damned_institute | Day 29: Chapel

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Day 29: Chapel

Hiei didn't give a damn about religious services, meditation, or pretending to be social. The always sudden waking after night put him in a bad mood, this one particularly so. Even with Kurikara licking him like some perverted moron, the warmth the dragon provided was welcome in Hiei's bed, and missing when he woke, giving the surrounding air a greater sense of chill.

But the perfect thing to relieve his anger might just be making an appearance that morning, and that at least gave Hiei hope for a decent day.

Hopefully Kurikara and Kurama both would be clever enough to figure it out for themselves. Without hesitation, Hiei demanded to be led to the temple, taking a seat in one of the rear pews. Humans had a way of overdoing things, and this place wasn't really much exception to that. Granted Hiei's limited knowledge prevented him from realizing there were much more outrageous churches, but to the demon, the colored pieces of glass and polished wood seemed to be much.

It didn't matter, however. Either could be turned into weapons, perfect objects to slice into that damned head doctor's throat or bash in his skull. That was a thought worth grinning about.

[Feel free to pester. Just, uh, be aware that he's not exactly nice.]

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Beatrix had less annoyed about waking up mysteriously in her room than she was about the pain she was in. The bird had done a decent number on her, a fact she hadn't noticed the previous night while her adrenaline was drowning out her pain sensors, and someone had tended to her wounds. While her roommate still dozed, the Bride dropped her pants to examine her gloriously bruised and tender hip and then checked out the ankle that was in an aircast. It wasn't broken, but she'd done a number on it between her plunge to the concrete and the giant bird's wing almost crushing it. Her only other injury, other than various bruises and a few scrapes, was a thick bandage on her right hand, wrapping around her palm, from where the glass from her improvised knife cut into her hand.

Sighing, she hid the jagged piece of glass, dark from the bird's dried blood, in her closet as well as the cigarettes and matches that had somehow managed to only end up with a small amount of blood upon them. Not waiting around to talk to Maki (she wasn't in the mood), the Bride was ready when the nurse came to get her.

Assessing the options, Beatrix chose the chapel for many reasons, and limped her way there. The more she got moving, the less her injuries hurt, but that wasn't saying much. Upon entering, she scanned the area before choosing a seat by a young man with brown hair.

"What kind of services do they have here?"

Light looked up when the woman-- Beatrix Kiddo? strange name-- approached, and tactfully avoiding mentioning her injuries or giving them any more attention than a mere glance, he considered her question before answering, "I doubt they have very many. Chapels in hospitals tend to be nondenominational in order to avoid excluding any one religious group, and judging by the way this one is decorated, it follows that trend. I haven't seen any priests, rabbis, monks, or anything else here either. Maybe the Head Doctor plans on delivering the sermon himself." The thought irritated him, but he hid it and laughed softly instead. It sort of was funny, from a certain point of view.

Shaking his head, he said, "You'd be better off asking one of the staff. This is the first time I've been to this part of the institute, so I'm afraid I'm just as lost as you are." He gave her a friendly smile, then added, "I'm Yagami Light, by the way. What's your name?"

Had this been a real hospital and not some kind of fucked up prison, she was still trying to wrap her mind around the previous night, she'd have agreed with the young man's assessment of the religious services offered. In a way, she'd been hoping for the man to give her some other kind of information than stuff she already knew, having spent many a time in a hospital herself. And then he did. The man might have seen humor in the prospect of the Head Doctor giving them a sermon, but to the Bride it was a golden prospect.

Before she could stop herself, her lips curled up slightly and her eyes hardened to that of the killer she would always be, cold and uncaring. "I do hope Martin Landel grants us the favor of presenting us sermon himself," she said, her voice dropping a little before she caught herself.

As if that previous moment hadn't existed, Beatrix's expression returned to that of a weary woman annoyed at her injuries. "I think I'll pass on asking the staff. I was never very religious to begin with and you've sated my curiosity enough." She turned toward the young man, Light - now that was an odd given name for someone of Japanese decent to have, and smiled at him, the gesture momentarily making it to her eyes. "Call me Arlene. Arlene Plinkton. Nice to meet you Light." She offered her hand to shake, glanced down at the thick bandage, then switched to offering her other hand. "Or would you prefer to be addressed as Yagami-san?"

