A/N: Hello everyone!

I've really enjoyed writing this story so far, and while I'll probably continue regardless of reception, I'm genuinely curious if people are enjoying this work and would like me to continue. Thoughts are appreciated!

Thank you for reading.

A Broken Heart

"Tell me, how long have you realized your connection's been severed?"

"From... the moment I came back."
From the moment he'd disappeared.

Kairi and Ienzo sat parallel with one another in his office. With legs crossed, he looked down at the clipboard and paper he held in his hand—writing down the information provided. "Interesting," he noted. "Comparatively, what did your connection feel like before, as to what it is now?" A question to which the young woman looked down at her lap.

"I... I don't really know how to describe it," she muttered.

"Just try the best you can," he gave her an encouraging look as a pause follows. Twiddling her thumbs, she was hesitant to think deeply on the matter, but also knew it was necessary to indulge in the memories.

"Before," she replied slowly, "it was like... there was a something that attached us. You know, like... when you hold one end of a rope, and someone else holds the other? You can feel it when they move, or tug it." Her eyebrows knit together, wondering if the analogy at all made sense to anyone else. "It was like there was a string from my heart to his. When he felt something, I could feel it too." She gave a long exhale to calm herself before going onto conclusion: "Now, it feels like... that string's been snipped in half."

"I see," he said in a soft and sympathetic tone, writing down her thoughts on his notepad yet. "How has it made you feel?" asks Ienzo; while somewhat fidgety before, Kairi's anxiety calms to somberness as she slows to stillness.

"I feel..." she thinks critically, as if the matter struck her in its reality, "depressed." It hurts to acknowledge. "I feel," she holds her breath... "like, my own light's gone dim."

He gazes at her in both curiousness and empathy, before again jotting her reply on his pad. "It's incredibly uncommon for a Princess of Heart to feel such," he says, "Jiminy told me of another in the new seven hearts—Elsa—who nearly lost the ability to claim herself as such in the midst of despair and solitude. A Princess of Pure Light, that nearly fell to Darkness..." He cups a hand to his chin, pondering the matter, "I think it's no chance that the change in your life could be tightly linked with your mental health."

She wrinkles her eyebrows; she would've thought that much'd be clear, but when he said it like that and showed so much interest in the matter, she had to wonder what exactly he was thinking: "You think, I can't feel Sora anymore... because I'm sad?"

"I can't say for sure yet," he explains. "I need some time to compare my notes with my Master's research. If there's any record of similar instance, there might also be lead to a cure," he stands, walking towards the exit. "I can't imagine it'll be too long, I'll try to be done by this afternoon."

"Take your time," she says simply, standing to follow in his footsteps. He stops before glancing over his shoulder, a smile peeking through the fringe covering his face as he gives her a nod.

The two part ways, turning down separate walks of the hall, however Kairi comes to a stop not long after she finds herself on her own. Strolling past an open door of what looked like another examination room, she hears the soft conversation of familiar voices. She sees Naminé and Riku, as well as someone else she didn't recognize, at a consultation desk. Sensing her presence, her friends turn to look at her.

"Ah, hello, Kairi," says Naminé.

"Hey," Riku gives her a gentle smile, "how did your meeting with Ienzo go?"

"Fine," she replies with a shrug, stepping in from the doorway to join them. "What are you guys doing?" she asks, as the duo look at one another before turning back to the man in front of them.

"Kairi, this is Even," introduced Riku. Kairi's gaze drifted back to the man; she remembered hearing his name the other day. She takes a good look at him, and feels a bit unnerved by his visage. He had an abnormally thin face, a big nose, and long, greasy hair. She only half surprised as Riku goes on to explain: "He's the one who created the vessels to house Naminé, Roxas, and Xion's hearts."

His expression seemed to be a cross between amusement and... having smelled something awful. (...Maybe that was just how he looked.) "It's a pleasure to meet you, Princess of Heart," he says.

