damned_institute | Day 37: Sun Room

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Day 37: Sun Room

Joe had read some of the larger notes stuck up on the bulletin board when the announcement came on the intercom. All things considered, this Landel guy didn't even seem so bad. Even if these people were held here against their will, he was certainly nice about it.

Apparently, the new patients - including Joe - were to hang around in the Sun Room or go to Arts and Crafts with the kids. Well, there was plenty of information on the board, including maps and descriptions of monsters, for Joe to prepare for the nighttime, when he could seriously get going on fighting his way out. He could look for where the boss would probably be waiting, or where his V-watch might be, and figure out how to fight the monsters. In fact, he had plenty of time to work all that out... but this the first time he'd had to really relax since he got his powers. So it couldn't possibly hurt to enjoy the calm period, could it?

The red-head stepped back from the board, and hopped back onto a comfy-looking couch to digest in the sunlight. He reached up to pull his cap down, and sighed when he realized it wasn't there. "Oh well, nothing's perfect. I still wouldn't call this hell."

[free!]

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Ophelia had noticed the young man's approach, which sparked her interest. She had been expecting to have to go up to someone herself rather than having someone else come to her. From the look in his eyes, he didn't seem like the usual vacant-eyed human either, same as Arlene.

"Yes, I woke in this place not a few hours ago," she replied, comfortably folding her arms in front of her and putting on an air of friendliness for the moment. "This is all terribly overwhelming so far. How long have you been here, might I ask?"

Oh, so she was quite new. Itachi wondered exactly how much she knew about this place. At this point, she wouldn't be a very valuable contact in terms of information, but she might still be a competent individual. Besides, Itachi didn't have anything better to do than talk to her.

He was reluctant to say how long he had been here, though. It was an unforgivable span of time, a sign of weakness. "About a week," he answered slowly, in a careful, measured tone. "Most here that I have talked to haven't been here much longer than that. Someone has explained the situation to you, I take it?"

"Some parts of it, yes. She said that this is some sort of facility for mental health, and that they let us loose at night to fight against various creatures. I take it that this is accurate?" she asked, conveniently glossing over Arlene's attempt to give her written information about the monsters. If this man seemed decent enough to help, she would bring up the subject of her reading problem later. "Also, she mentioned that it is difficult, but not impossible to attain decent weapons, though she did not specify where or how outside of straight-up improvisation. Do you know anything about that?"

Itachi nodded. "That is more or less correct. The part about this being a mental health institute is a sham -- they are in fact imprisoning us. The thing that occur at night are apparently meant to test us." For what, he didn't know. Or care. He just cared about defeating those who wanted to test him.

As for the weapons, he was instinctively reluctant to give away information like that. However, cooperation with others was key to bringing this place down, and information about weapons was already semi-public on the bulletin board. "Aside from improvisation, there are some here that know how to make weapons, or so I gather from various posts on the board." He nodded towards it. "There seems to be a waiting list, though. Some of the patients have organized, however, and the groups attempt to arm their members."

Ophelia nodded as she listened, noticing Arlene entering the room and sitting on a sofa nearby. The corners of her mouth quirked up at that. So, the woman intended to keep an eye on her, did she? That suggested only one thing to her, and that was that Arlene likely perceived her morning tablemate to be a threat - as she well should, in Ophelia's opinion. The game grows continually more interesting.

About as interesting was the dark-haired man's admission of the existence of individuals who could create weapons. "That's good to hear. I have a great deal of skill with blades, and would like to put that to use on the creatures of this world as soon as possible. In the mean time, I'll be sure to look for a suitable weapon substitute," she answered, grinning with a tiny amount of her inner bloodlust showing in her eyes. "And how does one go about joining one of these organizations, by the way?" Ophelia wasn't particularly interested in joining up with a group of humans, but she figured it would be helpful to know some more about the dynamics of her environment.

Itachi warily took in the woman's slightly unbalanced grin. So she was one of those. He was quite used to this type, being a member of Akatsuki. They were usually competent, if a bit irritating to deal with. But it meant she was a fighter -- obviously -- and therefore worth something.

