damned_institute | Day 21: Lunch

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Day 21: Lunch

Hikaru and Kaoru had been so caught up in their little game that they initially hadn't heard the intercom go off. The new "ding" system was far less jarring than the old SCREECH, and as such, wasn't as easily heard, even in a place as quiet as the library. All too soon, the nurses came to separate the twins and take them to the next activity--lunch.

It only felt like a few minutes since breakfast, somehow, and yet Hikaru was starved. The lunch selection was ridiculously Americanized food of the "Pan Asian" genre, as bad as when his family had wanted Japanese food in California and had gone to the "nicest" restaurant in the English language guidebook. He cringed visibly when the surly cafeteria worker poured sauce on his rice--which was supposed to be plain--but...food was food, and he wasn't feeling terribly picky right now. At least it smelled all right.

One of the good things about being the first one into the cafeteria was having his pick of the tables. Hikaru chose one of the larger ones, saving seats for Kaoru, Tamaki, and (in a fit of hopefulness) Haruhi.

He hoped they'd come soon. He hated being alone.

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"Yes, that's her." Lust nodded. "She was my master, but she isn't any longer. I have no loyalty to that scheming whore. She cared for nothing but extending her own life, gaining immortality. People were nothing but pawns in her game." Again, Lust hoped the woman was dead. Few things would delight her more.

"I was in her service for many years. She had a way of promising a person exactly what they wanted. And if promises didn't work, she relied on threats. From what I understand, I lost my life defying her. I don't remember it, though."

"That's gotta be weird," Barret said, leaning back in his wheelchair as he crossed his arms at his broad chest. He avoided desperately putting any weight on his middle, "Knowin' you died, only to be here. Kinda like a second chance at life. Makes you wonder if this place is all bad." Even though the words sounded nice, he frowned at the sound of them. The thought of this place having a positive purpose made his stomach turn.

"You mentioned how you were...made. What did ya mean by that?"

"I don't have any memories of dying. It doesn't seem real to me. But people have told me how it happened and when." Lust quirked her shoulder. It didn't matter to her. It had never happened as far as she was concerned.

And then came the question that always came. She was expecting it.

"There is a science on my world called alchemy. It's the process of creating and changing things. There are few limits to what alchemy can do, but it all revolves around one principle. To gain, something of equal value must be given. There is one form of alchemy that is forbidden, and considered the greatest sin. Human alchemy. Creating a human or using alchemy to revive one who has died. But simply it's forbidden doesn't mean it isn't practiced. I was created with alchemy, in an attempt to revive a dead human woman. I'm what's called a homunculus, a created human. The differences are slight - I bleed and think and feel like a human. But I don't age and it's difficult to kill me. And my soul is... incomplete."

That was unsettling, and Barret had difficulty hiding the surprise on his face. In a sense, it reminded him of Sephiroth. He had been born, yet created. He dealt with it a lot differently than she seemed to be. Then again, she must have known from the start.

The science behind it confused him, but he at least understood the gist of it. She was a little less than a true human.

Wiping the current look from his face and gave a comforting grin. She seemed nice enough, and was informative at that. A big difference from a certain silver haired family he was familiar with. "Well, you are what you are..." There was a slight feeling of discomfort, so much of their lives told in the matter of minutes. He decided to move to something different, "When the night shift comes tonight...you plannin' to find those weaknesses, or are ya gonna let yerself heal first?"

"Yes, I am what I am. I'm human enough." Lust shrugged. "What is humanity, after all? I feel, I learn, I remember, I laugh, I cry... what are a few fragments of a soul?" It had taken her so long to accept that she was what she was.

"Besides, this place is trying to make me human. I wonder if it will succeed, and if I'll feel any differently." She could tell he was unsettled. She didn't blame him.

"I'm going to let myself heal if I can. I'd rather not tear open my stitches. I have a variety of items I've stolen from about the hospital, I may see what uses I can put them to."

"I think I've already come close to splitting my stitches wide open," he laughed, "With Vincent bein' mistakin' for a girl..." he laughed louder, the joyful recollection showing through his eyes, "I don't think I'll ever let him live it down as long as we're here!"

He moaned then, placing a tentative hand on his stomach, "Well, maybe just a couple of days. Shit, where I come from, Materia woulda healed this up in no time. Yours too."

