The Light in the Dark (Mitsukai)

[Kazuya Hikari]

*BEEP BEEP BEEP* That was the only sound heard in the stark white room, as rain combined with wind battered against the window, drops of water running down the glass pane. A lone figure was lying down on the bed inside the room, not moving. Kazuya laid unconscious on the bed, an IV hooked up to his left index finger, as ghostly green waves could be seen on the monitors located beside his bed, the only sign that Kazuya was still here, alive. A nasal cannula was hooked up to him, helping him as his chest rose up and down slowly as he breathed. His last fight with Gabriel nearly ended up killing him, sending him to the hospital as a patient for a third time. He had sustained burns to the front of his arms and his chest, a wound to the back of his head, a cut on his cheek, and he had broken his right hand.

The doctors managed to perform an urgent but successful release of the burnt skin, to prevent problems with distal circulation or ventilation, before surgically closing the skin grafts. Every so often, nurses would come into his room, to change his bandages, refill his IV, and monitor his heart rate. The fight had really done a number on Kazuya. Gabriel had grown stronger, but despite that, their fight had ended in a draw, just like before. Not only that, Kazuya took not one, but two "Final Flashes." Had Kazuya grown just as strong as Gabriel? One may never know... For now though, Kazuya's dreams was filled with never ending darkness, his black hair naturally falling over his closed eyes, as he breathed lightly, lying still. It was raining when he ended up in the hospital the second time, back in San Francisco. It was raining today too...

[Mitsukai]

Nami slipped quietly into Kazuya's apartment intending to pick up a few things and 'disposing' of a certain nuisance. Really Mitsukai always seemed to find someone to live with, and what really annoyed the dark persona was it was always a guy. A guy that could possibly hurt her, or worse. First it was Katsuri, that giant simply wanted to get into the girl's pants and with him being as big as he was in general and her being so small that would never end well. Then there was Ryu, it was obvious from the start he was interested in Mitsukai for more then just a good fighter, and because of his true nature if he wanted he could have easily took the girl at anytime...that was troublesome.

Now however there was Kazuya. Though this man had been a little less obvious then the rest there was no telling how this whole situation between those two fools would work out. He certainly had the power to do some serious damage, a quick glance to her left wrist would reveal the scar that he gave Mitsukai in their first fight, the fight that ended up with them living together before Gabriel tried to torture the girl a second time. It was best to deal with the threat now and get it out of the way. What better way then while he was asleep. Surely since it was the middle of the night he was fast asleep, an easy target for a swift axe to the face.

Reaching into her trench coat to pull out a fire axe Nami would silently open his bedroom door and sneaked inside. But he wasn't there.

"Fuck." she swore when she saw the unoccupied bed. The room looked like it had not been occupied for a few days now. Well it had been awhile since the whole school bombing mess she made and neither her or Mitsukai had stepped foot in this apartment to know what was going on. Not like Mitsukai was even awake to notice anything. She was still buried deep within her own mind and it would be awhile till she returned.

a continuous red flash caught the corner of her eye and Nami turned to look at the object creating it. It was a phone stand, and there was a message left on it that no one seemed to have heard yet. Should I even bother to look at it? she pondered. On one hand it probably was nothing interesting so there would be no point. Then again it COULD give her the answers she needed to find out where Kazuya was so she could dispose of him.

Ah fuck it... she clicked the flashing button to see what it said.

"This is Doctor Micheal Richards, from California Hospital. We have the patient, Kazuya Hikari, in our care right now, but we need someone to come and pick him up once he can be discharged."

Nami's eyebrow raised. Kazuya was at the hospital? Well that was some interesting news. Very interesting indeed. He was hurt, possibly gravely injured and that meant he was a sitting duck, this would be too easy. All she had to do was pretend to be Mitsukai for a few seconds and she would easily finish him off. Hiding the axe once again she left the apartment to make her way over to the hospital. She had to be sure this time that this possible threat was eliminated. She had no hope of disposing of the others but with Katsuri and Ryu out of the way Kazuya was the only one left to deal with, and this opportunity was too good to pass up.

