damned_institute | Day 27: Lunch

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Day 27: Lunch

Renji wasn't so certain what this grilled cheese thing was all about, but he liked the sound of some soup. Even if it was strange western soup, well... there wasn't anything bad people could do to soup, in his experience. His good mood was starting to fray at the edges, a little, from the strain of dealing with the Ichimaru issue, and even more from what had been on the bulletin board earlier.

He'd never had difficulty simply writing something before. But...

He shook his head as he entered the line. He didn't want to think about it. He wanted to hold on to the tenuous equilibrium he'd managed to find.

Renji got himself a large bowl of soup, water, and even one of those sandwiches, just to try it. Old habit, recently awakened, had him over to one side of the cafeteria, where the fewest people possible would have the chance to pass behind him. He sat there with his back toward the wall and started eating.

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Shrugging her shoulders, Bella frowned. “Someone kissed me without asking, so I socked him in the face. But he was a lot stronger than he looked.” A metal place in the face was close enough to what it felt like she punched … that or a rock. Either way, it had hurt like hell.

Shaking her head, she laughed again, grinning. “Really, there’s no where interesting in Forks at all. The only really interesting place is La Push, but that doesn’t really even count because it’s not in Forks to begin with. Though, they do have a really nice beach there.” Nodding her head, Bella opened her mouth to speak again, yet shut it quickly after he spoke about jumping off of a cliff. Damn, it was like he had read into her past! ~~What, was her history written in a book or something?~~ Forcing out a laugh, she ran her hand through her hair for a moment before calming down. “Nah, nothing like that. Though I’ve heard cliff jumping is popular around the La Push kids.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Heiji. I’m Bella. Bella swan.” Smiling to her new potential friend, she looked around the room for a second before speaking again. “How old are you? I don’t mean to sound rude or anything, but I just can never judge these kind of things.”

He blinked, then started laughing, "THAT IS TOO GREAT! Nice job, NICE job. Some guys can't take a hint, huh? Bet your boyfriend loved that," He wrinkled his nose at the though of Kazuha being kissed by someone without permission.

...but then again, he pitied the man who tried that.

"Bella Swan," he repeated. "Like the bird, I'm guessing? It's a pretty name," He smiled, "And I'm seventeen. Will be eighteen on October first. How 'bout you?"

“Yeah, he wasn’t really happy about the whole kissing thing.” Bella remembered the moment well. How Edward and Jacob had squared off against each other; Jacob’s tone had been almost mocking, while Edward's had been soft and just downright menacing. She hadn’t been in a very good mood herself, and simply stuck her tongue out at the younger boy as they drove away. “Luckily his dad is a doctor, so he got me better in no time.”

At the bird comment, Bella shrugged her shoulders and nodded her head. “I guess? I never really thought of it in that way before.”

Finding out he was younger made Bella’s mood drop, and she grumbled under her breath. “I’m eighteen. I turn nineteen in two months.” How annoying. “September 17th.”

"You don't sound too happy about that," Heiji said with a smirk, "What, don't tell me you're already feeling old? Man," He leaned back, obviously sated by his meal, "I hope I don't start to feel old next year. That would suck. Start forgetting things, slow with my kendo," he shuddered at the thought. "Being old would be the worst thing ever."

“I agree!” Bella practically cried out, feeling so happy that someone FINALLY understood her whole getting older thing. “It really does suck too, because I don’t WANT to get older! I mean, I’m already older than Edward and it sucks and I just don’t the thought of getting older, you know?” Letting out a groan, her hands lifted to run into her hair with a content sigh. He understood!

“At least you’re not even eighteen yet. You still have a while to go until you’re as old as me,” the last part came out grumbled and forced, and Bella frowned silently to herself, staring down at the table in anger.

"Hey, one or two years doesn't make much difference, right? My parents aren't the same age, but they still love each other deeply. And Kazuha's--" He stopped dead there, a blush rising on his tanned face.

"UH, YEAH. I have a ways to go before I'm eighteen. But being nineteen doesn't sound so bad. Being twenty though..." He shuddered, "Then I really WOULD be old."

