damned_institute | Day 26: Cafeteria, Lunch

Scar felt cold and sick, though more the latter than the former. As he rose from his bed, he didn't quite know which way was up, and the artificial light coming from overhead seemed as hot and as blinding as the Ishbal sun.

His head hurt, but that was nothing new. After all, the last thing he remembered from the night before was fighting a homunculus off of Lust and then having a conversation about events best left forgotten. The man hadn't been his brother. He just hadn't. And if what Lust had said they'd done to her was true...

Scar stood with shakiness that he wanted to attribute more to a bizarrely weakened physical state than a mental one. Had he been knocked out by some kind of lurking monster before the morning had come? He felt as if he had been out for days, being a veteran of such circumstances, though as he took the practiced role of being an obedient follower behind the nurse and orderlies that came for him, it didn't seem as if much had changed.

This place was probably just playing tricks on him again, and he was tired of being the man left out of the loop. He grabbed some food he didn't really care for and sat down, not seeing anyone he knew already seated. On one hand, he wished he had someone to talk to, and on the other, it scared him that he was no longer used to being alone.

He dug his fork into his food and tried to block out any related thought.

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She nodded. "Tsuzuki, isn't it? Sit down, if you like." She had no issues with him, and it was clear enough he didn't dislike her either. She didn't get along terribly well with his partner, but that was beside the point.

She wondered what Hisoka had told him about the exchange they'd had at breakfast... just idle curiosity, though. His admonishment had proven to be valid, so she shouldn't complain.

She wasn't quite sure why he wanted to sit with her, but maybe he was just being friendly. Her students always liked her well enough (...sometimes too much), but she wasn't entirely used to being liked by other adults. At least she could be sure he wouldn't flirt.

"Thanks." Tsuzuki nodded to the invitation to sit, doing just that. There wasn't any real reason for picking her out of the other multitudes of patients, except that Tsuzuki knew her and he felt like chatting with a familiar face. Someone who wasn't from his world. And she seemed to like him well enough to not be annoyed by his company.

"How've you been? Everything going ok?" It never really went 'ok', as far as Tsuzuki knew, but anything was still better than being dead or maimed, right?

Well, your partner proved that abrasive as he can be, he knows what he's talking about. "Well enough for here." Actually, so far it really hadn't been bad. "I learned this world is less like mine than I thought, in a good way. Although your boyfriend could have been a little less blunt in how he explained that..." Her voice was a little dry.

Not even she had a perfect memory, and Hisoka's previous reaction to her using that term honestly had slipped her mind. The way Tsuzuki had protected him while the teen was unconscious hadn't--the entire night still stood out in her mind with more clarity than she liked. That part of it, at least, wasn't bad; she could understand wanting to protect someone. The last thing she remembered doing at home was much the same.

At the mention of 'boyfriend', Tsuzuki dropped the fork he was using to shovel spaghetti into his mouth. The clatter nearly made him jump. Did Raine still think they were..well...that way? He'd only been kidding! Sure, he liked Hisoka, but not like that! They were just...really close.

"It's not like that," Tsuzuki was quick to explain, trying to sound casual. Hisoka would start throwing things at him again if he heard this... "I was kinda kidding about before, you know? We're just friends. But um, I'm glad he could help you out?" Nevermind that Raine had never actually specified that it was Hisoka she was referring to.

Raine raised her eyebrows slightly. Honestly, she would die to protect her brother if she had to, but the way Tsuzuki had shielded Hisoka made them look very little like simply friends. If he insisted, though... "I see."

After a slight pause, she asked, "How long have you been here? I gather this is a fairly new facility, and I haven't heard reference to anyone being here longer than a few weeks." An eternity in a place like this, but to look at it objectively, that was something to consider. The Imperial Research Academy, in contrast, had been operating for... decades, at least.

Unless, of course, this place was merely a new lab, and the organization (if any such thing existed) behind it was much older. Thoughts like that were probably why she always felt on the verge of a headache...

Tsuzuki didn't like the look that Raine was giving him. He was telling the truth! He hadn't meant to make it seem so...suspiciously questionable. He was just very affectionate.

Avoiding Raine's look, Tsuzuki gratefully accepted the change of topic. "About three or four days, I think... Hisoka's been here longer, though. Almost a week." Had it really been that long already? Time went frighteningly fast in this place...

"What about you?"

"Approximately the same." She was quickly losing track; she'd thought of checking off the days in her journal, but the thought of eventually seeing rows upon rows of tally marks made it too depressing to really consider.

"I wish we knew more about--anything, really," she admitted. She paused while the intercom sounded; it was time to move on to the next shift, but for the moment she didn't move. "This place reminds me of a research lab in Tethe'alla, and I'd like to know how far the parallels go. I don't know very much about the other lab, either, but Zelos should..." she looked around for him, and still didn't see him. Though she was never going to be terribly fond of him, that worried her; her eyebrows drew together slightly. "If he's still here."

Tsuzuki frowned at Raine's expression. He didn't like seeing people when they were sad or upset or any other manner of unpleasant moods. There was enough unpleasantness in other people. He didn't want to see it in his friends.

"Don't worry. Maybe your friend's just not feeling well... Or if he isn't here... At least he's not in danger at night, right?" Really, he wasn't sure if that was the best thing to say. Tact was never one of Tsuzuki's strong suits. He only wanted to make others happy. An odd trait for a guardian of death, to be sure.

"Either way, if you need someone to talk to, I'll be around, ok? Just don't let this place get you down... You're prettier when you smile." He smiled, honestly meaning that in the most platonic sense. It didn't even cross his mind how it might sound ~~to someone who travels with a player~~. Friendly? Quite. Tactful? No.

Raine twitched a little. Just because she almost wanted to see Zelos didn't mean she needed anyone flirting with her... reminding herself he might not mean it that way (or might just be trying to convince her that he and Hisoka really were just friends), she said, "If he were still here, I have a feeling I'd have seen him by now. I'll find out, though."

She nodded to him, since "have a good day" didn't apply here, and left.

Day 26: Cafeteria, Lunch

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