Day 65: 3rd Shift: Courtyard

[redcladidealist]

[From here.]

It was chilly out in the courtyard, making Lloyd glad for the odd but relatively warm clothing he'd found himself in when he woke up. He could have stay inside the building, he knows. His nurse had told him he had a choice of several rooms he could eat his lunch in, if he wanted. The cold felt good, though, and the tree he was sitting against felt solid and comfortable. He still felt lost, but trying to get straight answers from the nurse was frustrating. The man had retreated to let him eat in peace, promising to come back when Lloyd was finished and he'd had a chance to "clear his head." The teen was just fine with that.

Lunch itself was actually pretty good. He'd gotten a chicken sandwich, and his spirits lifted a little when he saw that there was a brownie with it. It had taken him a minute to figure out the box with juice inside, having never encountered anything like that before, but after that it was easy to just settle down and enjoy his food.

Well, for the most part. Worry for his Dad still ate at him, and he had no idea where any of his friends were. He still felt a little off, too, like some intangible part of him was missing or weakened, but he chalked that up to leftover side effects of whatever it was Yuan had done to him. He was confident that would disappear soon enough, once he finished recovering. He already felt well enough that as soon as he was done eating, he was determined to leave. If his doctor had his things, he'd ask for them first, and maybe he could talk to some of the other people here, see if they knew anything that could help, but one way or another, he needed to find his friends and make sure his Dad was all right.


[To here.]

Comments

[nobleman]

Speaking with Claude had definitely taken a toll, but Guy could only hope that he'd made it clear to his friend that he wasn't going to abandon him no matter what happened. In reality, it was still hard for him to picture either Claude or Anise changing into something that wanted nothing but to kill, but he was going to have to steel himself for that as best he could.

In the end, Guy hadn't been able to come to a final decision with Claude, which meant that he was going to need to check in with Anise as well. When he stopped by the bulletin board after being led back down from the second floor by a nurse, Guy spotted a note from Luke.

Guy had been so caught up with Anise and Claude that he hadn't put much thought to his other friends, but Luke should really be a part of all this too. Since Guy wanted to make sure that as many of them as possible met up before night came, he left a message noting where he would be during the free choice shift and then immediately headed for the courtyard.

The temperature had warmed up slightly and the sun was out, which gave the courtyard a more peaceful atmosphere. It was a good place to have a serious talk, and Guy hoped that it didn't fill up too much with other patients. He took a seat on a bench and then let out a sigh, wishing that there was more in his power to help his friends.

He kept an eye on the door, hoping that at least someone saw his message and came to meet him here.

[For Anise and Luke!]

[gald_digger]

Anise had hoped she could figure something out while talking to Claude, but in the end, the only thing she really understood was that they didn't have any good options at the moment. They could either rush into surgery and risk death, or try to find another way and risk running out of time.

The shift ended before they could come to an agreement, and Anise spent the next one back in her room, looking over her supplies and getting as much rest as her body would allow her. She managed to get a short nap in before lunch, but once the announcements began, she pulled herself out of bed and made her way to the Sun Room.

She found Luke and Guy's notes immediately. It wasn't any surprise that Guy wanted to talk. She supposed it was best to do that sooner rather than later, so Anise headed to the Courtyard next.

It didn't take long to find Guy. She could see him from the doorway as she stepped outside. She hesitated for just a moment, suddenly self-conscious over her pale, sweaty skin, as well as any other visible symptoms, but there was nothing she could do about those. At least she didn't need to hide anything from Guy; it was just that she didn't want to make him worry more than he probably already was.

Even though she still felt awful, Anise managed to greet her friend with a weak smile. "You wanted to talk to me, right?"

[dispersive]

Leave it to Guy to pick somewhere cold to stand around and talk. With a light jacket and his sacked lunch, Luke braved the courtyard in search of his friends. Okay, it wasn't as cold as he had built it up--Hell, he had been in much colder places with far less on his back!--but he could still see his breath. That meant it was colder than it needed to be.

Digging into his sack, Luke grabbed for his brownie first while he looked for Guy. He was easy enough to spot since he had planted himself in sight of anyone coming out of the doors. Anise was already there, so he hurried over so he didn't miss anything being said. Since they had different priorities at night, it felt like he hadn't talked with them in awhile.

"Hey," he greeted between brownie bites. His green eyes moved from his friends briefly to the rest of the patients as he looked for any indication that Tear would be joining them.

