Cut loose.

[Zeniro]

-Flashback-

"We've found him again sir..."

A man in a white lab coat fiddles nervously with his click top pen, his wire framed glasses sliding slowly down the ridge of his nose due to a thin layer of sweat that is slowly starting to seep from his pores. A single bead appears at his temple and rolls down his cheek as the index finger of his left hand pushes the glasses back up his nose.

"Good."

A taller man, also dressed from head to toe in white turns to face the nervier male. The larger mans gaze is almost crystaline, his smile anything but warm. He stands in silence staring at the smaller man, acting as if he'd asked a question and was now impatiently waiting for a reply. The smaller man swallows, it's clear he doesn't want to be in this room, he doesn't want to second guess what this sinister figure wants, but he is almost compelled to blurt something out.

"He's in room B sir, bound as you asked."

The taller mans eyes narrow and he takes a step toward the smaller man causing them to lean back uncomfortably, their stature visibly flinching in the presence of the man in white. Whose reply is short and gruff.

"I know."

The smaller man now backs slowly towards the door, half bowing as he edges slowly away from the taller man.

"What would you have us do to him?"

"Cut him loose...he is a failed project."

The smaller man is clearly shaken by the significance of these words, he swallows slowly. He dared not challenge this man in front of him, but to cut him loose? there was no telling what could happen to the young mans mind...his body...it's too soon.

"S-sir. Anything could happen."

"Excellent."

Today. - Midnight: Intensive care.

Zeniro lay motionless in his bed, his eyes open staring a hole into the ceiling above. Despite his skin almost being ice cold to the touch he feels as if his body is on fire. His hospital bed is saturated with sweat despite having been changed only an hour ago. His face, arms, chest and neck are all littered with self inflicted scratches. Despite this his claw like nails have not been cut, every time someone had tried to cut them he had quite simply lost his mind and nearly killed two of the night wardens who were holding him down. Even now he was shackled to his bed the doctor looking after him had advised against another attempt in fear the trauma would do his patient more harm.

Zeniro had been sedated heavily, to the point the doctor knew that it would be dangerous to increase the dosage any higher. Still there seemed to be no effect, Zeniro had not slept in the four days since he'd been wheeled in here bloodied and dazed. Found on the beach clawing at his skin saturated in his own blood. He wouldn't eat, he wouldn't drink. All he did was lie there...staring blankly ahead. Smiling from time to time. All they could do was hook him up to an I.V. and try and keep him stable and comfortable as possible. Fortunately for Zeniro and for the nurses he offered little to no reaction when the treated his wounds or changed his drip.

The doctor looked toward the closest nurse and shook his head slowly.

"It really doesn't look good, who would do this to someone? We really need to find someone who knows him, see if we can get him to snap out of this trance."

[Kyukaku]

(OOC: If this is meant to be closed, or you don't like something in my post, let me know.)

---One Week Prior---

Kyukaku walked up to his door, wedging his paper bag of groceries under his chin and against the door as his left hand went to his back pocket. Pulling his keys out, Kyukaku had to shift his bag to the side once more as he put the key in his right hand before slipping it in the lock. After turning it both ways Kyukaku finally unlocked the door, having to catch the bag as it swung open.

Until recently, Kyu had never bothered to lock his door. For the most part, he owned little of value to be stolen, and the one time he locked his door before it had been broken into by a former enemies thugs. No, now he locked it just for a little bit more assurance on his roomate's behalf. This way, Zeniro would know he was approaching and wouldn't mistake him for one of the 'white coats.' Still, that reassurance didn't move to far to completely assure Kyukaku his safety from the beastial Maori.

"Yo Zeniro, I'm back." Kyukaku instantly moved to the counter in the kitchen, placing the groceries on the counter as he turned the stove on. "I'm gonna fry up a burger, do you want one?"

Not surprised by the lack of reply, Kyukaku looked back over his shoulder, expecting the Maori to be sulking inside his room as usual. Flipping the stove to the right temperature, Kyukaku spun around and began making his way to the back of the dormitory apartment. Passing by the living room, Kyukaku saw a few things out of place: a magazine on the floor flipped open, the coffee table turned the opposite way, and a couch cushion on the floor.

