damned_institute | Day 67: Music Room

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Day 67: Music Room

With his task successfully accomplished in the greenhouse, Guy was feeling even better as the end of the day rolled around. He still had a few things that he wanted to do, though, and so before he headed into the Music Room he made sure to leave a note on the bulletin board for Claude. He realized that he'd slacked off on making Abyssman posts lately, but seeing how only three of them were left at this point, it didn't seem that necessary.

And even though the day was almost over, Guy hadn't forgotten his decision to take a shower today. While he was perfectly warm and dry at this point, the memory of being soaked to the bone by the rain was still stuck in his mind. On top of that, the greenhouse had been pretty muggy, so the idea of being properly clean sounded pretty good right about now.

Surprisingly, the nurse didn't bat an eye when he told her that he wanted to take a shower. She led him to the shower area, which for once was completely empty, and stood outside the room as Guy was granted complete privacy to wash himself off. Not that he minded the communal setting, but it was nice to have a bit of privacy for once. He savored the feeling of the hot water soaking through his skin and let out a satisfied sigh when he finally turned the water off.

Once he'd dried off, dressed again, and toweled most of the excess water out of his hair, it was finally time to go to the Music Room. Guy stretched his arms up into the air as he stepped inside, feeling nice and refreshed for once.

Usually he went to go toy with the "Walkmans" when he came here, because he couldn't play any instruments himself, and so he wandered in that direction.

[For Ilia.]

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When he woke up, there were less bandages on his face than before. It was nothing noticeable to another's eyes most likely, but Mikado recognized a lesser weight pressing against his skin, and his fingers had traced the edge of cloth and tape, again tempted to just pull it off and see what was actually underneath.

His own eye still? Or something else? What had really been done?

Or worst of all, was it truly nothing, and all it had been was a horrific game? And nothing had changed. Because as he only repeated to others--he was just a student, hopelessly average with nothing to claim as special.

He was brought to a music room in turn, and the boy noticeably brightened at the stack of CDs and players. Something familiar at least. They were in America, so Mikado didn't expect a lot that he knew, but still... Still, he wandered closer, shuffling through the disks and reading through the titles with his good eye.

[ free! ]

[Hope this is okay?]

The more Soushi found out, the more puzzled he became. Could he trust that the patients here were telling the truth? That things would change once night fell and everyone would become monsters or hapless victims? What about him? Would he change too? Would he become just another puppet?

Worse still, there was no sign, no mention, not even a whisper of anyone from Ayakashi, least of all Ririchiyo. He could hardly stand waiting for her to come back from school, this was coming up on over half a day with no sign of her. His phone had been taken along with every picture, every memento, everything that he'd carefully kept and cataloged to remind him of her. If it had been any other day, he might not worry so, but given that the last time he'd seen her, he'd no way of keeping her safe, it just caused knot after knot to twist in his stomach.

At least they kept him busy. The nurses never seemed to let the time drag throughout the day. Once conversation ran out or the meal had ended, it was off to the next activity. Though he'd yet to glean any more information from the staff than he'd learned this morning.

As he was escorted back inside to the music room, according to the mysterious radio personality, he couldn't help but notice the state of some of the patients. If this were a mental health facility, he reasoned, would so many be so injured? A few, certainly, would make sense, but some of them seemed fairly suspicious. Self-inflicted? Another patient's violent outburst? Perhaps...

He decided to try his luck with another patient. Even if the answers were the same, there was always a chance there would be something different, something that would help him figure out where to start looking when night finally came.

"One would think the institute would have upgraded to mp3 players years ago. Who knows how a patient might injure themselves on the sharp corners of these disc cases. Dreadful," he shook his head solemnly before offering the young man a half-smile.

[of course! ^^ sorry for the delay.]

When faced with a blond man who towered nearly a foot over Mikado, one would assume nervousness to play into the mix. A fact that did indeed hold true, but was secondary to a simple fact: The man had walked up on Mikado's right side, a perfect blind spot. The boy, focused on shuffling through the stack of disks, had no inclination anyone was there until the man spoke.

