Day 34: Lunch

[thatdamnedninja.livejournal.com]

Yuffie bounced all the way through collecting her lunch, all the way to a good seat- one with a nice view of the whole cafeteria, which was something she'd been missing out on during the past day or so that she'd been stuck in the Institute- and hell, she even bounced into her seat.

A good mood? No, really?

Despite the occasional blip, talking to Sagara had been awesome. He was a fun guy; he wasn't a prude, didn't have a stick shoved so far up his ass it was poking out his eyeballs, and he'd actually had a conversation with her. One that hadn't revolved around doom, gloom or how much life sucked. If she could find other people like that and keep in touch with Sagara, maybe there was a little hope for this place.

After a quick gulp of pink lemonade, Yuffie settled to munching through her food and keeping an eye on the door.

[Waiting for Dean, I think? :x]

Comments

[31st-of-china.livejournal.com]

Usually he could form a pretty solid opinion of someone a few minutes into a conversation with them, but that last shift'd been an exception.

Trance was something else. Seishirou had been unreadable too, but then again, he got the feeling that Trance probably wasn't along those lines. The little bit of the man he'd managed to read, had pointed to a potentially manipulative personality.

And where the fuck was Goku? Knowing the kid, he hadn't even read the note he'd left up.

[screwthegods]

Homura's last shift had been an interesting one, certainly. The information Kenshin had shared was still fresh on his mind, leaving Homura to wonder just what sort of situation his future self had become involved in. It seemed delicate and tricky, again calling into question the character of the person he had become.

But now, the demi-god's focus shifted to the meal, and then to finding a seat. He looked around the cafeteria, stopping when his eyes stopped on a particular man. Kenren hadn't mentioned the presence of anyone else from their world, but from the distance--and even less, as Homura approached--the person seemed to unmistakably another god.

"Konzen Douji?" A rush of excitement had Homura putting his tray down without thought. Could it be that he was one of the newer patients? If so, he'd need to be informed, as would Kenren.

[thesadist]

[Waiting for Karla?]

Daemon was a good deal calmer when coming back into the building than he had been when he'd left it. Still, his expression was distracted as he moved through the food line and filled his plate. Only a few more hours till nightfall. He would find out what River wanted and then set about seeing what he could find out with the spider silk he'd retrieved last night.

He was cautious in hoping that that skill might have been left to him, but there was no way of knowing until he tried.

[noflyingzone.livejournal.com]

((Sure you want one? XD))

Another woman had come to drag Karla away from Lucivar for a 'shift change,' whatever that was. Again, Karla was less than pleased. Not that she needed some sort of security blanket or anything, but a bit of familiarity never hurt anyone.

Which was why she gravitated toward a familiar face in the sea of people crowding around for food. Weird food. She dropped her tray down on his table. "Lucivar said you were here. Maybe you'll make more sense than he did."

[miracle-grow.livejournal.com]

[Waiting for Wesker?]

The shower had been wonderful. Claire came out feeling almost like a new person. The injuries on her shoulder had healed nicely - other than a faint scar where the one boy had bit her, which was odd, but she'd wait and ask her dad or Peter what they thought about that when she next saw them.

Filling her plate with food, she glanced around at the still-almost-empty cafeteria and figured they were still ushering the adults back in from outside. Not knowing anyone that was here, she found an empty table and sank down to start on her lunch.

[no-side-effects.livejournal.com]

Wesker felt as though his luck were improving after that unfortunate night when his hand had been cut off. He'd gained Schuldig and Farfarello, even if they were only on loan, and now he had another potential person to join him.

Noticing Claire sitting by herself, Wesker took his tray and sat down next to her. "Claire... I'm glad to see you're alright, I was worried about you," Worried that she'd vanished, though it looked like she was still here. He was slightly unhappy that she hadn't gotten in contact with him or sought him out, and blamed that on the Nathan guy that had shown up.

[tender-cruelty.livejournal.com]

[Free!]


Allelujah had eventually managed to fall asleep in the Sun Room in an attempt to avoid Hallelujah's almost circular logic. He hated arguing with him. He didn't follow any kind of train of thought that Allelujah could distinguish most of the time and there was also something fundamentally wrong about arguing with yourself.

The nurse had woken him up and gudied him into lunch, commenting about how he could always ask for a sleeping pill if he was having trouble getting to sleep at night. He practically shuddered at the thought.

He took a tray of food which again, smelled delicious and went to find himself a seat in the corner.

[wild-right-hand.livejournal.com]

Tokito was very excited about the prospect of getting something to eat, since he'd managed to argue with the nurses long enough to miss breakfast, but the sheer number of people in the cafeteria gave him more than a little pause. How could there be this many patients here? It was crazy! And none of them showed any signs of W.A. use, at least at first glance. Certainly none seemed to be hiding body parts like Tokito hid his hand, but maybe that was part of what all the bandages were about?

Eventually, though, the lure of food was enough to distract Tokito from running mental circles around the topic of just what this place was, so he wandered over to the serving area and took a bunch of everything that looked good. Which was... more or less everything. Not enough sweets, though. Fruit was okay, but it was no substitute for Pocky.

The crowding got to Tokito again as he tried to find somewhere to sit, and eventually he had to settle for sitting in a corner (good), but with some other guy right next to him (bad). "... Hi."