“It makes a difference to me,” Bella grumped, and crossed her arms over her chest in an annoyed way. Then again, of course she was annoyed. As said, age was always a touchy subject for her. “But I guess that’s true. And who’s Kazuha?

Oh god, twenty. Bella felt her face pale slightly, and she nodded her head almost violently, allowing her hands to fall against the table as she looked at Heiji with wide eyes. “I know, right? I’d rather die then turn that old! I hate the thought of getting older and older every day. It’s the worst feeling in the world, I swear to god.”

"Kazuha..." Heiji looked away, pouting a little, "Kazuha's just my dumb childhood friend. She's way too loud, and way too overbearing. Not ladylike at all, seriously. No wonder she can't find a boyfriend."

He paused thinking, "Well, I guess it's not something we can avoid right?" He grinned, "It's a normal part of life to grow older, right? We get life but in return, it's taken from us at some point."

Bella grinned, looking at Heiji with an amused expression. “Childhood friend, huh? What were you saying before that? About loving people that are different ages?”

At the mention of aging being something normal, she couldn’t help but grump even more, crossing her arms over her chest and muttering something inaudible under her breath for a moment before speaking loud enough for the boy to hear. “I guess so. But it sucks, huh? I’d love to be able to live forever with the ones I love or something.”

"Hey, hey, hey!" He said, scowling, "Kazuha's JUST my friend, okay? Like I'd want a judo-monster like that," He crossed his arms and scoffed. "It's not like, y'know, I met her and instantly fell in love with her or anything. That kind of stuff only happens in anime and manga."

~~The Lady doth protest too much.~~

"Hmm... living forever huh? Might be nice at first, but then you'd have to live through humankind repeatedly screwing up. One person c'n only take so much, yeah?" He looked thoughtful, "But it's a rather romantic ideal."

How aggrivating that twice already their conversation had been interrupted. At the very least, he understood more of the new environ, but the question of all-around why still lingered. And knowing that the doors unlocked at night - what point was there in that? - meant that he was going to be dragged out. Or end up following Bella. Edward knew her well enough to know she would never agree to staying in her room, which would clearly be the best option. Though, in retrospect, knowing her past history with monsters...

Gliding past the food lines, he was quick to spot her socializing with another boy that almost looked familiar. He might have made the same mistake Bella had, if not for the different pool of memories. Nor did this one have the annoying habit of "shouting" his thoughts.

Catching the ends of the conversation, Edward couldn't help but frown a bit at a subject that bit at him constantly. As with most of Bella's friends, he quickly tried to change his air to one of general amiability, despite it.

"I hope you don't mind if I intrude?" he asked while taking a seat next to Bella, spotting the empty lunch tray in front of her. He'd hold the subject back for now.

“Just a friend, huh? Whatever you say.” Bella grinned once again at Heiji as he continued to try and reassure her of his feelings towards his friend, allowing him to say whatever he wanted.

Though, his comment about falling in love at first sight made her smile vanish, her lips moving into a straight line. How did this crazy random boy so much about her without even KNOWING her or even linking it to her? Lucky guesses? Bella got the feeling there was some unknown God up above that knew everything about her and was telling the boy to say things. That had to be it.

Her mouth opened to speak on the subject at hand, when suddenly Edward appeared and sat down next to her without a word. Shit. Turning to smile at him, she nodded her head and turned back to her new friend. “Heiji, this is Edward. Edward, this is Heiji. We’re taking about age.” Though, she had a feeling he already knew.

With Edward now in on the conversation, Bella felt like if she said anything wrong Edward would just glare her to death. Turning her attention back to her new friend, she shrugged her shoulders and leaned back in her seat. “Anyway. I guess so, but still. What If you were to live somewhere untouched by human hands? Somewhere you could be out in the open without having to worry about anything at all? That sounds like a nice idea.”

"No, seriously," Heiji said, now desperate, "She's only a friend! God, what is it with women? Always thinking there's something going on."

