damned_institute | 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]

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Claire bit her lower lip and stared into her cereal, trying very hard not to fall apart. Despite her efforts, she still felt tears starting to slip down, and was vaguely aware that her shoulders were shaking.

Why? Peter was so strong, so brave to have saved her...what could have killed him?

All questions got stuck in her throat and she continued to cry pitifully at a complete stranger.

Wesker had been in quite a good mood this morning, after having confirmed that the virus remained in his blood. The fact that Birkin had his as well was both pleasing and troubling. The G-virus was unpredictable after all.

However, the good mood vanished when he noticed a strange man talking to Claire. Whatever he said seemed to have upset her quite a bit, and Wesker immediately changed his path to head towards Claire rather than to sit at a table.

"Claire."

He would not tolerate anyone attempting to manipulate or harm his 'daughter'.

Nathan pinched the bridge of his nose, not sure exactly what he was supposed to do in this situation. She didn't remember him, had no idea who he was or why he'd come to talk to her. He briefly contemplated limping around the table to give her an awkward hug; who knew? Maybe it would be good for both of them.

But then the approach of someone else, a stranger, changed all of that. Who the hell did this guy think he was, barging in on a private conversation without even so much as an 'excuse me?' Nathan shot an irritated glance at the newcomer.

"Hey, do you mind, pal?"

Claire sniffed and looked up at Wesker, thankful for his timely approach.

"I'm fine," she said unconvincingly, trying her best to calm herself. If only there weren't so many eyes on her, she'd feel better.

Desperately trying to wipe her tears away, she tried to form some kind of explanation for her tears...but a new lump formed in her throat, and in the end she wasn't able to say a thing.

"Yes, I do mind," Wesker glared at Nathan from behind his sunglasses, placing a hand on Claire's shoulder. Possessively, protectively. After all, the two were quite hard to distinguish from one another.

"Don't worry, Claire. I can take care of this," This man had picked the wrong girl to pick on. Wesker didn't recognize him, and they had just had new patients brought in.

He would have to keep an eye on this one.

Nathan stood up, probably not seeming all that threatening but making an effort nonetheless. It was actually a welcome distraction from the pity party they'd been having just a second ago. Anything to forget, and anger? Anger was good at making you forget.

He wasn't about to throw a punch yet or get in the guy's face; anyone with half their senses could tell he wasn't any kind of fighter, but there was something there, territory that this random stranger was encroaching on.

"Get your hands off my daughter," he challenged the other, eyes narrowed and fists clenched. It was quite clear that he didn't realize exactly what he was saying.

Claire choked on a sob, staring wide eyed at Nathan before turning her gaze to Wesker, and then back to Nathan.

"What?" she asked.

This wasn't right. True, they'd never exactly taken a DNA test, but she'd just grown accustomed to having Wesker as her father while he was trapped in this place.

How could this man be her father? Is that why Peter had come for her that night? Claire's gaze rested on Nathan, waiting for some kind of answer.

This man was... well. It was entirely possible, there was a very low probability that Wesker had actually fathered Claire. It was also unlikely she was even from his 'reality' if that theory was to be accepted as true.

Wesker glared at the man as he tried to look threatening. "I am not going to hit you, but I have been putting up with far too much hell in this place to tolerate this for long. Either explain yourself immediately or get out of my sight."

Thankfully, he wasn't wearing his coat this morning, and the strong, well-defined muscles of his arms were visible. The scrubs were too loose to provide much definition on his chest, but it was quite obvious that Wesker was in much better physical condition.

"Because you are not her father."

With that said, he moved to stand protectively in front of Claire and keep this new threat away from her. Even if this guy did have some power, Wesker was not concerned. He had taken on much tougher opponents, he was sure.

Nathan's brave face didn't falter, but inwardly his core shook at Claire's understandably confused response. His mind raced, tackled every question from how he'd gotten so careless with his words to why this stranger was being so protective of Claire. Of course, he had no real answer for the first one, but the guy, on first glance, certainly couldn't passed for a fine employee of the Company. Sure, he was dressed in the same, silly get-up as the rest of them, but he could have easily been planted amongst them to stir things up. Nathan's eyes narrowed further.

"I don't see how any of this is your business," Nathan replied sharply. "This is between Claire and I, so it would be greatly appreciated if you would give us some space."

I've got a lot of explaining to do.

Day 30: Cafeteria, Breakfast

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