[winged_moon]

[Waiting for Zexion]

By the time the intercom announced the lunch shift, Yue was no closer to either resolving his internal confusion or improving his mood. The prospect of re-entering the cafeteria and being once more confronted with his humiliating need for food dragged said mood down even farther, leaving the guardian stalking about like an offended cat and practically exuding an aura of irritation and injured ego as he went.

In order to keep the nurse from whining at him Yue set a token bowl of soup, some fruit, and glass of water on his tray, then glanced around the room briefly. He didn't see or sense the magician in the room yet, and he wasn't exactly in the mood to strike up a conversation with any of the strangers that he did see, so he instead paced over to an empty seat by the window. Yue then proceeded to completely ignore the tray and the others in the cafeteria, staring out the window expressionlessly as he thought.

[sixth-scents.livejournal.com]

Once again, the nurse was determined to force Zexion into a social situation. After making sure he had gotten enough food to satisfy her, she steered him to a table with another boy who looked only a few years older than the Nobody appeared.

Zexion ignored his table mate; he'd hardly gotten to talk to Demyx at all, and was uninterested in talking with a non-Organization member at the moment. Instead, the Nobody cut himself a piece of the chicken tenders.

[mitase.livejournal.com]

It wasn't until lunch was announced and Hanatarou found himself being led back to the cafeteria that he realized that he actually was hungry. It shouldn't have been a surprise though, really, after how little he'd managed to eat during that horribly awkward time at breakfast. He was a little uncertain about the unfamiliar selection of food, but just took some of everything to try it out.

As he turned away to look for a place to sit, he thought back on the talk with Hitsugaya-taichou - it had explained at least a few things and made the healer feel perhaps just a tiny bit better about being stuck here with the kidnapping and the monsters and stuff. People needed healers! They might even need him! At least he wouldn't be entirely useless in this strange place. Right?

Distracted by his thoughts, Hanatarou managed to stub his toe on a square of completely empty and level floor and staggered, giving a quiet yelp as his tray threatened to fly out of his hands. This time he somehow miraculously managed to right himself without doing more than slopping over some of the juice in his glass, though, and felt just a touch of happiness as he set his tray down on the closest table (lest he try to continue on and not be so lucky at recovery the next time).

Maybe his day was starting to look up a little, after all.

[Waiting for Gin to ruin his day again]

[traitors-smile.livejournal.com]

It'd been a nice day, plenty of sunshine, and he'd actually enjoyed himself chatting with Harry, though he was sure he couldn't say the same for the boy. He was a feisty one, but even Harry had his little insecurities, which made him all the more fun to pick on. Gin had been ushered back inside, however, before he'd been able to push many of the boy's buttons.

Lunch was fairly simple, and though there were foods he didn't recognize, he took them anyway, just to try them out. Chicken, dried potatoes, some kind of soup, and a bowl of fruit. There weren't many people seated yet, and he almost didn't recognize the shinigami seated a few tables away. He was just so... bland. However, it clicked after a moment, one of the fourth squad healers, wasn't he? Of course! This was the one who'd tried to help Kuchiki escape. Gin was more or less familiar with the fourth squad, or at least some of the seated officers. He'd put in requests to their department often enough. Someone always needed a medic. He'd even gone in person a couple of times.

Without asking, he set his tray down across from the other shinigami, and seated himself at the table. If it'd been one of the higher ranking officers or other suitably powerful people who hated his weasely black guts, he might have been a little more cautious, but this one looked about as harmless as a butterfly. "Ara... I thought you looked familiar. Don't tell me the name now, I'll get it. Yamada... something or other, wasn't it?"

[tony-castaway.livejournal.com]

Reluctantly, Tony let the nurse draw him away from the bulletin board. She led the way to where the smells of food were coming from, since, as Dr. Landel had said, it was now lunch time. If it hadn't been so long since he last eaten, Tony would gladly have turned down the food, but he was ravenous.

He piled as many chips and tenders on his plate as they'd allow and also got a bowl of soup and lemonade. Then he looked for a place to sit. Like the Sun Room, the cafeteria wasn't very crowded yet. He looked for a familiar blond head and was disappointed yet again.

As he sat down, he decided to contemplate the loss of his harmonica, and a way he might be able to test his unusual gifts without giving himself away. Despite what the man had said, Tony was still suspicious that people here wouldn't accept him for his differences. After all, nobody did.

[Takaya expected]

[forgot-my-life.livejournal.com]

His nurse was making her displeasure known and once again, there was an orderly there to back her up. Seemed like his little fit in the bathroom hadn't gone unnoticed after all. He'd gotten some gauze for the cut on his arm, which was now throbbing and only serving to piss him off more, but at least both of the assholes herding him into the cafeteria were keeping their hands to themselves.

It was a start. The tray of soup and milk thrust into his hands was less appealing and the fact that he was now being walked over to a table with a guy he didn't know wasn't helping at all.

"Alan, I want you to behave," the nurse told him sternly. "Now sit here with Mr. Black and eat your lunch. I'll be keeping my eye on you." Takaya flipped her off, but didn't bother to look at her, and the nurse, apparently used to his behavior by now simply walked off, orderly in tow.

[longlivetheking]

[Free!]

Scar sat down at an empty table, ignoring his lunch in favor of processing all the information he had just read on the bulletin board. It had yet to completely sink in, but he could scarcely believe what he had just discovered. It was ridiculous, insane even! But even he couldn't deny that everything had been correct. The names, the events, they had been too fitting to be a mere coincidence or a lucky guess. But the fact still remained, people knew. Of what he had done and why he had done it. They knew of the future that awaited him. They knew all about him! All of this did more than making Scar feel incredibly uncomfortable all of a sudden, and he couldn't help but shoot a quick look around the cafeteria. How many of the people he had spoken with had known?

