(Private) Left in the dark

Yuuji walks through the halls with a a nurse escorting him To Veach's room. After a small exchange of words and a farewell Yuuji knows on the door a few time before entering
"Sorry for intruding."
He chuckles heading to the bed side
"how have you been mate?" He clenches his hand for a brofist

I had woken up earlier in the day to find Wade in my room.

It's safe to say him, Chris, and Tiberius took my mind off of Kuriko for a bit to explain the different strategies we would need to take and plan investigations.

However...I have had my time to digest exactly what was everyone's situation after they left.

Originally, I had planned to check out the moment I got the chance but night had fallen by the time my company left.

Figured if I'm going to go to sleep soon it might as well be in the hospital where I can be cared for.

*Knock knock*

Yuuji enters.

However a failure as a man is supposed to be...

No~no~...I shouldn't be like this in front of company. That's no good.

"Uh h-hey Yuuji."

I give him a light fist.

My usual grin is a little half-assed, but it still is in existence.

"I've been fine."

Well, I'm not lying since I am back and there is still a chance to rescue Kuriko.

There is still hope...

"Good to hear you are well and healthy."
He Pulls up a seat
"Veach, i don't want to mince words right now So I'll just get straight to the point. what's going on? I get notice that You and Cook being hospitalized A while back. Sorry I could not visit you earlier."
Yuuij stares at Veach awaiting an answer: the air tenses up
"I've been left in the dark too long I want to know everything."

Yuuji holds no position that would advocate any importance of doubt upon me.

If he realizes this then it is likely he will know I have no reason to lie.

The problem is will he find it unbelievable, despite this...

I pause for a little bit before sighing.

Either way, he deserves a talk man-to-man.

"...Takahashi, you're going to have to confirm this with Cook. Just letting you know ahead of time."

My head lifts. My eyes stare into his. Showing sincerity.

"For me, it started the night I was taken to the hospital..."

"Something...something, that to this day I have not the slightest clue of what it was, had attacked us."

"Accompanied by a student. The one that went missing with Cook and I."

"I had...I had taken a blade to every place you can think of that should be fatal off of the top of your head-you name the worst spots to get hit and I did it-and...it-.....it wouldn't stop moving..."

"A knife to the top of its head is what dropped it but-...but it got right back up afterward..."

Yuuji listens carefully, taking in every word that came out of his mouth.
"Something, just something attacked both you and Chris that night. Did it have reason for attacking you? Was it controlled by someone?"
Yuuji gets into a thinking position
"What about the student you mentioned?"
I'm sorry Veach but this bombardment is going to take a while.

"I had provoked it in my ambition to find whoever was responsible for the kidnappings."

"I heard a siren-like roar approaching at high speed that sounded organic in nature while being completely unrecognizable and so I had set up an ambush."

"The student I mentioned. Eric is his name. He seemed to be the thing's owner but it didn't look like he had much control over it."

"Anyway, soon after Eric fled, the monster collapsed and I got some type of claw thing in my lower torso area."

"No homo, by the way."

The term makes a little less sense in Japanese but it still means the same thing.

I lift my gown, showing the scar.

Yuuji slightly flinches seeing the scar
"They got you pretty good."
wait Eric...
"Just wanting to confirm something. Eric as in blue hair, kinda shady, cat following him around that Eric? He's the one behind all the crazy crap that has been going on?!"

"I didn't see any cat but he has blue hair."

"He's also shady enough to..."

I'm a little embarrassed to say it.

"I don't know if I'm crazy or not but I feel sane all the same..."

"But-...But he seemed to be able to use necromancy to his advantage."

"I mean...he actually resurrected a deer and escaped on it."

"Believe me or not, but that is what I saw. You may decide what you believe or not because...heh...I don't even know if that is truly what I saw."

"I was too blinded by anger over his threats to get a good enough look to be 99 percent sure."

