damned_institute | Day 60: Intercom, Evening

Despite her waking up in a good mood Ilia found herself pensive about the night to come. She would meet with Rose and Gamzee, but did they dare move further into the basement? Did she dare test Claude and Anise's warnings? In normal circumstances that would be cause for her to have trouble eating, but this was real food and Ilia couldn't afford to waste it. Or time. She had promised Lana she would teach her a thing or two about self-defense before the night came and she would need her strength.

At least I can think of it as a warm-up, Ilia consoled herself then stuffed a bite of turkey and potatoes into her mouth. Politeness would call for her to wait for her roommate to arrive but tonight she could sacrifice a few etiquette points.

Still chewing, Ilia moved to her closet, intent on preparing herself for the rest of the night as quickly as possible. Her bottles of juice were obscured by the shadows in the far corner, and next to them were another few bottles Ilia didn't recognize as well as a package of some sort. Bending down, Ilia found there were two bottles of alcohol, a carton of fruit concentrate and a package of Nutter Butters. That... wasn't anything she had picked up herself.

A chilling thought struck her and she stood up quickly, shutting the closet door. She would finish her preparations later. For now, she just needed a moment to sit and think. Getting out her journal, she attempted to work on the mission list she had promised Tsubaki, Rapunzel and Rose she would work on. Hopefully thinking of some cold, hard facts would clear her head.

Rei had returned. She had returned to the institute! Aigis felt such joy and sorrow for her friend's return. These appearances were a double-edged sword that she had not yet grown used to. Perhaps she would never be used to them. But it happened all the same and she would have to deal with it regardless.

For now, she wanted to enjoy her dinner and perhaps have a nice chat with Ema before she returned to the basement with her companions from last night. The dinner offered was certainly delicious. Aigis savored the flavors despite Landel's obvious dark tones. He thought he was clever but she would never be fooled by him.

She hoped he enjoyed his stay. Someday she would make him regret his return to power.

Shiina walked thankfully back to the dorm having felt restless all day long. Shou was planning something big again. She shouldn't have been surprised since he wasn't one to sit idly by as others did the dangerous stuff. Still, why couldn't he have a little consideration for her worries.

Oh right. The world was more important that she was in the long run. Her existence was insignificant while still being significant. Because what happened to her did matter. Just not as much as the patient body as a whole. She understood the reasoning well, but it still frustrated her to no end!

Sitting down with a bit of an indulgent huff, Shiina started in on her pie first. It wasn't as sweet as most Western desserts which suited Shiina just fine. She just needed a moment to feel selfish about something. Her dessert was probably going to be her only solace tonight.

Finally, finally, it was dinner time. The distressed nurse from this morning was back and huffier than ever, but this time, it was because Claire barely allowed her a chance to stay caught up to his pace. Before the end of the shift, Claire had seen the response from Miss Utena on the bulletin board. They would be heading for the ballroom place again tonight after all! Last night had been an amazing adventure, so of course Claire would be looking forward to it!

He couldn't wait.... though perhaps he could wait if this was the sort of dinner they were serving, after so many endless days of pink gruel. And he'd thought the chicken sandwich from lunch time had been like a breath of fresh air!

There was still no roommate in M3 when they arrived, though Claire couldn't be bothered to care when there was turkey and pumpkin pie to distract him. His nurse gave a sigh of relief when she closed the door on him digging into his mashed potatoes with gusto. He could set aside his impatience until after the meal.

At the end of the shift, the intercom had announced dinner as Kurama's nurse appeared by his side, ready to lead him back to his room. It certainly did seem like he wouldn't go lacking in the food department while here, at least. The person (http://damned-bulletin.livejournal.com/878514.html?thread=21581490#t21581490) on the bulletin board had certainly known what they were talking about.

