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

[sixth-scents.livejournal.com]

And now the boy was enraged. Zexion felt no need to clarify the misinterpretation of his words as it would be a wasted effort at best, seeing how the boy was quite clearly insane.

Zexion shrugged. "Pitiful indeed, as any such attempt to frighten you exists only in your mind." He took another bite of the pancake. "Of course," he added after swallowing, "I find it difficult to believe that you are amused by this conversation, as you seem quite aggravated by it." And name-calling only solidifies that argument, Zexion thought.

To the Nobody, though, the taunt was an invitation. Sniffing the air, Zexion cringed slightly at the multiple scents, but he focused on the strongest non-food smell. The boy smelled like nothing he'd ever encountered before; whatever he was, it wasn't human in the least.

"Stink-beast, am I?" A smirk began to spread across his face. "Zim, I believe you referred to yourself as? Well, I may be a 'stink-beast', but," he was now grinning viciously, "you do not smell like any human I have ever encountered before."

Baiting the boy did have a cost in the form of the ache in his skull, but Zexion ignored it. He wanted to see how the boy would react.

[faceyourdoom.livejournal.com]

Zim froze completely, staring genuinely horror-stricken at the boy. His instant reaction of yelling at the boy who dared argue with him completely vanished before he could utter a word.

H-how?! How was that even possible?! Zim obviously didn't smell... although he'd supposedly been transformed into a filthy meat body, so most probably he did. But then, wouldn't he just smell like normal human garbage? How could he possibly smell otherwise?! Unless... unless the transformation hadn't been complete after all.

...Of course! Inferior human technology couldn't possibly be capable of successfully transforming his superior Zim-flesh into this filthy meat sack! There were still possibly traces of his normal DNA within him! Yes! That made it even MORE possible to return to normal once he'd returned to the base.

That wasn't the issue here, however. The problem was HOW this human was able to determine such a thing. THE SMELL! Yes, the boy said it! It was the way he smelled! He would have to be sure to conceal his disgusting hybrid-flesh smell with normal, filthy human stenches before the others noticed.

First things first, though. He needed to divert this one's suspicions, and FAST.

"NONSENSE!!!" he yelled, a bit too loudly. "I'm a completely normal human, and there is absolutely nothing suspicious or strange about me AT ALL! I'm exactly the same as every other filth-beast in here!"

He was now leaning forward, clutching the table desperately as though trying to will his 'companion' into believing him. How could he possibly prove it further?! Practically demanding, he grit out, "...What would possibly cause you to suspect my normal boy self? What human smell do I lack?!"

[sixth-scents.livejournal.com]

"Unfortunately, there is no possible way for you to be 'exactly the same' as everyone here. Even if you were a human, that could not be possible." Zexion folded his arms. "After all, there are several non-humans present already. You are not unique."

He laughed dryly. "Your very behavior contradicts your statement about your normality. Your actions in themselves are definitely strange, as are the derogatory terms you use to describe humans in general."

Xigbar would enjoy this, the Nobody thought as he continued. "What human scent do you lack... that would be the scent that all humans possess, regardless of the world they come from."

Zexion's expression turned thoughtful. "Of course, your scent is unlike any other I've ever encountered," he mused, half to himself. "You are not human, nor are you a Heartless. And you most certainly aren't a Nobody like myself, as your emotional displays alone are enough to eliminate that possibility. What are you...?"

[faceyourdoom.livejournal.com]

'You are not human.' There was no need to even hear the rest of its pointless blather as soon as that statement came out. It was said with such certainty and conviction, there wasn't a doubt in Zim's mind. The pig-monkey wasn't just suspicious, it knew. IT KNEW!

How?! Yes, there was the 'stink' explanation, which would certainly need addressing, but if that were all there was to it, the other humans would have been suspicious as well. According to Zim's masterful observational abilities, none of the other beasts seemed to suspect anything... yet. That would all change if this one opened its mouth.

As for the rest of the explanation, it was easy enough to figure out. The human had just said it! It said there were other 'non-humans' here. Such a claim would of course require Zim's own investigation. (This idiot human was certainly free with its information.) Whether that was true or a mere bluff would have to be confirmed, but it verified exactly what this one was: A DIB!

Somehow or other, there were simply certain humans who were able to see through his brilliant human ruse. This one seemed to be such a human, and such garbage was a threat.

"Don't be RIDICULOUS!" Zim narrowed his eyes dangerously at the boy. The way Zim was speaking now seemed to indicate it was for the sake of whoever might be suspiciously listening in rather than the maggot. "I am offended by your attempts to insult my typical human self with this slanderous... SLANDER!"

He quickly made a mental note about this one's appearance. There was so much filth in this building, the last thing he wanted was to forget what this one looked like later. And he would find this one later. It needed to be silenced, and soon. If only there weren't so many suspicious human eyes on them at the moment...

He held one hand up dramatically. "Don't you dare try spreading these HORRENDOUS lies! Should you do so, I will find you and make you RUE the day you underestimated ZIM!"

[sixth-scents.livejournal.com]

Zexion couldn't help himself. "Yes, I suppose slander normally is slanderous. Though it is mystifying to me that you can be offended by attempted insults. Insults are usually considered successful if the target takes offense." He shook his head, almost as if he were astounded by such a contradiction.

"However, I don't believe I have ever insulted you in the least. Unless you are disgusted by what you are, and are offended by being reminded of it, in which case the offense was unintentional." There was no sincerity in the Nobody's voice; he could not care if the boy had been insulted.

It was partly because he did not take the boy seriously, and partly because he could not feel the threat's intimidation, that Zexion failed to realize the danger behind the boy's final words. "I will not rue the day. You cannot scare me with idle threats."

Zexion had one final attack garnered from the threat. "Even if I were to spread the word, it would be quite a waste. It would take a true idiot to be unable to tell that there is something unusual about you, given the manner in which you act."

[faceyourdoom.livejournal.com]

Of all the things the boy had said which could have been taken insultingly, there was only one comment that truly stuck out as priority in Zim's mind.

"'Idle' threats? INSOLENT FOOL!" he yelled out suddenly. "You have no possible idea who you are dealing with! None! At! ALL! I look forward to witnessing you tremble in terror once you've realized the EXTENT of your folly! And then you will wish you had BEGGED my forgiveness while I still cared to listen to your squealy noises! And, ohhh, how you will beg... Relish your brief moments of peace while you can, pig-beast! They will be the last peaceful moments you will ever know again!!"

Coming in from the side of the cafeteria were several nurses. Obviously, they had noticed things were beginning to get rowdy at the table. Breakfast time was almost over, so it was about time they came to collect their patients anyway. If they could separate the two now before any rough housing occurred, all the better.