Day 66: Sun Room (Second Shift)

[his_legacy]

Link wasn't in the mood for 'rest and relaxation,' as the boss had put it. Daytime here was completely unproductive, and it was frustrating. There was little he could do, other than keep up with recording his map. He supposed he ought to take the chance to get to know the other patients: Who was powerful, who needed help, who knew what... Perhaps some of the people who had been here longer. Link was lucky he had Sora as a friend, who seemed to know a good deal about how things worked.

It was a two-edged sword, though, that the boy had to have been trapped here for quite some time to be as settled as he was.

The Hylian settled into a chair with his journal, tapping the strange sort of writing device he had been given against his chin. It had become evident last night that the building was relatively organized, the second floor being similar in its main layout to the first floor. That was somewhere to start, at least.

[Nina, dearest!]

Comments

[envy_the_sinners]

Scar's mood had taken something of an upswing since waking. All of his symptoms had persisted since last night, proving that he in fact had not transformed. The boy on the bulletin board said that he was feeling better. There was no talk of anybody dead, either.

Despite this relieving revelation, Scar's typical uptight attitude had not eased. There was still tonight, and still so many ways things could go wrong. He scowled as he scanned the sun room. He was alone, save for a young man whom he had seen walking around these past few days. The boy carried himself well, as if he had seen action. Perhaps Scar would speak with him at some point. He needed allies who could actually hold their own in a fight.

For now, though, he settled into a chair across the room, keeping an eye on the door for others walking in and moping all the while. Little had happened last night, but what had happened had left his mind in a twist.

[His dearest friend Frank <3]

[scarefaux]

[Sorry I'm late!]

Scar's words at breakfast had admittedly left the Scarecrow rattled in some way he could barely comprehend, his optimism and desire to trust Sangamon's words having blinded him from the grim reality that he might be one of the ones who would turn into a monster. He didn't know what to expect if it did happen, though to be fair, he had a feeling that most people who had been human their entire lives didn't, either. That only served to unnerve him further, a quiet fear etching its way onto his face as he came into the Sun Room. It was something new, unexpected, and impossible to learn about before it happened. It made him feel unprepared and terribly naive— that was becoming all too common a feeling for him.

His nurse frowned at him as he stopped before her, awaiting the inspection she'd been giving him for the past few days. His condition was no better— he could both feel it in him, his middle churning like one might stir a bowl of soup, as well as see it on the nurse's face, her pitying expression evident enough that even a man without a working brain could understand it. He wiped his hand across his forehead, finding it wet again. He wasn't sure why it did that, but he knew all too well it probably wasn't a good sign. The human body could right itself out, that much was true- but how much was too much for it to take?

Oh, he thought, but what if Scar was right and he did need to be concerned? He wouldn't be able to help his friends if he was a monster. They wouldn't recognize him, for one; for another, what if he was no longer himself once it happened? Or brainwashed like the rest?

He couldn't let that happen. While he was sure he'd have known what to do if he had his brains from the Wizard, he couldn't think too much on it at that second. He'd lost his diploma, many of his friends, was stuck in a body that wasn't his, and now said body was possibly going to change into that of a monster. Surely there had to be a way to fix things. He refused to give up now!

The nurse pulled him from his thoughts, encouraging him to sit down. With a compliant nod, he looked through the room, rubbing his eyes to try to find someone he could ask for help- preferably someone who knew a thing or two about what it was like to turn into a monster.

[lighthearted]

Speaking to Tsurugi about something other than the horrible way that last night had gone had been a small help for Sora. It had turned his mind to other things and allowed him to forget about his symptoms for a short while. But as the intercom came on and the nurses started moving around, it was like the reality of his situation crashed back down on him. He remembered how weak he felt, how feverish, how nauseous -- and he looked at Tsurugi and remembered how he'd torn into him.

Not wanting to worry the other boy, Sora had managed a smile for him as they parted and his nurse led him back into the Sun Room. When he returned to the bulletin board, he found a lot of notes waiting for him, and went about answering all of them dutifully. Sora didn't mind what people asked, even if it might seem like they were prying. He had nothing to hide about what he'd done and if his experience could help someone else, then he wanted to tell them as much as he could.

