Broken Wing [Namine Aftermath]

Namine stayed by the stretcher has the people carried Kuja from the arena. Once she was in The Healing Heart that she herself had become fairly familiar with, she stood in the corner out of everyone's way. Her sad and tear-filled eyes didn't leave Kuja face. Her hands were still interlocks in a Praying form and placed as close to her chest as possible. Sobs still managed to escape her every now and again even though she was trying to remain strong.

A Healer came in and try to pull Namine from the room so she could be healed as well. However, unlike Kuja who was very weak and probably slightly delusional trying to push away the people helping him, Namine was slightly stronger and conscious so she had no problem in tearing herself away from the Healer. She wasn't going to leave that room. The Healer finally gave up and figured it would be best to come back after things have settled down. The young nobody seemed to have gotten her second wind back from the traumatic experience. But she was going to be feeling it later.

The healers seem to have been finished for the time being. Namine closed her eyes as the 1 healers hand made contact with her head. When she opened them again she looked up at him. The Tears In Her Eyes made her eyes a lot bigger and more Soulful than they normally were. A small relief washed over the young nobody to hear that Kuja just needed rest for now. It sounded like he was going to pull through. However, a frown appeared on her face to hear that the tournament was over for him. By default that means that she had won. Winning wasn't a bad thing, but she really didn't feel like she deserved to win like that. It wasn't her own powers or abilities that have knocked him out. It was something much deeper and Beyond her understanding at this point. She honestly did nothing. And what was worse, the doing nothing went even deeper. When she tried to help and snap them out of it, she had failed. The one thing that she was known for, being a witch of memories, and she failed. She couldn't help. Everything she tried didn't work. She was unable to erase the image from his mind. She was unable to snap him out of it and pull him back into the light. She was unable to overpower an illusion that he was seeing and it was just an illusion. If larxene, DiZ, and Marluxia could see her now..... they would probably be laughing too hard at her failure. The one thing she was good for and she was completely and utterly useless.

Namine nod at the other healer that told her to stay with Kuja. The Tears In Her Eyes we're starting to flow down her cheeks once again. After they had left her behind she looked back over at Kuja to realize that his head was turned towards her. Seeing him move and conscious made her feel a bit better.

" I was worried, and when I was lost in darkness you managed to pull me out of it before I did something I regret." Namine answered his question as she started to walk a little closer to the bed he was on. " you didn't have to do that, I was a complete stranger to you and your opponent none the less. But you did do it. And for that I'm grateful. It's my return to return the favor."

Kuja was still all sweaty. He didn't seem like he was the kind of person that like that sort of thing. Namine looked over and saw a basin full of water along with a washcloth draped in it. "How are you feeling?" She grabbed a hold of the washcloth and dumped it in the water. She rang it out and was about to wipe off his forehead of some of the sweat when she hesitated. He didn't seem like the kind of man that like to be touched by others and outside of a fight she wanted to respect that. "May I?" She asked with a cloth in her hand. "or would you rather?" She held the washcloth out Loosely to him in case he had the strength and wanted to take it to do it himself.

"What happened out there? Did I cause that?" Namine still wasn't sure if him being hit with his own attack managed to stir up something inside of him, or if it was something else. Either way the girl felt horrible for what happened. She didn't want to straight up bring up the man in black armour that she caught a glimpse of from his memories.  The poor man was stunned enough right now.




@kuja

Stating that Kuja's condition was not her fault Namine felt a little bitbetter. At the same time, it brought up more questions than answers. If it didn't have something to do with her attacks, then what did cause it? Was it the man in the black armor? Even though many questions went through her mind, it didn't seem as the Kuja was willing to answer them right now. After all, he only answered part for question. The other half he left completely unresolved. That was the question of what has happened out there. The nobody frowned a little at that. Maybe he thought it was none of her business. Maybe he was right about that. Perhaps he simply did not trust her. Why would he? These thoughts did little to ease her conscience. Despite all this, she felt the now wasn't the proper moment to press any further. She would let him regain a little of his strength before trying again, or if the opportunity presented itself before hand. Something that the memory witch could latch onto and understand.