Kurama didn't question where his nurse led him, but he noted with interest that they weren't heading to the room he'd woken up in. Was he being relocated then, perhaps into a room that a roommate was already occupying? He had to admit -- he really didn't have much knowledge on the procedures of insane asylums; for this was what this place seemed to be masquerading as, right, an insane asylum? It seemed like a proper conclusion to make, not that there was any doubt in him anymore that the real purpose of Landel's Institute was hardly the curing and caring for of mentally-ailing patients. There was something darker and stranger at work here. But as of yet, Kurama did know what that might be.

They turned down a hallway and walked all the way to the end. 'M1' the door said, and the nurse opened it for him. There was no reason the patient 'Abe Seimei' should have to resist, so Kurama stepped past the woman and into his new room. It was immediately obvious that there would be a roommate, though there was no sign of him (the chances of co-ed rooming was low, at best). Perhaps later, then. His dinner was waiting on his desk, so Kurama took the side of the room that looked unoccupied -- the right side, as it was -- and obediently sat down. There was a metal box on his desk beside him. There was nothing inside.

His nurse left him alone after that. It seemed the doors were normally locked from the inside, so it was not yet time for him to take action then. Fine by him. He hadn't gotten a chance to really examine his room this morning. He would at least need to know what sorts of hiding places were possible in room such as this, right? That was important. A fox always needed a secure den to hide in.

He started with the closet. Sliding the door open revealed a row of gray uniforms, (ten shirts and two sweatshirts), just like the one he was currently wearing. ...They were atrocious, really, and Kurama wasn't just judging them because he happened to pride himself in having a slightly more refined taste in wardrobe than others. They truly were atrocious. Were the smiling faces supposed to be ironic? It was horribly executed if so, though perhaps that was the point.

There was also a thick coat, an extra pair of indoor slippers aside from the one he was wearing currently, a pair of regular sneakers, and boots. ... Well, at least they seemed to be well provided for. There was a dresser in between the two beds opposite the door that Kurama assumed would contain the rest of his clothing. Spread among just his standard-issue clothing, there was material he could use to his advantage if he ever needed to improvise anything.

Next was the dresser. The bottom two drawers were seemed to be his roommate's, so Kurama left those alone and looked through the top two drawers. As he'd expected, the rest of his clothing was there: undergarments and sweatpants. Nothing else of interest here. A spontaneous decision to check under his pillow and blanket covers resulted in an interesting find -- a flashlight, quite durable, it seemed. Interesting.

Kurama took the flashlight with him back to his desk and set it next to the radio and the journal that was next to the metal box. His roommate still wasn't here yet. What kind of person would he be, he wondered? Perhaps he could be a valuable source of information. Ah, in that case, it would perhaps be easier to save his questions for when his roommate arrived. It would take less time than trying to find everything on his own.

Normally Daemon would have fully enjoyed the dinner selection for the night, but the Doctor's little chuckle made his suddenly wonder if the delicious looking plate brought to his room was actually what they'd said it was. There was no way to probe it however, so after a moment of thought he sighed, sinking down on the edge of his bed and picking up the fork.

Whatever it was, dinner was delicious indeed, and after days of the pink gruel, this almost reminded him of home. Without the day of chaos preceding it of course, trying to keep the wolf puppies out of the kitchens while Mrs. Beale cooked, as any type of bird had quickly become the Pack's favorite. Kaelas might have been an issue as well, if the big cat hadn't been more afraid of being scolded by Jaenelle than any desire to pilfer dinner. The thought brought a small wistful smile to his lips as he worked on dinner.

He wished there was wine...

And that hadn't been at all creepy, Rose thought of the dinner announcement as she was escorted back into her room. She didn't touch her tray, even though the sight of it was certainly more tempting than the gruel had been. Instead, she sprawled out on her stomach on the bed and grabbed her journal, flipping open to the maps she'd copied down from the board today and set about memorizing it. She was tired of not knowing where she was going in this place when she finally got the chance. It was time to fix that.

Well, the talk with Tolten had sure been weird, but it also felt like a sign that there were some things in this place that were basically... normal. Renji felt amused more than anything by the entire idea. Of all the norms there could be in the Institute, he supposed having weird conversations with kids was probably one of the best.