'Necromancy? ne-"
Yuuji throws up his arms and leans back in his seat
what is going on?!
He takes a moment to let everything sink in a few deep breaths later Yuuji speaks
"I have good reason not to believe you with the bringing back the dead, but I do."
Yuuji sigh and rubs his temples
Is there anything else that you want to tell me? Any plan that might be happening? I'm assuming you guys want to take him out. If I remember correctly you were kidnapped at one point with someone else. Is she here?"

[OOC: side note space out the questions and all shall be well!]

"Hm, that's surprising that you do. Especially coming from a guy like your type."

At the mentioning of the other person who was kidnapped, my heart cracks a little.

My head bows and my eyes shut as I speak.

...

"She is...still at the place I was taken to. It wasn't just Eric that took us, though. It was a coalition of the past abductees working under a man called Takeshi."

"It is very likely that he is, infact, the same man who used to be the CEO and founder of Tachibana cybernetics."

"The people who took me were cybernetically enhanced-Eric included-and they had planned to do the same with one of us. Kuriko or myself."

"They were aiming for me though, after an informant inside the school contacted the mysterious Dr. T with incorrect information stating that I was the leader of those trying to stop the abductions."

"Kuriko...she-..."

I let out a long sigh.

"...She was just coming to visit me here when they came..."

My face looks completely dark. Tainted with hatred.

However, my eyes can't seem to hold back all of the tears.

Consiquently allowing one to slip down my cheek from underneath my bangs.

...I swear on my life...

I.

"They took us both to some place far away."

Will.

"They said that if I gave them my cooperation that they would let her go...they ended up taking that offer back and decided to convert us both."

Kill.

"The only reason I was able to go for help is they started on her first."

YOU!

By now more tears are falling down my cheeks but my voice still sounds the same and my face looks the same too.

"I can still hear what she sounded like...her screams.."

All acknowledgement of Yuuji being in the same room with me is gone now.

I never thought I would ever experience PTSD like this...

"I snapped and went after the first one I saw."

"A bashed her head into a wall over and over!"

"Over and over again!"

My voice finally starts to crack up underneath the pressure of sorrow.

I slowly begin to look like a wreck.

"But they didn't stop..the screaming...she did not stop."

"..Oh God..h-h-h-oh God..."

*Sniffle*

"And when they finally showed her to me...she..."

"..She was broken..."

"I couldn't protect her..."

My face shoots up. Eyes drilling into Yuuji's.

The full choke of crying finally catches and I can no longer speak in even a hint of calm.

"I mean-what kind of man can't even stand up and protect those he loves?!"

Yuuji immediately grabs on to Veach's shoulders, Trying to calm him down at any cost
"VEACH! VEACH!! Listen to me! You did what you could Alright!? Damn it man, this is no time for crying Especially on your part!"
The hell Am I saying He just lost someone
Yuuji shakes him up a bit
"Look at me man! Wipe those tears. Is she still alive!?"

"SHE'S-!..."

..*Snif-sniffle*...

"I-...I don't know how much of her can still be considdered alive any longer..."

My expression goes from frustration-filled to that of a failure's.

Head bowed so my hair covers my eyes once more.

"I've read, and even seen with my own eyes, what he will do to her...what she'll become.."

"..Y-..Yuuji..."

My words are less audible through my moment of weakness.

"She's going to turn into one of them..."

"...Soon she's going to hurt other people and-...and-..."

"...and I just don't know how to fix this in the amount of time we need to likely keep her from going to far.."

"I mean, if you haven't heard from anyone involved yet, we are currently planning a movement to bring her back but I-..I don't know how long it's going to take!"

*tch*
Yuuji releases his grip and gets up to walk around
"You aren't going to get her back like that..."
staring out the window
"what stage is the plan currently in? Is there a way I can help?"

I wipe my eyes.

..Calm down...he's right, you know...

My voice is no longer all that shakey but the remanents of my past emotion still linger.

