Tifa & Yuffie

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Sai's expression turned more determined then, and perhaps even slightly more sad than before at Zero's words. "But you WILL see them again! I don't know when, but I'm sure of it! I promise Zero, even if I can't find all of your old friends, I know I can try and I'm sure that you'll be able to see X again!" he insisted, seeming almost hurt that Zero might not believe him about seeing them again. "I don't want to see you so lonely, Zero, so I promise that as soon as I can I'll find a way to help...I-I just need some time to find out how" he said, glancing away and cuddling Astrid gently as the puppy looked up at him and whined, seeing him upset.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Zero opened his palm then, the little holographic figure of X appearing in his palm as it had in the past. He stared at it as he watched it slowly rotate in a circle.
"Very well..." he murmured after a while, closing his hand and making the image disappear. "I will wait and see."

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Sai offered a small, slightly sad smile then in response. "I-I'm sorry...I wish you didn't have to be alone like this..." he said softly, giving Astrid another gentle squeeze when she nuzzled his face. "If you ever need to talk to someone, don't hesitate to give me a call. You know I'm here if you need me" he offered, trying to smile for the reploid to reassure him. "and you're always welcome here if you want to visit."

[Tifa Lockhart]

"I understand," the reploid replied. "I will check in from time to time."

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

"thankyou..." Sai uttered softly, offering a grateful smile to the reploid. "Take care of yourself, Zero...and good luck with your directive" the boy said, waving briefly and waiting momentarily for Zero's reply before hanging up.

The rest of that afternoon had been spent between reading and watching Lan playing some video games, with Saito seeming a little bit more cheerful than earlier, though he was still a little bummed. The nextfew days were school days also and the remainder of the week went by much the same. By the time the weekend arrived, Lan had decided he needed to visit Chaud and see how he was faring of late, not having seen much of the boy. Sai agreed to go along for a while, but reminded his twin that after a little while he would have to get going to sci-lab to start work on fixing Zero's presumably pistol of some sorts with his father...though that might prove a bit of a challenge given it' incredibly decrepit state.

So after getting ready, come Saturday morning, the twins departed, Sai on his over board and Lan on his skates, the elder twin well and truly getting the hang of the hover board and already capable of a fair few tricks, though only small ones. So fairly soon the twins were at the mains gates of the Blaze manor, wondering what reacrion they would get for the surprise visit.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Protoman was the one who answered the intercom at the front gate. The moment he realised it was Lan and Saito, he opened the huge front gates and told them to go straight inside.
"The Steward will fetch you in the hall," he explained before he disappeared from the panel on the front gate.

The old man was waiting for them in the hall as Protoman had said, and he greeted them graciously, beckoning for them to follow him. He lead them up the rather elaborate staircase that was the main feature of the entrance hall, and down a rather cold and modern looking hallway with large windows opening out onto rather undecorated but still imposing gardens. He stopped before a door near the end of the hall.
"Master Blaze is in here reading. I'll bring up refreshments shortly," he explained. He then opened the door for them. "Guests for you sir," he announced.

