Day 37: Men's Showers

[pleading-ngri.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't really call this a locker room. More like a bathroom with lockers. The place was uncomfortably crowded, with almost every adult male patient being hustled into the showers at once, but Phoenix wasn't as annoyed by the claustrophobic, milling throng of bodies as he might have otherwise been. Every extra person was one more person who might end up standing between himself and Edgeworth.

He knew that the prosecutor would have a fit if he found out about this. He'd known since he'd tacked that first response up on the bulletin board. And in a way, he couldn't blame him. Phoenix knew that he jumped into things all-or-nothing more often than most people. At the same time, he had some kind of reality testing. He wasn't going to learn the basics of how to defend himself and suddenly decide that he was Rambo.

He found an unoccupied locker in the southwest corner and glanced around, trying to gauge how long he could possibly stall in a locker room, looking as if he was expecting something, before people started looking at him strangely. It would have been easier if he'd known something of the description of the man he was supposed to be meeting. As it was, all he had was handwriting and a military rank, neither of which guaranteed any particular appearance.

It's not as if there was a better way to plan this, though. "Yeah, meet me by the lockers. I'll be wearing gray and a smiley face, just like about a hundred other guys."

[for Hughes]

Comments

[contentincloset.livejournal.com]

Kurogane grunted when he was told they were headed for the showers, but he had no real problem with the fact. With a shower he'd finally be able to get that sticky feeling from somebody's orange juice out of his hair. He'd also be allowed to see the extent of his own wounds without the people in white fussing at him about not removing his bandages. The only problem that left was that others would be able to see his injuries as well. That bothered him.

But he didn't have much of a choice here.

Being forced to use a little stool by one of the nurses, Kurogane was set down at a shower head close to the door. He grunted again when the nurse finally left him, the set about examining the wounds at his leg.

[nobleman]

Trying to shower with a broken arm really didn't sound like a good time, but Guy's nurse wasn't taking any of his protestations very seriously. She seemed adamant that he get clean, and while Guy certainly agreed that cleanliness was important, he was pretty sure that he could hold out a few days if it meant not having to try and wash himself with one hand.

Not to mention that with his arm set, getting it wet wouldn't be a good idea. Luckily, his nurse was prepared for that, and gave him some plastic to cover it with. She had tried to help him at first, but when he started freaking out, she let him do it on his own. It was difficult, but he couldn't let a woman get that close even in this situation. He felt ridiculous with the plastic shielding his upper arm, but at least it was more sanitary this way.

Moving over to one of the empty shower heads, Guy reluctantly reached forward with his left hand to turn on the water. He inwardly sighed as he waited for the water to warm, wondering how he was going to squeeze the liquid soap into his hands from the dispensers when he was crippled like this.

He noticed another patient nearby who was also having to deal with his injuries, and sent the man a brief smile. At least he wasn't alone here.

[full-score.livejournal.com]

Talking with Anise had put Claude in a considerably good mood, at least for the time being, and he wasn't about to let something like communal showers put a damper on things. True, some people were uncomfortable about the shower shifts, but it had become part of the typical Landel's routine for the blond. If anything, it was too bad they didn't shower more often, but he wasn't going to complain. For one, their captors really didn't have to let them bathe at all if they didn't want to; for another, people could easily interpret his complaints the wrong way, so it was best to just not say anything and take these things as they happened.

It didn't take Claude long to strip and step into the shower area with a wash towel. Fortunately, he was one of the first people to arrive, so it looked like he had dibs on the shower heads. Then again, it wasn't like they weren't all the same(except for the one with the wonky shampoo dispenser from last time, maybe), so he wound up taking the one that was closest to him.

The steaming, hot water felt good to his bones, and Claude took a moment to soak under it. He was mindful not to get his nose splint too wet, however. More than that, though, he made an effort not to let his gaze linger on any mirrors for too long, because then he'd be reminded of how awful he probably looked. Still, that was something else he wasn't going to complain about -- after all, a broken nose and blackened eyes weren't nearly as bad as a broken arm.

Thank goodness for that accelerated healing stuff, right?

Closing his eyes, Claude decided to just let himself relax for a few minutes.

[For Zelnick.]

[captain-hunam.livejournal.com]

Zelnick, quite frankly, didn't want to take a shower.

Well... that wasn't entirely true. He had begun to feel vaguely grimy, and his hair a bit greasy, and like he needed to scrub down under a lot of very warm water. He just didn't want to do it in a room with a lot of other naked people, one of which was someone he'd been kind of maybe making out with last night (and how was it that, every time ZEX had some sort of emotional crisis, they wound up in a position that really should have been too close for comfort?).

Thankfully, when he got to the showers, ZEX already looked pretty preoccupied (not that he looked around for the other guy), so he headed towards an unused showerhead, not really noticing who it was next to until he was reaching for the knobs.

Zelnick found himself staring at Claude-- specifically, his face. Which was... impressive, as far as minor injuries went. "Er," he said, and then before he could find any tact, "You look terrible. Are you okay?"

[promisedawhale.livejournal.com]

Oh, it was time for showers again! Brook had enjoyed his last time in the showers since he'd realized then what having skin again really meant, so he went into the showers this time with more excitement than before. A happy tune hummed out on his lips as he stripped down in the changing room - words slipping out every now and then - and he was soon into the showers and scrubbing away at the mess he called his hair. It had taken such a beating a few nights ago that he was going to give it extra special attention!