Shrugging at the assumption Zeniro must have been out here earlier, Kyu continued to the bedroom hallway. The hallway light wasn't turning on, and as he walked over to the secondary switch, he heard the audible sound of grass crunching under his shoe. The pictures in the hallway were all broken on the ground, creating a path of broken glass leading right to the bedroom door of Zeniro, that hung crooked on its broken hinges.

---Now---

Kyukaku opened the door of the maintenance closet, stepping out into the hallway in his newly obtained navy blue work pants and shirt. He began wheeling the cart full of cleaning supplies down the hallway, moving all the way from one branch of the hospital to the other, as it had been the only unlocked closet he had found. Keeping his left hand on the cart, his right hand pulled the cap lower on his head, shielding his eyes from onlookers as he kept moving.

I'm going to go to jail...again.

Sighing, Kyukaku kept moving to the intensive care wing. He had heard from the grapevine at school that there was a crazy man with foot long fingernails in the hospital that slashed at the doctors. Rumors were, it was an old Hircine student, though there were other versions as well, ones where he was a Paragon student or a ghost. While not much to go on, it was his only lead with the recent disappearance of Zeniro and for Kyu, there was little choice but to follow up on it.

He couldn't file a missing persons report, nor could he even call the hospital to see if the infamous fingernail ghost had a name, let alone was real. At mention of the experiments being put onto Zeniro, there was no knowledge on who was behind it. For all Kyu knew, or anyone else present at the time as well, it was something ordered to be done by the court systems. It could be a pharmaceutical company, or the doctors here at the hospital. Hell, Kyukaku was sure that whoever was responsible would have ties to the school as well. Point was, there was no one to help him help Zeniro. The only others who knew about the situation were Aryn and Valencia; but he was reluctant to ask for help, especially when it could mean putting others in danger. Had he known Valencia's information gathering system however, things might have gone much easier tonight.

Pretending to mop (and not doing a very good job of it), Kyu waited for the doctor and two nurses to move past him and around the corner. As soon as the rounded the second corner, Kyukaku leaned the mop against the cart and sprinted for the door. Opening it quickly, Kyukaku slipped in, closing it softly behind him. Pulling the ball cap off his head, Kyukaku walked up towards the bed, placing the hat on the table.

It IS him...

"Christ...can you hear me Zeniro?"

[Zeniro]

Beep...Beep...Beep.

Zeniro's eyes were almost mesmerised as he watched the light on the machine next to him switching on and off. He was finally starting to feel numb, his mind had been chaotic since he'd woken up in the back of the ambulance. He still wasn't sure what had happened or where he had been. He vaguely remembers 'Them' and that awful feeling as they injected that liquid into his veins. Then there was nothing but blackness until the smell of salt water invaded his nostrils, he was by the ocean and his body felt alien to him. He burned to the very core of his being and he had to get out. He could recall clawing desperately at his flesh before passing out from blood loss and the excruciating pain.

Now he was here. Not fully awake, but unable to sleep. The days and nights had blurred into one monotonous stream of conciousness. He didn't eat and didn't drink, despite being ravenously hungry and thirsty to boot. Quite simply Zeniro's paranoia had taken over him and he didn't trust anyone who brought him food. Initially he had been reluctant for anyone to come near him, but he soon realised that it would be best for him to allow them to change the sheets and the bandages rather than lie here in squaller and risk infection.

A noise came from the door, uninterested Zeniro lay motionless. His dark gaze locked on the light that continued to flash on and off. Then a familiar scent began to creep into his senses, he inhaled deeply. His groggy mind clutching at his memory trying to pin point the scent. He wasn't sure yet if it belonged to a friend or a foe. He turned his gaze to the unfamiliar figure. They were not dressed in there usual attire that was for sure. Then they spoke and Zeniro recognised the voice, and knew immediately that they were not a threat to him.

"Christ...can you hear me Zeniro?"

Zeniro blinked a few times, he tried to speak but found his throat was far to dry. He licked his lips slowly and felt that they were cracked and sore. He winced inwardly but didn't allow himself to show this weakness to Kyu. Instead he cracked a half smile, he was genuinely pleased to see a face that he trusted to an extenct. Kyu had been trying to help him, and he seemed genuinely shocked to see Zeniro in this posistion. For now Zeniro decided he could trust this man. So he nodded slowly, in answer to Kyu's question.

