damned_institute | Day 27: Breakfast

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Day 27: Breakfast

Day came too soon.

Sora hadn't been able to find Rena, had instead been forced to crumple onto the grass of the recreational field and bleed all over himself, and hadn't even accomplished what he'd been sent out to do. What he'd been entrusted to do. He didn't know how he was going to be able to face Renji and the others, but he also knew he wasn't going to hide from them, either. That would just be low, after all, and he was ready to face up to the consequences.

He didn't try to make excuses for himself. Even though there had been a Special Counseling patient, they had managed to take her down by sheer numbers. The fact that he hadn't seen any sign of Rena was what had him the most worried. He hoped he could find her today.

The boy laid in his bed for a good while that morning before his nurse finally came in to collect him. She clucked over the bandages wrapped tightly around his chest and leg, and asked him if he was okay to walk.

Once Sora assured her he was fine (he didn't really want to use crutches, as that would just attract attention to himself, and he didn't need others worrying over him), they made their way to the cafeteria. Sora yawned and winced against the bright light of morning - it seemed even earlier than usual, and he realized why when they entered the cafeteria and found it empty.

The boy shuffled over to grab a chocolate chip pancake, a bowl of cereal, and a glass of milk (good for the bones, or so his mom had always told him) before settling at a table. He kept an eye on the door, hoping he would see Rena walking in soon.

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"Is it, really?" Kikyo chuckled softly. The boy seemed rather stiff, for one so young. He couldn't help but tease him just a little for it.

Heero scowled, blue eyes narrowing slightly as he looked straight at Kikyo. He had to remain calm, this man might turn out to be useful..

"If you're not a hallucination, then there's a chance, yes."

Had he just said that out loud? Damn, maybe he really was losing it after all.

Kikyo laughed warmly. He was amused by the reaction, and this boy who could shift from polite niceties to prickly scowl with just a slight nudge. But perhaps it was a good thing that Kikyo wasn't in the mood to set anyone on their guard at the moment, and he put on a friendly smile as he replied.

"Then I should not squander the chance, hm?" he said as he slid his long fingers through his hair to tuck a strand behind his ear.

Heero crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair a little. He would not let Kikyo unphase him any longer -after all, he'd had plenty of training dealing with Duo before, not to mention Relena-. The smile he graced the man with in reply didn't reach his eyes, however.

"I believe that is your decision to make, Kikyo. How long have you been here?"

The question was innocent enough, but the answer could probably help him determine how much he knew about this place. If he chose to answer it, that is.

"Ah...perhaps you are right," Kikyo answered with an enigmatic smile. He took a sip from his water. This Heero was not amused, he could tell. He didn't really care if he made himself his pleasure at all, but he wasn't going to be difficult, either.

"I have been here for a few days," he said. He tilted his head to ask in turn, "And how about yourself, Heero-kun?"

If Heero felt relieved Kikyo was being upfront with him, he barely let it show on his expression, his scowl softening imperceptibly.

"I see. I've been here since... this morning, I think. This place.."

The words trailed off as he cast another look at his surroundings. He couldn't help feeling that he was missing something vital here, and the cotton sensation in his head wasn't helping things any.

"..Landel's," Kikyo offered helpfully. If Heero had only arrived this morning, then his confusion was quite understandable.

There was definitely something missing from this place. Not quite limbo, and not quite hell. Somewhere in between, where lost souls seemed to wander in or get sucked in against their will. Kikyo had no will, in the beginning. Though that was a sentiment that could change at a moment's notice, if he should see him again.

"An asylum for the insane. Or so I hear. You must be one of the new arrivals, then."

Heero nodded at the last statement, though he still couldn't make sense of how or why he'd ended up in such a place. What Kikyo had just said implied that he wasn't the only one who'd woken up this morning in the institute, and he found himself scanning the room again, fearing -and if he was honest with himself-, perhaps hoping to see a familiar face.

"An asylum, you say? Do you know if we're on Earth?"

Heero had spent enough time wandering the colonies that he doubted such a place could exist there, but that still didn't explain how he'd arrived here from space. An uneasy feeling rose up in his stomach as he realized he had no way of knowing how long he'd been unconscious for.

