Day 30: Cafeteria, Breakfast

[whiteychan.livejournal.com]

Hitsugaya woke with a start.

His entire body ached, but the pain was nowhere near as bad as it had been the night before. His injuries had been tended two with clean gauze and bandages, and he found every movement wasn't agony. He wasn't in the best of shape, but thanks to the miracle of landel's strange time distortion, he had mostly recovered from the vile poison without having to waste anyone else's talents.

And in his hand, still...there was the key.

He dressed quickly, sliding the key onto the key ring from his desk drawer and stuck it into his pocket. Whether the key stood to gain them anything or not, it stood as a vital reminder that they could succeed in this place. There was hope, as insignificant as it often seemed. They could beat this place.

That small shred of hope made getting up worth it.

The nurse who escorted him to breakfast was cheerful, and commented idly about how wonderful it was to see young Tommy Winters up and about again after his unfortunate run-in with a bad case of food poisoning. He smirked slightly, knowing that any lies the institute forced into their heads were only that: lies. He wouldn't buy it for a second. And on top of that, the concept of muffins sounded almost appetizing. While he still preferred his authentic Japanese cuisine, the food here was slowly becoming more and more bearable. He would have preferred a warm bowl of sweet nattou over rice over the mufffins, but they would do. The plain yogurt and fruit, on the other hand, was excellent. He piled his plate high with fruit as usual, and got several small bowls of yogurt as well.

Finding the most convenient table to the end of the food line, he took a seat and scanned for the new arrivals. New arrivals meant people who would be lost and confused. Renji did a good job of making a bulliten post last time...he should recommend abarai-fukutaicho do the same again this time.

[Waiting for Angel]

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[endlessjune.livejournal.com]

It was very disorienting to wake up in her room when she knew that she was elsewhere, and that something terrible had happened in that elsewhere. Like she may have died, but instead of returning to the Purple World for a brief moment, she was immediately thrust into the next.

But this was Landels; there was no other world. Rika knew that much. Which was why she was very, very worried when she couldn't find Edward anywhere (but perhaps she just couldn't see him: she was rather short), and Bella seemed to evade her sight as well. But they must have survived!

Somehow.

The only comforting sight before her was Hanyuu, eating something that must have been very sweet from the delighted look on her friend's face. Rika gave a soft smile, actually glad that her longtime friend could enjoy the physical pleasures of the world.

"Hanyuu, don't eat too much. You will get cavities and the dentist will have to pluck your teeth out," Rika cheerfully "greeted" her friend, sitting next to her. Rika didn't have a tray of food with her; food could wait until later.

[meironohosoku.livejournal.com]

Hearing her friends voice, Hanyuu looked up and swallowed another bite of the cinnamon rolls before replying, "Auauu. A couple cinnamon rolls won't hurt, Rika."

Did this place even care about dental hygiene? Wait... On second thought, the doctors that were here were probably bad enough. She didn't want to see any dentists around here too.

...oh, right! She had wanted to speak with Rika about something important. Why did sweet things have to be so distracting?

"I'm glad you're here though, Rika," Hanyuu began again, pushing her tray away so she wouldn't be distracted. "There are some things I need to tell you, but first I... I want to ask, were you okay last night? I left you alone, again, and... Well, you're here so you must be okay, but I'm sorry for leaving you alone like that."

[endlessjune.livejournal.com]

"It starts with a couple, and then next thing you know, you're on your twenty-seventh," Rika smiled back. She waved away Hanyuu's concerns about last night: After all, she had chosen to go with Bella and Edward. Hanyuu doubtless had more important things to do, though Rika hoped to stay with her friend tonight.

"I wanted to check with some friends, and we left to explore. I am fine, but..." She trailed off, deciding not to pursue the subject. It was best to wait and see if Edward and Bella had escaped safely, as Rika hardly had any memory of the actual incident.

"So, what are these things you want to tell me?"

[meironohosoku.livejournal.com]

Hanyuu couldn't help but smile slightly at Rika's light teasing. It was comforting, in a way, to know they could speak normally even when in a place such as this. Although her smile disappeared as Rika briefly told what she had done the previous night. She was a little concerned with the way Rika had trailed off, but she wouldn't press the issue. If it was important, she trusted her friend to fill her in.

"This place is even more dangerous than we thought. I don't know if it happens every night or not, but a few patients are sometimes taken once night falls. They do... things, experiments to those patients. Although it's closer to torture, according to what Rena said." And with the bloody bandages that had covered Mion's head, Hanyuu had no doubts about that.

"I only know this, because... because Mion was taken last night. I really can't say what they did to her, but the important thing is she's still alive. We haven't lost anyone as far as I know but, if this really is our last chance, we need to be very careful."

[endlessjune.livejournal.com]

Taken? Rika's eyes narrowed as she listened to Hanyuu's short story, of patients who were taken from their rooms and... experimented on? But what for?

