"… I'll keep you waiting no longer."
Their footsteps reverbed as they walked down to the center of the hearth room. They were the footsteps of two ladies.
One a nurse. She had her usual nurse outfit on and was extremely weary as she walked down to the pilar where Dok and Kisharu stood. The other was a bandaged girl. Her body was completely cover except for her right eyes. The rest was wrapped in white lining cloth. Her hair added to the grieve the girl carried. The left side of her hair was shorter relative to the right. It didn't look like was cut and layered that way rather it grew that way.
The bandaged girl's steps were fragile. Every step down the escarpment of the hearth room seemed like a leap of faith that her legs would land on the next staircase. The only reason she was even walking was the fact that her hands were hooked to that of the nurse and was guiding her. Her eyes never swayed nor left the floor. But a twinkle of light bounced of her bluish eyes and bounced into Lozo's. Lozo knew…
"Hinari." He muttered under his breath restraining himself from running towards her. Even if he did he couldn't. Standing in front of him was his nurse. She would just tackle him to the ground and halt his senseless want. He had to be patient.
The bandaged girl wore a white dress over her bandages. It was nothing fancy but offered cover for her short trip. As they walked down, she held her position behind her nurse. Even when they finally arrived at the pillar at the center of the room she remained behind the nurse.
"So …" Dok called out.
On hearing the voice, the girl's face shot up. She looked around searching for the owner of the voice.
Dok smiled.
"Here she is. We've kept you two apart for too long now. "Dok continued.
The girl kept looking around frantically as though… she… couldn't see.
Lozo and his nurse stood a little far back up the staircase they came in through. His nurse wouldn't allow him to come anyway close to the pillar. Some sought of silent agreement Dok wanted Lozo to uphold. Even so Lozo could still see her clearly. He could recognize her from just her hair and walk… although now she walked as though she was still in tremendous pain.
"Hey, are you okay. I thought this is was what you wanted?" Dok asked.
"I'm fine…" Lozo answered.
"Then why are you crying?"
Streaming down his cheeks two rivers flowed. They were silent with some occasional sniffles. The eyes where they had been dammed for a while gazed at the concrete floor trying their best to draw the dams back up. It was a vain attempt and the more he tried to hold them back in the more he cried…
"I'm sorry Hinari—I'm sorry."
The more he tried the more tears kept flowing.
"I'm sorry I didn't keep my promise. I'm sorry…"
Down below the girl's eye finally rose and stared to the stairs where Lozo stood. She could hear crying but couldn't see the person crying. It was just a blur. But the blur was large. Too large actually to be one person. She squinted her one eye trying to make the image take form.
"Hey kid, what do you think you're doing?" Kisharu asked. His tone had grown tense and dire. So did his eyes. They anticipated danger.
"I don't think this is what you want." Dok said his voice now more sympathetic almost pleading.
"I'm sorry." Lozo said.
"Unknown 12?!" Lozo's nurse called confused of how she had gotten into her current predicament.
"I'm sorry."
The nurse's hair-pin had a unique jingle to it. Almost like a wind chime only more bold and solid. Over his time there Lozo had learned to associate it with her arrival. Whether for meals, a new pair of clothes for him to wear or even that she was passing. It was unique thing owned by his favorite nurse.
As of now it signaled a new transition for him. A hatching of an egg he had been sitting on for a while now. A step out of his illusion.
The nurse's hair-pin twinkled in the little light from the ceiling. That was a wonder especially considering how close Lozo held it close to the nurse's neck. Its jingle echoed slightly across the room and in turn alarming the others who were in it. Alarming them of the sharp and pointy end of the hair-pin. Actually, it was the reason why Lozo chose it for this exact moment.
"Are you sure this is what you want?" Dok's voice queried.
Lozo's nurse shivered in his arms. She was on her knees, eyes glaring upwards at Lozo who had a menacing and dark look on his face. One of his arms wrapped tightly around her neck while the other held her hair-pin to neck.
She could feel his breathing on her neck. It was heavy almost like he was close to hyperventilating. His breathing was punctuated by stammers airing his more than obvious threat. Was this what he really wanted?
"I'm sorry." Lozo whispered.
"Unkn—"
"I understand this isn't what we agreed upon," Lozo began interrupting the nurse." But… But it's something I needed to do."
"Kid! —" Kisharu called almost at an outburst. Dok signaled with his hand telling Kisharu to withdraw.
"A few weeks ago, at a time like this, I woke up in that room. I was confused not even aware of who I was and for some reason everything about me hurt."
"My head, my knees, hands, throat… everything hurt, even my thoughts. And no matter how much I tried the pain didn't go away. It just faded and came back even more potent."
"In those few moments in which the pain faded a single thought always came to mind. And whenever the thought came to mind the pain would start again. Only that when it did I felt… I knew I deserved it."
"I thought really hard on it."
"I did. I wondered why every time that Hinari's name came to mind… why would the pain start all over again. "
"I really thought hard on it. Why I kept hearing this hymn in my head."
'Hymn?' Kisharu wondered.
"What did you find?" Dok asked.
"In my head there is a blur. An amber like orange blur. And anytime I see that blur I instinctive hear a shout—."
"A dreaded shout of my current pathetic state… Powerless!"
"Powerless, huh?"
"Yes. Whatever that blur is it keeps telling me that I'm powerless. Through the hymn—through Hinari. And whatever it is…"
Lozo's voices faded to a pin-drop silence.
"It's right."
"It's right and is the reason I came to this conclusion."
There was moment of silence before he spoke. Lozo's eyes rose and looked at the bandaged girl.
"I'm going to escape this confinement that you have me held in and overcome that shout… somehow. And no one is going to stop me." He said giving a glance to the hair-pin nested near the nurse's neck.
"You are going to escape." Kisharu asked walking a few steps from where he stood. On seeing this Lozo pushed the hair-pin closer to her neck.
"And what about Hinari? You going to leave her here. With us?" Kisharu asked.
"Yes "He answered "But don't get me wrong. I won't leave her here forever. I'll come back for her and use you two as a gauge of how much better I've gotten." He said with a fiendish look in his eyes.
"Oh," Dok commented.
"My name is Jurei Lozo. And I'd wish to advice you two not to be illusioned. I will get stronger and no matter what…"
Get Hinari back!