[Kazuya Hikari]

The sound of the doors sliding open made one of the doctors stop in mid-stride and look up from the clipboard in his hand, as he saw a girl... a really short girl, walk into the lobby of the hospital and immediately went up to the front desk, as the doctor continued on his way towards the clinic. The receptionist held up one finger, telling her to wait, while she continued to talk on the phone. A few minutes later, she placed the phone down, and wrote something down, before looking at the girl, who asked about Kazuya. "Kazuya Hikari? Hold on, let me go check what room he's in." The receptionist told the girl, as she checked the list of patients. "Kazuya Hikari? He's in the ICU, room 4. You'll need this ID card to be admitted in." The receptionist told her, as she slid a ID card across the desk to the girl.

"Head down the hallway to your right, go all the way down, and then take a left, through the doors, and you'll be in the ICU section." She told the girl, as the girl nodded and took off, heading down the hallway all the way to the end, before taking a left and disappearing around the corner, as the receptionist returned to her work, not knowing that the girl she had given the ID card to, was not here to visit Kazuya, but to kill him. The doctor that had phoned Kazuya's apartment, Dr. Richards, came face to face with the girl as she turned around the corner, and asked her if she was allowed here. He saw her wordlessly lift up the ID card around her neck, as he nodded, letting her though, watching her go down the hallway, passing a couple rooms, before heading down the hallway in the opposite way, not knowing of the girl's intentions either, as the girl stopped right in front of Room 4. Kazuya's room. The question was, had both the receptionist and doctor condemned Kazuya to his fate? Only time would tell...

(OOC: I was given permission to manipulate Mitsukai/Nami.)

[Mitsukai]

It was almost too easy....

Not only did she easily just walk in the hospital and find out the location of Kazuya within a matter of moments but she wasn't even checked for any weapons before stepping inside. Guess no one thought that the short girl was any real threat. They'd regret that now.

Using the card key given to her by the receptionist Nami slipped quietly into Kazuya's room and took a look at his current condition. He was badly burnt, and hooked up to all sorts of machines just to keep him alive. The man himself looked like he was sleeping, completely still and unaware of the danger he was in.

Nami smiled wickedly at the sleeping figure before her. He was completely defenseless, there was no way even if he DID wake up that he could stop her now. Closing the door behind her Nami walked over to Kazuya's bedside, pulling out the axe that she had hidden in her trench coat. Raising it above her head to readying herself to deliver the final blow.

"Guess this is the end for you Kazu." she said, this was it. This was the end. For once she'll actually be able to dispose one of the possible threats to her other persona and she would never have to worry about this bastard again...

Just as she was about to bring the axe down to his face did she feel something. A slight burning sensation at the back of her right eye. Fuck not now! Not now! why out of all the times did Mitsukai have to try and awaken now? It's all that damn asshole Adrian's fault she growled, she lowered her weapon as she began to fight back against the original host. Thanks to the fight with Adrian Mitsukai had partially awakened though she was still quite confused and under a lot of stress and pain she was becoming aware of what was going on. That meant it was only a matter of time before she started to wake up for good. If she woke up now then Nami would lose her chance to finish this guy off for good and she couldn't let that happen.

[Kazuya Hikari]

Darkness. Never ending darkness. So this was what blind people were forced to look at everyday of their lives. A dark tunnel that never seemed to end. What a terrible fate, forced on to them unwillingly. Kazuya continued to stare into the dark tunnel, as back in reality, a familiar figure loomed over his bedside, though she had not come to visit him... she had come to kill him... "Guess this is the end for you Kazu." He couldn't even hear the voice of the girl that was going to kill him... Or at least, tried to kill him. Just as she was about to bring the axe down on Kazu, she faltered, and stopped, lowering the axe down. Wake up... I have to wake up... If I don't wake up, I'll lose the ability to open my eyes again... And I'll never see her again...