In the room, there was a pleasant surprise waiting for him - his uniform, sitting on the bed that he guessed was going to be his. Renji grinned at the sight. Sure, he still didn't have any weapons, but at least he got to wear something that it was easy to fight in. Since his roommate wasn't there yet, he stripped and changed his clothes, ignoring the dinner tray for now.

Just wearing his uniform made him feel better. It was stupid, but true.

Loki had found his talk with Rita fascinating and even a little enlightening. He didn't often get to have conversations like that. And it was odd, really, that there was turning out to be a definite up side to being kidnapped while falling through space to likely unpleasant death via spaghettification in a black hole.

Though when he put it like that, the list of things that were better than being slowly torn apart by the differential gravity of a singularity was probably a very long one.

Either way, he already had plans forming in his mind, directions he might be able to go to make this captivity more bearable and ultimately something that he could turn to his advantage. It was a hazy, long-term notion, but ground work needed to be laid while he was finding out more information and hammering out the details necessary for an eventual take over. More information needed. He attempted to extract a little form his personal nurse. She was relentlessly cheerful and useless both. Loki resolved to try a different nurse, one who didn't seem to be on some sort of reality-altering regiment of happy pills, the next day.

The meat portion of the dinner was somewhat familiar, though he was pleased to see more vegetables on his plate than anything else. Big thoughts required biological regularity, after all. No one had ever written a truly good theorem while battling constipation, of that he was certain, though it certainly seemed to contribute to the rage that powered meat-headed warriors.

There were two beds in the room, he noted as he began methodically tasting his dinner. That likely meant he had some sort of roommate. Which could be good for some cheap entertainment.

Edited 2011-12-17 21:32 (UTC)

Peter was drifting again when his nurse collected him from the Sun Room, gaze lost and dizzy. Peter - the other one - he was dead. Gone. And Sam was a wreck. Maybe he was better at holding it in than most, but he was feeling it. The guys seemed like best friends, and it hit a little too close to home to watch how his eyes glazed over. He looked like he was sleepwalking, and he might as well have been.

And Claire. He didn't get a chance to check the board before leaving, too worried to leave Sam's side for anything, but first thing tomorrow morning he was hunting her down and talking to her. Whether she knew about her uncle already or not was irrelevant. He'd tell her if she didn't know, and help her if she did. A flash of her crying in the chapel that Sunday struck him, and his gut twisted. She didn't deserve this. And Peter Petrelli, he definitely did not deserve this. It was a one time meeting, but the guy had been good. Calm, patient, itching to help out. Last he'd heard of him he had been working out some kind of paramedic gig on the bulletin, something Peter admired. If he had any kind of medical expertise he'd be right there with him.

Except that wasn't what Peter did here. What Peter did here apparently was run head first into the basement and drag along a gaggle of sacrificial lambs with him. God, the last thing he ever wanted to do was go back down there. Or see them all together again, in one place. It was too much. And Scott was suggesting they all saunter back down there again? Worse still, Indy was coming?

Yeah, staying in tonight seemed like a good...

The nurse had turned sharply to the left. Peter boggled. "Why are we stopping here?"

"We're going to your new room," she said pleasantly, and placed her hand on his back as she walked. The world went blank to him. He slowed, blinking dumbly and cast a look over his shoulder at the hall they left behind.

"What?"

"Michael was released, dear. You're in M7 now with Matthew - you'll like, him, he's a very sweet-"

"What?"

She looked down at him with a wrinkle growing between her brows. "Tyler-"

"No. He's not." Peter met her gaze with a strained, unblinking stare. He lost control of his feet and nearly stumbled as she switched to a grip on his arm and dragged him forward. "No. No, Brainy's not - he was there this morning."

"His name is Michael, not Brainy, Tyler. And he's just fine. He was doing quite well when we saw him off, there's no need to worry. He might come back for a visit sometime."

"His name is Brainy!!" Peter shouted. They had pulled up to a room. M7. She was opening the door and he was skittering back. "No!"