Amazingly, his friends didn't seem to have given up on him yet, and even more than that, a stranger mentioned that surgery really might work, because another patient had tried it. There was still hope.

It wasn't enough to undo the damage he'd caused, but it did make him feel a little better. Since Sora realized that a lot of people were probably going to want to talk to him today, eventually he moved away from the crowd around the bulletin board and sat in a central part of the Sun Room, where he'd be easy to find. He leaned back against the pillows and did his best to rest as he waited.

[For Kratos.]

[forsworn]

As soon as the nurses had come around to collect them all after breakfast, Kratos had melted away into the crowd as fast as he could. He honestly felt like retreating into his room for the rest of the day simply so he could avoid Lloyd (What kind of father--), but unfortunately, the nurse was having none of that, so he resigned himself to the Sun Room, in hopes of finding Sora and therefore hopefully giving Lloyd an excuse to not bother him. (What kind of father--)

To his relief, Sora was in the Sun Room already, unoccupied. Now was his chance. Casting a glance around to make sure the coast was clear, Kratos walked up and sat down across from Sora. He checked one last time, his eyes finding Castiel nearby in a wheelchair, before turning back.

"So."

He let the word hang in the air between them for a few seconds, as if to brace himself for the difficult conversation to come. Last night had proven that he was capable of non-fatally slicing people open to retrieve the little device Landel had managed to implant inside of them, but performing that impromptu surgery on Castiel was somehow much different in his mind than performing it on Sora.

Perhaps it was because Sora was close to Lloyd's age. He had become stupidly sensitive to those kinds of similarities while stuck in the Institute, and having the real thing now present wasn't doing much to help.

"What do you want to do?"

[knightspirit]

All considered, Kyousuke was able to leave breakfast in relatively high spirits; in the end, a little bit of peace seemed to go a long way. But he couldn't relax for long. It was almost tempting, but he knew if he really wanted to Sora, their makeshift plan wasn't good enough. He had to figure out this cure by tonight—something that didn't involve cutting into people.

To that end, his first stop was the bulletin, to see if anyone had any ideas, but didn't see too much beyond what he already had regarding the clue. Conversely, it sounded like someone had been up to stopping the problem more directly, and he had to grimace. ... He'd just have to keep looking, and see if he could figure out something on his own.

After that, he made his way to an empty couch somewhat out of the way. He already knew that wouldn't prevent company, but at least unlike the previous day, he was feeling a lot more up to it. ... Mentally, at least. Physically, his ribs felt a more sore than they had that morning. He wondered if he was due for some painkillers, but didn't bother asking a nurse about it, instead settling back into his seat and shifting the cold compress he given on his chest.

[free!]

[sixth_attack]

[Hope this is ok!]

Sechs did not want to get out of bed. His whole body ached from the fight he had the night before, and his sickness seemed to have worsened by morning. A nurse almost dragged the weary Replica out of his bed, but it wasn't until she threatened to bring in an orderly (and potential syringes) into the situation that Sechs begrudgingly got up.

Once again Sechs insisted on having his blotched arm covered up with gauze along with his other new injuries. Having his request fulfilled somewhat helped his mood, but once he realized he had slept through breakfast Sechs' displeasure with being away from the comfort of his bed only intensified. His feelings on the matter were loudly visible in his face and posture once he shuffled into the Sun Room. If it weren't for all the tremors and fatigue he was suffering, he'd be finding something or someone to punch by now...!

Yet all he could do was catch up with the new notes on the bulletin board, write a few of his own, and sulk to himself. One message he answered did bring out a little chuckle out of him, but all the physical pressures from his sickness and wounds finally forced him to find somewhere to rest.

Nearby he saw an empty couch, just the right length and coziness his battered body yearned for. Yet it wasn't an entirely solitary spot. There was another couch near his target that was occupied by another patient. Great... Feeling his need for rest trumping his desire to be left alone, Sechs gruffly sighed and approached his chosen piece of furniture, making sure to not step on any wandering cats that populated the Sun Room.