Slowly Kazuya's eyes opened, as he stared up at the stark white ceiling, his vision blurred, as the faintest amount of movement from the corner of his peripheral vision caught his attention. Slowly turning his head to the right, he saw a blurred figure near his bedside. "Emily..." He said, barely audible, unable to see clearly, since he was conked out from the anesthetic, he thought Emily was at his bedside, just like the last time he had been in the hospital, back in San Francisco. Though he was still groggy, he gradually managed to make out who it was that was in his room, it was... ".... Mitsu....?"

[Mitsukai]

"Emily..."

His words went unnoticed as the burning increased. Fuck she was waking up, what was with this girl and her timing??? She was only moments away from killing that son of a bitch and NOW she choose to start fighting back. No....she could hold her back now, the girl was waking up but she wasn't fully awake yet. That was why this struggle wasn't as difficult as it should be she still had a chance -

".... Mitsu....?"

The second that he spoke her name Mitsukai fully awoken. The alter let out a scream of pain and backed away, slumping down to the floor as the pain in her right eye intensified. Silence feel once again as the figure on the floor stayed perfectly still. After what seemed like an eternity did the figure finally lift it's head up. Revealing two cat-like orbs mixed with bewilderment and fear.

Where....where am I? she thought, this was the second time that she had woken up in unfamiliar surrounds this week. Or was it even a week? She had no clue, she had been out of it so long that Mitsukai had no clue what time it was at all.

"K-Kazuya?" She recognized the person laying in the bed in front of her though she had no idea how she got there. What the hell was going on?

[Kazuya Hikari]

Kazuya winced instantaneously as he heard Mitsukai let out a scream of pain, his vision may not be fully functional right now, but his ears were still working, thank you very much. But he barely had the strength to lift his arms up, let alone cover his ears with his hands. He heard a dull thump as he saw from the corner of his eye, Mitsukai slump to the floor, lying perfectly still, her scream left a ringing sound in his ears. "M...Mitsu..." Kazuya said faintly, after what seemed like eternity, he saw Mitsukai lift her head up. His vision still blurry, Kazuya could not make out the expression on her face, let alone the axe she still held in her hands, though he was able to make out some of her movements.

"... No... It's the... other Kazuya..." He said, chuckling faintly, trying to lighten the mood a little with some humor, as he winced slightly in pain, he was still recovering from the burn he sustained to his chest. He slowly moved his head to look at Mitsukai, he was just as bewildered as she was, he hadn't expected to see her in the hospital, let alone his hospital room. She had disappeared the same time Kazuya ended up in the hospital, in a coma-like state. He had been unconscious for a week, just as long as Mitsukai had been gone for. He had no idea she had been gone the entire time he had been out, or that he been unconscious for so long. "... Wh...what're you... doing here?"

[Mitsukai]

"... No... It's the... other Kazuya..."

It was Kazuya who was laying in that bed, but where were they? Judging from the white room and the various devices that Kazuya was hooked up to they most likely were in the hospital but how did she get there? All she could remember was that cellar, Adrian's voice and being dragged off somewhere else. Most of her memory was so mixed up she did not know what was going on anymore. The large gaps in her memory were enough to freak her out.

"... Wh...what're you... doing here?"

"I-I don't...." she trailed off, her eyes falling to the object that she could feel in her hands before widening in fear. She dropped the axe from her hand in fright. That wasn't there before, since when did she get an axe.

"No......please god tell me she wasn't here..." she cried. There could be only one reason that she was holding that thing while in Kazuya's room, only one reason why she couldn't remember anything that happened past that night that Gabriel took her down to that cellar. Some how Nami must have took over during the torture and escape. It was the only explanation but she didn't want to accept it, she couldn't accept it. After all her efforts to try and keep that bitch back, to control herself it all couldn't have been tossed aside that night. It couldn't have. God what did she do?

