Day 40: Breakfast

[revolutionise]

Utena's second night seemed to have ended even sooner than the first had, which greatly disappointed her. She had been hoping that at some point, she could have coaxed her friend into telling her what was so horrible that happened in her future. Then again, curiosity aside, she was also somewhat relieved that she didn't have to hear it just yet. She half-wondered if Landel had ended both of their previous nights early on purpose, too, just to make certain that Utena didn't spend enough time with her friend to potentially hear of that future.

Almost as soon as she thought of Landel, Utena heard his voice crackle over the intercom again. Hearing him yawn through his announcement almost made her sleepy as well; she'd had no idea that yawns could be contagious over speaker systems. Physically, she did feel rested, though she certainly couldn't remember sleeping or dreaming between the end of night and her waking up.

As her nurse came to collect her for breakfast, Utena felt conflicted over whether she ought to see Himemiya again that night. On the one hand, she wanted to be there for her friend and try to coax some of the girl's old self out of her. Either that or at least try to console her about whatever was troubling her. On the other hand, she knew that it would be stupid to waste too many nights on talk. She could be helping Seiya or the clubs or finding metal to store for whenever Skuld was ready for her, something that would help her and Himemiya break out faster.

Maybe I'll post a message for her later if I don't see her again during the day. It's not perfect, but at least it'll let us talk and then leave me an opening to go out and do . . . whatever it is that might need doing, she thought as she was escorted into the cafeteria to pick up breakfast (english muffins that morning). Remembering the clubs again, Utena thought about the message exchange she had had with that girl from Arts & Crafts, Momo Hinamori. They were supposed to be meeting over breakfast, right? Utena didn't see anyone who matched Hinamori's description yet, but then, the girl had said that it would be easier for her to find Utena than the other way around. She sat down at a nearby table for the time being and waited, running the previous night's short conversation in her head over and over.

[For Momo]

Comments

[rope-victim.livejournal.com]

Miku awoke, breathing a sigh of relief. The night had gone smoothly and though some of her emotions tumbled about, she'd managed to go the entire night without a scratch on her. In fact, she only felt a little nauseous, which was more welcome than the usual violent attack she had when she saw things. A quick check under her shirt assured her that the bruises didn't look so terrible today, either, having moved into that awful yellow-greenish stage. The burns from the ropes had become gross and scabby, though those were still mostly covered, as were the worst of the stab marks.

Hiding her necklace with her other night items, Miku waited for her nurse patiently, finally able to do a little more than be drugged and slow-minded. She pulled her hair back into its usual massive bun, though her arms burned in protest. I should be more careful, what if Sousuke thinks this is Subaru's fault...?

When the nurse finally appeared (was everyone running late today?) and swept Miku away to breakfast, she looked around the cafeteria thoughtfully, searching for Sousuke and the others.

[Waiting to have her day ruined by Aidou]

[idolism]

_{[Gonna get a smack, biotch!]}

The vampire went through the motions of another breakfast shift without paying the world outside of his head any mind. He stepped into the line-up, uncaring of what he put on his tray.

For the first time in what felt like a long time, Aidou was alight with something that was not so simple as excitement and not so arrogant as understanding. But finding the ruins of the town, and the broken down schoolhouse within, even if the night had ended before he’d been able to do more than that… even so, he’d once again uncovered something that made him think, in the same way the toys from the basement had made him think, when he’d first stepped foot at the end of the labyrinth.

People, noise, the hunger, the fatigue, for the first time in what felt like a long time, it was all pushed aside.

He had more plans to make, of course, he always did--speaking to Hinamori, perhaps speaking to Sasuke, finding a source for blood, his therapy session--but for the moment, his mind was grasping at new heights, and he let it. Strangely, it reminded him of home, where he’d never been so helpless as he was here. His gaze went to a window, pupils constricting at the sunlight-kissed outdoors. Even though it wasn’t visible from the building, out there to the east, whatever that town transformed into the daylight was there.

[blessedaccel.livejournal.com]

Daphne felt off-balance. If waking up after scuffling with a gigantic rat in the women's washroom had been disorienting, waking up after having only been talking in the hallway was even more so. Not knowing how she'd gone from point A to point B bugged her. It would have done even without the threat of mutated freak-monsters and brainwashed people running around.

She grabbed her journal and a pair of pens before the nurse coming to give her a wake-up call led her out toward the cafeteria. She'd regretted not having the thing with her the day before, and while she wasn't really looking for another information overload, she figured she was better off prepared. It wasn't like she could just dash back to her room and grab anything she needed, any time she needed it. And didn't that just suck?

Amidst attempts at small talk, she managed to convince the nurse to let her stop by the bulletin board to tack up a note, though she was ushered firmly into the cafeteria following that stop. Apparently, dodging breakfast was out of the question. She didn't really want to miss a meal anyway, but...

Daphne wasn't sure if she was more relieved or worried to see the cafeteria nearly empty when she entered. On the one hand, it meant she got to pick her spot. On the other hand, she'd be at the mercy of someone else's whims when it came to seat mates. She wondered if maybe she should have dawdled a little longer over her note, or if she could claim needing to go back to grab something anyway, and wait 'til the cafeteria filled up a little more.

The stern look on the nurse's face told her it wouldn't work. A little apprehensive, she joined the short breakfast line, then, carting a tray laden with muffin sandwich, orange juice, and a bowl of fruit, found herself a seat. As she had during lunch the day before, she picked a spot by the door leading back out of the cafeteria. After only a minute or two, hunger won out over nerves, and she dug into her breakfast with more enthusiasm than she'd really have cared to admit.

[mateswithnobody.livejournal.com]

Once again, Donna had managed to do nothing of any consequence the previous night by sleeping. She couldn't help being the human that she was and needing to catch up on some rest once in a while, but the sudden drowsiness was beginning to get bothersome. How could she make sure something was getting done towards leaving this rotten place if she was sleeping all the time?!

At least there was one good side to things: Donna could not say she wasn't being allowed her beauty sleep. Now showers on the other hand...

Donna huffed out some disappointment instead of lingering on it too much, grabbing her breakfast (which she could recognize a bit better than some things served) and picking a table at random. There was someone else sitting at the table already, but Donna didn't mind that much. It was rare that she went the whole of any meal without someone being at her table - though the matter of conversation was another entirely. Donna decided to take the initiative this morning as a means of getting out of having to think to herself.

"Hey there," she struck up without pause, smiling to break the tension, "Have as good a night as any?"

[lady-general.livejournal.com]

Celes awoke with a curse half-formed on her lips. The gurney was gone, which was unfortunate, but she could always find another. At least she knew now that she could find another tonight, and would have to speak to Hughes about getting the assignments taken care of for the night. The gurneys were an excellent idea, and if they had more of them, they would have more easily accessible material.

Rolling her neck to pop it, Celes strode into the cafeteria, picked up her meal and sat down. The food itself looked like something Celes would pick up and run with, rather than enjoy in a stately manner. That said, it was rather tasty, once she'd cut it in half and took her first bite. Celes managed to relax her guard some, now that she had an idea of what the unit needed.

[Waiting for Lelouch]

[kingside]

Mornings and Lelouch had never really gotten along, and despite the fact that he had actually managed to get some real sleep last night, it wasn't even remotely enough to change his stance on them. He pulled the blanket over his head once the Head Doctor's announcement was over, knowing it wouldn't work when his nurse was probably already on her way but unwilling to let petty details like that keep him from snatching at least a few more moments of rest. There were many, many things he had to do later in the day, but couldn't they wait just five more minutes?

The sound of the door opening put an end to his vague hopes of recapturing a state of blissful slumber, and although it pained him to do so, he peeled back the covers just enough to see his nurse peering down at him, sighed at her cheerful expression, and slowly sat up. Miserable woman, couldn't she have delayed coming here a little bit longer? Surely there had to be other patients she could have tended to first.