By the time Sechs reached his destination, he felt too lightheaded to say anything to the stranger. Instead, he just made an incoherent grumble, heavily dropped himself down on the couch, flopped over on his side and tucked his scruffy head into the cushion with his back facing his neighbor.

He gave out another bearish sigh. That feels better... Now if those nurses and cats would just let him sleep undisturbed for the rest of the day...

[nobleman]

While it was good to keep information shared among the three of them, Guy left the cafeteria with the feeling that it wasn't enough. After all, information was only helpful if you were able to apply it, and they hadn't had much luck with that so far. He wouldn't be able to do Anise and Claude any good unless he got to the bottom of this.

A routine glance at the bulletin board showed that someone else had already posted about the clue in the X-ray room. Unfortunately, it didn't look like anyone had more information than them, which meant that all of the patients were in a similarly bad spot. Guy sighed and put up a note asking after Tear and to figure out if there were any other healers around, in the event that they had to resort to surgery.

There wasn't much more that he could do until the responses came in, and so he forced himself to take a seat on one of the couches and try to relax, or at least conserve his energy. What would be the best thing to do tonight? Splitting up into two groups had been a smart way to handle things, so maybe two of them could head out to check by the river and two of them could do something else. In the end, it was all up to Claude and Anise, but he figured he should spend as much time as possible thinking through ideas.

[For Edgar.]

[girlsandgadgets]

Though his nurse chattered away as she checked on his wounds, Edgar was in any mood but a talkative one, remaining silent through her inspection. His night had been long, the wounds wearing on him even into the morning. The stress of the past few days, of not knowing exactly what information could be trusted and which of his allies were in any condition to manage on their own, had finally come to a head the previous night. Unfortunately, he had the injuries to prove it: bite wounds on his arm, scratches on his torso. Given his makeshift equipment, Tolten's condition, and what they had been up against, the two royals had been lucky to see the morning.

He hissed as the nurse pulled the bandages from around his shoulder, examining the long cuts along his neck. Though she believed he'd taken a bad fall— her tone implied she thought he did it to himself somehow— he knew them to be claw marks from a coeurl.

Correction: claw marks from Locke, who had been turned into a coeurl, presumably by whatever infection was making its way through the patients of Landel's. To have innocents poisoned and turned on one another was appalling enough; when it was one of his closest friends, it was personal. Though his nerves were rattled, he had to keep it down, keep that reality from sight. He'd be of no use in a panic. He wasn't the sort for it, anyway.

Edgar stifled a groan as the nurse finally finished her examination and wrapped him back up, bandages covering the stitches on his neck and the puncture marks on his forearm. She decided he'd be fine on his own for the time being, but warned him that she'd keep an eye on him. After that, she encouraged him to have a chat with a "Mr. Browne," assuring him that friendly conversation would pick up his mood. While he wasn't anywhere near believing that, he did recognize Guy. Putting on a polite smile for her, he headed over, his warm look dissipating as he neared the other man.

Guy looked as though the night hadn't done him any favors, stress readable on his features. "Guy," he said in simple greeting. "The nurse insisted I speak to you. I suppose surly isn't a good look for me."

[freewill]

Castiel can guess that despite his attempts, he really gave that newcomer very little helpful information. Though there isn't much that he could have done there. It had been foolish of the nurse to put someone so new with someone so sick, and he can't siphon that much of his remaining energy into worrying about it.

As he was wheeled from the cafeteria into the Sun Room, Castiel was relieved to be away from the smell of food, but he wasn't feeling any better in the long run. One of his legs felt swollen and throbbing, but when he told his nurse about it she only frowned down at him.

"Mr. Collins, you really did a number on yourself with that knife. We did our best to patch you up, but you're going to be in pain for a while. Ask me before lunch and I'll give you some more medication, okay?" That was all she had to offer, and so he left it alone. The medicine would be needed, though -- it took the edge off if nothing else.

The nurse placed him at the edge of the room, near to the bulletin board. He asked her to put up a few notes on his behalf, making sure to be careful with his wording, before she took her leave. And then he was left to sit there on his own again, barely able to move or think. He stared down at his bandages and realized that his leaking wound was staining them a worrying pink color.

[For Gabriel.]