[nobleman]

As it turned out, Anise was the one who walked up to him first. It was impossible to miss how bad she looked, between the rash that was covering the majority of her arm and the slight sheen of perspiration on her skin. More than that, she just looked worn down. Claude hadn't looked much better, of course, but at least Guy had been given the chance to properly reassure him. Could he do that with Anise?

"I did," he said after a pause, moving over on the bench so that Anise could sit on the opposite side. He didn't want her to stand any more than she needed to, after all. No matter what happened tonight, it was probably going to be physically taxing in some way, and so Anise needed to save up as much energy as she could.

Before Guy could start (and he didn't even know how to do that), Luke showed up, looking much healthier in comparison. That was one relief, but Guy had no idea if his friend was in the loop on this or not. "Hey," he said in return. "Have you... been caught up on what's been going on?" Guy glanced to Anise then, well aware that it was up to her as far as how much she wanted to tell Luke.

[his_legacy]

Having been unable to post to the bulletin, Link made his way outside when his nurse offered him with more free time. Suddenly remembering that he had wanted to look for nuts and stones to use with his makeshift slingshot, he turned his gaze to the ground as he walked, sharp eyes tuned in on finding anything useful.

He knew that he ought to be socializing, gaining allies and friends. Despite the burden on his shoulders in Hyrule, he had not gone about it alone. He would still be stuck in the dungeons of Hyrule Castle if Midna had never found him in the first place.

Pushing the saddening thought of his lost friend out of his mind, Link shuffled on.

[For Sechs!]

[sixth_attack]

All dried up from showering and with his infected arm covered in a fresh new layer of gauze, Sechs went straight outside with his lunch as soon as he was free from the annoying nurse's clutches. Having been asleep for over a day straight, the Replica was antsy for some fresh air and a chance to stretch his legs. To his frustration, any idea of exercising was discouraged by his illness, he was still too fatigued to do much, but he badly needed to get out of that damned building.

Shivering slightly from the cool air, Sechs shuffled his way to one of the trees and gruffly plunked himself down against it. As sick as he was, he really needed a chance to eat. By then the battle between Sechs' hunger and the persistent cramping in his lower abdomen finally came to a painful tie. He was able to eat most of his chicken sandwich, but was forced to lean back against the tree, folding up into himself with his chin rested upon his knees. He cringed slightly and grounded his teeth with discomfort. It didn't help that his body continued to tremble slightly along with the tiring pounding of his heart. Were these cramps another symptom of this virus? Did this mean that he would transform soon?

Trying to ignore that disconcerting thought and the pain in his stomach, Sechs' wolfish eyes scanned the area for something to distract himself with. Not too far away was a new face he hadn't seen before; a blonde, sharp-eyed young man who seemed keen on finding something on the ground.

"Hey! Looking for a way outta here?" Sechs called to the stranger, cocking his head up with curiosity, "You won't find it in the ground or over those walls there..."

[his_legacy]

Link snapped out of his focus, his ears perking up slightly as he turned to face the tall, lanky fellow who had just addressed him.

"No, actually. I can't leave until I've found what's been taken from me."

Putting on a small, friendly smile as he strode over, he took a seat within comfortable speaking distance and set his lunch bag on the ground, poking through its contents.

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you? Where they keep the things we had with us when we were first brought here?" He looked back up from his bag.

Link's hunt for stones could wait. He needed to talk to as many people as possible.

[knightspirit]

Of the choices presented, only one seemed particularly appealing to Kyousuke; after the Sun Room, he'd had more than enough sitting around for one day. He wasn't used to it, so being out in the fresh air would probably do him some good. There didn't seem to be very many people out yet when arrived, either, so he opted for a tree that was out of the way, but still allowed a decent view of the area. He set his lunch aside for now, not particularly hungry after eating more than usual at breakfast, and simply leaned against the tree, not bothering to sit down.

... This wasn't proving to be as easy as he thought it would be. He'd only been around for half a day, but he still had yet to notice any concentrated efforts here, or at least not enough of one to sick out to him. In a certain sense, that was easier; he didn't know anyone here, and was perfectly content with the freedom to simply go about things in his own way. On the other hand, he knew he couldn't keep that up for long. He didn't know much, and one person was hardly enough to affect anything on this scale. ... Well, he'd just have to worry about that later. The long-term was nothing short of foggy, but at least he knew what he needed to be doing tonight, and that was a start. Maybe the rest would start to fall together from there.

[free!]

[redcladidealist]

Once he'd finished his food, Lloyd stood up and brushed the crumbs off, then crumpled up the paper bag before it occurred to him that he didn't know what to do with it. Scanning the area, he didn't see any obvious place to throw it away. There was, however, another person somewhat nearby, a kid who looked like he was about Genis's age. Remembering his plan to talk to the doctor in charge of this place, Lloyd figured now was as good a time as any to start trying to locate him.

Garbage forgotten, he approached the younger boy. "Hey," he said, offering a friendly smile. "Do you know where the doctor's office is?"

[knightspirit]

Kyousuke simply watched over the area, not looking for anything in particular, but keeping an eye out for anything that might seem interesting, but it didn't take long for someone to approach him. The newcomer was older, probably about his brother's age, but that was still closer to his own than most, from what he'd been seeing so far. The difference between himself and the other patients presented its own kind of challenges, but he'd just have to deal with it somehow.

At the question, he could only shrug. "Who knows. I haven't been around long," he explained. "But I doubt they'll let you approach it anyway." If it were that simple, he doubted most of the problems here would really be problems. He wondered if this other boy knew that, or if he had something else in mind. It couldn't hurt to ask, he supposed.

"What did you want there?"

[survives]

Despite the chill in the air, Leanne found going outside to be almost pleasant, far better than staying cooped up inside. Since arriving in the institute, she'd taken nearly every chance she could to go outside, and this day was no exception. She'd already had enough of staying inside all the time. There was really no reason to repeat that, not here of all places.

In any case, the cold helped clear her head, to finally let her think of something else besides her worries. For just about the entire day so far, the same thoughts had been going round and round in her head, barely giving her a moment of peace. What she'd spoken about with Guy that morning... Leanne had tried to put up a brave face in front of him that morning, to assure him she'd be all right, but she couldn't deny it was terrifying.

Another race against the clock and, somehow, she was actually grateful she didn't know when time would run out this time.

Releasing her breath in a sigh, Leanne shook her head. She'd come here to try to think about anything but that, hadn't she? Yet here she was, doing just the opposite.

Maybe she could actually try to eat something now, after having completely ignored her breakfast, even if her stomach still protested at the thought.

[Tsubaki!]

[thecamellia]

Despite clinging to Black☆Star’s message and the gusto behind it--which was so very him, regardless of what version it was--Tsubaki hadn’t failed to notice how many missing faces there were in the crowd. It was starting to worry her.

For a while she’d sat bundled up in a sweater, the letter hidden underneath against her breast, and watched the prisoners milling about, hoping for that flash of recognition that signalled someone she knew. No luck where Fai and Shiina were concerned, nor Sora and Scar, for that matter. Some of them had to be in the shower, though, or so she’d hoped. Eventually lunch had come, which forced her out of her perch and back into the fray in order to get her lunch bag from her nurse.

A chicken sandwich sounded good, sort of? She was trying to keep her chin up.

Thankfully, not everyone seemed to have disappeared or become a disembodied presence over the bulletin. As people began to disperse into the areas of their choice, Tsubaki noticed at the last second that there was a young blonde woman headed outdoors. Even from the back, Tsubaki had been around Leanne enough to learn the way she moved--it definitely had to be her!

Tsubaki followed at once, waving away her nurse’s offer to get her a jacket. Nippy temperatures were a small thing to be concerned about.

"Leanne, is that you?" she called softly, stepping across the grass with lunch in hand.

[survives]

It hadn't even been that long since she'd first arrived at the institute. Just about everything about it should have still been somewhat unfamiliar to her, right down to the people. But the voice was still one Leanne could instantly recognize, one she'd quickly learned to recognize. It was almost comforting to hear it calling out to her as it interrupted her thoughts, knowing that a friend was nearby. A friend who knew about what was happening to her, at that.

Her lunch still held loosely in one hand, she turned around, a smile coming to her face upon seeing Tsubaki in the distance. That was a face she could recognize, too. "Yeah! It's me," Leanne called back in answer, raising her free hand slightly.

She moved to close some of the distance between them, even as she raised her hand higher to wave in greeting.

[impudentsongbird]

At first Gabriel had been torn between visiting the music room or visiting the courtyard, but after a few moments' debate had decided that, in a place of illusory compassion such as this, the music was unlikely to have much range--or at least not be anything Gabe would truly want to listen to. Besides, he wanted to see if there were any fruit-trees outside--for the smoothies.

