damned_institute | Day 25: Sun Room (Fourth Shift)

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Day 25: Sun Room (Fourth Shift)

The concept of gardening in the greenhouse was not one that Hitsugaya was particularly fond of. It was likely exceptionally warm inside, whereas the young captain had a preference for cold climates. He also needed to make himself available for anyone who happened to want to speak with him. The sun room overall seemed the best choice.

As a warm and cheerful nurse led him into the sunroom, he glanced around. At the moment he was the first one there, which was good, as it meant he could keep an eye out for one of the many individuals who had expressed curiosity about the 'arts and crafts' division. It also meant he could watch out for Omi or this Hellsing woman. He excused himself from the nurse and proceeded to a seat that gave him a good view of the entrance. If not for the fact that he was being held here against his will, he might have felt happy. Real rice. He hadn't had time to eat as much as he had hoped, what with his meeting with Mustang, but he still ate a lot more than he'd had the opportunity previously. Even Momo seemed to be acting more like normal.

As unpleasant as the day had begun, it was turning out to be a good day.

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Today was a great day! There was nothing like meeting an old friend and having a game of soccer to top it off. All Luffy needed now was a nice nap!

Still, Luffy could be a creature of habit when it came to his nap spots, and he couldn't help but notice some girl sitting in the place he normally slept. The pirate approached her from behind (though he wasn't terribly sneaky to begin with), and he braced his hands on the back of the seat. Standing on his tip-toes, he curved his back over and stretched his rubbery neck just enough to where he could peer at the girl from upside down, his wide-eyed gaze staring into her eyes.

"Hi there!" he chirped cheerfully, and he gave an unnaturally wide smile.

Prior to having a face tower over her, Fuu's eyes were closed. Opening them upon hearing the greeting, she leapt backward in her chair as she laid sights on a boyish grin.

"Haah!" She wailed, lifting an arm to shield herself. The girl blinked furiously as she recuperated from the fright. "I- I, ah. Sorry." Bowing her head clumsily, she managed a small smile at the boy. "You surprised me."

"Uwah!" Luffy cried, and he jerked back as if he was the one who'd been given the sudden scare. As he did so, his hat fell into the girl's lap. After giving a sudden "oops," he moved around and plopped into the seat beside her, grabbing the old straw hat in the process.

"Why'd you yell like that?" he said after a moment, genuinely curious. He wasn't particularly upset, though he didn't exactly appreciate getting scared like that. "All I did was say hi, you know!"

Maybe she came from a place where it was polite to yell Hahh! in greeting. Kind of like the way the people of Skypiea would randomly say "heso". (Though Luffy still thought that was pretty weird too, come to think of it.)

"Ah, I, uhm. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you back," she giggled anxiously, rubbing the back of her neck and reddening slightly. "See, I was kinda nervous to begin with. Then you came along." Giving a short laugh, she sighed from relief after shaking her head. "I'm sorry."

Twisting about to face the boy, her eyes shone at him. At least she had company now.

"My name's Fuu! What's yours?"

"Nervous? Really?" He seemed surprised by this, as if being in a weird mental institute wouldn't be enough to make any reasonable person uneasy. Still, maybe it was just part of that weird greeting thing to begin with, so Luffy was willing to let it go for now.

Laughing, he waved off the girl's apologies. "Don't worry about it!" he told her. "No harm done, right?" He paused before giving a wide grin. "I'm Luffy, by the way! Nice to meet you, Fuu!"

Fuu was a pretty cool name, once he thought about it. It kind of sounded like the noise some people made when they laughed. Fu fu fu fu fu...

"And you, Luffy." She folded hands in her lap, casting a single glance in another direction - she had to stay alert every waking moment (ugh, she hated this... you'd think people'd had enough of the chase. Couldn't they find themselves a hobby that didn't involve being a predator?) – before returning full attention to the boy. "Are you new?"

If Luffy noticed her glancing off into a different direction, he chose not to comment. Instead, he reclined back against the cushions and stared up at the wide, clear windows that made up the ceiling.

