damned_institute | Day 68: Intercom, Dinner

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Day 68: Intercom, Dinner

As it turned out, all of the female patients were wise enough to remain indoors, so the nurses didn't have as much work to do as the intercom came on and the end of the day officially hit.

"Hello, patients! This storm put a wrench into some of our planned activities, but I hope that all of you stayed dry and safe, especially those of you who are sick!" The Head Doctor did a spectacular job of sounding like he was truly worried for the patients' well-being.

"For dinner, we'll be serving some gourmet spaghetti with marinara sauce. There'll be parmesen cheese and some crushed red peppers on the side to add if you wish, not to mention a salad! I hope that you all eat well before lights out, and those of you who've been paired up with some of our new arrivals, make sure to make them feel welcome."

The announcement echoed through the halls as the patients were led back to their assigned rooms, and Landel finished it all off as most of them arrived to their doors.

"That's all for now. Sleep well, everyone, and we'll be talking again come tomorrow."

The intercom turned off, leaving patients with only their roommates as company.

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He pivoted on his foot and, still seated, turned his back. "I-is that so."

For the first time all day, the turmoil in his mind quieted. But he felt ever more cornered. What other possibilities did Kurogane think there could be? His fist tightened; he forced himself to let go. Kurogane would notice.

It shouldn't bother him, not really. But someone who could tell what Ryusei's normal state was in just that short amount of time was...dangerous. They hadn't even talked yesterday. Had he been watched that entire time? "What other possibilities are there?"

There was the possibility that Kurogane hadn't analyzed the kid right, however that one held the lowest chance of being true. He may not have been at his best, however Kurogane hadn't ever gauged a person wrong. Something in his nature wouldn't allow it.

"You could be faking, to see how I'll respond," he reasoned out. He still kept the much calmer individual from that first night in mind, and the possibilities of what he didn't know of that person were even more limitless than what he knew of Landel's Institute. "I don't know enough about you to take guesses like that though. What I do know is that when people start acting different here, it's because something was done. Brainwashing, or some kind of drug... hell, I don't even know how Landel got that damn virus to start spreading, but I know that bastard caused it."

That felt like a taunt. Kurogane was wrong; Ryusei wasn't doing it right now. But testing his roommate's responses had been exactly what Ryusei had been doing that first night.

He'd seen through him. Dangerous. This was too dangerous. He couldn't let anyone see through to the person who would kil—

"What do you know about people acting different?" he had the presence of mind to say. The rest of what Kurogane was the usual— Misdirection, if Ryusei thought Kurogane was doing it on purpose. But he didn't think anyone would corner someone so thoroughly and then follow it up with something like that.

Okay. Okay. He could recover from this. It wasn't intentional. Just guesswork, to use Kurogane's own word. "How... How often have you seen it happen?"

He had paused in his meal to glare at his still bandaged arm while swearing at Landel and left his food a second time when Ryusei responded defensively. Looking again to him, Kurogane gave a simple enough answer, "I've been here long enough to know."

He had been subject to more than enough of it as well. Remembering when he'd been brainwashed into thinking he was some "Aiden Cross" still made his blood boil.

"It's been off and on since I've been here. Some people start seeing things. Others think they're who this place says they are..." His eyes looked over Ryusei, analyzing the young man a moment longer before he once again remembered his need for food. "Someone getting this jumpy so quickly isn't something I've seen before, but I wouldn't put it past them to try."

If someone could be made to think they were someone else, or even to attack a friend, making that person more paranoid would be easy.

With his back turned, Ryusei couldn't see what expression Kurogane had been making. Maybe that had been a mistake. But he didn't think he could face him right now, even after the attention had shifted off Ryusei for now.

He had to keep it off. "Have you thought...that that might be why they're here?"

No, that was wrong. He'd been thinking clearly enough to say 'they' rather then 'we', at least, but considering the kinds of things Kurogane usually said about the asylum, Ryusei shouldn't have said what he did at all. He needed to rectify that. "Theoretically," he added. "For example, if someone...thought they were someone else because of..."

Quickly, what reason would someone have for doing that? Guilt? shame? denial...? ... Guilt. "...reasons," he finished lamely.

"There aren't any reasons," he said immediately when the kid finished, a warning more than anything.

The attempt at understanding or finding out what, if anything, had happened to the kid was finished now that Ryusei was speaking as though he'd already given in. Kurogane had seen enough of that as well, patients thinking that they were there for a reason or that they could take the easy way out by believing the Institute's lies. He didn't care what the reasons were or what this place might have put Ryusei through already, Kurogane was not going to listen to it.

"No one is here because they need to be, and nothing they say or do will change who you are. Jumpy or not, you better get that through your head right now."

There were reasons, though. When someone failed to prevent his best friend's death, for example.

"I understand," he responded weakly. He couldn't take it if Kurogane continued talking like that. It was a comforting sentiment to him probably, but the asylum hadn't needed to convince Ryusei of why he was here, especially not once he'd started remembering. "I'll keep that in mind."