An orderly, seemingly materializing from nowhere, had him by the shoulder with a thick fingered hand in no time at all and pushed him back towards the door. Peter could see inside. It looked exactly the same as M71. The same beds, the same sheets and dressers and desks. They all started to spin in his vision as they came closer. "This isn't my room, you can't-"

"Tyler, enough." A clipped tone and a final shove, then he was in the nurse's hands again and being set on the bed. She had him by both arms and bore into his eyes with a hardened look. Peter couldn't seem to catch the air right. He was gasping in fits. "Just stay here and calm down. I'll talk to Michael's parents, all right? It's not the last you'll see of each other. You'll be fine."

Peter's mouth opened by a fraction. Nothing came out.

"Calm down, and eat your supper. And straighten up for Matthew. He's a very nice boy, you'll be good friends in no time. I promise."

She let go and smoothed out her apron, turning her back coolly on the sight.

"This isn't my room."

She was out the door. Peter gaped after her, pale and frozen in place. "This isn't...this isn't my..."

Edited 2011-12-15 21:28 (UTC)

Her room was now located in a different hall. Perhaps it should not have been a surprise. She supposedly had been 'gone,' and she had at least been 'somewhere else.' She had been 'missing,' and that was the only defining feature in all's explanations. Rei Ayanami had been done. And was reported to have vanished like the rest.

But she was still here. Still here and herself, like Aigis had said. Her memories were not disrupted, the only hole three days of unconsciousness, but Rei remained Rei. She was herself. She was only herself. The nurse dropped her off to an empty room, and she wondered briefly about Anise. However, there was nothing to be done about it now. She eyed the metal box near the closet, wondering if her things had been moved with her, and gave her attentions to the meal left for her.

She had missed too much on time. She would eat, regain energy, and give productivity tonight. She was not so willing to sleep again.

There was far too much to think about by the end of the day. The boy's head was both spinning and compartmentalizing in the same breath. Magic, worlds, Dollars, clubs.... All of it was a bit too much, and at the same time, he was smiling unconsciously. There was so much. So much he hadn't gotten used to yet. And there was even more that he was just learning. It was incredible. Crazy, maybe insane, but completely incredible.

However, he needed to focus on one thing. If at all possible he needed to find this Tear person tonight, and tag along with them to see how they were. If they seemed decent and the first aid stuff legitimate.... He'd definitely start taking steps to ensure Dollars started out on the right foot. It was more difficult to be anonymous here, but not yet impossible. It was even... A little fun.

Thinking those thoughts, Mikado smiled quietly to himself as he started to eat.

The day had been quieter than Saber might've liked. She'd intended to discuss much with her fellow prisoners but had ended up having only two conversations. It was hardly the result she had hoped for, but at least she knew more of her predicament than she had the night before. Blindly following two others into battle had hardly been ideal. Still, Saber wondered as she silently stepped into the room her "nurse" escorted her to, would it have been better to be uninformed yet in control of her full potential as a Servant?

There were two beds in the new room that she entered. Her nurse had mentioned something about a roommate but little else. For now, she was alone with her meal and her thoughts. Night would fall shortly, and everything would change. The horrors that might await the young woman, and she truly was little beyond that at this point, did little to disturb her as she quietly worked on her dinner. No, all the unanswered questions were the ghosts that haunted Saber's mind. What little she knew now paled in comparison to everything she feared she would never know. Why was she here? How had she been summoned without an obvious master to guide her?

As usual, Castiel's conversation with Renamon had been productive. Sitting around and talking wasn't his usual method of doing things, but there wasn't much else that they were permitted to do during the daytime hours. He could only be grateful at this point that the first two unpleasant meetings of the day had been outweighed by his discussions with Kratos and Renamon. He felt that he could trust both of them to spread his message to others who they trusted.

It occurred to him that despite all of his efforts to convey that information, he had neglected to make any plans for the night. He should have at least contacted Sam or Dean over the bulletin, but there was no guarantee that either of them would have wanted to meet up with him, let alone give him their room number. He remembered a time when he could have called either one on a cell phone and asked them where they were and they would have responded without hesitation. And it wasn't that things had deteriorated; rather, they had regressed.

