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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[Waiting for Miku?]

After a quiet time in the Chapel, Ritsuka checked the bulletin board and felt that while some things had been resolved, some things had only gotten worse. He was supposed to talk to Miku about this, but he still felt nervous - almost sick to his stomach about it. He'd told one of the anonymous posters that he'd stop wavering, but then all that other stuff had come up and...

Ritsuka sighed, dropping his head as the new nurse took him through the line and tried scolding him for picking rice, hamburgers, and french fries only. If there was one good thing, it was that he was having hamburgers twice in a row. Twice! The food around here was finally starting to look good to him.

Setting his tray down at an open table toward the back, he began eating, taking small bites as he watched the door. He still hadn't seen Soubi yet, but he was glad to see that Alfons was with friends - or who he assumed were friends. News of visitors was troubling, but he didn't want to get upset over nothing in case his name wasn't called. Who would come visit him anyway?

[Here she comes to save the day! The Moe! It buuuurns~!]

Miku had left the chapel, and the very kind girl behind with an apology. Perhaps they would talk together later, when Miku wasn't so fretful about this visit.

About Mafuyu-who-was-not. The little photographer picked up some food, a bit of fruit, a cup of milk, a bit of bread, and went looking for Alfons, only to find him talking with someone else. Ah well, she was just happy he was alive. Happy that, for once, none of them appeared to be any more wounded than the other. It gave her a little confidence.

Perhaps they weren't the strongest, or the fastest, or the bravest, but despite all their pitfalls, they'd survived. Together. Like some kind of ever-living anomaly, she thought with a little smile. Surviving when we aren't supposed to.

Humming that strange melody that came to her when she slept, Miku looked around again, and spotted Ritsuka. She hurried over and raised her eyebrows in question.

"You aren't waiting for anyone, are you, Ritsuka-kun?"

Lost in thought, Ritsuka had almost missed it when Miku walked into the cafeteria. He was glad to see the girl was doing well, but also blanched when he remembered how he asked to talk to her about "something." He had yet to make an appearance, so maybe Ritsuka could get in a few minutes of much needed advice before...

Or maybe he should just forget about it. Miku didn't seem all that keen on Soubi and the last thing he needed to do was make things worse for the Fighter. Not that the idiot cared, but...

Miku walked over and Ritsuka jumped, having lost himself again to the thoughts swirling around in his head. "U-uh? Um, no. Not really."

Yeah, wonderful. He sounded like an idiot already and they hadn't even started talking. Sighing, he motioned to the chair across from him and went back to eating for a moment. How the hell did he go about all this? "...so how was the first shift for you?"

"It was... it went well," she smiled, trying not to worry her friend. He seemed as anxious as she had been... bubbly, on the board this morning, and it took quite a bit of willpower to not touch the paper and tire herself out seeing what had bothered him.

He wouldn't have liked that anyway, her knowing immediately what was wrong.

She settled herself down and tucked her hair behind her ears before poking at a grape. "I was in the chapel, praying for a little help and talking to a nice girl, ah, Kairi, I believe. She's very sweet." Miku nibbled thoughtfully on a bit of cantaloupe. "What about you? You said you wanted to talk about something?"

"That's good," he said, finishing up half of his hamburger. It was surprisingly good and for once, he didn't feel like he was trying to starve himself here. "Still worried about visitors?"

He had to admit, he was a little worried, too. Others were hearing about their potential guests, but his nurse had been especially silent on the topic. Was it that he wasn't getting one or that he was, and it wasn't going to be pleasant? Thinking about it tired him out though, so he pushed the matter aside.

And walked right into Miku's question. Picking up his milk, he tried to hide behind it as he sipped it. Great, so she remembered and now Ritsuka had to go about trying to explain it all. It would help - everyone said that talking to a friend would help, but...

Looking away, he couldn't hide the flush that was creeping across his face. "It's stupid," he muttered, setting the glass down on the tray. "I mean, really stupid. If you don't want to talk about it, it's fine."

Taking a deep breath, he tried to start and faltered, staring at his plate and then the ground, then off at another table. "...I just...need some advice on something..."

"What kind of something?" she asked and gave him her most helpful look. She could and would find a way to help Ritsuka!

It must have been something terribly embarrassing, he was turning so red. "Take as much time as you need, Ritsuka, I'll listen when ever you are ready." Miku stabbed a chunk of melon with her fork and nibbled on it, expectantly.

What a worrisome day, first this visitor, then poor Ritsuka's difficulties, her own promises to keep to the Hitsugaya person and to Aidou. A little part of Miku's heart wished that she could just find some place to be alone and collect herself. With a quick stub, she blotted out that feeling; now was no time to be selfish.

_{[from here]}

Aidou wasn't sure what he felt more of: anger, nausea, or helplessness. It all came back to the same subject, Akatsuki. Something was certainly wrong with Akatsuki, but a talk with Renji hadn't alleviated or confirmed his fears and in fact had only increased his troubles, if he wanted to consider what something that resembled him, but was not Akatsuki or even Alucard, could mean. And now someone else knew he wasn't human.

