damned_institute | Day 32: Sun Room (4th Shift)

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Day 32: Sun Room (4th Shift)

It was rare that Homura's nurse try to persuade him to a scheduled activity, but then, it was rare that Homura didn't go. But the demi-god had plans, and the poor woman had little other choice but to leave in a huff as he once again settled himself near the bulletin board in the Sun Room.

His conversation with Kenren the previous shift had left the demi-god with a lingering sense of anxiety. Perhaps it was something only those from his own world could do, but none the less, he was all the more ready for night to begin now. Goals and memories, the truth of his past and the possibility of the future: all thoughts lingering on the forefront of his mind, more than enough motivation to move forward.

Impatience was something of a rush for an immortal, he'd discovered. Homura liked the feeling, the excitement even before he had arrived in this prison. And now while he waited, he savored it again, a yearning that shone so much brighter than the boredom of Heaven.

[Waiting for History Club Q&A time.]

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After a quick lunch consisting of him trying not to eat while his nurse reprimanded him, Okita escaped from the cafeteria and practically ran into the Sun Room to escape as soon as the shifts changed. The food was greasy, unrecognizable as anything edible and had been topped with pork. Like he was really going to eat that. His nurse had given him hell for it, but now he was free. Glancing around the room, Okita didn't spot Hijikata, but he did see Heiji already talking to someone and one other person he hadn't spoken to in quite awhile. Skipping across the room and leaving his nurse and that nasty food far behind, Okita moved over to the bulletin board and smiled at the demi-god seated beside it. "Waiting for someone, are we?"

"A few someones." A few late someones, which added a note of displeasure to Homura's voice. The demi-god, while considered by some more merciful than other citizens of Heaven, only gave out so many chances. If these people could not keep simple appointments during the day, how could Homura trust them to do anything at all during the night, when there were dangers and darkness both to contend with?

This was a different impatience than the waiting for night. Some things could be controlled, and they should be.

But Okita was a calming presence, and Homura leaned back against the wall, considering all the things he had to tell the man. "There are a few interesting people in this place." He didn't see the particular person of interest at the moment, but it wouldn't be hard to describe him to Okita. Hideki Ryuga was a very distinctive individual.

"You saw the bulletin asking everyone for various information from the next three nights, did you not?" If Okita hadn't, of course, their position next to the board would easily allow the man to catch up. "One of the individuals I met with yesterday asked for the same information regarding the monsters, and intends to ask the other group leaders as well." If he hadn't found the time already; it had been a whole day, and the leaders all seemed fairly willing to make time in their schedules.

"A young man with brown hair, and sunken eyes. He slouched when standing, and held his pen oddly between two fingers. He said to call him Hideki Ryuga in person, or Lamont on the board." And he had acted strangely enough to arouse Homura's interest. Perhaps it was nothing, and he simply was another patient working to get them all out. But as a diversion, this one wasn't a particularly bad way to spend someone's time during the day.

"I did agree to give him the information he requested. It's to be dropped off at M77 every other night. He wants to know about the monsters: where we encounter them, how many there are, how many patients there are, anything specific about the area, and who was there. I don't intend to give names, since I know you don't care for yours to be so openly known. But it will be interesting to see just what comes about because of these requests."

Homura's irritation didn't go unnoticed and Okita slid into the seat next to him, smiling easily. Those someones were late or were no-shows, apparently, and that was obviously grating on the demi-god's nerves. Okita could understand why, too. People who could not be trusted to keep appointments, could not be trusted to carry through with their missions at night.

"Yes, I saw the bulletin, I thought it very peculiar." Beyond stopping by to see it, Okita hadn't paid the information much mind. He could see where they were going, but he wanted to wait until they had real results before actively pursuing it. The fact that Homura had met with one of the posters, however, perked Okita's interest and his eyes wandered up to the board, giving it a quick once-over for further information.

"A young man with sunken eyes and a slouch...?" he repeated, trying to place the description. It rang a bell, but nothing clicked until Homura said M77. Hijikata's old room - Hijikata's old roommate, the one who called him John Doe. "Ah, I believe I met him briefly. He was one Hijikata-san's roommate and was there when I discovered his absence the first time. He's a very inquisitive young man." Not that it was a bad trait to have here, he thought. If this Hideki person wanted the information, then Okita would get it to him. He hadn't sensed malice in the boy, merely...shades. There was something off about him, but not in a bad way. "I'll take note of the information he asked for - last night we ran into one, a mismatched monster. I've dealt with something like it before."

