The intercom clicked on with its usual jingle and its unusually usual announcer.

"Head Nurse Lydia here. I trust you all enjoyed your lunches. Now, nurses will be escorting adults to Arts & Crafts and children to the showers."

She paused, then added:

"The Head Doctor, by the way, seems to be doing fine. He pledges he will do his best to address you all before the Institute retires for the night.

"Good day."

The intercom clicked off.

As soon as she had the chance, Sheena ninja'd herself out of the cafeteria and away from the conversation she'd been semi-forced to have. She probably could have just clammed up and told the boys to go away, but she'd kind of owed at least Endrance some kind of explanation. It wasn't everyday the embodiment of darkness pops up and delivers a mighty bitch slap.

She stayed close to the door, out of immediate sight, as people left the cafeteria. As soon as she saw him, the ninja grabbed Soubi's sleeve and pulled him quickly to a corner away from the general area where there were only a few chairs. When she let go and turned to say something to him, words failed her and she just stared at him, a little lost about how to talk about what she wanted to talk about.

Then again, did she really want to talk to Soubi about Yukari and what had happened? Soubi obviously knew about these kind of things, but he'd tease her about them. Sheena idly played with the small round bell at the end of a string hanging about her neck, a bright red ribbon that was clearly not her usual pale pink ribbon holding her hair back.

"Umm... Hey."

[closed to Soubi with a later thread-crashing youkai]

The day had been slow for L so far, slower than he required: the events of the previous night were traumatic, but they did not outweigh his need for information and a useful way in which to apply whatever he might learn.

When the nurse shepherded him from the cafeteria, through the Sun Room, and over towards the door of the Arts and Crafts Room, he experienced a small internal wince: this was the room where it had happened the night before. Unpleasant, yes, but likely to be irrelevant in terms of my own welfare, except in terms of what I can learn from it, he reminded himself.

He had the impression that he could avoid the room if he wanted to, but there were several convincing reasons to push past his reluctance: his meeting with Lunge was necessary, the opportunity to see the room in more usual circumstances might be valuable, and he did not want the staff to see that he had been affected. He wasn't sure how they were tied to the events of the previous night, but the buzz of information around the Institute suggested some kind of strong connection.

As he stepped into the room, feet feeling imprisoned in the slippers that the staff kept insisting that he wear, he avoided the area where he had collapsed. Instead, he turned to the right and proceeded as far into the room as he could, then left, then took a seat in the back corner.

If the nurses pressed him to be more creative, he would take up painting. However, he expected to express his creativity in other ways.

[For Lunge.]

And again, the fucking vultures made it a point to tell Falis that she was not allowed, under any circumstances, to share the showers with Hokuto. With an exchange that caused her to be reprimanded about her language again, the hunter started the water up and waited for it to heat up. She hated that particular vulture and her insistence that Falis and Hokuto's relationship was 'unhealthy'. She really didn't get why the bitch called it that, but the fact was, Falis wasn't allowed to have Hokuto wash her hair anymore and that fucking pissed her off.

Washing it by herself took so damn long.

Stepping under the spray, the hunter let the water soak into her hair and stared balefully down at the discoloration that stood out on her broken toe. She had an upcoming meeting with another bloodsucker's victim. Vampires. She needed to shift her thoughts to vampires and not zombies.

[unknowingly waiting for loli vampire]

A shower sounded good, but the fact that he was placed with the children annoyed Hitsugaya to no end. He was a centuries old shinigami for heaven's sake. The idea that he'd be sharing space with a number of naked children running around like idiots unnerved him a little. Someone up there had to be laughing at him.

Nonetheless, he needed to shower. Because he'd been at the institute for several days without a chance to bathe, he was beginning to smell, and after last night, he was especially anxious to wash off his body. There was no telling what kind filth had become attached to him in that strange hallway of flesh.

Thankfully, he was the first one there. He could get this over and done with quickly, and get the hell out of here before the brats came in.

[to here]