He was certain that he could find something to do with his time. Even if it meant wandering on his own, he had his angel blade on hand now. It wasn't as potent without the divine power behind it, but he would still be able to spill the blood of anything that came after him. He had no doubts about that.

Dinner came first, however, and the meal that they were being served was worlds better than what he'd been forcing down his throat the past few days. Since Stefan had yet to show himself, Castiel took a seat and started to cut up the turkey. Poultry wasn't quite as good as red meat, but it was steaming hot -- and for whatever reason, food tasted better when it was warm.

Suddenly, fake memories cut in of Thanksgiving dinners with a pair of parents who he'd never had. Castiel frowned, his fork pausing in the air for a moment.

A mission, a real dinner, and her arm felt almost as good as new. Taura was grateful for everything she had, and today she had more than she'd had yesterday. She sat down at her desk, stretched, and started tucking into her dinner. It was small, but breakfast had been back to Landel's generosity, and that she couldn't fault him for.

She did hope Goku would stay focused tonight; the fight last time they'd gone upstairs had been brutal, and he'd need to listen to her. Which might have been difficult the night after she'd tried to eat him, but if anyone would forgive her, it was him.

He didn't understand it, but since breakfast he'd been feeling unwell. The nurses had begun to hover at the edges of his vision all day, watching him and so Okita had decided to take it easy and rest for the day. But still, the strange feverish feeling and the odd way the nurses were staring at him when they thought he wasn't looking didn't abate, only lending to Okita's own unease. Was he really getting sick? If it was just a cold, he could sleep tonight and be ready again for tomorrow, but would the nurses be so clingy if it was just a cold?

Again, before entering his room, Okita was given a cup of pills and told to take them. Unlike the previous nights, however, he did as asked and then the nurse put her hand to his forehead. Apparently he had a 'slight temperature,' whatever that meant, and she recommended he rest up well tonight since tomorrow would be another 'fun-filled day.' Okita, despite hating the feeling of someone unknown touching him, simply smiled at her and bowed as he was let into his room.

It was empty still, but there was a meal waiting for Guy and so Okita sat down at his desk. Turkey wasn't a meal he would have had in his own country, but it was close enough to chicken that he had become used to it over time. He simply wished that it wasn't always covered in that thick sauce they used. It really covered up the flavor of the meat. Rather than start in on that first, however, Okita began on his salad, watching the door from the corner of his eye for his roommate.

Well, he had told one person already, at least, although the contents of Castiel's note weren't exactly bulletin board material. Barring any distractions, he could likely spring it on Tolten as well during dinner.

However, the younger man was not in the room by the time his nurse escorted him in. It was no trouble, of course; he could simply start on dinner and eat as much as he could before the rest of the short interlude between day and night was devoted to explaining all that he had learned throughout the day.

Kratos sighed as he sat down, pushing aside the pumpkin pie for his dinner proper, and began cutting up his turkey.

So it seemed like against all of their better judgment, they were going to be going down into the basement again tonight. Harvey still wasn't sure if everyone was on board, but enough of them were that they were bound to get somewhere. "Somewhere" might end up being a very painful place, but there was only one way to find out.

His assumption was that the meeting spot was the same as always, and he was sure that Sangamon would be there with his sacrificial warping ring. (The amount of utterly baffling things that had become the norm in his life was pretty astonishing these days.) Harvey would have been lying if he said he was completely calm about it, but no one seemed to be expecting him to say as much, at the least.

At least he didn't have to play the shining hero anymore.

Harvey reached his room, and strangely enough, found Lunge fast asleep in his bed. That was hardly the norm, but he remembered how the man hadn't been chatty the night before. It seemed like they had been drifting away from each other lately, though not in a tense way. It was more that Lunge hadn't had the same presence lately, which made Harvey wonder if his roommate might be on his way out.