And he was not even going to try and think about the possibility of there being alternate versions of his world. He couldn't be sure of the reliability of that particular piece of information, and he had a hand-full already on all the other pieces.

What kind of place was this?!

If the entire ordeal had been good for one thing, it would be that he knew Simba was alive. As soon as he would get home, he would find the annoying hairball and dispose of him personally. Those drooling hyenas couldn't even be trusted with killing a small cub, obviously. Something that shouldn't even have surprised him as much as it did.

But that was as far as it went for positive sides. The rest? It gave him a massive headache, one he couldn't even blame on Mozenrath.

[kanpekinasenshi.livejournal.com]

Seiya's day hadn't been going too badly thus far. Last night had been... but last night was last night, and she wasn't going to sulk about it. Every day couldn't be a smashing success; as long as she was alive and hadn't even been hurt, there was no room to complain.

And while she hadn't gotten to enjoy breakfast very much, she was determined to at least pay attention to what she ate for lunch. Her ponytail hadn't finished drying off yet, but it was at least not dripping on the ground as she went through the lunch line, then tried to pick out a place to sit down.

The earlier shift had been spent surrounded by pretty women, if injured ones, and she could still appreciate that a little even if it had been spoiled by the setting and the presence of children and her own morals. So for lunch, she picked out a male sitting alone. Seiya needed to at least try to keep talking to people, socializing. It was how she kept moving.

"Hi, nice to meet you. Mind if I sit here?" It was a rhetorical question, since she was already sitting down. Even if he were annoyed, at least it was something to do.

[got-the-bronze.livejournal.com]

The nurses had pulled Rose away before she'd gotten the chance to climb over the wall and then ushered her into some kind of cafteria. She supposed she could make a break for it, but someone might... what? Turn into a Doctor-shaped monster and... technobabble at her? Or try to eat her, judging by Fox's scars.

"Okay, chips and a nice sit-down," she mumbled to herself, heading for the counter. "Think it through, and then escape with a plan." She'd never been much for fancy plans, but sometimes they definitely helped.

The first great disappointment came when there weren't any chips at all, but crisps. Rose took plenty anyway, because the last time she'd eaten it'd been blue and called Protein One, and real Earth food was sort of a novel delight at this point.

"I used to be a dinner lady," she mentioned to one of the women behind the counter, trying to strike up a conversation. Her only response was a blank smile and a vague, "That's nice, dear."

"Definitely brainwashed," Rose whispered as she turned away from the counter. "Unless the dinner ladies are secretly monsters, too."

She sat away from everyone else, seeing as most people looked either occupied or angry, and she really did want a little peace and quiet to work out her plan.

[unknowingly waiting for Donna]

[mateswithnobody.livejournal.com]

Well hadn't that been fun?

Donna was in no better a mood now than she'd been upon first returning, or arriving, or whatever it was. Now she couldn't even talk to the Doctor about it anymore since the staff here, where-- or whenever here was, decided it was time to play musical rooms. Lovely.

She'd intended to track down that skinny little alien once again in the new room but had, after getting the meal, spotted someone else she recognized. Not only recognized, but had talked to only a few minutes ago in that parallel world!

Forget the Doctor, this girl was a lot more important!

Storming over, Donna let her tray fall to the table without a care. "It is you! You're that girl from that parallel world!" The one she still didn't have a name for, but details could come later. "What happened this time, then? Turning left wasn't enough? Timelines are crossing three times over or something now, I'll bet. Can't you lot get anything right?" she babbled, moving between irritated, exasperated, and just a bit mad all at once. Finally, she asked the all important question, "And you still haven't said your name; just what is it?"

[gray-gambit.livejournal.com]

Lia had decided she was already very tired of needing her nurse's help with anything as simple as gathering food for herself. Unfortunately, that didn't at all erase the need to actually balance her tray and gather food. It was only the relative emptiness that allowed her to avoid being seated with someone of the nurse's choice. Instead she badgered her way into a spot with a good view of the room.

She took a spoonful of soup, blowing on it to cool it before actually putting it in her mouth. Even so, it stung when it hit the scraped-raw portion of her lip. After a few more bites, she raised her eyes from the table to actually watch the cafeteria. While she hadn't been there quite long enough to be certain, she thought there were indeed some new faces, even as empty as the room seemed. It was a little unnerving, and she found herself wondering just how many people had now been pulled away from their worlds and their lives.

[deathandfudge.livejournal.com]

The time spent thinking in the courtyard had blunted the edge of Rainier's temper a little. Very little. He was beginning to get the impression that he'd spent an awful lot of time dancing the killing edge in this place if what Daemon and Lucivar had said was true. At least he could feel content that Surreal was not in this place, although she would have been more than capable of protecting herself.

He paused while the nurse filled a plate for him, something brushing along the edge of his senses. He homed in on the source almost immediately, taking in the sight of the woman sitting alone. A Queen? Here? He felt his anger prickling again at the thought of someone daring to imprison a Queen, but forced it down for the moment as he made his way over to her. He smiled warmly at her. "Lady."

[fuyunohanabi.livejournal.com]

[For Renji]


Rangiku went into the cafeteria smiling after her conversation with Shiki. Crossdressing was always good for brightening a person's mood although she suspected that her captain and the other shinigami wouldn't appreciate the humour of the situation quite so much. Stick in the muds.