She gives an uncomfortable smile and a laugh to match. "Likewise."

There's a momentary lull as Riku looks down at his lap, Naminé puts a palm to her chest. The two seem deep in thoughts Kairi wasn't sure she understood, she look to them in curiosity before Naminé finally speaks. "Even... thinks he can help us save someone else," she says, "—someone important to both Riku and I."

From her phrasing, she wondered who this person could be. "Who?" she asks simply.

Riku tilts his head back, eyelashes drifting open to look at the grayscale ceiling. He wonders where to begin; it certainly would've been cruel to make Naminé indulge in the shared heartbreak. He exhales.

"Do you remember... the day before the final battle?" he asks, to which she nods. Riku looks over to her. "About... about that time I 'needed to myself'..."

Riku and Naminé went on to explain all about Riku's dopplegänger, his own replica who went on to develop his own heart stray from the original—however the same one he'd shared with both of them, particularly in the most critical moments. Kairi was a bit stunned, having not realized the impact behind Naminé's revival, or Riku's past. She'd had no idea.

"We... came to Even thinking he could offer advice," Naminé explains.

The scientist cups a gloved palm to his chin. "For the replica to have survived so long after Castle Oblivion, I'm inclined to believe his heart once again sleeps in solitude," Even explains. "His model was perhaps the most faithful I'd ever made, after all. It'd be no surprise if he'd grown as strong as the original."

While Riku was unappreciative of the inanimate manner in which he addressed the aforementioned, he bit his tongue. He needn't cause more trouble for the matter at hand. "I think he was stronger than I could ever be," he settles to say.

"Hm, yes." A curious smirk shows on the older man's face. "Well, I could easily make another vessel for his heart to occupy, but the difficulty in the matter comes with finding where his heart might've gone off to rest," he explains. "And I'm afraid it's now considered... outside—my realm of expertise, to provide information of the heart." Kairi recalled the day before last when she'd heard mention of such; her curiosity started to peak.

"I don't know." Riku shakes his head to himself. "I couldn't feel him in the Realm of Darkness when I went looking for Sora," he replies solemnly. Naminé looked disheartened, or perhaps deep in thought.

"It's because... his heart doesn't belong there anymore," says the girl in white. Kairi's gaze narrows a bit as if the notion flipped a switch in her mind, though she wasn't quite sure what light'd been turned on.

"Regardless," Even cuts in once more, "trust that, if you do, in fact, find his heart, it won't be without a home to occupy." His reassurance sounded more threatening than expected, but was no less appreciated. "I'll begin work on a new vessel immediately." Both Riku and Naminé's gratitude shows soft on their faces; they stand and give an appreciative bow as thanks.

The three youths then take their leave once again, idle chit-chat lingering between Kairi and Riku yet, though the red-head couldn't help but notice her other halve's lasting silence. "I told Leon I'd spar with him this afternoon," Riku goes on to explain the girls. "Wanna come with?"

"Not today," Naminé says vacantly, "thank you, though."

Kairi's gaze is caught in the corner of her eye in Naminé's direction before she looks back to the young man. Ultimately, she shakes her head. "You go on without us," she lends him a smile. His sight drifts over Kairi's head to the other at her side. Looking back to princess, he gives an affirmative nod.

At the fork in the hall, he takes the left. Naminé came to a slow, lost in her own daze, as if she hadn't thought of her own path. Ultimately she's pulled from her solitude by the feeling of a hand in hers. She looks up to her image reflected in what could've been her own optics. "Hey," says Kairi, "there's somewhere I wanna show you."

With eyes large in wonder, Naminé gaped at the sight before her. "There's... there's so many books."

Shelves and shelves toppled their height three fold; Kairi had successfully navigated their way to the library. Earlier Ienzo had told her the public study was nearby, and sure enough, it was the same place from her farthest memories.