After it had been established that no, no he was not going to be allowed to walk around without his crutches today, a thoroughly irritated Lelouch was escorted to the cafeteria at a pace more commonly associated with crippled, arthritic slugs. His one consolation was the fact that the trip gave him enough time to mentally draft a post for the bulletin board, which he quickly wrote up and tacked onto it as they passed through the Sun Room. His nurse seemed to be as determined as ever to make him eat something once they'd reached their destination, and as he watched, she constructed a sandwich for him that he only would have been able to eat had he possessed the ability to unhinge his jaw.

Really, this was just too much. He wasn't that skinny.

His mind wandered while she continued to work, thinking over what he'd planned for the day. Contacting the club leaders (or second-in-commands, as the case may be), organizing his new network, meeting with Porky-- he might be able to take a nap during one of the shifts, but with everything that lay before him, it was probably going to have to wait. He should have delegated more duties to Suzaku when he had the chance.

Sighing, he cast his gaze around the room and was immediately rewarded by the sight of one of his targets for the day sitting alone and apparently expecting no one. Inclining his head at his nurse to get her to follow, he broke away from the food line and headed towards an empty seat just across from the woman. He was lucky; out of all the people he'd heard speak at the leader's lunch the day before, his views coincided with hers the most.

"General Celes Chere, I presume?" he said, stopping a respectful distance away. He didn't come across as nearly as impressive as he would have liked with those damn crutches in tow, but he was trying. "My name is Lelouch Lamperouge. Could I have a moment of your time?"

[oftemptation.livejournal.com]

One moment, Endrance was curled in a hallway, breathing hard and bleeding out thanks to that...he couldn't think of what to call it. It wasn't really Mia. He didn't remember seeing AIDA's familiar black specks before it had attacked, but...

Now, he was sitting up slowly in bed, heavily bandaged up. At least that hunch about this place providing basic medical care after injuries had been correct. He had to wonder, then - despite the strange way his travelling companion from last night had acted, he had some concern for him. I hope that if he was injured, he's all right... He remembered then that he'd been able to take a pipe from the closet.

Endrance stood and walked to the closet - there it was, along with his flashlight. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief, then was startled by a knock on the door - his nurse coming to escort him to the cafeteria. "Good morning, Payton, dear," she chirped. "You certainly took a nasty fall, but I'm sure you'll be right as rain in a few days. Now, come along - and make sure you eat more than a few bites this morning. The doctors are concerned about that."

Endrance followed her silently to the cafeteria. Since she was watching so closely, he made a show of filling a plate with fruit and taking a plain toasted English muffin with cream cheese, taking a glass of orange juice, and taking a seat by a window, away from everyone else.

[for Subaru; reposting for editing]

[broken-babylon.livejournal.com]

Subaru was in a little less pain this morning, but not as healed as he had secretly hoped. This was his third waking since the attack, and he was still nowhere near 'better'. Considering the severity of his wounds it wasn't entirely surprising, but still unpleasant and disappointing. Subaru wasn't sure he could stand another night spent in his room, though last night's lesson with Hinasaki-san had gone reasonably well.

At least he was able to walk more steadily today, Subaru discovered as the nurse led him off to breakfast. That was an improvement--he no longer had to hunch like an old man as he moved around. Fruit and a plain English muffin made for a tolerable breakfast, too, if not as warming and comforting as a proper Japanese breakfast would be, and Subaru's appetite seemed to be back. As much as it ever was, anyway.

The nurse directed Subaru to sit with someone she introduced as 'Payton', suggesting that company and morning sunlight would both do Subaru a world of good. Doubtful on both accounts--sunlight through glass wasn't all that helpful--but Subaru smiled politely to 'Payton' nonetheless. "Good morning."

[high-prosecutor.livejournal.com]

Miles opened his eyes and sighed deeply. No matter how many times he woke up back in his own bed after the long night, he would never be used to it, and particularly not after having fallen asleep where he had, and in the state he'd been in. In a rare show of sentimentality, he closed his eyes again, hoping that when he opened them again, he would have Phoenix close to him again. Of course, it didn't work, and he shook his head, trying to clear it.