"W-..we're currently getting ready for an interrogation op."

"Wilson found an article on the founder of Tachibana Cybernetics and we have reason to believe that their is a slight chance his daughter attends this school."

"It is unlikely but it is the only lead we have to go by."

"Wilson, Tiberius, and I are going to get a hold of each female Tachibana that attends this school, after looking in the student roster, to find them."

"How we are going to is irrelevent to what you'll want to know."

"Anyway, if we happen to come across a match in birth dates with one of them then I myself will go in and speak with her to try and get some information on our suspect that could further our cause."

"As you may or may not know, I've always been good with people."

"The only thing we would need help with so far is skimming through the different Tachibanas."

"That operation starts tomorrow after I check myself out of here."

"Currently, there is another operation planned but we are waiting to put it into play."

"We know one of my kidnappers is a little unstable and we also happen to know another person who knows her."

"Someone other than me."

"Apparently, Cook has spoken to her before so we are having him keep an eye out for her to try to talk to her."

"Doing stuff like taking random visits to the woods for a higher chance of seeing her."

"We think she may be the key to finding their hideout faster. Either through interrogation, deception, or defection."

Yuuji nods
"Nayumi.... that's the first name that came to my mind when you Said her last name Veach."
Yuuji turn back to him

"How well do you know her?.."

"Sadly I have only met her once. an acquaintance at best since my introduction was...weird to say the least."
He sighs
"The only thing I noticed about her is that she wear a lot of winter clothing... a scarf and a glove on one of her hands for a reason. She is very Anit-social but I doubt that she is the one you are looking for."

"Scarf and winter clothing...."

I know that girl!

"I don't know about that..."

Being anti social is just a side effect with a few people who gain disabilities...

Anything could of caused that. It doesn't lower the chances further because of it.

"Never underestimate someone. Everyone has an interesting backstory and anyone can have an even more interesting backstory if it is thrown at them."

"It's not how she acts that determines her heritage, it's the off chance that fate chose her for it."

"It is unlikely it is her or anyone in this school but we shouldn't give up on any of them without even looking into them."

"We can't afford it.."

"Right."
Yuuji sighs once more adn takes a seat
"Where are you checking out of here?"

"I was going to in the morning since I might as well sleep here."

"No use going back so I can sleep without care when I could stay here and sleep in a hospital."

"My lungs still burn from-..."

Oh right, it's not one of the things that is relevant so I never mentioned it.

"..well...from the poisonous gas I inhaled."

...

"No I'm not kidding, just in case you're wondering."

"What kind of enemy are we dealing with here Veach?"
Yuuji shakes his head
"You could have told me sooner about that.... Now where do I sign?"

"Cybernetically enhanced war people-to put it short."

Huh?

"Sign? You don't need to sign anywhere to help."

Yuuji laughs
"I just wanted to say that, anyway jokes aside let me see if I got this correctly."
Taking one deep breath for prep and begins
"We are dealing with Cybernetically enhanced war people, Eric included. Takeshi is the one behind everything that is going on with the kidnappings and such. Now with everything about to be set in motion once you get out of here; everyone involved already working things out it's just a matter of time. I just have one more question... Where did Eric take you exactly....? This is key Veach: the sooner we find the palace they took you, the better."

Doesn't he think I know that...

"Yuuji, if we already knew exactly where they were we would of left by now."

I gesture toward the map with my cordinate area scratched on it in pen.

"That is the area I'm certain it is in since I know people in the area but it is broad."

It's a three hour drive North of our current position and about a half hour drive from each corner of my square I made on the map.

yea Dropped the ball there...
Yuuji takes a look at the map shocked in how they narrowed an area down to a gray but as he said it's too broad
"It's a long shot to look in such an area but we are going to have to work with it."
Yuuji stands up and stretches
"i guess that's everything I have to ask Veach. I'll see if I can find Nayumi and 'try' to get any info from her."