damned_institute | Day 58: Cafeteria

Anise woke up feeling lucky to be alive. She still felt a bit waterlogged, even though her skin, hair, and clothes were completely dry. During last night's adventures, she'd swallowed a lot of water, and it still felt heavy and disgusting in her stomach. Her arms and legs were tired from treading water. Lying still in her bed, she still kind of felt like she was floating and bobbing in the water.

But she was alive.

Knowing how close she came to death last night, and remembering the lengths her friends had gone to in order to save her, there was no way Anise could let a little discomfort get her down. She had to be at her best today so she wouldn't seem ungrateful to Guy and Claude. On that note, she had to remember to thank them properly, now that she was better able to express herself.

While getting ready, Anise was surprised to actually run into Claude that morning. He came to her room asking for the notebook he stored there (or maybe it was an excuse to see her cute face again), so Anise happily located it and handed it over. She was pretty tired, but the big smile she gave him was genuine. Who wouldn't be happy to see her savior so soon after a dramatic rescue?

After he left, Anise finished re-tying her pigtails into a low position so the military beret would fit on her head, and then she was ready! Even though her stomach wasn't feeling that great, she figured sitting down to a decent meal would help normalize it. And luckily for her, she was among the few who had the privilege of eating such a meal. Anise filled a plate with french toast topped with syrup and fruit, accompanied by small portions of each of the available side dishes.

It looked like she was early, which meant there weren't a lot of people around. That was okay, though. Anise could get a good head start on her meal before any company came around. She sat down at a table by herself and started on her sausage first.

[for Tolten!]

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"Mmm..." Niikura frowned as he considered their options and chewed on a bite of oatmeal at the same time. "See, the thing is, I wanna look around here some more - like in that basement I keep hearin' about. People seem so keen to get in there...makes me kinda curious, y'know?

"But the thing is, I can't keep bashin' in everything that jumps us with a flashlight. If it breaks, I'm out a light and a weapon. So that needs to be taken care of. Somehow."

He sighed and leaned back in his chair so that it was tilted back on two legs. "I don't know. What sounds good to you?"

"Sounds like we need weapons first," Mike remarked, pointing out the obvious. "Ain't safe to be without 'em in this place. Sure, we can take out a bunch of weak creatures, but I want somethin' more substantial if we're gonna go to the basement."

He had heard rumors about it, but didn't know very much conclusive about it himself. Mike had originally been concerned primarily with escape, but now that proved to pretty much be impossible... he needed a new focus. Niikura had a good idea, so Mike rapidly jumped onto it.

"Got any weapons you prefer?"

"Cool, we're on the same page then." That made things nice and easy. "As for gettin' a hold of aforementioned weapons, I only have one tip from that guy whose ass we saved the other night- y'know, Phoenix, the guy with the same hair as me. Anyway, he said that ya could find some bats in the shed out on the rec field, and I'm not talkin' about the rat-with-wings variety here."

He shrugged. "Tried to check it out the other night without ya, but we got held up and...I don't know. Tryin' again's alright with me if ya don't have any better ideas."

The teen tapped his finger on the table as he took another bite of oatmeal and just barely resisted the urge to pull a face for the fifteenth time. "But I don't really care what I end up with 'cause I'm a fan of whatever. Good with anything, actually, so long as I can do some damage with it."

"It sounds good to me," Mike stated with a shrug. "It's not like I'm gonna find a nunchaku around here, so bat's as good as anything. We could possibly even put some nails into 'em for a bit of somethin' extra."

Yes, Mike just suggested that they make a nail bat. Thirty years ago, he would've just thought the Nail Bat was an awesome videogame weapon that should never be used on people, but that turtle was long dead. He wasn't playing games anymore.

Although part of him had always wanted a Nail Bat, and sometimes, Mike just had to satisfy his instincts.

"Sure, if ya find the nails," Niikura replied, eyebrow raised. Weren't nail bats like things that only showed up in animes? He'd never actually seen anyone use one--not even Akumetsu had ever bothered, but then, why bother with a nail bat when you had a semi-automatic hand gun? Ah, the great questions of life.

At that moment, the intercom buzzed on, signaling the end of breakfast. The teen swiftly shoved the rest of his breakfast into his mouth and coughed as he tried to swallow all of it in one go. "Well--hurk--guess I'll see ya--later." He gulped and grimaced as the entire lump went down his throat. "Thanks for tellin' me 'bout stuff. And...I don't know...stop by my room or somethin' first tonight--M114." He shrugged. "Since I guess now I'm the one more likely to vanish off the face of the earth."

Niikura stood up and then froze as something struck him. "Wait--you're not gonna, y'know, turn back into a turtle later, are ya?"

Well, a nailbat was a big stick with spiky things in it. Mike was used to two smaller sticks with spiky things on them connected by a chain. It was something a bit more familiar to him. ... that, and it was a Nail Bat.

"Aw shell," Mike muttered at the intercom, before quickly picking up his bowl and swallowing his breakfast pretty much whole--except he didn't gag like Niikura did, having had worse before.

At the question, Mike froze for a moment, then looked back to Niikura. "... I don't know. M'not a scientist. It could happen again."

He looked disturbed about it. "... If it does happen again, and it hurts like that again...."

Mike was going to be useless.

Niikura stared. "Uhhh...." Think, brain, think. There had to be something good about this- something he could say, even. Never mind that his thoughts were instead filling with images of him having to fend off multiple Sesshoumaru's as they tried to walk down the hall.

"...guess we'll just play it by ear?" Save the hassle for later: always the best solution. "I mean, if it comes down to it, I guess if ya wore a big cloak thing or somethin', that'd kinda disguise...the shell?"

He was so helpful. Truly.

He didn't really want to think about being in his real body but being taken out due to pain. Pain just like when he first got all of his scars, pain just like when he had to have the amputation. Unconsciously, he rubbed at his half-arm. It had seemed to subside a bit, but Mike wasn't sure if he'd be able to do anything in that form. It was too ironic.

Somehow, though, he managed a weak smirk. "Nah. If it happens again, I'd rather walk around naked like I used to."

Niikura's head slowly, almost comically tilted to the side. "...oh." That. Wasn't awkward at all. It made sense, but to a normal guy, it was kind of..."Okay, you...do that." The way his eyebrows were currently positioned, though, suggested that he wasn't especially keen on the idea.

He shrugged and smirked back. "Just don't expect me to be defendin' ya all heroic-like all night.

"Anyway, see ya 'round, Mike-san. M114--don't forget it now." With a short salute, Niikura was gone, swiftly blending into the trickle of patients leaving the cafeteria.

"I won't," Mike replied, but to which of the last two statements, he didn't give any indication--likely both.

Mike watched him leave, waiting until there were more patients in between them before he began walking again. He felt... settled. Maybe even a bit better. In this place, despite everything that had already happened, he finally knew he had someone whom he could trust. A friend, even. An anchor.

There was also Wally, but Mike didn't want to rely on the superhero too much. He knew Wally wouldn't think less of him, but some fanboy part of him didn't want to seem weak. He had something to prove.

Not that he'd ever have a chance to prove it, now that Wally West had left the institute. Mike didn't know that yet, however, and he focused his thoughts on his friends in order to keep his pain off his arm. And so breakfast ended.

Day 58: Cafeteria

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