LAPIS :Chapter 8:

"So, do you really think you're ready?" Kasami asks, looking a bit concerned.

"Yes, I should be alright," Maggie responds as she sits up in her bed.

I watch her, sitting in my designated chair now seated near the door. She looks confident in her decision, making me feel that she's telling the truth. I look back at Kasami, who is still staring at her, going over his own decision in his mind. I can understand why, considering that she just woke up from her coma last night. He'd rather not strain her with the facts of what has happened.

I think back. I had apparently fallen asleep sometime the night before last. I don’t recall when, but when I came to, I woke up to being poked in the face. I jerked up, and actually fell back, as I had forgotten I had been sitting in a chair. When I impacted the ground, I was caught by the abrupt laughter, and once I was able to focus my eyes, I found Maggie looking down at me.

To say the least, the sight made me jump again, as it would if anybody was to see that.

"Goro, who are you referring to?" Maggie comments, an eyebrow raised.

I look back at her.

"Huh?" I answer.

She rolls her eyes with a chuckle.

"Never mind."

I blink, before I remember her ability to hear my thoughts. Now I find myself pondering the question myself. Who am I talking to? Am I seriously talking to myself? Dear God, I’m just getting weirder and weirder-

"Goro-" Maggie starts.

"Alright, I get it," I interrupt, glaring humorously at her.

I guess she's getting irritated by my babbling, not that I blame her.

"Yes, I am. Sorry, but you have some weird conversations with yourself," she comments, answering my thought.

"Miss Maggie, please try to ignore his thoughts," Kasami says, ending our back and forth.

"Sorry, but I don't know how," she replies, "I'm not trying to hear them, they just pop up in my head."

"Try thinking of something else, like food-" I start.

"Don't even start on food," she interrupts, her tone serious, "I haven't had anything since I woke up, you should know."

"Yeah, and neither have I," I reply.

She stares at me with slight irritation, but I can tell she doesn't mean anything serious by it. Suddenly, I find myself smiling. She's doing quite well, considering the last time she was conscious she was crying her eyes out in the middle of a mental breakdown. Thinking further, my reaction when I first realized that she was awake must have been amazing to watch. Once the reality had sunk in, I sprung up and pulled her into the tightest hug I think I've ever given anyone, at least for a long time. She was initially caught off guard, but soon started giggling to herself as she hugged me back. Though I think it was my expression after I realized what I was doing which actually caused her to crack up. I could sense that I was as red as a beet as I pulled away from her, doing my best to keep her from seeing me. Though, I failed miserably.

I don't think I'll ever live that down, especially if Cent hears about it.

As she hear me going on and on in my mind, she giggles, smiling. I meet her gaze, and grin, no tension between us as she continue a moment longer. It seems I entertain her.

Though, it may also be that I'm distracting her.

As the thought passes through my mind, I watch her eyes widen, before she looks over to the window, watching the world outside the thick Gelus walls. Slowly, her expression fades and becomes more serious, but at the same time, depressed.

"Kasami . . . did I kill anyone?" she asks bluntly, her voice quieter.

Kasami and my eyes widen. We weren't expected a question like that from her, that's for sure. At least, not this early. After a moment, Kasami and I look at each other, then sigh. Better now than never.

"Fortunately, no, you did not," Kasami says, walking closer as he explains, "The boy you severely mauled is still in a coma, but he's alive."

Her brows furrowed. ". . . I can't remember much . . ." she trails, "But I do remember seeing nothing but blood . . . I kept hearing screams and grunts, but now there all muddled in my mind. None are distinct . . . except for one. . . ."

I hear the scream rip through my brain, and I can instantly tell that it's the 17 year old Private. My countenance becomes strained, and I turn away, trying to shake it from my mind. Maggie notices my actions, and sighs. "So, a 17 year old private, huh?" she asks, apparently hearing the description I’ve set in my mind.

Kasami nods.

She falls some, running her hands through her long blue locks as she thinks through the events. Her expression is strained, the weight of her actions starting to dawn on her. "Damn . . . he's my age. . . ." she trails.

"I'm sure that he wouldn't blame you for his injuries," Kasami comments, trying to reassure her, "Please, don't allow it to dampen your thoughts."

Maggie's eyes widen, looking up at Kasami in shock. In response, he blinks, surprised by her action.