The food smelled rather nice as usual. At least that was one thing that she didn't mind at all about the place. Good food was always appreciated. She filled a plate with as much as she could get away with and went to find herself a seat near the back of the room, away from the nurses. Hopefully Renji would find her. She sobered at the thought of what she needed to speak to him about.

[norainu]

Renji really didn't feel all that hungry; after breakfast, and talking to Valyn, he had a belly full of worries that kind of killed any desire for food. Still, he filled a plate. Even if he didn't feel like eating, he knew he needed to keep his strength up.

He spotted Ran and headed over; she'd said she wanted to talk to him. Hopefully it wasn't something bad. Or something personal. He sat down next to her. "Hey," he said, resting his elbows on the table.

[gald_digger]

[Single female seeks two handsome Malkuth noblemen]

After a quick shower, Anise returned to her room for the rest of the second shift. There was a lot on her mind that needed some sorting out, and she really wanted to get a head start on repairing Tokunaga! In the end, she only fixed the loose button-eye, leaving the rest for later and spending the remainder of her time lying on the bed, reflecting on recent events. There were too many awful things going on to possibly not feel a little down, but Anise made sure to keep any signs of emotional distress behind closed doors.

And so she did: when it came time for lunch, the girl quickly readopted her cute, bubbly demeanor. She was meeting Guy and the Colonel today - of course she needed to be smiling!

It was comforting to have Tokunaga - her Tokunaga! - hanging on her back with its arms stretched over her shoulders, as it always did back home. While Anise had made some imitation dolls in Arts and Crafts to decorate her room and to carry at night, they just didn't compare to the real thing. At the same time, however, she felt a little guilty for being so happy about it, when she thought about why she was able to get her doll back in the first place.

Rats. What was she going to tell the Colonel and Guy about that, anyway? It looked like telling the truth was her only option; any elaborate lie she threw together on such short notice would easily fall before the Colonel's deductive skills, she knew. And in the long run, it really was best to share as much real information as possible, in case it could lead to finding out more about how the institute worked. Last night had been weird, hadn't it? Anise was sure it was supposed to be the night they did patient experiments, and yet she was taken for special counseling instead.

In the meantime, she was starving. That's what she got for spending breakfast chatting instead of eating, huh? Anise loaded a tray with a healthy portion of just about everything they had, and took a seat near the food counter where she could be easily spotted. The girl began eating immediately, being careful to mind her manners and keep up a good appearance. These were noblemen she was meeting with, after all. Eligible ones, at that.

[visualize.livejournal.com]

Since waking up on time was apparently a minor miracle in itself, Jade had used up his morning reading through the bulletin, catching up with whatever he missed amongst the various clubs and whatnot. It was only there that he came to learn that patients were now allowed to scale over the Institute's walls, which only made it all the more urgent that he practice on his alchemy. The colonel merely smiled at the idea, allowing his nurse to escort him into the Cafeteria where he began to gather his food.

Anise was a relatively easy target to spot, even though the area was quickly filling up as more people entered the bustling room. Of course, his eyes immediately darted down to the doll that clung onto the girl's back, amusedly quirking an eyebrow at the sight as he made his way over.

"Good day, Anise," Jade began as he invited himself into the seat across from her, smiling lightly as he quickly directed his attention towards Tokunaga.

"Ah, is it just me or do my eyes spot another friendly face?"

[mozenwrath.livejournal.com]

Mozenrath didn't feel like socializing. Then again, when did he ever feel like socializing? He treated this meal as he treated every other-- He took very little food and made an effort to find a solitary seat. The only companion he would have tolerated at this point would have been Nakago, but the man was nowhere to be seen.

This wasn't odd. Nakago had the annoying habit of being unable to be found unless he wanted to be, it seemed. Mozenrath leaned back slightly, sipping his water and glancing about the room. Where could the man be...

[vladville.livejournal.com]

For a change of pace, and in the name of general health, Vlad took a salad today, with a little fruit in it. After all, breakfast had been a bit heavy, and a man his age had to watch his diet if he didn't want to wind up like Jack Fenton. Clenching his tray for a moment in horror at the very thought, Vlad had to be directed politely by the nurse towards one of the tables.

Breakfast had gone so well, though. He still had a little food for thought (so to speak) even if his ideas about how this place was probably designed and run had been agreed with rather than challenged. It was a pity that girl didn't have some capacity for the portal creation she'd described. But they'd need something different, larger, to pierce through whatever wall separated this place and their homes. And far more precise equipment. God help them all if there were a portal just politely sitting somewhere on the upper stairs and one of the idiot groups, like that 'superhero' club, got to it first.

Vlad really didn't take too much notice of the man he sat across from, aside from the well-groomed hair and the slightly effeminate figure. Well, it wasn't a crime to take pride in your looks, even if Vlad preferred a more masculine style. "Good afternoon," and pleasantries over, Vlad proceeded to take a bite of his salad.

[host-club-honey.livejournal.com]

[Takashiiii~! ♥ ]

It was becoming clear that this was not just some prank, something seriously wrong had happened. Plead as he might with the nurse assigned to him, she wouldn't budge! Not a phone call, not an explanation, nothing! Not even when he'd offered to let her hold Usa-chan! What was wrong with this woman? If he didn't get some answers soon, it wasn't going to be pretty!