"There is," Kairi giggles. Despite the fact, the young woman needn't think twice before walking right past the scholarly tombs and literature texts. She distinctly recalled spending most her time in the lower floors far-right corner.

"I... I'm not very good at reading," Naminé admits solemnly. It felt like a shame to say as much, as Kairi seemed so interested in showing her this place. "Ansem... didn't teach me a lot."

"That's okay," Kairi reassures her softly, still holding the girl's palm in her own as she led her through the isles. "There's books here that can help you learn."

Naminé blinked. "Is there?"

Peering over her shoulder, Kairi winked at the other girl. "Yeah, after all," coming to a familiar sight, a rocking chair sat dormant by the shelves; a warm sense of nostalgia flooding her heart, "it's where I started learning to read as well." Kairi lets her go as she turns to the shelves on their right and starts rummaging through the colorful spines. The children's literature section. "But that's not what I wanted to show you." Tapping a few books, she settles on a bright, blue paperback; she pulls it out and shows it to her company. "Here we go!"

Naminé tilts her head. "What's this?"

A cheerful giggle echoes from her lungs as she mimics the gesture. "A coloring book!"

—And it was times like this that Naminé was sure she'd grown a heart of her own.

"I... I can have it?" Naminé exhales in disbelief, and Kairi gives a simple nod. She seems almost stunned before reaching out slowly, taking the article in her hands. If Kairi didn't know any better, she could've sworn a droplet was hidden behind drawn up, Kairi brushes the fringe from her company's visage.

Naminé finally looks down at the book again, this time, opening to an uncolored page. A thought strikes Kairi, "Let's try it out." Excitedly, she takes the girl's hand and pulls her towards a short table nearby. They're a bit tall, as the seats were made for children—but Kairi ushers her to sit before she can protest. On the table is an old box of crayons, both it and the surface are caked with a thin layer of dust.

Naminé seems a bit frazzled. "R-Right now?" she asks, and Kairi nods excitedly. The red-head takes the liberty of wiping the muck from the surface to encourage her. "A-Ah..." Naminé sweats. "I... o-okay." Slowly, she open the book, some pages were colored and others blank. She comes to a page full of outlined star shapes; she reaches out and grabs the crayons. After contemplating the colors for a moment, she decides on a bright, yellow shade.

While not perfect in any sense of the word, she begins scribbling within the lines as best as she can. A notch here and there escapes the outside, but Kairi thought it better than she could ever manage. It's an almost cathartic experience to watch. She was only surprised for a moment, as Naminé reaches into the crayon box again, this time, pulling out an emerald shade. While there's no outline for such, she begins illustrating what looks like the leaves of a plant... one or two, at the tops of each star.

"Paopu Fruit?" she asks, and Naminé nods. She's oddly hesitant, and it seems like there's something she wants to say. A pause lingers between Kairi's question and Naminé's deeper thoughts.

"I wish... I would've had the chance to try it, too."

Kairi tilts her head, confused. "Huh?" The blonde tucks a stray tuft behind her ear before her fingertips linger on the colored stars again.

"I want... to see Riku again."

It took her a moment to take the other's meaning, knowing they'd just seen the aforementioned minutes before. "You mean, his replica?" asked Kairi. Naminé knew she meant no offense in the statement, only clarity; she gave an affirmative nod. Kairi's quick to find solace in the situation. "Well, if he's as faithful to the original as you all say..." her voice is soft as a fond look crosses her visage, "then you can be sure you'll see him again, with or without the Paopu."

A shade of rose tinges the color of Naminé's pallid cheeks, as if trying to express the feelings in her heart was an all new experience for her. "I just want... to be with him," she says, "for real this time."

"Trust me..." It'd seem like a criminal act to disturb the hand tracing green streaks on the page, so Kairi instead places a palm gently on her other's shoulder, "if there's anyone who can find him," she reassures her, "it's you."