Or maybe he was just having a bad few days. It was hard to tell. Either way, the privacy at least meant that he'd be able to force his food down without feeling ridiculous, so there was that.

Peter was gone. His nurse had seemed so proud of him when Ritsuka had asked that the boy had to fake a smile to get away from her. Of course he was happy "Peter" had gone home to be with his family. That was what the nurses wanted to hear and so Ritsuka had said it, but the words were like ash on his tongue and left a sour taste behind. Peter was gone and that meant Tear was the leader of the paramedics now. And what could Ritsuka do without Soubi around to help? He wasn't sure, but he wasn't about to keep relying on people when they just kept leaving.

Worse, he had heard that people had died last night again. More people lost to this stupid place where the staff kept a phony smile and refused to acknowledge reality, let alone everything that had happened only a day ago. They staunchly refused to recognize anyone called Aguilar or Berg or anyone else and became worried for Ritsuka's own "mental health" when he insisted they were real. He really shouldn't be surprised, he thought, but it was frustrating nonetheless how easily they had the wool pulled over their eyes. Maybe it was because they wanted it that way.

Entering his room, Ritsuka glanced to the side to check if Gamzee was already there, and upon seeing no one, went to his bed and flopped face down into the pillow. Even if he was hungry and the food smelled appetizing, knowing that he was slowly losing everyone to this stupid place was enough to kill off any desire to eat. "...Soubi, you idiot." Ritsuka pulled his pillow closer and then rolled onto his back, leaving it over his face.

The fact that Sechs was led back to room M55 once again despite all that had happened the night before deeply troubled him. Instead of soldiers, Sechs was escorted by the usual orderlies flanking him on both sides. The voices of the military were replaced by the jeering tone of Landel. It was as though the military's presence and the chaos that ended their reign never even happened in the first place...

Not even a good turkey dinner could raise Sechs' spirits. He half-heartedly ate his meal, barely registering the huge improvement in taste and texture compared to that awful pink gruel he was fed for nearly a week straight. He and everyone else were back to square one; no amount of good food could make up for that.

The only bit of hope Sechs had to keep him chewing his meal was the promise of another attempt at the basement again. Maybe his roommate Sai might have some good news to help?

Guybrush's day of furious pacing continued as the nurse showed him to his room. Though she'd been chattier that day than she had been in her entire time of acting as his ward, she was clearly beginning to tire of his antics. She turned and handed him his tray as they neared M85. "Have a good night, Mr. Moriarty. And try to get some sleep. You've been pacing all day, and that's not good on your legs."

"Not good on my legs?" Guybrush asked. "You know what isn't good for my legs? Or my back? Or my mental stability? Getting mauled by a Nightmarish Being of Literally Indescribable Terror, then watching it kill a man you respected. And to top it off, the nurse who keeps shooting you dirty looks says you scratched your back too hard. Have you seen this hook you guys gave me? I couldn't poke a hole in a wet napkin!"

A slight noise of disapproval escaped the nurse as she opened his door, her lips pursing in annoyance. "No more talking about these delusions, Mr. Moriarty. I can see I'm going to have to tell the doctors your condition has worsened."

"My condition?" he cut back, incredulous. "What about Javert? I'm pretty sure his 'condition' is the kind you don't just chalk up to delusions!"

"I've already told you that Mr. Hunt is just fine. He was released this morning, and you should be happy for him. He was here for quite some time."

"And now he's dead. Very encouraging."

She put a hand to his back, pushing him into the room. "Goodnight, Mr. Moriarty." And with that, she closed the door.

While Guybrush wasn't often one to fume, that was exactly what he did. Setting his tray on the desk, he was ready to prepare himself for the night, heading for his closet to retrieve his things. He wasn't sure what he was going to do yet, aside from deliver the goods to the Voodoo Doctor, but he was ready to blow off steam with a night of adventuring. He wasn't even going to have to head to the inspector's room for a change, which was something he'd been doing almost every night since his arrival, so that would save—

His fevered thoughts came to a halt as he threw open the closet. He'd expected to find his usual possessions: Elaine's sword, his underwear sash, other seemingly useless knickknacks. Hanging in the closet was Javert's greatcoat. Tentatively, Guybrush pulled the garment from the hanger; it acted as a final sign that his comrade was really gone. Elaine, Morgan, Javert- even LeChuck, in a way. How many more would come and go?

The day had gone fairly well, despite the change in routine. Soma supposed she was one of the few people who had preferred the military takeover; the return to coddling nurses and smiley-faced stickers on bulletin posts irritated her more than they probably should have. As far as she was concerned, she would have preferred pink gruel and something approaching straight talk to real food and another layer of lies.

Still, there wasn't much she could do about it now. Besides, it was more important to focus on her upcoming mission tonight. Following the radio clues might give her a chance to investigate last night's events from Marc's point of view, and that was as much as she could ask for.

As the door shut behind her, she checked her closet to make sure her possessions were all there, then closed the doors. Seating herself at her desk, she started in on her dinner. With any luck, she'd find some answers tonight.

After so long one day tended to blend into another. It could've been any other day here, save for running into patients who'd disappeared here weeks ago. He was starting to wonder if there was much point to running around looking. For what, he wasn't sure anymore. Information on the doctor, Marc, what would any of it do?

Above all, it was his link to his brother, he reminded himself, that he had to seek out. Landel had promised him that much, had delivered even, and Yuuhi had done nothing but fail time after time. There'd been no new orders and the others seemed almost as confused as he was.

Yuuhi followed his nurse back to his room, keeping up light conversation. He was the first one back, so he took a seat and started eating his dinner, glad for something vaguely familiar.

Sakura returned to her room in good spirits. While Sai wasn't in the best shape at the moment, it was infinitely better than being dead. It wasn't necessarily the how that bothered her; Chiyo had been able to raise Gaara with forbidden jutsu and her studies with Tsunade were enough to tell her that wasn't the first or only case of it happening. It didn't, however, mean that she was any less pissed off about the incident itself.

She took a seat on her bed, tray in her lap. The food here was almost ridiculously rich at times. While she was no supporter of the pink gruel of the last several days, this almost seemed too decadent afterward. She picked at it with her fork, eating the meat and vegetables first.

Although the day started out pretty crappy, it would have been hard to tell looking at Chipp now. Sometime after he was done talking to Sora, when that stupid nurse decided it was best to separate him from the kid (the hell did she think he was, some kind of asshole who made shit up to scare kids?), he decided to look at that bulletin board thing. And was he glad he did, because he ended up walking away with bonafide Japanese citizenship. The paper in his hand was the most precious thing in the world to him, as Chipp was practically hugging it when he walked into his room.

It was just a shame that they didn't have any proper Japanese food for him to celebrate with. Turkey was alright, he guessed... but still, he finally got his Japanese citizenship! Who the hell would celebrate with Western holiday food?!

"Hey, nurse, you got some Japanese food? I can't eat this, today's special!"

Well, he tried, but apparently the nurse who had been following him around all day had reached her limit and just stared at him with a tired expression before she shook her head, as if giving up reasoning with him.

"No, Robert, but we will have teriyaki next week."

"Why not now?"

"Because. Now, eat your dinner and get some rest, okay?" She said, ducking out of the room was quickly as possible and leaving Chipp somewhat confused. If they had teriyaki for next week, why not have it this week? For all of the days! Still, he couldn't scowl too much as he looked at the paper once again, a look of triumph on his face.

Now he definitely had to find that Gear girl and set her straight! It was duty as a citizen, after all! Well, that and figure out what she was doing there and if the military had plans for her. Chipp didn't like Gears any more then the next guy, but he couldn't help but think about the one Gear who had a bounty set on her a year ago. Would this girl be in trouble too?

F16

F21

F19

M3

M1

M21

F22

M14

M73 eventually

M7

F2

M18

F34

M39

F8

M63

M20

M50

m35

M55

M85

F9

m99

F1

M6