Why she cared or had the shadow of the feeling that she cared, Namine didn't know why her self. It was strange for her. She ended up being greatly involved with sora's story and that is why she will have the tale differently then when she had first started it. This person before her however, she just met. So there was really nothing to connect her to him other than the battle that they just had and the outcome that became of it. His story was unknown to her as her story was to him. The caring nature of kairi and Sora could be what drove her to want to know more about a complete stranger. Those two were always helping people no matter what, or at least giving it their all. So it came to stand that the Shadows of those emotions flooded to the nobody as well. For some reason, all of that made her feel even sadder. Knowing that that caring nature or even the feeling of sadness right now isn't hers at all. She was a little Canary, or as Kuja seems to put it, dove that sings to the tune of her Masters.

When Kuja turned his head from her, Namine slightly panicked. Had she said or done something that made him angry with her or uncomfortable? She didn't mean to offend anybody. Yet somehow she seem to always be good at doing those sort of things. She was about to apologize for whatever she did when she heard him murmur.

Namine tilted her head looking both surprised and Confused. "Um,.....Mr. Kuja? We... we already left the stage." She said in an innocent and completely oblivious voice. Unfortunately the man's poetic words she took literally. She had no idea what he had actually meant. The nobody wasn't sure who put on the more dramatic performance now, xemnas, marluxia, or Mr. Kuja. " and I think it's safe to say, that no one in the audience is going to quite forget that act." A nervous smile painted her features.

The nobody looked at the cloth that the man still held. The fact that it probably had dried out quite a bit by now crossed her mind. " I can rewet that for you if it's too dry." Namine spoke Softly. Looking at the Basin of water also brought upon thought. " also, you're probably parched. I can run get you some water."





@kuja 

Kuja stayed silent most of the time with the exception of a few Chuckles here and there. She was breathing and seem to be in less pain than he was earlier. So that was a good thing. The most important part was that he was still here, still breathing, and still alive. Namine took the cloth from him and dipped it in the base of water. Giving him a renewed wet cloth. She tilted her head slightly at the princess comment. She wasn't a princess, but kairi was. Even though she was Kairi's nobody or partially Kairi's nobody as the case may have been. That didn't make her a princess as well. The young nobody finally concluded to herself that it must have been a nickname of some sorts, to call someone a princess. She really didn't understand the purpose of giving some average person that title, but she didn't comment on it any further.

Namine shook her head slightly with a smile. " that isn't true. You can stop me easily. It doesn't just take physical strength to stop somebody's actions. Sometimes strength of words can stop them as well. If you don't want any of the stuff that I I am asking if you need it all you have to do is tell me no." She explained. " I will comply to those wishes because they are yours." She smiled even more in reassurance.

The memory witch's eyebrows creased with worry as the man struggle to pull himself up from the bed. She instinctively reached out her arms, but still kept them away from him at the current moment in case he collapsed. She wanted to be able to catch him if you fell the wrong way so he wouldn't get hurt any further. She tried to voice her protests but his stubbornness and speaking seem to keep her words at Bay. "Please, mr. Kuja, trying to get up right now probably isn't the best idea." She protested though she was pretty sure her words went unhindered.

" he has to what?" Namine thought to herself as her face screwed up even more and worry. His words were finally cut by exhaustion in his attempts to push himself too far. When he finally gave in and relaxed the young girl was a bit relieved. She didn't want him to hurt himself even further. She retracted their hands from their ready to positions and set them down on her lap as she took a seat next to his bed. "You have to lay down and get your strength back before you do anything else."  Namine made an attempt at being stern for the first time.

His tail that's spring forth didn't seem to bother the nobody. She honestly didn't think twice about it. It caught her attention when it has happened but her stair did not stay on it. There are all sorts of people with all sorts of different things about them. There were corpses that still dance, saying, and lived everyday lives. There were people with fishtails and breathes water. There was a man who was raised by apes and acted more like them than he did his own kind. So honestly in her mind, what was a person having a tail. It didn't bother her though it seem too bothered him. So out of respect for that she kept her eyes on his face rather than anything else. Him being uncomfortable right now was probably not so good for his condition. For being a nobody she sure thought of other people's feelings a whole lot. Always thinking and trying to understand.