[wantsyourzex.livejournal.com]

His favorable conversation with Eileen at breakfast had helped improve his mood, and more importantly get his thoughts off of unpleasant, unanswerable questions as to the nature of his true identity and how he was still trapped in a foreign body. If it was foreign.

ZEX was glad for a chance to think about something else, at least until he found an answer and therefore could stop dwelling on painful things he'd prefer to leave well in the past, and it so happened that one of his favorite shifts happened to be today. Perhaps luck really was smiling on him for now! There could be nothing more distracting than dozens of glistening, wet, naked human bodies around him... it was a wonder that he could even stay coherent under such pleasant conditions! Quite literally like a dream come true for him...

Although, in his dreams, he was always a VUX.

Bah, a minor dip in his mood, but he was quickly back into smoother, more pleasant territory. He didn't see the Captain straight away, but assumed he was here somewhere, perhaps searching for him, and would find him on his own time. And perhaps he could wash his hair for him again! That had certainly felt rather nice...

As it was, ZEX wanted to be in sight of as many naked bodies as possible for as long as possible, so found a shower head and tried to set it up correctly. Human skin could be frustratingly sensitive though, and he ended up struggling with the flow and temperature to try and get it from painful to pleasant. How had his Captain managed it before...?

[k4t4str0ph4l.livejournal.com]

Well, Yue hadn't been much good for distracting Schuldig from Artemis. While he'd been diverting at first, Arty's moving through phases of delusion and physical illness were just making ignoring him more and more difficult - no bloody thanks to Haku. If he'd known that Haku was going to be so damnably incompetent at smacking some sense into the boy, Schuldig would have gone over immediately. As it was, he was stuck until lunch.

That meant he needed another distraction - a good one this time. Fortunately, a shower for of naked men with varying complexes was an excellent place to find one...especially for someone of his ego. All he needed was to find Yohji (or Farfarello, if pressed) or someone whose admiration he could lose himself in for a little while...

Or there was ZEX. He'd have preferred someone who'd admire him specifically as opposed to something that admired every human body in eyeshot, but he was desperate. Pretty blatantly so, to be deliberately seeking attention from one of the people he'd been pointedly not eyeballing as any sort of sexual possibility.

He'd spent the last few years as a telepath in Japan; he officially knew way more about tentacles now than he'd ever really wanted to. Just because ZEX didn't have any at the moment didn't reassure him nearly enough.

That didn't stop him from taking the shower next to ZEX, however, studying him out of the corner of his eye. Whatever the alien might look like in his mind's eye, his human form wasn't actually all that bad, even if he wore it like an ill-fitting suit. "You need some help with that?" he offered - not because he was actually feeling helpful, but as a way to get ZEX's attention as he spun the water of his own shower on - pretty close to as hot as he could get it. Another distraction.

[no-barbarian.livejournal.com]

Being a head taller than most of the guys in here, Teisel didn't feel quite as claustrophobic as he could have. The whole communal shower thing was still awkward and uncomfortable, and brought back unwelcome memories of his time in the Nakkai dig site, but at least the arrangements were a little better here. Sure beat standing in line and getting sprayed with a garden hose, that was for sure.

He'd felt gritty and scummy since his run-in with the pond last night. Settling under the nearest empty shower head, he made short work of scrubbing himself down. His hair was going to take a while to get clean, and he wanted to have time to make sure each tangle and every last bit of pond gunk was gone by the time he had to leave.

Hopefully there weren't any sticks or bits of pondweed snaggled up in there.

[strayfag]

[For Xigbar and Luxord.]

By some good grace, Badou had managed to miss the last shower shift. No such luck this time around. The nurses had let him sleep through breakfast, but that was likely just because they didn't want to put up with his whining first thing in the morning if they could help it.

His foot was feeling better when he finally tested it out, which was the first bit of luck he'd had in a good long time. Not limping into a room full of wet naked men was sort of a mixed blessing. On the one hand, he wasn't limping into a room full of wet naked men. On the other hand, he had no excuse to not pick up the soap if he dropped it. So. In and out. Reeeeally quick. He sort of smelled like the ass end of a roadkill skunk by now anyway.

Badou kept his eye to himself and started soaking his hair under a spray of hot water. He only had about six layers of unidentifiable crap - blood, dirt, dandruff, repeat as necessary - to dig through anyway.

[clockmongler.livejournal.com]

This must have been what hate feels like.

It took ever ounce of dignity and self-control he had to keep perfectly still for the rest of breakfast, yet it all went out the window the second the intercom went off. The... disgusting piece of french toast was slapped off his shoulder (where it has slid to after he refused to acknowledge its existence at the side of his head) and the Gambler rushed himself out of the cafeteria.

So embarrassing...

With the mad dash to get naked and rush into the showers, Luxord hadn't really noticed that the man he began addressing was not, in fact, Xigbar. There were very few similarities as it was in body type, hair length, and the eye patch, but the major failure to detect the radically different hair color was just his own fault. He supposed paying more attention and not trying to viciously scrub off his skin should be in order, but... Well, he never paid much attention to II in the showers anyway for certain reasons best laid to rest.

Of course, the words to come out of his mouth could have been more thought out as well. "II, if your captain is subjecting you to roll around in buffalo feces before downing the pain with alcohol, you might wish to consult someone. If not for the emotional damage, than at least for the smell, for my sake. I tell you this as a friend." God that was an unpleasant smell. At least Luxord only smelt like maple syrup.