"Mion was taken?!" Rika gasped, eyes widening at the news. Mion?! She had been fooling around last night while one of her dear friends was captured and toyed with by scientists?!

"Hanyuu, what happened to her?" The little girl begged, looking into her friend's eyes. Hanyuu said that Mion was still alive, but just because she was 'alive' didn't mean that she was well. "Please, do you know what they did to her?"

Rika couldn't believe this! She was used to being targeted, but now she had to worry about her friends being targets!

[meironohosoku.livejournal.com]

"I don't know," Hanyuu replied, shaking her head sadly. "Arlene wouldn't let me go with them to rescue her, and by the time I did manage to get back into the hall, they were already returning with her. There were bandages wrapped around her head, too. They were... They were bloody, so I can only guess they did something to her head." Somehow, that sounded much worse when she said it out loud. Maybe because, though she had seen it, repeating it for someone else made it that much more real?

"Mion was awake by the time I saw her, though. She was aware enough of her surroundings to recognise me, and she was able to talk, too." It had seemed to take some effort, but she had still spoke up. Even in this place after going through whatever torture they had put her through, Mion had still tried to put on a brave face.

[endlessjune.livejournal.com]

Her head... no, could it be? Rika didn't know much about the Hinamizawa Syndrome admittedly, as she only knew that she was the Queen and that it was partially responsible for her endless cycling of worlds, but she did know that Irie and Takano had told her that it was caused by a parasite in the brain.

Rika hung her head and nodded as Hanyuu explained. That did sound like Mion, always trying to put up a brave front in the worst of times. She felt responsible, somehow. If they were interested in the Hinamizawa syndrome, why did they not take Rika? Was it because she left her room, before they came? At least Rika was used to being poked and prodded with needles and scalpels.

"I... I should have been with you. I should have helped," Rika mumbled. "I am sorry, Hanyuu. I should have sought you out sooner."

[meironohosoku.livejournal.com]

It saddened Hanyuu to see Rika like this. The other girl had already been through so much, more than what any human being should have been forced to go through. Hanyuu wanted to see her friend happy-- truly happy. She wanted to see them all happy, but that would not happen here, would it? This place only brought about false illusions of hope, that would then dissolve into sadness and... eventually, death.

The Rules in this place may have been different than in Hinamizawa, but the result would still be the same.

Still, Hanyuu could think about that later, when she was alone. Right now she was with Rika, and she wanted to try and help the other girl feel better. Even in the least bit.

Reaching out, the spirit took Rika's hands in her own. "Rika, listen to me. Even Rena, who has been here longer than we have, hadn't known they would ever take Mion. No one could have known that. Besides, if anyone should apologize, it's me. I told you earlier in the day I wouldn't leave you, but that's exactly what I did. I should have insisted that you come with us."

It was no secret that Hanyuu often felt responsible for the things that happened in the various worlds. And Hanyuu would rather accept blame of this too, if it meant Rika would feel better.

[endlessjune.livejournal.com]

It was OK for Rena not to know. Rika was the one who had known everything before, so being out of the loop now was something that she was not used to, and something that she didn't think she could get used to.

That familiar pessimism was growing on her, and Hanyuu's apologizing wasn't really helping her. Hanyuu was always apologizing, and what good did that ever do? But at least this time, Hanyuu actually did something, and she helped rescue Mion.

"It's alright. I will come with you tonight, whatever you will be doing. I'll speak to Rena and Mion as well," Rika decided. "I'll let you off the hook today, since it was my fault we did not meet together."

She still was concerned for Mion though. Glancing around the cafeteria, Rika couldn't find her green-haired friend, but maybe after breakfast she and Hanyuu could seek Mion out.

[meironohosoku.livejournal.com]

Hanyuu couldn't help but feel relieved when Rika stated she would come along tonight. She wasn't entirely sure what she was going to be doing once night fell, but knowing Rika would be there was reassuring.

"I'm sure they'll be ha... u-um..." Hanyuu wasn't sure if saying they'd be happy to see Rika was the right thing or not. She knew how close the club members were but how could anyone be happy to see a friend here? Especially after last night?

"...I'm sure they'll be glad to hear from you, too." That wasn't all that different, but it would have to do.

There was something else she had wanted to ask Rika, too. It may not have seemed as important as informing her of what had happened to Mion, but Hanyuu still felt it was worth knowing.

"I know there are more pressing matters right now, but do you know what room you're in?" the spirit asked after some hesitation. "After last night, I think it would be a good idea to know where everyone is-- or where they should be. That way we have a way on checking on each other if... anything like this happens again." Hanyuu sincerely hoped it didn't, but it couldn't hurt to be prepared for the worst. The worst always seemed to happen, after all. "Rena is in F2, while Mion is in F25, and I am in F6."