diatu | An adventure in Bullying and a talk with a Somebody

Xion was looking for Sora, but she was also sneaking around avoiding both Saïx and bullies, so finding Sora was harder than she expected. She had a lot of questions for him, though... and wasn't quite sure how to ask them....

The bullying had gotten worse than ever after. They were ticked off and looking for a bit of revenge. They managed to ambush her while she had been trying to buy ice cream, dragging her from the shop and out to a more secluded area behind. She struggled, but this time they had a good grip on her, pulling her back. It took two of them to hold her, which said something. But there were more than two of them there. A third started punching her in the gut over and over while trying to avoid her kicking feet. With a smirk, he came around behind and pulled off her hood, then started punching her in the back, where she couldn't aim as well.

She fought and struggled, fury on her now exposed face. Not that she thought she could feel that. She hated this and was trying so hard not to just use magic on them... because she still didn't know if that would get her in trouble, and getting in trouble would make things harder on Axel.

As much as he wanted to make amends with her, he knew that it had to be on her terms, and that he had to wait for her to be ready to talk, so Isa had been making a point to give Xion her space.

But today, it seemed, had much different plans for him.

He had been walking past the ice cream shop when he saw a scene he just couldn't ignore. Without hesitation he followed them to where they had dragged Xion. He knew Xion would react poorly to his presence, but her physical well being was more important than his feelings right now.

"Hey! Just what do you three think you're doing?" Isa said sternly, "Leave her alone."

The one punching her glanced back than snorted. "What is it with this twerp and freaky looking people popping up to nose in. Look, freak, take your weirdo hair and go before we give your face even more marks. Make you look like as much of a freak as she is." He turned back to hitting Xion, who had stopped struggling when she had spotted Saïx, having gone completely still.

The bullies could only hurt her physically. Saïx could have her turned into a Dusk, she was sure. Or could use her to hurt Axel.

Isa rolled his eyes at the childish insults, as if those were going to affect him. He stepped forward and physically pulled the bully away from Xion by his shirt.

"Was I not clear the first time? Leave her alone, or you'll soon regret it." It wasn't terribly hard for Isa to be as intimidating as he had been as a Nobody.

"H...Hey! Let me go! Do you know who my father is?" he yelled, glaring and trying to pull free. "Get your own toy, this brat's ours."

Xion closed her eyes.

He was about to scoff at the boy. He had no stake in this place, so why would he care about who this brat's father is.

Then he called Xion a toy.

Hearing these bullies call Xion a "toy" sparked a reaction in Isa that even he didn't expect. It hit far too close to how he had treated her in the Organization and struck a nerve.

"Shut your mouth."

Isa seemed far angrier now, at least visibly so, compared to his usual stoic demeanor.

He drags the boy further away from Xion.

"Get out of here, and take your lackeys with you!"

He dragged his heels, glaring. "Fine. We'll just find her again later. We always do. C'mon boys, we're out of here."

The other boys smirked and shoved her back against the wall as they let go of her, making sure she hit her head before laughing and heading after their leader.

"Xion!"

Isa closed the space between them, prepared to catch her if he needed too, after a blow to the head like that.

She crumpled to the ground, struggling not to pass out. She couldn't. Not in front of him. She had to defend herself... somehow.

but at the moment just not fainting was taking all her effort. she really needed a potion or a cure spell....

He crouched down next to her, a mix of concern and panic rising in his chest.

"Xion!"

He needed to get her to a nurse, or a healer, or whatever sort of medical care they had here.

Lea had been on his way to meet Xion at the ice cream shop when he'd seen four disturbingly familiar figures run by. Getting a sinking feeling, he'd broke into a run himself rushing toward the shop, only to stop short when he glanced down the entrance of an alleyway behind it, seeing Xion's obviously injured form as well as his friend Isa.

"Xion!", he called out, echoing Isa's cry from a moment earlier as he rushed to their sides. "What the heck happened here?!"

Hearing Axel's voice, she tried to push herself up into a sitting position and almost made it, form shaking too badly to get fully upright.

"I didn't do anything to be punished for," she whispered, voice shaking almost as bad as her arms were.

Isa was about to explain to Lea what happened when Xion spoke up.

"'Punished'? Who said anything about being punished?"

Isa wasn't a fool, he knew why Xion would be worried about that.

Lea knelt down to gently support Xion against him. "No one's punishing anyone here," he said quietly.

Looking back up at Isa, he asked, "Did those punks I saw running away do this to her?" Lea was clearly angry, an emotion currently trumped only by his concern for Xion.

She shouldn't lean on him. Not with Saïx here. She had to prove that she was strong, that she could defend herself. That she could protect Axel. And she planned to. As soon as she could stand. She was trying. She just... was not doing a good job of it. Stupid low hitpoints. It had never left her weak quite like this before. She wondered what was wrong with her.

She didn't stop to think about the toll going through escalating versions of this nearly every day for a month had been taking on her stamina. Especially given how little sleep she'd been getting recently.