Interesting reaction. Light gave no indication that he'd noticed Kiddo's momentary lapse, but as he kept smiling, his mind turned it over a few times to examine it from every angle. That look... it hadn't been present for long, but it was still enough to put him on guard. He wasn't entirely sure what the reasons behind it were when there were so many possibilities to consider (it was hard to not feel homicidal rage whenever the Head Doctor was mentioned, so it could just be a fluke), but maybe if the mask dropped again, he'd be able to get a better idea of what her story was. He'd just need to keep an eye out for it.

He shook her hand when it was offered (the bandage-free one, fortunately), laughing again and shaking his head at her question. "It's nice to meet you too, Arlene-san, and you can call me whichever name's easier for you. I'm surprised, though-- you're American, right? Do you have some experience with Japanese culture? Most wouldn't think to ask." He doubted her answer would provide any real insight into whatever it was she was hiding (he was convinced it was something now, after hearing her use that fake name), but he could always get lucky.

The Bride's hand was heavily calloused, her knuckles sporting old scar tissue, and her grip was firm as she met Light's eyes evenly. Why was his gently laughter bothering her? She wished she could put her finger on it.

"I will use Light then, if it does not offend you," Beatrix replied with a real smile. "I've traveled quite a bit and spent quite some time in Japan. So for me, it's not a question of which is easier as I am fluent in Japanese."

"But yes, I am American," she added on, with a nod, her hand going up to her shaggy blonde hair to smooth it down, hoping the metal plate on the left side of her head was obscured. She hated not having a mirror at her disposal.

"Have you ever been to America?"

That would explain it. Light's next question would have been whether she'd traveled for work or play, but since he didn't want to appear too interested (it seemed like a certain someone was eavesdropping on their conversation anyway, which made things a little more difficult for him-- damn L!) and the subject was already shifting, he'd need to hold off on that until later. At least the pause allowed him to examine Kiddo a bit more closely. He noticed the callouses, but beyond thinking that something must be making her nervous with the way she smoothed her hair down, he didn't pick up on much else just yet. Had she noticed that their conversation was no longer private, or was something he'd said or done bothered her?

"It doesn't offend me. Different cultures have different customs, and if I'm offended because someone prefers their own customs over mine, that makes me awfully hypocritical, don't you think?" It made perfect sense to him, and with any luck, Kiddo would feel the same way. The more willing she was to agree with him, the better.

"Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to visit America yet-- in my world, that is-- but I'm sure I will someday. My father travels a lot because of work, and since I plan on following in his footsteps, I'll probably be the same." There, that moved the conversation in the right direction. It might not continue that way, but he was getting there.

The wheelchair made it awfully hard for the man that Maki had been spending her time with to not be noticed and she'd caught a glimpse of him she'd turned more toward Light during their introductions. Beatrix doubted he was interested in Light, but she was a little too naturally paranoid to not believe he was at the very least curious of her. She had killed that giant bird the night before all on her own with nothing more than a large shard of glass. She supposed having seen that would put any young man, especially one that scrawny, on edge. Though, the more she thought about it, the less she cared, barely keeping herself from rolling her eyes.

"Good to see you aren't the hypocritical type. I've always found it best to adapt to the customs of the country I am in at the time. And being as we are currently in America, the New England area - I believe, I feel little need to adapt." She tilted her head a little to the side. "Though I do try to be at least somewhat polite when I first meet someone as to not insult unless I mean to."

"If you don't mind me asking, what trade does your father cater in? I ahve always enjoyed traveling, though nowadays it won't be as easy for me as it has been in the past." She smiled, though something was very off in her eyes. "Children tend to change life's plans."

"I appreciate it." And he did, really. Politeness went a long way with Light-- well, sometimes. It certainly hadn't done Raye Penber any good, but those were special circumstances. He still wasn't sure if Kiddo's would be different, but since she hadn't done anything to antagonize him just yet, they probably would be.

He paused before answering her question about his father, though, catching the look in her eyes and wondering at the cause of it. Something personal, obviously, and related to her children-- or maybe just one child? A blanket statement like that wasn't particularly helpful on its own, but in context... ah, but it was none of his business. He might be trying to learn more about her, but that didn't necessarily involve prying into her personal life.

