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

Kunzite looked up from his journal and attempted a smirk, though his mouth full of bread made it look more like a bloated grin than anything else. At least he attempted not to speak and thus spew crumbs at his guest; the warrior pointed at the seat in front of him with a nod, quickly scribbling down a few more words as he downed the final fragments of toast. A glass of water washed down any remnants of food left, allowing him to speak at last.

"It's been a while, Mercury," he said softly; though he reveled in teasing the Sailor Senshi with their alter-egos, he also knew to respect their wishes slightly and thus keep these identities secret. "How have you and the Princess been faring these last few days?" It's true that his voice was laced with condescension, but paradoxically, the man was genuinely interested in his sometime-adversaries' exploits; for all intents and purposes, they were reminders of his old home, and in a place like this it seemed far too easy to lose track of oneself.

Apart from the worry gnawing at her over Usagi, Ami felt incredibly uncomfortable in this situation and it probably showed. "Thankyou," she said, taking a seat. She glanced over as she noticed him taking notes. It reminded her that she needed to update her own journal - she hadn't had a chance to write in it since she'd been sick.

His question rattled her, though she didn't let it show. "As good as one can be in this place," she said warily as she shifted food around her plate. Her eyes flicked to the cafeteria entrance more than once. What had happened to her last night? Was she really starting to lose it in this place? She shook the thought off. "And yourself?" Her tone was much more polite than his had been.

His mouth full of food, Kunzite nodded to Ami's reply. His excursions over the last few days had cut the edge off his default predator-like attitude he'd normally display toward her; with a new purpose in this place, he thought, you and the Princess have been the last thing on my mind...except... But he brushed away the thoughts; meeting up with Mercury brought him into focus this morning, and her abilities could still prove useful if he manipulated her properly.

"I've been fine," Kunzite replied. "I was shuffled into a 'therapy session' with one of the doctors - Wilson, I believe his name was (here he made sure to write down the name and underline it a few times). As I expected, it was unproductive and foolish time-wasting. The last two nights, however...I've been working with Homura's 'History Club', performing petty errands to collect metal and tools for use by myself and, less importantly, the other members of the 'club'. I really have no use for such nonsense, but I've been told there are people here who can use alchemy to create weapons...so you can imagine my interest in such normally menial and degrading chores."

Therapy session? That's right, she was supposed to have one of those, but her "doctor" had been sick. Ami wasnt too surprised to hear that Kunzite was involved in the History Club - he wanted a weapon, that much was obvious. Though in here, despite the superior abilities of those around her, no one could seem to escape.

Usagi....

There was no way Usagi would have left without her. Ami glanced at the door again, as if wishing for the bubbly blonde would suddenly make her appear. Worry ate at her, and she shifted food absently around her plate. Realising she'd been silent for a time, she blushed slightly and asked, "What did the doctor say to you?"

Kunzite watched his companion's gestures with a calm and somewhat disinterested attitude. Though he was slightly interested in what was causing the normally rational Ami to appear as if paranoid and nervous, he hadn't the energy - nor desire - that morning to care too much. Cold, perhaps, but his mind was also working on various other things at the time. He did manage to catch her question, and with a shrug deigned to reply to it.

"Foolish prattle. Though the man claimed not to be a doctor of psychiatry, he nonetheless tried to fill that role; from what I knew of the practice, he seemed to be doing it quite well. At any rate, he asked me to talk about myself, and though I described as succinctly as I could the war between my people and yours, I could see his eyes glazing over, lost, no doubt, in some realization that his 'patient' was insane." Kunzite laughed briefly at this thought, grasping for a few of the small fruit and stuffing them in his mouth as he continued. "When I got to the...endeavors I had when I was reincarnated, he attempted to ascertain why it was that I did what I did; more specifically, why my actions seemed so ambiguous and ill-defined, at least in his eyes." The warrior paused again, this time to properly chew the food in his mouth, but also to contemplate the other topic of his 'treatment' session...

Ami had figured the doctors' sessions were bogus. She wondered why they went to the trouble in the first place. She continued to stir food around her plate. "I see."

After again looking towards the door and being disappointed, she said, "So have you learnt anything interesting over the past few days?"

"Sadly, I have not," Kunzite sighed, writing a few more things down as he spoke before returning his full attention to Ami. "These little...'missions' I've been going on haven't provided much in the way of fact-finding. Aside from the opportunity to explore more of the hospital, I've discovered nothing. A few of the History Club members have been given assignments to raid the doctors' offices, however...I can imagine that they might have ascertained something interesting, and if you like, I might be willing to ask them what they've learned, if anything."

Ami was shaken from her worry by Kunzite's last comment. He offered to give her information? Ami frowned, studying him. What was he looking to gain? After a minute or so, Ami nodded. "That would be good," she said slowly. "Do you want to meet up tonight?"

Ami tried not to tell herself that the reason she had asked that was not because she wanted to meet with him during nightshift but that if anything happened to Usagi, she would be alone in here...

"I may be given an assignment from the History Club tonight," Kunzite snarled, picking at the last of his food listlessly and washing it down with a final swig of his water. "If that's the case...well, perhaps you and the Princess would be willing to accompany me? I doubt it would be too much of a problem if you would like to attend." Of course, at this point the Shitennou leader had no idea that something had happened to Usagi...

Mid-chew, Kunzite looked up, slightly startled, slightly on guard; there was...another energy around here, something familiar. It was faint, however, and so he could not pinpoint why it felt so familiar with great certainty. It's not a youma, he thought, glancing at Ami with what he assumed was a telling gaze, but it's...I feel like I know this energy from somewhere. Bah, no matter...if I am meant to become acquainted with it, then I shall in due course.

Day 34: Breakfast

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject