Day 30: Cafeteria, Dinner

[captain-hunam.livejournal.com]

The cafeteria was all but empty when Zelnick got there. He was a little disappointed; he had gotten the impression that patients usually ate dinner in their rooms, so he hadn't arranged to meet anyone, and there really wasn't anyone to sit by and engage in conversation yet.

Quietly, he collected dinner and a big glass of orange juice, and chose a seat near the food-serving counters. Talking for so long had made him thirsty... and, well, fruit juice was a luxury he had missed.

[Stalk away, my dearest Admiral. <3 ]

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[thecoming-storm.livejournal.com]

"...a few days ago," Naoto replied carefully, not quite sure how to respond to such excitement. His hand slipped around Naoya's waist in a gesture meant to be calming and comforting. Naoya was far too nervous for his liking.

Something was wrong. Or was going to be wrong.

"It's nice to meet you both."

[entropy-effect.livejournal.com]

The gesture had the effect Naoto had been hoping for, to an extent. Naoya's shoulders relaxed somewhat, yet the young man didn't release his brother's sleeve, a childish part of him hoping that the small act would keep his brother from going anywhere.

Even if nothing was going to happen, he didn't want to take chances. The near panic was almost tangible and until he could figure out what was causing it... He fought back a worried frown as he moved closer to his brother before turning his attention back to Hokuto and Subaru.

"I'm sorry, Sumeragi-san, I didn't mean to forget you... How have you both been?"

[broken-babylon.livejournal.com]

"You must have arrived shortly after I did, then, Naoto-san." Hopefully Naoto hadn't spent a night and most of the next day out cold in his room like Subaru had. He probably had more experience with the nighttime monsters than Subaru did, even, since Subaru had missed his first night. Speaking of which... "Ah, I apologise, Naoya-san, but I don't remember much of our first meeting, since I got feverish later and ended up sick in bed."

[akarusa.livejournal.com]

Hokuto slipped an arm around Subaru's and leaned her head on his shoulder for a moment. She'd worried so much when she only knew he was probably still here... after a moment, though, she said "You need to gain some weight." She knew just by looking at him that he was too thin to be healthy, but in areas that were bony anyway it was even more pronounced.

They didn't know how much time together they would have, but that wasn't going to stop her from... anything. She needed to get Subaru to take better care of himself, without prompting, but as long as she was with him, she had no problem getting right back into her old role.

She smiled at Naoya and sat up, reaching for her plate again. "I'm doing well. This place has a lot of interesting people; I met this girl..."

Right as she said it, she thought she felt something odd... uh-oh. She touched her nose cautiously, and her fingers came away with blood on them. Hokuto flinched and grabbed a napkin; after a moment, she said sheepishly, "And I fell down in the shower today."

[entropy-effect.livejournal.com]

Naoya gave Subaru a small, almost sheepish smile. He didn't want to worry anyone with the details of their meeting, but at the same time, he didn't want the other man to feel bad for forgetting.

"That's alright, there wasn't much to remember on my part." He had spent most of the time unconscious on the floor. Naoya glanced at his brother, slighter calmer at the constant reassuring contact at his side. Nothing was going to happen. He was just worrying and it was eating up his insides, twisting around like a bunch of snakes.

And suddenly Hokuto was bleeding. Naoya's eyes widened frantically at the sight and the young man leaned forward abruptly. "Sumeragi-san?! Your nose...! Are you alright?!"

[broken-babylon.livejournal.com]

Subaru reddened a little, at being scolded about his weight in front of relative strangers. It was true, though, he tended to forget to eat when he was working, without someone to remind him. "I'll be okay. Meals are scheduled here, so I can't forget." But it would take time for a year's worth of under-eating to reverse itself. Not that he'd ever been anything but skinny.

Sighing a little at Hokuto, Subaru offered her a fresh napkin, in case the one she had wasn't enough to quell the nosebleed. "Hokuto-chan... maybe you should stay in tonight. The blood could attract monsters."

Ah, so much going on at once. Subaru nodded to Naoya, smiling a little in return. "In any case, I'm pleased to meet you again under slightly better circumstances." No circumstances around here were good, of course, but this was much better than the first time they'd met, at least.

[akarusa.livejournal.com]

Hokuto waved Subaru off sheepishly; she'd known this might happen and had extra napkins for a reason. "I'll be fine," she assured. "Tonight's mission doesn't involve any treasure-hunting, and that's when the really tough monsters tend to show up." Usually. Mapping out the basement didn't sound too bad in itself... until you realized it meant going through previously unexplored areas, which amounted to going in blindly. Therefore, she was keeping as quiet as possible on what they were doing.

"What about you two?" Oh, man, her voice sounded even worse when she was trying to talk to someone more than a foot away...