Day 21: Lunch

[totallytheseme.livejournal.com]

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.

Comments

[a_sin_for_him]

"In all things, there are balance," Lust said, nodding. "It's the principle the universe exists upon. We call it Equivalent Exchange in my world - nothing is gained without losing something, nothing is lost without a gain. The world must be balanced. I know what it is to be a tool, but a tool that can think and live is only a tool if it allows itself to be used."

Greed had run, Envy had wanted to destroy humanity... they all reacted differently.

[bigshotbarret.livejournal.com]

"Yeah...he decided to use himself to his own purpose. But you're right, everything gotta be balanced." He looked curious suddenly, "What exactly were you used for? To be a weapon?"

[a_sin_for_him]

"I was used to manipulate alchemists," Lust explained. She had no shame of her past. "I promised them power beyond their wildest dreams, promised them my body, gave them the knowledge to create a forbidden stone that my master desired. And if needed, I was used as an assassin. Though I was rarely called on to kill."

[bigshotbarret.livejournal.com]

Barret took some time to consider what she explained. She seemed at ease with what she'd done, but what's passed was passed, right? He was trying to force himself to think more along those lines than hold grudges as he had in the past, or pre-judge based on someones' past. His wasn't full of roses and cherries either. Besides, strangely enough, that orange haired guys' words did stick in his head. In some twisted way, they were all on the same side.

He didn't let his mind linger on it too long, since acceptance was easier than picking it apart in his head. "By the sounds of it, I'm sure glad your on our side instead of theirs."

To know any one of them could be brainwashed to battle their allies was an unnerving concept. Knowing he might have to face Lust, or one of his friends left him uneasy. "At least...when your mind is your own." He flashed a faint grin.

[a_sin_for_him]

"Understand that I knew nothing else," Lust said, calmly. "My master took me from the desert before I was fully formed, buried the memories of my previous life, raised me in isolation and told me only what she wished for me to know. And she promised me the one thing I wanted. I learned, and I defied her. I cannot change my past so I see no reason to dwell upon it." That was all there was to it.

"I do wonder when my turn will come." She returned the grin. "With luck, not for a very long time."

[bigshotbarret.livejournal.com]

Barret nodded, taking a quick glance around the room with the distant inquiry--who was next? "Does that happen every night...the patients bein' brainwashed, or is it random? Actually, what I really wanna know is...what's the point? Is there even a point to it? Jus' someones' sick game of how far they can push someone till they completely snap."

[a_sin_for_him]

"I don't know how it's chosen. It isn't every night, but I haven't seen a pattern." If there was one. Or at least one that could be seen from the outside.

"I'm sure there's some purpose, but I haven't guessed it. I wonder if it's to test us, test our abilities."

[bigshotbarret.livejournal.com]

"Maybe they plan to use us as weapons." Barret stated a matter of factly, feeling his temper start to boil with the possiblity. "Plan to harness our abilities and set us loose on the world for their own god damn selfish agenda." He shook his head and closed his fists, trying to keep his voice steady and soft, "I'll die tearin' this place apart before I let 'em do that kind of shit to me."

[a_sin_for_him]

"Perhaps they do. Nothing would surprise me." Lust frowned and reached across the table, laying a hand on Barret's arm, the non-mechanical one. "We aren't going to let them use us as anything. I swore that no one would use me again in my life. I mean to keep to that."

[bigshotbarret.livejournal.com]

The warm touch of her hand had a small calming effect on the large man, but didn't quite quench it completely. Still, he was grateful for the comfort it brought and met her eyes with a small smile to show that gratitude, "I believe that. You ain't no pushover. I like that."

[a_sin_for_him]

"No one pushes me," she agreed, keeping her hand on him. "And I imagine no one pushes you, either. Whatever they have planned for us, they won't succeed. We will escape from this place. I don't know what will happen afterwards, but we will escape."

[bigshotbarret.livejournal.com]

"I've been wonderin' that since I got here," Barret said, finally able to push his temper down far enough to allow completely coherent thought. "I mean, yeah, we get out of this...prison. But they took us from our world, our time. There's gotta be a way to send us back." He sighed, staring at the hand upon his arm. He had no intention of moving it. "Maybe there will be answers on the outside, when we get there."

[a_sin_for_him]

"Or maybe," Lust said, quietly, "we're stuck here. It's an unpleasant possibility, but one that would be stupid to ignore. We can't simply cease to think about events which may upset us. There must certainly be a way to return us to our homes, but we may not find it for years. Even after we escape."

She wondered about it often. Would she ever be able to return to Amestris, or would she need to make a new life in this place? She didn't care either way - she had nothing to return to - but she knew it weighed heavily on the minds of allies.

[bigshotbarret.livejournal.com]

The possibility of that negativity coming to be placed an unpleasant lump in Barret's throat. He'd already missed so much of Marlene's life, and now he was perhaps stuck in this world for all time. He knew she would be taken care of, he knew Tifa was there to help and support her, but not being there physically...

It would mean she'd lost two fathers in one lifetime.