[youlackmascara.livejournal.com]

Itachi found a space to himself in the showers and set about trying to get the syrup out of his hair. It would still be on his shirt, but he hardly cared. He didn't care much about it being in his hair, either, only it would be a while before he could shower again and it might solidy into some sort of sticky mass, which could be inconvenient.

He felt a bit blank, hardly even able to gather the enthusiasm to weigh the pros and cons of the situation. He had never thought knowledge of death could affect him like this -- after all, it was merely hard fact. Perhaps he truly was becoming weak in this place. It seemed likely, however reluctant he was to accept it. Even without the Sharingan, he had still felt the same strong individual, but he had to evaluate his various transgressions over the last several days. He was losing control, losing his driving ambition, losing his security in his abilities. He was becoming what he most hated, and he couldn't figure out how to stop, since he didn't understand how it was happening in the first place.

Itachi closed his eyes under the spray of water. Why should he even bother trying to get out of here, if he already knew his future? What use was a powerful existence if it just came to an end? He was going to die anyway, and he might as well be dead here, so what was the point?

No. Speaking of uselessness, what use were those thoughts? Of course existence came to an end, that was the beauty of it. He needed to attain the greatest heights while he still had time, he needed to get the Sharingan back even if he died, because without it he was nothing. Without power, without expressing his will, he was already dead. And he wasn't dead. He wasn't dead.

Finishing his shower quickly with a brief scrub over his body, Itachi decided to leave behind the exposed helplessness of the masses and made his way to the Sun Room.

[youlackmascara.livejournal.com]

[not-rly-fai.livejournal.com]

Breakfast had been pretty relaxing compared to some of the other shifts he'd endured. Shallow conversation and some good food was enough to have him feeling quite a bit better than he had yesterday. Best of all was he didn't need that wheeled chair any longer. It attracted way too much attention.

With rest and some food, his body was starting to rebuild what it'd lost, and while he wasn't yet full health, he could walk around on his own now. And as tempting as it might be to ambush Kurogane, there were nurses surrounding him at the moment, not to mention he wasn't sure he had it in him to run very far. Instead, he simply snuck past and headed for the other end of the showers.

On the plus side, the water didn't sting his cuts nearly as bad anymore. The gashes were still there from the birds a few nights ago, but they had begun to scar over. Other than that, he was actually in fairly good shape, all things considered. He poured a handful of soap and started to wash up.

[Yue/Yuki]

[winged_moon]

As if his breakfast conversation hadn't been enough to put Yue in a bad mood, he was informed that it was, once again, time for showers. Not that he minded the idea of cleaning himself off, but the setting was rather less than ideal.

The slight limp forced on him by his injured leg didn't do much for his dignity, and the guardian had much the look of an offended (and soon to be wet) cat as he stalked his way into the showers, moving purposefully toward a particular spot. Fai was rather difficult to miss, and after the bulletin post earlier Yue rather wanted to speak to him.

"I didn't agree to join any clubs," he began without prelude, as soon as he was close enough to speak to the blond magician. "No matter what Yukito might have said. Especially if 'being nice' is a requirement for membership."

[toadally4boobs.livejournal.com]

Jiraiya had originally intended to take a nice long shower, but that plan was forcibly abandoned after he had caught a glimpse of Kakashi as they were being herded out of the cafeteria. Damn. That made for another one from Konoha that had been captured. Jiraiya couldn't help but notice the irony that it took all of Team 7 being kidnapped to bring them together. Not Team Kakashi, though, as Yamato was still absent.

He showered quickly without speaking to anyone else, although it was from urgency rather than embarrassment. Jiraiya didn't care if the other man stared at the large scar on his chest. (What would he have to be embarrassed about, after all? Even if he was in his fifties, he still looked good, healthy, and able to perform.)

Jiraiya sighed as he finished and quickly toweled himself dry. He had to find Kakashi--the man would be wanting information about his subordinates and would need to be filled in on Landel's. At least he wasn't the only adult Konoha ninja anymore, thankfully. ... But at the same time, Kakashi being here was one less ninja protecting Konoha, and it wasn't a good thing, because Jiraiya didn't wish this on anyone.

For a moment, his mind flipped back to the conversation he had previously with Naruto about Sasuke and Aidou. Jiraiya grinned wickedly as he was led towards the Sun Room upon finishing his shower, letting his next thought distract him from the seriousness of the situation. Oh, did he ever have information about Kakashi's subordinates.

[Moving to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/510510.html?thread=41267758#t41267758).]

[never-learns.livejournal.com]

There were far too few opportunities for showers in Yohji's opinion. Considering what they had to deal with during the night and the chances for sport during some of the days, you'd have thought that they'd kind of want patients to shower more than a couple of times a week.

Schuldig was already occupied and he didn't see Ken anywhere (which sent a shot of worry through him although it was too early to start to be afraid just yet) so he found himself a free shower head and wrenched on the water as hot as it would go. He stood beneath it for a few moments, letting the water soak his hair and skin, before he reached for the shampoo.

[Free!]

[gentiana-clusii.livejournal.com]

Ken really hadn't gotten as much of a chance to talk to Yohji last night as he wanted. He hadn't much cared to stick around with Schuldig there.

Maybe Ken wasn't quite as at ease with exposing himself in front of the institute, but it didn't seem to bother him. The chance to shower was appreciated.

"You're gonna melt your skin off with a shower that hot," Ken said, slipping into the spot next to Yohji. He turned the taps on for his own showerhead and tested the spray before ducking under it.

