justonetruth | In one of the infirmaries...

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In one of the infirmaries...

When Kaito woke up, he saw only sterile white. The room was that, as featureless and impersonal as any hospital setting he has ever seen. Medical equipment and supplies were around, unused but organized with readiness. Nothing marked him where he was, not even a small window to show him outside.

He was laying in a bed, naked as the day he was born except for the swath of bandages that kept his torso wrapped beneath the flimsy bedsheets. His chest was wrapped tightly, as was his left knee. Thin strips of gauze bandages encircled his neck and collar area, and a long strip went down his inner thigh. Rather, his left arm's old nicks were left untouched, although his left shoulder was nestled nicely within clean bandages too.

Although completely unharmed, his hands holding the top of his sheets trembled.

Unable to find the will to explore this new place, or even the will get out of bed in search of his missing clothes, Kaito just curled up onto his right side. He wept quietly in the empty room.

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Kaito hadn't even seen the videos yet, but imagining Absinthe anywhere else and he grimaced. "Not a pretty sight." But the only other Shinichi he met was the one he nearly shot a few hou- ...a week ago, and that one was so unlike Absinthe that the combination was hard to imagine.

He shook his head to clear it away.

"Later," he said again, although he hoped there would be one. Last time he was here, despite everyone's assurances that no one left without staying a while, he went back practically the next morning.

"Leormon will put them somewhere we can find them," Conan said and reached out to squeeze Kaito's hand reassuringly. "...is there anything you need?"

"Pain killers," Kaito muttered, but held up his other hand before Conan could go retrieve them. "Just simple ones. If there isn't any, I can handle this pain. It hurts and stings... but nothing I won't recover from." At least, not the physical wounds.

"The infirmary automatically restocks when everyone leaves," Conan said, going to get the pain killers.

"....were you slowed down at all? When you went back?"

"... didn't really matter." Kaito looked up at the ceiling, at the windowless walls, anywhere but where he knew Conan was likely to be looking at him expectantly. He whispered the next part under his breath, "I kind of wished I was."

But Kaito could see what Conan was getting at. If the drugs didn't carry over, he didn't need to worry about being lucid, though the idea of voluntarily being inebriated by drugs still made him frown.

"....say you weren't under their influence by that point," Conan said. "Because Shinichi and Aoko are going to ask." And he knew they'd both blame themselves.

But after saying that, he was watching Kaito again and sighed, leaning forward and pressing his forehead against the back of his hand. "...you really are a magnet for trouble," he said, but the tone conveyed so much more. He was worried about Kaito, afraid for him. Kaito was, second maybe to Heiji, his best friend. Seeing any version of him suffer hurt a lot more than he cared to show.

"Okay." Easy enough to do, it probably was the truth anyway.

But seeing the boy's sudden display of emotions surprised Kaito. He watched Conan awkwardly, unsure if he should switch into the role of a comforter or not.

Still feeling a little out of his element, Kaito raised his other hand and placed it over Conan's hair. "I'm going to be alright," he said, sounding a lot more confident than he actually felt.

"You always are, but that doesn't mean people don't worry in the meantime," Conan said. He took a deep breathe and let it out slowly, getting a grip on himself though he didn't move.

"I'm going to do everything I can to help you, all right?"

Despite himself, Kaito couldn't help but feel warmed by Conan's soft assurances. When it came down to it, there probably wasn't much the boy could do from this side of the world, but he was being a great emotional support.

He recognized that if the boy hadn't appeared when he had, Kaito might still be curled into a ball at this very moment.

"Thank you, Conan-kun." He smiled very softly. His other hand stroked through Conan's hair.

"Just Conan is fine," Conan said. Usually he either got his real name or a ton of nickname from Kaito. Conan-kun had never been a name he used except when annoyed. "And it's not problem. I'd do anything for a friend."

"This is to my advantage... but I think you're mixing me up with the wrong Kaito." The thief closed his eyes tiredly. He was starting feel drained again.

"Conan? Do you have those pain killers?"

"It doesn't matter. You have the same heart," Conan said before straightening up and moving to get those pain killers. "That's all I need to know when it comes to Kaito."

He retrieved the pain killers and a glass of water, returning to Kaito's side. "Can you sit up?"

Kaito smiled wryly at being told a corny line like that, but chose to not comment on the warm sentiment. It was corny, but it did make his inner pride swell a little.

Instead, he planted his hands by his side and slowly pushed himself to a half reclining position against the headboard. He winced when the movement caused his chest muscles to ripple painfully.

Conan found corny could be surprisingly true when it came to friendships and love. So, corny the line might be, it made it no less true.

Conan watched him carefully, waiting until he was settled before he held out the medicine. "Medicine in mouth first, then I'll hand you the water." So he didn't have to use his injured hand.

Let it not be said that the boy wasn't smart. He picked things up. Kaito obediently took the pills into his right hand and lifted them to his mouth. The water followed.

He settled into the pillows at his back with a sigh. He could move back to laying down when the pills took over.

Now that the blanket slipped down to his waist, his chest and its nicely bandaged state was there for the observant eye. Last time, he had only one scratch along his chest. "He's the one who bandaged me back up," Kaito said quietly. "After what happened, it was more than I could take. I crumbled." And now that he was recovering from the ordeal, he hated himself for showing his weakness to the psychopath that.

Conan looked over the bandaging. "...at least he does a thorough job for cleaning you up," he said. "And after that much, not many could not crumble. You'd have to almost be used to pain like that not too."

Kaito lapsed into silence. Conan was right, there wasn't much to add to that.

At last, he spoke again, although his eyes remained on the covers and the clothes placed on them. "Anything happened since I was last here?"

"Only if you count me vanishing from here for a day a couple of days ago. Apparently I missed a month of time in the Digital World data frozen. Kind of weird to think I missed that much time like that," Conan said with a shrug. "That and Aoko fuming about you vanishing in her worry, not much. This place is usually pretty quiet."

"I wouldn't mind staying longer this time," Kaito murmured, unsure if he wanted to face his own reality so quickly again. Since he was given this reprieve, he might as well make the most out of it.

Who knew, maybe Conan was right and he could pick up something here in his subconsciousness.

"We can hope your luck is better this time," Conan said. "Maybe healing here will transfer over?"

"The bandages didn't seem to have last time," Kaito said, his head shaking. "I hope my mentality will at least." He did not want to have to go through again the ordeal of waking up, who knew where next time, and with the possibility that Absinthe may still be around.

"Bandages are items. Items are weird in transfers, no matter what. It seems it requires for it to be deeply personal to have a chance in going back," Conan said. "Or having been on you when you arrived. But maybe this place will act as a dream, and let you recover a bit that way."

"I think the dream theory is the closest. Both of the times I come here are after drugged sleep. I wonder if this isn't a dream itself, except I've never been this lucid in a dream before."

Kaito shrugged his shoulders slightly.

"Conan... don't tell Aoko I'm back, okay?"

"Trust me, you don't want to go the dream route. Horrible things happen whenever people go that way," Conan said.

He was silent a moment. "Why?"

"It can't be much worse than reality, can it," Kaito pointed out wryly.

"For one, I don't want to be dodging mops. Another..." He glanced away briefly. "She's not my Aoko... but I don't want her to worry either way."

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Coming on AIM tonight?

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