As he walked down the hallway, toward where he assumed the cafeteria was, he held Usa-chan tightly to his chest and pattered along beside her. Was this some kind of test? Did his father want to see if he could break out or something? This really didn't seem like his style, but Honey was running out of ideas as to why and more importantly how he'd arrived here.

The nurse seated him at an empty table and walked off to fetch him a tray of food. The table looked clean, but he could still see streaks on the plastic, probably from using some kind of cheap cleanser. Icky! Then came the final insult, when the nurse set the tray in front of him, there was hardly anything sweet on it! A small bowl of fruit and some apple juice?

"What about the cake?" he asked her, forcing tears to well up in his large brown eyes.

Once again, it did no good. The nurse gave some excuse about desserts only being for special occasions and 'if he'd only woken up earlier, he could've had pancakes.' Lady or not, Honey really wanted to kick her for that one. Unfortunately, she left in a hurry, something about other patients to see to.

Honey was left sitting sulkily in front of his chicken tenders. He pointedly ignored the meat, it was probably low grade at best, and reluctantly picked at the fruit.

[mukuchi.livejournal.com]

The nurses had debated on where to put "William" for the second shift. He was an adult so that easily eliminated one option, but whether letting him outside was a good idea or not had been a topic of hot discussion. In the move from the cafeteria out toward the courtyard, Mori had managed to trip on two chairs and hit a wall. The nurses kept telling him to look forward, but any glimpse of blond hair or a small figure caught his eye and...well, before they got to the courtyard it had become three walls instead of one.

After much debate, they lead him off to the Sun Room, hoping he wouldn't get himself into much more trouble and Mori had spent the entire shift sitting by himself. He wouldn't call what he did moping. He'd never say that, but the longer it took him to find Mitsukuni or connect with the others, the more anxious he became. This just wasn't normal. None of it was.

Before he knew it, lunch was announced and everyone was shuffled off. Mori didn't like the way he was herded about like common cattle, but he really had nothing else to do. The twins seemed busy, Tamaki was...occupied, and the people he'd spoken with before all seemed--

As soon as Mori hit the cafeteria doors, he sensed something was off. Or rather, something was right that hadn't been before. Straightening, he sniffed the air and then locked onto his target. It couldn't be true, but there he was - sulking, picking at fruit, alive and well and most certainly not disappeared as others claimed. Had Mitsukuni been avoiding him? He was off like a shot and he heard the nurses call out after him in surprise, but he ignored them. In moments, he was behind his cousin and visually checking him for any sign of discomfort. Nothing except the absence of anything sweet.

"Mitsukuni?"

[himetsuru.livejournal.com]

[shota-bound!]

If Falis hadn't had an important meeting, she would have gone over and annoyed Mozenrath as usual. She still wasn't sure if she'd managed to get all her defenses back up and nothing made that uncertain feeling go away than antagonizing someone she despised. Lucky for the gauntlet-less wizard, she supposed, cause she probably would have been meaner than normal. Oh yes, she was going to kill him, but that would be at night, so the daytime was better spent just irritating the man. He was an easy target, after all.

Getting a tray of food, the bounty hunter limped over to the table closest to the desserts, currently empty, and sat down where she could keep an eye on the rest of the cafeteria. Her long blonde hair, though still damp, was pulled up into the high ponytail she'd adopted to keep it out of the way. She really hoped she wasn't going to be stood up again - for her potential client's sake.

[rectifies.livejournal.com]

The nurse assigned to Ken--or attached, as he was tempted to call it--muttered in an incredulous tone when the boy asked for the dessert section. She pointed the area out without further instigation, much to his relief. These tiny spats between them were getting tiresome; getting into another just didn't seem like a good idea.

Tray in tow, Ken walked toward the tables, his eyes searching for any female that had the look of a bounty hunter. The child had no idea what that look actually entailed, but he'd know it when he found it. At least, he hoped so.

He paused abruptly near the seat directly in front of the desserts and tilted a head at its occupant. Female? Check. Bounty hunter look? ...Perhaps Ken had better ask. "Um. Are you the one from the bulletin board? The hunter?"

[enigmaticmedium.livejournal.com]

[Date for ZEX ♥]

The truth was, Xelloss had fully expected the alien man (had he been 'male' in his other form, or genderless?) to perhaps be polite but not to spend too much time with Xelloss again. It had been a pity, as Xelloss was very keen to know how all that awkward and backwards flirting was going, and how his 'encouragement' had helped.

So the invitation to lunch together was very welcome indeed. Apparently 'skeevy' wasn't enough to scare ZEX off, even with the human's peculiar fixation on the word. True, it sounded as though ZEX had enjoyed some other experiences with possibly better-intentioned trainers since then, and that would lower the entertainment value of a future private rendevoux, but... well, there was always room for amusement so long as one maintained a creative mind!

Besides which, something about ZEX was a little... likable. Oh, disposable, but entertaining like Lina's group. Xelloss had to enjoy such fierce determination for such an unusual life goal, if nothing else. That the goal was not 'world peace' or 'avenge my family' or anything silly and mundane like that, but rather to answer the call of nature to mortal beings and have entertaining sex, really helped.

He'd chosen for himself some of the chicken chunks in bread, honey-mustard sauce since it sounded sweeter, and 'cole slaw' because he really had no idea what that might be. Then, pink lemonade in hand (why were lemons pink?) he sat down and began to eat, observing how others treated the chicken to get the hang of dunking it in sauce. Well, the chicken wasn't very good, but the sauce was, and that was good enough! The cole slaw remained inexplicable.

