Day 27: Library

[not-rly-fai.livejournal.com]

Libraries, he'd found, were rarely as dull as people made them out to be.  Though he felt no magic in these tomes, they were still full of useful information.  Maybe some of them could tell him a little bit more about this world he'd landed himself in. 

For that matter, why hadn't he run into any of the others yet?  They'd all been fairly close together when they'd left Rekord, but he hadn't seen a trace of any of them.  He was able to communicate easily with the people here though, which led him to believe Mokona was within a mile or so.  Unless the ones running this little game had some other way to let all these other-worldly people communicate amongst themselves.  In which case, the others could be very far away indeed.

The library had that wonderful smell of old books, and Fai traced his fingers along the shelves, skimming titles and pulling books that struck his fancy.  Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, The War of the Worlds, and with a smile, he found Bram Stoker's Dracula as well.  Raven had been telling the truth then, in spite of his own lies.  Ought to be a good start.  He sat leisurely at one of the tables and began flipping through his selections.

[waiting for Tamaki~]

Comments

[a-spider-can.livejournal.com]

Peter found himself put at ease when he entered the library. There was something about the smell of books and the slightly cramped spaces between shelves that was almost peaceful. Maybe it was because he had a lot of memories of studying in libraries, which seemed so normal compared to his situation now, but he had decided this was one of the better rooms in the institute.

Granted, it wasn't as quiet as a library normally was, since most of the patients were having conversations, but it didn't bother him too much. He was able to tune it out as he walked around the others and weaved his way through the different shelves, looking for an interesting book.

He hadn't accomplished much today other than meeting some new patients and trying to fill them in. No partnering up, and he hadn't even gotten the chance to ask Logan about what he would be doing. Still, he figured it would work out somehow. He could always try and run into someone in the hallways once night started. Part of him thought he was screwing up on purpose so he didn't have to find someone to work with.

But that would just be stupid and illogical.

[cobalt-soldier.livejournal.com]

[ooc: hope you don't mind/weren't waiting for anyone! :p]

Heero hesitated briefly as the nurse informed him of the choices available, but decided on the library on account of the possibility he might find something useful there. Considering the kind of place they were stuck in, it was fairly improbable, but he reckoned it was worth a look.

Scanning the bookshelves, he frowned at the selection of cheesy romance novels: were the patients really expected to read that drivel? Backing away from that particular section in disgust, he brushed against someone he hadn't noticed before.

"Hn. Sorry about that."

[nobleman]

[ Reserved for Claude. ]

It was good to be around his friends, and Guy found himself smiling as he made his way into the library. This was his first time in here, and while he knew he was supposed to be interviewing other patients, he got the feeling that taking a look at what was offered here might be just as helpful.

As he made his way through (and keeping as much distance as he could between himself and any girls who were in the small aisles), something caught his eye.

Around the World in 80 Days, the book was called. That sounded like something interesting. He grabbed for it and flipped it open, only to find that it was a story rather than some sort of non-fictional informative text. That was a little disappointing, but the book might be a good read nonetheless. He turned back to the first page.

[full-score.livejournal.com]

Well, lunch had certainly been interesting. It wasn't often he got a chance to talk to someone from several hundred years into the future. The revelations about Creation Energy had been a little shocking as well, but it just went to show how little actions could have a far-reaching impact on the grand scheme of things.

Unlike some people, Claude didn't mind the idea of going into the library. It sounded quiet, and oddly relaxing. He'd spent a lot of time reading books as a kid, particularly science fiction novels. There was just something really cool about getting to read about other people's adventures and imagining he was there in the thick of the action.

It didn't take Claude long to start browsing through their book selection. Looks like a lot of classics, he thought to himself with a curious expression. Certainly nothing closer to his own timeline, but then, that'd make sense, considering he was pretty sure this place was supposed to be from the late 20th to early 21st century.

He couldn't help but notice Guy standing in one of the small aisles, looking through one of the books. Moving a bit closer, Claude peered over to get a glimpse at what he was reading.

"Jules Verne, huh?" he said after a brief moment, and a smile lit his face. "Nice choice! He's the father of modern science fiction, you know." He paused, suddenly rubbing the back of his head. "Well, on Earth anyway."

[requiemforasoul.livejournal.com]

So he’d missed lunch, not that it mattered. He’d gone much longer without food before, so a few hours was nothing to him.