[Kazuya Hikari]

Mitsukai didn't know why she was here... or how she even got here in the first place. Kazuya then heard something made of metal clatter to the floor, as he heard Mitsukai cry out. She? Who's she? Kazuya didn't know Mitsukai had an alter ego, much like Emily did before, back at Public High School #42. "... Mitsu..." He said quietly, as he motioned slightly with his head for to come over, a chair located near his bedside, a comforting look in his eyes. He couldn't tell if she was going to break down or not, but if he could comfort her in any way possible, he would try to, even though he was injured and in quite a bit of pain.

Mitsu... Kazuya couldn't tell her it would be alright, because it was clear even to him, that everything was not okay. Something had happened to her, and even though he didn't know what it was, it had affected her deeply. "Mitsu... what happened...?" He asked faintly, as he shifted his head slightly to look at her better, wincing as a sharp pain entered his side from his movement, it was painful enough for him to cry out in pain, though he tried to keep his cry as low as he possibly could, to avoid alerting the nurses.

[Mitsukai]

"... Mitsu..."

The sound of his voice pulled her out of her little freak out but she was still on the verge of a mental break down. She was so confused and so scared she did not know what to do. But seeing Kazuya like this kept her in the present world. She could only guess why she was there in this hospital room now but she didn't know how he had come to be here in his condition, hopefully this wasn't her doing.

Leaving the axe where it was she got up and slowly made her way to his bed side. Taking a good look at his condition. She could see the burn marks on his body, and she couldn't help but wonder if it was somehow her doing. She knew that she had a flame based Qi and there would be no stopping Nami from using it while she was out but at the same time her flames could not do as much damage as the marks on Kazuya. They also didn't look like the marks from a blade. Along with the knowledge that even if she had tried Nami was not strong enough to kill him she knew it couldn't be her doing. But if that was the case then who was it? Who did this to him?

"Mitsu... what happened...?"

"Don't..." she said softly, instinctively reaching out to help him but stopped short. There was no telling if what she would do would make it worse and a part of her was almost afraid that Nami might jump out instead and make it worse. "Don't move...You'll only make it worse...." God what had happened to him?

[Kazuya Hikari]

Kazuya's arm slid out from underneath his sheets, as he grabbed Mitsukai's wrist with surprising gentleness, both his arms were wrapped in bandages, though his right arm was in a cast, his chest was wrapped in bandages, and a bandage was wrapped around his forehead, he looked like he was wearing a headband, though he resembled a mummy right now. "... Mitsu..." He said softly, as he gently tugged her over to him and onto his bed, close enough that she could sit on his bed and he could hold her with one arm and comfort her. "I can take my wounds. As long as I'm alive they'll heal."

He smiled comfortingly up at her, as he longed to soften, soothe her sorrow and turn aside her troubles with sweet words. "Mitsu... It's okay... I'll be fine... alright?" Kazuya said quietly, as he held her comfortingly, despite the deep pain he was in, his front hair falling into his eyes, a softened look in them, even though the smile on his face had long since faded. He didn't know what happened to her, and he wasn't going to make her tell him. Right now, he just wanted to help her from breaking down, because if he didn't try, no one else would right now. He didn't know if she needed him right now, but if she did, he would be right there beside her. "It'll be alright... Mitsu..."

[Mitsukai]

She was about to pull away when Kazuya grabbed her wrist. Not with enough force to hold her there but the action itself made her stay. "Kazu...?" she spoke his name softly, unsure of what to do. She was afriad that if she tried to touch him or anything that she might end up hurting him, and yet she did not want to stand there and do nothing. Her concern combined with her confusion from her sudden awakening was making it harder for her to think on how to react.

"... Mitsu..."

With a light tug he pulled her onto the bed to sit beside him. His arm wrapped around her in comfort. He was actually trying to comfort her, and for all she knew a moment ago Nami was about to end his life. She started to shake, holding back tears at the thought of what could have happened to him if she never woke up. What exactly had Nami done while she was asleep?

"Mitsu... It's okay... I'll be fine... alright?" "It'll be alright... Mitsu..."

