Day 34: Breakfast

[screwthegods]

[starting off in M13]

The last part of the night was little more than a blur in Homura's mind. The men had rushed in, but not joined them, instead staying off to themselves. Before any of them had a chance to react, however, a voice sounded through the air, mocking some other person Homura had never heard of, and the patients themselves.

To Homura, whoever that man was, he sounded a great deal like a god.

But before he could ask questions, the demi-god found himself no longer in the chapel, but some strange room on a bed. Is that what Kenren had meant from his earlier warning? Homura sat up, glad at least that the world didn't spin when he did so. Then the same man from before began to speak again, with a completely different tone. It was confusing to hear him talk that way, calling them patients instead of prisoners as he had before. Homura listened quietly as the announcement was made, then got out of bed.

Maybe he wouldn't have to go anywhere yet. It wasn't like Homura knew where to go anyway, and that meant he had time. If this was his room, and if he had been here as long as Kenren had said, there was a chance he could find something with answers. The Taisho had even told him that Homura had seen Rinrei. Certainly he would've written something down, made a map, something that could let him find her again! He started with the desk at the end of his bed, first finding a small stack of notebooks. Picking up the first, he flipped through, turning the pages with quickening desperation as he found each one to be blank.

Comments

[lost-turkey.livejournal.com]

John woke up with a start, surprised to find that he was back in his room once more. The night had been interesting, if not a touch disgusting, but he remembered the computer bits he had managed to nab. He looked under the bed and was upset to find that there was nothing there. John looked around the room, growing a bit panicked but his anxiety subsided when he opened the closet and found that the pillow case was tucked in the corner, the electronics stuck inside.

The sound of his door opening made him shut the closet door and stand up straight, giving the nurse a smile. She gave him a strange look but didn't mention his suspicious behavior. Instead, she informed him that it was time for breakfast and John nodded, following her instructions to walk down to the cafeteria.

Once inside, John took a tray and a plate of food, feeling happy that the parts were still in his room. Now, the big question was what was he going to do with them? They were useless as they were now but if he could find some tools and something with a screen, maybe he could hook them up and see if he could access the data on that hard drive. It didn't hurt to try.

He sat down at a table, isolating himself from the other people on the end. John wanted to spend this morning thinking without much distraction.

[miracle-grow.livejournal.com]

They hadn't gotten very far last night, but Claire wasn't too upset about it this morning. She was too relieved that her apparent healing powers were still working, because her injuries from the night before were all but gone now. The only mark left on her was a thin scar where she'd been bit by the boy in the upper hall. But she was sure that would fade soon enough, too.

She followed her nurse willingly enough, her stomach growling in hunger. Arriving at the cafeteria, she quickly filled a plate with food and glanced around for a familiar face - Peter, her dad, Clark...

And spotted one she hadn't expected to find, although he looked a good deal scruffier than when she'd last seen him.

Hurrying in his direction, a bright smile wreathing across her face, she set her tray down beside his and threw her arms about his neck in a quick hug. "Zach? Oh my god, what are you doing here? Are you alright? Have you been here long?"

[lost-turkey.livejournal.com]

John wasn't used to having attractive, blonde girls suddenly hug him and he stiffened, not knowing what else to do. What was it that she called him? He missed the name as he hadn't been paying close attention until she hugged him. Now, he couldn't really take her eyes off of her.

"Um, hi," he said, trying to return her happy smile. "I, uh, got here a day or so ago? And I'm fine?"

[miracle-grow.livejournal.com]

"I had no idea they'd brought you here, too," Claire replied, sinking down on the chair beside his, but still sitting close, her hazel eyes wide and intense. "I hope its not my fault you got all mixed up in this. You haven't gotten attacked at night or anything, have you?"

[lost-turkey.livejournal.com]

John didn't really want to tell her that he had no clue what she was talking about. The only pretty girl who had spoken to him in the last year turned out to be a Terminator. He wasn't going to mess this up over something as silly as miscommunication.

And she really was very hot.