After the announcement on the intercom, the nurse took him to the library. Siegfried wasn’t much of a reader, books had never captured his interest and there was always something more important and worthwhile to be doing, but he didn’t protest. It might even do him some good.

The walls of the room were covered with shelves holding books, many of them looking pretty old. Reading the titles of the books offered, none of them looked familiar, although this really wasn’t surprising. In the end, he chose a book entitled ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ and sat down to read it.

[pictorialise.livejournal.com]

The Cultural Revolution had either done away with or altered most of the books Dark might have been familiar with, but a trip to the library might still prove to be useful.

More focused on thinking over his conversation from lunch, as well as the upcoming and apparently rare trip into town that was coming up, he didn't browsed the book selections without much interest.

As he thought, none of the titles were recognizable, but The Picture of Dorian Gray caught his eye. Dark opened the book to a random page as he sat down, only half pretending to actually be reading.

[adorkabledragon.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/212466.html?thread=15137266#t15137266)].

Keman was still pretty angry with himself for upsetting that human in the Sun Room, but he was too excited at the prospect of being able to read and to learn more about the strange world he had somehow found himself in to let it get to him too much.

He picked a book off a shelf at random because the title seemed oddly appropriate. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley. The preface was all about morality and Utopia and was extremely confusing for a young dragon who hadn't ever had the chance to study philosophy in-depth, but he slogged through it. The first chapter was interesting enough...much more interesting than the stupid elven novels and silly little romances that Mother had brought back for him and Shana. But...it rang far too close to home for comfort. The description was as cold and clinical as the human breeding manual he had once come across. Keman had understood enough of the preface to realize that this was fiction and that Mr. Huxley was trying to make a statement...but...

He put the book down in disgust, and took in his surroundings for the first time. Sitting near him was a human of about his age, height, and build who didn't look terribly absorbed in his novel.

"Ah, hello..." he said softly. This was a library, after all.

[qui-gonjinn.livejournal.com]

Earthian fiction was truly quite fascinating, once you got past their...unique presentation. It took some getting used to the delicate wood-pulp pages, which struck Qui-Gon as quaint and hardly very lasting, but once you got past that, they did indeed offer valuable insights into this planet's cultures and their values, what they deemed important and worth writing about, over and over. For all their differences, Earthians as a whole seemed preoccupied with travel, often over long distances: the current book he had open, Journey to the Center of the Earth, was no different.

Qui-Gon didn't expect to actually finish all these books, but at the very least he wanted to learn more about Earth - and while this book in particular was clearly fictional, it still served its purpose. Holding it in one hand, and wondering just who this Jules Verne was, the Jedi Master browsed the stacks of other books, skimming through the titles before he would sit down to read.

Perhaps he would find an insight about the Force. Many civilizations seemed to have their own version of it - "spirit", as Renji had called it - and he hoped that Earth would be the case as well. His meditations into the Force, and trying to reconnect, hadn't been as fruitful as he would have liked. Trying to shake off decades of Jedi doctrine was a bit more difficult than he anticipated...

[spandexorgtfo.livejournal.com]

((I-is this alright?))

The healers meeting had been certainly fruitful, and Kratos admitted that he had indirectly gathered more information about Landel's- a surprisingly pleasant result. However, he still wanted to get a couple figures straight in his head: number of staff, total patients, patients released...among others.

And what better place for institute records than the library? Browsing the shelves, Kratos noted that it appeared to be quite the contrary- most of the authors were fictional. He had never picked up leisure reading as a habit, and although Derris-Kharlan had had several libraries, they had all been non-fiction. Here, the possibility of finding any sort of data on Landel's was shrinking with every shelf he searched.

Turning to go to another section, he nearly crashed into the tall man in front of him. "Sorry."

[fuyunohanabi.livejournal.com]

Rangiku was in a much better mood after meeting with Gin and managing to get things sorted out, not least because she didn't feel so much like a huge bruise anymore. It would be good to work with him again, no matter what the others thought, and she trusted him to watch her back at least.

The Sun Room had fewer people in it, but Rangiku had spent plenty of time in there already and was getting rather bored with it. The library, at least, was something new. She picked up a couple of books when she entered, Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, as well as a terribly dire looking romance novel which she thought might be worth a bit of a laugh if nothing else.

A quiet spot wasn't difficult to find and she settled herself in one corner with her books. It felt a little odd not to have anyone specific to meet this shift, but she didn't really mind the quieter time.

