damned_institute | Day 61: Recreation Field (Shift 2)

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Day 61: Recreation Field (Shift 2)

Loki wasn't entirely thrilled about returning to the recreation field, though he supposed it would be nicer during the day. And without the annoying presence of Riku. Some fresh air would likely do him good; that was what Sif and Thor had always claimed right before they dragged him out of the library.

He wasn't entirely certain if that was a pleasant thought or not. It was still far too mixed up and painful.

He was allowed to go back to his room and pull out every bit of warm clothing he had, bundling up as much as he could. As he followed the nurse out into the field, he also wondered if this meant he would miss out on the greenhouse, since he'd arranged to meet Soma after lunch. That had priority, of course, but he did find plants interesting. At least it was good to know there were activities they were forced to participate in during the day that weren't as horrifically painful as, say, what the music room would indicate.

Good to know that as prisons went, it wasn't all just torture, torture, torture. Some variation was good for the mind.

He wandered along the crunchy, dead grass, for now steering clear of the few other patients. The air felt much better during the day, smelled much better to him as well as he sniffed at it. even if it was cold enough to make his nose hurt. It reminded him uncomfortably of Jotunheim, and...

But at least here, there was sunlight. He wasn't trapped in that dark place as sometimes was in his nightmares.

Loki stopped about halfway down the field, tilting his head back to take in the thin sunlight, his eyes slipping shut.

[Here, angel angel angel... :D Castiel!]

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Oh man...it was cold. He was wearing all of his winter clothes, and yet, Niikura was still shivering and desperately rubbing his arms for warmth. Then again, at least it wasn't raining like it had been that other night. That had been miserable, and he never wanted to go through that experience ever again. Running in a rain storm while being chased by a gigantic, virgin-seeking bird of death: fun. His shoulder even ached from the memory of it.

Well. Time to see if he could get the blood flowing, see if that would help things any. He stretched for a bit just to get his arms and legs limbered up before setting out on a jog around the outer edge of the field. With the clouds graying up the sky and his breath spiraling up in plumes all around him, he figured he looked kind of like a ghost, except ghosts didn't have bulky winter coats usually. Still a cool image to think about, though.

(Heh, cool...he was terrible.)

[for Kotetsu]

Kotetsu stood by the Sun Room double doors that led out to the recreational field with a bitter expression on his dark face. Okay, yes, he had made the complaint that he hoped everyone got outside time, but he hadn't meant like right now, especially in this weather.

"It's cold," he said, just in case the woman behind him (with her foot practically up his ass to push him outside) hadn't noticed.

"It's a little nippy, but that's why we gave you the coat. Honestly, Mr. Kaburagi, you should be setting an example for these kids instead of complaining."

"Kids are springy! I am old, too old to be outside in the cold. My bones are aching just looking outside."

The nurse sighed, but wasn't swayed a bit. "Then you better find a way to warm them up, hmmm? Out you go." His grumbling was ignored as he passed the threshold and instantly shuddered when a gust of wind hit him. most of the patients (all of them male for some reason) were huddled in groups, about as thrilled as he was to be out here.

There was no going back now, so he had to find a way to make the most of it. Exercise was the easiest way to get warmed up, but since retirement he hadn't exactly been keeping up with his training. It was probably going to be a slow and sore process.

He noticed a few men had the same idea. One in particular was jogging laps around the white-lined field by himself and Kotetsu figured everyone needed a exercise buddy. It made the whole ordeal a little less intolerable.

Without taking the time to stretch, he waited for the kid to round a corner, then smoothly inserted himself. His long strides were shortened to match the stranger's. "Hey, you mind? Makes it easier for me to run when I've got a buddy!"

One foot in front of the other. Keep a steady pace. It was easier to take his mind off of the cold as he established a steady rhythm. One foot in front of the oth--

"Eh?" Niikura turned his head toward the stranger that had decided to do what he usually did: insert himself into other people's bubbles of solitude. The experience was an unfamiliar one since usually he wasn't on the receiving end, but he was definitely going to take it much more graciously than most of his, ah, victims.

"If it suits ya," he said in between breaths with a small shrug. He'd never seen this guy before, some geezer with a bizarre beard-thing and hair that almost rivaled his for sheer spikiness. Maybe he was new? That meant he wouldn't be any help for Operation Basement. Ah, but making connections was okay. It really seemed like he had more enemies than friends at the moment, and changing that didn't sound too bad at all.

"New...ya new around here?"