"Nope, I've been here for awhile," Luffy told her. "Almost two weeks, I think." He'd quit keeping track of the exact days awhile ago, it definitely felt like ages since he'd first arrived here. He looked over at the girl, blinking. "What about you?" He didn't think he'd really seen her around, but that wasn't saying much, since he wasn't very good at remembering faces sometimes anyway.

Luffy was another veteran patient, then. Despite being a fresh face at the Institute, her overall misplaced demeanor revealing it, Fuu hadn't met anyone quite as new to the place. Oh well. She supposed it was better to become acquainted with people who were familiar with the layout.

"Yeah. I woke up here yesterday." The girl managed a timid smile. "I was journeying on my own. I think I fell asleep near a river, and the next thing I knew I was trapped here. The things I've heard about this place... I'm surprised they captured me instead of those two. They'd be suited to the chaos." She was more or less talking to herself now; an uncanny habit of the teenager. "Anyway, what were you doing before arriving here?"

"Oh, wow, just yesterday, huh?" That wasn't really long in comparison to two weeks, but any time here was starting to seem like too long in Luffy's book. "I guess your trip just got a lot more exciting, Fufufuu!" It might have seemed like a joke to some people, but Luffy genuinely meant what he said. As terrible as this place could be, it certainly provided a lot in the way of adventure.

"As for me? I'd just left an island in the sky and was sailing on the Grand Line to find One Piece," Luffy explained, oblivious to the fact that Usopp was the only person he'd met from his own world. He grinned. "I'm gonna be the Pirate King, you know. So they can't keep me here forever."

He'd sooner die than just sit here and let himself rot from boredom, after all.

It didn't resonate as a joke to Fuu at all. On the contrary, it called for a finger on her chin as she pondered.

"Hmm, I guess you're right. I was pretty bored, if memory serves me. There're a lot of interesting people here, which is more than I can say for travelling solo." Wow! She'd never thought about it that way. Maybe her imprisonment at Landel's wasn't a fluke, but some twist of fate!

The adolescent blinked, genuinely curious as she listened to his account. "Island in the sky? And you're a pirate? You don't look like one. Or, ah-" Waving defensive hands, she tried spelling out what she meant. "I mean, I used to know one. And I met his old gang. You're much nicer than they are."

"There really are a lot of interesting people here!" Luffy agreed, nodding heartily as he spoke. "And crazy monsters, too! Did you know I saw a giant shrimp in the kitchen once? It was great!"

"Island in the sky?" Fuu had asked him. "And you're a pirate? You don't look like one. Or, ah--I mean, I used to know one. And I met his old gang. You're much nicer than they are."

The pirate laughed at this, and he pressed his hat over his head while giving the girl a wide, goofy smile. "Yep, I'm a pirate all right!" he told her. "And I guess I can be pretty nice when I wanna be! But being a pirate is a lot of fun, because you get to see really neat places and meet awesome people."

"Whoa! A giant shrimp?" Fuu gaped, evidently enthused.

If by 'fun' he referred to slaughtering people, commandeering ships and swiping gold, she was clueless as to how she should respond. She let it slide. Pirates of her time (or, at least, the ones she'd encountered) weren't exactly a first-class bunch. Mugen's attitude towards them was perhaps the lone aspect of him she applauded. You'd think dignity was a term the guy wasn't aware of, but he'd shown a vague intelligence in distinguishing right from wrong that one time...

"I work for nobody but me."

Jin had told her he personally killed Mukuro. It mystified her, even today, that she hadn't observed a shred of irritation on Mugen's part because of it. The Ryukyans had been enemies. And especially following the betrayal –

Oh, never mind. Her mind couldn't stick in the past forever.

"Yep! A giant shrimp!" Luffy confirmed. "Except, it was kind of a weird shrimp because it kind of...stung me or something." The pirate scratched his head in thought. "I don't know, things get kind of fuzzy after all that. But! I've decided I'd like to try and hunt it down the next time I see it."

Maybe it'd make a tasty snack! He only wished Sanji were around so he could possibly make it taste even better. Granted, Luffy figured he'd eat just about anything, but there wasn't anything wrong with getting an even better meal out of the deal, right?

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Day 25: Sun Room (Fourth Shift)

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