damned_institute | Night 57: F11-20 Hallway

Well, that was different. Anise had expected the military's announcement to be brief and to-the-point, but what actually came was a full-on rant. It looked like even Aguilar had a nutty side, too. Both him and Landel kept acting like they were doing everyone a favor with all their twisted plots. Who did they think they were fooling? They were both despicable as far as Anise was concerned.

It looked like the military was offering a new way to get weapons, though. But testing drugs in a place like this? That had to be seriously risky. Anise was glad that most of her friends were already armed, so she didn't have to worry about them being reckless and actually trying something like that.

In any case, it was time for Anise to go, and she needed to get an early start so she could deliver her gift bags. One such bag, a little drawstring bag with a white and blue floral design on it, was left on her desk with a small note reading 'Edgar'. She hoped he'd come and take it, as it was hard to tell whether he really intended to or not. The guy really looked like he could use a little help.

Next up were Tear and Ilia, who were fortunately in the same hallway as Anise. With her nightshift gear and the last two gift bags in hand, Anise gave Utena a quick goodbye before hurrying out of her room. The orange and yellow bag was left on Ilia's door handle, and then the pink and brown one was left on Tear's. Each bag contained granola bars (three for Edgar and Tear, two for Ilia), as well as gummy bears, fruit gummies, and chocolates - all separated by type, wrapped in colorful tissue paper, and tied with thread. All of them also contained a small to-and-from note with a few hearts doodled on the paper, just to make it look more cheerful.

There! She hoped that would help cheer her friends up, and maybe improve their health a little too.

Now that she was done with that, it was off to meet Claude and Guy! Anise quickly double-checked to make sure she had everything she needed - jacket, mallet, binoculars, Tokunaga, flashlight - then started to make her way towards the block exit.

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Utena started in her own hallway, just to keep things simple. Who knew? Maybe she and Renamon were neighbours. Maybe Renamon even had her old room. And so, Utena started opening doors and poking her head into them, the same as she had the night before looking for Himemiya. "Helloooo? Renamon?" she called quietly into one. "You in there?" she called into another.

[Unknowingly waiting for Soma]

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Soma glanced around the connecting hall as she passed through it again: still no sign of anyone who matched Tsubaki's description. That was...worrying, to say the least. Surely they couldn't have both been taken for experimentation. That was just too improbable to be true. But what were the alternatives? That they had both been released? That they had arrived earlier and left without Soma? Neither seemed likely.

There was a girl with pink hair here who was also going from door to door. Soma hesitated for only a moment before approaching; there was a chance she might have seen Rapunzel or Tsubaki, and given the number of people she'd passed in the hall, there was a chance Soma might have seen whoever this girl was looking for, too.

"Excuse me," she said, "but have you seen two girls pass by here? One's about my height, with blonde hair down to the floor at least, and one's quite tall, with dark hair in a ponytail."

Utena breathed a sigh of relief as she closed the door of F17. She'd finally found the other girl asleep in a bed, and not far from her own room, even. That would be useful to know for future reference. She had left a quickly scribbled note to Renamon letting her know not to worry about tonight, then left her to sleep in peace.

And it was at that moment Utena found herself being addressed. "Eh?" Utena blinked, turning to face the unfamiliar girl. Sounded like she was looking for someone too. "Not so far, sorry. And I was watching out there for a while," she answered, nodding toward the F-A hall. "You haven't found them in any of the rooms yet?"

"No," said Soma, shaking her head. "I've only checked this hallway and the previous one--" she gestured back the way she'd come-- "but I know where one of them should have been and she wasn't there. I keep thinking they might both have been taken for the experimental treatments, but that seems too unlikely to be true."

"So they don't ever really take more than one person at a time for those sorts of things?" Utena asked. She knew it probably sounded like a dumb question, but she only had experience with one Special Counseling patient, and the less time spent dwelling on that night, the better.

"I can help you look for them if you want? The girl I was gonna meet out here is resting tonight, looks like."

"They do--they take at least two or three most nights--but the chances that both of them would be taken on the same night..." Soma paused for a moment, thinking. "I couldn't see any real signs of a struggle in Rapunzel's room, either, although that doesn't mean much."

She looked a little surprised at the offer, but after a moment she inclined her head in a nod and offered a faint smile. "I'd appreciate that. It might be easier to cover the rest of the F-block with two people. I'm Soma Peries, by the way. What's your name?"

Utena hadn't seen or asked about how many patients were brainwashed per night, but two or three made sense. Soma was right, though — what were the odds that both of the people she was looking for were taken at the same time?

"Tenjou Utena," she answered with a determined smile of her own. "Good to meet you, Soma."

The two searched the whole of the block for a while, the way Utena had for Himemiya that first night back. To their disappointment, however, they found no trace of either of Soma's companions.

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Night 57: F11-20 Hallway

In and out of rooms in this hall

Re: In and out of rooms in this hall

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Hope the handwaving is okay