[Kyukaku]

The trance instantly broke once Kyukaku started speaking, causing a slight widening of his eyes out of surprise. When he came in, Zeniro looked as if he was completely incoherent, but it seemed to be an act...perhaps to a point. Zeniro tried to speak, instead uttering a dry wheeze that made Kyukaku squint in sympathy. Following up Zeniro cracked a half smile, something that made Kyukaku smile with a short exhale himself.

Why am I smiling? That's the same smile I usually get before he tries to rip out my throat. Well, at least he can understand me. A coherent Zeniro IS safer...right?

"Don't talk then. Blink once for yes, twice for no...alright?"

Waiting for the least bit exaggerated blink, Kyukaku would take a deep breath, trying to prioritize what questions to ask first. From there, it would be what to follow up with and more importantly...how to make it a yes or no question.

"Do you know who did this to you...?" Was that one blink, or two?

"Can you move at all?"

Kyukaku asked his second question before having a relapse on memory and remembering that Zeniro had tried to talk, but failed because of his throat. He'd wait for Zeniro's second response before holding up an index finger and walking to the bathroom. A half minute later Kyukaku would emerge again with a glass of water, holding it out for Zeniro to help him drink if he was as thirsty as he sounded.

[Zeniro]

Zeniro's gaze locked on Kyu, from time to time briefly glancing over the young mans shoulder to make sure that no one else was going to enter the room. In truth Zeniro hated Kyu seeing him like this. Zeniro had some low points in his life, but laying here as helpless as he was now was a huge torment to his mind, the only thing that quelled these thoughts was the knowledge that Kyu was the closest thing Zeniro had to an ally right now. So long as Kyu was here he could let go of the paranoia. It seemed that Kyu realised that in this state of dehydration Zeniro wasn't going to be up for much talking and instead asked if he could blink in answer. Zeniro clenched his jaw in frustration but blinked in correspondance to Kyu's questions.

"Do you know who did this to you...?"

Zeniro struggled with the first blinks, like his mouth his eyes were dry and it was actually quite sore to blink. As a result two blinks became a series of blinks as he tried to moisten his eyes. Zeniro's right hand curled into a rather feeble fist as he fought back the anger of being in such a hopeless posistion.

"Can you move at all?"

Zeniro's blink this time was a deffinate answer, yes he could move and to prove that he could he even attempted to prop himself up. The wires and tubes probing him made it difficult as did the lack of energy, but with a great effort he struggled to raise himself. Zeniro gave another husky grunt as Kyu headed to the bathroom. Once he'd emerged with a cup of water the relief on Zeniro's face would be quite apparent, he gladly took the water and rather than sipping it he chose to gulp the water down. The liquid lubricated his throat and his tongue and went some way to quenching some of the thirst that had been gnawing at him.

"Thank you, Kyu."

Zeniro's voice was hoarse and barely a whisper, but he could strain himself to take. This made their interaction almost infinately easier. Now he could address the question that had been posed to him earlier by Kyu.

"It was them...those bastards. It was different this time..."

Zeniro was still visibly shaken, he wanted to give coherent answers but the pain and confusion still racked his brain and he felt like he was clutching at straws every time he tried to formulate some form of cohesion.

[Kyukaku]

The first series of blinks made it very hard for Kyukaku to decipher the meaning. After his eyelids began to flutter in rapid succession, Kyu began to think Zeniro was on the edge of passing out, but the sudden clench of the fist suggested otherwise. Instead of asking again, Kyukaku moved onto the next question, getting a much more definate response. He watched Zeniro begin to prop himself up, taking a step forward but stopping short. If he tried to help Zeniro up at all, he might press on one of the many tubes, and make it all the more painful.

When he came back with the water, Kyukaku was surprised at how quickly, and easily, Zeniro had taken the water down. What surprised him even more, however, was the gratitude Zeniro showed for it. Though they had been on less than hostile terms for some time, this had been the first time there was any positive energy between them.

"Who, the doctors?"

Kyukaku asked, turning his attention to all the IVs pinned in Zeniro's cut up physique. By not knowing who 'they' were, one way or another, it meant he didn't know what they were pumping into Zeniro right now. For all he knew, it could be the same medication he took in school that day, or perhaps it was morphine or pennicillin. There was no way Kyukaku could know unless he could ask the doctors, though he didn't know if he could do that due to the high risk of their involvement at some level.

"Wait...different how?"

[Zeniro]

"Who, the doctors?"