[golden-eclipse.livejournal.com]

Damn it, who did this woman think he was? The nurse had quite a tight grip on Malik's arm as she pushed him firmly ahead of her, out the cafeteria. She seemed to take it upon herself to act as disciplinarian to a rebellious teenager. She already gave him quite the earful for refusing to eat his lunch.

"Let GO of me!" he hissed, pulling his arm out of her fingers at last as they walked into the library.

"Shh..this is the library, Amir. You'll have to keep your voice down, or you'll disturb your fellow patients! You wouldn't want to do that now, would you?"

He glared at her defiantly, refusing to answer.

"Here..." she chuckled and pulled a book off the shelf and pushed it into his hands. "Just because you're in here, it doesn't mean you can put off your education. Go find a quiet corner and read this. I'm keeping an eye on you." And she was off.

Malik narrowed his eyes in her direction and then turned around in a huff to stalk off in the opposite direction than the nurse had indicated.

In his haste, he bumped right into someone near the stacks.

"Uh..."

[i-promised.livejournal.com]

Once again, Zoro found himself being ripped away from his companions. The nurse ‘tutted’ at him out in the hallway, impassively scolding him for not touching his lunch and all Zoro could think was ‘This woman turns into a monster at night? Feh, she’s monster enough already.’ He frowned a bit (a lot) but was unresisting as she led him into another… room.

It was full of shelves packed with books and Zoro wasted no time in getting himself lost. It was pretty easy to find himself a dark spot to skulk around in until his nurse was out of sight and the corners gave him an easy advantage in terms of location. He could disappear and reappear as was necessary.

When, ten minutes later, he still couldn’t find his way past rows of books with men and women kissing on the front cover (he was following the light that, incidentally, was coming from all directions), Zoro decided that something had to be done.

If only he had his swords, he could easily cut down the damn shelves. Even one would have been enough…

Zoro stared at the shelf and contemplated the merit of pushing it over.

[rubbermancan.livejournal.com]

The library wasn't really a place Luffy liked to hang out. Actually, he'd only been here once since he woke up here a couple of weeks ago. Normally he preferred napping in the sun room, but he'd already slept through the second shift, and his Cat Lady insisted he go find something else to occupy his mind with.

Frowning a little to himself, he watched her leave, sticking his tongue out at her back. Then he turned and gazed at the many rows of shelves that were neatly crammed into the room. Man, Robin would have loved a place like this.

Pausing for a moment, he decided to find a corner somewhere and take a nap anyway. These shelves sure did give him a lot of places to hide behind. It was actually really handy! After all, if he couldn't see the Cat Ladies, they certainly couldn't see him. So, with a pleased expression, he made his way down the aisles, doing his best to get himself lost among the shelves of books.

Luffy wasn't sure how long he wandered around, though he was getting ready to hide behind a particularly sturdy-looking shelf (at least, sturdy in his mind, even though all the shelves pretty much looked the same), when he saw someone he hadn't seen in ages and promptly stopped in his tracks.

He blinked, though whether it was out of surprise or just recognition, it was difficult to say.

"Zoro!"

[raptscarecrow.livejournal.com]

With the shift change once again interrupting, Kakashi didn't answer Sasuke's request, but backed down as the boy's nurse came to fetch him. He did, though, keep track of him as they all moved into the library, but much of Kakashi's focus went to the announcement.

A trip into the surrounding town... it certainly couldn't be as opportunistic as it sounded. Escape and a shot at the Head Doctor were the first thoughts of possibility that occurred to mind -- and that was reason enough to suspect the whole affair.

But that was tomorrow; Kakashi had time to think about it. For now he would just deal with the present and what information he could gather from it. After a word to Sasuke to let him know that he was near, Kakashi moved over to the closest of the shelves to ponder over the books, but with Sasuke in his sights and within talking distance.

At least this place wasn't so inhumane as to deny some reading material.

[sasuke-of-sound.livejournal.com]

Sasuke greeted the return of his nurse with a perplexing mixture of relief and fury. Shift change got in the way of any conversation with promise, without exception, and (in Sasuke's experience) the staff made sure to kill the topic by chattering.

Kakashi followed him, and Sasuke figured that they would probably try to find the other two. Well -- that Kakashi would try to signal to the other two that they wanted to talk.