[cnflctofintrst.livejournal.com]

Mello wasn't fond of the showers, mostly because he saw no purpose to them. They woke up clean every morning and never had to brush their teeth or hair, so the institute obviously took care of their personal hygiene. He'd decided last time that this had to be some kind of social experiment, and his opinion hadn't changed.

He figured that the nurses might let him skip the showers on account of the cast that still encased his wrist, but of course, that was out of the question. Their insistence made sense, considering they replaced bandages every night, but he was still irritated and his expression showed it as he pulled off his uniform. The showers made scheduling difficult...that may have been part of Landel's plan as well.

Waking up fully clothed meant that Mello hadn't had an opportunity to see his body in days. He was surprised by the number of bruises and scrapes he'd picked up when he wasn't paying attention, and annoyed that he'd lost a pound or two from napping through meals and being deprived of chocolate. Aside from the scarring on his shoulder, it barely felt like his body at all. He scowled as he snatched the towel from the nurse's hand and stepped into the showers, then turned on the faucet.

There was no one to eavesdrop on aside from Schuldig, which he did despite being aware that the psychic would know he was being listened to. If his luck continued, Mello wouldn't have to deal with anyone from his world and he could get this over with as quickly as possible.

[luck will not continue]

[atoyboxworld.livejournal.com]

[Mello's luck is fail.]

Near had been allowed to rest through breakfast, and for that he was thankful. There wasn't a single part of his body that didn't ache for what he'd done the nights before, even without the extensive injuries he'd suffered. And they were harsh indeed; while his leg and ribs had thankfully not broken, certainly he bore deep bruises and lacerations over nearly the whole of his body. Then there was the worst of it, his left arm, which was heavily bandaged and held immobile in a sling up until he began to undress.

The nurses didn't need to warn him to be careful with the limb. Near desired normal use of it, after all, and that meant certain precautions had to be taken.

Just as others had to be taken for what he wanted to accomplish next; so far as he could see, Mello had made no arrangements for his time in the showers. Perhaps he wanted the time to himself, a desire Near could certainly understand. However, the showers would be the younger's best opportunity to communicate with his rival now that Mello's identity was known by Kira or X-Kira. Steam would decrease visibility, and Yagami Light had no need of glasses, Mikami Teru did. Even for minimal correction, the lack of lenses would obscure his vision, potentially enough to keep the details of Near's face hidden for the moment. At this juncture the teen thought it only a matter of time before the Kiras realized who he was, but there was no need to assist their discovery by being careless.

So Near was slow to undress, not that his injuries would allow much speed. But they gave enough of an excuse for Near to wait until the steam was strong before he claimed the spot to Mello's left.

"Your meeting must have been interesting." Not only Mello's meeting last night, which Near wanted to know about, but the undoubted contact Mello would have had with L. Near knew that Mello wouldn't simply take his word on something so vital, yet he also knew that Mello couldn't disregard it just because Near had said it. He wanted to know what had come of the conversation, though he had seen nothing to alter his own conclusion after hearing the conversation in the chapel.

[longlivetheking]

"Mr. Irons, you have to take a shower." The nurse told Scar as he once again objected to take a shower. Of course, said objections completely fell upon deaf ears because human women obviously couldn't understand the feline's natural dislike for water. No, she thought that he absolutely must take a shower, even though the King had yet to understand how 'becoming wet' related to 'cleaning oneself'. Therefore, taking a shower equaled to jumping into a pond, and neither things happened to be something Scar enjoyed doing. His lack of fur didn't change any of that.

If looks could kill, the nurse would have been reduced to a pile of dust.

But when Scar found himself standing below a yet-to-run shower head, it happened to be obvious none of his glaring had been effective.

[ooc; for Demyx]

[sitard3d.livejournal.com]

[fgdhaf I blanked and forgot I hadn't posted here, I'm so sorry bb ; ; We can backthread to make up for lost time if you're willing~]

On the complete opposite end of the scale, Demyx was absolutely delighted to be led to the showers. A more aggressive person able to weaponize water might have harbored some sort of plans to attack or escape, but the Nobody was quite content to simply be allowed to be in proximity with his element and to enjoy the calming effects of it. That and he was a little relieved to know that the patients who'd participated in the food fight (at least the older ones; it looked like the kids would have to wait) were going to get the chance to clean up. Just thinking about it made him feel sticky by association.

He wound up under a showerhead next to a guy who looked practically as dark-skinned as Xemnas had been, although his hair was dark where Xemnas' had been silver and he looked a lot older. Some normal social conventions had been lost or forgotten during Demyx's time as a Nobody, and in his cheerfulness he didn't even notice the acidic glare on the other man's face. "Hey!" he offered, failing to take into account basic human considerations like modesty or not talking to angry naked people.

[silent-shades.livejournal.com]

Wonderful. It was time to shower with the boys again. And they were boys. Hah. All of them.

Rude's eyes did a quick scan for Reno but to no avail. Good thing or bad? You could never tell. They were used to each other, but the towel whipping could easily get out of hand. Especially around this much testosterone. The Turks had their own showers. And they were hardly ever in there at the same time as each other.

Rude began his quick wash routine. Focusing first on the head and ears. He liked to be squeaky clean. Literally, as they found out when somebody decided to drag their hand across his head. And had it broken immediately afterwards.

[silent-shades.livejournal.com]

[Heading back out to the Sun Room (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/510510.html?thread=41382446#t41382446).]