[impudentsongbird]

Knowing he'd helped Skulduggery at breakfast helped Gabriel calm down quite a bit. Relatively speaking, at least. The Archangel was still concerned, but at least he felt more in control than he had been. More stable. He could do things, still, things to help, as helpless as he'd felt during Castiel's operation.

That didn't mean that Gabriel was going to pass up the chance when he saw Castiel seated by the bulletin board. Gabe made a bee-line for the younger angel and crouched by him, his face filled with worry as he took Castiel's hand. His brother really didn't look good. His face was lined, his body hunched in on itself--it wasn't the same agony as the night before, but it still made Gabriel's chest clench. "Castiel? How are you feeling?"

[baniichan]

The moment his eyes flew open, Barnaby felt as though he'd just broken through the surface of a deep lake, gasping for breath like a man who had very nearly drowned. Immediately, his hands grasped at his face, his shoulders, his torso -- everything was back to normal. Much of last night felt like some sort of distorted nightmare, yet in some ways worse than the ones that plagued him before waking up here.

Although he should have felt relieved to wake up in one piece, Barnaby couldn't quite shake the sense of dread that mounted in the pit of his stomach as his nurse came to retrieve him. The mundane daytime activities didn't change the facts. Something terrible had happened to him -- was happening to him. Doomed to sit through each mind-numbing shift with full knowledge of what would probably befall him once the sun set, the nurse's pleasant smiles seemed about as cruel as what waited for him after dinner.

"You slept through breakfast, unfortunately, but lunch will be here before you know it," his assigned nurse said as she wheeled him toward the Sun Room. Barnaby realized he must have looked as awful as he felt, because she continued. "I'm sure you'll perk up a little more once we get some food in you."

Her words would have been laughable if the situation wasn't already so awful. Confined to his wheelchair, though, he had no choice but to listen to her empty assurances. Thankfully, they didn't have to go far to reach their destination. The nurse offered to transfer him to a couch or chair, and though that certainly would have been more comfortable, Barnaby wasn't going to let anyone strand him anywhere if he had anything to say about it. Besides, if he parked beside a table, Barnaby was afraid it would invite a stranger to come talk to him, when that was the last thing he needed right now. Upon his quiet insistence, she left him next to a door leading to one of the other activity rooms.

For now, all he could do was focus on taking even, steady breaths as he searched for Kotetsu.

[Partner. :( ]

[oyaji]

Kotetsu felt nauseated when he woke up. The best he could was roll over on his side and bring his knees up to his chest for comfort. At first, watching the dreary and sterile-white of the room, he couldn't tell where the hell he was. It felt like he had just had the longest dream in history, but that soon changed when a nurse walked in and grounded his senses. The threat of throwing up was placed on the backburner as he shot up in bed, worry etched into every line of his face.

"Where's Bunny? Is he alright?" Alright didn't really cover his question. No one could be "alright" if they had just turned into a monster. "I mean is he dead?"

"Mr. Kaburagi, let me--"

"No!" he shouted, unwilling to move an inch until he got a straight answer from these people. He was tired of these games the nurses play, acting all innocent and ignorant. If he had been put back in his room, then someone must have handled Barnaby as well. She or her superior had to know something. "Tell me where he is or I'll--!"

"Mister Kaburagi, don't you threaten me. I very much doubt you would like to spend the day sedated." From the look she was giving him, Kotetsu decided not to risk calling her bluff. "If you would have let me finish, I was going to tell you that your friend is fine."

"... Oh."

"Oh," the woman parroted without any ounce of humor as she stared him down. Kotetsu felt like an ass now.

He looked away first, fiddling with his hands as he put on his shoes to look at least somewhat productive now that he had made a fool of himself. Still, all the blame couldn't be hoisted onto him. These were the same people that turned their lives into a tangible nightmare every night. They were the ones who had implanted a device into their stomachs. Like hell he was going to trust these women at face value any longer or what they had to say.

"Now, if you're done yelling at me, I will take you to him." The former Hero simply nodded and that seemed to please the woman well enough. She turned on her heels and waited for Kotetsu to walk out with her. With his crappy mask fitted as best as it could be, the older man barely kept himself from sprinting down the hallways to meet up with his partner all the sooner. It was hard to imagine he was alright after that sci-fi worthy transformation last night.

