damned_institute | Day 29: Cafeteria, Brunch

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Day 29: Cafeteria, Brunch

Hitsugaya left the chapel no less frustrated than before. The head doctor once again had chosen not to hide his face, yet promised he would be making an appearance at some time in the near future. He didn't like being patient, but there wasn't much choice. Either the head doctor would show his face, or he wouldn't. Renji had already seen him, and knew how to find him. That was enough.

The thought of eating made him slightly nauseous as usual, but he knew he needed to get his strength up. He could either be weak and try to force his way through brunch without eating anything, or he could be smart and actually give himself something to eat. And there was rice. Rice and fruit. He took a heaping pile of rice, and grabbed as much watermelon as he could fit on his plate, then proceeded to an empty table. He scanned the room, watching for Momo. He wasn't exactly looking forward to their conversation, knowing how she'd acted yesterday; however, he knew he had to speak to her, and there was a good chance that she would show more restraint now that the drugs were out of her system.

Thoughtfully he consumed his rice and waited.

[free at the moment, pester if you wish]

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Zoro's eyes, which had been thoughtful and almost carelessly blank just a moment before focused sharply as if he'd just suddenly become aware of Phibrizzo's not quite child-like intentions. Of course, he had no idea what had disturbed his thoughts so all he really did was glance at the boy.

Calmly and almost intuitively, Zoro's eye caught Phibrizzo's and in that one moment his face held an expression so openly certain that the swordsman could have convinced an ice cube that it wouldn't melt in the sun. His answer came easy but also heavily laced with meaning.

"I don't lose because I promised I wouldn't." And that was that.

Zoro then chose that moment to pick up a hotdog with his fork and jam it into his mouth whole. He chewed slowly, his right cheek puffing up as he calmly regarded the rest of the food on his plate.

Oooo, that was a VERY impassioned reaction and Phibrizzo rather liked it. So, this man was very proud of his sword prowess, was he? Fanatically so, it seemed to Phbrizzo, combined with that lovely, lovely pride that couldn't be subdued. This was going to make "Roronoa Zoro" very mallable...

"I wonder if you're half the swordsman Mr. Zelgadis is..." he mumbled, seemingly by accident. He put a hand over his mouth. "Ah! Never mind me!"

Lowering his face in 'embarassment', he returned to his food.

Zoro blinked and sat up a little straighter. So there were other swordsmen here as well. Of what skill level Zoro would have to gauge for himself, but it all sounded promising.

"Never heard of the guy." Zoro stated bluntly, not caring if the information had been given by accident or not.

Phibrizzo shrugged, as if trying to skirt over the topic. "Ah, different worlds, I suppose. He's something of a sword legend in our world." He smiled sweetly. "But that isn't important at the moment. I mean, you don't even have a sword, mister." Phibrizzo didn't know if Zelgadis was armed either, but he didn't particularly want to find out. Anyhow, wouldn't it be better to give Zoro the impression he was?

He took a sip of his juice and poked at his food. "'course, if you wanted a sword or something, I think there are people you can ask."

"Yeah, I guess." As Zoro bit into a sausage, his mind idly toyed with the thought of a swordsman whose name not only reached the heavens but other worlds as well. How would that work, anyway? If searching for the Worlds Greatest Swordsman took him a while, how much harder would it be to locate the Greatest Swordsman in every world? More than a few years, probably.

"He's a legend, huh?" It really didn't matter to Zoro though, as Zelgadis wasn't the legend the pirate had sworn to defeat but if it came down to it, if they somehow managed to cross swords, at least he'd know his opponent.

Zoro was a straight-forward guy and didn't naturally assume things unless it involved some direction he had to run in to get somewhere important. He asked, "Does the guy have a sword?" mostly because he wanted to know how many were armed. If it came right down to it, Zoro wouldn't steal from anyone not in direct opposition of Luffy and the other Straw Hats but in the event that someone of the sort were to pop up...

Phibrizzo "hmm"-ed. He debated saying something like, "He did when he murdered my parents", but it was too late to go the "orphaned at the hands of the evil killer" path with Zoro. Instead, he settled on a different answer. "I should think so. Swords are his life and I would think one as dedicated to sword fighting as Mr. Zelgadis is would be quick to find one."

...well, he remembered that the chimera had a sword. He might not have been obsessed with it, as Lina Inverse's beloved body guard had been. Then again, if Zelgadis had been in possession of Gorun Nova, who knows how his life would have turned out. Anyhow, did any of this really matter?

"Ah." The noise was noncommittal at best. Zoro let a thoughtful quiet stretch out between them, perfectly comfortable lapsing into silence if the kid had nothing more to add. So far, this Zelgadis guy had no tales of defeating dragons or slicing whole galleons into two attached to his name. And while Zoro personally knew that boastful stories of that sort never spoke of a swordsman’s true worth in a fight, the greatness of a man was easy enough to feel for by word of mouth. There was a difference when the stories actually had some merit to them.