"You don't look fine..." she said, her focus kept shifting back and forth. As much as she was worried about what had happened during the torture she was also worried about Kazuya. He was badly hurt and she had not been there to help him. The only reason she was even here to know about it was thanks to Nami's attempted murder. "What happened to you?"

[Kazuya Hikari]

Kazuya felt Mitsukai begin to shake as he held her comfortingly with his semi-good arm, he didn't know that a moment ago, Mitsukai's alter ego had been that close to ending his life, permanently. And this time, there would be no replica to take his place. "What's wrong Mitsu? You haven't been yourself since you ended up here in my hospital room. Did something happen? Did you have... a bad experience?" Kazuya knew just as much as what happened to Mitsukai while he had been in the hospital and she had disappeared as she did, which was zip, zero, zilch. Kazuya smiled slightly as he closed his eyes briefly, he knew he didn't look fine, he didn't feel fine at all.

But the one that need comforting more than anything else was Mitsukai, not him. "You can thank Mr. Gabriel Seran for sending me here..." Kazuya replied, his arm still wrapped around Mitsukai. "We had a spar against each other, and it ended in a draw..." Kevala had been the only other person that he knew that had witnessed the fight, though she had probably been more worried about Gabriel than anything else. Though Kazuya didn't know about this, he had passed out right after Gabriel had yielded. Neither one of them had won. "I'll be alright... Mitsu..."

[Mitsukai]

"What's wrong Mitsu? You haven't been yourself since you ended up here in my hospital room. Did something happen? Did you have... a bad experience?"

"I-I..." She didn't what to say or where to begin. It was hard enough to try and explain something that she herself didn't understand. But it was just as hard to explain how close he had come to death. How could she just explain to him that she had an alter ego hell bent on destroying everything around her and that that same persona had been running around all this time and broke into the room to kill him?

Then she heard who did this to Kazuya.....

Gabriel.....why was the person who fucked up most peoples lives was that one man?

A mixture of anger, even fear enveloped her just hearing his name. Anger for all those that he had harmed, Kazuya, Kevala, even herself all for his own selfish goals and desires. And fear for what else he was capable of doing. Despite her own feelings about him she had stayed by him, it wasn't for Gabriel she did this for but because she didn't pull away she had suffered greatly. For all she knew he had tortured her just to bring her other side out. How could he not know that Nami would surface if she was in danger? Whats worse....how could he let that monster escape to hurt more people?

"I have not been completely honest with you...." she said finally. It could no longer be avoided. She had to tell him everything, she had to tell him about Nami for his own safety. It was a selfish thing for her to do to hide such a dangerous part of her when she had such little control. This incident proved she had no control. It was also important for her to reveal if she had to explain to Kazu what happened before she blanked out. It would be one of the hardest things for her to do but she had to do it. Even if that meant he would turn away from her....

[Kazuya Hikari]

Mitsu... Kazuya could tell right away that she couldn't find the words to try and say what had happened to her, to him, and he understood. He wasn't going to press her to tell him, when she wanted to and was comfortable enough to tell him, was all up to her. Death was no stranger to him, he had seen and nearly died, but nobody wants to and is afraid to die. Everyone wants to live and live their life to the fullest. Kazuya was no exception. But the first time he had nearly died, was not because of Gabriel, but because of Gabriel's alter ego. Gabriel may have not been the one who stabbed Kazuya, but he had a hand in it. And this second time, had been Gabriel once again, but it was because of Gabriel's aim to grow stronger.

Kazuya sincerely did not want to become a regular patient at the hospital. "...? What is it... Mitsu...?" He asked, as he slowly shifted his left arm and took her hand into his own, not only to avoid startling her with the gesture, but also so that he could avoid sending a sharp pierce of pain into his side from moving. Kazuya truly did care about Mitsukai, more deeply than he realized. But being naturally dense + grogginess from the anesthesia equaled to more awkward moments than anyone would ever believe was possible. But despite being groggy, Kazuya was still observant as ever, and he had a feeling that what Mitsukai wanted to tell him, would be extremely difficult for her to say. And he simply cared too much about her, to not hear her out. No matter what it was...