damned_institute | Day 26: Cafeteria, Lunch

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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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Sousuke looked across the table in mild surprise, watching another teenaged boy's nurse force him into the seat across from his. He watched the nurse retreat, still curious as to why this boy had been seated across from him. When it was apparent that no answer would be given, Sousuke decided that it would be a good idea to figure out why this person was glaring at him.

"Do I know you?"

Takaya turned his glare to the other teen, gold eyes flashing. "No, you don't." He didn't know this guy, and the guy didn't know him. If he knew what was good for him he didn't. He returned his glare to his food.

He wasn't hungry and considered expressing this by smashing the plate over a nurse's head.

"Most people only glare at those who have done something to deserve it," Sousuke said with a small frown. "If you don't know me, why are you glaring at me?"

His eyes traveled down to the other teen's food. "Is your meal unsatisfactory?"

Takaya sighed, the sound harsh and looked back up at the other guy. "I'm not glaring at you," he said. "I wasn't even looking at you. I'm pissed off."

He thought about it.

"And not at you. Who are you anyway?"

Sousuke could have begged to differ--it at least looked like the teen had been glaring at him. But he knew better than to argue, courtesy of Kaname.

"My name is Sagara Sousuke," He said with a firm nod. "And you?"

Takaya nodded back, though it wasn't as formal looking. "Ougi Takaya." He frowned again, though this time it was more in thought and less with anger. "You new here?"

He hadn't seen the other boy around before....

"I am," The sergeant replied. "I woke up here last night. I walked around the halls for a bit, then I woke up in my bed again. But Kadaj informed me that what happened is normal." Sousuke wasn't sure if Takaya knew who Kadaj was, but it didn't really matter. The point was that someone had told Sousuke what was going on in the ersatz institution.

"I assume you've been here longer than I have," Sousuke said, picking at his food. "Has anyone died of poisoning before?"

Snorting, Takaya shook his head. "No. Nobody's died of poisoning." He looked at his food. He wasn't in the mood to eat. "There's other ways they kill people here." He pushed the plate away and glared at the nearest nurse... well, the back of her head anyway.

"And I've been here more than a week."

More than a week? That didn't sound very promising. Of course, Sousuke had no idea how well-equipped Takaya was to deal with whatever lurked the halls at night. For all Sousuke knew, the young man could cower in his room all night. But he didn't seem the type.

"That's good. I can't test for poisons, though I watch the nurse who gets my food very carefully. It doesn't seem like she intends to kill me yet." He followed Takaya's gaze to one of the nurses. "Do you suspect that woman of something?"

Takaya turned back to Sousuke and frowned in confusion. "Not really," he said. "But who knows?" He turned back to her. "She could be one of the things that walk around at night, looking to kill us."

Oddly, that made him hate her less, not more.

"Interesting," Sousuke mused, "The nurses walk the halls at night." He'd heard of monsters, but not nurses.

The conversation was slightly terse--Sousuke was bright enough to notice that. He had to think of a question that would open up a discussion. Something that he could discuss with Takaya at some length.

"So what kind of technology does the military of your home currently possess?"

Something not like that.

Takaya turned back to Sousuke and just stared at him like he'd gone insane.

"Uh... I'm from Japan. We don't really have a military any more." Stupid fucking American's had gotten rid of it after the last war.

And here he'd thought this guy had been from Japan too.

Oh. Right. Takaya was a Japanese name, wasn't it?

"Ah yes... I seem to recall that now. Forgive me, I didn't realize your name was Japanese--I've spent most of my life in the Middle East, so it's difficult for me to tell sometimes."

Well that had fallen flat. What else could he talk about? That subject had been his strong suit--though it seemed to backfire in normal situations. He mentally made a note to avoid that subject from now on. It didn't earn him any points.

What did normal teenagers think about anyway? Kurz and Sergeant Major Mao had taught him a few things, but nothing that had ultimately been of any use. Kaname's conversation tips had completely flown from his mind. He was a deer in the headlights.

Sousuke sighed, "Forgive me, I'm not used to conversing with civilians. I'm not sure what to say, really." Honesty was good--in this situation at least.

Takaya's harsh ~~though NOT directed at Sousuke~~ glare softened slightly and he tilted his head.

