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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Sanji was quite pleased with how well this was going. It seemed like ages since he'd been able to give his attentions to a woman and have them actually pay real attention to him. He still believed that Nami and Robin would come around, but this...

Her hand still clasped in his, he took one and rubbed the back of hers gently. "Of course everyone deserves it," he answered absently, "but I think someone like you would thrive there. If you could come see where I'm from, places like that are common!" He'd have to ask her if she had other friends here at all, though with his luck they'd all be male.

It was odd, for someone so utterly unused to casual touching as Argilla, to have a stranger stroking her hand. Maybe his was normal? She'd assumed that humans preferred more personal space. Maybe she'd been wrong?

"It sounds wonderful," she replied, eyes shining at the very thought. A world of sun and ocean, rather than dust and the underground. "You're very lucky to live in such a palce. It sounds like the Nirvana my tribe were promised."

"Your tribe?" Sanji's eyes were practically sparkling as well, but the thoughts behind them were utterly different. So this was some sort of tribal woman? He couldn't help but wonder what they did in her tribe. What if they were the sort that painted their bodies and ran around half naked. He sniffled quickly to keep Argilla from seeing the drop of blood that nearly ran out of his nose.

"W-what is your tribe like?"

Argilla nodded, a little amused at such surprise. The Junkyard had been made up of tribes, and even afterwards, she sort of considered the Lokapala a tribe, and the Karma Society another. "They're... uh..." How could she even describe the Embryon? They all had their own... quirks. "We're soldiers," she said finally. "We always have been. The strongest Tribe in the Junkyard... that's the name of the place I came from originally."

Some of the sparkle left as Argille referred to the place she lived as "the Junkyard." That didn't exactly set the most attractive vision in Sanji's mind, but he was willing to work around this! Soldiers were still sexy, especially if they had some sort of kinky uniform...

"You don't paint too pleasant of a picture," the chef said aloud. "Would that I but had the power to remove you from that place and this and take you back from where I came."

"It wasn't a particularly nice place," she replied. "We were fighting constantly against other tribes. But our tribe won in the end." And by then, it had been too late. She smiled sadly when he said he wanted to take her away from the Junkyard and shook her head. "No need. It was destroyed and we ended up in the real world." Which had, in an awful lot of ways, been worse.

Of course her tribe had won! How could it fail, with a member like this? "But is your real world anything like my real world?" Sanji went on, unperturbed. "You should stick by my side. Together with my crew we'll find a way out of this shithole."

Then, as though the occasion demanded it, the chef leaned forward with his eyes closed and his lips puckered comically.

"My real world was... a ruin, more or less," she replied sadly. "The data from the Sun, from God, turned people into stone and killed life, except for those who... ah... everyone had to live underground." Ooops, nearly said too much. She was just so used to everyone knowing about it that it was difficult. She smiled at him and his offer. It was nice, really, but it wouldn't be safe for him unless there was a cure for the virus. "Your crew? Like a tribe?" She supposed it must be.

She blinked as he puckered his lips and leaned forward, utterly baffled by his actions. Was this some kind of custom she didn't know about? Huh, Roland should have said something.

When the was no physical response to his actions, Sanji slowly opened one eye to see Argilla's reaction. Just surprise, as though she didn't know what to do. That was a little embarrassing, to say the least, but at least she hadn't slapped him. He wasn't exactly prepared to explain things either, so he just pulled back and cleared his throat awkwardly.

Did people not kiss where she came from?

Still looking sheepish, he scratched his head at her question. "A tribe? Us? Nah, I don't think eight people counts as a tribe. We man a ship." Though now that he thought about it, she might never have seen a ship either. He cupped his hands together to try and give her a visual idea. "A vessel that floats on the water. Used for traveling the seas."

She'd have to ask Roland later. Maybe she'd embarrassed Sanji by not reciprocating, but she had no idea what was required. Things were so much easier around the other Embryon.

"Eight?" she said, that was small for a tribe she supposed but then... "There were only seven of us by the end, and I'm not sure that one of them even counts." Did Heat still count as Embryon even after his betrayal? Somehow, she thought that he had to. The Embryon were always Embryon. She gestured over to Roland where he was sitting with a blond child. "He's one of them." He'd proved himself after all, even after her initial reaction to the man.

"You have a ship? That sounds wonderful. There was a ship in the Junkyard, but no ocean for it to sail on. And we had to blow it up anyway."

Sanji glanced over in the direction the woman pointed and couldn't help from frowning. Of course it was a man. He could only hope there was nothing going on between the two of them, though the way she mentioned him didn't seem to indicate this.

"I've lived on a ship practically my whole life," the chef smiled, patting her hand again. "That's another thing you should see, then. Another reason to come back with me, my sweet cherry blossom."

Living on a ship;. It sounded like a wonderful dream. Of course, it wouldn't happen even if they escaped this place. She doubted that there were creatures with the demon virus in Sanji's world, and even if there were, she wouldn't be able to hunt them on a ship.

"It does sound wonderful. But I have things I need to take care of at home first. There are people relying on me." She couldn't abandom the rest of the Embryon and Sera and Fred.

This response saddened Sanji, but he wasn't going to be deterred too badly. He nodded, leaning forward and still clasping her hand. "Yes, yes, of course. I understand. You are a noble woman to put others before your own happiness. It breaks my heart that we are to be separated by such fate, but perhaps we can make the most of the time we'll have here together."

He brought his face down and raised her hand, gently kissing the tops of her fingers.

"It's not about happiness," she said after a moment. "God was destroying the whole world bit by bit when I... when I left. I have to make sure that Sera survives to stop it. She's the only one who can talk to God. Otherwise everyone will die." Even if Serph was already dead, and herself and Roland. If she was here, then there was a chance that she could get back and help.

He wanted to spend time with her? It was sweet but... he didn't even know what she was. The kiss made her look at him in surprise, such a gesture entirely unfamiliar, even more than kissing was. Really, the closest she'd ever come was holding hands with Roland yesterday.

God was destroying the world? That sounded like how Enel was amplifying his lightning and calling it down on Skypiea. Perhaps her God was just as fake as that one had been? He had a sudden desire to try and get his crew back to her world. Perhaps they could defeat him just as they had Enel. And of course she'd be grateful...

Sanji gave his head a bit of a shake to clear his thoughts. "It still sounds noble to me," he said. "If there was any way for me to help you I would jump at the opportunity."

"Only Sera can do anything now," Argilla said sadly. "We're just her... protectors." None of them could speak to God like she could, but they travelled with her and kept her strong after Serph's death.

"But that's a very noble offer," she continued, smiling slightly at him. Admittedly, he smelled entirely human so he would be at something of a disadvantage against the demons of the Karma Society.

Sanji sighed dramatically, leaning forward to stare down at the table. "I am sorry that I can't be of more use," he said, overacting the part of the distraught hero just a little bit. "If there's anything that I can do for you while I'm here, just find me and I'll be at your service immediately."

He was, after all, a sucker for serving the ladies.

Really, the best thing that he could do for her was probably to stay out of her way at night when she was hungry. It was safer for him. She didn't want to attack someone else here by accident because she couldn't control herself. "Thankyou," she replied with a dazzling smile. "You're very kind."

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Day 29: Cafeteria, Brunch

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