damned_institute | Day 24: Intercom, Dinner

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Day 24: Intercom, Dinner

The intercom jingle rang out both inside and outside the institute on speakers loud enough to broadcast clearly across the recreational field.

"It's been a busy day, hasn't it? Well, fortunately for all of us, it's nearly over, and we can all look forward to some rejuvenating shut-eye--that is, after dinner, of course."

The Head Doctor chuckled.

"Supper for tonight is going to consist of individual servings of chicken pot pie, with mashed potatoes and peas as sides. You may ask your nurse about the usual selection of drinks, and... Oh! Some of you might find that you have some new guests in your rooms belonging to... Group 5, I believe...? Please see to it that our new patients spend their first night at Landel's Institute as peacefully as possible!"

He paused, then added:

"Oh, and Nurse Hondor? Could you please report to my office? Thank you."

The intercom clicked off.

[ OOC: Remember how dinner shift works--everyone posts to this post with individual threads for each room. New characters waking up during this shift will do so in their respective threads, though if your roommate's player is unable to play with you during your intro, feel free to work something out so that your roommate is taking a nap or something. XD; ]

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And, the day was over. Kurama released a heavy sigh as he was led back to his room. It could hardly be called a sigh of relief, his thoughts already racing ahead to dealing with Omi. Being locked in a room with each other didn't leave any chance of avoiding the other boy.

Fortunately, Kurama seemed to be the first to arrive at the room, since the Omi was nowhere to be found. Well, at least he wouldn't have to explain himself straight away.

Taking his tray, the redhead sat down at his desk, laying open his journal and scratching various thoughts into it as he absently picked at his food. Was he anxious? Possibly. Omi was the last person he needed to smooth things over with, and the one he wanted to be on good terms with the most.

Omi smiled politely at his nurse when she finally ushered him in. It had taken him a bit longer to make his way in from the far outside of the field than was probably strictly necessary, but he didn't really want to be here right now.

He took his tray over to his bed, not once looking at Kurama or saying anything. He settled with his back to the wall, comfortable but obviously defensible. If they could just eat dinner and then wait for nightfall in silence, he would be happy.

As soon as that door unlocked, he was so out of here.

Kurama didn't look up from his journal, but he paused to take notice of Omi as he entered the room. He expected the boy to say something, so it really didn't take long to sink in that he was being given the cold shoulder.

Well, if Omi wasn't going to initiate this, Kurama figured he might as well. There was an uncomfortable silence throughout the room, and letting that hang there would only make sure both of them were less than happy for the entirety of dinner.

"...Nothing to say to me?" he finally spoke, gaze still fixed on his journal, the soft 'skritch'ing of his pen accompanying his words.

Omi was quite happy with the silence, thank you.

He didn't look up from his dinner, only pausing in his eating long enough to speak. "Nothing I would want you to use against my team."

Perhaps that was a little harsh, but Omi didn't really care right now.

Kurama was a little surprised by the rebuke, his pen pausing on the surface of the page. Yes, he had said some things he shouldn't have at breakfast, and lunch had been one long downhill shoot, but purposely using something against Omi's team?

He frowned thoughtfully. "I'm not sure what you mean. I haven't used anything against your team. What reason would I have to do that?"

"I don't know." That was part of the problem. He honestly hadn't seen where Kurama would have anything to gain from what little Omi had told him. "Do you need a reason?"

He continued eating, still outwardly ignoring Kurama. He needed to set boundaries now, or he could slip up again. He didn't want to fail his team again, especially since he already wasn't who they expected him to be. He'd messed up, and now he had to fix the problem.

Do you need a reason?

While Kurama didn't show it visibly, that retort cut a little deeper than he would have liked. In the past, no, he wouldn't have needed a reason to turn against someone. No reason except that it was in his favor and in his power to do so. He had been terribly heartless back then, hadn't he? Something about which he felt both proud and troubled, depending on the personality that held sway over his thoughts at the time.

Kurama closed his journal, turning in his chair to give Omi his full attention. "Well, yes, it's to be expected. Usually one would need a reason to hurt someone they like. And you haven't given me any such reason."

He stabbed a pea slightly harder than was absolutely necessary. This wasn't going the way it was supposed to. Then again, he wasn't sure how it was supposed to go, but, well... not like this. He was frustrated and trying to ignore the fact that he was also hurt. He'd trusted Kurama, unwillingly perhaps but still.

"Expectations don't make something true. I could expect to be out of here by morning, but it's not very likely, is it?"