"No, well, a little attacked," he said with a shrug. "But it wasn't too bad. Last night a man called Daemon and I went back and squashed the spider that thought it'd make me lunch. Actually, last night wasn't too bad. I grabbed a bunch of computer parts that I hope I can use."

He stopped babbling for a moment to shove some cereal into his mouth. "So, um," he said, swallowing nervously. "How, how are you?"

[miracle-grow.livejournal.com]

Her smile returned, her expression wry, at the mention of him going after computer parts here. "You without your laptop, it's the end of the world," she laughed, shaking her head. "What are you going to do, try to hack into the doctor's databases? I thought you said you were no good at that?"

At his question, she slumped back in her chair with a small frown. "They screwed me up somehow," she answered vaguely, knowing he'd know what she was talking about. "I can't do you-know-what. Well, I can, but it's not like normal. Not as fast. And I apparently have really bad luck when it comes to things finding me tasty around here," she added with a grimace, making a face.

[lost-turkey.livejournal.com]

John laughed a bit too loudly at her comment. "Right, end of the world, haha," he said, his nerves growing. "I don't like to brag but I'm decent at hacking. All I need is a few tools and a monitor and I'll get it working, you'll see."

The way she spoke it was as if she knew him. It was bizarre and now he was a bit suspicious. The last pretty girl who had spoken to him turned out to be made of metal and it wouldn't surprise him if the same thing happened again.

Of course, all thought of her being a robot left his mind as quickly as they had appeared. When she talked about being tasty and not being able to do 'you-know-what', John's mind took a left turn into the gutter and he choked on the food he was eating. He gulped his orange juice, turning his head so as not to spit food at her. His face was red and he was struggling with the fact that he was making a complete and utter idiot of himself. God, how retarded did he seem right now?

[miracle-grow.livejournal.com]

Claire gave him a strange look when he talked about hacking. "But you said you didn't know anything about it, when I asked you to find out that information on my dad's computer. You said you just knew enough to do what you did with your camera and stuff."

She felt like she was missing something in this conversation, but then he started choking on his drink, and she forgot about the odd notion in her sudden concern. Claire pounded carefully on his back, hoping she wasn't going to have to call an actual nurse over. At least they were in a hospital. Sort of?

"Hey, are you alright? Don't go dying on my, you're not likely to come back."

[tsunagari.livejournal.com]

The nurse checked Sai's arm before she let him go to breakfast. She tutted about how he'd apparently been jostling it far too much, but allowed him to remove it from the sling for now. It was still heavily bandaged, but he could move the fingers and bend it at the elbow. That was good. His ribs and chest were also feeling much better now. It shouldn't be as much of a pain to move around.

The cafeteria was mostly full by the time he got there, but he managed to find an empty table all the same. He sat down with a relatively small breakfast and kept his eyes open for Sasuke and Usopp. The former wasn't going to be pleased, as he seemed to have succeeded in keeping him from going after his brother as intended. He understood that. It was a risk he was willing to take for now.

[sasuke-of-sound.livejournal.com]

Not for the first time, Sasuke vowed to kill his nurse. As a rule he avoided pointless casualties, but not only was the woman likely to become some kind of undead creature at night, if various first-person accounts were to be believed, but she practiced being evil by day. It was almost as bad as Orochimaru and a good deal less useful.

"Oh! There's your good friend!" Sasuke felt himself being propelled towards a table, presumably to sit next to whomever his nurse had designated as his 'good friend' for the day.

"Simon, Sean," the woman said, and Sasuke immediately tensed. The nurse must have sensed it where she was gripping his shoulder, and she tsk-ed. "I know you two had a little tiff the other day, but you should always work on playing nice. Try to make up!"

And then she was gone, and Sasuke was left to seethe and eat.

[tsunagari.livejournal.com]

Sai watched, surprised, as Sasuke's nurse led the other ninja over. That was surprising, given their argument before. He supposed she just considered it a small tussle between friends. In any case, Sasuke didn't look pleased.

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun," Sai greeted in the friendliest tone he knew and with a smile, although it wouldn't be seen by his companion. "I'm sorry if you're still angry at me for last night."