"He is." That was easy enough to agree with, given what he was asking for. But if Ryuga was simply an inquisitive young man, Homura wouldn't be speaking of him. "He's also an observant one. He noticed that there is no way of keeping time, neither here nor in the town."

Did the fact matter? Homura couldn't tell yet, but he wasn't so willing to discount the issue entirely. There was no real way to tell what facts would lead them to victory in the end, and with such a grand goal, he refused to take any for granted. "I would like to find out more about him, however. To understand his motivations."

Why, always why. Perhaps it was so simple as escape, but again, no truth should be easily assumed or ignored. And there would be little good in putting too much faith or trust in a person who wasn't deserving of it.

"I've encountered something like that before as well." Homura glanced around the room, looking for his stray questioners as he spoke to the man seated next to him. "Various pieces of things put together to make some horror. Though the shadow was worse, in its own way. The mismatched are dangerous, but able to be fought."

Kunzite walked into a rather crowded sun room - at least, a bit more crowded than he had seen it previously - and headed immediately to the bulletin board. A soft curse escaped his lips; he had not meant to miss his scheduled encounter with Homura, but an ill feeling in his stomach - no doubt brought on by that odd-tasting melon - sidelined him for much of the shift. Kunzite was not one to go back on his word, and so he thus hoped that the man would be around again now; even armed with an extensive map of the place, his few excursions during the night provided him with few answers. Granted, the company he followed could have been better, but this ignorance was primarily his own fault. If he wanted answers, he would need to properly cooperate with others; using people here was out of the question, at least for the immediate future. This "History Club" surely seemed like a good place to start.

He saw Homura instantly: an anxious yet impatient individual, his eyes colored startlingly differently - more so than he expected - with his back to the wall at one side of the board. Kunzite walked to the man calmly, stopping a few feet in front of him and bowing. "You are Homura?" he asked, making sure he had the right individual. "I am Kunzite, and I apologize for missing our previously arranged rendezvous."

Itachi stalked into the Sun Room. He had lingered in the cafeteria after lunch, thinking about his strange encounter with the doctor, and now he was late for his meeting with Homura. That was unacceptable. It didn't matter that the therapy session had disoriented him, or that he hadn't seen Sasuke at all today -- attack him whenever, wherever, indeed -- he shouldn't be late to a meeting.

He instantly spotted a man who fit the description standing by the bulletin board. As Itachi walked toward him, another patient stepped forward and introduced himself. Itachi felt suspicious before he remembered that Homura had mentioned two people missing the earlier meeting. This must be the other man. "I also apologize for missing the meeting, Homura-san. I am Uchiha Itachi."

Hideki Ryuga. His inquisitiveness and his observant nature were two things that made Okita want to avoid him. It was very, very rare that he found anyone who could get too close to the truth with him, but the way Hideki looked at him... It was unnerving. Moving on to the topic of monsters seemed a good way to get away from the shadow of Hideki and the painful memories their brief meeting brought, so he turned to that instead. "Yes, the shadow was a bit annoying. At least we know now though."

He was about to say more when two people appeared - a tallish man with black hair and Uchiha Itachi. Okita wondered if this person was the one Sasuke was looking for on the board. A sibling perhaps? "Well, it looks like all the lost ducklings are beginning to gather," he said, smiling pleasantly at everyone. "Should I excuse myself, Homura-san?"

Any further talk of monsters or men ended when at last, two of the patients arrived. At least the pair had made it during some point of the day; Homura often found himself too busy to be wasting time the way it felt he had been.

"I'll leave that choice up to you, my friend." Okita did receive a smile, one oddly warm for the demi-god. In truth he did hope the man stayed, as Homura enjoyed his company. But there would be no harm if Okita didn't. For now, Homura had to focus on the business at hand.

"I am Homura." He confirmed it for both men, not moving from his spot on the wall. For these two, who had already missed an appointment and come late to the second, for whatever reason, Homura felt no need to posture. Or perhaps he was simply tired of it at the moment; there was no time to sleep, for either body or mind to rest.