"Uhh, yeah, sorta." Did he drop a V card that had alerted the masses or something? The population wasn't the same as a rural town, but was it big enough to pick new people out that easily or was it his friendly demeanor that told everyone ahead of time that he hadn't been beaten down yet? This kid didn't seem all that grim-dark like Depth Charge, but then again, Kotetsu was convinced he was some shell-shocked war veteran. It was about the only thing that made the most sense.

"So, how long've you been here? You seem a little young for a place like this..." What was even more disturbing was the fact that this kid wasn't even the youngest of the patient population. He didn't know a lot about mental illness and treatments and things, but he knew enough about people to know that sick adults shouldn't have access to children! They could easily hurt them or do other, like, dastardly things to them! Kotetsu didn't like it. He didn't like to see that most of the population was at least ten years younger than him, probably even closer to fifteen.

Maybe it was just his age talking (or he never paid attention in science class), but he was pretty sure most mental illnesses happened later in life, not at the peak of your health.

"Oh...heh, welcome!" Niikura threw a sloppy salute as they rounded a bend. This guy sure was being nice, and it looked like it was because of his age. It was kind of endearing in its own way, almost made him want to laugh because even though he looked like a kid, he felt far, far older. But he couldn't be too shocking, yet; he didn't want to scare the other away. Later for sure, though.

"Been here, oh...two weeks, I think. Not that long, I guess." He laughed breathlessly. "Feels like longer, though. Y'know us kids...we sense time differently and all that." It really did feel like a long time had passed, though. Life had been moving so quickly; every day had been another Akumetsu to look forward to, a new issue to address, another call to Hazama or trip down to see Azuma and the gang in the base...and here it was so slow, even with all the monsters and random anime characters come to life.

Niikura extended a hand, although it was bobbing up and down a bit in time as he ran. "I'm Niikura, by the way. Niikura Shou."

Kotetsu snorted. "Better enjoy it while it lasts! At my age, every day is shorter than the last!" It was fitting advice under normal circumstances, but now that he had said it, he kind of wanted to take it back. Enjoying every day in a mental hospital was not an easy thing to do, he imagined. So far, he had been here a grand total of five or more hours and he was getting a little tired of being treated like a toddler or, dare he even think it, a delirious old man! Kotetsu had no interest in finding out how two weeks felt.

It was strange, this teenager didn't seem very ill or socially inept. He seemed very charismatic, in fact. Plus, he was Japanese! Despite the... strange hair color that had Kotetsu double take after hearing his name.

"Hey, alright! Good to meetcha!" It was an awkward handshake, so for better or for worse, the older man though it might be easier if he turned around and jogged backward on the straight away while they shook. It took care of the strange angle and the possibility of him pulling something. All good things to avoid in his book. He also hoped the strange action would distract Niikura enough to forget Kotetsu hadn't given him a name.

It wasn't like he was trying to be sneaky, but there were too many variables that couldn't be answered by patients and the staff flat out refused to. Until then, he was going to hold off on what names he wanted bounding around this place. He had already let Bunny's name float out there, but Depth Charge didn't seem the gossiping type. The name hadn't fit into his "life story" so Kotetsu was confident it would be discarded soon.

"Two weeks, huh?" He decided to come back to talking about the boy to keep questions away from him for as long as he could. "Must be tough keeping that hair color. Do they actually let you dye it or do you hafta smuggle it in?"

No name in return? Niikura had half a mind to bring the conversation to a grinding halt right then and there and needle the Unknown Stranger to death about it, but there had to be a reason for all the secrecy. Heh, and he wasn't exactly innocent either, having given all sorts of things out for his own name before. Only just yesterday, he'd managed to convince someone that 'Niikura' and 'Tsuneo' were two separate people, after all.

He slowed down to a walk, figuring that that would be an easier pace for conversation. The strategy was set: he'd play ignorant for the time being, and then he'd corner the guy at the last minute and turn the demon eyes on, because Akumetsu didn't give his civilian name out like candy, oh no: you had to pay up eventually for that kind of knowledge. "Hah! No, no, it's actually totally natural, can ya believe that?"

Niikura ran a hand artfully through his spikes. "It's pretty cool, yup. Means I got power runnin' through my veins, y'know." He was kidding, of course--his hair didn't have anything to do with his 'powers'--but he did really stand out as different, like there was something already elevating him above the rest of the world.

Well that certainly grabbed Kotetsu's attention. Kotetsu slowed down his own pace, but his long legs still ate up the ground quickly. It was hard to match his steps with Niikura, but he would manage.

"You're a NEXT too, huh? That's pretty cool!" He layered on top with extra enthusiasm. Some teenagers were leery to talk about their budding powers. Niikura didn't seem the type, but Kotetsu knew better than most how a strong front could cover up a lot of insecurities.