The Archangel found himself startled by how beautiful the courtyard really was, and then admitted that he really shouldn't be. For all Lucifer's inability to grasp the beauty of his 'cell', he nevertheless knew how to utilise it. Even still, that didn't mean Gabriel himself couldn't appreciate it. Lucifer used it as a tool because he didn't care about its value. More the fool him.

So Gabe ambled slowly along the path, eating as he went and stopping to say hello to the flowers when he passed them. When he reached the pond the Archangel's face lit up; he stepped off the path, sinking to his knees by the pond and leaning over the water to search for fish.


[For Barnaby.]

[baniichan]

He hadn't expected to spend the shower shift speaking with Lingormr, but Barnaby supposed it was a matter of time before the man approached them, especially if it was true that he'd been brainwashed by the institute. At this point, no one had come forward to contradict the Special Counseling story, so for now he was forced to accept it. While that should have made things simpler, he hated the thought that he or Kotetsu could wind up losing control of themselves. When he considered that their captors might have that kind of power over them, Barnaby's stomach felt sick.

Then again, maybe that was due to the strange symptoms he'd been experiencing for a few days now. Barnaby was getting tired of it. Actually, he was tired in general. Nothing could have prepared him for a place like this -- or for the horrible events leading up to his capture, for that matter.

But he did his best to keep his composure as he browsed through the bulletin notes. In fact, he even managed to leave a note for Anise. It was clear the girl was a veteran when it came to dealing with the Institute. Barnaby had no intention of squandering the opportunity to learn more about what they were up against, which meant taking the time to maintain some form of contact while trapped here. Years of networking in the Hero business taught him the importance of that.

Eventually, he allowed the nurse to wheel him out to the Courtyard. She seemed to believe the fresh air would do him good, although she made absolutely certain his hair was dried, and she even went as far as to grab a coat for him and placed it over his shoulders. Barnaby endured the humiliation with a polite smile, and his expression didn't falter as she positioned him next to the pond that spanned across a good portion of the area.

Thankfully, she didn't try to force him into talking with anyone, leaving him on his own while she supervised from afar. Barnaby's first instinct was to study the surrounding walls, search for weaknesses, and consider what it would take to climb over them with limited NEXT powers. However, he paused when he took note of nearby man kneeling by the pond, as though he expected to find something underneath the water's surface. Had he seen something unusual there?

Somewhat intrigued, Barnaby decided to observe him for a moment. He didn't appear familiar at all. While it was possible they hadn't seen each other in passing, Barnaby made an effort to commit people's faces to memory. Even so, he wasn't about to start up any idle conversation, so for now he was satisfied with trying to see what he'd found, if anything at all.

[impudentsongbird]

Gabe didn't manage to actually see any fish, even when he sprinkled some crumbs from his sandwich into the water, but that didn't mean there weren't any. Anyway, the ripples in the water, the texture of the pond-bottom, the way the light crystallised beneath the surface, was all more than enough to capture his attention. For quite a while he stayed as he was, a delighted smile on his lips and gaze tracking the water's movement.

It wasn't until his back prickled weirdly that Gabriel actually realised someone else was there and watching him.

At first he blinked at the stranger, unnerved by the fact he hadn't known the man was there at all, but then he shook off the feeling and smiled warmly. Especially since it seemed this man, also, was ill--though perhaps in a different way to the first man he'd spoken to. (Gabriel had already started to think of him as 'Job'.)

"Hello," he said, lifting his voice to span the distance; it was the voice of someone who was well-trained in making his words carry. The Archangel pushed himself to his feet, absently brushing off his grass-stained knees and then picking up the slippers he'd toed off at some point after diverting from the path. It was only when he started to move that he registered how cold he'd gotten and shivered, startle crossing his face at the reaction; the nurses had made sure he was appropriately dressed for the temperature, but even so, he'd been still for a long time.

His second smile at the man was rueful, even as he moved closer. "I forgot how cold it was." Forgot that he could get cold. "I'm Gabe. Were you there long?"

He didn't sound accusing or censuring; just curious and maybe a little sheepish.

[lighthearted]

While Sora really should have spent all of his time trying to figure out how to handle his illness, in the end the pain he'd been in and his fatigue had been too great, which was how he'd allowed his nurse to lead him into the Sun Room, only to fall asleep at one of the tables.

