what we have learned I don't believe we can.

[And this is the first time he has said it, he hasn't believed his world was still standing for a while but the hope they could leave the tower... go elsewhere... was still there.]

[gomu_ningen]

". . ."

[Luffy keeps quiet, pushing his empty bowls and plates to the floor with an echoing crash. He stands in haste, walking to the far side of the room opposite of Suzaku.]

".. What do you know about this place, then?"

[swordofzero]

[Suzaku just sighed and went over to clear up the bowls and plates. He's used to temper tantrums, thank you Lelouch.]

Did you see the videos last night on the network. [Does he even know about the network? It's been down since he got here...]

[gomu_ningen]

[He tilts his body toward the wall, head first. With a small "thunk", Luffy props himself up with his forehead as a moan escapes his lungs.]

"Sorry.. For all of this. You didn't put me here, I shouldn't be such a jerk.."

[He turns around, face forward to Suzaku. His entire disposition seems to have changed. Rather than looking somber and upset, he seems a bit more upbeat.]

"I don't know what a "video" is, if that helps."

[swordofzero]

[He piled up the plates and placed them on Luffy's trunk.] Don't worry, I understand.

[Blinking, he hadn't expected him to cheer up so quick.] A video is a moving picture, a painting if you like, that moves. And has sound. [What is explaining technology]

[gomu_ningen]

"Oh. Okay. What did this.. "video" show and sound like?"

[Some times his lack of know-how was difficult to deal with, but Luffy was always full of surprises.]

"Did it have somethin' to do with that guy who was killed? I heard a bunch of guys talking about it in the Cafeteria."

[swordofzero]

[He at least seemed to be a quick learner. Suzaku nodded]

Yes, one of the administrators. The one that actually seemed to remember we are living creatures.

[gomu_ningen]

[He nods his head as well, bringing a finger to his chin. After a few scratches, he perks up.]

"How'd he die?"

[derping]

[The Tower was quieter - Sora has noticed that. He was afraid to check, but he had a strong feeling (really, he was so close to knowing for sure that he might as well have) that the "visitors" were gone. He was...he wasn't sure how to feel about that, but he didn't think now was a good time to think it over. It was early, anyway. Maybe he should just start with breakfast.

And that's what he did, taking a seat in the cafeteria, but he realized that something seemed...off, with everyone he passed. Like there was something heavy in the air, and that couldn't be explained by just the the visitors missing. Something seemed to be on everyone's mind, but what?

He's thinking about going to ask someone, anyone, when he hears Suzaku.]

Morning, Suzaku!

[He notices that his friend isn't looking all that good - like he's had a bad night or something.]

You look like you haven't slept at all. Is something going on?

[swordofzero]

[He sits down and drinks his water slowly. Then blinked at Sora.] You haven't heard? [It had happened at midnight, when quite a lot of the younger ones would have been asleep...

[derping]

Heard what?

[Well, whatever was going on, it looked like he was about to find out.

He pauses for a second, considering, then asks the second (obvious, really) question.]

...all those people that showed up are gone, huh?

[swordofzero]

[Suzaku nodded] Disappeared completely, Ruana kicked them out. I hope they are alright...

[derping]

[One of the admins kicked them out...that figured.]

Hopefully they ended up back where they came from. They'll be a lot safer there.

[He wished he'd had a chance to say goodbye, but Kairi, Aqua, Namine...he'd would rather they be somewhere safe than stuck here. They had a good place to go back to, after all.]

Did anything else happen? Something seems really off today...

[swordofzero]

I hope that you are right. [He had only really met Selphie out of their number, but she had been a kind girl and he hoped she had returned to her city, and that she didn't feel so bad about not being able to rescue them all like she had hoped...

He blinked at Sora and nodded, taking another sip of water before speaking softly.] Dax is dead.

[derping]

What? [That wasn't what he had been expecting to hear.] You mean, like, dead-for-good dead?

[Sora had never spoken to Dax, and didn't know much about him - one of the hazards of never checking the network save for once in a blue moon - but he knew enough to know that he was one of the few administrators that actually seemed to want to help them. He hadn't started any nasty experiments or games like Jason and Ruana had, anyway.]

But how?

[swordofzero]

Yes, for good dead. It seems like our captors do not share our tendency for coming back from the dead. [Likely because they were whole, rather than just souls... but that's another thing Suzaku is going to have to explain]

Ruana killed him.

[derping]

No way...

[Why did something like that have to happen? Why would one of the only nice people running this place get...

But that's how things always turned out here, wasn't it?]

But why would she do that?

[swordofzero]

He tried to help us. She took it as betrayal.

[derping]

[Sora's quiet for a moment, trying to process everything. He's dead, because he tried to help them. Because he tried to do something good.

It just doesn't seem right.

He rests his forehead on his head, as if he were getting a headache - which he might be, at this rate.]

Geez, what a mess to wake up to.

[swordofzero]

That's not all... [And this was just as hard to tell] The way he tried to help us... he enabled us to discover a truth about this place.