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

[forgot-my-life.livejournal.com]

"Yeah. Meat sheild" Takaya knew exactly what he was worth here.

"Nobody knows what time it is here," he said. "Times all fucked up here. Ask anyone, staff,patient, whatever, for the time and you won't get anything more useful than a 'morning' or 'afternoon' or 'lunch time' out of 'em. No one can agree on the date either. And time moves weird here too. It's different for everyone."

[tony-castaway.livejournal.com]

So it might not even be that they'd done something to him, his time sense could just be messed up. "I always knew what time it was. And Tia never forgot anything."

[forgot-my-life.livejournal.com]

"Look around. You see any clocks? You see any calanders?" He gestured to a nurse. "Go on, ask her for the time. You may have been able to do all sorts of interesting things back home, but here you get used to being less than you were pretty fucking fast."

[tony-castaway.livejournal.com]

"Will you stuff a sock in it? Or calm down or something?" Tony's soup was gone. He supposed he was full. "I don't see any clocks or calendars, but I used to be able to see one in my head all the time. It was always right." He sighed. "You're tiring."

[forgot-my-life.livejournal.com]

"Nice to know my ability to annoy people is still in top form," Takaya said, turning away to look down at the table again. "You're welcome to leave you know."

[tony-castaway.livejournal.com]

"Where would I go?"

[forgot-my-life.livejournal.com]

"Any place where my terrible personality won't tire you anymore," he shot back.

[tony-castaway.livejournal.com]

Tony rolled his eyes. "Oh please, it's your attitude. You can curb it."

[forgot-my-life.livejournal.com]

"I haven't hit you yet," Takaya pointed out. "And I'm sure the mass of roommates I've had would tell you that this is polite for me."

At least it was still Takaya speaking. If Kagetora ... no. He wouldn't even think about it.

[tony-castaway.livejournal.com]

Tony narrowed his eyes. "I recommend you keep your hands to yourself around me. Even with what they may have done to us, I bet I'm tougher than I look." Not to mention, Tony was taller, even if he was skinny.

[forgot-my-life.livejournal.com]

"Fuck you. I wasn't going to try anything," he snapped. "Just making a point. And you get to put your and your 'tough-guy' act to the test tonight. Let me know how that goes."

[tony-castaway.livejournal.com]

"What makes you think I'll want to talk to you again?"

[forgot-my-life.livejournal.com]

Takaya shrugged. "You won't. I was being sarcastic. Nobody wants to deal with me more than they have to." He shrugged again.

"Part of my charm."

[tony-castaway.livejournal.com]

"Which is entirely up to you," Tony pointed out. He rolled his eyes again.

[forgot-my-life.livejournal.com]

"Yeah. It is." Takaya looked at Tony. "Why the hell should I get all buddy-buddy with you? I've been stuck here longer than anyone I know. All the people that I've been around here are long gone, and most of the people that were here before me are dead. So tell me, why the fuck should I care?"

[tony-castaway.livejournal.com]

"So? That's other people. What is your problem?" Grumpy yes. Unhappy yes. Tony was a lot things that weren't nice or good, at least at the moment. But a whiner he was not.

[forgot-my-life.livejournal.com]

"It is my problem, and not yours, so drop it." Takaya didn't feel up to sharing his own personal backstory with this kid. Unlike some of the assholes here, he didn't spit out his history at the drop of a hat. "I don't want sympathy, I don't want help, and I don't want to talk about it."

There was that cold slide in the back of his mind. "Fuck..."

[tony-castaway.livejournal.com]

"Then stop whining about it!"

[forgot-my-life.livejournal.com]

Takaya took a breath to shoot something back when his eyes widened and he quickly turned away. A hand clenched the table hard enough to turn his knuckles and fingers white.

"Are you aware of how many times that has been said?" He let out a breath, calm now, voice lower. Releasing the table, he sat back and considered the child beside him. "And it has yet to make an impression." Takaya slammed against the barriers that kept them separate, walls that, while still fresh and new, held fast. A defense of their own design. "Somehow I doubt that you will be the one to change him."

[tony-castaway.livejournal.com]

Dark blue eyes widened in surprise and a little fear. "Huh?" He licked his lips, then picked up his glass and drank deeply, pretending he was thirsty and not rattled. No, the voice was different. Tony could not mistake that.

"What? Who are you talking about?"

[forgot-my-life.livejournal.com]

"Who do you think I'm talking about?" He settled into the chair with far more grace and ease than Takaya had and considered Tony. The amber eyes that had been bright with anger were now shuttered and cold. They were very much like an actual tiger's eyes, considering if the being across from him would be good to eat.

[tony-castaway.livejournal.com]

"Tak-Takaya? Then who are you? You sound different." He crossed his arms and leaned back a little.

[forgot-my-life.livejournal.com]

"Aren't you a clever boy." A slow smile spread across his face. "I am Takaya," he said. "I'm what he could be, given enough time and motivation. You may still call me Takaya, if that would make you feel more at ease, though it is not my name."

[tony-castaway.livejournal.com]

"If that's what you want." In some ways, he'd rather have the whining snarker back just because he knew how to deal with that, snark back. This was a bit scarier. "Those eyes are yours?" He guessed only because they looked more animal now, more feral.

[forgot-my-life.livejournal.com]

"They are. Do they bother you?" He feigned concern. "The staff here doesn't notice them at all, so I occasionally forget." A lie. He never forgot anything that gave him an edge.