"The goals of the History Club are revenge and escape. I'll hold no pretense about being a charitable organization; everyone who works in this group should understand that it was formed for the benefit of those within. We'll act according to our own needs, which do happen to coincide with the majority in most cases. However, if you wish to be a hero for the masses, then you should leave now."

Homura closed his eyes, and smirked as he thought over his own words. He was blunter today than normal, wasn't he? That strange impatience had quite an effect. "If for no other reason than you might find it hard to work with some of the established members. Particularly me."

It was by sheer coincidence that Zexion managed to miss the entirety of Homura's explanation. After his encounter with Alex (and the man's cane), he'd convinced his nurse that 'Milo' had had his fill of socializing for some time and needed his solitude. So Zexion had spent much of the current shift lying on his bed, allowing the killer headache to dissipate. He had also investigated the room a bit more, and now possessed his journal and a pen. The Nobody's sole reason for leaving the near-scentless sanctuary was the History club explanation session.

The Sun Room was crowded, though it was not nearly as bad as the cafeteria. It still was enough that Zexion focused on breathing through his mouth. Reaching the group around the bulletin board, he moved next to the board itself. After this meeting, he would copy information off the board. If this was the meeting. "History Club, I presume?" he asked, to no one in particular. Whoever was in charge would speak up, he reasoned.

Kairi's words had spurred Conklin on to look for one of the clubs. The History club sounded interesting, so he limped over to the small gathering in the Sun Room. There was a calculating look in his nurse's eyes, as he limped off to the meeting, and he knew that by the end of the day, he was probably going to end up stuffed in a wheelchair.

He hated wheelchairs. Sure, he could maneuver in one just fine, but that didn't change the fact that he hated them.

Since he'd been listening closely, he'd been able to catch bits of Homura's explanation as he limped towards everyone. Revenge and escape? I like those ideas. He established himself on the outer fringe of the group, noting that the sociopath-boy - Zexion - was there, too. Oh well. It's a free country. At least...I think it is. Where are we, anyway?

A few more individuals gathered around Homura slowly, no doubt others interested in this "History Club" as well, Kunzite surmised. Normally he'd play the nice one, the deceiving one, lulling others into a false sense of security as he made himself known in the politest of terms. Today, though, he was singularly minded; he had to know more of this place, so he'd drop the facades, and let the true Kunzite show if necessary. Luckily for him, Homura's own terseness set the tone perfectly, and as he briefly explained the purpose of this group, the warrior's lips curled in joy.

"Revenge and escape, you say?" Kunzite grinned, listening with keen interest as the words flowed forth, describing the perfect situation for the warrior; a selfish quest for the truth with the needless side effect of helping out the other inmates. And, more importantly, he thought, a chance to have my abilities returned to me...and to deal with the Senshi in proper form... "You've piqued my interest further, Homura," the warrior continued. "So what are our duties?"

Homura was possibly the first reasonable person Itachi had spoken to here. A leader of obvious strength, one of the few he might be willing to follow. Itachi recognized the need to work with others to destroy the institution, but he saw no reason to follow orders if they did not coincide with his own goals. There would be no purpose otherwise. Homura, though. . . his "club" was precisely what was required in this place.

Itachi nodded in agreement with Kunzite's interest. "Your goals match perfectly with mine. I have no use for heroes; they will accomplish nothing here. I am willing to work with your organization."

The group seemed to be getting quite a bit larger and Okita sat back a little, studying the newcomers. One was limping and it seemed to be something he had grown accustommed to, meaning it was a long-standing injury. Unfortunate. They'd have to test them, each of them, and fast. Looking to Homura, Okita leaned over and whispered into his ear, "You take the ones who came first, I'll explain to the others. Meet you tonight, hm?"

There was really no reason to do what he did other than the amusement factor of hushed tones and speaking into people's ears. Tatsunosuke always seemed to jump when he did that, but Okita had a feeling Homura would only grin. Moving back, he stood and brushed his pants off, motioning to the side like an usher showing his guests to their seats. "If the two latecomers would please follow me this way, I'd be happy to explain what you missed. Homura-san is our leader, but I do quite a bit as well."

Moving off to the side, Okita repositioned himself a bit of a ways away - close enough that Homura would still be able to hear, but far enough out of the way so as not to cause too many problems.

[going here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/358017.html?thread=29053057#t29053057)]

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Day 32: Sun Room (4th Shift)

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