"So what's your power?" The older man seriously hoped the kid was joking about his hair having power. He had met a NEXT who could grow and cut his won hair and Kotetsu hadn't the heart to tell him he wasn't Hero material. But no matter how silly Niikura's power, he could be supportive. That was what Heroes did, even former ones!

Bwuh huh? The response caught him so off guard that Niikura actually forgot to act and look like he understood. A 'next'? Next what? Next-generation-something-probably-related-to-super-soldiers? That, um...that kind of applied to him, he guessed. He'd just never heard it expressed so enthusiastically before.

(But seriously, he'd been kidding. Note to self: never make this joke again.

...Second note to self: old men are more gullible than you think.)

"It's, uh, well..." Wait. He could run with this. He really could, and he wouldn't even be lying that much either. He could be this next whatever that this guy wanted. It would be sort of cruel, but then, it was so worth it. Ooh, and the temptation was just too much. Why did he like sabotaging potential relationships so much?!

"...I mean, uh..." And the transition was easy, too. As if it were utterly natural, Niikura's expression shifted from confused to embarrassed. "No one's...well, no one really takes me seriously when I tell them, so that's why I wasn't expecting..." He glanced at Kotetsu nervously, one gloved hand coming up to scratch the back of his neck. "Ya really wanna know?"

When Niikura began to trail off, Kotetsu put a stop to their little jaunt around the recreational yard. It was hard to collect your thoughts when you were in movement, so it was probably best that he brought them both to a halt for the moment. Even better, none of the patients had ventured much farther from the door than they needed to. They were alone and he was there to be all supportive-like!

"Of course!" Kotetsu told him earnestly. The boy's explanation seemed a bit melodramatic even for a young NEXT, though. He couldn't really imagine what couldn't be taken seriously when Niikura used his powers unless it was something subtle. Or, dare he even think it, much too lethal. If his power was mental, it could be more difficult to believe or want to believe the young man could, for example, injure or read people's thoughts with his mind. Maybe it was something the older man had never seen before.

Still, he needed to remain supportive and encourage the kid not to be afraid! It was nothing to be ashamed of, even if some of the world wanted to believe that.

"I won't laugh or anything, promise! There's no such thing as a bad power! Maybe it seems silly now, but there'll be a day when someone will need help and you will be the only one to fit the bill!" Man, this was going to be a shining moment in this kid's life forever! he would look back fondly on this day, except, well, the kid didn't even know who he was! Ah, well... Next time, he supposed.

Niikura sighed. "Nah, nah, I'm not scared of that. It's just...my power's kinda morbid and hard to explain, that's all." He exhaled slowly and looked off away toward the rest of the field. "I've got two, actually. One is the power to be in more than one place at a time." He shook his head. "But that's nothin' special, in my opinion. The second one's the one that throws everyone for a loop."

There was a short pause as he just stood there, hands shoved in the pockets of his jacket, staring off into space until finally: "Guess it's just hard to believe, but I don't die, even when I...okay, this is repetitive, but even when I die, does that make sense?" He looked back at the stranger. "Like, ya could shoot me in the head right now, and I'd come back after a bit like it never happened: same appearance, same personality, same memories, same everything, not a scratch on me--well, not right now 'cause my powers are blocked here. But normally."

He scratched the back of his head. "It was, uh...findin' out was kind of weird, obviously." Time to seem like he wanted to change the subject, although he kind of really did want to because he could tell he was talking about himself too much. Not that that was a bad thing, but if he wasn't getting anything in return, it was better to start redirecting the conversation. "--What's yours, by the way?" Since this "next" business seemed to be connected to superpowers and all.

"Huh." It wasn't a very constructive comment, but Niikura's words were a lot to take in at once. If it were true, that is. There were certainly some powers that were rarer than others, but immortality and bending the laws of physics seemed kind of improbable.

Then again, what did he know?

"Mine? It's, uh, Hundred Power. You know, like the kind Wild Tiger has?" There. He had found a way to seamlessly name drop. Niikura would probably just write him off as a Wild Tiger fanboy or look-alike.

Uh...well, it looked like he...kind of believed him? Funny that people actually took his lies more seriously than the truth. But that was life for you: strange as hell.

"Never heard of it," Niikura replied honestly. 'Hundred Power'? So his power went up by a factor of a hundred? Something like that? Super strength sounded pretty awesome, even if it wasn't very original. "Or 'Wild Tiger', while we're at it. He's some kinda superhero, then?" Real superheroes! Go figure.

Well, if anime characters could come to life and if turtles could walk, he wasn't going to be a skeptic.

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Day 61: Recreation Field (Shift 2)

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