Day 31: Sun Room (Fourth Shift)

[screwthegods]

Though perhaps not entirely as successful as he wanted it to be, Homura walked away from lunch feeling satisfied with his efforts. Roland and Fai both had shown interest in the goal, and that was enough for the moment. Homura could be patient, had already been for five hundred years, and felt no harm in waiting another five hundred if he had to. He would have his goals realized, no matter what obstacles he faced, be they from the prison or those trapped within.

But now was time for business of a different sort, and the demi-god made his way to the Sun Room, near the common board. He made sure he could be seen from the entrance to the cafeteria, knowing that one stranger and one member of his own group both wanted to meet with him. It worked out well enough, especially given that the stated purpose of the History Club was simple.

Revenge and escape.

For now, Homura had no intention of revealing that it'd grown more complicated than that.

[Waiting for L and Junior]

Comments

[el-lolly-eat.livejournal.com]

“If you prefer to allow them to choose for themselves, then I simply have to accept that fact.” L stated. Though, it would certainly make things harder on him if something new came up. It didn’t seem likely that he could push the matter further.

As for the question regarding how long L was going to be able to keep this up, he chose not to provide the man with a definite answer. His assumption regarding L’s strategy was not exactly accurate. This study would start off requiring constant reports, but that didn’t mean that he’d needed to receive them daily from each group. Nor would he have need for it to be conducted at such a constant rate after a certain period of time. It all depended on the kind of results he got. “Did I say that I was planning on using the same tactics for each group?” L countered lifting his head up from the wall and rubbing his fingers against the area where his forehead had landed.

“What do you have in mind?” He asked, finally turning to face the man.

[screwthegods]

At least L wasn't trying to push the issue. It was ultimately a good thing, since none of the men Homura worked with were entirely open to the idea of playing games by some random stranger's rules. That was Homura's problem to deal with, and he'd rather not make it worse for this person.

"Something that will simply prove that this will be worth the effort. I don't have any specific challenge for you." Homura didn't look at L then, but at one of the bulletins he had put up earlier in the day. He had little time left to come up with assignments for that night, and some of his major players not spoken for in his group. It made things all the more difficult, especially given the injuries, and the special requests of Adelheid.

Homura was going to have to have another talk with the boy, as much as he might not care to at the moment.

[el-lolly-eat.livejournal.com]

The request was easier said than done. L could provide the man with anything, and no matter how strong his observations were, Homura could still decide not to help him in this matter. If L provided something of value, he would be walking away with free information. He had to make sure that whatever answer he provided him was good, but not overly helpful.

He thought for a moment, considering what information to provide the man. Then after a moment, L offered him an answer; “I noticed that there are no devices in town to keep track of time. Usually you would see clocks or calendars but I couldn’t even locate a wristwatch. They are absent in the institute as well, as I am sure you have realized.

“This I find rather peculiar, as a town should at least have some way of measuring time. It is a necessity. Their daily lives tend to depend on it, from when they wake up, to when they work, how much they get paid, when they return home, when they go to bed… Yet somehow they all know. Even when it came to the date, they could clearly tell me that it was October 31st when I asked.

“As for the nurses, during the time I noticed no visible apparatus that would have enabled them to communicate or know the time. Yet, they all knew exactly when the patients needed to be collected and brought back to the busses.” L looked thoughtful for a moment, biting at his nail “I am not saying that it is definite, but it leads me to believe that the town and the institute may somehow be linked, as they share many of the same qualities. This is quite a disturbing thought as it would seem that Dr. Landel’s influence reaches beyond these walls. Who to what extent?”

[screwthegods]

"No, I hadn't noticed." Likely for a different reason; gods weren't so keen of keeping track of time as humans. For mortals it was a matter of dwindling days, each one passing that much closer to their own deaths. For gods, divisions of time were unnecessary, simply a way of dividing the torturous boredom of Heaven. Homura had learned about such things early on, from the way light shifted into his cell, and how his guards moved about. He hadn't started caring about it until recently, however. Just before he was brought to this prison, in those days when there simply wasn't enough time to accomplish all he had needed to before his age caught up with him.

Time had become much more important once Homura himself was dying. But that was neither here nor there.

The observation was a good one, and for now satisfied Homura. Particularly the last part: how far did Landel's grasp reach indeed? Were the visitors kept prisoner on the facility, or did they live the lives assigned to them off site, in the town they had visited? Homura himself planned to find out the next time they went to that town, but that trip was several days away. Hopefully he would learn much more before then, including from the stranger beside him.

"You haven't told me your name." And the man probably still wouldn't, but at least Homura would have some means to address him. "Or how you plan on getting the information from me. I'm willing enough to go with it for now. At the very least, until we see if something useful will come out of it."

And until he learned more about the man beside him. Though Homura couldn't speak for Mustang, Hitsugaya might not be so interested in L's motives. Homura, on the other than, was far more suspicious, particularly of anyone who made it obvious that they were hiding something. Perhaps it would have something to do with their mutual imprisonment, or not. But Homura was a curious person, someone who sought to understand how people worked.

That understanding was invaluable in Heaven, and no doubt would be here as well.

[el-lolly-eat.livejournal.com]

“Unless signed otherwise or unrelated to business, Lamont is the name I require you to use should you have need to communicate with me on the bulletin board. Outside of that, you may address me as Hideki Ryuga. As for your other concern, I don’t believe that it would too much of an issue if you simply have your group keep a record and deliver a report every two days to M77.” L answered flatly, nearly escaping his statement being interrupted by the intercom signaling the end of the shift.

He calmly put the pen he was using away and glanced over at his nurse who was approaching to escort him to his room “In any case, I appreciate the time you took out of your schedule to meet with me.” L said offering Homura a quick smile in courtesy before making his departure.