damned_institute | Day 34: Breakfast

[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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"I had planned to." Unless somehow this other person's held information about Rinrei, but Homura doubted it. Still, it was hard to say what he would do five hundred years in the future, especially given everything that had changed. But what point would there be in hiding something in the other desk...unless Homura trusted that person very much?

Glancing over at his roommate again, the demi-god didn't think that was the case.

He almost missed the first page in the notebook with writing on it, but the folded sheet of paper tucked beside it made him pause. One had "Okita" written on it, on what Homura thought looked like his own hand. The other also mentioned Okita, along with Kenren and Hijikata. He knew the names, or at least had heard them mentioned.

And apparently he had known them before too. Homura only needed to read the first few sentences of his own words before he stared at the page in shock. "I'm their leader?" The leader not only of those strangers, but a man like Kenren Taisho? Was that even possible? Unaware he'd said the words aloud, Homura ignored the other person in the room again as he continued to read.

Oh yeah. Definitely a moron now. That didn't bode well for Shito's already disappointing dealings with the History Club. But honestly, the Arts & Crafts Club didn't appeal much, either.

Sighing and feeling tired all of a sudden, despite his lengthy nap, Shito sat up fully and ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah. Seems like a pretty decent-sized group, your club. I'm a member too." More or less. He hadn't gone on any missions yet, but that was mostly not his fault.

It was really too early for this nonsense. Shito got out of bed, though, knowing he'd never be able to get back to sleep with Homura muttering to himself and shuffling papers. And possibly making a mess. Shito twitched, just a little bit, at the thought of papers ending up strewn all over the room.

At least his right hand was reattached and working normally, just like it had been yesterday morning. That was going to be weird to get used to.

Oh. The rest of the page was largely things that didn't make any sense, but between his roommate's words and his own, Homura had realized he'd apparently been busy during his stay. Or he'd been there a long time. Either way, it was by and large beyond his understanding at this point, conclusions without the basics to supplement them.

But even though he hardly felt the mantle of a leader now, Homura supposed he did have some responsibility. Even if he forgotten, and even if he wasn't that person, he had been, would be still if not for this place. So he closed the notebook, and sighed softly.

"I'm sorry. Last night, they took my memory from me." Since this person was part of his group, Homura thought he should be honest with him. "So I think Hijikata and Kenren Tai--" he caught himself, but only barely. "Kenren will be the leaders now. I think they're good people." Or so he hoped, at least. They had been the ones he'd chosen, and that meant he trusted them.

Homura had also decided by this point that relearning everything he had apparently known was going to be very trying. Picking up the notebook, he turned to face the other man fully. "Could you tell me your name? I don't remember it."

This was only the very begining of Shito's third day in this place, and he'd yet to so much as fight a monster or explore much of the building--he didn't feel like he was in much of a position to explain things to newbies, or to someone whose memories were apparently gone. Hopefully Homura wouldn't ask anything more than basic stuff, because Shito hated admitting he didn't have the answers.

Two leaders now, huh? That didn't sound like a great idea to Shito--leadership by committee, and an even number so there wasn't even a tie-breaking vote, but he'd give it another night to see how things went. And it wasn't like he knew Homura any better than he knew "Hijikata" (he really needed to find out if the name was a coincidence or not) or "Kenren."

Shrugging off his concerns, Shito answered the one thing Homura did ask. "Tachibana Shito. The nurses and doctors call me Xu Bao."

Homura actually had only asked Shito his name for curteousy's sake; any other answers he'd seek from Kenren, or in a worse case, one of the people he had listed as those he trusted. Even if Shito was in his future self's group, he didn't seem at all pleased that morning. Of course there was probably a good reason, a very good one given Homura's experience. But too much would likely hurt their relationship, and that was something the demi-god didn't want.

They were working towards escape together. That was too important. Even as he was, Homura knew that.

He hadn't read anything about what the nurses called him, but soon enough he'd have his answer. A woman walked in, dressed in white, and Homura tensed at the sight of her. He was sure it wasn't the same one as before, but Kenren had said to be wary of everyone in the place who was a nurse or doctor.

"Relax, Mr. O'Dell." The woman smiled rather kindly, though it did little to ease Homura's tension. "You and Mr. Xu are just being escorted to breakfast. Things might be a bit unclear since you hit your head yesterday, but I'm sure you'll remember everything in time."

[To here]

Day 34: Breakfast

Re: M13

Re: M13

Re: M13

Re: M13

Re: M13

Re: M13