damned_institute | Day 38: Patients' Library

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Day 38: Patients' Library

The intercom rang out, disrupting what had turned out to be a rather pointless breakfast conversation, at least in Brainiac 5's eyes. He couldn't wait to put more distance between himself and Scar's blather of how logic, of all things, might not work the same way in this dimension. It was almost enough to make him believe that the man may very well have been a lion originally after all, as he'd never heard anything so very... ignorant and uneducated.

He quickly finished up the fruit he'd been nibbling on - he was no longer as hungry as he had been - and looked around automatically to see where Clark was. Unfortunately with the press of people around, some being led off to the library and others to the mentioned 'therapy sessions' - if that was what they really were - he had lost sight of the Kryptonian. Still there wasn't many places he could go, so Brainiac 5 would be able to catch up with him eventually to check on his condition and try and learn more about what had happened last night. That the Chapel had healed him - admittedly by passing his injuries to another - was interesting, but far more important in his eyes was what had happened to Clark and his powers. They hadn't been working correctly and that worried the Coluan boy more than he would normally have admitted. Without Clark's abilities... he wasn't sure what they would have to rely on in order to escape.

Another problem he would have to deal with was Grell... or, if he was to believe the notes on the bulletin board, the person pretending to be Grell. But that was going to require more careful planning before he made a move. Come to think of it, he had agreed to meet another in the library today on that same post that had sparked this whole mess. At least then he would have something of interest to look forward to, as he doubted any of the 21st century books were likely to be worthwhile to someone of his advanced intellect.

Following the nurses led him to what must have been the library; a reasonably large room filled with a range of archaic books on tall shelves, a few tables and chairs interspersed around the room. The Coluan boy couldn't refrain from wrinkling his nose in distaste as he entered the room, not liking the cumbersome books and the dust that he knew would have gathered on them; he much preferred the clean arrangement of his C.O.M.P.U.T.O. systems back in the Legion headquarters. It was much more practical then shelves and shelves of books on fictional worlds and dated information.

Trying to avoid as much of the room as possible, Brainiac 5 settled himself down on a chair to wait, keeping an eye out for a tall, dark-haired man with a red... something on his forehead.

[for Homura]

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Startled out of his gloomy reverie, Kira sat up and turned slightly to see the other young man almost on the floor. He'd been checking out the bottom row, then? It was a little awkward to have books so close to the floor, he supposed, but ... why was he even thinking about that?

"It's all right," he said, his voice as low as ever but more emotionless than he would have liked. He took a moment to give the boy a quick once-over, noting nothing terribly unusual about him. The somewhat pressing headache caused by his earlier attempts kept him from trying to feel if there was anything hidden in the boy's reiatsu. It was relatively normal; he would stick with that.

Having not met very many people here, Kira figured it couldn't hurt to try and form some sort of connection. Maybe it would distract him; maybe it would give him an idea; maybe it would get him a useful ally.

" ... were you looking for something?" he ventured after an awkward pause.

Sync's conversation with Joshua had been short and straight to the point. Sure, it might've ruined his chance for some decent entertainment, but he figured that it just wasn't worth it. Maybe he'd actually get something done tonight instead of wandering aimlessly around the patient blocks for the entirety of the night.

While it might've been wise to catch up on the bulletin board, the God-General figured that he could do that any time in the day. This was why he chose to go to the library when his nurse asked, following her to the aforementioned destination before making his way through the aisles. He doubted he'd find anything of use, but it might prove to be good for him if he pulled his mind away from this institute for an hour or two.

Or at least, that's what Sync initially hoped for before he caught sight of something tall and blond from the corner of his eye. The God-General turned his head, smiling slyly at his good fortune before casually striding his way right up to Guy.

"Mind if I join you?"

Alright, so maybe she did feel a little stab of guilt when he looked like she'd just thrown a shuriken straight through his heart, but that didn't mean she was going to... but he... gah, this wasn't fair! It wasn't that she had a low self-image, but facts were facts and when the only boys to express their undying love for you were Naruto or Rock Lee, one tended to set the bar a bit lower.