"Is there something wrong?" Kasami asks.

"Something wrong?" Maggie repeats, looking completely flabbergasted as she stares at him, "You just told me to basically ignore what happened to that guy!"

"No, that's not what I meant-" Kasami starts.

"Then what then?" Maggie interrupts, her tone serious.

For the first time since I've been here, I see Kasami look stumped, not able to figure out an accurate way to explain the true intentions in his words. He looks over at me, and gives a gesture, apparently wanting me to take over the conversation with Maggie.

Well, he gave up easily.

"Maggie, tell me what you've taken in about this place so far," I ask, trying to change the subject on her mind.

She sighs, looking back at me. It seems she's still quite aggravated by Kasami's words, but doesn't feel like sharing her anger with me, even in the privacy of my mind. I guess I shouldn't expect her to, as again, she and I aren't really well acquainted yet.

"This is the future . . . year 3000 . . . I'm someplace that is not my home. . . . My brown hair is now blue, my brown eyes are now blue and yellow, and my tan skin is now as pale as snow," Maggie answers, "I also, to top it off, now have telepathic abilities and use this thing called a "Power Shock.”

I watch her for a moment, before I respond, "Yes . . . that's all right. This place is a military Base, as I'm guessing you figured out on your own, called Gelus."

"Gelus . . . alright," Maggie replies, taking in the information before she speaks again, "Where exactly is that?"

"Summan Territory," I answer automatically.

Her expression becomes a bored glare. "Dumbo, I don't know what that is," she comments.

"We're near where Seattle once was," Kasami responds, stepping in to save the conversation.

I blink, then I realize my mistake. Oh yeah, the time thing.

"Thank you." Maggie says with a thankful expression, "Well, we're farther south than what I'm used to."

"Which brings me to this question, considering I passed out the last time I asked," I comment, "Where are you from?"

She grins, happy to finally get another chance to talk about something she knows.

"I'm from Anchorage, Alaska. Though I was born in San Francisco while my family was visiting my grandparents on my Dad's side," Maggie says.

"Oh wow, you're from way up north," Kasami comments with a grin.

"Yeah, though I love it. The mountains, the forests, the wildlife, it's perfect. . . ." Maggie trails off, her voice falling as her reality once again returns to the front of her mind, "Or . . . it was perfect."

Kasami picks up almost immediately on her depleting optimism, his expression becoming sympathetic. "Alaska hasn't changed much, you'd probably still be able to recognize many of the places you knew so well," Kasami says.

Maggie smiles a bit. "That's a nice thought," she comments, before looking back at me, "What about you Goro?"

I blink, surprised that she wants to know anything about me. "What?" I ask.

"Where are you from?" she replies, raising an eyebrow, "C'mon, you guys want to know all about me, you can at least tell me a bit about you."

"Um . . . well . . . I don't know what you call where I'm from," I say.

She eyes me, trying to figure out a way to see into my head it seems. Though, her eyes widen soon after.

"What?" I ask as I watch her.

"Wow . . . you honestly don't want me to know anything about you," she states bluntly, "There is a wall of wandering thoughts blocking any details of where you're from . . . or who you are. . . ."

Kasami looks over at me, his eyes wide. Great, now he also probably wants to know about me. Thank you so much Maggie.

Without warning, Maggie perks up, looking around. "Here, I got an idea," Maggie says, before she pauses for a moment, "Anyone seen my IPod?"

"IPod?" I repeat.

"Oh dear God, you are deprived," she comments, her face unamused.

I blink.

"Well, that was rather blunt," I say with a short laugh, "But really, what is it?"

"It's a gadget that allows you to listen to music, watch movies, whatnot," Kasami explains.

"Thank you for explaining," Maggie says as she looks over at him, "Where is it?"

"Here," Kasami says, picking up something on the table beside Maggie's bed.

As I watch him hand it to her, I recognize the item from when I first saw it a few weeks ago. She holds it, grinning to hold something familiar. With ease, her thumb moves across the screen, the front lighting up as she works. Finally, she seems to find what she was searching for, as she holds it out to me. I watch her, and she groans. "C'mon, I kinda can't walk over there at the moment," she says as her eyes fix on mine.