He sensed today would be a busy day, and needed to get his wits about him. Edgeworth had a few meetings scheduled, and one of them was at breakfast. It wouldn't do to be off his game for all of that. He took a deep breath, stood, and stretched, and just then, his nurse came to escort him to the cafeteria. She prattled along as usual, and again, as usual, he ignored it.

After filling a tray with food, he sat down, keeping an eye out for the person from the bulletin who had wanted to meet him. It was only then that he realized he hadn't been given a description, but that was all right. He'd given his, and was sure he'd meet up with them soon enough.

[reserved for the Detective Prince]

[trapdetected.livejournal.com]

Despite the events of the previous night, Naoto awoke fairly easily; easily, but frustrated. She sat up in her bed somewhere during Landel's announcement (which she noticed lacked the usual, disgustingly faux cheeriness), bringing a hand through her hair with muttered words of annoyance. They were so close, and yet... the night ended. Just a room away, and daytime had come. It was like rubbing salt right into their wounds.

Speaking of, Naoto's hand reached for her side again, and when she lifted her shirt a little she noticed the bandaging job had been done much more professionally than she could have with only pieces of a pillowcase. As much as she disliked the thought of the staff here taking care of her like this, Naoto knew at least she wouldn't have to worry about how it would heal.

Soon enough, she was being escorted to breakfast, and it wasn't until she took a quick peek inside her notebook along the way that she remembered to greet someone during breakfast. And good thing; it would have been terrible and rude of her to forget. Now what did he describe himself as... Right, tall with grey hair. That shouldn't have been too difficult to spot out.

When she noticed someone who fit the description, Naoto approached the table. "Would you happen to be the man who only signed himself as M.E. on the bulletin yesterday?" she asked, holding her tray close to herself before sitting. "If you are, we agreed to meet this morning. I am Naoto Shirogane."

[marin-karin.livejournal.com]

Upon waking up, Mitsuru was almost glad that she'd listened to her nurse, even if it had meant missing what might have been a very productive night. She'd at least managed to compile much of the information she'd learned thus far before falling asleep, and she woke feeling rested. If not for still being trapped, it was almost nice.

Now what she needed, short of actual exploration and familiarizing herself with the building, was to network and find other people to go over and confirm that information with. The sooner people actually began sharing more information than it seemed they had been, the sooner things may be figured out.

Journal in hand, Mitsuru followed her nurse, stopping at the bulletin briefly before moving on into the cafeteria. She grabbed an English muffin sandwich from the line before going to take a seat, opening her journal to take another look.

[givemeoblivion.livejournal.com]

If Callisto's nurse had arrived at her room a minute earlier, she might have been in danger and the blonde likely would have spent that morning sedated. As it was, that was all the time the former warlord needed to go from enraged to slightly pissed.

At least this time they'd actually reached the damned caverns, but it still seemed as though they were being made fools of. They'd been given a taste of what was hidden only to be pulled back out again before they made actual progress. That infuriating Landel!

It was becoming habit for the nurse to follow just out of harm's way as they went to breakfast. Of course, Callisto would argue that for her to truly be out of harm's way she'd need to be where she couldn't be seen. Far be it for her to dispell that pitiful concept of safety.

Once her breakfast was procured, she took a seat next to a young woman she didn't recognize. For the moment, she didn't feel like searching out one that she did. There was no greeting. She simply slouched down in her chair and began poking at the food half-heartedly.

[never-learns.livejournal.com]

Yohji thought he might have drifted off to sleep before the night had ended, but it didn't really make any difference and it felt good to be at least partially rested, especially after the harrowing fight of the night before. He was at least on good terms with Ken, even if their relationship was somewhat shaky at times.

The muffin thing seemed a bit too much to take, but the sausage meat wasn't too bad, and he had scrambled eggs too. If he did end up going out tonight, then he'd need the energy. That was what he needed to focus on. He found himself a seat in the corner where he could watch people come and go, and began to eat slowly, making each bite last.

