ext_201968 ([identity profile] whiteychan.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] damned_institute2008-02-09 03:17 am

Day 30: Cafeteria, Breakfast

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]

[identity profile] inb4crazy.livejournal.com 2008-02-10 07:22 pm (UTC)(link)
Mion wasn't sure when she had woken up and when she had fallen to sleep. Everything was a blur right now... Her head was in considerably less pain than the night before, but to say it still didn't hurt some would be a lie. Still... What had happened last night? She had been taken, and then that doctor had... Mion closed her eyes tightly and ran her hand through her hair, found the missing spot of hair... Underneath that was cold steel that had been skull up until... a few hours ago? Who knew?

But now she could really focus. Forcing herself last night hopefully had led everyone to believe she was relatively okay... Which she was now, mentally anyway. Physically... she was doing better. No more of those sickening... thoughts. She'd been scared and tortured, it was understandable to think like that, right...? Mion's heart screamed "Hell no! You should never doubt your friends, no matter what! What kind of leader are you!?" at her.

Mion tried to move out of the bed. She felt weak, but... but at least no one would have to carry her around today. Good.

Arlene and Celes were adults. Adults she trusted just as equally as anyone else, but adults all the same. Celes was a general, to boot, and Arlene was... whatever Arlene was. On the other hand, Hanyuu was a child and Rena was one of her best friends. She wanted to both tell Rena about exactly what had happened... and keep it from her and pretend she was fine. The latter would do for now... and just as she decided that, the nurse walked in.

And so the day began as it seemed most days would begin here. She would be led to breakfast, she would eat, pointless daytime things would happen (she'd have to make them fun! maybe start up another club? It couldn't hurt to try, could it?), dinner would go, and then nightshift would come; then just rinse and repeat the previous steps until dead or insane. She smiled at little at that thought, grabbing a large quantity of yogurt for her morning meal. She didn't feel like having to chew anything right now. Selecting somewhere where she hopefully wouldn't be bothered (or was it so she stood out by herself and someone would come bother her?) and started to eat.

[identity profile] quickdrawbkiddo.livejournal.com 2008-02-10 07:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Beatrix was a little late getting up in the morning, the lingering thoughts of Mion and the panic of not knowing where her daughter was had trapped her in sleep longer than she'd wished. The ex-assassin did not speak to the nurse at all when she came on to collect her, the only thing keeping her from attacking the woman was the need to see Mion and her injuries under a better light.

The Bride scanned the cafeteria with cold, angry eyes. She saw Hanyuu and narrowed her eyes in irritation at the small girl, but would talk to Hanyuu later. The Bride decided she'd actually eat, feeling the raw grip of hunger in her gut after several days of not eating as well as being very distracted by the sight of Mion sitting by herself.

Beatrix picked up a bowl of cereal, a glass of orange juice and an apple before making her way directly to Mion's side. She set the tray down, her eyes automatically scanning the immediate area for possible threats against her ward, before sitting down. Her facial expression shifted to that of the concerned mother as she turned her eyes upon Mion.

"How are you feeling, honey?" she asked in soft warm voice, reaching her hand out to lightly comb her fingers through Mion's green hair.

[identity profile] inb4crazy.livejournal.com 2008-02-12 08:13 am (UTC)(link)
Mion hadn't noticed Arlene's arrival, too absorbed in her own thoughts - which were currently focused on a certain brown haired boy she and Rena had left behind back in Hinamizawa. The club's magician of words, she was sure he'd have something stupid to say that would cheer her up right about now... He did that very well, and he could probably help her think of a way out of this mess too. Or at the least pose for her in a nurse outfit she'd steal. Now that was a comforting thought...

And then suddenly there was a hand in her hair, which was attatched to her head by the way; which in turn meant there was a hand touching a place she absolutely did not want anyone other than herself touching for a while. So it was no surprise that the surprise of someone's touch made Mion nearly leap out of her seat, as she choked on her yogurt and grabbed her glass to down some water.

