Vanilla

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It was strangely quiet in the courtyard that morning as three little boys, extremely similar in appearance (though unique compared to their other brothers) sprinted through the grass and flowers. Their brothers had already reported to their positions, but that did not explain the lack of realian staff.

"Hey where are the nannies?" Rubedo asked, leading the triangle.

Nigredo responded quietly as usual. "I think they're sick."

"How do realians get sick?" Albedo spouted as he struggled to stay neck-in-neck with Rubedo.

They entered the building and quickly found the lab where their other siblings and several adults of high rank were waiting. Dimitri Yuriev stood towering menacingly over them as they enered, and glared scrutinizingly through his glasses at Rubedo, Albedo, and Nigredo each in turn. They struggled to avoid catching his attention and each hoped in his own way that they would be able to make it to the dive pods without being called.

"Children," he addressed them in his dark and raspy voice. Each of the three shuddered at the sound and stopped in their tracks. "I have a task for each of you before we begin."

Rubedo suppressed a groan and took up his duty as the leader of the group. "Yes sir," he answered. "What would you have us do?"

Doctor Yuriev smiled a slight but remarkably sly smile at this, which Rubedo met with great discomfort. "6-6-6, you will report to preparation terminal A and review the link synchronization. We will be introducing the female unit to the formation today, and I want their integration to go as smoothly as possible."

"Yes sir," Rubedo replied, his tone devoid of enthusiasm, and gave shrug to the others before slumping off in the direction of his post. Albedo frowned at the removal of his twin from their group, and took a step closer to Nigredo in compensation.

"6-6-9," Yuriev continued, turning his spectacled gaze upon Nigredo. "You'll be the support correspondent between the two units. Report to Citrene, she will explain the procedure in greater detail.

Albedo raised an eyebrow at this, and he could tell that Nigredo was doing the same inwardly, though his face was blank and unmoving. "Sir," he nodded in agreement, and excused himself to locate their newly discovered sister of sorts. Albedo was left all alone in the presence of his unfeeling father.

"You, 6-6-7," Yuriev said, snapping Albedo's attention back to himself. "Unfortunately, Miss Mizrahi's caretaker realian was one of the many afflicted with the network disorder, and had to be sent in for repairs. While your brothers are preoccupied, you will run and fetch Miss Mizrahi for us."

Sakura. Albedo was appalled. He scowled back at his father with a bravery that had only been introduced to him a few weeks ago. He was invincible. If nothing could hurt him and he could not be killed, why he should take any orders at all? Healing Sakura by participating in the dives would make Rubedo happy, and so he obliged, as much as he hated the girl; but that didn't meant that he had to be nice to her, especially when Rubedo was not even around.

"Why should I?"

The man's smirk appeared again. To Albedo's anger, the protest seemed to amuse his father more than anything. "Albedo," he droned, "I understand that recently you have come into a realization of your powers." Albedo didn't turn away, and that was confirmation enough. Yuriev stifled a coarse chuckle. "Did you know that in the outside world, they call creatures such as yourself designer's children?"

Albedo approached this carefully, woefully naive enough to attempt matching his father's wits. "No."

"They do," he went on. "And I am your designer. If you wish to challenge your creator, then you first must become as a god yourself. Remember that what you possess, I have given to you. You are not godly yet by far, boy."

Albedo sneered, though inside he felt a twinge of fear. His father was able to insight that in him with only a foul glance, regardless of physical immunity to harm. His eyes threatened punishments worse than pain or death, penalties they had witnessed themselves. The inclusion of the word yet to his statement was even more unsettling.

"Run and fetch Sakura Mizrahi," Yuriev repeated.

"Yes sir," was the grudging response. Albedo turned to leave.

As he did, a heavy hand clapped down onto his shoulder. His father's hand. Albedo wanted to brush it off like something diseased, but he froze stiff instead. A chill colder than death passed through his body at the touch. "Make sure her hair is brushed," he instructed, "that her face is clean, that she wears shoes."

"Yes sir," he said again, even more agitated.