[sasuke-of-sound.livejournal.com]

Yes, the woman definitely needed to die.

Sasuke composed his face into its absolute coldest and glanced over at Sai's voice -- filled again with that irritating false cheer. It was impossible to deny that he was still angry; by the time he'd finally gotten to the door the night had ended.

It was true that he needed to find a better way to manage Itachi. But still -- "Stay out of my way in the future," he said, imperious, and started on his breakfast.

[tsunagari.livejournal.com]

"You wouldn't have made it to him, you know, in that span of time." Sai followed Sasuke's example, starting on his own breakfast. He picked up the utensil with his left hand, though it wasn't his dominant one, in order to test out the finger strength and how much control he had. Moving certain fingers in certain directions was painful, but at least they moved. Hopefully the damage hadn't been enough to cause permanent difficulties.

He glanced up again after a few moments, even though he knew Sasuke didn't care to hear from him. "I won't physically block you again."

[sasuke-of-sound.livejournal.com]

"It doesn't matter," Sasuke snapped. "It was worth the try."

Sai clearly had no idea what he was dealing with -- and doubtless had no way of understanding what it was like to need to chase after a goal, regardless of any obstacles. And although the night had indeed ended before Sasuke could have had a decent hope of finding Itachi, that there was any chance at all meant that he had to try.

Again he almost wished Naruto were here. Moron understood that much.

Sai's next words made Sasuke glance over again, eyes narrowed. "Then how do you plan to block me?"

[tsunagari.livejournal.com]

Smiling was such a default reaction. Perhaps Sasuke could tell that he was even without his sight. "So defensive, Sasuke-kun," Sai answered without actually answering. He said nothing else, instead returning to his own meal. Telling the other ninja would defeat the purpose, wouldn't it?

"You shouldn't worry. I don't want to upset you more than I already have."

[sasuke-of-sound.livejournal.com]

Sai had seemed to be the more reasonable of the new Team 7 when Sasuke had first met him, but Sasuke's opinion was rapidly shifting from a neutral-to-tolerant position to outright dislike. Beyond the simple indirectness of his speech -- the most annoying thing about him to begin with -- there was now the issue of indirectness of action.

Which reminded Sasuke too much of Sound, so when he spoke his voice was chillier than it had been in a long while, well past the usual purposeful detachment. "I should consider you my enemy in the future, then."

[yourtravelagent]

[ reserved. ]

He had it covered? Truth was, he hadn't felt this amateur since the day he had died – more years ago now than he cared to admit – and learned he was at the mercy of a Power he couldn't hope to sway. It had been fate's decision to bring him here. Fate alone would guide him.

That was the problem, right there.

Manny fell in step beside his worst enemy's representative, casting a sidelong glance at her as they moved down the corridor. She seemed eager in her efforts to avoid conversation. There was something strangely familiar about the way she was acting. Even after sacrificing a few moments (of the time he could've used to ease whatever tension stood between them) to reflect on it, he still wasn't sure.

Having to worry about Meche wasn't doing him any favours.

They arrived at the entrance of what appeared to be a horribly basic floor plan. Everything was so dull, so uniform. If it weren't for the glass ceiling above their heads, he would say the room lacked that same potential he'd seen in the Rub-a-Mat. The space was vast, albeit poorly wasted. He couldn't believe that not a single soul had come forward with proposals for improvement. The next area was made worse by the sheer amount of people in it. And he suddenly wasn't feeling well. His gut was... Wait a second, that wasn't nausea... ... Was he actually hungry?

Ohhh-kay. This was definitely going to take some getting used to. He had almost forgotten the negative side to his 'skin enhancement'. While the dead had mental attachments to sensations like thirst and fatigue, depending on how willing they were to ignore them, the real burden was something he had never anticipated on feeling again. Others might revel in nostalgia, but he knew how restricting this body could be. Souls were dependent, period - only mortal cravings enslaved them to meaningless desires.

Wrapped in disappointment, it also dawned on him he'd have to pick his way through the crowd to look for Meche, an option that really did turn his stomach. Well, most of them were seated, he thought to himself. The idea of pushing past who-knew-what to find her was the endeavor he disputed, but it seemed he wouldn't need to resort to it.