Zeniro shrugged his shoulders slowly, this caused a numb ache to shudder through his body as his stiff muscles were forced back into life. In truth he wasn't sure if the doctors here were employed by 'Them' or not. His intense paranoia and distrust for other people told him to be catuious and suspect everyone, most of the nursing staff and the doctors had been extremely on edge when dealing with Zeniro and this had only fuelled his paranoid feelings. However he did recall one Doctor who had shown compassion and great concern for Zeniro's predicament. Zeniro prided himself on his instincts, he knew he could rely on them. They told him he could trust this Doctor, like they told him Kyu was no threat to him in this situation. Zeniro's eyes closed as he attempted to visualise the Doctor's name tag.

"Maybe some of the doctors....there is one though. Doctor Green. I think, something like that. He seems genuine."


Zeniro paused for a moment while he thought about the other question Kyu had asked. In truth Zeniro wasn't too sure what they had done that was different. He had been taken to the same place and he had been injected as before. However their attitude toward him had been different. One of them, a nervous looking man had even appologised for what he was about to do. Then the injection came and that feeling...it was torture. Zeniro visibly shuddered at the thought as he recollected the immediate reaction to the liquid they had pumped into his veins.

"One of them appologised. Then they used a new injection...It was horrendous. Usually I'm there for what seems like days, this time I was there for one night if that. They injected me and dumped me. It's different this time, but I know they're still watching me...I just don't know why."

[Kyukaku]

(OOC: Haha, reversed rolls it seems. Sorry, this weeks been kicking my arse.)

Kyukaku gave a short nod in response to Zeniro's statement. It was only speculation on Zeniro's part, but it would have to do. Kyu's speculation was that Zeniro's speculation would be more accurate than his own, given his direct involvement. Kyu put the name in his mental address book, placing it should the need arise for a good doctor. Between Zeniro and himself, it wasn't much of a stretch to assume one or the other would need one sometime again soon.

As Zeniro continued, the situation began to seem even worse. They were no closer to figuring out who was responsible for what had been happening to Zeniro or more importantly, why. The only thing they knew was that they weren't wealthy on allies on this situation. If they were, they would probably be working with them rather than with each other. Regardless, it was a frightening situation, to have any situation that would frighten the beastial Maori.

"How are you feeling now? Want to get the hell out of here and go home?"

Zeniro's demeanor had changed greatly from when Kyukaku first enterted the room to now. Crazy or catatonic, Zeniro threw a curveball by simply being calm and coherent. The more they talked, the more Kyu began to assess the likeliness Zeniro was now more tired than ill. Knowing him, he'd been wild, as any animal acts when they're scared and cornered. He probably hadn't ate or drank much if anything the past few days, and the only sleep he likely got probably came in the form of blacking out.

[Zeniro]

Zeniro ached to the bone, his skin crawled at the feeling of all these wires pugged into him and he grimaced inwardly not allowing Kyu to see his discomfort. He looked at his tattooed torso freshly littered with claw marked scars. They would forever be a reminder to the torment he had suffered over this past few months. In some twisted way he felt a sense of pride in himself, he had been driven to the point of collapse, his mind warped and bent to the point of snapping, yet still he refused to break. Nothing would ever come close to this without pushing him over the edge and breaking him.

"How are you feeling now? Want to get the hell out of here and go home?"

Zeniro blinked a few times. His massive shoulders shrugging slowly as he haunched himself up further and pressed his taloned hands into the mattress. He wanted to leave, he ahted hospitals...they were too similar to that place. He knew he wouldn't be able to leave this palce on his own. As much as he hated to admit this to himself...he needed Kyu. He let out a heavy sigh.

"I feel like shit Kyu...I want to go home..."

The first part of his sentence was laced with the usual venom that occured when Zeniro spoke. Surprisingly though his tone had changed in an instant and adopted a distant, pained quality as he spoke the latter half of his sentence. Zeniro at this point craved nothing more than to be left alone. He wanted solidarity, he wanted to be sure he would never be hunted again. He wanted a place that offered all of this. He wanted a home. He looked up to Kyu with loss in his eyes and he spoke in a whisper.

"I want a home Kyu...I'm so tired."

[Kyukaku]

"Alright."