The question was a most intriguing one, and Kikyo's eyebrow arched in amusement. Perhaps Heero was dead, like Kikyo was. But that was an odd way to phrase the life he'd just left, if he were.

"I am sorry to say, I have no idea," he answered honestly, and with a smile that could almost be considered sympathetic, if not genuine. He leaned his elbow to the table, resting his cheek against the back of his knuckles. "What makes you think we are not?"

Heero's eyes betrayed the confusion he felt inside, and he started drumming his fingers on his knee without really realizing it. His natural reserve forbid him from telling too much to this near stranger, yet he was strongly doubted Kikyo was an agent sent by one of his enemies, especially OZ.

"I have no proof to substantiate this claim at this time, however I can't dismiss the possibility." That was about as much of the truth as he was ready to reveal at the moment. With a slight smirk he added, gesturing to the seated patients and the room in general: "I suppose, in a place like this, one has to keep an open mind about things, hm?"

"Ah...well, a place like this invites all sorts of speculation, certainly." Kikyo was also amused by how Heero spoke. Like he were much older than he appeared. 'Claims' and 'substantiating' them? Spoke like a cop, almost. Or more like an attorney. Kikyo had met his share of both.

"Whereabouts do you come from, Heero-kun?" he asked, not really prying, but courteously inquiring.

Heero's hand tensed on his leg as he considered how to reply to Kikyo's question: if he was going to trust the man any, then he'd have to be honest with him.. besides, OZ already knew he came from the colonies, so they wouldn't waste time asking him that..

His mind made up, he raised his head, looking directly at Kikyo: "I come from the L1 colony." At least that's where his first memories were from, but who knew where he'd been born? There were no records left, and he had never had the resources or inclinations to look. Past was better left buried, in some cases.

"Have you already been there?"

"The L1 Colony..?" Kikyo's eyebrow arched curiously. "No, I have never been." An odd sounding place.

But really, how surprising could anything be? He should be dead, but here he is. And upon his arrival, he'd already met a magician, a criminal, and a non-human (or at least, one who claimed such, deliriously or not). Not to mention his own killer..

He didn't mention where he was from, himself. Though it was more because Heero didn't ask, and not because he was loathe to share the information.

Heero's spirits sank a little as he studied the reaction on Kikyo's face: he was fairly sure the man had never even heard of the place.. another strange thing to chalk up to this weird place. But maybe some of the other patients had lost their memories?

"Hn. Well, I wouldn't recommend visiting right now, what with the war going on." His tone was deadpan, but the fury in his eyes couldn't be mistaken; the colonies' betrayal still stung, no matter how hard he was trying to put it past him.

"...I see," Kikyo murmured, watching Heero's face closely. "I am sorry to hear about the war." His eyes looked softly upon him, a gaze that was accustomed to showing more sympathy than he felt.

"There is much to be lost, in situations such as those." His thoughts stopped briefly on Shion. A man who had voluntarily entered a war torn country, to protect the lives of people so wholly unconnected to himself. The man emerged from it having lost everything, a dead man to his own wife and daughter. Kikyo could never understand such self-sacrifice.

Heero stayed silent for a moment, images of the past few weeks coming back to him in a chaotic maelstrom: he'd thought going back to space would help, but in the end nothing had turned out in their favor. He didn't even know if Trowa was still alive, and Duo had been pretty devastated by the destruction of Deathscythe broadcast all over the colonies..

He shook his head, willing the memories away. Kikyo seemed to have his own past to deal with, and he wasn't one to pry when there was no reason to. Attempting to stir the conversation back to a slightly less depressing topic, he asked:

"Have you tried to get out of here yet?"

Here again, the question that kept coming up. Was he trying to get out of here, or not? He didn't even know. Though from the looks of it, the powers in charge seemed to make it exceedingly difficult for those who wished to leave - like Kougaiji.

"Not exactly, no.." Kikyo murmured, glancing away for a moment. In any case, if Ran was here, where else would he need to be? Even if Ran didn't want him to be, he would always be where he was.

"Though my own circumstances are different from yours, I am sure. But should you wish to leave, you might best know.." He turned back to look at him again as he finished rather ominously, "this is no ordinary asylum."