"I concur with your desire to fight the creatures of the Institute," he admitted. "But would you not rather put your energy to finding a way to get your powers back and leave this place? That is what the groups seem to be working towards. There's usually information about them on the bulletin board, as well."

Ophelia nodded in agreement. "Getting my powers back and getting out is my number one priority. I assumed that being able to fight the creatures would be necessary to do that, although it is a nice side benefit as well," she said. Glancing at the bulletin board with a tad bit of annoyance when it was mentioned, she added, "I'm sure I'll get to that fairly soon. Right now I'm starting with getting a feel for the people around me. Seeing who I have to work with in person, you know?"

She was more reasonable than the look in her eyes suggested, then. Good. "That is what I have been doing, as well. After I witnessed the amount of power held by the Institution, it seemed apparent that we would all have to cooperate to accomplish something here." As much as he utterly hated the idea of being dependent on others.

Ophelia was no stranger to hating being dependent on others. Even with the horribly failed attempt to attack her escorts after waking up, she refused to believe that she could be without enough power to even keep her own in a fight against multiple opponents. She still blamed that earlier failure on her initial shock.

"To be able to reduce me to this near-human state, there certainly must be a great amount of power involved. My transition to a half-human, half-yoma form was supposed to be irreversible, and the yoki involved should be too strongly fused with my own life energy to have been removed as it seems to have been." She gave the young man an appraising smile. "What about you? Did you lose a great deal of power upon finding yourself here?"

Itachi stared through her explanation. So she was not human? What could she be, then? He honestly did not know what she was talking about, but he was hardly about to make that known.

"I do not know if you have been told, but the patients here have been brought from different 'worlds.' The Institution has enough power to subdue strong individuals from different dimensions." A way to subtly imply others might not be familiar with the conditions of her world without actually saying that he was at a loss. He also was not about to say exactly how much power he had lost; it would suffice to say he had lost some.

"I was deprived of something that in my own world would be similar to what you described. A sort of energy intrinsic to my life force, which gives me my power, as well as some powerful inherited abilities that use that energy. This is a formidable enemy we are up against."

"The woman mentioned that this was not my world, but one instead populated solely by humans. I suppose it's no surprise that there are yet more worlds that the people here have been drawn from," she answered, looking around at the other patients and wondering now just who and what they all were supposed to be. Were there any others from her own world?

She took a quick, unobtrusive glance over at Arlene. She had been joined by a silver-haired man with a smile seemingly plastered across his face. Perhaps she was distracted, or perhaps not. It was best to continue staying alert, she decided, and not reveal much beyond what she had already said at breakfast.

She then shook her head and offered an explanation of her own world to the young man, as it seemed he was likely not familiar with what she was. "I was enhanced with demon-like powers at a young age through a process that fused me with the flesh of what my world calls a yoma. Beings like me were created specifically for the purpose of slaying yoma and other creatures like them. And in addition to the power we are granted, we all also received expert training in various forms of combat, especially with swords. Thus, though I find myself lacking a good deal of my enhanced strength, my learned skill has not diminished. I should be able to handle myself just fine when night falls." On that last note, her grin grew a bit more, and confidence swelled in her tone.

She then added a question. "Now, something else I've been curious about: what has been found out so far about this Martin Landel who supposedly runs the show? Has anyone ever met him, and if so, why hasn't anyone been able to kill him yet?"

"Ah," Itachi commented at her explanation. "Powers in my world are more inherent, but I also have retained a basic skill with weaponry and hand-to-hand combat. The Institute's creatures can certainly be handled if one has enough skill." The thought didn't cross Itachi's mind that that first night, he'd had to retreat. He felt the same way that she did, that he could handle himself perfectly well, if only because he was not capable of thinking differently.

"As a matter of fact, I do not know for sure," he replied to her question. "I have not found anyone who knows where he is or how he might be found. As far as I can see, the Institute has excellent organization, and it would be particularly difficult to reach him. I myself wish I could find a way to assassinate him, though I have been focusing on how to get my powers back. It would make the task much easier."

Powers were inherent in his world? Now that was intriguing. How her world might have been different had she been born with the power to stop the one-horned monster and save her brother, she mused.

"I suppose I'll just have to see what the Institute can throw at me tonight, then. I'm almost looking forward to it, if only because the suspense involved with an unknown new challenge excites me," she admitted, shivering lightly with anticipation. "I'll be sure to keep my guard up, though."

She was a little less enthused to hear that there was so little information known about their captor. That was yet another sign of his being a very skilled opponent; the more she found out about the amount of power Landel held over this place and its residents, the more she decided that he was starting to rise up in the ranks of things she absolutely loathed. How could one man, whether human or not, presume to possess so much power? He had no more right to do so than the filthy awakened beings had to arrogantly tear apart her home world. The thought of him became increasingly infuriating the more she dwelled on it. "I'm with you there. Without my strength and my claymore, it seems as though I'm wandering around naked. Frankly, it's just embarrassing. Far from fitting for someone of my rank," she said with an annoyed "hmph."

Yes, she was the type to get pleasure out of battle, but in a more reasonable fashion than some of Itachi's acquaintances. At least, to all appearances. She could be a valuable ally. "Do you have a plan for what to accomplish at night? Are you going to look for Landel?"

He was rather curious about her objectives, as these were a good indicator of a person's competence and overall character. Besides, he had yet to make a search for Landel himself. And he definitely was determined to kill the man. He was infuriated as Ophelia -- it was such an affront to someone like him, not to mention that in a way he could blame Landel for his own failures here. The sooner he could destroy this place and the man who had subdued him, the sooner he could leave this all behind. Assure himself he was as strong an individual as ever.

"I agree. Yet a true measure of strength is to be strong even without weapons or extra abilities. I should not need those to defeat this place."

Ophelia was surprised that this man seemed to understand and share many of her points of view even better than most of the warriors of the organization she had met. Now she was really curious to know how powerful exactly he had been in his home land, and to what ends he liked to use that power. The possibilities that flashed through her mind managed to make her feel a little bit better.

"Too true. As I said, I'm confident that once I am more or less familiar with my new limits that I should have no trouble making my way in this place, and most likely, that won't take long. I want to be the one to find this Martin Landel and tear out his intestines with my bare hands, and I want to do it as soon as possible," she replied with a renewed smile.

Itachi couldn't help the slightest quirk of his lips. She definitely reminded him of the people he was accustomed to working with. He hadn't realized what familiarity could do for him until now, when the presence of a person like this was slightly calming. He knew how to work with people like this. Not to mention that she seemed to have enough confidence to be relatively powerful, perhaps somewhere near his own level. Certainly the kind of person he would prefer working with, here.

"That might be more difficult than you are anticipating. Many here desire the same thing, many who are quite powerful in their own world. With the limitations they put on us, organization among patients might be a better method to overthrow Landel. I myself prefer to accomplish things on my own, but I do not think that is what this particular situation calls for."

"All the more reason to hate Landel for making it that way, then. I can work in teams well enough when I have to, but I vastly prefer working on my own. I can't stand amateurs mucking things up and getting in the way of my fun. There's not much I find more annoying than a good game ruined by bad players," she said with a shake of her head. There had been more than a few awakened being hunts where she had been assigned to work with low-ranked warriors and ended up having to compromise her fun to cover their pathetic rears. Ophelia preferred to go on hunts with at least one other higher-ranked warrior so that that person could wrangle the rookies while she carried out the fun parts herself.

"So what all has your group accomplished so far, if you haven't found Landel yet?"

Itachi nodded, once again in agreement, though it had nothing to do with fun for him. "Working with weaker people only limits one's own accomplishments. Even working with those of comparable strength narrows one's options, though in some cases it may be necessary."

As for what his own group had accomplished, Itachi did not actually know much. The most he had done for History Club so far was gather metal; he had yet to learn what information the other club members had discovered. That was something to ask Homura, as he was hopefully established enough in the group so far to be told. He was not going to share this particular lack of information, however.

"The group I have been working with has been gathering metal and making weapons for its members. Various groups of patients have been investigating certain matters, such as the physical laws that operate in the Institution and its relation to the outside world. Some of this information is relevant, some is not. I have been investigating certain aspects of the Institution on my own, as well."

Though Ophelia still found the idea of joining up with a group willingly to be distasteful, she had to admit that it if meant easier, faster access to weapons, it might be worth it to look into the group this man was talking about. As she had always believed about the organization, she knew that she could probably just leave as soon as it had served its purpose to her.

"Seems like an approach that makes a lot of sense in this situation, as far as I can tell so far," she said, her expression clearly showing her growing intrigue. "And how might I go about joining you lot in your exploits, should I ever choose to do so?"

"There are several groups, all of which go by code names of sorts," Itachi replied. "Arts and Crafts, Cooking Club, History Club. I have been working with History Club. You could leave a notice on the board if you wanted to join, or you could just find Homura-san. He runs the History Club. Tall, dark hair, one blue and one gold eye."

It went against Itachi's instincts to be so open with someone he just met, but in this situation it was vital for patients to spread information to each other, especially as their forms of communication were limited. Besides, with regard to the more personal information, Homura left his name and description on the public board. He could hardly resent Itachi for telling another patient, especially if it led to History Club having another fighter among its ranks.

"Incidentally, I don't believe I have introduced myself. My name is Uchiha Itachi."

Ophelia nodded as she listened, stowing all of the information away in her head for the time being "With such interesting eye colours, he shouldn't be hard to find, I imagine," said Ophelia with a light chuckle. She paused, wondering how to address his instruction to check the board, though. He seemed reasonable enough and non-threatening to her cause, unlike Arlene; admitting the one extra flaw in her current status likely wouldn't come across as a sign of weakness to him. "As for the board, unfortunately, it is currently of no use to me. In my world, it is not common for women to be taught reading and writing, and even less common for a warrior such as myself to be taught."

She glanced over at Arlene being continuing, who had been joined by another person whom she seemed to know. Quite the popular little bitch, wasn't she?

"I was planning on finding for someone willing to help me acquire basic literacy soon, though as you can guess, I find it frustrating that I should have to do so," she said. "In my world, I barely paid the skill a thought and was better off for it. In this world, it seems to be essential."

At the introduction, she grinned a little wider. She was always glad to make her name more well known (preferably feared as well, but known was good too). "I am Ophelia. Just Ophelia. Also known as the Blood-soaked Warrior to some."

Itachi listened to her explanation of her illiteracy quietly, measuring her up with his eyes. She was not unintelligent, and he supposed that if reading and writing truly were not useful for her purposes in her own world, she could hardly be faulted for neglecting them. He made a point himself never to do unnecessary things, as they only took up time and tied one down. Nevertheless, literacy was the sort of thing that could become very necessary in a single instance. Therefore illiteracy was a dangerous state to be in, and hence a weakness of sorts. At least she was going to try and correct the situation, though.

"That is unfortunate," he conceded, deciding not to criticize her weakness. Other than this minor detail, she would be a valuable ally. "Yes, in this world it is a crucial skill, one you should probably learn immediately. But there are a number of people here of the type that would be willing to help others." Not that he would ever be one of those; he hardly wanted to waste time teaching her. Let the weaker-minded, good-willed individuals do that and leave the stronger ones to pursue their goals. She would find someone.

He couldn't help another almost-smile at Ophelia's nickname. Quite unnecessary bragging, but if she was accomplished enough to warrant the name, then so be it. "You earned that particular epithet, then?"

So she had at least not lost her ability to read others to her advantage. Though she could tell that Itachi was not necessarily pleased that she was illiterate, having saved the admission until this point had ensured that he wouldn't really hold it against her. All the better to ensure his help in other matters later should she need it for whatever reason.

"There are always a great number of overly - often bafflingly - helpful people in the world. I don't think that changes much across different realities," she said with a smirk and a chuckle. "I'm sure I'll find one of those types soon enough."

She nodded when asked about the nickname. "I would prefer a more specific title that has to do with my personal technique, as some of the other high-ranked warriors do. Though, it's not much of a surprise that it hasn't happened yet. Most who get to see my special technique don't live long enough to spread its name around."

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Day 37: Sun Room

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