Fact: Sasuke was dependent and hated it. As a result, his voice was a bit sharper than intended when he spoke again, having been shuffled to a chair by his nurse and settled with "enough cushions, Sean, are you sure?"

"What's the last thing you remember before arriving here?" He asked. Hopefully, Kakashi was from a time after Sasuke, and could give him real news.

[never-learns.livejournal.com]

[Waiting for Cliff]

Wow, thrilling selection of choices they had today. Yohji rolled his eyes and decided to take the chance to not be in the Sun Room for another shift. He'd spent enough time in there to last him a lifetime, and a change sounded pretty good.

The library was pretty full, but quiet, people automatically talking in hushed voices. The nurse thrust a few books into his hands and ushered him into the room. Without really looking at them, he found himself a quiet spot and a comfy chair and curled up on it comfortably, reaching for the first book at random.

[gotahunch.livejournal.com]

At about the same moment the book reached Yohji's face, Cliff leaned against the back of the couch and tugged the book a little closer so he could read over Yohji's shoulder. "She could feel her heart beating fast against her ribcage. God, her loins were on fire." Cliff barely bit back a snicker. "He was too beautiful to imagine: short blond hair, strong arms, sexy come-hither smirk... If only he would take her there and then, in the middle of the library."

Cliff spoke quietly, close to Yohji's ear, not only for comic effect but to avoid scarring any children in the room. "He could bend her over the very couch she was sitting in. Right. Now."

[judgemagister.livejournal.com]

Though the judge admitted to being very little of a reader, the smell the library held was a familiar musk, and was almost nostalgic. He'd little interest in fictional novels, or any novel of the sort. He remembered studying the works of Archadian tacticians, regarding the sort of old-fashioned tactics that the chocobo knights of years past had used. The sort he had used while capturing Nabradia and Dalmasca. Though it had been over two years, he could still see that old fool's face when he had been slain. And turning to see his brother coming in the room with the younger soldier, just as he had forseen...

The thoughts admidst his mind, Noah scanned along the shelves of tomes, spotting one titled The War of the Worlds, the space beside it showing another copy had vanished. Taking this as assurance that the reading was interesting enough, he took a copy and made a place to sit on a chair seating near another shelf of books.

[personincharge.livejournal.com]

The Boss found that she was becoming quite used to the world randomly going black in the middle of the day. She also figured that as that thought had crossed her mind, she was becoming complacent, which was not at all a good trait in her current situation. This was a dangerous place, that was absolute, so nothing should be taken as normal or casual.

She was awake in full (unsuprising, considering she hadn't actually done anything strenuous since arrival) and off her bed by the time the Head Doctor made his announcement. She wasn't sure if it was a thought being shared with the general populace, but the Doyletown announcement didn't seem like cause for alarm.

It was an opportunity, one not for something as mindless as attack but one for the most basic of survival techniques: The gathering of information. She was quite looking forward to it already, so she hoped she would at least be conscious when it happened. If not, then at the least she could expect her inmates to help her catch up.

Not letting the implications of that last thought dwell on her, The Boss composed herself as always and walked to the door, expecting the nurse to arrive on cue. And like clockwork, she did, and also like clockwork, The Boss tuned her out to memorize the layout of the halls. That every moment she was awake would be used for information retrieval was sure to become a mantra here.

Once she reached the library, she quickly separated from the nurse and began to search methodically through a nearby bookshelf. Not the most useful way of gathering information compared to previous endeavors, but this was nothing like previous endeavors. There was only one type of enemy in uniform, after all.

[bara-no-shinrou.livejournal.com]

Rather than allow herself to be led around by the hand, Utena walked ahead of her nurse, making a beeline for the library; at the very least, it would be quiet in there.

But... that wasn't as good of a thing as she had initially thought. The din of the lunchroom was bad, but just as bad was the deafening quiet of the library. Unnerved by it, she headed off into stacks, seeking a book of poetry to pass the time until dinner. The row she chose to start in contained only one other person, a woman clearly around middle-age; intending to be friendly, Utena smiled at her, and gave a simple, "Hello."

[muted-flame.livejournal.com]

Having looked through these books quite a few times already, Roy didn't feel the need to find another one to get involved in, especially when he had a planned meeting (as usual, these days). He hoped Fullmetal would be able to find him - it was a little harder to pull off in a room like the library, which wasn't as open.