Zoro wasn't very convinced that Zelgadis was as incredible a swordsman as those on the Grand Line but, then again, in Zoro's mind until he'd crossed swords with them a swordsman was still just a man with a sharp blade.

...that was all Zoro had to say on the matter? 'Ah'? Phibrizzo snorted inwardly. That sort of a reaction hardly seemed worth the build up he'd given the ex-chimera. Why was he wasting his time with this one?

He mulled over his options. He could ignore Zoro, but that was boring for him as well; he could attempt to sweet talk the pirate into helping further his plans along or tormenting Zelgadis, though that didn't seem to be going anywhere; or he could make a new game of bothering his companion. Afterall, what else was he going to do with his time?

Had Zoro been sedated yet? That was always a bit of a laugh. Maybe he'd arrange that.

Zoro continued chewing his meal slowly, completely unaware of what was going on in his seatmate's mind. It was a few moments before he broke his silence.

"Ok," Zoro started, looking content as he put his fork down on a now empty plate. Heavy muscles were pulled taut as he shook off his morning lethargy with a quick stretch of his arms. Damn if he wasn't already missing his weights. "Kid. Wanna tell me why you aren't sitting with this legend guy or do kids from your world just really like to sit alone?"

The statement was delivered casually, almost carelessly as Zoro crossed his arms closed his eyes.

Because while the pirate was far from suspicious of Phibrizzo's intentions, his instinct was nagging at him. Little boys weren't this reserved, nor did they ever do things for no reason. It was best to just come out and ask about it.

Phibrizzo looked up at Zoro with the biggest eyes he could muster and acted confused. "Huh? What do you mean, Mister? How could someone like me sit with such a great man?"

Damn him. 'I shouldn't have to try this hard,' the Mazoku lord stewed. It annoyed him to have to continue to dress Zelgadis up as a great legend when in actuality he fell into the category of "things I can kill with a snap of my finger". Maybe if Zoro had flown into a proud rage and set off to attack the Chimera Hellmaster would feel differently, but this was demeaning. He was the supreme being-- at least, he usually was. Had the loss of his powers really made the great Hellmaster Phibrizzo so pathetic?

He was going to have to do something destructive and chaotic within the next few minutes or he was going to boil over with anger. Roronoa Zoro would not leave brunch without a new wound or two.

Zoro's eyes were still closed so he missed the visual of Phibrizzo's innocent act.

"Best time to try, don't you think?" He asked, leaning back in his chair. The comment was just as blase as the last one.

Cracking open an eye, Zoro continued his questioning. "How long've you been here anyway, kid? You're kinda small. You should stick with people you know."

Not that he cared, but maybe the kid didn't know any better. Survival was better taught by experience but Zoro wasn't above shoving overly girly looking kids in the right direction.

He smiled brightly back. "Oh, I don't know, Mister! I don't know anything about Swordsmen, so I couldn't dream of holding a conversation with the great Zelgadis." His lips twisted slightly. "Although, if all swordsmen act like you, then I guess I've been missing out."

He drummed his fingers on the table and glanced about the cafeteria as he answered the pirate's next question. "I've been here a few days. And there's no one I know here, except Mr. Zelgadis." He cocked his head and plastered a big grin on it. "And I just explained to you that I don't talk to him."

Zoro's eye opened to focus on the smiling boy. He observed him piercingly and waited for Phibrizzo to stop talking before closing his eye again.

He smirked smugly, amused despite what he was going to say. The slight sarcasm in the Mazoku's words didn't go completely unnoticed but that kind of thing (from a kid no less) didn't usually bother Zoro. In fact, it just egged him on. Children were fun to tease sometimes. "Guess you're screwed then, kid. You don't look like much of a fighter."

Phibrizzo gritted his teeth but forced the grin to remain on his face. "Ha ha! I can't fight at all, mister!" He put a finger to his mouth and blushed slightly. "I'm always relying on stronger people to protect me. It's kinda embarassing to admit."

His grin returned, although sheepish looking this time. "Ah, but you should be used to relying on stronger people too!"

Did the kid just call him WEAK??? Zoro's eyes snapped open and he frowned at Phibrizzo. He frowned hard.

The only ones who ever questioned his abilities were either dead, beaten up, or Sanji. Obviously, Zoro was in a bit of a pickle. He couldn't harm the kid, whether the insult had been meant or not; at least, not after Nami had expressedly told them all to avoid making trouble.

Eye ticking in barely concealed annoyance, Zoro leaned forward, a sharp half-grin half-scowl forming on his face.

"And what did you mean by that kid?"