Naminé finds it in herself to smile, even if it's only for the girl in front of her. Her doubt lingers, but she'd be a hypocrite if she didn't take her other's word. She recalled one of the first things she'd ever told Kairi: believe in yourself.

Before they can say much more, they're cut off by an 8-bit tune—the chime of her ringtone. She pulls her phone from her pocket, greeted with the sight of a half covered visage: Ienzo.

"Ah, Kairi," he says, a notable sort of enthusiasm in his tone, "are... you busy?"

"I'm just with Naminé," she replies.

Oh, good, he thinks. "Please come see me at my lab. Bring Naminé along if you can, it concerns her too; I've come across something... interesting in my notes," explains Ienzo. The two girls look to one another both in slight surprise. Regardless, they pack up the coloring book and head back to the laboratory without question.

"You're no longer a Princess of Heart."

Twin, wide-eyed stares find themselves cast in Ienzo's direction, disbelief apparent in both gazes. "W...What?" Kairi muttered weakly.

"You... heard right, I'm afraid," he assures them, almost regretfully. Even more-so than Kairi, Naminé stood, stunned in the fact—almost morbidly. "If what I've concluded is correct, in your demise, you passed down your title as a Princess of Heart in order to keep your pure light safe—not unlike the time your heart found refuge in Sora's on his first adventure." His gaze pans from the red-head to her fated other, who already had a knowing, guilted look plastered across her expression. "I'd think it already fully apparent, whom your successor is."

What seemed to Naminé perhaps even more unbelievable than Kairi's renounced title was the fact in result. "I'm..." she exhales, "a Princess of Heart...?"

"We'll need to run a few more tests for assured results, but—yes," the young man nods, "so it'd seem."

"Is..." Kairi suddenly chimes in, "is that why I've been cut off from Sora?"

Ienzo pauses, ultimately exhaling as he shakes his head. "It seems like too large of a coincidence to be only that, wouldn't you say?" Kairi's hand drifted to her torso, though she wasn't entirely she what her being withheld any more.

"I..." she says, "I don't care if I'm not a Princess of Heart," she shrugs ultimately. "Right now, that doesn't matter to me..." She puts a hand on Naminé's shoulder, who gives her a weak look.

"I can understand, but your concerns and the given situation might be tightly linked—if not one in the same," says the boy. "If you'll allow me a few minutes to set things up, I'd like to run a full physical and analysis on the both of you." Standing, he picks up two articles of clothing. He's ultimate to hand one to each of the patients. "Naminé, if you'll change into this." A typical hospital gown. "And, Kairi..." after a moment, he holds out a long, black robe her to take, "you'll need to wear this."

An Organization coat.

"I'm sorry if it's a touch large in size," Ienzo apologized, "it's the same one I used to wear." He swiveled in his revolving chair, turning to see his patients as they walked in. Sure enough, the garment hung loose off Kairi's shoulder in the slightest, dragging behind her on the floor in excess length. "In any event, I imagine it'll serve its purpose just the same."

A chill ran down Kairi's spine with the statement. "Its... purpose?" She exhales an uncomfortable laugh. "Are—are your tests really that dangerous?"

"Not terribly," he replies coolly, "but, as was agreed upon by Wise Ansem—we're to show every measure of precaution. If you're truly no longer a Princess of Heart, you'll be susceptible to darkness like the rest of us now." He pauses, reminiscing on thoughts of the past. "Many an experiment have gone awry in this lab, without those coats." Regardless, motioning to an inclined examination chair, he looks to Naminé. "If you'll have a seat first, please."

Hesitation. Swallowing hard, she gives a nod, settling in and laying back.

Around her spot were numerous monitors with readings neither girl understood; Ienzo had stuck suction-cupped wires to her forehead and arms. Anxiety was clear on her—already pallid—visage; he'd hum with the results, muttering a phrase of interest every now and again. For much of the exam, he was silent, until his search came to a close.