The best way to deal with this was to go and sit at the tables at the middle of the room, so the colonel did just that, being mindful of whoever was reading around him. Sitting down made him all the more tempted to put his head down and sleep, but he fought the urge. He at least had something to keep his mind busy - that announcement had given him some food for thought.

This would be the first time since he had arrived here that they had planned a field trip, and he was surprised that Landel would even take that risk. Chances were that security would be as tight as it always was, and he was even more sure that some particularly stupid patients would try to escape despite that.

Still, seeing more of the surrounding area could grant them more clues, or perhaps even chances to filch some supplies. It was hard to say what the experience would be like, but he was now more interested in the following day than he was in the coming night.

[lost-metal.livejournal.com]

It would be a very odd day indeed before Ed chose anything over the library. Even if it was just fiction, when he'd really rather have a couple of good alchemy texts, even being in the presene of books made him feel better. And he needed that after the rather traumatic Talk with Hughes. He would have been quite happy to immerse himself entirely in a couple of novels, but remembered that he had agreed to meet Mustang that shift.

Damn.

With a sigh, he took his books and wandered around the room until he could find the Colonel. He dropped the books onto the table and dropped into a seat opposite the older man. "Well?"

[crimson-handed.livejournal.com]

A library, huh? This wasn't the first time he'd heard about it, but it was the first time he'd been in it. It wasn't as big as some he'd seen - hell, it was pissant compared to the one in Central, before it was burned to the ground - but there had to be something useful in here. A textbook, local history ... maybe a science book.

Kimbley casually perused the shelves, running his fingers down one or two spines but not pulling any out for the moment. It didn't look like there was much here but fiction, or historical fiction, and none of it looked any good. He frowned as he moved on, still not finding anything. What, did they want the people here to be brainless fucks?

[ontheabyss.livejournal.com]

Lyta had seen the books in the library. None of them interested her. She'd either read them or she didn't care. They were all from hundreds of years ago anyway.

But there was something interesting in the library. That bomb-happy alchemist Envy had pointed out to her. And he was alone. Perfect. Lyta quirked a small smile and headed over, coming up next to him.

"They're all crap," she said, leaning against the bookshelf. "Hate to break it to you."

[el-lolly-eat.livejournal.com]

L had attempted to question the nurse about the head doctor, but only received a response about how great a person he was, there was nothing she offered to his question about his achievements. When he pursued it, she just handed him a candy bar. The conversation went nowhere. There wasn’t a lot at the library to offer the detective; just what he would hope was a quiet atmosphere to think in.

The head doctor was planning on attending a field trip tomorrow. It was peculiar he would risk exposing himself to the patients when so many of them disapproved their confinement. L would be interested in who would be placed in the doctor’s presence. Such a thing would offer him insight into what kind of person he was.

He looked up above him, spotting a familiar book. He reached up, barely able to pull down Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes from the shelf. L wasn’t planning on reading it; there was just something he wanted to see. With the book placed in his lap, he carefully flipped through pages, a little disappointed to find that the book wasn’t missing some of its content.

[felled-hero.livejournal.com]

Well, that had gone better than Hughes expected. Ed had acted like a ten year old through half of it, but at least the kid knew the important stuff now. And would be careful. That was all that mattered.

Heading into the library, Hughes nodded to Roy and cast his eyes over the room. He knew there were new people around - like Ururu - but Renji had done the bright thing and posted the needed information on the bulletin board. Someone should do that every time they got an influx.

Instead of looking for someone who had that confused 'new meat' look, he noticed a slender, sleepy looking kid hunched over a book. In a wheelchair. Ouch.

He headed over, a sympathetic look on his face.

"Rough night?" he asked. "Sorry, don't mean to interrupt your reading, I just noticed the wheelchair... I got stuck in one of those once."

[reunion.livejournal.com]

[Waiting for Luxord.]

After the conversation with Sephiroth, Kadaj had completely lost whatever interest he'd had in attending lunch. The prospect of food had been sort of tempting, he supposed, but seeing either of his big brothers was the last thing he wanted right now. Cloud hadn't done anything to deserve that attitude this time, maybe, but he was still a reminder of things that the remnant would honestly prefer were left alone.

The meal had therefore passed with Kadaj sulking in the Sun Room, his glare fixed on the bulletin board as if daring another response from Sephiroth to appear. None had, but now that the meal was over, he had other places to be.