But, like she had said, Barnaby was fine. He looked just the way he was supposed to. No ears, tail, or fur marred his handsome appearance, and Kotetsu couldn't help but jump for joy. "Bunny!" That was when he actually ran for it. The rest of the patients could just deal with it. He ate up the room in only a handful of long strides until he stood in front of his partner. "You're okay..." The older man had seriously doubted he would see his partner alive again the next day. It was a miracle that Kotetsu wouldn't let be taken for granted.

[showmeyourwreath]

It was all a lot to sort through and figure out, but Flora still managed to enjoy her breakfast conversation with Lingormr, a little. She wished it could have been under a lot better circumstances, but he'd been very nice and polite, not to mention incredibly helpful. She'd always tried to find the silver lining or make her own, no matter how dark the cloud, and these weren't things to take lightly in such a horrible place.

But this still was a horrible place, she hadn't forgotten that, and she would do her best to fix it, however she could. That meant getting more information, for now. There, that must have been the bulletin board Lingormr mentioned. She went up to it, notebook in hand. She wasn't sure that she'd be able to talk to Lee and Lloyd today, so she'd be sure to do that, first.

Flora glanced to the balcony with a small frown. Making any kind of move would have to wait for a little while, it seemed. She knew that there was no way that they wouldn't be unsupervised, but did the staff have to be so creepy about it? Hmph. Flora uncapped her pen, journal tucked under her arm. She'd just ignore it, she had bigger weeds to deal with.

_{[For Leanne!]}

[survives]

It was with a lighter heart that Leanne left the cafeteria, and Tsubaki, behind. Seeing her friend was safe, and having the truth behind what had attacked them the night before confirmed, had done wonders for her mood. She even found herself paying some attention to the chattering of the nurse that escorted her to the Sun Room, couldn't really find it in herself to be as annoyed as usual.

Sure, she was still sick, still exhausted and weak, sporting new bandages after last night. Her future was still very much uncertain, but she'd take whatever victories she could, whenever she could. It couldn't all be doom and gloom.

Upon reaching the Sun Room, Leanne quickly left the nurse behind and headed straight for the bulletin board. Giving it a quick once over, and finding nothing in particular that caught her eye, she turned back around and scanned the room.

A few people she recognized, all caught up in their own things, and... one girl she didn't recognize, standing not too far away from her. Seeing people she wasn't familiar with wasn't such a strange thing in the Institute, not really, though she couldn't say she often saw patients carrying their journals around. The girl did look a little tense though... more than usual, in any case.

"Hey," Leanne said softly, moving closer. "You okay there?"

[earthling]

Talking to his friends should have put him in higher spirits, but there was too much uncertainty about what they would wind up doing next for Claude to take too much comfort from it. Still, he knew he was really lucky that he didn't have to face the latest crisis alone. They had gone through so much together already. Between the three of them, surely they could do something.

Thankfully, he didn't have to sit and stew over his problems for long. A note from his mother distracted from any worst-case scenarios he could have imagined. While it wasn't so strange for her to check up on him from time to time, her reference to a mutual friend was kind odd. Was she talking about Anise? Maybe she had picked up on the girl's illness and wanted to check with Claude out of concern.

Times like these reminded Claude why it was probably for the best to keep his relation to her a secret. Imagine how much his mom might worry if she knew Claude was her future son!

Either way, her note sounded kind of serious. Instead of approaching one of the patients to strike up some friendly conversation, Claude settled down on one of the couches by himself. Since he'd already exchanged a few notes with his mom, she couldn't have been far. Even so, he made sure to keep a sharp eye out for her.

[For mother dearest!]

[avengingfists]

Ilia was late to breakfast that morning having taken some time before to stop by the bathroom in order to wash her face. Last night's time in the caverns had left her skin feeling clammy. They hadn't gotten as far as she had hoped, but at least something had been done, and it looked like she and Seishin had quite a big adventure ahead of them.