"I didn't attack a Somebody, I didn't do anything to be punished for," she said, desperately. She closed one fist over the front of Axel's clothes, trying to make sure he understood. If she got turned into a Dusk over this, then he'd know, right? And keep himself safe? Right?

"Yes, I caught them dragging her back here..."

He looks at Xion when she speaks up again, frowning in concern.

"Xion," Isa replied, his voice gentle, "The only ones who deserve to be punished are those bullies. You need medical attention."

"Them again...", Lea growled. "I caught them bullying her once before and chased them off, but this is way beyond schoolyard bullying. It's straight up criminal, and I'm gonna report them to the authorities. This has gone way too far."

"But you're right; we need to get her medical attention first," he said. "Go ask the store owner where the nearest healer is who can handle something like this. And while you're at it, see if she'd be willing to back us up as a witness against those guys." The shop's owner was an older woman so Lea didn't blame her for not intervening more directly, but she had to have seen something at least. "I'll stay here with Xion."

To Xion he said, "Isa's right. You didn't do anything wrong; they did. And we're gonna try and take care of it. You just stay still for now til we can find a healer, alright?"

She had a question, she really did, but she didn't want to ask it in front of Saïx. If he didn't have the idea already, she didn't want to be the one who put it in his head.

"Just need a potion," she mumbled softly into Axel. "No one needs to be in trouble."

"Right. I'll be back as soon as I can."

He gives Xion one last look of concern before he stands back up and runs to the nearby store.

Lea nodded to Isa before turning his attention to Xion. "Don't have any, unfortunately," he said. "...Should probably work on that. Or at least on learning a basic healing spell or two."

"But those guys do need to get in trouble," he said. "Otherwise, they're going to think they can keep doing this kind of crap and getting away with it, and not just to you, but to other people too."

She closed her eyes now that Saïx was gone. "Is he going to turn them into dusks?" she asked, softly. "They're Somebodies, aren't they?" They had hearts, and this was what they chose to do with them?

"No one is turning anyone into a Dusk," Lea assured her. "I'm not even sure that's possible here, and I know Isa wouldn't, even if it is. But what those guys did to you is against the law; we're going to report them to the city authorities and let them decide what to do with them."

"I already mentioned them harassing you before to the school authorities too, so there'll be a previous record of it," he said. "And probably more if anyone else saw it happening and reported it."

"And if they get in trouble... over something like me?" she shook her head against him. "That's all someone would need to prove I shouldn't be here, right?" she asked softly.

That she shouldn't be at all.

"If anything, it proves that they shouldn't be here," Lea said. "Laws are there to protect people, especially those who are more vulnerable, like you. You have the same rights as anyone else in the city, and you did absolutely nothing wrong; anyone with sense can see that. The law's on our side here."

"Is there more to this you haven't been telling me though?", he said. Her concern about being punished had him worried, especially since it seemed a bit of a leap to go straight from the typical schoolyard harassment he'd seen to something like this. Had there been more incidents he didn't know about?

She looked up at him, confused. "More... vulnerable...? Axel... If I fought back I could kill them without meaning to! They're weaker than some of the Heartless Roxas and I fought! They're not even using magic!"

She might not have said it quite like that if she hadn't been quite so off from the pain.

But yeah, if she killed Somebodies, even if they were attacking her, she'd be Dusked or worse for sure.

"Being vulnerable is more than just physical," Lea said, shaking his head a bit. "They took advantage of you, of your fear and your good nature, and hurt you for no reason. And we're also vulnerable because we're outsiders. Us 'Sundered' are strangers here, so we have to be more careful about things like that if we want people to trust us. That might be part of why they targeted you too."

"You did good, not hurting them when you easily could have, but Xion," he said, "if someone is hurting or harassing you like that, you need to tell someone. Tell me, one of the teachers, or someone else you trust. You don't have to handle it all yourself. You have the right to feel safe and live peacefully, just like everyone else."

Good nature? Her? Really? She... wasn't so sure about that one. Sounded like an odd thing to say about someone who spent the whole first year of her life working for the Organization.

As for who she trusted... that was pretty much just Axel, here, and he was the one person she had been trying to keep it from most. Well, him and Saïx, though for different reasons.

And she wasn't sure that a broken puppet like her had any rights. But she also was not going to say that. "I've handled it most of the times myself so far," she mumbled into him.

Yes, good nature. Most of those who'd become part of the Organization had been good people to start with, people who'd been broken and twisted by the loss of their hearts and fell further due to the lack of them. Xion and Roxas had had different origins, but they both came from one of the best people Lea knew, so it still fit.

"Well now you know you don't have to," he said. "From now on, something like this happens, you tell a teacher or you tell me. Got it memorized?"

"And about how many times are we talking here?", he said. "How long has this been going on?"

Yeah.... she wasn't agreeing to that....