At the announcement from the intercom, he headed towards the library under the watchful eye of his nurse, scowling all the while. Neither he nor Luxord had specified a meeting place this time around, but he was sure that he'd be seeing him there regardless. He wasn't sure what the extent of the man's power of divination was, but after their last meeting and what he'd said on the bulletin board about Yazoo, it had to be formidable, right? At the very least, it should be enough to give him some indication of whether or not Sephiroth was deceiving him. He hoped.

He wandered towards the middle of the room once he arrived, immediately locating an empty table and claiming it for his own. Now he just needed to wait.

[clockmongler.livejournal.com]

The plan with II seemed to be going fine, for now. Larxene would get her just desserts, oh yes. In the meanwhile, however...

Unlike his roommate, Luxord was particularly pleased with the nostalgia the library brought to him. Blanket now taken away, the Gambler managed to obscure the most part of his face with his coat and had now taken to adjusting books from the shelves. It was not until his eyes caught onto that silver hair that he stopped reorganizing them.

"Ah, dear Kadaj," his voice rang lightly, albeit a bit weaker than before, from behind the cloth covering his mouth. The stare he gave told the man not to question his appearance (he truly, truly, did not wish to explain his allergies to the other), while he slid some cards from his coat sleeve and into his hand.

"Whatever did you wish to ask? I'm all ears."

[highlord-ofhell.livejournal.com]

The nurse showed him the library door and departed hurriedly. Saetan saw that the small room was crowded, but did indeed have books. A limited selection it seemed. He perused the shelves, noting that he didn't recognize a single title or author.

The room was brightly lit with lamps. He pulled a book randomly from the shelf and took over a corner of one of the tables. From behind the facade of reading, he watched the other people in the room, straining all his senses to catch the psychic scent of anyone who was Blood. He did catch a faint whiff of... the Black. Daemon? Here? He didn't think he'd mistake male for female even that faint, but even if it were female there weren't many other choices.

Frowning to himself, he continued to watch the swarming landens, all wearing these drab gray uniforms. Most of them seemed very young. His worry was starting to give him a faint headache, but at least his temper was staying in check. There was no point frightening these landens. They weren't responsible for his predicament.

[thesadist]

Daemon had been browsing the shelves for anything useful, not really expecting to find anything. After his discussion at lunch with Kain, he hardly expected the doctor to make so obvious a slip.

He was so immersed that at first, he didn't detect the slight shift in the air around him. A moment passed. Then another. Something gnawed on the back of his senses, some awareness he should recognize.

Straightening alertly, golden eyes narrowed as Daemon focused on that nagging feeling of familiarity. What was it? Ren? River? Renji?

No... it wasn't familiar here, but it had been what seemed like endless days since he'd felt this familiar presence, and recognition rocked him to the core.

Father.

Feeling almost frantic, he rounded the aisle he'd been half-hidden down, golden eyes intently searching the room as he sought out the source of that familiar scent.

It was impossible. Wasn't it?

[seiran314.livejournal.com]

At least he had tried to warn Ken, Aya mused as he let his feet take him towards the library. He hated speaking of his past but sometimes it was not possible to avoid it. At least now they knew and it was done with. A moment of silence with a book, even if he couldn't stop himself to actually read, would be appreciated. It was practically impossible to find some private time in this madhouse.

Ignoring everything and anything around, he walked around the shelves and fingered the backs of the books. The dusty smell of stacked books was perhaps the most calming scent he knew, and at the same time as comforting him, it made him feel a bit homesick. Tucking long strands of messy hair behind his ears, he stopped somewhere between the shelves, glad for some, even if false, privacy in the low murmur of collective chatter of the other patients around.

After a moment his fingers paused on the worn back of one book, and with some hesitation he pulled it out from the stack. Jack London's 'Call of the wild'. He begun to finger the pages slowly. He didn't remember when he had read it. Years ago anyhow, when he had not yet heard of Kritiker.

[black-ageha.livejournal.com]

Ran was being watched, from a distance. Calm amber eyes that followed his movements as though with a practiced gaze. These were eyes that hungered for such visions for many months.

"I missed you, Ran-kun."

He told him this when Ran came to kill him. It was the truth, even if he would not believe him. He missed his warmth, the brilliance of his spirit. Though it seemed that neither would ever be bestowed upon Kikyo again. Even so, he sought him out, as though these cold fingers could take back what was once his, and his alone.

With silent footsteps, he weaved his way through the dusty stacks, finally pausing at the end of the row where Ran stood, flipping through a book.