"You're really strange, you know that?" she replied, though her tone was much lighter and a smirk had touched the corners of her lips. Guys as handsome as him didn't just come falling out of the sky to flirt with her. As a ninja, she was taught to recognize the things that were out of ordinary as quickly as possible. It could mean the difference between life and death in her line of work. And this was definitely out of the ordinary.

"Alright," she crossed her arms over her chest and gave him an up and down glance. So he was more than just handsome, he was pretty damn close to Sai or Sasuke or Neji's level, though maybe a little more rugged than those other pretty boys. It would be mean not to give him a tiny chance then, wouldn't it?

"Just how are you going to do that?" she asked, now appearing to be at least a little amused rather than upset.

"Not really," Falis replied. "I only ever read when there's something to gain from them and these fucking fairytale books of adventure, romance and other shit just aren't worth it when my own life is much more interesting."

She didn't shift her position in the chair, she was too comfortable, but she did tilt her head back more to see Scar. "Now, if there was a book in here about the nasty beasties running around at night, sure as hell would I be reading that one. Hopefully, it'd have pictures too."

Pictures were always more interesting than words.

For some reason, Reno hadn't really expected Schuldig of all people to show up, mostly because the guy had sort of lurked in another corner for the past several days or so, and honestly, Schuldig had kinda dropped from his mind since then.

But whatever, he wasn't being annoying yet and Reno wasn't in the mood to pick a fight unless Schuldig actually started one. Too lazy.

"Wow," he drawled instead. "It's almost like you read my mind."

After stalking through the books in the library, looking for something remotely helpful, Forte finally dropped himself into a chair across from a large man. According to the nurses, there were no reference books, and he only got a book called "Frankenstein" about a doctor that created artificial life by cobbling together dead humans.

He started angrily flipping through the book several pages at a time, trying to find out if there was anything helpful. He'd gotten nowhere the night before, and Starscream had made him feel embarrassed to have called him an ally - and as far as Forte could tell, he couldn't have found some book on human biology here. He would have been better off just going to Sheena again.

He muttered, unconsciously loud, "Stupid, useless Starscream."

Heiji's expression relaxed when Kaito approached him--good, so everyone was alright. Thank goodness for that, really. Maybe Okita was right--maybe he was everyone's older brother. And he didn't really mind that too much.

"Jus' fine," he said. "We got a key las' night. Looks like you're okay, though. Kudou said you guys got roped into savin' some guy las' night?"

The detective cracked a smile when Shinichi turned the corner. He leaned over to Kaito, "Riiight on schedule. Oi Kudou, haven't you read that thing enough?"

Leon rubbed a hand on the back of his neck, looking embarrassed. "Well, kinda... It might be futile." He stood with a sigh, returning his eyes to the shelves but hardly taking anything in at this point. "I was just hoping to find some basic reference material on the composition of minerals here on earth. I think I'm familiar with some of them, but..."

There were metals on Expel that didn't exist on earth, and vice versa most likely. Many were basically the same, however. Iron was a good example. If he had that, he could work with it as a base, but most of the metal here was a mix of other basic metals. Perhaps he should be searching more for books on the composition of metal piping?

He sighed again. "I don't think I'm going to find what I'm looking for here."

"Nothing much," she replied. So, he was game for a little company. Good to see not everyone was too busy being horribly trapped in space and time to smile once in a while. "Just people-watching, lazing about, being trapped in an inter-dimensional institute of hell, the usual. Well, I guess I should say person-watching."

She paused then. It would be fairly pointless to ask what he was doing, as it was obvious that consisted of either "being interrupted while reading" or, more likely, considering his good humor, "chatting up a fellow patient".

"I guess this is the part where I'm supposed to say, 'My name's Violet, Violet Cloud,' and we become great buddies that help us through whatever mental delusions they have us locked away for," she said flippantly. "But I prefer 'Yukari Yakumo', the name that makes the nurses frown and click their tongues. You don't mind, do you?"

She still found this whole "fake lives" thing very amusing and wasn't about to pass up any opportunities to poke fun at it.

Joe came in, having been told he missed breakfast. First lunch yesterday, and now he sleeps through breakfast? This wasn't good at all. Maybe he should sit tight until he could eat again.