Before hitting the cafeteria, she took a moment to put together a few notes for friends on the bulletin. As a result, she wound up eating along in a corner of the room. Ilia hardly had a chance to get her food down before the Head Doctor announced the next shift change, directing everyone to the Sun Room. She checked her notes again and was glad to see Claude was willing to talk. He sure had some explaining to do!

The young man in question wasn't difficult to find. Ilia marched herself over and stood before him, crossing her arms. She managed to keep her expression neutral despite the irritation that resurfaced from remembering the almost-episode with Guy the day before. "Claude."

[asteroidbelt]

When he asked, the nurse said she didn't know because she didn't have Ryusei's schedule with her, which was a reasonable answer even if Ryusei could push the issue and ask her to check right now. But she struck Ryusei as a bit strict and Ryusei was supposed to be on self-imposed good behavior, so he didn't.

So the window room was called the Sun Room, Ryusei mused as he ambled toward a corner. It was either apt or ironic. Ryusei didn't want to decide which it was right now because, in addition to expositing that piece of information, the intercom announcement had confirmed Ryusei's suspicion that long-time (or...longer-time) residents here knew each other. So Ryusei was going to try to surreptitiously watch how everyone got along from this seat over here. At least, nothing outrageous had happened in the cafeteria, so it should probably be okay....

[free]

[thecamellia]

Tsubaki was relieved to have seen so many of the people she'd been worried about at breakfast. Sora, for one, had seemed back to normal! And spending the morning with Leanne had been nice.

To be honest, she was a little disappointed she hadn't been quick enough to catch any of her other friends in conversation before second shift started in earnest, but she couldn't begrudge the fact too much. Everyone had people they wanted to catch up with; interrupting wouldn't be fair to anyone. It was enough to keep an eye on them from afar and wait for a better opportunity.

Which just left what she was going to do with herself for a whole shift...

The bulletin board was a good place to start; Tsubaki spent a little while writing out some notes. After that, though, she was out of ideas. Sitting and resting by herself just seemed like such a waste...

As she looked out over the Sun Room, her eyes caught on an unfamiliar face sitting by himself. Maybe I could invite myself over...? After all, making acquaintances was good for everyone, and she could just as easily excuse herself if her company was a problem, right? If she could be useful to someone, then that was a way better use of her time than waffling around by herself.

Picking her way over to his seat, she offered a friendly smile. "Um, hello. Would you mind some company?"

[no_dont_go]

Aigis entered the Sun Room with little energy. She felt she may have truly botched her introduction of the Institute to Riley, and her stomach was threatening to rebel and lose all of her breakfast. The rash still stood out proudly on her arm, an outward signal of her sickness. Luckily, it didn't seem to be moving any further along her body, though she still felt rather exposed.

Unable to find the strength to even do more than check the bulletin, Aigis found an empty sofa and flopped down into a seat. Taking deep breathes, she closed her eyes and focused on relaxing. She hoped her stomach would hold...

[Lion!Scar]

[longlivetheking]

"Now why don't you keep Angela company?"

Scar hardly needed a reminder of why these nurses were so hopelessly irritating, but the human nonetheless decided to demonstrate one of her cringe-worthy habits as though he was mentally challenged. He knew he had little choice but to comply, so he followed her with a healthy amount of reluctance.

At the very least the nurse hadn't decided to shove him towards some dimwitted fool. He recognized the girl on the sofa, though it was obvious she had seen better days -- the second in a row, already.

"Aigis," he said as manner of greeting.

[awokentospring]

As delicious as breakfast was, Lee was ready to get some exercise in for the day! The sun was even shining, pouring down from the large window overhead. A most glorious of days, resplendent in possibilities! Cold, likely, but probably energizing. Bracingly crisp! A shinobi could not ask for better training weather!

But they wouldn't let him outside.

Lee pouted, feeling less than pleased by the idea of being locked up when the day was starting out so beautiful. But he wasn't one to let a setback get him down! He moved a chair out of the way to create some free floorspace, careful not to bump the sling holding his right arm in place. Once he had a little room, the shinobi began doing some lunges. With his shoulder in such a bad state, he would be forced to focus primarily on his legs today. Good think he never let that stop him from getting his massive quotas in.