Lust had no idea who Vincent was, but she could appreciate the sentiment. She chuckled and moved her food about in its bowl, not hungry but needing something to do with her hands.

"You're welcome to join me tonight. My room is F-1."

Barret blinked, and didn't try to hide it. He was surprised as well as pleased with the invitation, though not knowing where F-1 was located did provide a slight problem. "I think we could both use the company. I ain't too good on the geography of this place, but...I'll find it." He flashed a smile, happy to know he'd made a new acquaintance whether she was all human or not.

"Just wonderin' but, who else is here from your world? Sense you said others told you of your death, I'm guessin' you ain't exactly the only one."

"It's the first room in the women's hall," Lust explained. "And I'd rather not spend the night alone - this place is depressing enough as it is." And she doubted anyone would stay with her, they all had things they needed to do. It was pointless to keep an able-bodied person at night.

"Oh, yes. A good number. There's the Colonel Mustang, a military man - trustworthy despite his organization. He's also an alchemist. Edward Elric, the boy with the metal limbs I mentioned. Another alchemist. There's the colonel's friends, both soldiers who's ranks I can never remember. Another homunculus like me, and... Scar, an Ishbalan refugee. There may be more, they come and go. And of course my former master."

Barret nodded as she rattled off names that didn't ring a bell, but he attempted to hold them in his memory for later if he ever met them--especially Dante. "Finding it should be easy enough. Now if I get there and you ain't there, I'm gonna be disappointed. Don't be playin' no games." He smiled playfully, letting his mind roll over the fact he was going to another womans' room with the best intentions, although he couldn't help but be a man, and occasionally let his mind touch upon things some might find...inappropriate.

"I assure you, I never play games when I invite a man to my room. Unless of course it's been agreed upon beforehand. But those are a different sort of games." Lust smiled, coyly, old habits coming without even a thought. her voice was as playful as his.

This man was a valuable ally. More valuable than many she'd made from other worlds. And she had to admit, he reminded her some of her scarred man. Gruff and hard forged, shaped by war and misfortune and loss... and yet he still managed to be pleasant company. She found herself honestly warming to him.

The current mood warmed his disposition, the earlier discomfort ebbing cleanly away. Maybe she wasn't complete, but she was most certainly woman enough to him. It'd been a long time since he'd had a conversation that treaded on the lines of decency, and he was actually thoroughly enjoying himself. For just a little while, he forgot he was held in the institute against his will.

"Well Lust, if they the games I'm thinkin' they are, or could be, I'd have to say I might be too rusty in that department to remember how to play even if it was agreed. Though, I guess with good motivation, I could remember." It'd been years since he'd put this side of himself to practice. Rusty didn't begin to describe how it felt, yet away went the words before his throat managed to choke them back.

"Come now..." Lust leaned forward, teasing, her lips curled up in a smile. "There are some games a man never forgets how to play. Sometimes he simply needs...a small reminder of how the rules go. And of course, a skilled playmate."

Oh yes, he was rising to her advances. And how long had it been since she truly engaged in these games? Toying with the affections of young men was an idle distraction, never bearing any fruit. Nor did she want it to. And Haru... well, Lust was no fool. She hadn't seen him for close to a week. If someone was gone for that long, they were gone. And Scar had rejected her. Why not make her alliances and have her fun as well?

There was no harm.

It was obvious enough to Barret what she implied, and he wasn't sure whether to be stunned or satisfied. The voice that screamed of maleness was estatic at the prospect while the quiet rational voice scolded him that this game was pointless and should be avoided at all costs, that it was liable to bring nothing but a headache and possibly pain in both degrees.

Barret told the latter voice to shut the fuck up.

"Am I lookin' at this skilled and maybe willing playmate, or should I keep lookin'?"

"Perhaps we should simply see what happens tonight, hmm? That is, if you're in the mood to play." Lust enjoyed the dance as much as she enjoyed the act. The play of words, the banter, the carefully chosen words and motions... she had been trained in the art of enticing men but she did enjoy it. It was a skill, one that needed more than just her body.

As for that night... neither one of them were in any shape to make any progress in exploring or gathering materials. Why not enjoy themselves while they could? It wasn't as though the institute allowed much time for dalliance.