Chaud looked up from his book, which was propped casually atop his lap. He was laying on a nicely cushioned window seat on the far side of the library with its tall bookshelves and extensive book collection. Though books were relics of the past in a world where everything was digital, Chaud was known to horde any tomes that were being disposed of, regardless of genre or topic. He'd bought the entire Dentech Library stock after they'd finished transferring everything onto digital files. No one quite knew why he liked them, because he never read much, but he did.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Lan had awed at the size of the gardens outside the window the whole way down the hall, amazed by the meticulously kept plants, though they were minimal. When they arrived at the library, Lan had immediately gone over to greet Chaud, with a big grin on his face, though his twin hung back a moment to admire the vast collection of books Chaud had. After all he was the type to read a lot, and could certainly appreciate the huge collection of books, many of them quite rare.
"Hey Chaud!" Lan greeted as he half-bounced over, as energetic and cheerful as ever. "We wanted to surprise you with a visit, we figured you wouldn't be too busy on a day like today!" He said, leaning casually against the wall beside the window seat where Chaud could still see him. Sai turned around from admiring Chaud's library then to also greet the older boy.
"We wanted to see how you were, since we haven't heard from you in a while" he said, wandering over with a far calmer pace in his step than his twin. "I won't be able to hang around for too long though, I have to get to Sci-lab a little later, Lan can hang around though" he quickly said, so Chaud would know beforehand that he wouldn't be around all day, offering the other boy a warm smile in greeting.
"yeah, you know Sai, always busy, right?" Lan remarked, with another grin and a slight laugh. Sai just rolled his eyes at that and shook his head.
"oh, I'm sorry that some of us have work to attend to, unlike you, who will be happy to do anything to get away from your homework" the older twin retorted, his brother offering a slightly sheepish laugh at that, that typical 'I'm so guilty' grin crossing his expression. "regardless, we're not here to discuss homework and sci-lab projects." Sai said, to push the topic back to what it was before Lan's remark.
"right! So how have you been, Chaud? Feeling any better?" Lan asked, turning back to the blue-eyed boy they had come to visit.

[Tifa Lockhart]

"I'm rarely busy these days," Chaud replied immediately, marking his page and setting the book aside. He appeared to be reading a rugged looking novel about a detective solving a murder case.
"I don't exactly know what you mean by 'better'," he mused, turning to look out the window for a moment. "I'm fine."

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Lan frowned slightly at that response, folding his arms and offering Chaud a worried glance. "oh don't give me that crap, Chaud. When I ask if you're feeling any better I mean..." he paused momentarily to contemplate his wording of the question. "...I mean to ask if there's been any change with your legs." he finally settled with, seeming a little nervous about asking, knowing how touchy Chaud could be about the subject, especially considering it was such a sore subject with the young man.
"and would it be straying too far to ask if you've been sleeping okay?" Sai interjected once his brother had finished his statement, attempting to meet Chaud's gaze with a sympathetic one of his own. "you don't have to answer that one if you'd rather not, I realise that may be pushing too far into personal matters." he added, not wanting to pry where he shouldn't, after all he only knew about Chaud's difficulty sleeping and problems with pain from Blues, Chaud hadn't said anything to anyone else.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Chaud flinched slightly, his expression darkening as Lan addressed the matter directly. No one ever spoke about his legs, it was a topic that everyone evaded for his sake... but now they'd just dived right in.
"Do you think I would be sitting around doing nothing if there'd been any change Lan?" he demanded, turning his pulsing blue gaze onto the other boy. "I've done everything they've told me to do... and nothing. I just have to face facts," he glared down at his feet with loathing, "they're useless."
His eyes then shot to Sai when he spoke up about whether he was sleeping, suspicion narrowing his features.
"What has Protoman been telling you?" he demanded.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Lan had flinched slightly and fallen silent, wishing he'd kept his mouth shut, since he appeared to have upset Chaud by mentioning the matter. When Chaud turned to Sai and demanded answers as to what he knew, the boy offered a sad frown, though his eyes didn't shift from the other's face. "only that you've not been sleeping because you were in pain...I realise I know perhaps more than I really should, and I apologise for that." he apologised, his tone soft and sympathetic. "I hope that things get better for you soon, Chaud, I'm sure you must be having a hard time. Don't forget, if you ever need anything, I'd be more than happy to offer any help I can" he turned his gaze away then and to his twin, who seemed a little fidgety now, though his expression remained worried for Chaud.
"Me too, Chaud, if you need us we'll be there. That's a promise" The younger twin added, turning his eyes back to the older boy again, seeming a bit upset by Chaud's reaction before.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Chaud stared at Saito incredulously for a moment, before his expression made a shift in a way that neither of the twins could have expected. The anger melted away, lines of exhaustion and agony taking their place. He sagged back against the pillow that was propped up behind him, resting his head back against the wall. He then closed his eyes, drawing a deep breath to try and calm himself back down.
"How can you help?" he demanded, his voice tight with emotion. "Everything aches, everything but my legs... and I can't even feel my toes. I can't net-battle anymore... i'm useless to the Net-Saviours. I can't even run my company properly because the executives keep giving my work to everyone else to make it 'easier' for me."
He clenched his hands into tight fists. "Everyone keeps trying to assure me, but it's OVER. I get it."