[secret-orchard.livejournal.com]

Armand almost welcomed the nurses' interference, since it became obvious quickly that sticky syrup in hair as long as his wasn't comfortable. He thought Alec did a wonderful job of looking innocent. Armand didn't try to explain very much, thinking that the more elaborate the lie the less likely it was to be believed. The fact that they weren't obviously fighting and were getting along perfectly amiably helped their cases.

Then they'd both been pointed, not without some exasperation, toward the showers. For once, Armand gladly stripped off his clothes, first the shirt and then the thin trousers. The room seemed more crowded than ever, and he lost track of Alec in the press of bodies. Well, he trusted he could find him again if he wanted and concentrated on adjusting the water flow. This was at most his third shower ever, and the balance of adjusting the two knobs still puzzled him. Then he simply stood under the water, letting it start to dissolve the goopy mess coating his hair.

[waiting for Trevelyan]

[janus-006.livejournal.com]

It looked like they weren't the only ones caught in the food fight. As amusing as it had been, egg made a poor conditioner, so Alec really wasn't that fussed about shower time today. At least there was no blood to wash off this time.

He hadn't been exactly looking for Armand, but through some quirk of luck and crowds, he'd ended up in an adjacent shower anyway. He turned on the water. That would do for the remains of breakfast all over him.

"I have to commend you on your aim with food," he remarked to Armand.

[wing-head.livejournal.com]

[For Tony Stark]
Having overslept and missed breakfast was hardly surprising. Steve had the general lethargic feeling that accompanied oversleeping, something he really was not accustomed to. Missing a meal wasn't too bad, though he was hungry. Steve smiled pleasantly at his nurse as she chatted at him, though he wasn't really interested in what she was talking about.

The group showers didn't bother him, though he did his best to respect the privacy of the others in the shower and not look directly at them. No telling who might take offense or take it the wrong way.

However, he got a very good look at the claw wounds in a mirror. They had healed much more quickly than they would've on a normal human, but Steve should have been completely healed by now.

Steve frowned at the reflection, but went on to locate an unoccupied shower head.

[i-dont-paint.livejournal.com]

Communal showers were not Tony's idea of a good time. Not, perhaps, for the typical reasons, but because of the very real danger posed by being so exposed in public. He was wondering if he could charm the nurse into letting him take a shower later in the day when, instead of ushering him directly to the showers, she instead bullied him into sitting still while she applied a thick mat of waterproof bandages to his chest. Her logic, that it was best not to get the device wet, was of a sort he was itching to correct, but it did solve one problem for the present. It wasn't as though anyone who'd been there overnight would question signs of injury, and the faint gleam of blue through the gauze was all but invisible in the light of day.

The confirmation that the staff knew was not entirely welcome, but was hardly unexpected.

This left only the more usual irritation of public nudity amongst unknown and suspect persons. Tony did his level best to ignore the other patients as he stripped down and found a free showerhead next to the tall blond man. Peripheral notice was all he took initially, enough to register vague characteristics without attendant details. He nodded vaguely in acknowledgment, then turned the shower on, grimacing as it ran first cold, then warmer, stinging against the still-ugly wounds marring his arm. Not for the first time, he found himself wondering just how the staff did manage to justify the injuries their patients took away so neatly.

[high-prosecutor.livejournal.com]

[lawyer staredown tiem is go]

Edgeworth had, of course, seen the bulletin conversation. It could have been a lot worse as those things went, though. He'd met Hughes once or twice and he certainly seemed like one of the good guys. Wright could do a lot worse - though it pained him to think that he'd need to learn that kind of thing at all.

He scowled to himself as his nurse helped him out of his sling and clothing, then guided him to one of the showers. The hot water did feel nice on his sore muscles, though he would certainly have preferred more privacy.

[dasgift.livejournal.com]

[staaaaaares]

A warm shower after a full belly was a pleasure a man of his caliber appreciated; however, removing privacy from the picture resulted in a lewd circumstance. Thirty or so men cramped in a single space without clothing spoke closer to prison than a mental health facility. A fate he had avoided once, thanks to his stellar record and his brother’s influence, but it seemed neither spared him here. Bathing with commoners… His skin literally crawled at the thought.

Still, the man showed restraint, allowing the nurse to guide him through the basics: the location of the towels and the lockers, use of soap dispensers and nozzles, etc. She rattled on much further than expected, which he bore with a strained smile until finally, Kristoph had to wave her off. Her help, as good-natured as it was, wasted precious time. As soon as the coast cleared, the man took to work, stripping and setting aside his uniform. Then, with a towel wrapped around his hips, he entered the shower area. He thoughtfully ignored any familiar faces.

A good number of men were already in the midst of cleaning. Kristoph quickly occupied a stall without so much as a stray glance and turned on the water. A head of gray hair came up on one corner of his visual range, but as before, he made no sign of recognition.

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

The light wasn't nearly as bad in here. He twisted one of the knobs. Definitely better than the cafeteria.

Sanzo let out a tiny hiss, eyes squeezed shut against the water. The warm water hit the tender areas on his stomach and back. It still felt sore, thanks to Kenren, but at the water didn't hurt as much as he'd thought it would have.

He reached for the soap, and began to carefully lather up.

At least Homura's memories were still wiped as far as he was concerned. It didn't change the fact the monk would kill him the first chance he got. But it was a reprieve all the same. Even if it was for a little while, he could stop looking over his shoulder for the bastard.

[whohitreset.livejournal.com]

Had they let him sleep through breakfast? How generous! ...Except that now Matt was starving with a full shift to wait through until lunch. Bugger all.