Then there was his issue with the smiley-faces. He had to give the owner some credit for his total lack of artistic vision. "Was there a stain in my other suit?" He asked sarcastically, shrugging at his escort before assuming a serious tone. "Okay, I carried you this far, now it's your turn," he continued wryly. "Care to explain a few things? Maybe the best place to start would be from the top - where are we?"

"Go and have your breakfast, Antonio."

"Why can't you say my name?" He needled without pause. "Are you scared someone might hear you?"

She spun her back to him and left. Well, that was far from the type of introduction DOD policy had demanded from him and his once-colleagues. She should have had the outline of a speech prepared, at least.

[sheisthecause.livejournal.com]

Not a pearly gate in sight. Heaven, Meche decided, could use a better interior designer.

She was lagging behind the nurse, taking in the view of her surroundings with an increasingly disappointed eye (she had eyes again. Being alive reopened up a wealth of metaphors that had been kind of awkward for the last four years). At least the DoD building had had good upholstery. The cafeteria she was standing in now was all too earthly--the muted green walls and lines of tables could have come straight out of any hospital where she'd ever volunteered.

But if this was a hospital, where were the monitors, the IV drips, the gurneys? Quite a number of the other...patients?...in the room were obviously injured, but things still didn't quite fit. If she didn't know better, Meche would've said she was in a mental hospital.

And that just didn't make any sense at all.

Domino, she thought a little wildly. This must be one of his little games. But Domino was dead (in at least two different ways), and surely even he and Hector, with all their machinations, couldn't have brought her back to life. She wanted to believe in this place--to trust it--but she was a lot more cautious now than she'd been the last time around.

"Go on," the nurse prompted, seeing her charge standing still in the doorway. "Go get yourself something to eat."

So Meche moved forward mechanically. As she walked, she scanned the crowd--and realized that if she was alive, of course Manny would be too. She wondered what he'd look like with skin. Come to think of it, she hadn't even seen her own face yet. Maybe he wouldn't think she was pretty enough, especially not without at least a touch of makeup. Her old instincts were coming back.

But there.

Starting to pick his way through the crowd, not all that far from where she was standing. Still shorter than she was, even without the heels. Brown hair, just beginning to go gray. And it would be hard to miss the shape of that skull. She couldn't see his face, but even so. Had to be, had to be.

Suddenly makeup didn't matter; she was tearing through the room.

"Manny!"

[yourtravelagent]

He could recognise that voice anywhere.

Relieved as he was to hear it, he didn't whirl around with bated breath for what he was about to lay eyes on. The knowledge she was there was enough to unwind the tension, and whatever predicament they were in, they were together and out of harm's way. That had been his main concern. Striking that off his priority list left the detail of not knowing where the others were, whether they were here with them or further down the line.

His expression didn't betray relief or joy, but a quietly keen air of satisfaction. Someone was making a beeline for him. A thin smile appeared as he observed. She was gorgeous without skin, so he was hardly surprised by what he was seeing. Without a shadow of a doubt, that was the woman he'd spent two years chasing like nothing else. Though he didn't move forward to greet her, he raised his arms a little. Maybe in case she accidentally fell into them.

"Buenos días."

[sheisthecause.livejournal.com]

And there he was.

Not conventionally handsome, maybe, but all the good looks she'd ever need, she thought. His face felt familiar almost as soon as he turned around. Like it had always been this way.

It only felt like a matter of minutes since they'd been on the Number Nine--she couldn't think why these hot pressures were building up in her throat and behind her eyes. Don't be silly, Meche, she was thinking, but she couldn't hold back either the smile or the first couple of tears. This place was so different. They were so different. But that confidence she'd felt back there was starting to come back.

She stopped in front of him--close enough to touch, but not quite there yet. "You're not the nurse," she said softly.