With a shrug, I stand, quickly coming to stand beside her bed. She holds the screen in front of my face, surprising me as I see a map staring me in the face. Though, unlike what I'm used to, Vesperia is cut into shapes that I'm not entirely familiar with. As I look over it, I deduce that this is a map of the United States of America, back when it was only 50 states. Interesting, I'm used to seeing the map with 56.

"Point to the area where you are from," Maggie says, "No need for names, I won't say anything out loud."

I look up at her, taken back by her offer. She grins, before holding her hand out to me, puzzling me further.

"Shake on it," she comments, stretching her fingers a bit.

I watch her hand for a moment, before she rolls her eyes, annoyed apparently by my stillness. To my surprise, she takes my left hand with her free hand, holding it firm, but somehow gentle. Her touch is warm, like that of an old friend who you're reuniting with after being away from them for a long while.

"Wha-" I start.

"Shake," she repeats, looking up at me with slight annoyance in her gaze, "Don't be stupid."

With that, I look over at Kasami, who simply chuckles, and shrugs. I turn back to face Maggie, and sigh. I won't win no matter what I do.

I grip her hand, and with that, we shake on the promise. Though, our release is slower than what I expected it to be. Her fingers hook on the tips of mine as she pulls her hand back, causing a jolt to shoot up my arm. It's not enough to cause me to move, but the sensation is enough to perplex me. I look back up to meet Maggie's gaze, her eyes translating something much like what I feel. Though, she doesn't act on it, trying to move past it quickly.

"Now, point, she instructs, holding the screen up to me.

After a moment of watching the screen, I finally touch the screen, finding the area of where I'm from quite easily. Maggie grins, seeming to be pleased that I finally revealed something about myself.

"Neat, thanks for sharing," she says.

"I guess I will not know," Kasami comments with a small laugh.

"You should know, you're my superior. Shouldn't you have some records about me?" I ask.

Kasami blinks, thinking, before he laughs. "Well, I guess I hadn't thought of that," he says with a warm smile.

I grin, happy to see the scene in front of me. After so many days of tension, it's nice to have a moment of relaxed conversation. It appears that times like these are rarer than what I first expected when I first came here.

"Major Kasami."

Blinking, Maggie and I turn to see the door opening.

Seems I jinxed the situation.

"Yes, what is it Anyola?" Kasami asks.

"I, unfortunately, am here to make Officer Jintez aware of the fact that he was been called forward. . . ." Anyola trails off, her expression stone.

Maggie raises an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" Maggie asks, her voice a bit less confident than before.

Anyola shoots a glare at Maggie, sending a chill down her spine. I can sense Maggie beginning to lose her ground, so I nonchalantly step over slightly, enough that she feels a bit more comfortable. To my advantage, Anyola doesn't notice, making it easier to step a bit closer. "Well, because of your thoughtless actions, Isugoro is being detained!" Anyola spits.

Both of our eyes widen.

I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut, unsure how to respond as I look between Anyola and Kasami. "Wait, what?" I ask.

"On what grounds is he being detained?" Kasami asks as he steps forward, just as concerned as Maggie and I.

Anyola doesn't answer for a moment, her expression cracking as she looks over at Kasami. " . . . He broke the law," she trails, her voice more depressed.

"Huh?" Maggie asks.

Uh oh.

"Uh, Anyola-" I start, knowing exactly what she’s playing at.

"Don't play dumb," Anyola interrupts, looking right past me, and straight through Maggie with an icy glare, "You know very well what happened."

"Anyola-" I begin again.

"I-I honestly have no idea what you're talking about," Maggie admits, her voice shaking under Anyola’s gaze.

"How could you not remember basically getting tongue tied with him?!" Anyola barks, pointing straight at me.

I squeeze my eyes shut, not wanting to see Maggie's reaction. Maggie though apparently . . . has no reaction. After another moment, I open my eyes again to see that Maggie looks confused, not understanding what Anyola's words are supposed to mean.

"Wha?" she breaths.

I swear, if I wasn't standing there in front of Anyola, she would have reached over and began choking Maggie for her ignorance on the matter. The tips of Anyola’s ears turn red with anger as she watches her, shaking some. Kasami and I share a look. This doesn’t look good.

"Damn Jeweloid, you made out with him!" Anyola spits.