For Artemis!

[byname-bynature.livejournal.com]

Artemis' face hurt.

From the way the boy was hunched over and glowering, one might have thought that he despised everyone in the room, and the air he was breathing. That Badou... seizing his face like that and Haku joining in on the Tease Artemis game... It was only fun when he wasn't outnumbered!

He wasn't in the right mindset to tackle the meat, so his nurse gave him a plate full of scrambled eggs. They weren't like Butler's, and that was a little upsetting. That might have made up for the unceremonious facial assault he'd received last night.

Looking around for someone to sit with, Artemis caught sight of the man Schuldig was involved with. Yohji, wasn't it? Yes, he thought so. Friend of Ken, if he remembered correctly. The boy smiled good-naturedly and made his way over.

"Do you mind if I sit with you?"

[ruthless-hunter.livejournal.com]

Lockdown groaned when he came out of recharge. Time for a little tightening of bolts and going through trophies... when the blank white walls met his gaze, he murmered, "Oh, right... trapped in a crazy house with a weak body."

Well, at least he had been able to get some recharge after his and Starscream's venture last night. He wondered if Starscream was going to drag him along again when it was time to search for the charcoal. Hopefully the other Decepticon would have something or someone else to use as a crutch, if the wound did not heal by tonight.

Lockdown was once again lead to the cafeteria for morning refuelling, just like yesterday. The bounty hunter gathered his tray, plate, and silverware and went over to the food stations. He grabbed something that was probably the "breakfast sandwhich" the intercom had mentioned, and two meat strips and placed them on his plate. After getting some orange juice, he looked around at the other inmates, seeing that they were eating the food with their hands. Strange, the humans do eat some foods with their hands. Why can they not make up their minds about how to eat?

The bounty hunter parked himself at an empty table and began taking small nibbles out of a meat strip.

[free]

[kagurazuki.livejournal.com]

Even if they hadn't gotent all the way to the basement, Kagura was glad, if only for the fact that they hadn't gotten injured either. Her wounds from previous nights had finally started to heal and though they would probably leave scars, at least it didn't look as gross anymore.

The breakfast was more American food and she didn't have much stomach for the sausage. At least her nurse was nice enough to remember and gave her a biscuit with just egg and cheese. She picked up some fruit too and milk before the nurse escorted her to a table. Unfortunately, it also happened to be right by a really scary looking patient. He didn't really look Asian, but he had dark hair and tattoos, even on his face! If that didn't scream Yakuza, she didn't know what else would.

She shot her nurse a pleading look, but the nurse only smiled back, "Ruth, I'd like you to meet Mr. Bishop. It'll be good for both of you to make some friends, so don't be shy, alright?"

Kagura wasn't sure that was possible. "H-hello," she squeaked, voice barely audible as her nurse left. "I-it's nice to meet you."

[fourtharcana.livejournal.com]

Akihiko woke up in a good mood that morning. It had been way too long since he'd gotten to spar with a good opponent, and he really wanted to do it again sometime in the future. Sure, it had reminded him that this place had either dulled his skills or made them a little rusty, but that wasn't anything practice couldn't fix.

When his nurse came for him, he followed cooperatively, halfway tuning her talk out. However, when she told him there was some time scheduled for people to go outside, that just sealed the deal on his good mood. Hey, maybe that soccer game Yukito had mentioned the other day would get going. That would be fun.

He'd have almost felt excited, if not for the fact that he'd woken up still in the same place. Oh, well. What was the harm in being in a good mood? He filled his tray and took a seat, digging into his sandwich with gusto.

[for Lauren's Leon!]

[heraldric.livejournal.com]

Like the time before, Leon was still very tired when he woke. It was better than the night before, he was pleased to note, but that might have something to do with the fact that he hadn't been carrying around a heavy load prior to his alchemy attempt this time around.