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Sai felt a horrible stab of pain somewhere deep in his heart to see Chaud so pained and helpless. He wanted to say more, but he was afraid his voice might have failed him, overcome by pain as he was to see the older boy this way. So he fell silent, focusing his attentions on fighting off tears for the other. He felt helpless, not being able to offer much more than support and kind words...

Lan clenched his fists then, looking away briefly as he tried to think of something he could do or say to make Chaud feel better. After a somewhat uncomfortable silence, he spoke up, only briefly glancing sideways when he noted that his brother was quickly withdrawing from the situation. "It's not over yet, Chaud! Come on, you can't just give up...there's a way! I know it! I don't care what I have to do, but if there's some way I can help you walk again, I'll do it! and do you know why?" he demanded, seeming very close to tears himself, at the thought that his friend was just going to give up. "I'd do it because I'm not giving up on you! There's always a chance, Chaud, so what if it's the tiniest possibility, there's gotta be a way! For gods' sake, if Sai can survive death then it's got to be possible for you to be able to walk again!" he insisted, seeming caught between determination and despair, not sure what he personally could do, but certain that Chaud would be okay somehow. "stop being such a quitter! People who give up without trying are the kind who end up laying on the sidewalk with nothing! If you're going to give up, then what's the point of us even bothering with this war?! Think realistically here, without you and Protoman, we're all completely screwed! I know there's no way we're going to lose this, so there must be some way for you to get better!"

Sai had been listening, and though that perspective did spark some hope for him, at the same time it also made him shrink back in an anxious manner, feeling a little pressured by that thought...if they couldn't win without Chaud and Protoman, that meant they had no choice but to work to exhaustion to find a way for Chaud to be able to walk again...and with the pressure of the whole fate of the world on his shoulders in not only the way of fighting the Dark Lord but also saving Chaud, he was beginning to feel a bit crushed. What if he messed it up? What if something went wrong and it was his fault? Despite his efforts, that thought did force the repressed fear to the surface and it showed on his face, as he glanced uneasily to the wall, gnawing on his bottom lip. He hoped Chaud was too busy paying attention to Lan, he didn't want his fear to be mistranslated by the older boy.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Chaud didn't seem at all affected by how much Lan was yelling at him. He knew what Lan was trying to do... but he just didn't get it.
"If we were to come under attack right now, Lan, we WOULD be screwed," his voice had no signs of optimism. "I wouldn't be able to help. Even if I do manage to walk again... there's no guarantee it will happen before we get targeted again."

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Lan only seemed frustrated now and looked like he pretty much wanted to give Chaud a good solid sucker punch square in the jaw to try and snap him out of it, but he restrained himself. "But that's just it, Chaud! If we don't even try we WILL be attacked before you can walk again!" he snapped, his short patience beginning to run dry. "You seem to think you've got nothing left! If that's the case, what could you possibly lose by trying?!" he demanded, fixing his eyes on Chaud's, a definite fury in the dark eyes. "If you've got nothing left, then there's nothing left to lose! You know what, you just haven't been trying hard enough! you've been taking it too easy, sometimes if you want something, you have to take risks! Maybe if you ever want your nerves to start working again you need to stop with all this waiting! Clearly waiting isn't proving anything, after all!" He didn't seem like he was going to just back down. He wasn't going to let Chaud just give up.
Saito, however, remained silent, though he did turned his gaze briefly to his brother, amazed by the words coming from the boy's mouth...there were times when his brother just awed him with his strength in even the worst crisis.