After a few coughs and scooting over just a little, Mion looked over at the woman, slightly panicked at first but calming a little when she recognized who it was. Just why was she always so nice to her? She had only known her for, what, a day or two? It didn't make any sense. Maybe it was all false, that she was just trying to get close to her... for what purpose? That thing the doctor had talked about last night? That was in her head? ... What had he said...? She could barely remember their exact conversation, just... pain. No, that was wrong, Arlene was nice, Arlene protected them. She was a good person, and that was that. Still, she decided, she'd be a little more cautious from now on, with everybody she didn't know from home here, which meant Rena was the only person exempt.

"W-Well, uh. This old man has been better...?" Mion finally said after a nice long breath.

[identity profile] quickdrawbkiddo.livejournal.com 2008-02-12 12:14 pm (UTC)(link)
Beatrix pulled her fingers out of the hair as Mion started, not wanting them to get caught in any tangles and hurt the girl. She moved the hand down to rub the girl's back between her shoulder blades.

"I would expect so," she replied. She tilted her head to get a better look at the location of injury on the girl. One could say she had extensive intimate knowledge with head injuries.

In fact, she gestured to the bandages. "May I? I promise I'll be gentle you can make me do one of those penalty game things you're so fond of if I'm not."

[identity profile] inb4crazy.livejournal.com 2008-02-15 03:40 am (UTC)(link)
Mion tensed up at first, but the feeling that came didn't exactly hurt... so she let Arlene do her thing. It actually felt good... though after last night, Mion wasn't entirely sure what good felt like anymore.

"May you... what?" Mion asked slowly, glancing from Arlene back to her food, and then back to Arlene again. She... didn't want to be touched there, but if Arlene really wanted to, she could probably overpower her... Not that Arlene seemed to be in "danger mode" right now, but then again Rena was well known for going into "take home mode" on the flip of a switch.

[identity profile] quickdrawbkiddo.livejournal.com 2008-02-15 03:51 am (UTC)(link)
The Bride continued to soothingly rub Mion's back, trying to keep her calm.

"I would like to briefly examine your injury so I can have a better idea how long it will take to heal," she replied, her voice soft and gentle.

She knew from her own experience with head injuries that the girl probably didn't want to let her, but she also knew things would be better if Mion did let her. It would also give her a good idea of exactly how much pain to inflict upon those responsible before she killed them. She hoped her offer of partaking in one of those idiotic games Mion liked so damn much would ease her into allowing it. Ridiculous that she'd consider it, but when it came to children, especially those she'd taken under her protection, she'd put up with an awful lot.

Beatrix watched Mion with caring eyes, an odd thing to see in the normally icy blue color. "I'm not going to ask you what they did, because I don't want you to have to relive it. It's also something I trust you'll tell me when you feel comfortable enough with me. But I do want to check your wound."

"Please, Mion? I'm not going to hurt you. Promise."

[identity profile] inb4crazy.livejournal.com 2008-02-15 04:26 am (UTC)(link)
"W-Well..." Mion was silent for a few moments. She was really at a loss... Finally, taking deep breath, she closed her eyes and told Arlene it would be okay... so long as she was very gentle. "It's stiched, somehow, too, so... I'm not sure if you'll be able to tell anything..."

[identity profile] quickdrawbkiddo.livejournal.com 2008-02-15 04:44 am (UTC)(link)
Beatrix shifted closer to Mion. "We'll see," she replied quietly. "If something hurts, let me know." Gently, Beatrix put her fingertips to the bandages at the base of Mion's head. Carefully, she probed the area, feeling some scar tissue, stitches and...

The Bride's lips turned down in a faint frown before she moved even closer to the girl. She ran her fingers over the area again, exerting just a tad bit more pressure as she did. Her eyes turned a little cold as she found the edges of the plate. If she didn't have personal experience with such things, she might not have caught it. She was going to kill all those responsible for this just as she'd killed Bill and the Deadly Vipers.

