damned_institute | Day 62: Breakfast

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Day 62: Breakfast

A misplaced sense of familiarity met Barnaby the moment he opened his eyes, and the sight of the blank, white ceiling from yesterday morning greeted him. After rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands, Barnaby sat up and felt around for his glasses. Had he blacked out again and wasted an entire night? Where was Kotetsu? And what had become of the man who had seemingly vanished before his very eyes at the end of dinner?

Once Barnaby slipped his frames onto his face, the world came into clearer focus, even if he didn’t get any answers out of it. He was in his room, and someone had apparently stripped him out of his street clothes in favor of the hideous hospital pajamas. Barnaby wasn't sure what he found more offensive -- that someone here had once again touched his things without his permission, or that he’d been undressed while unconscious for the second time since his arrival.

The thought made his skin crawl.

Just as he looked over to find a lump in the bed next to him, though, his assigned nurse came to retrieve him. He would have to confirm Klavier Gavin's whereabouts later. For now, he had no choice but to allow the nurse to escort him into the cafeteria. Strangely, she seemed to be under the impression that he and the other patients had slept soundly the whole night. While he might have assumed it was an act, Barnaby got the feeling that she genuinely believed what she was saying.

Regardless of her intentions, he knew she wasn't going to be any help. Instead of trying to ask her anymore questions, Barnaby left a note on the bulletin board concerning his roommate. If his observations from yesterday were any indication, he'd get some responses, at least. While he could have taken the time to leave something for Kotetsu, Barnaby didn't feel inclined to do so, especially when he knew he probably wouldn't check the board anyway.

He had no appetite this morning, but his nurse wouldn't leave him alone until she'd assembled a tray of fresh, fluffy pancakes for him. Honestly, Barnaby didn't see why some people felt the need to butt into his personal choices like this. At least there wasn't anyone forcing him to eat -- for now, at any rate. He sat down at an empty table close to the wall after setting his food down, privately hoping that she wouldn't try to find a "friend" for him to eat with this morning. He was tucked out of the way, so maybe she would forget about him for a few minutes as long as he didn't draw any unnecessary attention to himself.

Hands neatly clasped on the table, Barnaby didn't look at anyone in particular as patients filtered into the cafeteria for their morning meal. There were too many questions buzzing in his mind for him to focus on the names and faces of people he didn't care about. If Kotetsu wanted to find him, he could. It wasn't like Barnaby was going anywhere.

[For Kotetsu.]

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He'd expected it, to come up short of the Basement yet again, but with how close he'd gotten this time, the ninja could not help but think that something might have been keeping him from the place. Landel likely had a closer eye on him and the other two that had been in his office; if the one running the show didn't want him in the basement, then the doctor likely had the power to keep Kurogane out. Was it because that was where Landel was hiding himself, or because of some other reasons?

One more time. Kurogane eventually decided as he entered the cafeteria and looked around for a seat.

"Oh no you don't," the nurse saw his wandering eyes and stopped his attempt at free choice by pointing him to a nearby table, "You have a seat right there, and don't even think about getting up Mr. Cross."

Kurogane scowled down at the woman, but found he wasn't in the mood to protest. Her nagging aside, he wasn't against having a quick seat with his leg injured as it was. Even cleaned and bandaged, it still stung like hell to walk on, but at least he wasn't having to use the crutch she'd offered. That made hiding the thing all the easier. And now that he could see which table he'd been pointed to - and more importantly who was already sitting there - he was even more intent on keeping his steps at a normal pace.

"You can blame my nurse," was all he said as he pulled a chair out and had a seat adjacent to Fai.

It wasn't so long ago that Yuui might have leapt at the chance to sit with Kurogane during a meal. The two of them had been close, too close, he'd decided, but when he took the time to think about it, he couldn't help but feel an empty sort of twinge in his chest. He missed it, of course. Joking, laughing, playing, teasing the other. As long as it didn't get serious.

Here, everything was serious.

He tried very hard not to remember the last conversation they'd had. Before this, it'd never been so bad that they couldn't still see each other the next day and smile. Or pretend to.

When the nurse brought Kurogane to his table, it wasn't as if he could avoid things any longer. Still, he smiled thinly in greeting, a brief nod before he poked at the waffles on his plate. You can blame my nurse. Because what other reason would they have to speak civilly to one another?

"Good morning to you too."

Kurogane knew it was an excuse as much as Fai did, but at least it would give both men a reason to not speak if that was how things went. In any event, it kept Fai from thinking Kurogane had joined him to talk about anything specific and, because of it, cause the magician to run. Kurogane wasn't in the mood, either to talk about this damn place or to argue with his nurse to take him somewhere else. Fai could see that however he wanted, but either way, he'd have to deal with it.

"The hell makes it good?" he snorted before he thought better of it and finished with his more usual, "Che."

Was Kurogane looking to start a fight? It was impossible to tell if the grouchy answer was directed at him or this place, but he had a feeling in the end, it was probably both. He ignored the bristly remark and took a long drink from his juice cup.

"Anything new?"

"Not that I've found," he managed and was about to return the question when his nurse appeared with his meal.