[wantsyourzex.livejournal.com]

Well, that had been an... interesting previous shift. At least things looked like they'd work out from here on out... hopefully.

As it was, ZEX was glad to think of something else, and for a chance to speak to Xelloss after their unfortunately awkward night. His human could really be so rude sometimes... but it seemed that Xelloss hopefully didn't hold that against him. For the moment though, he got a little of all of the strange food (perhaps Xelloss would help him, if he had trouble?) and looked around for his purple-haired friend. If nothing else, the pretty color made him generally easy to spot.

Aha, there he was! ZEX came and sat down beside him, trying to smile. No matter how many times he tried to trigger the gesture, it still felt so strange. "Hello, Xelloss! I hope you're well."

[byname-bynature.livejournal.com]

[For Near~ ♥]

Artemis wasn't in the best of moods after his shower. He'd reluctantly let his nurse towel him off, maintaining his sullen expression. The situation really was hopeless, no doubt. The fact that he'd been over the wall and then snapped back to his bed was proof enough. Well, proof enough that getting out meant going further in. But it was so much easier to get out than go down into the basement.

Why was he not surprised?

He had to let this die, though. He was meeting a new patient and discussing a few things. Perhaps that would offer more insight into his situation. Everyone's situation.

He couldn't give up. Not yet. When had Artemis Fowl II ever given up? The patient population, whether they knew it or not, needed him. If anyone had a chance of figuring this godforsaken place out, it was him. Obviously.

The boy sat down with his tray of questionable-looking meat content, his spirits lifted just a little, and waited.

[atoyboxworld.livejournal.com]

Near was as complacent as he had first been when the nurse came, something that wasn't so odd for him as it was for Mello. No doubt it was a sign of the man's frustration, a convenient excuse to leave without retreating. Near wouldn't argue the point, knowing that there were much more effective and efficient ways to push the elder's buttons.

Entering the cafeteria, however, was not so simple for Near as it likely was for others. The teenager observed everything at once, starting with several notable faces in the crowd. Mello and Matt were there, but that wasn't surprising, given the note he'd already seen. Others, however, hadn't previously been known, including Mikami Teru. Near's eyes narrowed, but not at the man, despite being because of him. Matsuda Touta was noted, a member of the Japanese Task Force, but neither L-Kira, nor the one who had contacted Near.

And then there was the person with Matsuda. Near didn't recognize him because he'd ever seen that person, but he knew instantly who it was. He'd heard the description from the children who bragged of meeting him, especially Mello. Near stopped twirling his hair around his finger then, and simply stared at this person despite himself.

L. It was L.

It took less than a second for Near's mind to process the thought. And yet the weight of it seemed so much greater, took so much more time to settle into the realm of acceptance. L was here, alive in this place. L was here.

Near kept moving, though his reaction would have already been seen by Mello, no doubt. His stare lasted little more than a few seconds, at which point he tore his eyes away, feeling the effort to do so almost violent. He spied his contact moments later, but before he joined Artemis, Near also spotted something else.

"I'm very concerned about my vision." That was the only reason Near gave for the one food choice he selected: a massive pile of carrot sticks provided on the salad bar. He only stopped filling his plate when the nurse began to threaten to put some of the stuff back, and then headed to Artemis's table without further pause.

He didn't sit across from the boy, who looked as young as Near appeared. Instead, he picked the place just to the left of that seat. Almost as soon as he had settled into the chair, one leg bent so his knee was tucked nearly against his chest, Near began to stack the carrot sticks he had gotten, forming the foundation of rather precisely made towers. Or as precise as they could be, given the material Near was working with.

"Artemis Fowl II." Near kept his eyes off of the boy, but still observed him quite easily. "I am the person who contacted you on the bulletin."

[silent-shades.livejournal.com]

Aw man, Rude's head was hurting. He rubbed his eyes and looked at today's lunch. While he generally looked unimpressed, right now he really WAS. He piled his plate up anyway, no point wasting an opportunity to eat. He made sure to get some salad too.

Taking the tray to a table, he sat down and relied of Reno to find him if needs be.

[offduty.livejournal.com]

The second Reno stepped into the cafeteria, he was skimming for either Rude or Elena--but mostly Rude because if there was ever one time he really needed to tell Rude something, this was it.

He snagged his tray without looking and dropped it down at his partner's table without hesitation.

"'Lena's here," he said immediately, even before he'd fully sat down in his seat.

[quickdrawbkiddo.livejournal.com]

Beatrix was very grateful for Mason, but there was just somethings she couldn't tell the man. Sure, he reacted well to her having a daughter, that she couldn't find nonetheless, but what would he have done if she'd told him she'd been serial raped? That she used to kill people for a living? That she was most definitely a sociopath, as per the accepted definition of such? She had so much blood on her hands, blood that has stained her flesh, that she wondered if she had any right to hold her daughter anymore.

Yes. It was just as she told Hanyuu that morning. It didn't matter what she had to go through, the amount of pain and suffering she accepted or inflicted - it was all worth that one singular moment of happiness, of joy. Yes, she would do it all again. Yes, it was worth it. And now... now she had more suffering to endure. She'd had her moment of true happiness. Maybe that was all she was ever going to get. She would still fight for more, it was human nature after all, but she...

God, she wanted to hold her daughter. She wanted to kill Martin Landel. Actually... she just wanted to kill someone.