"Bastards," she swore in a whisper as she removed her hands.

She moved back away from Mion, giving the girl a bit space, and blinked a few times, forcing the murderous desire to leave her eyes. Yet, she could not make the knowing look leave them.

"The external injuries seem like they'll heal pretty quickly. The rest..." She paused as she looked at Mion for a long moment. "Well, eventually you get used to it. I'm sorry, Mion."

[identity profile] inb4crazy.livejournal.com 2008-02-15 05:24 am (UTC)(link)
"It's... okay, I guess... I mean, it's not, but... You know what I mean," Mion was feeling a little calmer now. admittedly she would have preferred if Arlene hadn't touched her at all, but... Well, at least that was over with. And the wandering thoughts of Arlene wanting to hurt her seemed to have passed too.

"Say..." Mion paused. Speaking of Arlen wanting to hurt her... She wanted to ask, even if she was still probably not in the best of shape. "Do you think... maybe tomorrow, or even tonight, we could try again for that training...?"

[identity profile] quickdrawbkiddo.livejournal.com 2008-02-15 05:30 am (UTC)(link)
"I'm sorry, honey, but not tonight. Maybe tomorrow, but definitely not tonight," she said, an apologetic look on her face even though her eyes did not change. "I want you to stay in your room tonight."

She reached out to rub the girl's back again lightly. "We'll talk about it again, once you've gotten... used to the weight... balance adjustments and some of the mild trauma has passed." She sighed. "It's going to be weird... for a while."

[identity profile] inb4crazy.livejournal.com 2008-02-15 05:52 am (UTC)(link)
"My room? All night?" Mion gave Arlene a defiant look, but it faded quickly. It was probably for the best... But she didn't want anyone thinking she was weak, espescially after her first two nights here and now last night. She was the club leader! She was being a failure of a club leader and Sonozaki heiress! She should make it so Rena doesn't have to worry about her, or have to rescue her, and the same went for Hanyuu and Arlene and Celes! "... Tomorrow then. I'm not gonna take no for an answer, either."

Weird... Weird was a good word for it. "Painful" and "sick" also came to mind, but it was too late for that, now wasn't it?

[identity profile] quickdrawbkiddo.livejournal.com 2008-02-15 06:04 am (UTC)(link)
A ghost of a smile touched the Bride's lips as she saw the defiant look on Mion's face. She really did like the girl. And she was smart, too, realizing she should be cautious this first night.

"Tomorrow, then. You stay in your room tonight and work on your balance through stretching exercises. If you move the mattress off your bed and set it on the ground by the wall between the desk and the closet, you can even do a few handstands to further improve your balance with something soft there for the first few times you fall," she replied. "You do those things, adjust to the weight and placement of the plate and work on stilling your mind, and I'll have no qualms starting your training tomorrow night."

[identity profile] inb4crazy.livejournal.com 2008-02-16 10:07 pm (UTC)(link)
"Alright... By this time tomorrow, this old man will be the most ballanced person in this entire dump! You can bet on it!" Mion nodded, taking care to repeat the words Arlene had said to her over in her mind, so she'd remember them when night finally came. And maybe she'd get lucky and nothing bad would happen... though she had been wondering why monsters simply didn't walk into rooms and kill off the patients within.

[identity profile] quickdrawbkiddo.livejournal.com 2008-02-16 10:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Beatrix chuckled lightly and smiled at the girl. "Just don't push yourself too much, alright? If you start to feel woozy, take some time to sit down. If you force yourself too much, your body might try to reject that plate and you really don't want that to happen." Not everyone had four years of a coma to let the body accept something so foreign as a metal plate in the head.

Her eyes narrowed then at the sounds reaching her from across the cafeteria. She turned partway in her seat to watch the fight breaking out on the other side. As long as it stayed over there and did not endanger Mion, the Bride would let things be.