"No, it's not." Kurama had to agree, even if the statement was directed against him. His actions today hadn't exactly inspired the trust he was looking for in his roommate.

There was a lengthy silence as Kurama considered his next words. It felt a little degrading to be apologizing to someone, but it was his mistake, and an apology was in order for the damage he had caused.

"I know right now your trust in me is--at best--shaky, but believe me when I say that I had no intention of hurting you or your friends. Normally, I never would have done what I did this morning. I can't really explain to you why I did, but you have my apologies."

Kurama did his best to sound as sincere as he felt. It wasn't so much that he couldn't explain it as it was that he didn't want to explain it. Since that meant explaining everything. But the fact remained that he was sorry.

Did the fact that Kurama hadn't meant to shake Omi's trust make things better or worse? It certainly didn't make Kurama any less of a threat. A person who cared so little for secrets as to throw them about carelessly was probably more dangerous than one who kept them for a purpose.

He finally looked at Kurama, hurt but much more obviously angry. "Then what happened at lunch?" Kurama may or may not tell him, but it was this or ask Yohji. Omi would have to track him down tomorrow, anyway, but he'd rather go in prepared.

And that was something Kurama really didn't want to explain to Omi. He met the other boy's gaze for only a moment before looking down uncomfortably. He could always opt to not tell him, but he wasn't sure if Yohji would tell or not. And right now, hiding anything seemed like a bad idea.

Still avoiding Omi's gaze, Kurama replied in a more subdued tone. "I had no intention of even talking to Yohji again after breakfast, but I saw a bulletin posted involving him and Aya. It...worried me a great deal, so I went to ask Yohji about it. Except, he refused to say a word about it. I figured it had something to do with what you told me, so I told him that I knew about it. And...things went downhill from there." He paused, keeping his eyes to the ground as he sighed.

"The first thing that happened was him thinking this morning had been some kind of test. I told him it wasn't, that it was my mistake for saying those things, but he refused to believe me. Then he began saying that he deserved it, anyway, which I also tried to refute. But no matter what I said in an attempt to reassure him, he wouldn't believe anything. I never expected a reaction like that... If I had known, I wouldn't have approached him in the first place."

And still, Kurama kept his gaze on the ground, fully expecting an angry reply from Omi as soon as he finished. He wasn't sure how, but each time he had to explain what happened, it sounded worse to his ears than the last time.

...Oh god. He'd told Yohji, and now Yohji...

This was worse than Omi had thought. He'd figured something had happened, but he hadn't thought it would be this bad. Kurama had undone whatever good he may have managed talking to Yohji the other day, and now Yohji would be unlikely to trust him to try again. Aya thought he was an idiot to have told in the first place, so he would probably say this was what Omi deserved for his screw up.

His hands clenched into fists, and he couldn't look at Kurama for fear of throwing something at him. Probably the fork, points first. "I don't care if you use my mistakes against me, but you will not use them against my team again."

Well, at least he wasn't disappointed. Even if he was less than pleased. Omi made it sound like he had tried to blackmail Yohji, which was a far cry from the truth. Thus far, sympathy and guilt for the problems he had caused Omi had overridden the indignation his youkai nature was facing at being held responsible for the entire situation. But it wasn't quite as easy to contain when Omi's words--almost an outright command--fueled that indignation into outrage.

"And what would you have me do, Omi?" Kurama asked, finally looking up at his roommate again, though his expression was much more closed off. "Lie to them like you have? Or rather, like you tried to make me. The last thing I wanted to do was cause trust issues between anyone's friends, especially yours. If there was going to be issues like that, I would have rather kept them between us than break up to bonds you already have."

"I came to Yohji out of concern for my roommate's friend and to offer him my assistance. I thought that by coming clean to Yohji, it would make the situation better. Now, I've already admitted to bearing the blame for this mess, but the fact still stands that it's not entirely my fault. If you knew Yohji had these kinds of issues, you should have come clean with him yourself, rather than giving him a reason to think you were testing him."

Lied to them? Like he lied about being Omi? No, he didn't lie to them, he protected them. Or he tried to. But he knew how to protect his team, not one he'd apparently abandoned in the future and were so much like his friends, but weren't.

And that was the problem. He didn't know. He didn't know their triggers, anymore, or the demons they fought, because five years was too much of a change. He was quickly coming to conclude that he was a large part of the problem, as well.

He took a deep breath, still not looking at Kurama, and let himself slip closer to Bombay. Omi couldn't handle this, those people were his friends, but Bombay... Bombay could put them aside as responsibilities that he had to fix and take care of. Omi had thought Kurama might be his friend, too. Might even have been right, but that didn't matter right now. He forced himself to keep eating, not knowing what might happen tonight, but knowing he wouldn't want to face it on an empty stomach.