He jerkily swiped hair off his forehead. No, it was good to know. It had been good to ask.

Wasting time just wasn't an option, and Aidou scanned the cafeteria carefully as he made a beeline for Hinasaki Miku, checking each person in turn. Sensing another vampire when it was close was all too possible, but it was true he hadn't been paying close attention. And while he searched, he needed some answers on his own physical issues as well.

So when he approached Miku's table, he tried hard to ignore her conversation partner (no time for him, not now!), he came on as abruptly as he had with Renji. "I'm afraid I'll have to interrupt. I need that explanation now, if you don't mind." He was fairly vibrating with upset emotions and repressed frustration. And hunger, too. Reaching for her arm, he said, "Right now."

It was so hard to look at Miku and talk, but when he looked away he just flushed more and couldn't collect his thoughts. Ritsuka wasn't sure why he was like this. Normally he was sure, normally he was steady and didn't let himself waver back and forth. Stupid, stupid, stupid Soubi! Clenching his fists in his lap, Ritsuka took a deep breath and turned to look at the girl across from him.

Now or never.

"It's going to sound stupid, but I can't figure out if I--" Ritsuka stopped when he saw who was coming in their direction, the color draining from his face. He hoped, dear God he hoped he was wrong, but when Aidou made a beeline for their table, he knew.

It was going to be never.

There was no way in hell he'd talk in front of Aidou. He didn't even want to be near the guy after their last rather immature fight and he quickly clammed up and shoved whatever it was he wanted to talk about as far out of his mind as possible. It seemed, anytime he really needed help, it just wasn't meant to be. Maybe this was the universe's way of telling him to stop relying on other people to do his work for him.

He saw that Aidou was upset and while he didn't like the guy, it didn't mean he'd be so callous as to belittle his problem. "Go on. I'll be fine," he said, turning back to his food with decidedly less enthusiasm.

Miku looked torn; she had desperately wanted to help Ritsuka and Aidou both...
but still, nothing yet had changed between them. And here she sat, interrupted. It was enough to make the young woman want to cry in rage.

"Ritsuka-kun..." Miku's lips pursed. "We'll talk posthaste, it's only a little thing," she replied quietly, tilting her head down. Aidou made her so angry with his flipping and flopping emotions. One moment he was nice as you please, the next he was screaming and throwing tantrums.

But, she had promised, and unlike many other people here, she would keep that promise.

"Where do you want to go, Aidou-kun?" her tone was still friendly, but edged slightly with reluctance to leave Ritsuka alone.

Ah, there it was. Aidou's head canted back a fraction as he stilled in the middle of Miku's response, before finally he glanced to another part of the cafeteria. Despite all the conflicting blood scents in the room, as soon as it was spilled, one scent stood out like a beacon for him. There it was. Renji had been right--and he was so new, he might as well have been made yesterday. Slapping his hands to this face, he made a sound of eternal frustration, caught between a whine, a scream, and a laugh. He really was going to need proper therapy when he got home.

Lifting his head, he gave a bittersweet smile and this time brushed at his hair with a cocky flourish. "Who cares. Things can't possibly get any worse, anyway! Unless, because you seem to have some sort of knowledge of that snake and holly tattoo, you're going to tell me I'm going to be forever violated with feeling emotions and seeing memories that aren't mine for the rest of my life. Because yes, that would be a cherry on the cake. Which is why I'm hoping you know something about it, because really, after more than 48 hours of it, I was compelled to start getting myself sedated on purpose."

With scarcely a breath in between, he turned on Ritsuka and continued: "Believe me, I'd much rather be anywhere but here, interrupting your conversation. Maybe even body hunting at the local morgue, since it seems one of my family members has also gone missing. Isn't that ironic! I guess we have something in common now!"

Aidou sucked in a breath, held it, then let it out softly. "I don't feel any better, but at least now you know what I've been up to. How have you been? Let's be sure to catch up when we're not all having personal crises and being attacked by birds that apparently eat only virgins. I see you both survived, by the way. Good for you."

"Stop it, Aidou, just stop!" Miku raised her voice a fraction, setting her lips in a tight line. Over dramatic peacock. Did he truly think his life was so difficult just because one family member had disappeared. Come complain to her when all of them had, then maybe she would have some pity, so consolation, something. It wasn't often (truly it wasn't ever, not once in her whole life), that she lost her temper. That she actually chose to grasp that curl of warm, hard anger in her chest.

The photographer stood and began to stalk away, headed for a less clustered area of tables and chairs in the cafeteria. "I'll return directly, Ritsuka-kun," she called softly over her shoulder. It would be best, no, easiest, to separate them before screaming and shouting began and someone ran in with one of those stupefying needles. Once she'd secured herself a seat, the little photographer sat down and kept her hands at her sides. Miku's nails bit painfully into her palms, but at least it kept her from reaching across to strangle Aidou and his dramatics.