"Results are yet conclusive," he finally said, "but for my own piece of mind..." Ienzo stood, walking Naminé's way. He picks up a stethoscope on the desk nearby, hooking the prongs into his ears, holding the diaphragm up in front of her chest. "If I may?" he asks, though she lends him a skeptical look. "It won't hurt, I promise." It didn't take a scientist to see the traumatic recollection in Naminé's eyes. Kairi realized that, clearly, there was something the girl didn't like here. She had to wonder how much about herself she didn't know, even yet.

Regardless, Naminé gives a reluctant nod. Ienzo places the bell against her chest. For a moment he's silent in his examination. "Are you feeling ill?" he asks. "Your heart rate is very irregular."

A moment of hesitation follows. "I-I'm fine," she assures them. Kairi gives her a weak, quizzical look; doing all in her own medical practice, she puts a hand to Naminé's forehead. She did feel a bit warm...

"I wonder if your vessel isn't as stable as we thought, then," he replies, pulling the medical instrument from her chest and hanging it around his neck. "We'll go ahead and hook you up to the IV, just in case."

"...IV?" Naminé mutters as Ienzo shuffles at the counter. "W-What's... that?"

"A tube that feeds into your vein," he explains, hooking and loading various wires. "It'll help stabilize your condition."

"L-Like... the veins in my body?" she asked suddenly, going increasingly more alert. "How does it get in there?" she dared to asks.

"With a needle," he answers nonchalantly. On queue, Ienzo turned to reveal a large syringe in hand; Naminé's eyes grew wide. Approaching her, he enclosed on her arm, "If you'll hold still for a moment—"

"No, please!" she shouted instantly. "I-I'm fine, really!"

He gave her a look of annoyance and a roll of his gaze. "For goodness sakes, Naminé, a smack in the face from Larxene is leagues worse." Kairi tilts her head curiously. Larxene? "This won't hurt. If I may, please?" he asks, and she shakes her head vehemently. "I'd rather we needn't get Riku in here to hold you down."

"Please!" she begs through tearful eyes. "Please, I don't want to."

"Ienzo," Kairi mutters and gives her a weak look, "I don't think this is a good idea."

"If her vessels unstable, it's inevitable regardless," he tried to reason.

He reaches for Naminé's wrist, but before even the slightest notion of contact is made, she begins struggling in place. "No, stop!" she shouts. To both his and Kairi's surprise, she smacked the article from his hands; it cascades from his hold, shattering on the floor in a thousand pieces.

"Naminé!" Kairi called in concern, she puts a concerned and stable hand on her other's shoulder. The blonde is instant to flip her way, wrapping her arms around Kairi's form in an embrace. To everyone's surprise, there's more to the hold than emotional security alone.

Naminé's already porcelain form begins glowing with an even brighter, white light, starting at her chest and dispersing outwards. Kairi's gaze grows wide, and it's enough to make Ienzo shield his eyes and stumble back, knocking a few articles from his desk with a crash. The monitor readings nearby spike and the wires attached to her spark off. Over the chaos, Kairi calls to out. "It's okay, it's okay!" she shouts frantically. "He's not gonna do anything!" Only with the added reassurance found in a gentle pat on the back of the head does her behavior begin to cease; the light dims.

Breathing heavily, Ienzo shakily regains his composure. He brushes his hair from his eye only to have it fall back once again; he clears his throat. "I suppose I've seen more then enough to deduce conclusive results." He looked over to the blonde, still embracing her other, too stunned and ashamed to look his way. "As of today, we'll be working under the notion that former Nobody and Memory Witch, Naminé, houses the Heart of a Pure Light Princess." Kneeling, he begins scooping up the scattered papers and broken beakers. "Also to note, subject has a vehement disagreement towards needles," he mutters for a moment before directing his voice back towards the girls. "You're dismissed for the day, Naminé. Go change."