"I thought you were Japanese too," he said, sounding slightly confused. "Your name..." With a shrug, Takaya leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.

"There's not a lot of people in this whole, fucking place that know what to say." He snorted. "There's only so many ways to say 'Oh you're trapped? I'm fucking trapped too.'"

Sousuke blinked--did Takaya's expression change for a moment?

"I... believe my name is Sagara Sousuke, but I was raised in Russia and lived mostly in the Middle East. I was the only survivor in a plane crash when I was an infant. Perhaps my real name is Sagara, perhaps it's not." He said all this with a completely straight face. The subject was not one of great anguish or pain--after all, Sousuke didn't know what he was missing.

"Well, I wasn't referring to our situation. If you've been here for a week, it's obvious that you've discussed the topic at length. You've obviously guessed that I'm not a normal person, and I'm afraid that because of that, I don't know what to talk about with civilians." Sousuke frowned and stabbed at his pasta. "I'd rather not talk about this place--it seems as though everyone is try to recruit me into some group or other, even when I make my priorities clear."

Takaya snorted, smiling slightly. "Yeah," he said, looking out at some of the people obviously plotting. "People here can be fucking persistant." He looked back at Sousuke.

"What are your priorities?" He frowned and added as an afterthought, "If I can ask."

"I'm looking for someone. She could be a patient here, but no one's heard of her--it's looking more likely that she could be an experimental subject," Sousuke's eyes had darkened. Just thinking about what Kaname could be going through while he sat eating spaghetti was enough to make him overturn the table.

"It's my duty to protect her, and being separated from her is making me edgy. Tonight, I'm going to explore the second floor with another person and try to find her." By the end of his little speech, Sousuke was nearly scowling. If anything, he looked as though he was ready to snap someone's neck.

Takaya snorted at that and turned his head to look out over the people in the hall. "If she's not with us, then she's not here." He glanced at Sousuke for a moment, then back at the people around them.

"We're all experimental subjects here, or didn't anyone tell you that part of it?" He wasn't insulting his companion nor making light of this girl, whoever she was, but he was trying to see if this guy would listen to him, a sullen, grumpy teenager.

"Yes, I've heard something like that..." Sousuke began, looking a little downtrodden. It was bad enough that Kaname wasn't here as a patient--his last shred of hope rested on her being a subject somewhere. "...but she has a rather astringent personality and--"

Should Sousuke tell Takaya about Black Technology? The young man was certainly not cleared for such information, but if he'd heard something it could be beneficial to mention it.

"--and Kaname's a special case. She's been targeted by countless organizations solely for the information she subconsciously possesses concerning far-advanced technology." The sergeant sighed, "But yes, it is more likely that she would be amongst the patient population, considering the fact that she is a civilian." Sousuke put his head in his hands and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Dammit... it's not even likely she's here. Why bring back the guard dog with the prize?" It was Sousuke's turn to be sullen now.

Takaya frowned in thought. "She's not here, but that doesn't mean she won't be." He probably wasn;t helping this guy's state of mind much, but Takaya wasn't known for his sutble nature.

"And maybe you were the one they wanted rather than her, for whatever fucked up reason."

"Maybe..." Sousuke was, after all, the only person who had successfully operated the Lambda Driver. That would make him worth studying, he supposed. Come to think of it...

"Why do you think you're here? Why would the Head Doctor want to study you?"

Takaya blinked, then laughed. It was a short, sharp laugh, almost more like a bark than anything, but it was still a laugh.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he said with a slight grin on his face, amber eyes shining.

"I have seen some very strange things in my life--"

The Lambda Driver.

"--and there is no reason for me not to believe you. I don't think you would lie to me about something this unimportant. Unless," Sousuke looked at him, eyebrow raised, "It's confidential?"

Takaya shrugged and shook his head. "Not really, and you don't look or feel like one, so..." He frowned in thought.

"I'm a four hundred year old warlord from the warring states era of Japan." He grinned slightly. "That's all that I can think of that's special about me."

"The warring states era..." Sousuke repeated, frowning. "Began in the mid-14th century and ended in the 16th century."

He looked up and nodded, "Then you would be approximately four hundred years old. That's rather interesting. You don't appear to have aged very much," Sousuke said, completely serious.

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