To which Mikado yelped, jumping slightly as he turned to face the man. Which brought in the aforementioned height. The boy swallowed, then thought through what had been said. Mp3 players. Barely any had even mentioned those here. It gave a degree of comfortable familiarity he had rarely felt in this place. Still, he gave a nervous laugh. "I think if they allowed mp3 players, they'd have to admit to the existence of the internet."

Despite how softly he spoke, he managed to give the young man quite a start. Soushi made sure not to make any sudden movements, lest the teen go galloping off like a frightened wildebeest. He maintained his smile, if with a bit more worry than before.

"Forgive me, I didn't realize you were so injured. It wasn't my intent to startle you," he offered, by way of apology. The boy's comment was somewhat confusing though. Was he missing something? The institute seemed a bit antiquated, certainly, but perhaps he'd missed his mark. Was there something more to the statement or was this boy actually meant to be here?

"The inter... I'm sorry, I don't know if I understand the humor. Is someone trying to tell you otherwise?" his own laugh echoed the nervousness of his new friend. Come to think of it, the only means of communication he'd seen here was the bulletin. None of the nurses had cell phones, at least that he'd seen, but that could be a safety precaution... right?

...Ah, and now the guy was pointing it out. Mikado flushed against his will, moderately embarrassed. The only things worse would be if Snow came up right now and tripped over him again, or that Claire lookalike appeared to call him Mickey. He missed Izaya, and the absolute absurdity of that emotion made him long for Ikebukuro and everyone in it. Masaomi. Sonohara-san. Everyone.

"It's... all right," he gave awkwardly, looking somewhat to the side. At least the man went on, though with enough confusion that Mikado wondered if there was still a language barrier present. Or maybe he just hadn't been here that long? "Ah, I just meant that this place seems about a decade back in technology," he tried to explain. "The few computers there are, I heard run older operating systems, and well--" He moved a hand to show the CDs. "This is the extent of what's given to us. Even the game systems are out of date." He missed computers more, and would have given a bit for Doyleton to have a library where he could snag a computer.

"Sorry for, er, being startled," he went on with a sheepish expression. "I'm Ryuugamine Mikado."

Oh dear, this one blushed easily, didn't he? Soushi kept that much to himself; he wasn't about to poke fun at anyone who might help him. That was more Kaname's style.

"I arrived here this morning," he tried again, hoping that was a bit more of an explanation. He seemed a little confused, but then, so was Soushi. Why would this place pretend like the internet didn't exist? "I guess... I didn't really notice until now. I haven't seen any computers around. I just figured it wasn't something they'd want patients using;, not unless it was closely monitored."

He tilted his head in a slight bow when Ryuugamine gave his name, "Miketsukami Soushi. It's a pleasure to meet you Ryuugamine-san. I appreciate you indulging my questions. It's been a very... confusing sort of day."

It felt as though these things out to add up to something. The outdated technology, the human experimentation, the staff without any will of their own... but he was coming up blank. This was nothing like the Night Parade of 100 Demons, but could Inukami be related to it? There was no other way, was there?

This morning. Wow. Mikado's eyebrows raised. That was pretty new. Mikado remembered when he first got here, and how many questions he had... And instead this guy just came off composed and calm, like nothing was fazing him. The boy was impressed. Enough to lose some of melancholy over the lack of computers.

And then, this person--Miketsukami--made his day better entirely. Because the man said Mikado's name correctly, making him the first person to do so besides Ippo, who was a fellow Ikebukuro native. Mikado broke into a relieved smile, not caring how he seemed. "Ah, it's nice to meet you, too, Miketsukami-san!" It was said with feeling. After a handful of unwanted nicknames and uncomfortably informal uses, this was something he could find comfortable.

It was enough to make him want to be more helpful. "They aren't around at all," he said of the computers. "I don't think they want us in contact with people outside this place. But um, your first day...." What would Mikado have wished to have known? His hand half-raised to his eye, and some of the pleasure fled from his expression. "Whatever you think about this place, at least understand that it's not what it seems. It's more dangerous than you would imagine."

It seemed to be something of a surprise to everyone he met that he was new as of this morning. Must not happen very often, he guessed, glad at least, that Ryuugamine seemed to be warming up to him a little.

The lack of computers did make sense, though even if he had access to one, he wasn't sure how much help it would be. Most of his communications back home had only been with Ririchiyo-sama and via text or calls (or hand-written letters at times) and he had few other contacts he'd kept over the years.