The hand dropped away, freeing Albedo to walk again. He made it out of the laboratory doors and into the hallway before lashing out, releasing his anger on the nearest wall. It didn't give when he punched it, his fingers did instead. Three of them broke and came back to him bloodied.

Despair followed anger. He looked down at his mangled hand and suppressed a sob as the bones pulled themselves back into place and the skin patched, leaving a blood stain on the wall as the only evidence. He left it there and began to shuffle slowly to the wing of the institute where Sakura's temporary residence was located.

He did not enjoy the brief preview of solitude he experienced as he walked through the desolate foundation. If Rubedo wasn't around then Nigredo would be, more often than not. And even though he hated the standard types, some of them weren't too bad to have around simply to avoid being alone; but now all of them were gone. His steps hastened as he became more eager to end this chore as soon as possible. He hated Sakura, but at least she was someone.

After finally locating her door, he knocked. There was no answer. "Hey you! Open up!" he yelled through the door. Still no reply came. "Ah... damn it," he grumbled and went to try the door. It was unlocked.

He entered and found that the lights were out, though rays of golden sunlight pouring through the window nearby made it more than bright enough to see. She was in a bed in the corner, the same way she was when they met her. This room was much less inviting than the one they they found her in that day after falling out of her closet, however. This bed was plain white, with little more than a sheet to cover her. The walls were bare. The only comfort was the window's view to the courtyard, where URTVs could normally be found playing.

"Hey, get out of bed!" he scolded. "What are you sleeping at this time of day for anyway?"

No response.

He stomped over to the bed in annoyance and whipped the thin coverings off of her. "I said wake up!"

The sheet caught on the air and floated to the floor, revealing a sight that caused Albedo to take a step back. Sakura laid there in her pretty white dress perfectly still, eyes half-open as if she were dead. "Sa- Sa- Saku-" he stammered.

She blinked slowly, proving that there was life in her still, and then groggily rose to sit in bed. Her bare feet then slid off the edge of it and planted on the floor. She stood, and without her shoes on, they were the same height. Her green eyes looked into his, perfectly aligned for a second, and then drifted absently away.

Now Albedo realized why this task took a special service realian. "You really can't do anything in real life, can you?" he asked her, examining her up and down, and waving his hand in front of her face to test. She didn't move, didn't give any sort of answer. Being so used to her usual enthusiasm, this made him feel uncomfortable.

"Well," he said, clearing his throat, and looking around the room. "Let's find those stupid purple shoes you always wear. Hmm..."

Her sleepy eyes followed him as he walked over to a closet compartment and opened it up. Inside were a few more changes of clothes, a hospital gown, and the item he was searching for, a pair of plum shoes.

He snatched them up and put them on the ground in front of her. "There you go," he said, and watched her expectantly. Nothing happened. "Can't you even step into your own shoes?" he complained after a moment. "Aw, fine!"

He pressed down on her shoulders a few times, nearly pushing her over, until she somehow got the idea, and decided to sit on the floor. The tail of her dress pooled around her knees as he crouched in front of her and lifted one foot. Albedo frowned as he held the dainty foot in his hand. Her skin was soft even on the soles, and not a mark was on her.

He quickly shoved her foot into the shoe and then did the same with the other. When he was done he grimaced and looked at her face. "Sorry," he said spitefully, "I am not washing you, I don't care what dad does to me." Her hair though, her hair he could probably stomach.

He stood and looked around for a brush. While he searched the only possible places one could be hidden, she shifted slightly to sit with her knees folded, but did nothing else. "Ha!" he ridiculed the brush when he located its hiding place. Then, with great discomfort, he planted himself behind Sakura and contemplated the act of brushing.

Her hair was dark, the darkest he had ever seen aside from Nigredo's; but unlike his brother's, it was still so vibrant, a rich chocolate brown. It was long enough to reach her shoulders, and that was also a novelty in the universe which encompassed the institute.

Curiously, he took a piece of it in his hand and rubbed it between his fingers. It was silky, and it poured from his hand like water as he released it strand by strand. He grabbed up a fist of it in his hand and pressed it against his face to smell. Vanilla.

He huffed sharply. "Even when you can't move, you're flirting," he grumbled at her under his breath, and began to brush. "I hate you so much. Why don't you just get better and go home already?"

