damned_institute | Day 37: Sun Room (4th Shift)

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/512787.html?thread=41895955#t41895955).]

Not long after, Yukari made her way into the sun room again, fully dressed after her short shower. She made an effort to at least pretend the day hadn't gone far from pleasant; this could be her chance to pick it up again, after all.

"Hi, Renamon-san," Yukari greeted as she approached the couch, taking a spot on it beside her.

[sorry for the delay]

"Yukari," Renamon greeted with some warmth in her tone. She hadn't seen the girl in a long while, it seemed. She smiled at Yukari without saying anything for a moment, and then opted for the normal decorum. "How have you been?"

Hopefully better. Better than Renamon or Orihime, at least, and hopefully Yukari still didn't have her problem.

"Ah..." Yukari gave Renamon a sideways glance, and after a moment of silence leaned back to sink into the sofa more. The lack of immediate direct answer could have implied what Renamon thought otherwise, but Yukari eventually casually shrugged it off. "To be honest, if I could redo today I would, but I think I can put that behind me for now. How about yourself?"

Her slow answer made Renamon remember the last time Yukari had done the same. When she asked her where she had got her bruises. She decided to apply some tact and wait. "But you're alright?" Or... not....

"I'm..." Instead of responding with the normal fine, Renamon thought for a second. "I'm okay. I've been worked through quite a few theories lately, and I've been successful in most of my endeavors."

Rika's face flashed in her mind, and Renamon resolutely remained calm. She was being successful, she hadn't succeeded yet.

"Yeah, I'll be all right," Yukari assured her. Well, she was hoping she would be... Ignorance really was a bliss sometimes, and boy did she wish she had some of it about now. Shaking her head, Yukari brushed it off as if it were nothing. "Just some news that'll blow over eventually, y'know? Then I found out both of my senpai from home showed up here, too... It's been eventful, to say the least."

Curiously, the girl regarded Renamon with interest. "Successful, huh? What kind of things have you been digging into?"

Renamon nodded, willing to let it go. "I don't know whether to say that I'm sorry your classmates showed up or I'm glad your friends are here with you."

Switching over to business mode was easy. She let a small smirk grace her face. "Other than theories, weapons mostly. In whatever way you deem them. Sharp things, exploding things. Working computers. Radio prizes." The smirk grew at the last two. "Dead living statues that were guarding them."

So Renamon still had a bit of her cocky edge left over from last night. She had fun, and she won, plus got to have some other fun as well. She had every right to be glad about it. Mostly.

"Me neither," she admitted. "It is nice to see some familiar faces again, but that means they're stuck here, too." However she felt about the matter, it no longer counted; what was done was done, and besides, it happened to a lot of others, too.

"Radio prizes?" Yukari looked visibly surprised, perhaps even in awe at all of Renamon's achievements, and her curiosity only grew more. "You mean the hints that were on it last night? You actually found them out?"

"One of them," she relented. "The Arts & Crafts room was the easiest to guess and the closest to where I was. There were two monsters in there; human-like stone creatures larger than most. Myself and two others defeated them quickly, then we searched the room."

Again, she was somewhat disappointed. "The prize isn't something that useful. It's not information or a key, or something to unlock abilities. It was simply a weapon." She tilted her head, remembering. "A good weapon, though."

She tapped her hand. "I believe it's called... knuckles? Solid metal rings covering your fingers, and three inch blades potruding forward. Useful," Renamon gave, "but not something to be joyful about."

"That's right," Yukari confirmed, sounding impressed; it was rare when she heard a story of victory as opposed to one getting injured or worse. "But if they're that good, you'll be able to get through a little easier if something decides to attack again. Maybe it's not what you want, but it could make the process quicker."

Even now, Yukari could manage to sound a little optimistic. Getting a weapon was definitely not something to sound disappointed over, not when so many others were looking for a good, sturdy one of their own.

Renamon nodded. "They're definitely more like what I'm used to. Staves and blades aren't really my thing."

