DAY 65: Breakfast

[envy_the_sinners]

Scar came to slowly, vision blurred and head throbbing. His memory of the previous night was vague and somewhat scattered. What he was most aware of was his renewed and increased hatred for the man called Lingormr. The Ishbalan didn't give a damn if he had been a special counseling patient. That bastard had enjoyed every second of tearing Scar to shreds. What he may or may not have realized was how much it had affected Scar emotionally. He had felt a renewed sense of drive at the start of the night; the disruption on the intercom and the news of the 'cure' had rekindled a fire that fueled Scar to drive forward. To have a little hope.

Lingormr had promptly crushed that.

He was in pain. So much pain. The cut on his hand was only fading scab at this point, but stitches now pulled at the deep gashes in his legs and back. Not only had the nausea not settled, but his stomach was beginning to cramp. The rash on his arm was impossible to hide without the old bandages covering it. It had nearly reached his elbow.

Scar's hazy eyes could make out the nurse, now pushing a wheelchair up to his bedside. This was humiliating. And he was too exhausted and hurting to lash out or become angry. He was just broken. He still tried to take some sort of grudging control, insisting that he didn't need to be pushed around, that he could at least turn the wheels of the damned chair himself. But he didn't make it down the hallway before the pulling and sharp pain in his back became so obvious on his face that the nurse took over.

He entered breakfast with a frustrated, tired, but overall defeated look to him. Scar felt too sick to eat. He sat at the table and brooded, wishing more than anything to simply be left alone.

[For Goku!]

Comments

[awokentospring]

[Awoken to madness]

Lee was beginning to form at least one very obvious conclusion as he was led down the halls, through the Sun Room, and into the cafeteria. This was not a shinobi-run hospital. There was a distinct lack of village insignia on the walls. In fact, the walls themselves were incredibly bare. Hardly anything save for the bulletin board that people were gathering around in the Sun Room. Lee was curious, but decided he didn't need to waste time. Now was the time for food, then after he needed to figure out how to get back to the war. Which was looking to be harder than he thought, given that he didn't have a clue where he was beyond a place called Landel's.

The cafeteria was relatively empty when Lee and his nurse entered. While Lee was familiar with buffets, he still felt out of place, enough to hesitate on how to proceed with breakfast. He didn't belong here, after all. And his arms, bared of their bandages to expose the heavy scarring and dark bruises left him feeling a tad self-conscious. He rubbed his hands up and down the rough skin, fingers tracing across particularly noticeable lines.

As if sensing his awkwardness, the man beside him began to guide Lee closer to the service bar. With exaggerated movements, he showed Lee where to find trays, plates, and utensils, then began ushering him down the line. "See? It's really easy, Bruce."

"... I am not Bruce. I am Lee." The man was obviously still confused. But instead of apologizing, the man only chuckled. "Oh, I get it! Bruce Lee! Very clever!"

Lee's eyebrows shot up, still utterly perplexed by the man's inability to connect with the truth. Once they had loaded up the tray, the young man led Lee to a table and set the food down, then even took the initiative to pull out Lee's chair for him.

"Alright, you got your food and--oh! Right!" The man placed his hand to his forehead in an overly-dramatic gesture. "I'm Todd, by the way! Call me Todd. If you're in need of anything, just let me know, 'kay, Bruce?"

"Um..." But Lee could tell without a doubt that there was not going to be any getting through to the man. He scratched his neck and gave the man, Todd, a small smile. "... Okay. Thank you very much, Todd-san."

Looking relieved and proud of himself, the man beamed at Lee then took his leave, moving to join a cluster of other nurses and orderlies at the food bar. Still perplexed, and growing more wary by the minute, the young ninja turned to the task at hand, determined not to lose focus. Right now, he needed to eat. After, he would take care of whatever mess he had been dropped into.

[Mike-san~]

[hiddenbadass]

Mike awoke with a start, bolting up in bed without uttering a sound. He looked around--his room. Not the hall, not Shiina's, his. The one he shared with Brook. Night was over.

"Shell," Mike ran his hand over his hair, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. "Shiina...."

The poor kid. Shit, why was she the one that turned into a monster? She didn't deserve it. She wasn't prepared for it, either. She was just an innocent teenage girl. Something that didn't exist back home anymore, and now this place was tainting her to be just like that.

Anger boiled up in him. He knew there wasn't a damn thing he could do for her now that daylight had come. Mike could only conform to the Institute's song and dance or find his veins pumped full of sedatives. If he was going to find out what happened to Shiina, he'd have to keep his cool.

Shell.

His nurse arrived, and she almost startled back at the expression etched into his face. "M-Michael..."

"Slept wrong," Mike growled, knowing it was bullshit, but he didn't care. "M'ready to eat."