Kyukaku spoke softly, affirming Zeniro's decision mostly to himself. Slowly, Kyu would move all the way to Zeniro's bedside. Once there, his hand would hover above Zeniro's arm, his eyes flashing over to the maori for any sign of aggression before gripping the arm with one hand as his other went to remove the IVs. While not completely painless, Kyu would remove the needles rather smoothly, years of diabetes making him more accustomed to needles than most.

He continued to remove the IVs and other monitors, unstrapping Zeniro from the bed in a way. As he did this, Zeniro would utter a second sentence, once again catching him off guard. Pausing, Kyukaku took a moment to look up at Zeniro, catching a glimpse of the beastial maori when all defenses were let down. Swallowing, Kyu gave a solemn nod to Zeniro, reaching under his arms to help him out of bed.

"Yeah...come on, it won't be long before they see you're not hooked up to the monitors anymore."

[Zeniro]

Zeniro watched Kyu's hand as it hovered by him. Instinctively the muscles in his arm twitched, wanting to recoil or to lash out. Zeniro fought these instincts and simply allowed Kyu to touch him. As Kyu started to remove the I.V. needles Zeniro simply watched as small beads of blood formed where the needles had been. Other than staring at the blood he offered no reaction at all. The slight discomfort of the needles being removed was literally nothing compared to the pain that had been racking his body and still continued to do so in waves. His jaw clenched in frustration as he attempted to move himself, to the edge of the bed. His body felt like it had been filled with lead, his joints were on fire and his head felt like it had taken a clean blow from something heavy and blunt.

Kyu's hand reached under his arms and this helped to lighten the burden on his body, with a low grunt Zeniro was able to haul himself from the bed and onto his own rather unsturdy feet. His legs threatened to buckle under him, but with an almost herculean effort of will power he forced himself to stand on his own two feet. He stutter stepped toward a wardrobe which had a duffel bag in the bottom of it. In this bag were a few possesions Zeniro had on him when he was rushed into the hospital. Doctor green had been kind enough to get his clothes washed and placed into a plain green bag ready for Zeniro to either wear or take home with him when he was ready. His clawed hands came to rest heavily on the doors, before he slowly pulled them open. His left hand reached inside and grabbed the bag by the handle and with a laboured effort he managed to haul the bag over his shoulder. Swallowing back a wave of nausea he looked toward Kyu.

"I'll change later..."

Zeniro blinked slowly, he staggered and felt his back slump against the wardrobe. This caused the doors to slam slut and he almost crashed to the floor. Suddenly his right hand whipped out and grabbed the wardrobe by the corner and he fought to keep his ballance and his head clear. His dark eyes found Kyu's face and he nodded to let him know that he was alright.

"Let's go."

[Kyukaku]

(OOC: Assuming we get out safely after this, unless your next post brings something else up.)

Zeniro was able to steady himself upon his feet. The only assistance Kyukaku gave him was to help him out of bed, and he would try to keep it to a minimum. Though helping Zeniro all the way out would certainly make things much more easier (as easy as smuggling a patient out can be anyways), the maori had a great deal of pride, and it was probably important to be as self-sufficient as possible.

He watched as Zeniro moved toward the duffel bag, impressed by the fact he was able to lift it and sling it over his shoulder. He gave Zeniro a short nod in accordance to his dressing, continuing towards the door. He cracked it open, peeking his head out The hall was clear at the moment, but Kyu guessed it wouldn't be for long. A crashing noise in the room caused Kyukaku to swing his head back inside. His eyes would fall upon Zeniro, spotting him halfway in pushing himself back to his feet.

Kyukaku began to moved in to help Zeniro, receiving a nod to let him do it by himself. Kyu exhaled softly, realizing his worries for Zeniro's well-being are much higher than he anticipated. Ironic, for a few months ago whenever in the presence of Zeniro, one couldn't help but only worry for their own well-being.

"Alright, come on."

Kyukaku would reply, opening the door and peeking his head out one more time to make sure the coast is clear before waving Zeniro onward. Kyukaku would keep a few yards of distance away from the maori, scouting the whole way ahead.

[Zeniro]

(OOC: I think we can call it a day here. The important thing was Kyu aiding Zeniro's escape from the hospital and getting him somwhere safe. The next thread I start will probably reference this one in some way and mention it being 2-3 months in the past. Seeing as we started this thread a while back now. Just to let you know incase you need to refer to it in any way. Onto the next phase in Zeniro's progression.)