The rest did him some good, at the least, but Sora couldn't say he felt that much better as he woke up. The only reason he did in the first place was because a nurse grabbed his shoulder and shook him a few times, saying that the shift was over and he was free to go to a number of other areas for lunch.

With a bagged lunch in hand that he had no intention of eating, Sora asked to be taken to the courtyard. His nurse insisted on giving him a sweater to be put on before he was sent out, since it was still pretty cold out. That wasn't something he was about to complain about, either.

Soma had asked him if they could meet up during lunch, didn't she? In that case, Sora really hoped that she would find him here, although he doubted that she would stop until she figured out where he'd gone. Sora wandered through the courtyard for only a short while before he started to feel dizzy and chose to sit on one of the benches. What he hated more than anything was how useless the illness made him feel.

[For Soma.]

[madeinthehrl]

The shower had helped clear Soma's head a little, but even then that wasn't saying much. Combined with the fact that Rapunzel had apparently come to the same conclusion as she had about last night's clue, Soma found herself in a fouler mood than usual.

She didn't remember Sora's assigned name, but a brief description was enough for the nurse to light up with recognition and direct her to the courtyard. At the very least, she thought as she pulled on her coat, a little fresh air might help.

Sora was sitting on a bench not too far away, and she made her way over as quickly as her spinning head would allow. According to the bulletin board, his group hadn't run into as much trouble as hers had, but she couldn't help looking him over for a moment. It was still hard to believe he'd managed to avoid Lingormr without much trouble.

"Doing all right?" she said as she sat down.

[lighthearted]

As Sora had guessed, Soma didn't take very long to find him. She didn't look much better than he felt, but that wasn't a huge surprise, especially since she was injured on top of being sick. As soon as she pulled close, Sora made space for the girl to also sit down.

"Could be better," he said, and it almost came out as a joke. At this point, all they could really do was try to make light of their situation, right? Not that Sora wasn't going to try and do everything in his power to make sure that the worst didn't happen, but sitting around and being miserable the whole time wouldn't do much good.

"How about you? I guess Rapunzel showed up at the right time, huh? Was she able to heal you at least a little?" Having to deal with the pain of being stabbed on top of all of the horrible symptoms they were going through just seemed like too much. Sora was shocked that Soma was even out here, walking around and talking. It showed just how strong she was.

[firewhichrefines]

It felt like ages since Sasuke had seen the sun -- metaphorically seen the sun, anyway. And yet last time had been a mere day ago, walking Doyleton with little aim and too many memories (of crossroads, the smell of rotted flesh, his brother's voice) before the busses had driven into night and he'd spent more time running away from flying creatures than he had taking note of his surroundings. Not that he could have taken much note, anyway, as fully occupying as running full-speed was by now.

The lack of usefulness that came with each new discovery that Sasuke couldn't fully appreciate had been more than clear last night, in the stale underground breeze and the sound of water and Aidou's cool, tense voice describing a mysterious figure whose chakra had flickered in an uneasy way that Sasuke had never seen before.

Conversation with Aigis had only deepened his impression that there was far more than met even a working eye in the basement, and she hadn't even been able to pass through those doors. Sasuke threw a punch at nothing in particular as soon as his nurse walked away, flowing from that single movement into a sequence of quick familiar patterns. Basic kata, taught in the Academy, and nothing threatening-looking enough to bring unwanted attention from the staff.

Beside him the pond lapped at its confines in soft broken splashes: did it feed into the river below? Was there any way to tell by scope, by touch?

[awokentospring]

Despite all that Lee had learned over the past few shifts, he still didn't want to believe he was actually in some hidden place far away from the war, completely devoid of chakra and without a friend in sight. What would he do without Gai-sensei's keen insight, or the support of Neji and Tenten in battle? How was he going to keep up his training regime if he was being forced into structured activities and meal times?

And how would he ever explain his absence from the war once he finally got home?

Distracted by his troubling situation, Lee hardly recognized the call of his nurse's voice for lunch. He moved on auto-pilot, grabbing the chicken sandwich rather than grilled cheese (for more protein), and following along as the young man ushered him outdoors with cheerful words that rang hollow. Todd mentioned that "Bruce" was sure to love being outdoors while they had some sun. Lee ignored the name, knowing that correcting the man would yield unchanging results.

The crisp air revived the shinobi's spirits and unfogged his mind somewhat. While he was certainly stuck here while there were so many guardsmen around, he would simply had to do all he could to escape when night fell. A little lock-picking and then he would be long gone before the sun had even a moment to rise. But for now, he needed to train and eat.