"Zidane?" She question. " who is Zidane?" She had no recollection of this person. Then again, there were lots of people she did know of. Whoever this person was they must have been important. It sounded like Kuja was lumping this other person and Namine into the same sort of category. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. But after hearing the rest of his sentence she could include it that this Zidane must have been a very caring person. So she was slightly flattered to be put in the same category as him.

Namine smiled at Kuja. Her eyes then lowered slightly in concentration as she started to form her sentences very carefully. "What you deserve isn't always up to you. Sometimes it's in the hands of those around you. " Namine found Kuja lilac eyes and looked into them at this point. All the sincerity she could muster filled her blue orbs " Maybe this Zidane and myself can see something in you that you can't see yourself. That's just how it goes. One can see many different things about another person because they're able to view them from all sides and angles through their own eyes. Whereas a person can only view themselves from one angle and it's only a mirror reflection in what they're able to see. Mirrors upon Mirrors upon Mirrors can allow one person to see all around them , it is true , but those mirrors are only reflections and after so many layers of them the image gets distorted and twisted . One cannot see themselves through their eyes as they truly are. It is impossible. Everyone deserves help. Nobody should have to face life's obstacles alone." She finally finished never breaking eye contact with the man. She fell into silence for a moment before slowly getting up from her chair. " I'm going to see about getting you that water so you can have something to drink. Don't want you to dehydrate."

Namine headed towards the door, opened it up a little bit, and peeked out. It would seem that her luck hadn't quite run out just yet. Outside of the door there seem to be a few Healers lingering about. " excuse me." She called out to one of them. The healers turn towards her showing that they were listening. " my friend could use something to drink, please." She stated happy that she wouldn't have to go too far. One of the healers knotted before running off to do the task that the young girl had given him. Namine then brought her head back through the door and gently shut it before returning to her seat next to the bed.





@kuja 

Silence fell between the two after Kuja's comment. Namine look down at the floor her eyes holding an air of sadness. She knew what he said was the truth, but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to just get up and leave. She wanted to make sure he got that glass of water. At least that's the excuse she gave herself. It was much deeper than that though. She still felt unsettled on how things ended during her last battle. She knew he was keeping something from her, and honestly he didn't have to tell her anything. That didn't stop the young nobody from wanting to know.

Namine size was still lowered to the ground. "You're probably right." She said Softly. It would be clear to anyone who knew how emotions worked that something was still bothering the young girl. She wasn't sure if she should just outright say it or keep it to herself. Her mind ran through many different scenarios of her not saying anything and her saying something. She finally concluded that the only way to get any kind of answer was to ask.

The nobody took a deep breath, she closed her eyes momentarily before she opened them once again. She was still staring at the floor with the same Melancholy expression. "There's something you should probably know about me." She began, figuring it was best to explain how she knew what she was about to say. "During the tournament I didn't use my full abilities. There was no point in it in something like this. That and i don't know if there is a right way to use them. That was until the very end when you look so terrified, and you are were in so much pain. Most people would think that I'm a shapeshifter by the things they have seen in this tournament." Namine paused for a moment. "But that's only the beginning. I guess the best way to describe me is a witch...... a witch of memory to be exact. I won't go into too much detail, forgive me, but it's too risky to know exactly what I am capable of. It's not that I don't trust you..... it's just that..... I don't know who might be listening." She shook her head. "Anyways, being a memory witch....i kinda....i kinda." Namine didn't know it at the time but the feeling that she was experiencing Was Fear. She was scared but she knew she had started this conversation so she would have to see it through. There was no going back now. " I kind of caught a glimpse of something in your memory when all that stuff was happening to you. Is he, the reason for all of this, the man in the black armor?" She shut her eyes tightly and braced herself for a scolding or an outright physical action. " I know I didn't have the right to. It was an accident. I was just trying to snap you out of it. I didn't mean to." She started talking frantically, her voice cracked a tears threatened to spill from her eyes.




@kuja 

By this time the tears Namine eyes we're spilling over. She knew that he was angry with her from how he spoke his words. He had every right to be. The memory which hadn't even dug into his mind. She wasn't looking for anything. It was only the surface that was breached. However, if memories come to the surface then seeing them was unavoidable. She really have meant to see anything other than himself. It was completely out of her control. Even though it was true, it was still no excuse. She should have simply just left him alone to deal with whatever it was he was dealing with. Let the outcome play out as it was going to. Maybe it was Sora and Kairi's influencing her, but she didn't have it and her to Simply watch someone suffer like that. She had to do something about it, or at least try.