He started counting softly to himself for each rep, and soon he was nearing fifty.

[Ishiderp]

[repelling]

Uryuu had no intention of remaining in the Sun Room.

When the intercom sounded the shift change, as everyone began to stand, Uryuu glanced at Inoue-san and wondered what, if anything, the staff would think. Reluctant to leave her after unloading such a miserable and immense story, especially after mentioning Kurosaki, he resolved that they should continue talking -- though was undecided still as to how much he should ask about the future from which she apparently came. Would his nurse be overjoyed to see him talking to the same person for so long? Would it be viewed problematic as they belonged to one another's "delusions", or did he have a place in her fabricated life as well?

More likely, he thought wryly, she didn't care a whit. Not really.

"I'll show you something interesting in the library," he told her, with something close to a smirk, a try at levity. Plus, it was a glitch so pronounced, it really was almost funny. "First, I want to stop by the bulletin board."

So he did. A cursory look at the room yielded the expected: patients waiting on chairs or couches, or busying themselves writing. Most of that at the board. One scraped a chair along the floor, but Uryuu did not pay much attention, penning a response to one of Kratos-san's. Then, he turned toward the door, and met his nurse.

"Don't you think you could use a little sun, Mr. Way?"

"No."

"We do have a lovely library, but it's so dull. You can't just go around feeling sorry for yourself because of that accident. It's too bad there's no outdoors today, but-" her eyes lit up at a point over his shoulder, and before he could protest, she was pulling him over to a teenager a little older than himself.

The one with the chair, he noted, only now he was lunging forward. The light kept shifting in what was truly an unfortunate haircut. The guy's eyebrows needed work, but with eyes such as he had, Uryuu wasn't sure that would help. It might make things worse.

Uryuu cast a look at his nurse. His look said, Are you kidding? His nurse beamed.

"Why don't you join Bruce? A stringy-looking guy like you could use some exercise!"

It took his best effort to not chuck his journal at her. He balked, squeaking stringy, but she was already asking "Bruce" to look after him before flouncing away.

He forced himself to give "Bruce" a better look. The sling he passed over before, as seeing the others in various states of mending and injury was so common, he might have been more surprised had he been without injury. Yet, the markings on "Bruce's" arms told another story. A plentitude of old scars and tough skin, particularly rough on his left. The sort of muscles and mars of years of harsh training. Little wonder he kept working.

Originally intending to make surly point of refusing to apologize for that woman's rudeness, the sight of "Bruce's" arms dried those words. However, he would not be joining him. Not when the balcony lined with watching eyes. What a pair, what a ridiculous sight they'd make! Not a chance.

"Er-" he tried, then again after clearing his throat. "Don't mind me; I won't be staying. Please excuse the interruption."


[ ooc: sorta godmodeing of orihime w/permission, of nurse because i am uncreative!!! ]

[a_sin_for_him]

While she generally preferred the library, Lust needed to check the bulletin. She hadn't made it to her - eventual - final goal, but assumed the information would be posted. It had been yesterday. She crossed the room swiftly, paying little attention to those already gathered in the sun room.

She was tired. It wasn't an entirely unfamiliar feeling, this sort of deep-down weariness that wasn't physical. She hated it. She felt frustrated and ineffectual. The homunculus was so used to controlling situations, or at least having some power over them. Here she had no power.

She couldn't even figure out how to make Scar realize she meant him no ill.

Perhaps it was simply all balance. Gain something, lose another. Symmetry in all things.

And perhaps it would go better tonight...

[Free]

[somesoulsearching]

[HI PRETTY LADY!! Would my raincheck still be good here?]

The young boy hadn't been as up in spirits as Brook had hoped for by the time breakfast had ended, however he could take comfort in the fact that the boy hadn't been alone either. Being alone would had been much worse, at least in Brook's mind. The thought took him into the Sun Room as well, the man looking around as soon as he entered the spacious room. Someone else was sure to be sitting off to their own and, whether sick or just tired of the monotony, he would try his best to make them feel better.

To his surprise, most of those present already had others with which to converse. All but one, and wasn't she a sight for sore eyes! And wasn't it nice to have eyes with which to see!