"That was uncalled for, Aidou. I understand that you're feeling panicked -- if my family member had vanished while here, I would too -- but please don't take it out on everyone. We want to help you, and you're making it harder than it should be by acting this way," her voice was soft and calm now, hardly a trace of irritation or anger in it. "Now, we'll get down to business." Miku closed her eyes a moment to concentrate on the large Rolodex in her mind that Mafuyu and Yuu had inadvertently stored all their information in through the years. Snake and holly, snake and holly, oh yes. Now she remembered.

"Before I came here, my roommate, Kurosawa Rei, asked me to look up the meaning of the snake and holly. It's... It's hard to remember, this place makes me forget so many things. But, the meaning is for pain and remembrance. For taking away suffering from one victim and placing it on a... a sacrifice as part of a... a ritual. There's several legends surrounding it, especially in hospitals to the victims of cataclysmic events. They began talking of tattoos that covered their bodies, even though the doctors found nothing, spent much of their time sleeping until the nurses found only ash in their beds. If yours is gone," Miku shook her head slightly, to gather herself again. Just talking about it made her want to dream of that large, snow-covered house, where Rei and Yuu and Mafuyu awaited her. "Then you should count yourself lucky." Miku's head dipped slightly, as she suppressed a yawn.

That had quite possibly been the most she'd ever spoken in one sitting.

It was horrifically miserable being dropped into a sea of humans, but it felt delightful to vent, even if it was to the wrong people. Stretching his arms up and behind his head, the vampire stretched, sighing happily. Mm, momentary respites felt good.

Akatsuki would have been shaking his head, no doubt having expected such a thing all along, and it was with that thought in mind that Aidou followed Miku without a backwards glance. The tasks at hand were rolling past his mind's eye one-by-one, organizing themselves as such, with no small amount of what the vampire hunters called an unnatural objectivity. He took a seat across from her, all smooth gate and calm movements in contrast to her barely contained irritation.

"You have no idea how I feel," came the simple response, effectively closing the book on that topic of conversation. That particular outburst didn't shame him; rather, it had calmed him somewhat, like a volcano that had finally cooled. The noble crossed his legs. Miku's knowledge was what was important--everything else was not. "So in short, what you're saying is that the tattoo was an instrument used to trap disagreeable emotions and focus it on whomever was wearing the snake and holly design. The carrier probably went insane and died from the burden, correct?"

At length, he lowered his lashes to partially obscure cold eyes. He was watching her intently.

"I don't believe in luck. The one I had is gone, but what matters is if it has any lasting effects."

Miku met his stare with calm brown eyes and looked down at her fingers. There was something... disquieting about him, like an old house that creaked. "I wouldn't call it that. 'Disagreeable' sounds more as though you had a bad dinner. Aidou-kun," Miku lifted her eyes to his again and spoke in the softest whisper she had to offer, lest a nurse go by and hear her.

"Have you ever lost someone, I mean really, truly lost someone? Watched them die of fire or plague or suicide right before you? Chosen to nobly sacrifice themselves for the good of you? The emotion of wanting to do anything for those people, anything at all," Miku held her breath and thought of her mother for a moment, of her brother's softly-spoken words, of her father so alien to her and likely just as dead. "That's more than disagreeable isn't it? I suppose unless I saw this tattooed woman and was touched by her, I'd have no way of knowing if I'm truly correct, but... I think I am. It has to be something of no small value to you. Not some 'disagreeable emotion'." Miku stood up, and pushed her chair back in.

"And I told you, they didn't go insane and die. They turned into ash. God knows where the victims go, except that manor, and good luck extracting them from there. I'm going back to Ritsuka-kun now." The little photographer turned and started walking away. "So, please be careful, or so kindly throw me before that woman. I'm sure she has a story herself."

The corner of his mouth twisted slightly, but that was all the outward reaction he allowed himself. Obviously, you stupid little human. "I know you're more intelligent than your words, Miku-chan," said the vampire. As was his nature, the endearment was laced with a barb. He took the insinuation as something of an insult, but it was also the disconnect between vampire and human that made him bristle. For a vampire, the fear of loss was small and yet profoundly large, a callous paradox. More so for a noble of his stature. And even more so for a pureblood.

Value, she said? In comparison to vampire life, the value of a human's was inconsequential. No matter how terrifying or vile the death, no matter the person, it was just... less. Less than his worry over Akatsuki. Certainly less than watching Hio Shizuka's still beating heart being torn out of her chest.

"Better be careful yourself, Miku-chan." The tip of his index finger tapped the tabletop once, twice, silently. If she wanted to run back to Aoyagi and his petty relationship problems, let her. "You might just suffer the same."

Whatever he thought of Miku's reaction throughout the conversation was severely outweighed by his own circling thoughts. She knew of lore he didn't, but as with most things in Landel's Institute, her ideas of what should or would happen weren't corporeal inside these walls. Turning to ash, a manor... none of it was taking effect here, and as such, it didn't help. With an ex-human to deal with, there were still no pieces of information fitting entirely into place...

And to think they saw his desperation as unwarranted!

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Day 29: Cafeteria, Brunch

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