I am sorry was the only thing that the little memory witch could really say. She listened to Kuja speak of the man in his memories. She made no attempt to interrupt, but set still still looking at the ground. It was the only thing she was really worthy to actually look at at this moment. Namine did however make a slight jolt at hearing that his life was running out. Her eyes were still full of tears that flowed freely down her face, and we're still looking down, but they got extremely wide hearing that. Her whole body tensed up. She wanted to say something the kept her mouth shut since he wasn't yet done speaking.

Silence once again fell in the room. Namine could hear someone talking very loud and getting closer to the door. The door had suddenly opened and in walked healer with a glass of water. While he turned around to shut the door once more, Namine quickly summoned her SketchBook and a lavender colored pencil. She and gross herself in drawing so the Healer could not see her face and start asking questions of his own. Her hair fell in front of her face to hide it even more and she started to scribble in her SketchBook. The Healer walked over towards Kuja's bed and handed him the water. He then walked over towards Namine and mentioned that she should go and get healed. Apparently they weren't permitted to let contestants enter the ring without their full strength back. The young girl doubted even after a healing session that she would honestly be at full strength. Not after all of this. Still, she simply nodded her head in fears that her voice might crack or give away any kind of distress, and it seem to be enough to appease the Healer before he exited the room. " don't worry..... he didn't hear anything. He was too busy boosting about a date." She said realizing that the fear of the Healer being too close and could have heard something might have donned on Kuja. So she took the liberty of making sure the man knew nothing or heard anything.

Namine stopped her drawing and looked back up straight ahead of her. "I guess I should leave." Her voice was drained and she stood up from the chair with her Sketchbook still in her hand. " I really do make a mess of things everywhere I go. I'm sorry. I'm sorry that you ended up being the victim to my latest mess up. I was truly only trying to help. I thought if..... I thought if I could snap you out of it we could just simply continue the fight. You most likely would have even won." She finally looked over at him as a sad smile graced her lips. " it doesn't matter if you're human or not. You're still a living creature. Where it is true that all the living things eventually Fade away, no one should have to before they get to live their life to the fullest." She said Softly. "created or birthed. Human or Nobody." She look down at her own hands. " whether we were meant to exist or not. It makes no difference. We are here and Alive Now. We're all just trying to find our own way."

Namine then tour the drawing she was scribbling out of her SketchBook and placed it on the bedside. The picture held an image of a lavender star, the same color as Kuja's eyes. Instead of the typical leaves that the star would hold it held white feathers similar to the young man's hair. The star was connected by a vivid red chain much like the color he was in his trance form. As the drawing sat there it morphed and started to fold over becoming the charm itself.

" where I come from it is called wayfinder. It is shaped like a fruit on a nearby world. They say if people share the fruit that they are bonded for the rest of their lives no matter what. Travelers use it as a good luck charm to make sure that they always find their way home. Supposed to keep you safe." Namine explained. The charm may be just that as of right now but in the future who knows what power it may hold. " I really am truly sorry.... about everything. If any good has come with this at least it all happened against someone who didn't take advantage of it. the charm is yours to do with what you wish. If you wish to take your anger out on it and destroy or keep it with you it is up to you. A lucky charm to counteract that omen."

Namine turned and headed towards the door. About halfway she stopped. She wanted to know if there was anything at all she could do to help. The truth was her knowledge was not satisfied. Unfortunately, she felt that she had already done enough damage and already ask way too many questions that had stepped out of line. Her mind was trying to think of a way say this without it sounding like yet another question. " anything I can do to help, if you would even want my help, if there's anything at all that can be done.." she looked over her shoulder. "Let me know. I'll do my best."

---

CONGRATULATIONS! Kuja has received one of Namine's Wayfinder Charms- The star shaped charm designed inspired by Destiny Islands' Paopu fruit will glow when Namine is near.  It also allows its holder to contact Namine from anywhere and for her to do the same with her Telepathy. Its coloring and Design is specific to Kuja's features. 



@kuja