~Videl~

Fortunately for Videl, the altercation with the men had distracted Sienna enough to forget about the daro fruit incident, and after a grumble or two - claiming those guys were "such heinous dickheads," she returned to her happy-go-lucky self while they ate lunch together. Videl had to stop herself from asking Sienna about the silver-eyed man she was sure she was supposed to know. After they finished their meal, and as Videl followed Sienna to the food counter to place their empty trays in some weird machine that was labeled as an autoclave cleaning-bin, she felt the unnerving sensation that she was being watched. But when she looked around the dwindling sea of faces in the Cafeteria, it didn't seem like anyone was actually looking at her, so she tried to shake it off.

Once the trays were deposited for cleaning, Sienna hugged Videl tightly, once again.

"I'm so glad you're back. It was so lonely without my best friend."

Best friend.

Videl smiled, genuine happiness swelling in her chest.

"You call me if you need anything, okay?" Sienna told her, wiggling her hand in a silly way. "I have to help Mom and Dad install the new software on their H-5. They're too old to remember how to work the freakin' thing, I guess."

Videl blinked, momentarily misunderstanding Sienna's hand gesture, before it dawned on her that her friend was referring to her wristband with the movement. She looked down at her own wristband and laughed, wiggling her hand in the same fashion. The thing must be some sort of device that was capable of making and receiving calls, as well as open doors. How odd, she thought.

"Of course!" Videl replied, and she watched as Sienna entered one of the elevators after a wave and a promise to hang out soon.

A moment after the doors had closed, a screen indicated that Sienna was going to "PQ - Level 8." PQ? Was that a Level where people lived? Then, underneath the label in a digital fine-print, she noticed that it was  denoted as a Housing Level. There seemed to be so many people on this vessel, and Videl thought it would be impossible for everyone to have their own designated rooms. Videl stood there, staring at the screen - long after it went blank. She watched as a couple entered one of the elevators, and after the doors shut, the screen flashed again - "PQ - Level 5." She figured she must have her own room somewhere, too, but how would she figure out where it was?

Her only idea of how to find it was watching the screen as others departed, hoping one of the Levels would ring a bell to her. It didn't seem likely, considering her own name, her best friend's name, had done nothing to jog her memory. But she didn't have any better ideas. She probably stood there for an hour or two, watching people come and go. A few of the people - certainly noticing her gawking - gestured for her to join their group in the elevator, as if they thought she wasn't sure there was room for her, but she politely shook her head and waved them on. She didn't want them seeing that she didn't know which Level to select. Not that standing here staring like a weirdo is any less suspicious . . . Videl thought to herself with chagrin.

The longer that she watched, the more she started to feel like she was memorizing some of the different Levels. "CS - Level 1" was labeled Med-Bay. She'd seen some people who looked like doctors on lunch-break had come from there. "CR - Level 3" was a Gymnasium - she'd seen some bodybuilder-looking guys going there. One of them had winked at her, mistakenly assuming she was watching them for different reasons. "CS - Level 2" was Education, and she decided it was a Level where people went to school, when she watched what appeared to be a tired-looking teacher ushering some rambunctious children into the elevator, moments before the screen indication. "NP - Level 1" was denoted as an Aviary/Arboretum. Videl had no idea what that could be, but she'd heard some teenagers whispering that they were going to vape there before they exited the Cafeteria. There were several other Levels that weren't discernible - just random series of numbers and letters that Videl had no hope to figure out.

Finally, she heaved a sigh, her shoulders sagging in surrender. Her feet were starting to hurt from standing in place for so long. As she looked around the Cafeteria, she noticed that she was one of the last people to leave from the lunch-hour, and other than her, there were mostly just attendants that were too busy cleaning to eye the crazy girl gaping at the elevators. None  of the PQ Housing Levels had stood out to her as the one she must have lived on. She had wasted so much time for nothing.

Videl decided that she might as well just pick one of the PQ Levels, and try her luck. She supposed she could wave her magic wristband technology at every door until one opened, though the idea was definitely as hopeless as it was ridiculous. What if someone saw her and thought she was mentally ill? Maybe I am, I don't feel particularly sane. She finally approached an elevator and waved her wristband at the laser sensor, waited for the doors to slide open, and stepped inside. She bit her lip as she reached toward the screen. When she tapped the PQ option, a sub-menu slid down for her to choose from Levels 1-10. She hesitated. Ten  different PQ Levels? What was she thinking? There was no reason to believe that she could wander around ten different levels and not be spotted for the weirdo that she was.

In the moment of her hesitation, a second before the doors slid shut, a hand stopped them from closing, and someone slipped into the elevator with her. Videl looked up and gasped.

Kane!

~Kane~

As Kane had watched Videl stand there in front of the elevators, his emotions flitted from anger to confusion, to concern and back around again. She was like a statue, her only movement was her head tilting up to look at the indicator screen and back down to the doors as people entered and exited. Was she on drugs or something? He wondered after more than an hour had passed. Was she waiting for someone? He bristled at the thought. Another hour passed before he saw her wither like she'd been defeated. Whoever she might have been waiting for, she must have decided they weren't showing up.

This was too damn weird, and she was making him  feel weird for spying on her this long. Did it really matter to him what Videl did with her time? Sure, she was acting like an alien, but why was it bothering him so much? It wasn't his circus, nor his monkey. But he was sick of this shit - he was going to get to the bottom of it, whether it was his problem or not. It's definitely not.

He stood up from his seat behind a pillar, abruptly. She had finally moved toward the elevators and waved her wristband at the sensor near one of them. While her back was still turned, he rushed closer. She stepped inside, her focus on the screen keeping her from noticing his approach. She was frowning at the menu, her fingers hovering over the options. The doors started to slide shut. He took his chance, stopping their automatic closure with his hand, and slipped inside. The doors closed then, locking them in a box together. The last thing he normally wanted was to be trapped in an elevator with Videl, of all people. She looked up at him and gasped in surprise.

"Okay, what the fuck  is wrong with you?" Kane nearly shouted at her.

He fully expected her to hiss at him to get out, but she didn't look angry - she looked terrified. She leapt backwards and her back thumped against the wall behind her. Kane's agitation evaporated, and he started to reach for her, then clenched his outstretched hand into a white-knuckled fist, and let his arm fall to his side. What am I doing? Trying to console her?

"Please!" Videl squeaked, her lower lip trembling. "Don't hurt me!"

Kane's heart lurched and his stomach clenched like she had just punched him.

"Hurt  you?" He shook his head in disbelief.

This couldn't be the same Videl who constantly challenged his temper. She had never cowered like this, and it freaked him the fuck out to see her doing it.

"When have I ever-" Kane cut himself off mid-sentence, and stepped back until his own spine was pressing against the opposite wall of the elevator. "Look, I know you hate me, but I've never put my hands on you like that, and you know it."

Videl was shaking though, and Kane winced. It almost physically hurt to see someone - who was usually so stubborn and angry - crumbling in fear. Why the hell would she suddenly be scared of him? It didn't make sense.

"I don't hate you," Videl's voice was so small that he had barely been able to hear it. She stared at the empty space on the floor between their shoes.

Something inside Kane broke. Their mutual hatred of each other had been something he had held onto for years, now. For a split-second, it felt like a weight was lifted from his shoulders that he hadn't acknowledged that he had been carrying since that day that changed everything. But the next words that she spoke rattled him. Videl looked up at him with that lost look in her eyes, and after a shaky breath, she said,

"I don't even know who you are."