The Bride ate her food in quiet thought, eyes focused more on her tray than the room around her. For any that had come to know her, it was clear she wasn't in a good place. She rest her burnt arm in her lap and downed the fresh painkillers the nurses had given her. She really should get her mind off of her daughter but... she just couldn't. She needed her daughter before something she couldn't completely control snapped.

[inb4crazy.livejournal.com]

Mion stared at the wall of her room. Had she slept in? She couldn't tell, really, but it felt later in the day than it normally did. Or maybe she was just really out of it, yesterday had been so... hectic. In some ways, Mion might've preferred having to fight over all the things she'd learned and had to think about recently, but then again words couldn't kill you, right?

Thinking about that felt pointless, Mion decided, and sat up, looking around. Just in time for the nurse to come in complaining about her sleeping habbits, too. Nice timing there. She idly wondered if Shion was up yet as the nurse lectured her about this and that. Maybe she'd see Rena today.

"Alright alright, I'll go to lunch..." Mion sighed and walked behind the nurse, rubbing the back of her head. It was still a little tender back there, but... it was pretty healed, otherwise. This place really was amazing, in a sick kind of way.

Food in hand, Mion looked over the various people in the cafeteria. She didn't see Rena, and she still hadn't seen Larsa since her first days here... Though there was Arlene, sitting by her lonesome! And she looked... upset. Placing her good down across from Arlene, Mion looked at the older woman. "Are you alright?"

[usoppsenchou.livejournal.com]

[Free! Nakama? New friends?]

This afternoon. After lunch. That was the time. Had he timed it too closely? Was he taking too long? He was willing to bet none of the other people here worried about that kind of thing. He'd worked on the flier all last shift, trying to figure out the right wording, and now had his notebook closed under one arm as he went through the lunch room line.

It all looked... okay. Nothing fantastic, or anything, but he wouldn't starve. After getting a filled plate, and deciding on water over pink lemonade (it was entertaining looking, but maybe if it had been a manlier color, like pink) he sat down at an empty table.

Usopp took a few deep breaths, as though nervous at his meal, before starting to eat. He did notice the odd glances from one of the nurses, but managed to keep himself calm. It was okay. It wasn't like he was going to go set himself up as a big target or worse, to get totally ignored by everyone. Besides, who could... who could ignore the great Captain Usopp?! His manly power and determination would throb through the invitation, punching the hearts of everyone who read it, demanding their attention! Absolutely! He took an aggressive bite of stale chicken.

[promisedawhale.livejournal.com]

Though the talk of Necromancy (SCARY!) had been a bit of a downside to the morning, Brook had to admit that Faust was fun to be around. He was calm and had an interest in other worlds, so there was no faulting curiosity. It was what Pirates had to have, after all!

Ah, and it was Lunch time now, wasn't it?! Brook got one of everything on the menu since it all looked so yummy, then turned to look for an actual Nakama this time. Greeting others was wonderful and all, but he was still part of a crew, and some of them hadn't even been able to meet him properly! The time here was still so strange!

It didn't take him long to spot the ever-familiar long-nosed lia-- ah, sharpshooter of the crew. Usopp was from before they'd met, if Brook remembered correctly. It was time to change that then!

"Yohohohohoho! Good afternoon, Usopp-san!" Brook called cheerfully as he approached, setting his tray down without either asking or waiting for an invitation. Usopp was a crewmate, and anything went where those were concerned. On Luffy's ship, anything at all. "Remember me? Formerly Just Dead Bones Brook! Yohohoho! How are you today?!"

[mizuhomaiden.livejournal.com]

[Kratos]

Sheena was nervous.

Not looking forward to this meeting with Kratos at all, she gathered a tray of food up and looked around. No, not traitorous bastard or not so traitorous bastard about. No Zelos either. That was weird; she'd expected Zelos to pop up at some point by now. He did have a tendency to find her anytime she was lost in thought just to disrupt it with some horrible pickup line.

Sitting down at the end of table where she could easily kick Kratos if her made any funny moves (she hadn't been lying), the summoner started on her food. Chicken she recognized, unlike that boysenberry stuff from breakfast, so the meal was surprisingly good. Not Genis-quality good, but still good.

[spandexorgtfo.livejournal.com]

As he got his food, Kratos wondered if this meeting was really a good idea. From the sound of things, Sheena's trust in him was non-existent, built only around the fact that Raine trusted him (barely). No doubt she expected him to pull some sort of stunt (but what would he be able to do, stuck in this place?) if Colette ever arrived. Would explaining his motives really do any good, or would they end up making her distrust him further? He had to admit that some of the dealings he'd been doing behind the scenes were especially shady- particularly those with a certain Zelos Wilder.

Zelos had been in communication with him...how would she take to that? The two were somewhat close, in a bizarre, dysfunctional way. He had been surprised to notice that the Chosen had not bothered to respond to Sheena's bulletin post; the man was usually not one to ignore one of his "hunnies".

Searching the throng of patients currently in the cafeteria, he finally spotted a familiar head of black hair at the end of one of the tables. Walking over, Kratos sat down across from the summoner, careful to keep both of his hands in view. "Hello, Miss Fujibayashi."

[diamondstorm]

This day was almost turning out to be pleasant. She enjoyed her conversation with Namine last shift, even though their pasts were vaguely familiar. Stretching as she walked (she had been curled up on a couch for half a shift), she shifted through her information and tried to decide where exactly she needed to go from here. The Bulletin Board didn't hold anything new for her, so after a moment, she continued on.