That was something to be thankful for. That this weapon was like her natural claws. The movement alone should make up for it. Which reminded her of something. "Speaking of weapons we prefer, Yukari, did you end up getting your bow?"

"Adelheid-san said I could pick it up tonight," Yukari replied, and she seemed quite eager about it. Thankfully something about today was going well. "As soon as the night starts, I'm going to go get it."

Renamon inclined her head at the girl, "And then you'll be able to fight again. You're good at archery, correct?" She added with a small smile.

Internally, Renamon knew she probably shouldn't bring it up, but she had to know. If the situation was gone, she would leave it at that, but if the reverse was true.... "How is your problem that you were having a few nights ago?"

Yukari nodded, confirming Renamon's first question, but her second kept Yukari from making any further commentary over it. Instead, she made a face of distaste; did she have to bring that up again? Yukari would have been fine with answering with a quick, easy response and be done with it, but when she had spent most of the day fretting over the whole ordeal still, she couldn't help but internally groan.

"It's nothing to worry about anymore," Yukari said, and she meant it this time. Besides, she was asking about what happened then, right? That was at least gone, out of sight and out of mind... Kind of.

Renamon actually chuckled. "I'm glad. Don't worry; I won't bother you about it any more."

The more business part of the shift over, Renamon smiled a bit more freely at the girl. "So what have you done the past few days?"

And for that, she was glad.

Yukari welcomed the topic change more than Renamon could probably imagine, although unlike her, she couldn't say she had any particularly exciting news to deliver. To say Yukari accomplished anywhere near as much was far from the truth. "To be honest... not much," she admitted with a sigh. "Maybe now I'll be able to do something, but..." She shook her head some, almost sheepishly. "It's been a while already, and I don't think I've gotten far at all."

She shrugged. "There's nothing you have to do. Everyone's contributing in their own way."

Speaking of... "In that vein, Yukari, could I get your opinion on the theories we've made? Don't feel obligated." Renamon felt a twinge of guilt at involving the girl, as she did with Orihime, but Yukari was intelligent. She might have something to add, a new perspective not seen.

Renamon just hoped that she wouldn't add more weight to the girl's shoulders.

"Of course there is," Yukari responded, furrowing her brow. "I can't sit around and wait for things to happen. I need to be able to actually make a difference, somehow. I know I'm not the strongest person out there, but... I'm tired of just aimlessly going places. I need to know what to do."

She then fell silent for a moment, hands folded together in her lap, before eventually turning her sights back toward Renamon. "You understand, right? You've done a lot already, so you must feel the same way, too."

At the offer, Yukari blinked in what was some mixture of vague surprise and interest. How could she deny? Information was information, and with Mitsuru here now, she definitely needed as much as she could. "Alright, shoot."

Renamon looked at the girl with renewed appreciation and respect, before replying. "I do. And if you feel that way, there's a lot you can do. If your feelings are that strong at least. Working to find things out, and the truth... I've 'done a lot', as you say, because those things matter more than my safety or comfort. But I know that you know this."

Renamon needed a day still to rehash all her information that she'd gathered before coming up with a new plan of action, but she put forth an offer to Yukari anyway. "I also know that now that your older classmates are here, you'll most likely be spending time at night with them. But if you're ever not, I could always use help gathering items and information, and perhaps more. If you're willing and able."

She put her thoughts in order regarding the rest. She had spoke to Kakashi on the matter, and Orihime, and of course, Mello, Jiraiya, and Edgeworth, but these were still new theories, and they still made her cautious. "They have backing to them, but parts of it are shaky still. And some of it... is disturbing to think of." She endly awkwardly.

[will put the theories in the next comment because they're long--damn Renamon--and I wanted to finish the other subject they were talking about before switching over =P]

She did, and that kind of mindset worried her, a little. Yukari was all for putting forth her best and more, and she wasn't the only one who had these ideals, but if it meant subjecting yourself to harm's way... Well, she knew at night around here, there really was no such thing as a safe place, so one always was in one way or another. Still, she would prefer if her friends didn't get hurt, or at least seriously so. Yukari wished Renamon would be a little more concerned for herself.