Conversely, someone was the same person no matter how much in denial he was, or had been. Ryusei was just someone who could kill his friends for no reason. That was just the logical backside to what Kurogane was saying. Ryusei couldn't let on that that was the case, though. He didn't know how Kurogane would react, and Ryusei was feeling weak enough that he wasn't going to even entertain chancing it. Not now, and not in the future, not to someone that observant. To that end, he had to lie again.

But what... what should he do? After a moment, he had to conclude that he wasn't up to the task. Not right now, with everything that had happened. Instead he bit his lip and lapsed into silence.

The weak response didn't ease Kurogane's anger at what he'd heard, however for someone he knew little about, it would do. Kurogane had said what he would on the matter and so long as Ryusei did keep it in mind, there wouldn't be anything more the ninja would need to do.

Kurogane was not having a roommate that believed the Institute's lies, not while he was close enough to beat those thoughts out of him.

Eventually, and with the same tone he'd used in saying as much before, he reminded the now silent kid, "I told you to eat."

He'd need to turn around to do that. Aside from feeling too tired to do even that, he'd be exposing part of his face to Kurogane.

There was no helping it. Slowly, he turned the chair back to face the desk. When he subsided back into it, he found he couldn't dredge up even a little appetite. He picked up the fork anyway. Maybe it'd come if he stared at the food for a bit. But he'd need to distract Kurogane from noticing that he wasn't. No, to be clear, there was no chance that Kurogane wouldn't notice, but Ryusei could make it seem like he was trying. Which he was, but if he said that, he'd seem like a pushover—which was the wrong impression to make, even this late in the game.

"What's outside the wall?" he asked, in lieu of using his fork. He may as well put that plan he'd had earlier to some good use and learn as much as possible about what he'd need to make his escape. "How far have you gotten?"

Trying wasn't doing, and Kurogane could tell the difference. He continued eating himself, watching to see what Ryusei would do. When he started asking questions instead of eating, Kurogane found his response a little more quickly than intended.

"I'll answer after you start eating."

This was starting to become farcical. He glanced over to see if Kurogane was serious, then grudgingly took a bite. He chewed slowly in distaste, and then when he could speak properly, said "Happy?" in a more caustic tone than he'd intended.

He was going to have to do something about it later. But since Ryusei was the one asking for information, he could put up with this. For now.

Being stubborn was Kurogane's forte, and however childish that made him seem at times, he never hesitated to use that to his advantage. He didn't smile when Ryusei finally ate something, but there was enough of a change in his expression to show that he was content.

"It depends on which way you're going," he said in the beginning of an explanation, "If you've been to the town, you should know that the road's at the front. There's trees on either side that go on for a while. Same in the back, except there's no road. You can eventually get to a lake if you go far enough."

Part he knew from experience, however part was also what he'd learned by word of mouth. Either way he had enough knowledge to explain the front and back areas of the Institute, but not enough for the remaining two. "I'm not familiar with the side areas so much, though I'd take a guess at more trees. Landel couldn't get away with this kind of thing without some degree of isolation."

He hadn't been to the town, but he was pretty certain he remembered the road. He remembered a road, at the very least. "There's a town?"

Oh, that was another question. He shoved another bite into his mouth to forestall another ultimatum. He was giving in too easily, he thought. But Kurogane was at least keeping his end of the bargain. It could have been worse; he could have been Kijima-like.

"Is the front door open?" What happened if Ryusei ran out of food before he ran out of questions? He didn't have that much time for it, did he? The night intercom must be coming on soon. Relatively. It would happen eventually, anyway. Focus. He swallowed, then rubbed his eyes. He might need to bring something along tonight to induce small jolts of pain in order to keep himself moving, he thought in distress.

"Yeah. Don't get caught there at night," he warned. Anywhere was bad after dark, but at least in this building they were given fair warning when this kind of stuff would happen.

He watched Ryusei eat something more and continued to answer questions as a result. He would stop again if the kid stopped. "It is usually. You might have to force it open a bit, but I've never found a completely locked door here."

The only thing he'd never gotten through were the barriers Landel had used whenever he'd appeared.

No completely locked doors? But... That meant that even with that as a condition, Kurogane was still here. Sneaking out wasn't going to be that easy. He knew that. He'd known that, but....

"Why...did you return?" If there was nothing helpful in the town, if they would report him back to the asylum, he'd have to avoid it. Or at the very least, be very careful while he looked for a phone or some sort of transportation. He might even be there awhile; Ryusei had nothing to barter for a ride.

One thing at a time. He could think of that after he got out—

No, he couldn't. That kind of short-sighted thinking wouldn't get him anywhere.

He could do this. He could. It was just— He just wasn't prepared for it, was all. No benefactor this time. But he could deal with that. He could. He could.

Return? The hell he would come back to this place willingly.

"You don't get a choice," he snorted, remembering how many times he'd left only to awaken back in the same bed he was sitting on currently, "Once morning comes you're right back here. Doesn't matter where you are, inside or out."

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Day 68: Intercom, Dinner

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