In the meantime, he looked around for someone nearby to talk to. He walked over to someone who looked friendly enough, "Yo! I'm Viewtiful Joe."

Edited 2009-01-11 21:08 (UTC)

"F-F-Fiancé?!" Good God, this girl was already engaged?! "It must be nice to know who you want to spend the rest of your life with... I only have a girlfriend so far."

And her fiancé was seventeen? That seemed to be pushing it a little... But if their parents were okay with it, that was okay.

"Yeah... if you've been here a week you must be ready to give up. But you've got people like me to keep you going, right?" He smiled.

Renamon was slightly startled. She was used to an air of distance, even while protecting her charges, and the last two sentences from Jiraiya showed that he was open to her, that she was something. That their comradery wasn't just of a business nature.

She wasn't sure how she thought of that yet.

"I've experienced it before. Utter helplessness. Being unable to do anything--unable to protect the person most precious to you." Nothing changed externally as she said this. Letting Rika down... was something she had done a life ago. The pain and fear was still there--yes, and frustration, too, but she was never a creature to allow emotions to rule her. She would move forward.

"But it doesn't change the fact. The children here seem to be higher targets, at least that I've noticed. They need to be protected, and Landel makes it difficult; stealing them from their rooms when we can't even be there." Obviously she was both refering to Yukari and Naruto. But Jiraiya couldn't know that. "One of my charges was taken last night, too. For special counseling." She shook her head. "Which is why we must work harder to understand this place. So none will fall."

Shiki looked up, just a little surprised, but she was nonetheless happy to see Mr. Hanekoma. "Oh, hey," she said, smiling up.

The girl had to look down at the book's front cover to actually figure out what she was reading. "Oh, nothing big, just flipping through a fairy tale book," she said, with a laugh. "Not much here worth it, in my opinion. What kind of library doesn't even have magazines?"

She closed the book a second later. "Hey, can I ask you something, about the...well, you know the UG and the RG. Are there other dimensions beyond that? I'll explain in a bit..."

Wally glanced up at the stranger who'd spoken and smiled, setting aside the book. Conversation would be more fun anyway and might teach him something new to boot.

"Hey," he answered the cheery greeting. "I'm Wally West. So what're you in for?"

All things considered, breakfast could have gone worse. Mitsuru just hoped that Amada was careful and traveled with someone else, regardless of whether or not he felt he had to do it himself.

She didn't argue when her nurse led her to the library. Some peace and quiet sounded like a good idea right about now, and it seemed like the rest of S.E.E.S. was here, so she could keep an eye on them. Mitsuru went over and picked a book off the shelf, then headed over to an empty chair to sit down and relax. All that talk on the board about vampires had gotten her mind slightly stuck on them, so Bram Stoker seemed like a decent way to kill time.

"W-well, you're very attractive," Matt said before he could help himself. "And you were coming on to me. Any warm-blooded male would have a hard time turning you away!" He let out an aggravated sigh, ruffling the hair on the back of his head. That didn't make him sound the slightest bit better. How had this happened, anyway?

"Just... Well, love at first sight is a bit cliche, right?" Or maybe it wasn't in whatever age she'd come from. As much history as he knew, he'd never read up much on romance of the period. "I mean, I do like you..."

He stepped closer to her but didn't move to touch her again. This was so many different shades of awkward.

Miles was still on edge after that conversation with Phoenix earlier. He barely listened as his nurse commented on how tense he looked, and suggested that since he'd always seemed bookish to her, that he might spend some time to the library.

He glanced around, looking for a familiar face, then noting Allelujah in one corner. They'd had a pleasant conversation before, and he could use something to take his mind off the worry.

"Ah, morning," he said, with a nod. "How've you been?"

"Oh, uh, morning," Akihiko said with a nod. "And, well. Don't tell her I said this, but Mitsuru asked me to talk to you about the bulletin stuff."

She had better be somewhere else. With my luck, she'll have heard that and have a Bufu spell waiting for me later. He nervously glanced around for her, breathing a quiet sigh of relief when he didn't immediately see her.

"But, before I get into all that," he began, "did Mitsuru talk to you about what happened last night?"