Kikyo spoke, his voice the same deep soothing sound it was in Sendai, when it murmured comforting words -

"Hello, Ran-kun.."

[bigshotbarret.livejournal.com]

First time stepping into the library, and he felt a little ill at ease. Last piece of reading material he happened to cross was a magazine of images some probably wouldn't find very tasteful. Still, there was a sense of curiosity that called to him which led him to this area of the Institute.

He had heard the Head Doctor speak of a town they would be venturing to the following day. He certainly hoped the Doctor wasn't to be his escort for the field trip, or he'd surely find himself sedated. So much seemed to be an illusion of life as it was, it would be of no doubt to him that this Doyletown wouldn't be as it seemed, either. He'd keep on guard.

That thought made him suddenly wonder if there were any books on the town itself. His eyes began to casually scan the spines for something that might be useful.

[untime.livejournal.com]

[theycutitout.livejournal.com]

After she'd paid him what she owed, River walked the careful line that was drawn in her mind, sure not to stumble lest she topple over the edge into the nothingness of something greater than physics could comprehend. It was irritating not to make sense of it through logic and the words that worlds had etched on time. They'd come up with a way to create everything, ships and even the light of the sun. It was a task to think of this place as impossible without throwing away the entire picture of it.

There were so many light points, specs against the endless abyss and the darkness of this place. She'd just added a thread of light to one, hopefully strengthening it, and now light would be added to her. It was a careful game of energy transfer, real or maybe a little bit not. River could only hope for it to be so. But if they bettered Martin Landel, if they figured out the puzzle and placed the pieces as the man on airwaves told them in his rhymes and riddles, then they would be without the crutches and pillars they'd learned to lean on here. Was this part of his, little game? To make them dependent and watch as they crumbled eventually at the realization that to win was to leave what they'd built?

River wondered, curious and curiouser. For a moment, she forgot that she was waiting for someone as she approached a bookshelf, inspecting it with a strange glint in her eye.

Was anything really real?

[a_sin_for_him]

Lust was ushered into the library by her brisk nurse. She couldn't stand the woman. A more inane and irritating human woman there never was. The once-homunculus shook her as soon as possible.

There was River. For once, alone, not beset by her usual hordes. Finally. Lust smoothed her features and crossed the room, ignoring the others. She'd report to Mustang later, when she brought him his things. She had more important things to deal with.

"Had a busy day, did we?" she asked, approaching the girl she'd adopted as her own. "I hardly see you anymore."

[sneak.livejournal.com]

The library wasn't as quiet as he had been expecting it to be, but with the amount of people occupying it, he probably should have known better. Raiden scanned the room--while a few people were reading, most were talking amongst themselves. Just watching for a short while, he couldn't say that most of the other patients were that overtly insane, but he got the feeling that if he listened in on any conversations, that opinion would be quickly changed.

It didn't really matter. It wasn't like he was any better than them, and he got the feeling the life he had made up was on the stranger side.

He rubbed at his eyes, let out a sigh, and went to sit down. He could have found some reading material, but he didn't even know what he would like, and he had never been much for reading in the first place -- unless it was about war, weapons, and killing, that is. But he didn't even know if that was the person he was supposed to be, and thinking too hard on it made his head hurt.

For now, he would watch the others and allow his mind to wander - though not too far.

[bond-off-lame.livejournal.com]

Axel had kept his eye on Naminé until he could no longer find her blond head amidst the river of patients that flooded to and from the Cafeteria. He was tempted to follow her for the remainder of the day, but he knew that she could take care of herself. After all, she already proved so for the past several days, so the redhead was content with leaving her be.

For now, it was about time that they were taken to the Library. He'd never actually stepped foot in the Library before, and so it was no surprise that he found himself snaking through the aisles for anything interesting. Much to his dismay, most of the works were fictional, and he wasn't exactly in the mood to curl up and immerse himself in one of those harlequin novels.

Axel sighed, about ready to give up and look for his nurse so he could be escorted to the Sun Room when something caught the corner of his eye. The redhead slowly turned his head towards the source, squinting when he spotted someone sitting nearby.

The guy's (Or girl's) head had been so bright that it actually hurt to look at it after a while. Their skin wasn't really helping either, and the Nobody found it difficult to point out where those bleached strands ended and porcelain colored flesh started. For reasons that included the above and several more, Axel soon found himself standing beside the latter, peering down at him curiously.