"Probably," Yukari answered, yet it was hard to tell if she was pleased about this or not. "Mitsuru-senpai's gonna have all sorts of things in mind for us to do..." But some direction was better than no direction. "... If you need my help though, I'm sure she'll understand." Yukari then paused, as if a light bulb turned on over her head. "Y'know, come to think of it, you remind me of her a little." In the intellectual aspects; Yukari felt far more comfortable in Renamon's presence than she did with her senior. "I bet if you talked to her, she would be able to come up with some ideas, or at least be willing to work with you on things."

Yukari then made a small nod. "I think I can deal." How bad could a few theories be? "Well, shoot."

"I'll contact her then," she responded. "And you're free to use me as an excuse if you need to get away from responsibilities for a day," she added blandly, with no emotion in her face to show that she had any feeling one way or the other on that.

"I'll summarize," Renamon started. "If you want to know any details, I'll expand in depth. We first came up with the theory of the people here with power are used to restrain the powers themselves. The energy from the abilities is what dulls and restrains them.

"The energy from our emotions is what powers the Institute itself. The heightened stress, along with them telling us our lives are a lie... as well as people disappearing day in and day out... monsters, restricted abilities, ones that you care about in danger... Any emotion we feel here powers it. And unless a person has grown up being composed and in control of themselves, there's no possible way to stop the process.

"There's also the face of the people who have died before coming here. Supposedly there's a kind of Death Magic, that needs sacrifices to resurrect the dead. And with this place, I wouldn't doubt there would be a shortage of that."

Renamon paused here. "The last points are the most recent, and they're being looked into currently by myself and another. The first is finding out what the Institute was like before it changed overnight. An Adel-" Had Yukari also mentioned someone with a name similar to that? Renamon wondered if she knew the man. "Told me vaguely of the changes but I haven't had a chance to speak with him more about it yet.

"The second was the belief that if people disappear from here, it's because Landel no longer had use for them. As in, he found out or took what he wanted from them. It's imperative that we learn what that is. So we're trying to conduct interviews with people close to the ones who have vanished so try to gain insight on what he might have gained from them."

And there she stopped, waiting for the girl's response. Renamon liked Yukari, and believed her someone intelligent, someone like her perhaps, and Yukari's response would show her if that was true.

Edited 2008-12-08 01:41 (UTC)

Well, Yukari couldn't say she was the type to 'get away' from her responsibilities-- she was actually pretty good at doing what she needed to get done-- but the offer was there, and it was nice enough. Who knew? Between yesterday and today, she might even find herself wanting to do just that eventually... It almost gave her a newfound appreciation for their battle back home; no Shadow she came across would imitate her father or acted like a vampire or god knows what else.

That aside, Yukari listened, careful to catch all the details. She understood it well enough, even if it all sounded strange. Powered by emotions? 'Death magic'? Man, nothing here was ever going to sound normal. If only things were simple... No matter where she was, it felt like these things were so out of reach.

"I... think I get it," Yukari responded tentatively, looking thoughtful; it was a lot to take in at once, and she wanted to make sure she had made heads or tails of it. She knew she couldn't contribute to the issue about powers, however-- without being able to use her own, it was difficult to say how limited it was. "So you're saying everything we feel-- supposedly-- gives Landel all his power?" She seemed skeptical of the idea, but she wasn't going to rule it out yet, no matter how much she wanted to. "If that's the case, then nobody'll ever bring him down. I mean, it's impossible to keep everyone from feeling... afraid, or scared, or even a little happy. The cause of this can't sound that hopeless."

Yukari hoped that was the case, at any rate. As insane as the man was, he had to be human just like the rest of them-- okay, most of them. It would be hard... but it can't never be done.

And, ah, death; in all honesty it was a subject Yukari didn't want to touch for now. It had still left an ill feeling in her stomach, and talking about it at length? Maybe another day. Still, that didn't mean she completely ignored the idea-- she'd have to face it someday, she knew, but today had been taxing enough as it is.