He wished he could have stayed with the boxing club a bit longer. He didn't even know whether it had been the actual end of night that cut his watching short or if he'd simply nodded off. Either way, it had just started to get interesting.

It was a nice surprise to see the leader of said club sitting alone when he went looking for a seat, tray in hand. Hoping Akihiko didn't have plans he'd be interrupting, the young mage took a seat at the same table. "Hey," he greeted with a smile, trying to keep any remaining weariness out of his voice.

[showtime-matsu.livejournal.com]

Matsuda hadn't meant at all to sleep right through the night, but it looked like his worrying had caught up with him. He woke feeling rested, at least, but still uneasy. He hadn't been able to keep an eye on Mikami, to make sure he didn't hurt anyone else, and night was when he needed to do that more than anything. Well, he'd have to hope for the best and get back to it today, if he could. The detective followed his nurse to the cafeteria and grabbed a muffin sandwich and some slices of bacon before turning and...

Oh, right. Ryuk had wanted to talk about something, hadn't he? And Matsuda had forgotten to respond to that bulletin. As an afterthought, Matsuda grabbed an apple before going to find a seat, just in case the shinigami came calling.

[bored-todeath.livejournal.com]

Ryuk sauntered into the cafeteria and looked at the fruit sadly. One glance to his nurse told him it was going to be a pain in the ass trying to get an apple. So, deciding to sulk instead, he took his stroppy self and sat across from Matsuda. He wasn't liking this place much anymore, so maybe the dumbass could cheer him up.

He flopped his head down on his folded arms and winced. Goddamn Winchester.

He stared at the apple and made a tortured sound.

"Put that thing away!"

[tostepforward.livejournal.com]

One second Ayumu was in the hallway, preparing to strike at the bats she could hear approaching out of the darkness, and realizing that Robin must be done with his own fight and would thus be able to see her. The next she was waking up back in her bed, cleansed of the creatures' foul-smelling blood and with her arm bandaged. She blinked up at the ceiling, mildly annoyed with the interruption and inevitable disorientation, and breathed out a quiet sigh.

It appeared that Yuffie was still asleep, so Ayumu took a moment to return two of her scalpels to their hiding place, then slid the third under her clothing before the nurse arrived to accompany her to breakfast. She was back to the 'Sen' persona for now, though she had to wonder how long it would hold up: Robin had certainly seen something, but she could only hope that in the shadows and confusion he wouldn't know just what it was. She couldn't help but remember Okita's warning, and wonder if he knew of a danger she didn't. Certainly her lack of information about this place had already presented issues that she was still dealing with.

There were very few in the cafeteria already by the time she arrived, and none of them familiar, so Ayumu merely took enough food to satisfy the nurse and found herself a seat where she could keep an eye on the door. Holding her bandaged arm as though it pained her too much to use it, she idly picked at her food with her left hand and considered her options - and what kind of report she would have to make to Homura now.

[for Matt]

[whohitreset.livejournal.com]

If there was one thing Matt was thankful for in the Institute, it was that when the night ended they woke up cleaned of anything nasty they'd gotten on them before it did - like vile undead bat blood. He supposed he should have been more disturbed by the notion that someone might be cleaning them up while they were unconscious, but this was one of those instances where he thought it best to take the 'ignorance is bliss' approach.

Unfortunately, he couldn't do the same with the other issue at hand - Sen. There was definitely something up. He'd been expecting there to be, so it wasn't as if this was a huge surprise. Still, he'd been more than partly hoping that he was wrong - that she really was just an innocent girl. Well, as innocent as prostitutes came, anyway.

He caught sight of her easily after he'd gotten his breakfast. Approaching her slowly, he set his tray down on an empty table behind hers and moved to wrap his arms around her shoulders. He was aware now. It was time to put those espionage skills to better use.

[sheisthecause.livejournal.com]

Meche opened her eyes to find herself in the room alone, shoulder bandaged. Standing was a lot easier today, although something felt a little off--they probably had her on painkillers for the shoulder, she decided. Nothing too strong. Well, fine.