[yourtravelagent]

"No," he replied perfunctorily, his smile growing lopsided. "Good thing you weren't fooled. I wouldn't want to be charged for impersonating staff," he stated matter-of-factly, waving his hand at an agent by the door. Well, they certainly ran with a hospital theme. What was up with the scrubs they were wearing? He much preferred the reaper dress code, and that was saying something.

Manny didn't budge, though the twinkle in his eyes also hadn't faded yet.

"If I'd known this was where we'd end up, I'd have taken you on that ocean cruise first." It wasn't that he was sour about the outcome - he was just a sore loser. That and he couldn't shake the inexplicable feeling this wasn't their final destination. This wasn't what Meche deserved.

[sheisthecause.livejournal.com]

"If you'd known?!"

Her fist had already slammed into his jaw before she'd even realized it was moving. Not quite the tender reunion she'd been hoping for, but Meche was too far gone to care. "You mean you didn't even know where that train was really going?! 'The Ninth Underworld,' you said. 'The Land of Eternal Rest!' You knew we might end up in some kind of crazy hospital, and you just didn't think it was important enough to mention?"

She couldn't believe it. Sure, he hadn't known whether they were going to be together in the next life, but she'd just assumed an ex-reaper would know what he was talking about with his own damned merchandise. Would know he had tickets for the right train, at least! Never trust a salesman.

Whatever she'd been about to say next, about the angelitos or the nurses or how incredibly glad she was to see him, flew right out of her head.

She knew she was going overboard here. It was just that she couldn't slow her anger down. Manny still looked like he was reeling, and she wasn't done yet. "All right, mister, start talking," she snapped. "If this isn't the Ninth Underworld, where is it? And what other little surprises weren't you planning on telling me about?"

[yourtravelagent]

But that? He deserved.

"Hey!" he shot back a little helplessly, the abruptness of the blow stunning him into silence. What shocked him more than that was the thought that followed: this was probably going to leave a mark. Lifting a hand to the point of impact, dazed by what had to be the ache of a bruise forming, he touched his fingertips to it as he heard Meche out.

The tingling wouldn't stop. After so many years without any blood canals to speak of, the pain was rather distracting, but it didn't take a lot of effort to keep a firm stance. She was upset. This was only going to get worse if he didn't console her.

"We didn't have sources on this," he said calmly, a hint of impatience seeping into his tone. "The brochures never went as far to tell us salesmen what 'Eternal Rest' really meant."

[mind-caster.livejournal.com]

Melissa would never have admitted it, even to herself, but the sudden lapse in time before she woke up in that same bed once again was a welcome savior from the fight that she was pretty sure neither her nor Lia would have gotten out of alive. The brief moment of something resembling a good mood was dashed moments later when she made to get out of bed and let out a cry of pain; her right arm was apparently still broken, and now bandaged up and in a sling. Apart from the fact that someone had dared tend to the injury without letting Melissa know, she was surprised and more than a little upset to find that injuries received at night actually stayed.

When questioned, the nurse who came to get her told some silly story about falling down a staircase, like Melissa was actually careless enough to trip over her own feet. Practically fuming, the mindcaster grudgingly followed the nurse back into the mental minefield, sat as far away from other people as she could, and hoped that she could spend a meal in relative peace, for a given definition of the word 'peace.'

This sucked. No escape from tastes and thoughts assaulting her during the day, barely less so at night combined with monster attacks. This was fun.

[traitors-smile.livejournal.com]

Gin was late to wake, though he felt fairly pleased about their progress last night. He felt better, having been bandaged up tight, his wounds didn't seem nearly as severe. Besides, hadn't Ran said they were to pay a visit to the healer girl later? Even if she couldn't mend him completely, he'd be a little nearer to fighting fit.

More importantly, the Sphinx had mentioned the item they'd received and how there was another like it. With as many as had been to the basement, it wouldn't be too far fetched to assume that the other piece might already have been obtained. Finding out if anyone had it wouldn't even be a very difficult task.

The cafeteria was already abuzz with life and lively conversation when he finally walked in and picked up a tray. He still had the bulletin to catch up on, there were always lots of messages first thing. He decided to enjoy what little time was left to eat though, and conserve some of his strength.