And it was the showers as well. Things might be okay as long as his stomach didn't start growling in the middle of it and embarrass him - though it was unlikely anyone would be hearing it over all the various faucets running.

He picked out an available showerhead near a blond he didn't recognize and began checking over what minor damage he'd sustained from the night before. The bruise on his shoulder was hardly even visible. The healing in this place was incredible. Catching a glance at the man beside him, however, was a reminder that not everyone was so lucky. He whistled in admiration before he could help it. Most people didn't live through a wound like that.

[idolism]

_{[Possibly for Akihiko, otherwise DND on pain of face-eating.]}

Aidou wanted scalding hot water and the chance to wash, but he didn't want to be another public spectacle, when the shower room was nothing more than a cesspool of nudity, mixed company, and chitchat. It galled him.

And at the same time, the noble cared less about it than ever before.

Even as he stripped down, all without the aide of a nurse, and carefully knotted a towel around his waist, Aidou knew the color had come back to his cheeks, if only because of the cloying steam, which made the effort of breathing even more taxing. Every move he made in pulling off the uniform top felt like he was being stabbed all over again--with a proper anti-vampire weapon.

The conversation with Sasuke was no indicator of the true depth to his thoughts. He hadn't for a moment forgotten how, exactly, he'd come to be in this state, and the memory of that little hag spelling him to sleep repeated over and over in his mind. Not only had she used her magic on him, but she'd finished her assault in so cowardly a way. The hunters were more forthright than she had been. At the same time, she didn't have the means to kill him as a hunter would. If her sword had been anything but normal, Aidou would have shown the injury more concern than he had. And now that the night had past, he just had to outlast the pain and let his body heal.

He moved straight for the most secluded corner of the room, giving the room his back as he positioned himself on a stool. At the very least, he could wash the lingering smell of blood away, so that it'd stop aggravating his senses. Before that, though... The bandages wouldn't last under a proper shower, of course, but considering how little say he had in how the staff "tended" to wounds, he wanted to see how ugly the wound still seemed. Worse in look and severity than a normal human could stand, he figured, though the lung was no longer deflated and by the constant tickling sensation, was trying to heal as quickly as possible.

An injury like this should have been healed within an hour. Clenching his jaw once in frustration, he pulled back the last of the dressings.

[tender-cruelty.livejournal.com]

Showers. Allelujah sighed softly as he was led in to the shower room, not happy about being made to shower in front of other people again. It made him feel like he was being stared at, not a comfortable feeling for him. He stripped off slowly not appreciating the comment from the nurse that a hot shower would be lovely wouldn't it dear?

He stepped beneath a shower head in the corner of the room, switching it on and trying to make himself as unnoticeable as possible. He had scars, but they didn't seem to stand out too much among these people at least but they were still things that he didn't like showing off to people. The water felt good though and he closed his eyes just standing there for a few moments.

[Free!]

[wild-right-hand.livejournal.com]

As if breakfast hadn't been bad enough. Now they wanted him to shower with other people? Even Kubo-chan didn't... this was too much. Tokito started to protest, urgently, but then the orderlies showed up and the 's' word came into the conversation and Tokito remembered that there were even worse things than being naked and vulnerable in front of other people. At least it was only other guys and the nurse reassured him that he could keep his glove, so eventually Tokito was herded into the shower, bristling all the way just like the cat so many named him.

Tense and miserable, Tokito barely grunted a greeting to the guy the next showerhead over. No one had better say anything about his glove. Everyone could just agree to mind their own business here, right? When everyone was stuck being naked? Right?

[degozaruyo.livejournal.com]

[Sano~]

Kenshin was going to be a father. A father. And Kaoru was the mother. Kaoru, who was not going to die at Enishi's hands. Somehow. Kenshin didn't quite know how that one worked. Sano had seen her die. He'd described it in pretty gruesome detail, down to the bloody cross carved into her cheek.

But then breakfast ended and he couldn't ask those questions.

Dazed, he let the nurse lead him to the showers. He was going to be a father. In five years' time, he was going to be a father. He was going to have a son.

[damnrudecock.livejournal.com]

Breakfast had ended far too soon, and Sano knew there were a lot of questions Yahiko would still have about where they were. But as much as the kid liked to brag, he was still put in with the children's group, while Sano and Kenshin both were taken to the showers. It didn't take long for Sano to strip down, and even less time to find Kenshin standing around, looking completely daze.

"Hey there, Dad." Sanosuke claimed the spot next to his friend, flashing a grin that teased as much as his words. The fighter was still pretty damn elated about everything he had heard, and like hell he was going to pass up an opportunity to poke fun at Kenshin when he was so bewildered. Tossing one of the small, wet cloths at Kenshin's head, he laughed. "It's not going to work if you just stare at it you know."

[runner-up-robot.livejournal.com]

Forte looked himself up and down after the orderly had disrobed him. Human bodies were truly disgusting, and now he was exposed, along with all the other male inmates. A cursory glance told him it was for cleaning, which made sense, but it was still... loathsome. He found himself a free shower head and began wetting himself down. It only made his hair worse, clumping and sticking to his neck and back. It had been nice to have a sympathetic ear to complain to - or maybe just to know someone else had it as bad as him - but here again was a reminder of how foreign his own body was to him.

[for Starscream]

[whiny-egomaniac.livejournal.com]

Starscream chose to skip the first voluntary cleansing session, having opted to use the Sun Room to do a bit of research among the small book collection held there. He'd hoped to do so again today; the encounter with Lugnut had left him frazzled at best, and he'd rather muse over the morning's events looking over his notes in dry comfort.

Not a chance.

"Mr. Latta, you smell," the flesh-creature orderly said to him. "We INSIST you shower and join the rest of civilized humanity in a state of cleanliness." With an obnoxious smile and a none-too-gentle shove, he was forced in with a disgusting throng of unclothed humans. Lovely.

Starscream disrobed quickly, placing his soiled clothing in a designated location. He picked up a "wash cloth", inspecting it curiously as he moved to an empty "shower stall" located between two occupied ones. Looking around, he observed some of the other flesh-creatures opening the valves in front of them, resulting in a stream of water pouring out from a large nozzle above. Starscream imitated the motion, and was surprised at the relative intensity of the resulting stream. "Humans can SENSE wetness, eh?" he grumbled angrily, picking up the dropped cloth and furiously rubbing the provided soap into it. "How revolting."

Looking to his right, he recognized the familiar face on the purple-haired 'flesh-creature'. "Forte, correct?" Starscream shouted, mimicking another's motions and scraping his flesh with the rough cloth. "I cannot say I approve of the sensations caused by this substance, either," he muttered to himself.

[justice-to-a-t.livejournal.com]

It was an odd thing indeed that patients here took showers at all, considering as far as Mikami could tell, all of them were cleaned up as they slept anyway. However, Mikami was the last of anyone who would be found complaining about the change in shifts. Not just because it gave him a chance to get away from the twins, but because... to be honest, he had been looking forward to a shower since the very first time he'd seen the schedule and the gap in time between then and now. Therefore, he would have been in the bathroom much sooner... had he not been intercepted by a nurse and the realization that, due to his injuries, he was to take far more care than he had anticipated.

And so, for really the first time since he'd been sporting them, Mikami got to observe his uppermost bandages being removed by the would-be-kind nurse and replaced with newer, more shower-friendly ones. Once he'd been given his instructions, he was finally released amidst his continued bad mood. He still hadn't asked any of the staff for their interpretation of how he'd injured himself. He didn't think he wanted to know.

But the fact of the matter was he had stitches in his arm. Staples in his side. In addition, although he certainly wasn't exactly an expert in the matter, he thought the wounds looked far too healed for the two and a half days since he'd sustained them- particularly since he'd had a chance to see the ones on his abdomen, and now they were nearly nothing more than healing scars. Rather than being a relief, he found it rather disturbing. Again, he didn't think he'd like to know the details. It was hard to say what they might have been doing to him.

He chose an empty shower head and went to figuring out how to deal with his hair in a way that wouldn't cause the cheap shampoo to completely ruin it. He didn't even bother attempting to figure out who and who wasn't in the showers yet. Without his glasses, and without the added visual acuity afforded by the Shinigami Eyes, it would have been a fruitless effort anyway.

[requiemforasoul.livejournal.com]

Siegfried was ushered into the showers by a fairly disgruntled nurse. According to her he’d managed to sleep through breakfast, despite efforts to wake him up. He did not mind, as food was not currently a priority (although he suspected he’d be thinking differently once his stomach started to growl). However, sleeping through breakfast meant that he had not seen Kio yet, and he wondered how he was coping. He’d seemed particularly distressed by the end of the night.

Siegfried found an empty shower and switched it on. There was a dark-haired man in the shower next to him, and it was a little difficult not to notice that he had bandages wrapped around his torso. Glancing up at him, Siegfried realised that he already knew this man. He’d dragged him out of the Sun Room, bleeding all over, a few nights previous.

“Hey, how bad are the injuries still? Are you staying out of trouble?”

[enigmaticmedium.livejournal.com]

Showering was usually at least a bit entertaining, between those indignant at their nudity, those indignant in general at being ordered around, those in pain thanks to injuries being bombarded by warm water, and those who were still not able to adjust to human bodies. Xelloss had washed before in a human guise enough that it was no shock, and the pleasant sensations of warm water or shampooing hair were just a momentary diversion. Even the company of generally unhappy people was dulled by both repetition and the fact that some patients genuinely didn't mind the group showers.

So, he didn't bother taking his time, apart from being sure everything was appropriately clean. Even that might have been excess, considering that they seemed to bathe on a very rare schedule but didn't suffer much from the scent that would be expected from crowds of unwashed, stressed humans. After the washing and toweling off, Xelloss didn't linger. Today was another good day to meet people and for some reason, the showers just didn't seem to be the place to do so.

[enigmaticmedium.livejournal.com]

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/510510.html?thread=41329966#t41329966)]

[human-sponge.livejournal.com]

Peter was a little less bothered by having to shower with a ton of other men after having gone through it a few times before, but today he wasn't exactly in the mood to chat while he got himself clean. He was too busy thinking about what he might be doing tonight - he wanted to get to that room that the post on the bulletin had mentioned, but he had no idea how he could find it on his own and whoever had made the post hadn't responded yet.

Maybe the stranger would get a reply in during lunch. Peter would just have to keep checking, even if that was kind of annoying. Sometimes the nurses didn't want him to make a stop at the board on the way to wherever they were taking him.

For now, though, he just needed to take a shower. These small comforts were what made life here bearable, despite how awkward the whole thing was. At least they got good meals and were allowed a shower every few days and generally weren't treated like lab rats--

During the day, that is.