Lee almost started in on his lunch when he noticed another young man to the side of the courtyard. He was facing away, but Rock Lee had an eye for fighting, and he could tell the man's stance was perfect. The kata were simple, but keeping up with the basics was key to fully realizing greater skills. Smiling, and expecting to make a new friend, Lee made his way over on light feet.

"Your stance is impeccable! Would you care for some..." The words died on Lee's lips as the man's features became more recognizable with proximity. He hadn't laid an eye on the young man in over two years, but there was no mistaking that face. Lee's already round eyes grew even rounder, and he backed up a pace, his voice registering disbelief. "... Sasuke-kun?"

[firewhichrefines]

Sasuke was midway through a lunge into a kick, midway through an attempt at calculating how many steps away from the entrance to the basement that river had to be compared to the pond from the back of the cafeteria, when the voice of a new arrival came. Except it was hardly a new arrival, even if the last arrival of this particular person hadn't lasted more than a few days at most. Was this the beginning of yet another wave of Konoha-nin, a spate of Leaf shinobi crawling over the Institute with their good intentions -- soft hearts, softer brains?

But perhaps that wasn't fully charitable. Rock Lee -- because even without that excessive exuberance, there were really only three other people who might have called him 'Sasuke-kun', and this certainly wasn't Orochimaru, Kabuto, or Sakura -- sounded some mixture of shocked and wary.

The wariness spoke to a wisdom beyond what Sasuke's former teammates had had in this place, even if they had been forced to neutrality and alliance by the circumstances. He ended his kata prematurely, turning on a dime to turn a sightless gaze on the other shinobi, tilting his head enough to give Lee the benefit of ... sound. Rock Lee had been fast even as a genin. Sasuke remembered that much.

"Rock Lee." Sasuke kept his voice carefully flat, stance carefully loose: neither threat nor weakness. If Lee chose to move, Sasuke would at the very least not be caught off-guard. "I assume you are new to this place."

[oneman_onekill]

After being pent up inside for the past day and a half, Niikura was ready for a breath of fresh air, even if it was cold, chilly, contaminated-by-Landel air. He also just needed a place where he could run a bit and move and kick rocks or dirt or something because he was in a bad mood.

He exhaled slowly as he rubbed his hands together and began pacing back and forth at the back of the courtyard, trying to disperse some of the energy beginning to build up. There sure were a lot of people hanging around this place today. If he was going to run, he'd probably have to do it in place, and that'd look kind of weird, wouldn't it?

Well, they were all supposed to be insane, so maybe it'd be alright because it fit the environment. Sort of. Not like anyone here knew him well. Very slowly, with a few looks here and there, Niikura backed into a corner and began jogging in place. High knees, high knees, had to keep the knees high now...

[for Mike]

[hiddenbadass]

Mike took his chicken sandwich and debated on where to go. Outside kinda sounded good, not for the cold part. The setting indoors just got old after a while. Being cold would be a good distraction from trying to think about things he couldn't change at the moment.

It was seeing Niikura's back in the distance heading that general direction which finally convinced him the rest of the way. Eyebrows furrowing lightly, he followed him through the crowded halls. Mike wasn't a psychologist, but he could tell that Niikura was trying to keep himself distracted. Or at least work off pent up energy. Kid kinda made it obvious.

He didn't approach immediately, instead woofing down his lunch first. Eat first before exercise. Especially protein. Kept you from burning off muscle.

When he was finished and the bag was disposed of, Mike made his way towards Niikura, making sure he was visible. Now wasn't the time to sneak up on him for fun.

"Yo," Mike raised his hand for a moment in greeting.

[oneman_onekill]

As soon as Mike greeted him, Niikura slowed to a stop, pausing to shake out his feet and roll his shoulders a few times before walking over to the shorter man with his lunch in hand.

"Hey," he said, and unlike usual, the word hung in the air for a few moments as he tried to find an appropriate way to get this conversation going. Admittedly, this was even harder than that one breakfast where he'd found out that Mike was actually a giant, humanoid turtle. At least then, his anger and worry had given him enough fuel to overcome his brain-to-mouth filter. This time, all he could feel was this sort of sluggish reluctance to talk.

Because really, what more could he say other than "We failed"?

"I haven't...heard anything yet from her." Okay, and there was that too.