"Well, you're a swordsman," Phibrizzo said in a tone befitting the phrase "duh". "There's only so much one can do with a sword. Sure, you swordsmen are impressive so long as you're armed, but everyone knows that, so once they take your blades away, you can't do much, can you?" He continued to smile. "True power isn't from a piece of sharpened metal, though I know it helps you feel powerful."

He crossed his legs and linked his fingers behind his head. "You're in the same boat as me right now, aren't you, Mister? No swords and you gotta rely on someone stronger because your only strength was within those weapons."

And now his brow was twitching. Great.

"Don't think you know everything about swordfighting, kid." He grunted, clearly displeased by the boy's assumptions. "Good swordsmen don't only count on the caliber of their weapons, though a lot of the stupid ones do. You can't be the worlds greatest swordsman just because you have the worlds greatest sword." And he believed that with all his previous conviction. This was a code Zoro obviously lived by. His muscles proved as much.

"But don't count me in with you kid," Here his smirk turned nasty. It was his amused face, but to anyone who didn't know him well enough to distinguish the difference it was just about the same as his sadistic one. "I've fought without weapons before. I can win my fights without them." Though he was severely weakened here, Zoro figured that it didn't matter. Being just a tiny bit weaker was no excuse to break his vow to Luffy. "You'd better worry about yourself, you're kinda puny. It looks like a small wave could drown you if you aren't careful."

Zoro wasn't necessarily being insulting, he was just stating whatever honest opinion he'd formed of the boy in front of him. Of course, the fact that he wasn't pulling any punches meant that the kid had it coming. Usually Zoro would let it go, but this one... this one needed a good hit on the head.

Phibrizzo looked unimpressed and cracked his neck. "You can win your fights without swords? Then why are you still here?" He nodded towards the nurses. "If you're so great, why haven't waltzed past them?" He smirked. "Or maybe you need help, hmm?"

He shrugged and went back to his food. "Perhaps you like it here," he mused openly, "but I thought real pirates were a bit more...accomplished."

He perked up suddenly. "Oh, and don't worry about me drowning. I know how to swim. Maybe you should worry about yourself, mister. I know how hard it is to float without assistance if you never quite learned how to swim."

Would Zoro see through all the metaphors? Phibrizzo didn't care. Hey, this sausage was tasty. Maybe he'd go and get some more...

Oh, there went Zoro's temper! Wheeee, bye bye temper!

Raising one heavy fist in the air, Zoro brought it down on Phibrizzo's head, now entirely sure that the kid deserved to get smacked.

Skinny ass or no, the kid was purposely baiting him! The swordsman had known that there was something off about their conversation and that knowledge alone should have helped him keep his behavior in check but damnit! The kid was getting more annoying to talk to than Luffy. At least his captain was just being honest. This kid was pretty much trying to start a fight.

Phibrizzo had wanted to anger the swordsman, but it was ZORO he had wanted to get hurt, not himself! He didn't enjoy the sharp sting that now branched out throughout his skull. It hurt!

"You HIT me," he growled, indignant. "How DARE you hit me."

Zoro scowled, taking the Mazoku's anger head-on. "You deserved it you little brat! You were being annoying on purpose!"

Phibrizzo narrowed his eyes and looked straight at Zoro. "No, I wasn't! Is it my fault that swordsmen and small children fall into the same category?"

He folded his arms. "If you take offense, then you've no one to blame but yourself. I didn't tell you to become a swordsman."

"I what?? That doesn't make sense!" Zoro glared back, stubbornly staring Phibrizzo in the eye. Suddenly, his anger broke and a flat calm stole over his face.

A small, irritated smirk inched its way up his lips. "You're trying to piss me off..." He said, slowly. "Not as innocent a brat as you were trying to look, huh."

Not that kids like these were very foreign things to Zoro. Whiskey Peak had been a good example of never trusting things on sight, though the pirate had already known that even before the Grand Line. Little girls certainly didn't look like they could wield swords and yet Kunia...

No, he wasn't going to underestimate this kid now. But, then again, the boy didn't seem like a big enough threat to get worked up over. It was just too bad that he was already agitated; Zoro was a few words away from grabbing the kid by his fat head and shaking him for all he was worth.

Phibrizzo folded his arms. "What are you going to do about it? Hit me again? That's all you CAN do without your swords, isn't it?"

He snorted and began to laugh. "Go right ahead. I'm not scared of you."

He had nothing to prove to this kid, nothing at all. Zoro was secure in his strength, all recent weakening aside. Their fight with Sai only strengthened his need to improve himself. After all, he should’ve already reached the point where even a little loss of his strength wouldn’t affect his performance. Even after that big step back, Zoro would have to take leaps forward to catch up to Mihawk. He had to.

Not that that meant he was too good to smack some mouthy little kid on the head. Which he did. Hard.

"Maybe you need to re-think a few things, brat." Zoro growled, putting down one tightly clenched fist.

Day 29: Cafeteria, Brunch

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