He tried to keep his voice flat and disinterested, though he couldn't quite stop the hostility from leaking in. "Well, they know now. I'd rather you didn't try to do me any more favors."

Kurama sighed heavily. Getting that off his chest had helped to quell the youkai's anger, especially since Omi didn't seem to be denying any of it. But that didn't much help his relationship with his roommate. He was still left with a sympathetic feeling, and only trace amounts of the lingering indignation.

"Fine, if that's what you want," Kurama replied, still guarding his expression. He was more than happy to oblige in staying out of Omi's business with his friends. There had been enough problems in that department. "But don't expect me to stay out of it if it's something that puts you in danger. As far as I'm concerned, nothing has changed from last night. You can deal with your problems however you like, but I'm not going to idly stand by if someone comes after you or Aya or Yohji."

And Omi was just going to have to deal with that. Not to mention that Kurama had made a promise with Aya to keep an eye on Omi. He wasn't going to back out of that, either.

Turning away from Omi, Kurama went back to his food and his journal, though still keeping a tab on Omi's reaction.

The fork hit the wall beyond Kurama's head with a small sound as it bounced off. A metal utensil may well have embedded itself in the wall, but being plastic, the fork landed on the desk instead. It was more of a message, anyway.

On his bed, Omi was glaring openly at Kurama. "I can take care of myself."

He could take care of his team, too. He hoped.

Kurama paused when the fork hit the wall and landed on his desk, just as he was about to start writing in his journal again. He'd heard Omi throw it, but really... Even if he was a master at it, it was very hard to make a lethal shot with a plastic fork, so there was no reason to be too concerned. Just as long as he stuck to throwing plastic.

Picking up the fork, Kurama stood from his desk and walked it back over to Omi, holding it out for the boy to take. For now, the glare was ignored.

"Obviously. I've seen you fight, so you've proven that. But that doesn't change the fact that watching you or your friends get hurt would leave a bad taste in my mouth if I didn't at least try to do something about it. For better or worse, you're one of the few people in this building that I've grown attached to, and it's going to take more than thrown plasticware to change that."

He didn't move to take it back, instead leaning back against the wall so he didn't have to look up at Kurama quite so much. Well, for a certain value of 'look,' anyway. He was still glaring.

And perhaps sulking, but he refused to acknowledge that part. Responsible assassins did not sulk.

"Then what will it take?"

"Are you really that interested in making me not like you? Having allies is a good thing, you know."

Kurama set the fork down on the bed. "So is having the utensil you need to eat with. Unless you prefer to get your fingers messy."

With that, he headed back to his desk again. He wasn't about to tell Omi how to make him angry. He didn't want to hate the boy. And he was pretty sure Omi wouldn't want to be hated. Despite the brat he was being right now.

Having allies was one thing, having friends was another. Omi wasn't sure he deserved either right now. His team should be all he'd need of either, anyway.

"My hands are dirty enough already." He spoke quietly, not really meaning Kurama to hear it. He turned his glare to the fork, as if it had personally offended him, before dropping his mostly empty tray to the floor with a bang. He flopped down onto his side facing the wall, and settled in for a nap before the doors unlocked.

...Okay, that was definitely sulking.

Kurama flinched when the tray hit the floor, glancing back to make sure he knew what had happened. Yes, he could tell Omi was sulking. And it would probably be a good idea to just leave him alone. He'd made his point and anything further might just irritate the boy.

At least anything further concerning that topic. Taking a seat, Kurama picked up his pen once more, tapping idly on the open journal.

"Just out of curiosity, what are your plans for tonight? Do you have somewhere to go?" Omi may be a brat, but Kurama was hard put to leave him alone at night if he didn't have something planned.

He tensed up slightly when Kurama started talking. Wasn't sulking obvious enough? Did he have to put up a Do Not Disturb sign? "Not that it should matter, but I'm meeting someone."

And by 'I'm meeting someone,' his tone said, was clearly implied 'and you're not invited.'

"That's good," Kurama replied, unfazed by the tone. He had no intention of joining Omi tonight, anyway. "I'd feel bad leaving you alone. Even if the feeling's not mutual."

Really, he couldn't think of anything else to talk about, now that he was sure Omi wouldn't be wandering alone. If the boy wanted to sulk in silence now, Kurama was more than willing to let him.

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Day 24: Intercom, Dinner

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