"Oh--" The nurse nodded, and he followed her.

Mike kept his thoughts to himself, glad that the woman was smart enough not to force him to talk. He needed to think. A quick glance at the bulletin board revealed that Niikura was checking for her, and Mike added his worry. Check in, Shiina, check in....

Such was his worry that he actually wasn't hungry. French toast. Actual food, but he didn't care. He grabbed milk, too, and he didn't care that his nurse held his tray for him as he piled food onto it. Mike knew he needed to eat, to keep his energy up, and to listen and look out for the girl. Forcing down food (or something that vaguely resembled it back home, anyways) was one of his talents.

His plans to sit by himself and think were quickly dashed, however, as his nurse happily started leading him away from the line after he had gotten all his food. Damnit. He grit his teeth but didn't argue, knowing he had to keep as calm as possible. Doing something stupid wouldn't help anyone.

How many other people were suffering, besides Shiina? How many others were being turned into monsters, tortured? It was like Shredder all over again. Mike remembered his journey underground, and what Shredder's experiments did to those men and women. Quarry...

"You're going to sit with Bruce today! Be extra nice to him, Michael--he's new!" His nurse chirped, and Mike's head jerked up.

"New?" He asked with mild alarm, a quick jolt going through his body; a new patient NOW?

"Yes," she said simply, giving him his tray and patting him on the back once she seemed satisified he could hold it with only one arm. "Now go say hello to him!"

He didn't see Shiina, so he knew he couldn't help her. The former turtle was still pissed, still terrified, but there was someone who simply didn't know how much danger he was in now. If Mike couldn't help Shiina at the moment, he could at least help the new kid.

Lee's hair was strange, and his eyes were... wider than usual. More round than most humans, as far as he knew. The hair reminded him of Moe of the Three Stooges. The kid had all of his limbs, minimal scarring, and he was also... athletic. Built. Not a lot, but enough that Mike supposed he could be a fighter. Good. They could use more of those around here. Mike could only hope the kid was smart, too.

"Hey," Mike called out to him, voice gravely as he sat his tray down and then his body with a bit of a drop. "Name's Michelangelo, but just call me Mike. Your name isn't Bruce, is it?"

[awokentospring]

Lee's ears caught the sound of the strange name his own nurse had given him, causing him to look up from his odd toast. A man who looked like he had been in a great many battles was being sent his way. Lee had no qualms being given a breakfast companion. If anything, he had a better chance at getting information from anyone other than Todd.

Lee offered the man a brilliant smile. He didn't even have to explain that issue! "Correct! I am not Bruce! My name is Rock Lee! You can call me Lee, Mike-san!"

He gave the man a swift bow of his head in greeting, his black hair bobbing along in a thick rush of strands. "I am thankful for the breakfast, but I must return to the war shortly after this! Where might I go to request being sent back to the front lines?"

[hiddenbadass]

Lee was an optimistic kid, but, more importantly, it sounded like he was an optimistic kid that could fight. Mike was a bit relieved to know that they were getting someone who wasn't completely new to the idea of war, as horrible as war was.

You needed every advantage you could get here.

"You're not gonna return to your war so easily," Mike stated, still squaring up the younger man. " 'Fraid we've all been kidnapped. How much do you know so far?"

[awokentospring]

"Kidnapped?" Well, whoever thought kidnapping a mid-rank shinobi and taijutsu expert was in for a surprise! Lee put on a big grin, unperturbed.

"I know nothing of the situation! But I can say that they will not be holding me for long if that is the case, which it is not!" Lee's brows drew together in a serious manner, but the smile remained on his face. "It is not because I would never be kidnapped so easily. Therefore, this must be a dream!"

[hiddenbadass]

Mike leaned over, closer to Lee. He was going to have to convince the kid this wasn't a dream, and convince him quickly. Otherwise, he ran the risk of not getting as much information into this kid as humanly possible. If this kid was going to go on a streak of denial, their time was going to be severely cut into.

"Listen here, kid," Mike leaned over further, reaching over to pinch Lee's arm. "This isn't a dream. This is real."

((OOC: Done with permission!))

[awokentospring]

"Yeowch!" The exclamation was said more from the surprise than from pain. His arms were already coated in scars and bruises. What was one more to a shinobi?

"Okay, so it is real," Lee said with a soft huff of breath, rubbing a little at the reddening area on his arm. "I should still not have been kidnapped easily."

Then a thought struck him, though it also pierced through his pride to think about. "... Or maybe this is a genjutsu? One that makes me believe I feel pain." After all, the illusionist techniques of certain ninja could very well affect a victim down to their nervous system.

Lee's lips drew together in a sharp "M" of disappointment. "I have not fallen under a genjutsu in over a year."