Peter padded through the steamy room slowly, keeping his eyes straight ahead until he found a shower head that wasn't occupied. Once he dunked his hair under the warm spray of water, he felt a lot better.

[human-sponge.livejournal.com]

It didn't take him very long to wash himself off and put both shampoo and conditioner through his hair, and in that time no one got close enough that it would have felt awkward not to strike up a conversation. Peter didn't really mind - he was pretty sure that if he finished early, he would be allowed to go spend the rest of the time before lunch in one of the other rooms.

Moving back to where he'd left his clothes, he toweled himself off, working as much of the water out of his hair as he could before he got dressed again. The nurse said he could while away his time in the Sun Room, and so Peter agreed to that.

He wanted to check on that bulletin board, after all.

[gothamnight.livejournal.com]

Listening intently to the announcement on the intercom, Bruce wasn’t surprised when a nurse informed him that the reason the new patients weren’t going with the others to the showers was because they’d already been “cleaned up” upon arrival. Aside from the wounds he’d gotten last night, there was not a sign of the filth or blood that’d been on him last night. What did surprise Bruce, however, was that even after being told where he should be (the Sun Room), he still ended up in the Men’s Showers. It was yet more proof that the Institute was strange to him, and that he needed those maps he’d seen on the board. That, and that he needed to snap out of his thoughts and focus on the task at hand instead of just theorizing in his head.

The conversation with Crane had jarred him, but he couldn’t let that show. Well, not too noticeably. If Bruce looked perhaps a bit too solemn as he reached for the soap, watchers were free to assume that he was simply a new patient adjusting to the idea that his entire life up until now had been a lie. Taking a look around the room, Bruce had to admit that the relative crowdedness was a good thing; there were enough people that only someone who was looking very closely would truly notice his scars. There weren’t any visible cameras, true—but that meant nothing in terms of hidden ones. This was a mental institute—state of the art. And while Arkham’s security could, at times, be less than faultless, he couldn’t make that assumption here. Truthfully, Bruce had begun to wonder whether there was still any merit at maintaining this facade; he’d get another look at the Bulletin Board later, but he’d read enough to know that there were in fact multiple groups organized to combat the Institute—or, at the very least, escape from it. The fact that Bruce Wayne was no more useful than any other stereotypical rich snob meant that he was of little interest to the groups that interested Batman most; but without a mask, Batman had no way of contacting anyone without giving Bruce away. Yes...the thought of giving up the false persona and simply concentrating on working as efficiently as he could was tempting in more ways than one...

...but then Crane threw himself into the picture. A Crane who was, if anything, far more dangerous than the Scarecrow Bruce knew—who knew more information than he let on, and was no doubt highly interested in the Batman. So long as Crane was here—so long as there was the possibility that Crane might ever make it back to a Gotham with Batman and Bruce Wayne, Bruce couldn’t recklessly toss his secret identity out of the window. It made matter infinitely more complicated, but Bruce was not known for giving up.

Water was beginning to soak through his bandages, but the nurse would probably change it when he got out. He made but a half-hearted attempt at washing thoroughly—opting for speed instead of cleanliness. He was already clean, anyway, and who knew what sort of risks he was taking by showering in this public place. Bruce’d already met the Scarecrow...who knew. Maybe the Joker would decide to pop in and say hi next.

[scarletspeedstr.livejournal.com]

Wally nodded a cheerful goodbye to Zack as he was led off for the showers. The guy seemed pretty nice, though it was a shame about his friend getting into trouble a lot. He made a mental note to keep an eye on them both around this place, just in case.

Wally himself took a little longer to get up and follow, awkwardly rising while trying to keep the weight off his injured leg as much as possible, collecting his crutch and following the stream of adults to the bathrooms.

Make that bathroom, singular, he thought once he'd slipped in through the press of patients and looked around. Come to think of it, he shouldn't have been expecting single showers in a place like this anyway. Still, it wasn't as if communal showering was a big deal or anything; the Watchtower had a similar setup for anyone who needed it and Flash had used it a few times himself. Getting his clothes off with an injured leg was difficult, but not impossible, and he waved off the offer of help from a nurse with a smile and a comment that there looked to be other people who needed the help more. He debated leaving the crutch behind, but finally decided to take it with him, figuring that staying off his leg as much as possible for as long as he could stand it would allow him to heal faster, which was going to be important in this place.

Walking slower meant that Wally had arrived after almost everyone else, so couldn't have tried to avoid being around other people, even if he'd actually wanted to. He honestly wasn't that worried about being naked around other people (if you had a body like his, you'd flaunt it too, he figured) but it did mean that the people he did know were already busy talking to others.

He hummed faintly to himself as he walked around, looking around for a free space. The actual tune he was humming was instinctive, and it took him a moment to recognise it. Huh, well it would be that one. He'd been singing it the last time he'd used the showers on the 'Tower, the day after the show had started airing. Thought it was a great joke too, until he walked out and smack into Batman.

It hadn't been so funny then.

But what were the chances of that happening twice? he reasoned with himself.

"Nananana, nananana, Batman~," he sung softly, then grinned and started again, a little louder this time. "Nananana, nananana, Ba-" Wally stopped suddenly and stared. No way. His luck couldn't be that bad twice, could it? Or was it some secret Bat-summoning song that he hadn't known about? Either way, for all intents and purposes there was Bruce Wayne, apparently just taking a shower like nothing was wrong.

Wally didn't actually superspeed over to him, but he must have come awfully close in spite of his leg. "Ba-" he began, but caught himself in time. "Bruce? Is that you?"