damned_institute | 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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The library couldn't really win with Evangeline. Classical literature she'd read before, and modern literature she generally didn't bother with until it was considered classical, as a time-saving measure to keep up with the expansion of the publishing industry and resultant increase in the chaff-to-wheat ratio over the centuries. Either way, her first interest wasn't going to be in the books but in bothering some luckless fellow internee.

She was carrying a copy of Anna Karenina- and carrying was all it was really there for, she knew the book practically by heart- on an aimless circuit of the room when she spotted Sai and, somehow offended by the utterly studious expression on his face, walked over and started making a nuisance of herself.

"Hey there," she called sarcastically, "Careful you don't enjoy that or anything."

Edited 2009-01-12 09:27 (UTC)

It took Sai a moment to realize the girl was speaking to him and not any of the other patients. He didn't recognize the voice, so he wasn't sure why she would. Blinking, her statement registered and he smiled. "That shouldn't be a problem," he said.

Truthfully, he'd thought fiction was meant for enjoyment. Then again, this Institute was a strange place. It was also possible she was making fun of him, but he was rarely able to tell. He didn't have much interest in conversation with her at the moment, in either case, and he returned his attention to the book without another word.

Okay that sealed it. Everyone here was dumb. Everyone here really was from different universes and she'd come from the one that had gotten all the brains. Which, considering how stupid some of her classmates were, was absolutely terrifying.

Wait, no, Asuna and Alberio still averaged things out pretty well. Maybe her universe had just had most of its stupid concentrated in a few people. Still, she was getting tired of having conversations like this.

So she opted for the direct route. "...You know I'm making fun of you, right?"

The girl wanted to continue the conversation, it seemed, so Sai rested the book in his lap and raised his head back up to give her his undivided attention. "The thought had occurred to me, yes. I'm afraid I'm not all that good at being able to tell."

He didn't appear the least bit annoyed by her intentions, either. People teased each other all the time. The smile on his face didn't falter. "Was there something you needed?"

If she was teasing, then the answer to that was probably no. Most likely she was just looking for a way to pass the time.

"Yeah, but you don't have it," Evangeline responded, even more exasperated by the honest, even helpful response. Most people had the decency to be offended or put off-balance when a complete stranger admitted to being hostile to them.

"Are you a construct or something?" she asked, staring flatly. "I mean, there are people who say they're robots here who have way more personality."

Most of that personality consisted of being dumb as hell, but the point stood.

"Ah?" Sai blinked in honest confusion for a few moments before the smile returned, head tilting. "A construct or a robot? No, no... I'm just a ninja." A ninja from a special unit that rid themselves of emotion, but a ninja nonetheless.

He supposed it should have been disheartening to have someone ask if he'd been a non-living object before he arrived in Landel's, but he wasn't bothered by it. His personality had been something he was working on, to an extent, but he knew he still had a long way to go.

"Ninja? Don't see many of those around anymore. What, did your clan raise you to be an emotionless killer or something?" Evangeline asked like that it was the most natural idea in the world. Her voice had softened slightly- not out of pity at the history she'd concocted for him, but simply because he'd given her something to talk about.

Ninja were... kind of quaint, in her view. Effective, to be sure, but the inner arts just weren't as useful as magic. They did less, and individuals capable of achieving meaningful levels of power were rarer.

The smile on Sai's face became a touch softer, and he leaned forward in his seat. "Something like that." It saved him an explanation, anyway, if she made all the assumptions herself. "I've been working on regaining some of them. My emotions, that is."

She came from another world in which ninja weren't common, then. It wasn't the first time he'd heard someone say that there weren't many around anymore. It would be interesting if she came from a time further ahead than his own, but it was more likely that she was from a different world entirely.

Edited 2009-01-16 03:26 (UTC)

'Something like that' could be taken a lot of different ways, but in her experience it usually meant something like 'you saved me the trouble of explaining the obvious bits and you still don't know the inconvenient details, how nice'. That was what happened when you made vague guesses, though, and it wasn't like she had any interest in getting a biography out of him, so she let the matter rest for now.

She would have had to anyway- she couldn't help but laugh at his description of his little personal project. Such an earnest, tidy little description of such a deeply personal endeavor, like it was just a hobby. It spoke volumes about how far he had to go, made him seem pathetic- and he'd never understand that! Rich, rich, rich. And so very human, for all it relied on his lack of humanity. She'd changed her mind; she could like this one.

"If only Chachamaru were here... you two would be great together," she said wistfully, laughter still echoing in her voice.

Sai could only continue to sit and smile as the girl seemed amused by his response. He couldn't tell what she was amused about, exactly, and it probably wasn't as light-hearted as one would hope for, but he could live with it. Apparently he reminded her of someone?

"Mm? A friend of yours?" He feigned embarrassment, rubbing at his neck. "I wouldn't wish for him to show up here, though, even if a meeting would be interesting." He dropped the hand back to the book in his lap. "I'm sorry. I've been rude. My name is Sai."

Day 38: Patients' Library

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