The talk of possibilities got Barret in the mood to explore, yet something still tried to hold him back from fully grasping onto the concept. Was it because he just met her? That they were in an institute? He didn't know, and really didn't want to know. He was mildly content, which was more than he'd felt since arriving--he wasn't going to jinx it.

"I might. You the type to go by a set of rules, or make some as you go along? Gotta know what I'm up against." He propped his elbows against the corner of the table, folding one arm on top of the other as he watched her to make her reply.

"I have no strict rules that I prefer," Lust said, shrugging. "I tend to allow others to set them. I'm rather amenable to anything, to be quite honest. Dropping all pretenses, you needn't worry about possessiveness or any feminine traps. I'm not that sort of woman. But there are certain pastimes I happen to enjoy." She ran a hand through her hair, tossing it back over her shoulder.

"As I said before... life doesn't stop simply because we're in this place."

"You don't seem the type to need possessive traps," he said with a light chuckle, leaning back, a little off his arms.

He hadn't been with anyone in any remote fashion of the words sensual or sexual, so it almost felt like he was stepping on untouched territory. Then again, he guessed some things you just never really lose sight of. "Guess if we can't get outta here, for the time bein', might as well make this experience as pleasant as possible."

"No, I'm not." There was no point in lying. "I have no need to trick anyone into my bed." Not anymore, at any rate. And it wasn't as though she was leading him along with false promises as she had done in the past. But after Scar's rejection and losing Haru's affections, she wanted to feel wanted and desired. She had accepted Scar's dismissal of her - understood it, even - but she still felt... lacking, in a way. She was used to attention, used to men making advances.

"Why make an unpleasant situation worse than it has to be? We wouldn't be the only ones taking advantage of an opportunity."

It went from the playful word games to point blank honesty. In this short time, Barret had seemed to become comfortable enough to speak with her in such a context. She seemed the type to be comfortable about it almost anytime. It didn't hinder the experience, simply made him aware he wasn't dealing with a naive unseasoned girl--quite the opposite. He was too old to be playing those types of games.

"And it's an opportunity that's least likely to get one of us killed. Unless we bleed to death from the rips our stitches might give us if we get...too excited." He said with a grin, leaning back to take a swig of his water. It was becoming quite humid all of a sudden.

"Then I suppose we'll have to start slow. For the sake of our poor, battered bodies." Good. He was up front and didn't seem interested in any games, either. There was a time and a place for those. Here and now wasn't one of them.

"I do intend to sort through some of my supplies. We have all night, after all. I mostly take things from the arts and crafts room. I have a bottle of paint that apparently has useful chemicals. I was holding it for someone but... they don't have any need for it any longer."

Barret nodded, glad for the fact she had a mind on the forefront task of finding something useful, possibly for an escape attempt. No one wanted to stay here longer than needed, yet while given the freedom, they might as well take the positive that's given--it took him a long time to learn that one.

"We should do that first, deal with the supplies you've got." When she mentioned paint, he frowned in thought, wondering what she could possibly get from paint. "What good can paint do other than make some kind of graffitti on the hospital walls?" The thought actually amused him slightly.

"In the hands of an alchemist, any chemicals are useful," Lust explained. "Alchemy is the kith and kin of chemistry, without needing the beakers and tubes. And I have friends who are alchemists. I can't practice the art myself, but I'm trained in it. I know what chemicals do what - assuming I'm familiar with them. Though graffiti isn't a half bad use. The building may not like it, though - sometimes it fights back. Though it hasn't in some time, perhaps it's settled down."

"That's probably what the building wants us to think...so we make a mistake." Barret didn't care to test the building just yet. He was in no condition to run, although his motorized wheelchair would serve as a nice getaway if it was necessary. "I had a hard enough time defendin' myself against a katana and axe wielding patient."

He drained the rest of his cup of water, "I don't know much about this alchemy, but I ain't adverse to learnin' somethin' new. Could save a life in the future."

"That certainly wouldn't surprise me. It all seems to come back to mind games, one way or another." Giving a little, simply to take more away. That was how it worked.

"It's a science, like any other. That is one thing I can say of my master - she's most likely the greatest alchemist who ever lived, and she taught me much of what she knows."

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