The night, like most of the others she'd had here so far, had been a bust. She had no way of knowing for sure whether Manny was in the morgue, and even worse, she'd gotten both herself and Naoto hurt. Great, another person to add to her list of casualties. She was turning into a regular Typhoid Meche--even being around at night her was about as safe as going snorkeling in a piranha tank.

She looked around for Manny again in the cafeteria, but her hopes weren't as high as yesterday. Working carefully with her left arm, she loaded her tray from the salad bar and then took a seat by herself. She was one of the first ones here, after all. There might still be some chance of his turning up.

[for Ami-chan!]

[icy-pole.livejournal.com]

The sharp pain in her ribs woke her. She sat up gingerly, brushing her blue black hair from her face. The overbearingly cheerful nurse was there again today to help her down to the breakfast room.

I still have to talk to Logan-san, she thought bleakly as she followed the plump nurse silently. The guilt of attacking innocents, friends, would stay with her forever, no matter whether she was forgiven or that she had been controlled by something else.

Scanning the room after choosing an English muffin and a juice, Ami failed to see Logan again today. Her concern and guilt increased. I hope he's okay...

The cafeteria was starting to get busy. Ami noticed a free space near an older woman with dark brown hair (and who also appeared to be injured) and made her way over. "I'm sorry to disturb you, but may I sit here?" she asked in a quiet voice.

[toobothersome.livejournal.com]

The transition between consciousness, unconsciousness (he wouldn't call something so unpleasant sleep), and consciousness once again was not as jarring as it had been the first night, though Shikamaru was not happy about having put so much effort into something that yielded absolutely no results. Also annoying was the nurse, same as yesterday, who rejected his claims that he needed more sleep as easily as she yanked away the blanket he'd pulled over his head. He had a feeling that this was going to become a routine, just as it was at home. It was both troublesome and vaguely reassuring to know that even in some demonic, dimension-altering mental hospital, women were still a pain in the ass.

He followed her into the cafeteria and loaded his plate with food, barely even noticing what he claimed, then scanned the cafeteria for familiar faces. None. What kind of terrible world was it when he was the first to be dragged out of bed? Shikamaru dropped into a seat at the far end of an empty table and tried to look as uninteresting as possible, which shouldn't be hard in a place filled with the type of people and personalities he'd seen yesterday. He wasn't hungry, but still took a few bites before pushing aside his tray and folding his arms on the table, then burying his head. As long as he wasn't bothering anyone, maybe no one would stop him from a few more minutes of sleep.

[free]

[alwayscomesback.livejournal.com]

Right, so if there were any monsters here, they had obviously been scared of his presence last night. Sokka hadn't seen hide nor hair of these "monsters" everyone kept telling him about the previous evening. No, all he'd seen was dark, ominous hallways that might have had a creature or two crawling around them other than humans, but nothing much more. Not even a window so he could see the moonlight! That bugged him most, having not seen the moon. Nothing to lift his spirits in this strange place - whatever it was.

But since he still wasn't sure of the location, Sokka continued to play along. And he wouldn't be complaining if that playing along meant food as soon as he woke up! It made up for the confusion of having most assuredly not gone to bed before coming around in that bed. At least, he thought he hadn't gone back. Maybe he had and he just didn't remember, or something. Oh well, it wasn't as though strange things hadn't happened to him before now.

Tray in hand, Sokka took a great whiff of the food this morning, the meat especially, and had a seat wherever without looking before starting in on it. Hey, no use in letting it get cold right?

[mitase.livejournal.com]

Although they might have run into, ah, delays on the way last night and thus hadn't managed to make it to the greenhouse, Hanatarou was actually feeling rather good about what they'd accomplished. Upon waking he'd found the box with various supplies (including the pillowcase full of the spoils from the pharmacy) still with him, as well as the sword he was still a little uncertain about carrying, and had had to quickly shove the whole lot into the closet before the nurse arrived, but she hadn't seemed to notice anything odd about him being out of breath and just cheerfully led him off to breakfast.