Once more, Kikyo's words perplexed Heero: why the man had no desire to escape this place was beyond him, although, he rationalized, Kikyo probably hadn't been brought up as he had -the perfect soldier could hardly let a mental asylum get in the way of his mission, after all-.

Finding some resolve in the fact, he pondered the rest of his statement; there were many ways to interpret it, and he wasn't exactly in a position to know what "normal" was for an institute anyway. Nonetheless he arched an eyebrow, curious to learn more:

"Oh? What do you mean by that?"

Standing around would do nothing, so Relena headed towards Heero and the other patient. She approached her friend from the side, not wanting to get hit if he was still the Perfect Soldier.

She caught the tail end of their conversation, likely talking about Landel's and how strange everything seemed here. "Several things set Landel's apart from other mental institutes," she offered softly, standing a couple of feet from where Heero sat. "Nights are particularly...trying." This coming from personal experience.

"May I join you two gentlemen?"

Quatre walked into the room, scanning it carefully for sign of familiar faces. He found two right away; one was Relena, the other..... Heero. He smiled slightly, but it was sad and worried. He went over to the small group just as Relena asked permission to join. He didn't bother even pretending that he was hungry for breakfast at the point when he saw Heero's face. Finally, they may be able to do something. He scanned the room for Trowa and Wufei as he walked over, but couldn't see them. Hopefully, they hadn't been captured.

"May I join as well?" he asked with a polite tone, bowing his head slightly. He looked up at Relena. "Good morning Vice Foreign Minister." He didn't look directly at Heero right away.

The smile on Kikyo face turned a little darker. He turned his face slightly toward their newcomer as she approached, but he kept his eyes for a moment on Heero's inquiring lucid blues

"Yes...trying, indeed. Wander the halls at night, and you shall see for yourself. Odd creatures who lurk the dark corners, waiting for the unsuspecting."

His expression softened as he leaned thoughtfully on his palm, this time his voice turning a little nostalgic. "Though perhaps, such nighttime haunts are nothing, to what you may encounter of your fellow patients. Faces you never expected to see, again..."

He glanced up, to find another person entering their party. "Good morning," he replied. "Join us, if you wish. If Heero-kun has no objections." He smiled at him across the table.

Heero whipped around in his chair upon recognizing the faces of the newcomers. What was Relena doing here, of all places? Quatre he could accept, because they'd been imprisoned together last he knew, but as for the Peacecraft heir..

Kikyo's words barely registered then, the talk of strange creatures another oddity he wasn't quite prepared to deal with at the moment.

"Relena! Why..?"

He nodded numbly to their requests of joining them, and only then what Quatre had said struck him as odd: "Vice Foreign.. Minister?" He pronounced the unfamiliar title hesitantly, wondering if perhaps they were referring to her late father.

"How many times do I have to tell you that you don't have to be so formal here, Quatre?" Relena sat down once Heero nodded, leaving the seat across from her open for her blond companion.

She could certainly understand Heero's confusion at her presence, but the way he said her title made her think that he was more from Duo's time than Quatre's or her own. "My position in the government, but it doesn't mean much here."

Looking at the other man with Heero, she smiled politely. "I believe I've seen you around this place, but we hadn't spoken yet. My name is Relena."

"Very well then, Miss Relena," he smiled and looked at Heero as he sat down. His eyes were a little sad as he looked over Heero, looking for the signs that he two was 'from' a year ago. He did look younger but it wasn't the time to ask what was the last thing he remembered.

He looked to the stranger that had been sitting with Heero. "And my name is Quatre," he offered, preferring not to give his full name. "I'm sorry that we've intruded onto your conversation." He didn't mean to be so rude, but if Heero was at Landel's then it was important that he know who else was with him.

"It is quite alright, I am sure," Kikyo answered in all politeness, glancing briefly at Heero's reaction to the new arrivals. He certainly knew one of them, at least.

He continued, introducing himself as well- "My name is Kikyo. I was just making acquaintance with Heero-kun here. But it seems you have had the pleasure of his society already."

The slight smile upon his lips hinted back at Heero's initial comments to Kikyo, earlier in their conversation.

Day 27: Breakfast

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