damned_institute | Day 39: Intercom, Evening

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Day 39: Intercom, Evening

The Head Doctor seemed a little rushed as he spoke on the intercom, not taking as much pleasure as he usually did in describing the delicious food that would soon be served.

"Hello, everyone! Tonight is turkey night, which means turkey breast in a great turkey gravy with some nice turkey sides: peas, herb potatoes, a small garden salad, and for dessert, a slice of pumpkin pie. We of course have vegetarian substitutes available, as well as our usual assortment of drinks.

"...I believe that's it! I'll talk to you soon!"

The intercom clicked off abruptly.

[ If you are introducing your character during this shift, you may either choose for them character to wake up before their roommate gets back, or after.

All room threads go in response to this post; please post your character's room number as the subject line of the initial post. Thank you! ]

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Suzaku was all set to go back to the cafeteria when the announcement was made for dinner, and was surprised when all the "patients" were led back to their rooms. Apparently dinner was served there.

He made himself comfortable once the nurse left, digging into the turkey. He eyed the other bed speculatively -- the room was obviously built for two. Would he have a roommate, or was he by himself? A roommate could be another source of information, but Suzaku might be able to operate better if he had some privacy, especially when it came to confidential discussions with Lelouch and whatnot.

This Landels was more than a little tiring. Mukuro found himself ignoring most of the rest of the day until he was shuffled back towards his room. To his surprise there was already someone else in the room.

He stayed near the door, crossing his arms and leaning against it. ". . . Hello," which was a good enough greeting. His roommate wasn't that old, which was somewhat surprising -- then again, he had seen a variety of ages around. It was not a prison, then, an institute as it claimed. That idea was endlessly amusing to him, and Mukuro couldn't help but to let out a small laugh.

Hopefully his roommate would be able to share in his amusement.

So he did have a roommate, apparently. "Hello," he returned the greeting with a smile. "I guess we're sharing a room?" For now, at least. He didn't intend to let this place keep him locked up for too long.

Suzaku gave the guy a considering glance. He seemed a little unsettled about having a roommate, standing by the door as he was. "Your dinner's over there," he nodded towards the other boy's food, which was already laid out. "Don't mind me."

What a polite boy, Mukuro thought, slowly pushing away from the door and moving further into the room. He glanced at the food (how nice it was of this place to feed them, and it didn't look too ... unfortunate). He sat down on the edge of the bed,

"I guess we are sharing a room. Would you like to do introductions or should we remain unknown to each other?" He leaned back a little, looking up at the ceiling before dropping his gaze to his roommate again.

Suzaku nearly laughed at the comment, his face falling back into its accustomed serious lines soon after. He didn't know what to make of this kid -- and he did seem young -- whether he would be an ally or an obstruction. He wished he could just get to know his roommate as a person, but he no longer had room for that kind of thing, and whether he liked it or not he had to look at each new person as how they fit into his ultimate goals. So he would have to figure out exactly how this guy would factor in.

"I'm Suzaku Kururugi," he said in the same polite manner, giving no hint of his thoughts. "I just got here last night. What about you?"

Japanese, then. Mukuro turned his two options over in his head, before replying. He could give his name or he could use the one the nurse had used. Fausto Diluca, he was not overly fond of the name, but it would serve a purpose as well. On the other hand, it could be an easily seen through lie as well, if the names the staff here used were clearly false.

"Mukuro Rokudou," he offered, just as polite as his roommate. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Suzaku Kururugi. I got here earlier today, so it seems we're both new." He added another smile to the end of his sentence.

"It's nice to meet you, as well."

Yet another Japanese person who didn't recognize Suzaku's name. And he had only gotten here today, so the idea of him being here for over a year was ruled out. That meant he probably wasn't from Suzaku's world, which made things a lot easier. He could maneuver without someone growing suspicious of him and Lelouch, and he didn't have to worry about his roommate trying to kill him in his sleep.

On the other hand, this guy probably didn't know anything Suzaku didn't know already. There wasn't much advantage he could give Suzaku, then, and Suzaku didn't want to have to look out for him on top of everything else. Like last night, he wasn't sure he could just abandon another patient, especially one so young, but he had to think of the bigger picture. And anyone else might get in the way.

"You got here during the day? Did anyone warn you about what happens at night?"

Polite people were one of two personalities -- the kind who were honest and kind or the kind which were hiding something. Mukuro didn't bother giving Suzaku a speculating look, most people revealed themselves in the end.

"At night? I haven't heard anything about that," and he hadn't. Then again, his lunch partner had hardly been the talkative sort. His roommate looked a little more helpful, though the phrasing was certainly something to watch. It was a question, not an informative statement.

Ah, shit. If Mukuro really didn't know, he was pretty unlucky. Even if Suzaku couldn't spare time for every patient, it would be horribly irresponsible to let his roommate go out there unprepared.

"Well, this place changes at night. This whole mental institution thing is just a lie -- at night, they let us all leave our rooms and set all these monsters on us. Things like giant monster cats. I know it sounds insane, but I know people who were attacked by them. No one I've asked so far knows why, but it seems like the people running this place are trying to challenge us for some reason. Or they're just -- just playing with us."

The thought of all these people getting hurt just for someone's amusement still infuriated Suzaku, but he kept himself calm. He and Lelouch would work on this problem, and together, they would fix it. He just had to have some patience, and make sure no one got hurt in the meantime.

Oh, how terrible, he arranged his expression to say. A little fear, some surprise, a bit of doubt -- those were the emotions that were needed here. He didn't feel them, of course, but they were appropriate for the moment.