Without another word or so much as a gaze, she doesn't even look Kairi's way before excusing herself silently. Kairi almost calls back to her, but instead looks again to Ienzo. Almost suspiciously, he didn't show the proper acknowledgment. Her eyebrows knit together.

"What happened to her?"

"You'd know better than I, I should think."

Taking a few fast steps in his directions, she kneels to help, though more-so to look him in the eye. "You were Ansem's apprentice," she says, picking up a few fallen shards. Recalling Naminé's behavior from the few days prior, she asks, "It's something he did to her, isn't it?"

Ienzo is quiet. "I..." he exhales, "I can't say for sure."

"Then, from your best, educated guess...?"
As someone who's known him for nearly as long as they've been alive?

Ienzo's gaze draws to a close. He stands to grab a nearby broom and dust pan, sweeping the remaining glass to a pile. "Before Sora touched his heart, my Master... used to hate Nobodies." A solemn tone was heard in his voice, quite contradictory to his typical scholarly accent. "Even myself, when I was Zexion. He'd stop at nothing to show judgement in his prejudice."

Deducing his meaning, Kairi put a hand to her chest. "Do you think..." she hesitates, "he hurt her?"

A long pause follows. "I really don't know." This time, the tone of his voice rang sincere, Kairi could tell—and he didn't seem pleased with himself about the fact. "Whatever the case," cleaning the last remnants of the mess and dumping the gathered glass in the trash, he finds resolve, "I think there's one thing we can conclude, if not from today alone."

Kairi looks to him. "What's that?"

Wiping his hands with the handkerchief from pocket, Kairi catches what was maybe the clearest look of his face she'd gotten yet. "Inevitably," he says, "people change."

It was Kairi's turn now; Ienzo has hooked her up to the same wires and machines. He was abnormally silent this time as he took his notes and analysis.

"Your heart," he says, "is indeed... too dim, to be considered pure—though I wish I could say that was all there is to it."

An exhausted exhale. "What else?" she asks, and he pauses.

"For all intensive purposes, your heart is 'broken'."

She's caught off guard, repeating back his words, as if she'd though she'd heard wrong. "My heart is... 'broken'?" Well, clearly she'd say so as well—but what did he mean by it...?

The young man nods. "More specifically, it's fractured; it's not unlike what can happen with your bones." Kairi tilts her head as she recalls a time when she was younger—she'd fallen from a coconut tree and broke her wrist. This was... somehow like that?

"You see, unlike the other Princesses of Heart," Ienzo goes on, "you and Naminé didn't preform a proper inherence ceremony. So, when you were revived, your pure light should have returned to it's original owner," he explains, "and yet, it remains still with her. Can you recall any instance of... intense heart palpitations, pain, or the like?"

Kairi begins to shake her head—but then she recalls the moment of her return. Sitting on the tree with Sora as he faded away. The worst pain of her life, though it might've been for more than one reason. "Maybe, yeah," she mutters.

He nods to himself as if she'd confined his hypothesis. "I believe it might've been your light trying to return... but it has little security in a broken heart. It can't stay where it isn't protected."

A weak look appears on her visage. She really was broken, huh? "Does that mean... it's never coming back?"

"It's actually quite the opposite, I should think," he replies optimistically. "Incidentally, there was another instance similar to yours. When Ventus's heart was fractured, his light found refuge in another's," he says. "It took years of rest until Sora finally healed him in full. His case was a bit different, however, as the clash with his own darkness caused his heart to 'sleep'—but regardless, I think the same treatment might prove true for your 'heartbreak', as well."

Not unlike a broken bone, she thought. Though the key factor in Ventus's success was the very reason she found herself in the lab to begin with. "What should I do?"

"I'll need time to work on a cure, but for now..." Ienzo looks back to the read-outs and monitors; he's lost in thought for a moment, "you need rest," he says softly. "Let your heart feel what it must. Surround yourself with those you love..." a long pause follows, as if he, too, were in a similar place, "even if—not everyone you love is here."