Still, that didn't mean he couldn't ask. She had brought it up, so even if it was a sensitive subject, he was at least somewhat justified in pursuing the subject.

"My father is a detective. I've always admired him, and since I also believe very strongly in justice, it seemed only natural that I go into the same field." Another pause, shorter this time, then, "I'm sure there's a way to have both without compromising either of them too much, though. It may take a little ingenuity, but I doubt it's impossible."

Ah, a man of the law. Sure, justice and the law were rarely the same but they usually went hand in hand. It made Beatrix wonder if there was a statute of limitations on murder in Japan. Then again, the House of Blue Leaves had been within the last year, so it really didn't matter. The Bride felt justice had been served with her revenge upon the Deadly Viper Assassination Gang, but she doubted anyone would find the wholesale slaughter of some of the world's top assassins (or at least they had been the top) and a bunch of Yakuza to be a form of justice aside from herself.

Who was she kidding? She didn't serve justice when she hunted them down and killed them, but vengeance - cold glorious vengeance.

"Only a detective, Light, and not law enforcement?" The question was innocent enough. She sighed. "I always did like being on the move, never spending too much time in one place. That's not a life for a five year old girl. She needs a stable home where she can get an uninterrupted education with only the occasional adventure during the summer months. Besides, the financials just aren't there anymore." She cast a look around the chapel, hoping that she'd catch a glimpse of her daughter, that weird, off kilter look popping back into her eyes as she did. She spotted someone sitting next to Maki's friend but she did not see her daughter.

She turned back to face the front, toward Light, a little heavier than she meant to and winced slightly at the pain that shot up her side from her injured hip. "Sorry," she said as she ran a hand through her hair, feeling a little panicky and a lot murderous that she still couldn't find her daughter, not realizing the plate in the left side of her hair had been exposed briefly. "I was hoping she'd be here. Have you seen a little girl with long wavy brown hair and an impish face anywhere in this damn place?"

"Both, really. He worked for the National Police Agency up until recently, but there was a... disagreement about one of the high profile cases they were working on that led to a schism. Things were just starting to heal up before I arrived here." He shrugged, as if dismissing the subject. It was hard to tell her the story with L breathing down his neck, but the version he'd stuck to managed to do a decent job while avoiding any real specifics and mostly adhering to what was considered public knowledge. The only real point of contention would be that comment about a schism in the NPA, but with no case for Kiddo to link it to, it hardly mattered. Besides, it was something that Light could have pieced together if he hadn't been intimately involved in the case himself. L couldn't fault him for that.

But back to the present. Light nodded along understandingly with Kiddo's explanation, sympathetic in appearance if nothing else. More was becoming clear, but with this came another nagging thought: what if Kiddo's daughter was one of the visitors that came today? The woman had already come across as somewhat unstable, and it was clear that her daughter was very important to her. If the institute took advantage of that...

"I'm sorry, but I haven't. It's likely she's safe at home right now, but..." He hesitated, then asked, "Did you hear the announcement this morning?" His expression stayed concerned in the hopes that if she did connect the dots, she'd catch on that this wasn't exactly cause to celebrate. She may even already know, but he wouldn't know for sure until he heard her response.

"I was referring to your future, not your father's exact employ, but thank you anyways," the Bride said. "I'm sorry if I wasn't clear." She was curious if this high profile case Light spoke of was the House of Blue Leaves, though she doubted it was. It was the messiest piece of work she'd ever done, but O-Ren hadn't left her much choice. Regardless, that Yakuza massacre wouldn't have caused the type of problem Light had mentioned within the police.

When Light said he hadn't seen BB, Beatrix searched his eyes for the truth. "There would be no one to watch her at home," she said in a level voice. "I am aware of the potential for visitors this morning, but thank you for mentioning it anyways."

She paused, her eyes going cold as she thought about this visitor thing. "It would be very stupid of our captors to allow me to see my daughter," she said in a low voice. A moment later and she raised her eyebrows in inquiry. "Are you expecting anyone?"

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Day 29: Chapel

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