Lugnut had begun slipping into what seemed to be this organic body's version of power-conservation mode, eyelids drooping and unconsciously tense muscles relaxing and the murmur of voices blurring into a meaningless soothing hum, when a voice too close muttered something that roused Lugnut out of his tired stupor.

"Useless, heathenish traitor," Lugnut murmured in agreement, fixing his blankly steady gaze on the small, purple-haired human. "Who are you?"

Finally spotting someone who looked like his target, Brainiac 5 observed the man quietly for a few moments. A tall, older man with dark hair and an odd red mark on his forehead. He seemed like someone who would indeed offer a more substantial conversation than anyone else the Coluan boy had spoken to thus far, and had been willing to accept that at the very least the two of them had different ideas of what was 'real' and what wasn't. But... appearances could be deceiving. He should be careful not to give away too much while talking with the man.

Having watched for long enough, Brainiac 5 approached the older man cautiously and cleared his throat. "I believe you are the one I am looking for," he said. "I am Brainiac 5." Now that he was closer he could see that the other man had two different coloured eyes, unusual in humans. He wondered if it signified anything.

There weren't a lot of people around to sit with when he reached the library, but now that most of his friends had gone missing, he had to either branch out or get left behind. And perhaps if he talked to enough people, he'd find someone he could help?

He glanced over the book titles, but only recognized a handful of them. Some of the covers were printed so vividly or even with raised letters and pictures. He wasn't sure how it was done, but it was impressive. There were even some rather dirty looking books, which he immediately replaced, his cheeks coloring red at just a glance of the cover art. He finally found a couple of easy ones, poems and things, before looking for a table to sit at. There were still some empty seats, so he picked another boy who was sitting by himself.

"Good morning," he offered, along with a slight smile. While he knew they had little to be happy for, it was still alright to be polite and proper. "Is it alright if I sit with you?"

He was right once again: Ayumu had certainly had sufficient training and practice to make it quite difficult for most males to not react to her. It was what she did, after all. But again, of course, she made no indication of such, as that was also what she did.

Robin was giving her mixed signals, though. It would probably help if she knew more about his background, to explain why he was so shy and how best to deal with it, but she thought she'd still be able to manage. She just had to be careful in her response (as well as stay mindful of the listening ears not too far away).

She slowly turned back around but paused halfway, giving him an almost cautious sidelong look. "I don't understand, then," she replied, though her voice was tinged with hope that perhaps this wasn't really a complete rejection. "If I like you and you like me, then...how is it a problem?"

As far as Leon was concerned, being in a world other than his own was a good thing, for the most part--no one knew his history, here, or would be judging him based on what he'd done for Marian's sake. Another, though much more minor, pleasant thing was that Leon hadn't read any of the books here before, except of course during his earlier forays to the library.

The book Leon had started on last time seemed to be gone--presumably someone else had it at the moment--so he chose another that seemed to have an interesting title. Settling down in a relatively quiet corner of the room, Leon set to reading The Man in the Iron Mask.

[free]

"Mm, well we've known each other a long time. Since we were children. We're cousins, so our families got to play together a lot," she explained. Just because she might've threatened Kyo with a slow and painful death if he didn't agree to it, that didn't mean it wasn't love, right?

"But that's wonderful you have a girlfriend," she nodded. "She must miss you back home."

When he mentioned giving up, she could only give a slow nod that she had indeed felt that way on numerous occasions. "If I didn't... make friends here, I might've given up already. But I'm not much help to anyone here. I wish I could do more."

[For Sheena, eventually! I think...]

Over two weeks in this place, and Raine still couldn't sleep in for more than a shift or two. At least the library was finally an option again; she returned a few ~~stacks of~~ books and then wandered the shelves, looking for something interesting.

She was mostly back to her usual self, but still unhappy enough so she could only read difficult and overly verbose books so often; still needing something to occupy her time, she picked a book that looked a little more mindless than usual, but entertaining enough.

...then she realized it was a romance novel. Well. Escapist fantasy sounds about right for the moment... Shrugging, she sat down and opened the book. Maybe it would be decent.

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Page 6 of 24

Day 38: Patients' Library

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[Now there's a topic Lugnut can appreciate! :D ]

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