And that Maggie understands perfectly, as she turns bright red as soon as the words reach her ears. She eyes go wide and she covers her mouth with her hand, trying not to gasp out loud. I look away, not wanting to meet her gaze, considering that if I do . . . well, I may turn redder than she is. Though, again, it seems luck is against me, because it's only when I return my gaze to her that she looks at me. In that single look, all of her confusion and embarrassment translates through her eyes, making the same emotions to swell through me. I feel a knot grow in my throat, and steadily, the heat in my cheeks rises. I once again look away, not knowing what to do.

"I . . . I k-kissed him?" she stutters, gesturing towards me as she tries to redirect her stare.

I hear Kasami sigh. "Well . . . yes. You two did, well, as Anyola said . . . “make out”. . .” Kasami trails, ". . . very much so-"

"You're not helping," I comment, wanting nothing more than for him to stop speaking.

"So, considering the fact that Isugoro did kiss you-" Anyola starts.

"I kissed him . . . as you say . . . so I am the one that should be detained," Maggie interrupts, her expression a bit fretful.

"I agree," Anyola says harshly, before her countenance changes from anger . . . to perplexed dissatisfaction, "But they are detaining him . . . because by the standards of a kiss . . . he did kiss you in return."

It's official: I hate life.

Maggie's eyes widen, looking over at me. It seems she wasn't expecting to hear that I had kissed her. Why is something I don't understand honestly. So I don’t get overwhelmed by the situation again, I try to distract myself, running my hand through my hair, thinking about the relief of no longer having to worry about the bandages, as I'm finally fully healed.

Though, my wandering thoughts don't save me for long.

"Officer Jintez, you are to come with us."

Before I know what's happening, I feel my arms grasp by someone. In response, I jerk back intuitively, not knowing what exactly is happening. Though, that was a wrong move on my part, as the first thing I really see is Maggie looking down at me in shock and fright. They've pushed me down, pinning me to her bed so to handcuff me without struggle, which wouldn't have happened if I had originally understood what was happening.

I pick the dumbest times to wander off.

"C'mon, you're going to be seeing the Commander soon," one of the men say, pulling me up by the back of my collar.

As I come to stand straight, my eyes meet Maggie's. She looks so broken, her eyes brimming with tears as if to give texture to her guilt. A lump forms in my throat as I take in the sight. I never wanted to make her feel bad.

I . . . I'm so sorry. . . .

Her voice sounds heartbroken as it floats through my mind. Without a moment lost, I sneak a grin back at her.

Don't be . . . they're right about me kissing you, so I carry some of the blame too . . .

Her eyes widen before she diverts her stare, her cheeks flushing further as she hears the honesty in my voice. The sadness lightens, making my grin earnest. I want to make her feel better, not worse, about her situation.

. . . Did I do anything else so stupid?

The red in her cheeks deepens as she looks back up at me through her lashes, the action quite attractive if I do say so myself. I show her a small smirk.

I never said kissing you was stupid, did I?

That causes her composure to break, hiding her face in response so that I can’t see her look even more embarrassed. The sight is cute to say the least, and actually makes me chuckle. The officers trying to arrest me however, don’t seem to find the same enjoyment in the moment.

"Hurry up!" the other man yells, pushing me towards the door.

I do as told, walking quick. I look back one last time, seeing her staring at me. I smile, trying to send a reassuring message with my eyes.

. . . Don't worry, I'll be back soon.

As we turn out of the door, I immediately try to become more serious, considering that despite my best reassure to Maggie, I really am in a bad situation. Though, I'm distracted from my thoughts as I hear a very familiar voice humming an on key tune. I deflate as he just so happens to turn the corner, an expression of shock set on Cent's face as he realizes it's me, not aware of the situation. "G-Goro-" he stutters.

"Keep an eye on her for me, alright?" I interrupt, "I was ordered to guard her room, but I kind of had something come up."

"What did you do Dumb Ass?!" he asks, perplexed by the lack of context.

"I was kissed," I say honestly.

My answer causes Cent’s face to go blank, before he can’t help but crack a smile, and laugh as the soldiers and I continue down the hall.

"No place like Gelus, huh Goro?" he calls.

"Nope," I call back.

"Silence!" one of the men say.

With that, I stop talking, not wanting to get any physical punishment for disobeying.

. . . You promise?

Maggie's voice is clear in my mind, apparently not effected by distance like I originally thought.

I grin a bit.

Shake on it.