He forced himself to nod before remembering the little cookie on his food plate. He used his metal hand to crush the morsel to bits and read the note inside. He chuckled at the sight.

You will find comfort in the arms of a friend.

He held it out to Lust, "This place is just fill of fuckin' surprises."

[a_sin_for_him]

"They have messages inside of them?" Lust looked at the small scrap of paper with a faintly puzzled smile before snapping open her own cookie and pulling out the paper, confused at the idea.

"Why do our desserts have small messages in them?" She'd never heard of such a thing.

"You need not worry about your future," she read aloud.

[bigshotbarret.livejournal.com]

"I only half listened to the irritating jackass on the intercom, but it's...a fortune cookie, I think. Suppose ta say some inane shit about your future." He shrugged. "How a fuckin' cookie can do that is beyond me. Someone just decided to put some random shit in each one and mess with the minds of the populace into believing fortune telling comes in the form of a cookie. Marlene would probably think it's cute..." He pulled his flesh arm back, perhaps a little abruptly, to wipe it over his face, as if to clear his head. "God damn, I need a fuckin' punching bag or somethin'..."

[a_sin_for_him]

"Not much of a fortune anyway," Lust said, tossing down the slip of paper. "Depending on how it's read it could mean everything is going to be smooth sailing, or I'm going to die soon. Pleasant." She rested her chin on her hand and watched Barret carefully, watching the emotions on his face.

"Marlene is your daughter? Tell me about her."

[bigshotbarret.livejournal.com]

"In a lot of ways she's a normal, six year old girl. Curious, full of questions. But she's...real perspective. So much, it kinda scares me." He laughed a moment, rubbing an index finger across his brow, "The only somewhat good thing about bein' gone from her like I had been was so I don't get stuck with answerin' the question of how babies are made."

He could have skipped this part, but he felt a need to say it, "She's not mine...biologically. In truth, Dyne is her father. But she might as well be mine. She don't even remember him. I've been gone from her a lot, cuz of that shit with Shin-Ra, and then trying to find alternative power sources...bein' in environments a little girl ain't got no business bein' in." He growled a bit at a memory, "She's had enough excitement with Kadaj havin' her kidnapped. For a long time, she was my primary reason for gettin' up in the morning."

[a_sin_for_him]

"I never had any family to speak of," Lust began, caerfully. "But I've learned a good deal about them in my time here. One of the things I've learned is that family has very little to do with blood relations. If you call her your daughter and care for her as your daughter, she's your daughter. And you're her father."

That was that, as far as Lust was concerned.

"Though suppose, by that logic, I have a daughter of my own." She chuckled some at that, the idea still too bizarre for her to comperhend.

[bigshotbarret.livejournal.com]

Barret completely agreed with the reasoning. He had ever since he took her into his arms when their home fell to ruins.

When she mentioned she had a 'daughter', he lifted a brow in curiosity, "Really? She back home?"

[a_sin_for_him]

"No, not back home." Lust laughed. Back home, she had never been a mother figure to anyone. That was Sloth's department.

"We spoke of her before, actually. The girl, River has decided I'm a good mother for her. Why, I've no idea. I'm not the motherly type. But she's made up her mind and I suppose I don't mind looking out for her. I know what it's like to be shaped into nothing more than a tool, to be broken and not know how to put the pieces together again."

[bigshotbarret.livejournal.com]

River. For the first time he truly realized how small this place really was. He wondered why Lust hadn't mentioned it before, but it also seemed like a new avenue she was exploring and perhaps not entirely comfortable with. "Well...uh...as a mother, you'll be glad to know that girl knows how to use blades real well." He chuckled in good humor, but it slowly died out as a serious expression took over his features, "Maybe you can tell me this then. Can she...really...you know...read minds?"

[a_sin_for_him]

"I know she can handle herself. I don't worry for her physical well being, only her mental." River's body was fine. Her mind, however, was proving to be on the fragile side.

"She has... a gift. One she can't control very well. I don't understand it fully, but she can see things inside of people. Memories, emotions... the truth in a person's heart and soul. She also... feels things stronger than you or I would. She's not dangerous. And she's been inconsolable since last night over what happened. I spent all of breakfast with her brother, trying to calm her some."

[bigshotbarret.livejournal.com]

"She seemed okay when she talked to me...though I admit I had a hard time understanding her. She's got an odd way of talkin'. But she apologized for doin' what she did. She felt bad, and I admit, I was pissed beyond belief, only when I understood that she was bein' controlled, in a sense, did I let it go. By the time she got to me, I was fine."

It took a little time and a little knowledge for him to understand that her actions were not based on her free will. She was a kid, after all. No one should be used like that, especially children. "This place gonna tear her apart if we don't keep an eye on her."

[a_sin_for_him]

"She feels very badly for whatever she did last night," Lust emphasized. "And yes, she often talks in riddles and abstracts. It's just her way. Things were done to her, long before she came to this place. Her actions weren't her own, they were the actions of the men who run this institute." They didn't care who they used.

"She has many people who are looking after her. She... has a way of warming people to her."