He looked up at the unknown stranger, eyebrow quirked. Heiji watched the young man sit down on Bella's other side, wondering just who this was. But once he'd been introduced, he was all smiles, "Ah! So you're the famous boyfriend Edward. Bella's told me about you! My family's name's Hattori, in case you were wondering, but Heiji's fine. Only Kudo calls me Hattori," He smacked the boy on the back, grinning, "Nice to meetcha!"

Heiji leaned back, thinking on this new point, "Well then... I suppose that it wouldn't be too bad for some people. Not for me!" He grinned, "I thrive off of mystery and the unknown. If things aren't interesting for me, I'd die of boredom!"

"Famous? Really?" He cocked an eyebrow, rather amused. He hadn't even been gone that long, and already his name was spreading. "It's nice to meet you too, Heiji." Ah, family name - from Japan. It seemed like more than a few here were from there.

Hearing about age from Bella wasn't odd, but to strike up that sort of conversation with a stranger? His eyes narrowed at Bella, suspicious. It wasn't the glare she had been expecting, but it was something. At the mention of mystery, he turned his gaze to the other boy. "It sounds like you're used to it," Edward commented, ignoring the rather annoying buzz of thoughts from the others crowding the room. "Did you see many interesting things where you are from?"

Oh god, there we went. Bella leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest, pouting off to the side. He always had to shatter her happy thoughts. Always.

Easily ignoring the glare Edward shot her way, Bella smiled to Heiji, nodding her head. “Yeah. I don’t know, if I was near people I care about, I’d be perfect with living in somewhere I didn’t know anything about.”

The mention of mystery made her interested as well, and the currently annoyed girl nodded her head, looking towards Heiji with a curious expression. “Yeah, I’d like to know as well. See anything out of the ordinary? Like a ghost or something like that? You know, things that apparently don’t exist?” Snickering at her hidden joke, Bella stole a quick glance at Edward before looking away once again. Perhaps he wouldn’t find her secret joke funny, but she sure as hell did.

"Oh I've seen plenty of stuff!" Heiji said with a smirk, "I am, after all, the Great Detective of the West! No mystery stays unsolved for long when I'm on the case! And, no offense," He chuckled, "But most legends that I've run into are just elaborate schemes by people to get some sort of treasure."

Heiji leaned in, his expression grave, "I once saw a woman who lived for five hundred years, and another young woman who was transformed into an old hag by her greed."

Aha. There was the mood he was used to. He had to keep himself from laughing at the way she didn't meet his gaze, instead focusing on the conversation. It was so darling. He wasn't surprised, with what she knew of his opinion on the subject.

Even if Edward was rather vexed with being locked in an asylum, he had to admit that the knowledge that so many different worlds and stories remained here was almost impossible to resist. He was a curious person by nature, and quite the people-watcher. There wasn't much else to do for so long.

Rolling his eyes at Bella's "joke", the vampire leaned in as well, golden eyes bright with curiousity. "Five hundred years? I can't imagine the things she must have witnessed." Already a hundred years seemed like a small eternity. He'd hit half a century soon enough. "You mean literally, then?" Edward questioned of the second case after a moment. Of all the strange things he'd seen, transformation through fault of a sin wasn't one of them.

“A detective, huh? That’s pretty cool.” Bella grinned and straightened up in her seat, keeping her arms crossed over her chest as so she wouldn’t drop her annoyed stance. Couldn’t let Edward win that easily.

500 years did sound like a stretch, and the thought of living for so long made Bella think. What could they have done for so long to keep their interest? “How did they live for so long?” Magic? At this point, she’d believe anything that wasn’t logical. Witchcraft? Aliens who granted eternal life? He could say anything and she’d probably believe it.

“Turning into an old person … that must have sucked.” Shuddering at the possibility alone, Bella frowned, also leaning in closer to the storyteller who sat close by.

Heiji's serious face broke into a wide grin, "I can't believe you two actually thought that was real!" He laughed, "No, no, the 500-year-old woman was an island's tradition. The 'elder' would perform a ritual that was intrinsic to the island, and she was played by the female members of a certain family.