The look he gave her, he thought, was the one he always sent her way, but she seemed to pick up on his increased annoyance this time and bit back for it. "Scowl all you like; you're not allowed up until breakfast is finished, Mr. Cross, and the orderlies know it," she scolded, waving a finger first at him, then at the onlooking orderlies so as to make her point. "Now for once, try to enjoy your meal," she sighed in conclusion and went off to handle other, less troublesome patients.

If his look at the nurse had been harder than usual, then the orderlies were treated to an even worse glare before Kurogane all but attacked a poor sausage with his fork.

He wasn't sure he had it in him to pry more than that. Kurogane was honest, almost to a fault at times. If the ninja had found something, he wouldn't hide it away, not like Yuui already had with so many things. What else was there to say?

Sorry might be a good start. But sorry would lead to mending things that were broken, would build up bonds, recreate and make stronger... Things had to stay this way. Distant and simple.

He watched the nurse idly as she chided Kurogane about his eating habits this morning, recognizing the lecture as one he'd been given (if in a much more pleasant tone) on several occasions. It took a moment to add up; why something seemed off about Kurogane and why the nurse would be fetching his tray. It wasn't that the other didn't want food, it was much more likely that he was too injured in some way, to get it himself.

"Where did you go?" he asked, once she was far enough out of earshot.

For some time his nurse had been going to get his food for him, an action Kurogane had associated with the bracelet he'd been forced to wear, and though it bothered him a little, he hadn't much complained for it. The woman had gotten better about not getting him stuff he didn't like at least, probably because she'd realized he wouldn't touch sweet things.

"Tried for the basement," he answered, leaving Fai to infer the rest as he brought the sausage to his mouth. It was always trying for something, but never succeeding in this place.

He managed a couple bites of his waffles before Kurogane answered him, though the response wasn't at all what he expected to hear. Yet still, the ninja continued to eat his breakfast as casually as if he'd said he'd gone for a walk in the park last night.

"The basement-... Why" he couldn't stop the automatic response. Of all places to go, Kurogane knew that one was one of the most dangerous. He knew that. Why then, would he try to reach it?

For Kurogane, it wasn't that he wanted to go to the basement, it was that the area was his last option. He'd never been there himself outside of Landel's damned transport magic, and with how he kept getting held up from reaching the place, his gut was telling him something down there had answers.

"It's one of the places we know he's been," he answered, knowing his own reasoning well for how long he'd thought on it, "Already searched through the Chapel, little good that did, and with the third floor out of reach, the basement's the last lead for finding that damned doctor."

As he explained, his teeth ground harder into his food from the continued frustration of it all. "There's no point looking for something without at least some lead. Started heading there looking for Landel and got the radio message halfway through. Might not be Landel making a mess in the basement, but if it isn't, then the radio guy's doing something."

Some of it made sense, but just because they knew the doctor had been there, it didn't mean that he'd be found just wandering about in the basement. And the only place they'd actually seen him was that coliseum. No telling how he'd gotten there or if he'd even be there if they went again.

"We already know what's down there," he tried, pushing around the rest of his food, "it's a dead end, isn't it?"

Kurogane paused mid chew and looked up at the magician. He'd known that Fai had been down there because of that arena, but as for other things, the man had never spoken. Of course Kurogane had made his inferences, however he'd yet to know exactly what the basement entailed, having never been himself.

"You know what's there. And unless you can say that you've been through every door and hallway, without lying, then there's still a reason to go," he continued to reason, knowing that there had to be more than even Fai knew of waiting below. Landel had spoken of the basement countless times, but now with Marc sending clues about it, there was something they were missing.

The accusation hung in the air, but Yuui refused to let it be. To be fair, it wasn't his own work or merit that had earned them the prizes in the basement. That was mostly on Touya and Yue and Yukito. They'd only asked him along so that they'd have enough people and so that he could help them protect Sakura.

He wanted to beg the other man not to even try. To warn him that a wrong move could land them in that same coliseum, facing down one another on the sands. But he couldn't manage to put it into words. "I'll go with you next time."

"I'm going tonight."

And unless he reached the place, it would be his last time trying for a while unless the radio kept babbling on about it.

Tonight? He might have been surprised, but it was Kurogane afterall. The man was always very straight and to the point, no matter the goal.

"The Sun Room is usually messy. I'll meet you on the field," he decided, pushing aside memories of meeting a very different version of Kurogane in that same place.

Since Fai was actually making his own decisions on this, Kurogane didn't protest him deciding where they'd meet. He avoided the Sun Room often himself for the same reasons. Too many times he'd had to fight something in there.

"Fine," he agreed letting hang the assumption that he'd go looking for the man should he not show up.

[Sasuke is joining Kuro this night through a monster fight, so it'll be the three of us unless you have a problem with that?]

There was hardly any emotion in the ninja's response, but at least it hadn't been a rejection. Lately he was so uncertain of where they stood that it made conversations that had once been light and easy much more difficult. He nodded once, then went back to his food.

[That sounds fine! As long as you're ok with having me!]

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Day 62: Breakfast

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/why are these two such fail?

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