"Hey, mind if I sit with you?" He asked, matching the question with a slight grin.

[onestarknight.livejournal.com]

Dragged along by the nurse, Touma noticed different groups talking and reading all along the route. He had to admit, it was a little disconcerting to see how many people Arago had trapped like this. Maybe this was where the people of Tokyo had disappeared.

"Here you go, Mr. Fujimori. I believe you were reading this book before your parents brought you here," the nurse said, handing Touma a copy of Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.

Touma took the book out of habit. No book should be mistreated, even though he wanted to bash it over the nurse's head. It wouldn't help, but it would make him feel a little better. Settling into a couch, he opened the book to a random page and began to read.

[part1of3.livejournal.com]

[ waitin' on the Namfather ]

Ashton was feeling pretty pleased with his new friend, and still found it weird in his head that he sounded just like his roommate, Axel. Jake was a pretty interesting guy - how someone had to be wired to believe the story that Landel's Institute was giving them from the beginning must be pretty interesting. Well, he'd cure him of it yet!

The swordsman had never really been one for books, but he was kind of interested in what the library had to say, especially if it was a library that Claude was probably sort of familiar with. Even if he was from the far future.

He looked at the books that were eye-level, which was a little lower than the eye-level of most: he was in a wheelchair, after all. Don Quixote. Brave New World. ... Some of these looked okay, but in the end Ashton picked up A Christmas Carol, smiling. He'd known a girl named Carol once, but he wasn't so sure what Christmas was.

Well, he'd just have to find out, wouldn't he?

[rope-victim.livejournal.com]

[Butting in with permission! <3]

Miku finally roused herself from her deep, dark sleep once her too-cheerful nurse cheerfully admonished her and her sleeping habits. Miku yawned behind her hand during the diatribe and the nurse drew herself up to her full height.

"Now, Alice, you've managed to miss both meals, aren't you a little hungry? Well, I suppose not, you eat like a little bird, anyway. Now, this shift is just about over, so why don't you go read a bit in the library? Get out of this little room a while," the nurse suggested as she walked Miku along the hallway. "Or the sun room?"

Miku remembered her failure from the previous night and looked up at the older woman. "The library, please," she requested.

"I really wish you'd chosen the sun room, you're pale as a ghost," the nurse clucked her tongue. "But library it is. Read a good book, Alice!" she chirped and Miku wandered inside, One arm still hurt and now she had her shoulder to worry about too, but at least she felt... refreshed in comparison to her other nights.

A short turn around one of the aisles yielded a book on the Occult, and another turn yielded a wheel-chaired Ashton.

"Ah... Ashton-san!" Miku murmured in surprise, drawing her arms around her occult book.

[afraidnot.livejournal.com]

The next shift was going to be in the library?

She liked books, so it was only natural that Raven was looking forward to spending some time there. As soon as she entered, she combed through the shelves, looking for something that suited her tastes. It took a while for her to find something, but she eventually did in the form of…

The Goetia: The Lesser Key of Solomon the King

Why was a book that gave instructions for summoning over 70 spirits and demons in a mental institution? Well, whatever.

She took it out from the shelf and started leafing through the pages, not bothering to find a chair for herself.

[usoppsenchou.livejournal.com]

"Wow, new people from both our worlds. I wonder if there's a connection," Usopp wondered out loud, but answered himself, "Probably not." He resisted the urge to ask what a jounin was; the 'senior' explained enough, and he figured anything-nin meant a kind of ninja.

"Well, I'll try to find something to make lots of throwing stuff. I think it'll be easier to find wood or plastic to use. Ashton promised a while back on the bulletin to get me some wood, but I don't think he's had the free time--I haven't communicated with him in a while. Anyway, something like that we can make out of almost anything." Usopp paused in his out-loud thought process. "Do you have any ideas?"

[tartan-wings.livejournal.com]

Finally, it seemed this hospital had a modicum of sense about it. A library was just the thing for those who remained indoors to pass the time, and Aziraphale was excited about getting the opportunity to visit the library of this establishment, especially so soon after arriving. He hummed a little as he passed through the lounge, remarking to himself on the sheer numbers in this location. His awe continued as he made his way into the library, which he assumed would be mostly empty, was filled with the quiet hustle and bustle of patients searching for just the right book. Aziraphale joined them, choosing an aisle at random and beginning to look through the stacks.