The brush stuck a few inches down when he attempted to simply stroke it from top to bottom. The girl's head bobbed backwards as he tugged, trying to pull through. "Hold still!" he demanded, and held her head in place with one hand while he pulled with the other. Strands of her hair began to snap, a sickly sound like nails scratching against a slate.

He stopped then, and leaned forward to glare at her accusingly. Her emerald green eyes were watering with tears, though her face showed no expression of pain. "Well if that hurt, why didn't you just say so?" he ridiculed her. "Gah! You're so tender and weak... making me look like a bad guy when you're not even trying..."

Learning quickly, he began brushing from the ends and working upwards. As he worked, he watched her sitting, hardly moving. Her chest filled up with deep breaths as if she were sleeping, and she would blink her eyes or turn her head just slightly. "In reality you're just a doll," he said as he worked through a tangle. "Why is it you make Rubedo happy? Why is his smile different when he smiles at you?"

Having finished his work, he tossed the brush across the floor. He didn't feel like getting up and completing his mission for Yuriev or Rubedo or anyone else. He grabbed Sakura by the strands of her hair on either side of her head, threading them through his fingers, and shook her just enough to make her body wobble. "Why you?" he asked her, and a sniffle surfaced in his voice as he reminded himself of the obvious answer. "Because you're pretty to look at and soft, and warm; and you were always nice to us and treated us like people instead of a bunch of despicable creatures. I know that... I know that! And... and... still..."

His fingers tensed around her locks, pushing them up in all direction, but his hands no longer pulled to hurt her. He leaned his head against her shoulder blades where her skin was bare and took a deep breath of her calming scent.

"You're going to die... you're going to die and leave Rubedo here. Then Rubedo will die and leave me here. The two of you will go some place and forget me, forever."

He laid against her breathing softly and telling himself calm down, but why should I calm down, in circles again and again and the room was silent except for the sound of his panting. Even this halted as something moved in the corner of his vision and he realized that movement was not his own doing. Then, Sakura's warmth enveloped his hand and pulled it away from her head.

Albedo's face wrinkled in fury. "You want me to stop touching you?" he spat. "You want me gone already, don't you? So you can have him all to yourself!"

Her hand led his to her other one, and both clasped around it and held it to her chest. Albedo watched this in utter shock. She was moving of her own will and not simply out of habit or instinct. This expression was to comfort him. She was not trying to reject him.

Albedo's lip began to quiver again and he felt the burning sensation in his eyes. "I hate you!" he bellowed, and a sob made its way out at the end. "Just say something and get better already and go home! I never want to see you again!" But contrary to his wails, his arm wrapped around her small body to find his other one, and both squeezed and pulled her to him.

He remained holding her tightly and crying until he was done. Sakura held him in return, though her grasp was weak. She was warm. He understood why Rubedo must have liked her then. It made him feel like he could protect something, like maybe he actually did possess that power. But this was all illusionary. All he was doing was crying on a half-dead girl's shoulder.

"Well... maybe I don't hate you," he proposed to himself, sniffling the last of his tears away. She remained silent, unmoving, holding his hands to her with a vacant, glassy stare. Albedo's voice was still hoarse from sobbing as he spoke to her. "So... you are stuck in this shell," he said, "tell me something... do you wish you could die sometimes too?"

Of course, she was unable to answer.

"Well don't die yet," he told her firmly, pulling his arms out of her grasp. He began to stand. He looked down at the ground shamefully as he straightened his uniform. She mimicked his action, rising to her feet. "I haven't practiced digging enough," he said, as if that was his excuse. "It's not like I care if you bite it, I just haven't practiced for you before."

Sakura watched him, nothing showed.

"Whatever," Albedo grumbled. "Come on, let's get out of here."

He stomped across the room past her and opened the door. Her eyes followed but she didn't move. "Come on!" Albedo demanded impatiently. She did nothing.

He exhaled through great annoyance and grabbed her by the hand. "Come on," he said a third time as he pulled her through the door, and grimaced. "If anybody sees us holding hands, I'm blaming it on you."