Her gaze pans up to the ceiling, lost in the fluorescent examination lights. For only a moment, she can feel her optics growing heavy with tears. She fights them back.

"I have one more question for today," he says, back to business. Kairi looks over to him. "You've told me all you can remember, of your time in oblivion," though that wasn't to say much, "but, if I may ask... what did Xehanort do to cause your initial demise?"

Truthfully, she could hardly recollect it through the haze. She wasn't conscious; she could only remember the sensation of agony. "He struck me with his Keyblade."

Ienzo cups a hand to his chin. "Do you have any scars from the event?"

She blinks in realization. "I... I don't know," she replies truthfully, feeling a sudden sense of growing curiosity, "it was across my back." Not exactly a place she saw daily.

He rolls closer in his swiveling chair. "May I take a look?"

She's caught a bit off guard. Her first instinct is to... firmly decline, but she supposed she did sign up for this. She turns to face away, grabbing the tab of the coat zipper. "You're not gonna try anything weird, are you?" she gives an awkward laugh (...perhaps only half-jokingly.) He chuckles as well.

"Of course not," he reassures her, "you're not really my type anyway."

She blinks, perhaps somewhat surprised. "Hm." Fair enough, she supposed. With his assurance, she pulls the zipper tab, letting the black coat drape down her shoulders, exposing her back for the mosh part. Ienzo, for a moment, was stunned silent.

"Gracious..." he finally said. Chills ran down her spine, and he could probably see as much.

"What is it?" she dared to ask.

Again, he's at a loss for words. "May I," she already didn't like where this was going, "ask you to remove your brazier?"

She groans uncomfortably. I don't have a choice, she complies. Reaching around her back, she unlatched the hook of her bra and shuffles the straps out of his way.

With her permission, Ienzo rolled to and back from his desk, grabbing something. Pausing, he stands at an angle, and the sound of a camera shutter echoes after a moment. Walking back to her side, he holds his Gummiphone out for her to see. Her eyes go wide as she can hardly recognize the picture initially.

Across her entire back—starting from her right shoulder and stretching all the way to her left hip—was the sight of a large and off-colored scar. An expletive is heard under her breath, but she can't say much more before the situation gets even worse somehow.

"Hey, are you guys almost done?" a familiar voice calls, accompanying the sound of an opening door. "Naminé said you—" Kairi's instant to gaze over her shoulder, greeted by the voice's owner.

Riku stood, staring at Kairi's exposed back, stunned with a gaping mouth as he realized the situation. Clutching her arms to her chest, Kairi shouted back, "D-Didn't your mother teach you to knock...?!" (Kairi was certain she had. She knew the woman, after all.)

He seemed to brush her comment aside unconsciously. "Y-you," his characteristic, nervous stutter arose, "your—"

"Well," a voice interrupts, "I think we're done for the day." Ienzo stands, tucking his phone in his pocket. "If you'll excuse me, I have a lot to discuss with my Master before we can progress."

What a flimsy excuse. Caught between annoyance and envy of Ienzo's freedom to bail at the drop of a hat, Kairi let out an audible growl. The scientist brushes past Riku nonchalantly, taking his leave. She has to wonder why both members of her company didn't partake in that same agenda.

"Do you mind?" Kairi says as he stood there like a deer in headlights. He's brought back to reality and welcomed by fluster.

"S-Sorry!" he says suddenly, realizing the situation and turning to face the other way. "I-I wasn't—! I, I just—your..." Contrary to what one might assume, he wasn't focused on her indecency. What exactly was he trying to say? "Your back—"

Kairi shouted sharply, cutting him off. "Get out!"

Realizing her frustration was less-so found in the fact that he'd walked in on her half-naked, and rather in what he'd really seen, Riku grew still and silent in reply. He finds it hard to quantify the feeling he was experiencing in the moment, but he's quick to pin it down. The true weight of his departing words wasn't lost on her.

"I'm sorry."