Renamon tried to pass the lunch line altogether, but it didn't look like her nurse was going to let her do that anymore. She filled up a salad tray to pick at--she didn't except to actually eat. She had ate at breakfast after all. Ignoring the fight that was starting to break out, she slipped to a empty table near the wall and waited.

Lunch was her postponed date with Edgeworth. It was a welcome relief from a day and a half's worth of alternate world interviews. Though she was quite different from when she asked to meet with him, she was still very interested in his theories of the 'why's' of this place, and anything else he might offer. And, of course, there was the very small chance that he was from her world, if he'd seen the show. Maybe.

She placed her notebook next to her tray, staring at the messy pages sticking out of it. More than anything, she wanted to know what was inside.

She'd wait. She had to wait.

[for Edgeworth]

[high-prosecutor.livejournal.com]

"Mr. Pierce, I believe you must be one of the single best-behaved patients here," Edgeworth's nurse said cheerfully as she escorted him into the cafeteria. "I always see you welcoming new patients, you've hardly ever fussed about anything, and you've settled into the routines beautifully. I'm so proud of you, dear."

The prosecutor was paying enough attention to smile and nod where appropriate, but most of the woman's words were going in one ear and out the other. Wright. Wright, Wright, Wright, Wright, Wright. Why on earth are you here again?

He moved through the line quickly and quietly, picking out a bowl of soup and a salad rather than the chicken, and taking a glass of the pink lemonade.

Edgeworth glanced around the cafeteria, finding a young lady that matched the description. "Renamon, I presume? Miles Edgeworth. It's a pleasure to meet you."

[secret-orchard.livejournal.com]

Armand still felt uneasy and ill. He'd not thrown up when Diva kneed him in the stomach, but his muscles hurt. Between that and the torn flesh down his back and upper arm, he was in quite a bit of pain, inside and out. Of course, that didn't compare to how awful he felt about what happened between Bridget and Diva. He didn't want her to hurt the boy.

He hadn't been able to eat any more breakfast and had spent most of the rest of the morning curled up in the Sun Room, fighting down wave after wave of cycling emotions: fear, anger, self-loathing, hate. He'd vaguely looked to see if Morrison came into the room, but the man must have gone outside with the rest or something. Maybe Armand just missed him during the times his eyes were squeezed shut, trying to make his pain disappear.

Nothing he did mattered. No. The more he tried to help, the more the people he cared about were hurt. So everything he did caused harm.

His hunger encouraged him to stay calm when the nurse took him to the cafeteria. He didn't protest when she gave him chicken and soup. Just the soup would have been fine, with some bread. And water.

He took a spot where he could watch the door and hoped seeing his friend wouldn't be as difficult as he feared.

[for TK-622]

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

The blood loss had kept him pretty out of it this morning, but he was good enough at covering for that sort of thing that he managed to convince the nurse he was alright to get up.

The nurse put the food he wanted on his tray ("Yes, I am going to eat all of that, thanks,") and set it down at the spot he pointed out across from Armand, before finally leaving him.

Sitting down made him feel a bit woozy again, but he gave Armand a small smile, hopefully one that looked friendly. "How are you holding up?"

[not-rly-fai.livejournal.com]

[[Orihime :D]]

His short nap hadn't been so short it seemed. When he did finally wake up, it wasn't Ururu, but the nurses, waiting to escort him to lunch. Already? He needed some help getting up, but he did feel better than he had earlier. Yuuhi gave the little girl a smile and a wave before he was hurried along back inside.

The cafeteria was slowly filling up, but only a few people that he knew had arrived yet. Homura he had no real intention of visiting, especially since it looked like a fight was brewing between him and some others. And Yue was sitting alone, but Yuuhi was in no mood to be answering the man's questions. Once he'd put a few things on his tray, he tried to find a spot that was out of the way. It wasn't that he needed time to think or figure out ideas; his choices were already clear enough, he just had to make some decisions. That was the hard part. He pushed things around on his tray, looking absently down at his food.

[simpleastherain.livejournal.com]

It felt like it had been one long, busy morning. Orihime was unused to all this activity but she found herself unbelievably grateful for the distraction. Flitting back and forth between people, talking and trying to help, it all made her feel busy and useful when she had been so stupid the night before.

Interacting with new friends helped ward off the homesickness and the longing for her old friends. It couldn't have been that long, anyway. Maybe she was just being silly.

She was glad to find Fai in the cafeteria with his own tray of food, even if he was just pushing it around again. Once her tray was full she took a deep breath and stole her determination, but by the time she made it to the table she only managed a weary, genuine smile. "Hey."

[kagurazuki.livejournal.com]

[For the adorable little trap ♥]

Now that she had a goal in mind, even a small one, Kagura felt somewhat better. There had to be a way to reach Hatori, to make him understand that it really was her. She should probably tell Leon about what had happened the other day when she tried. And post on the bulletin to find Hatori's other patients.

She hadn't had much of breakfast because of that weird guy, so her stomach was grumbling at her by the time she sat down. The place was pretty empty so far, so maybe she'd get to sit by herself this time. She wasn't sure how many more crazy people she could take.

[roger-hug.livejournal.com]

Bridget wasn't hungry, and he told his nurse he would eat in a few minutes. He had something to do first. He'd said it in such a serious fashion, that she'd allowed it, but told him that he would be eating.

Hands clenching tightly around the bear he'd grabbed after his quick shower, he approached Kagura, hoping she wouldn't just up and leave at seeing him.

He didn't sit, instead he tried to bite back tears as he looked at the ground.

"Good afternoon Miss Sohma..."