[hiddenbadass]

Genjutsu, huh? Mike raised an eyebrow at that. This kid was sounding less like a general fighter and more like a ninja. He remembered vaguely about that sort of terminology, although he had never come across anything like it before himself.

"Huh," Mike replied noncommittally, eating another bite of his food. "That's a new one."

Then he shook his head as he thought it over. "Doesn't make sense, unless everyone is under it. I've been here for days."

He thought for a moment. "What's the signs of one, anyway? Never been under one myself. I just know what they're called."

[awokentospring]

"Does it not?" Lee bit the inside of his cheek. Yep, there was still pain and sensation there. And also a bit less power to his genjutsu theory.

"It could very well be that it is an elaborate genjutsu in that I am imagining your very presence right now, Mike-san," Lee stated, knowing that it meant denying the man his own existence. He was only trying to make heads or tails of the situation, so Lee didn't fear upsetting Mike as he was just speculating. "Then, your saying this is real could itself be an illusion."

As for signs, Lee took a sip of water before replying. "There is generally some way to recognize them while they are being cast. A user's hand signs, for example, can warn you if a genjutsu is about to be sent your way. When under a genjutsu, however, it is almost impossible to tell you have been caught unless you are well-trained in their deflection. A sloppy genjutsu is easier to see beyond, because there will be less detail to the scenario or the target will instinctual feel that something is 'wrong'."

He took a breath. Having been someone without the ability to actually produce genjutsu, Lee had done everything in his power to better understand the process. He continued, "An elaborate genjutsu, however, is almost indistinguishable from reality. They are like being in a nightmare; you could see yourself die and yet still very well think you actually have died. The power of genjutsu comes from the fact that it directly affect the target's nervous system. Once the chakra has been disturbed there, any of the senses could be manipulated in order to cast an illusion."

Lee knit his fingers together and rested his chin upon them, his elbows propped against the table. "But for someone to cast a genjutsu this elaborate... They would have to be incredibly powerful."

[hiddenbadass]

Mike listened, taking in the information as quickly as possible. The kid was smart. Maybe not a genius like Donatello, but he knew what he was talking about. It wasn't shit that he was making up--whatever he was saying know was something he was taught, either from a school or from a master.

Optimism. Brains. Fighting ability. Probably seen a bit of war, too, as mentioned earlier in the conversation. All things that he'd need in order to survive in this place.

"Gonna have to argue against the genjutsu," Mike stated after Lee finally finished. "It kinda sounds like making a cartoon or writing a comic book, but by one person that's messin' with your senses. Simple genjutsus would be simple, but even then... comic books and cartoons usually only flesh out the main characters entirely, and they have an entire group of people workin' on it. You don't go around drawin' every character in full detail 'cause it takes too long. Or if you do, they aren't that interestin' or unique. Background characters."

Mike looked around the room, settling at the lines for getting breakfast. "This place? It's full of main characters, if you catch the drift. Too much detail. 'specially people like me, with dozens of scars. Even my voice is messed up. Too much detail. Anyone with half a brain would go for somethin' simpler if they were tryin' to fool you. ... Suppose it could be more than one person doin' it, but it's still an awful lot of detail. Kinda ridiculous to come up with something like this that ain't really believable at first, anyways."

[awokentospring]

Lee had to hand it to Mike; having several well-developed characters to make a convincing genjutsu was possible, but typically only a few ever seemed fully fleshed out. Lee didn't know anyone beyond his nurse and Mike, but that would soon be put to the test. The shinobi wasn't willing to let his theory drop too quickly, but it was losing it's power.

"I will concede to your point about the detail." Lee took a bite of waffle and couldn't deny the perfectly cooked texture or the sugary sweetness of the syrup. "But if I am not under a genjutsu, then that means I must leave here as soon as I am able. Remaining idle is not an option."

[hiddenbadass]

Mike shook his head. How to explain it to the kid? Trying to escape was just going to waste his time.

"Wish it were that simple, kid. We're stuck here. You can try runnin' 'way from the Institute, but you always wind up back in your bed in the mornin'. Did it myself. Didn't work."

It was good to have Lee's optimism, but he needed a dose of reality to go with it. Quickly, if possible. That enthusiasm needed to be redirected to better uses, like keeping alive and saving others.

[awokentospring]

"That seems highly unlikely... How can you run away and wake up back here unless you were caught?" It didn't make sense! People could not easily be summoned from one place to another.

Except that had just happened to Lee, pulling him from the war into this institute place. But that was just a detail. Lee would figure things out as things went along, but he would escape first.

"I would like to believe you, Mike-san," Lee said at last, stuffing down another bite of waffle, "but I will need to test things for myself! If I manage to escape, you will certainly be on my mind and I will rush back here to help you all as soon as the war back home has been completed!"