"Lust-san! Good day to you!" For someone like Lust, Brook could manage all the cheer in the world no matter how much effort it took and how it would make him feel later. She was a beautiful lady after all, and he had to treat her like a proper gentleman would.

[unpriest]

Though Seishin would have preferred to have gone on to the library, the nurse insisted he should spend his time in the Sun room. There was little the former priest could do against her well-meant urges, so he resigned and passively followed the woman into the lounging area.

There were a few familiar faces, but most of them were engaged in conversation. With little else to do, he wandered over to the bulletin board.

[Yuri]

[voiceofthanatos]

After Yuri had a rather uneventful breakfast, he was guided into the sun room where most of the patients were. He kept playing along with this facade, but taking notes of his surroundings to be later recorded on his journal.

His nurse lead him to Seishin, introducing him to the other man. "Yori, this is Liam Castle, he just arrived here this morning. Would you mind helping him around?" She asked in that sickly sweet tone of voice.

Yuri on the other hand, didn't have such a warm reception. But he managed to curl his lips into a slight smile. "Charmed. It's a pleasure to meet you."

[mirrorimage]

Nina was sprawled on her stomach on the floor in the Sun Room, beside Link's chair, writing down everything she knew about the Institute and the people in it as she thoughtfully gnawed her lip. She had been reading the bulletin board earlier, and was careful to commit to her journal anything of interest she found on it too.

She had taken notes too -- albeit mental ones -- of what everyone in the room was doing. Ryuuzaki, who must have been exhausted after last night, was dozing on one of the couches. A few others milled about by the bulletin board. Lastly, it was nearly impossible to miss the young man in the chair beside her, doing the same thing she was.

Nina tapped her pen thoughtfully against her journal's pages a few times and then lifted it to her lips, just barely chewing the end of it as she peered up at Link. If he was writing, maybe he had something that might be useful for her to know. Maybe she might know something that could help him.

So she asked, from where she was sprawled, "What are you writing?"

[his_legacy]

Link looked up from his journal upon realizing that the girl on the floor next to him was speaking to him.

"I'm drawing a map of the building, to keep track of where I have been and such."

Wait, on the floor?! Link jumped up from his chair, kicking himself for his rudeness.

"Here, you can sit. I apologize."

[ham_fisted]

Gumshoe blinked and suddenly found himself lying in bed in a brightly-lit room. It disoriented him, but not enough to keep him from sitting up really fast and--

"Aaaaaooww!!"

His nurse raced to his beside and told him to hold still and to stop touching his bandaged arm. He could hear himself gasping really loudly. He was scared, confused and his left arm really hurt, but he froze with fear when he finally looked at who was speaking to him. She said the reason his left arm was in a sling was so he didn't tear open the stitches in his shoulder. The words were going in, but all he could think of when he looked at her was whether she turned into the same thing he'd seen last night, or whether that only affected some of Dr. Landel's staff. Or maybe--...

"...!!"

"Five. At least that many of you will turn tonight."

"What makes a human, exactly? The shape of his body? His so-called conscience?"

The detective didn't even flinch when he got to that hallway. He failed to notice the lady struggling to keep up with him, either. All he knew at that moment was that he had to find out what had happened last night! Were they any closer to finding a cure!? What had they learned!? But more importantly, who had "turned"!?

He hoped the person his note was addressed to would answer. Of course, it wasn't until he was inches away from pinning it up on the board that he realized how close he'd come to making a giant mistake.

"Wait, what am I doing!?" he hissed. "I can't address this to her!"

He tore up the message and threw it in the bin before starting a new note on a decent sized piece of paper. It took him a good few seconds to come up with something that sounded vague enough to attract responses. Hopefully by signing it with his name and title, she'd notice it.

After sticking it on the board, Gumshoe turned around and scanned the room for people he knew, his free hand moving up to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead. If five people had changed last night, how many more were going to change tonight? Even if they managed to find the cure today...

What if it was too late? Had the people who'd "turned" last night turned back in the morning? He'd heard there were places where Dr. Landel kept the monsters locked up during the day... What if the change was permanent?

[closed]