Then changes of the institute, the disappearances... The latter made sense, because they had to be here for a reason in the first place. If there wasn't, then, well... this would be even crazier, but that was a whole new can of worms right there. "I don't know anyone who's disappeared yet," Yukari said-- thankfully? Or otherwise? Sigh, she hated these sort of emotional conflicts. "But I can see where that makes sense." She paused, and hesitantly so as an idea came to mind that she wasn't quite sure she wanted to say aloud. But Renamon needed to know... With vague familiarity of the subject, she proceeded on; "Do you think that's what the... the experiments are for? If someone had a power another could benefit from, and tried to do something to them to gain it..."

Urgh. The idea made her sick to think about, especially when Yukari had Ken in mind regarding the topic. He had the same power she did, and she knew it could be used rather destructively. It already had been, by their enemies back home.

Exactly. The smile flashed for a moment on Renamon's face, then vanishing like it was never there. "Yes. There's been cases of that in multiple worlds of people that I've talked to--mine included. It's the most dangerous type of power, and it almost destroyed both of my worlds. And with this many people.... Even if they did all believe it, having all of them control their emotions at once would be literally impossible. There's no way to win that way."

Renamon thought for a moment. "There's obviously still the issue of there being a glitch somewhere, but we're not sure what we're looking for. There's also the fact, that that kind of thing, the emotional powering, no matter how different this place is, cannot run without having some kind of weakness, some hidden attribute that stabilizes the whole process. A person even. But that attribute would be well hidden, and with Landel's control we'd never be able to get at it."

She tapped her finger on the table twice. "There's also the third option. An emotional overload to short out the system. But considering that most are highly stressed at night, and the Institute has no problem returning us to our beds each morning, it's built, or made, to handle a lot of stress."

She stared openly at Yukari. "What do you think?"

Switching topics effortlessly, Renamon replied to the girl's question. "That's what some have said. I've talked to a couple who've been experimented on, and heard from others, and they seem to be completely personalized to suit the individual. But not all have been about power, and not all individuals have had power. I think the experiments are only one part of the equation."

"That would explain why we're all so powerless here," Yukari said in agreement, crossing her arms. "If that is the case. I wouldn't even know where to begin looking for a loophole in something like that, though."

She paused, mulling for a moment or so, before speaking up again; "If the source causing it is physical, then... It would probably be in a place we can't easily get to, and there's a lot of rooms we still can't get inside. If not..." Yukari trailed off, as she couldn't imagine what it would be otherwise. It was hard coming up with an idea when you had nothing to go by.

Yukari then made an affirmative nod. It sorta dashed whatever idea she was coming up with, but it sounded logical enough. "Only part, huh..." She made a small sigh. "It's troubling knowing they know things they shouldn't have found out so easily... It's like they know everything about our lives, even the secrets."

"Think on it," Renamon responded. "Let me know if you think of anything, even if you think it doesn't make sense."

She crossed her arms in thought. "I'll have to think about my own situation concerning the emotional constructs--it was called Chaos, and the D-Reaper--as well as ask others for details. The only way we were able to make any progress however was to find its tie to the world; its center. It was using a human girl."

But Renamon didn't want to think of Jeri, or Leomon, because that made her think of her conversation with Orihime about what happened to people that died here. And where they went.

"It's safe to assume that nothing about you is a secret to them. Nothing is safe." Something occured to Renamon then, something that had to be broached very carefully if Yukari didn't know yet. "Have you heard the theory of why that is?"

"Okay," Yukari replied. "I'll make sure I do."

Unlike Renamon, it was a little difficult to relate to the theory. As far as she knew, nothing back home was happening because of their emotions, or a single person... and with Mitsuru telling her earlier their plan all along didn't even work, they were right back to square one figuring out the source. A part of Yukari didn't feel very confident trying to do the same thing, here.

"Huh?" She stared in slight surprise, shaking her head. "No, I... I don't have a clue. I didn't even know how much they knew until a few days ago."

Day 37: Sun Room (4th Shift)

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