"About a month, maybe," she said softly. About as long as Saïx has been around, but if he didn't see that connection she wasn't going to bring it up, not yet.

"Lea!"

Before the conversation has a chance to continue, Isa returns from where he'd gone.

"There's a place we can take Xion to get taken care of down the road, not terribly far from here."

Lea did take note of the lack of agreement, frowning slightly. He was about to comment on how long it had been happening when Isa returned.

Lea looked relieved. "Good," he said. "I'll carry her; you lead the way."

Turning back to Xion, he said. "This probably won't be fun, but I'm gonna have to pick you up and carry you," he said. "Ready?"

She gave a small nod. So long as they didn't get attacked while his hands were full....

Besides, the pain wasn't the worst it had ever been. It was just physical. She could handle that.

"Alright," Lea said. "One, two, three... up we go." He carefully picked Xion up, lifting her into a bridal carry.

He then nodded to Isa. "Ready when you are."

When everyone was ready, Isa gestured in the direction of the healer's place.

"This way."

She leaned into Axel, wishing she was strong enough to just face Saïx and be done with it. But where she knew she could take down those bullies... Saïx was another story all together.

Lea nodded and followed Isa, carrying Xion with him. "What did the shop owner say about the possibility of backing us up?", he asked. "I don't figure it'd be too hard to convince them about our accusations, given that we'll have a record of how badly Xion was hurt, but it can't hurt to have more backup on this."

"She's willing to, but after talking to her, I'm not sure she saw that much of what happened..."

It may still be enough, but that remained to be seen.

...

It wasn't long before they made it to the building. Isa opened it for Lea and Xion, the bell attached to the door ringing to alert the owner that someone had arrived.

Edited 2019-04-27 06:01 (UTC)

She remained curled against him, eyes closed. She knew better than to go to sleep, but she was warm, and the warmth was helping with the pain. And Saïx wouldn't go after her with Axel right there... right?

Lea nodded. "Well, any help's better than none," he said. "And she's a local so that'll help too."

*********

Entering the little clinic, Lea looked around for someone to tell of their arrival. It turns out they didn't need to though, as a woman behind the waiting area's desk saw them enter and immediately approached. "What happened here?", she asked.

"Some guys ganged up on my friend here and beat her up pretty bad," Lea said. "Not sure exactly how bad, but that's part of why we're here."

The woman nodded. "Bring her back this way," she said ushering them through a door that proved to lead back to what seemed to be several private exam and treatment rooms. "First room on the left. I'll inform the healer of the situation."

Lea nodded and headed back that way with Xion while the receptionist/nurse/whoever she was went off elsewhere.

After some hesitation, Isa decided that he should probably stick with Xion and Lea, and not wait in the waiting area. At least if they needed someone to elaborate on where Xion had gotten hurt.

Still, he stayed as far from Xion as he could, and if it turned out they didn't need any information, he'd excuse himself from the room.

He wanted to have a one on one talk with Lea about everything that had happened, about how he felt during the whole thing, but that could wait.

She stayed curled against him, only somewhat aware of the fuss going on around them. Seh was almost fully asleep, but there was something... something she had to do before she slept.

She was trying to remember what. But it was warm and she was hurting less. And sleep was usually a good answer to pain anyway. And weakness. And if she was asleep then maybe Roxas could...

ROXAS! She struggled to open her eyes. She couldn't go to sleep yet! She hadn't gotten a shell for "....Roxas....."

Lea wasn't sure if Xion's apparent sleepiness was a good thing or a bad thing, but her attempts to stir didn't go unnoticed. "Sorry, but Roxas isn't here," he said gently, misinterpreting her concern. "But you don't need to worry about him right now; he's fine."

He gently laid Xion down on the bed in the exam and treatment room, waiting uneasily with Isa for he healer to arrive. He was glad that Isa was there, even if Xion likely wouldn't be.

Fortunately, they didn't have to wait long, before a somewhat prim-looking woman in a green robe walked in. "Hello," she said. "I'm Healer Sanitatem. I'm guessing you're the ones who brought in the patient?"

"Yeah," Lea confirmed. "Isa here saw more of what happened than I did, but a group of guys jumped her and beat her up. She had problems being bullied by them before, but nothing this bad."

The healer nodded, turning briefly to Isa. "I may need to ask you a few questions then," she said. "But that can wait a moment. For now..."

She turned to Xion, moving to her bedside. "I'm Healer Sanitatem," she said in case Xion was awake enough to hear. "I'll be taking care of you. Just lie still and try to relax; I'm going to try and Intimate the extent of your injuries."

With that explained, she began to chant softly, occasionally making gestures at or over Xion's smaller form. Lea couldn't catch most of it, but it sounded as if she was invoking the help f a deity to help with healing her patient. Under other circumstances, this might be concerning, but given what he knew of how magic here worked, it seemed perfectly legitimate.

An adventure in Bullying and a talk with a Somebody - Locked

Locked to Sora

Bad bad bullying

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