". . . monsters? That sounds like a story. . ." or perhaps an illusion. If it was indeed the truth (and Suzaku was not delusional) then it would at least be interesting. At least his roommate seemed to be the helpful type, and Mukuro thought about what had been said a little more, "Playing with us? That's a little cruel, isn't it?"

The kid was scared, Suzaku could tell, but at least he was keeping his cool. That was good, because Suzaku didn't want to have to be worried.

He sighed. "I don't know how much you've found out yet, but it only gets weirder from there. The monsters are the believable part."

At the mention of cruelty -- wanton cruelty, and it wasn't fair, not to innocent people like these -- Suzaku's features darkened. "It is cruel. I don't know what their real purpose is or whether this is all justified, but if there's no good reason for this, someone has to put a stop to it." He was going to put a stop to it.

How many layers did this institute have? From what his roommate was saying it seemed that there were secrets within the secrets. He nodded, taking in the information with a slightly wide eyed look. Yes, monsters, cruelty, unjust actions -- it was such a recipe for despair. And Suzaku seemed to be the heroic type, or at least the kind to be angry over this sort of thing.

". . . what is advised then, during the night? If we're allowed to leave our rooms. . ." he cut himself off. If they were allowed to leave their rooms it would be a good opportunity to explore, but on the other hand, monsters. Interesting.

"Well, first of all, everyone says not to go alone at night." Suzaku really hoped this guy had a friend or something, because he honestly didn't know what he would do otherwise. He needed to meet with Lelouch alone, as the things they had to talk about were as secret as secret could get, but how could he let Mukuro wander around on his own, without even knowing what he was getting into?

"Do you know how to defend yourself? Any self-defense or combat skills?" Please say yes. He didn't know if they could get ahold of any weapons right now. Maybe something could be improvised, but he hadn't seen anything yet that would work well.

As if a buddy system would be helpful. Mukuro had to keep from showing his disdain for the idea. He nodded, "I have some self-defense training." It was a vague answer, but there were several things left better unsaid. While it may be more useful to explain himself as a skilled fighter, it was not terribly helpful in the long run.

"Is it not possible to just stay in your room until the night is over?" that seemed like a relatively logical explanation to him.

Suzaku felt relieved. At least he wouldn't be abandoning someone completely helpless. And if Mukuro just stayed here, out of harm's way, that would be even better. Though. . . "I don't know if the monsters attack people in their rooms or not. I don't think so, but I don't know for sure. At any rate, you could probably barricade the door or something.

"A lot of people go out into the halls to explore the institute and try to fight back, but of course you don't have to do that. Especially if you're new, it might be safer just to stay here." He didn't mean to be patronizing, it was simply safer for someone who didn't have much knowledge of the situation yet to stay out of it. He himself probably wouldn't be going much of anywhere tonight, since Lelouch was handicapped at the moment, but he didn't mind putting either of them in harm's way anyway. They didn't deserve to be kept safe. But a random civilian shouldn't have to be in danger, especially if he wasn't prepared to deal with whatever was out there.

Mukuro had no intention of staying behind, but it did seem like a better idea to give his roommate that idea. If Suzaku headed out Mukuro could leave after him and investigate for himself. It would certainly be more trouble than it was worth to have someone else around.

"I might do just that. After meeting some more people during the day I might try to go out, but. . . hah, I'm not really looking forward to monsters," he ducked his head a bit in a nod. People thought they were stronger together, it was a hilarious and pathetic fact -- Mukuro was good at pretending that.

Suzaku nodded, not completely able to keep the relief off his face. He had gotten much better at schooling his features and hiding his intentions, but it would never come naturally to him. And he really was relieved that he didn't have another person to look after when he had to focus on his own goals. He knew he had gotten strong enough to walk away from someone in need for the sake of the greater good, but that would never make it anything other than detestable. Not simply the act itself, but the fact that he was the kind of person who could do it.

"I don't think any of us are," he said with a strained smile, finishing off the last of his dinner. He didn't want to think about the people who would get attacked tonight, and the fact that he couldn't possibly be there to help. Instead, he cast about for a different subject.

"So, has anyone told you. . ." He hesitated. This was going to sound much weirder than the monster thing, and he wasn't even sure how to explain it. It still seemed so impossible, but he was curious about what kind of world this person was from. "About how we're all from different universes and different time periods? That's what I was thinking of when I said things got more unbelievable, but it seems to be true."

He mentally raised an eyebrow at Suzaku's relief. What a kind soul, he mused. Mukuro didn't believe in human kindness, as a general rule. He wondered what sort of other motivation there might be, or at least, some other darker emotion. It was worth paying attention to, maybe his roommate would be more than just informative, in the future.

". . . different times isn't unheard of where I'm from, but different universes?" Mukuro sounded incredulous. Time was something that the mafia had been able to puncture with their ten year bazooka, so it didn't seem unlikely that there were other ways to do so. Universes, though. . . ah, what another door of opportunity.

Different times wasn't unfamiliar to him? That must be the kind of world he was from, but it was still all very strange to Suzaku. He wasn't sure he could explain this in a way that Mukuro would believe him, but the other boy should know. Not least because it greatly complicated their attempts to get out of here, but also because Suzaku wanted to know more about what kinds of worlds people were taken from.

"I didn't believe it myself, but earlier I talked to someone from an alternate version of my own world. She was from a time three hundred years in the future, and the common history we both knew was different in some striking ways. Big things, I mean, like who won major wars. Everyone on the bulletin board, too -- they're all from different worlds. Some of them aren't even human."

He still didn't know what to think about that last one. And it was still possible that this really was a mental institution and he'd been put here by mistake (or maybe not by mistake, part of him almost wondered), but it was too much of a coincidence for every patient to have similar delusions. And everyone he had met so far seemed perfectly sane.

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Day 39: Intercom, Evening

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