"As for the young woman, she got plastic surgery to make her face look like an old hag's so she could search for a hidden treasure in a mansion," He shook his head, "Crazy lady, if you ask me."

Heiji suddenly looked very much unlike his usual joking self, "Why someone would do such a thing for monetary gain... is beyond me. I just can't understand it."

"Ah." He had to keep himself from rolling his eyes at the joke, clearly unamused. That was what he got for ignoring the buzzing around him. It wasn't hard to believe strange things when magically plucked from one's world to be dumped in another. Unless everything he saw was truly just silly imaginings in the heads of the patients.

"People who do not have sufficient resources will do most anything to gain some, if they're desperate," Edward shrugged nonchalantly. It wasn't only money some beings were desperate for. "It's not that hard to understand."

Dammit, it was fake? Bella frowned and sat back in her seat once again, letting out a sigh. “Ah, well. You never know, it could happen. Maybe.”

Crossing her arms over her chest again, Bella peered around the cafeteria, surprised to see people starting to leave. Turning her gaze back towards Heiji, she tilted her head to the side and looked upon him with a questioning glance. “Anyway, do you have anyone to wander around with tonight? You don’t want to wander around alone, let me tell you.” keeping her arms crossed, Bella used her uninjured hand to scratch at the bandages that were wrapped around her currently injured arm, a frown crossing her lips. Damn, the stupid thing was starting to itch.

"If she had the money to have plastic surgery, I would think she had enough 'resources' or whatever," Heiji said, eyebrow cocked, "In the end the 'treasure' just turned out to be a particularly beautiful view." He smiled to the two, "Stuff like that could happen--maybe in books or fairy tales, but probably not in real life. And if it has happened..." He sighed, depressed, "Kudo's probably gotten to it before I did! That guy really pisses me off sometimes..."

He perked up, surprised at the invitation, his face breaking into another wide grin, "I just got here, so you're the first people I've met! It'd be great if we could go together! And don't worry," he winked, "I'm the captain of my school's kendo club--I won't disappoint you!"

He looked down at Bella's hand, then leaned in to stare at it, eyes wide, "Uwaaah... that's insane!"

Edward sighed at her invitation, looking up to watch her scratch at the bandages. There went the conversation he was meaning to have with her.

The vampire was hardly assured at the boy's statement, but it was much better than nothing, he supposed. If there was anything to worry about, they'd have to wing it. "The problem is where we're going to meet. I'm assuming it will be pitch-black tonight, and none of us have a map. Where do you suggest we find each other?"

At least he had already seen the worst of her injuries. Edward would've hated to lose his composture more than he already had. "And if you can, try to find some sort of weapon. Her injuries are evidence enough of what could potentially happen."

“Oh, underneath your pillow there’s a flashlight.” Bella nodded her head, having found this on her own last night. But … then she remembered. “… Mine was destroyed by the monster that tried to eat me last night.” Well, shit. Now what was she going to do? Wander around in the darkness? … Again? “I can always just … uh … wait for you guys or something. Or try to look for you?”

Though, the moment she said the second option, Bella knew that there wasn’t going to be a chance in hell that Edward would let her wander around alone again. Turning her head to look at said vampire, she tilted her head at him and smiled, as if she could tell him to not get angry.

“Though … uh, I insist that we get to the second floor. I’m looking for a certain room.”

It was at this time that Bella wished she still had her pipe. Sighing, she frowned and ran her uninjured hand through her hair. She could always look around her room for something to use.

"Hmm... that's true!" Heiji frowned at Edward's point. Where were they going to meet?

"Ah!" He dropped his fist into the palm of his other hand. "There are numbers on all of the rooms, right? I can't remember mine right now, and," He nodded to Edward, "Since you don't want your chick running around by herself, why don't we meet at your room Bella?" He grinned, "Wait, wait," the boy detective cleared his throat, "What's your room number, babe?"

He backed off, laughing, "And I'll see what I can do about the flashlight issue. Maybe I can find one somewhere--along with a weapon. Oi, Edward," he grinned, "Should I try to find something for you too?"

Day 27: Lunch

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