"That explains where my cellphone went then," he nodded along with Ryuugamine's comment. It was interesting the difference in the way each patient approached him and the darker subjects regarding this place. No talk of monsters or lights out, but an unmistakable warning all the same.

Soushi's brows knit together for a moment, his expression thoughtful as he gave a second nod, a bit more somber and understanding. Whatever it was that went on at night, he would have to be careful. He would have to find his way back. "I appreciate your concern. I've heard several warnings, but I'm still a little uncertain of the direction to take. I'm told escape won't help, in any case."

At the cellphone remark, Mikado grimaced. "They took mine, too. Supposedly there's a room that has all of our stuff in it, but I haven't come across it yet." He hadn't been to a lot of places, actually--most on the second floor and only half of that, but still. Whether or not the existence of that room was true--and it likely was, from what he'd seen some people wearing--he'd like to believe that somewhere within reach was his cellphone. Likely dead and without service because he did not have international calling, and America was out of his range, but it was still a comfort.

The boy nodded in turn when Soushi continued. This man was more polite than most of the others here, and it was enough for Mikado to want to speak further. "Yeah, people will... give you a lot of warnings here. You basically have to determine which are true by yourself. --Oh, is there anyone you know here? That helps a lot." Having Izaya and Celty here had clarified a lot for Mikado. And added more that he had to think about.

As for the aspect of escaping-- "...Well. It's hard to believe, but at the end of the night we're sort of 'reset to start', and end up back in our rooms again. No matter how far away we are. I was outside one of the times." So what direction was there to take, if escape couldn't be done? Mikado had been--

He blinked, suddenly. He hadn't been doing anything, actually. Despite the horrific qualities and the things that had already happened, Mikado was almost enjoying this. Like it was an unplanned and forced vacation. And there was no way he could say that. "Um, a lot of people search for information. It might be that there's a way to get out that way."

A room with their things? Soushi brightened visibly at the thought. Even if his cell was dead by now, if any of his things were here... Without Ririchiyo-sama here to fawn upon, just having her picture, a lock of her hair, a laminated copy of one of her text messages when- Any of it, really, would be of comfort. Pity that Ryuugamine didn't seem to know where he could find it. But at least now he knew it existed. That was a start.

"I'll be sure to let you know, should I hear about it then," he replied. Having even one target in mind was better than nothing at all. Gather information, find his things, learn how to escape or defeat the person (or demon) running this place.

At the other comment, he shook his head slowly, "not as of yet. I would have thought they might arrive with me, but none of them have appeared. It's possible I have simply missed them." But not Ririchiyo. He couldn't have missed it if she were here, he told himself. He took a breath, steadying himself. It didn't help to think of her, of where she might be or why he couldn't reach her. That would only make his anxiety rise.

"That does make things difficult. Information then, seems to be the only thing we're able to hold onto. They don't intend to make this easy, do they?"

"Ah, thanks!" This person was nice--like Tolten, really--and it was the first time here that Mikado had someone offering to follow up with him if they found something. Whether or not the offer was true was another thing, but the act of the offer was enough for him. The boy smiled brightly again, before turning to the other subject.

One that was enough to mellow him. Mikado had really felt lost, before he touched base with the others. Coming here alone wasn't something that he liked to think of. He'd rather have more people here, truthfully. He hadn't realized how disturbing it would be to be out of touch with Masaomi, someone who he had either saw in person or spoke online to every day for years. The definite lack of that presence... Left something like a hole inside of him. And even his friendly acquaintanceship with Izaya wasn't able to fill it at all.

"They might be here," Mikado voiced hopefully. "It took me a while to find my..." Izaya and Celty? What were they defined as? An information broker mentor and a Dullahan guardian? "--Friends. This place seems bigger than you'd think sometimes." Which only filled Mikado with a strange sense of calm. There was no rush to search through everything here. He would draw it out for as long as he could--that newness and strangeness. That irregularity.

He laughed slightly to Soushi's question. "Ah, no, they don't. I think it has to be something like a game to the people in charge. Otherwise--" He grimaced, the critic in him wincing. "They really have a fondness for B-rated effects and speeches. It's a bit too cliche to take seriously sometime."

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Day 67: Music Room

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