Now, though, he was faced with a room of mostly-unfamiliar people, and breakfasts here generally hadn't been very good for him when it came to meeting new people. He paused with his tray of food and blinked around the room for a moment before moving to a nice, out of the way corner, stepping with almost exaggerated caution to avoid spilling any of what he was carrying before he found a seat and settled down, hoping he'd actually have a nice, peaceful meal that wouldn't ruin his good mood. If that wasn't too much to ask.

[for boobsquish Rangiku]

[fuyunohanabi.livejournal.com]

Rangiku was not happy. It was becoming far too common an occurrence and really she would have been quite happy to sleep the day and the night both away and avoid everyone. She shouldn't be letting it get to her, but the tedium of testing door after door with no success was starting to get to her, bringing the worst of her temper to the fore.

She found an empty seat quickly and settled herself, then poked with little interest at the food before looking up at whoever she was next to. She frowned a little at him. Dark hair, timid looking and familiar. "Do I know you?"

[sir-savien.livejournal.com]

Kvothe woke with a start, immediately pushing himsef up onto his elbows and looking around, but this time he was almost relieved to see the familiar walls of his and Tony's room. At the thought of Tony his head snapped around toward his roommate's bed, and he was more relieved to see him there, still asleep. He got up, meaning to wake his friend, but abruptly the door opened and a nurse stood there, smiling and telling him to come along to breakfast. Kvothe's back was pressed against the far wall before he'd realized he'd moved. She came to get him, an annoyed expression on her face for a moment for his behavior, and he reminded himself firmly that it was daytime now, this place was only dangerous at night, but he barely fought down the surge of panic when she took his arm that nearly sent him running again.

He managed to keep himself under control as the nurse led him to the cafeteria and filled a plate for him, he didn't pay much attention to what, he wasn't hungry this morning. He got away from her as soon as she'd let him, taking the food and sitting at a still empty table next to the wall, facing the door. There'd be less chance of anyone sneaking up behind him, and he could see when Tony came in. He should let his roommate know that he's all right, he thought. ...Or alive, anyway. He started going through some of the mental exercises Ben had taught him while he waited, hoping to reassemble some semblance of composure by the time Tony got there.

[for Tony!}

[tony-castaway.livejournal.com]

Waking up to an empty room caused Tony's heart to sink. They hadn't rescued Kvothe. He'd tried, but night had ended far too quickly. Then he realized that the covers were mussed on the far side of the room. He went to feel the mattress, to see if it was warm, and to see if there was any other sign of Kvothe's survival. He was still fingering the sheets, having found the slightest hint of warmth lingering in the mattress, when a nurse came in.

She frowned for a moment, then told him it was time for breakfast. Tony grabbed his notebook and pen, and then followed her. He didn't dare ask about Kvothe, though he was worried, very worried. It was hard not to race ahead to the cafeteria on his long legs to see if Kvothe was there already. So when he stepped through the door, his eyes searched the crowd.

When he saw him, Tony waved, then collected a pair of breakfast sandwiches and some milk. He hurried to his roommate's table. "Are you alright?" he asked before he realized that Kvothe was far from alright. Tony sat, anxious to hear what had happened. "I tried to get to you, but we didn't make it," he added lamely.

[overdoingit.livejournal.com]

The end of night had good timing. Before the blonde girl could pressure him into a deal, Cross woke up back in his bed. Well, partially woke up. He was still suffering some effects of blood loss, though he could feel his injuries tightly bandaged. When he tried to sit up, the edges of his vision blurring, he felt himself caught by a pair of gentle hands. His guard was down enough that he hadn't even noticed the nurse in the room.

She tried to bring him some sort of chair with wheels. He'd seen them around the Institute before. The contraption was refused with a shake of his head. His legs were fine. His back and shoulders might be cut up, but he could walk. Finally relenting, the woman had him drink a bit of water before she allowed him to go anywhere.

Cross ended up leaning on her slightly halfway down the hall, causing her to 'tch' at him reproachfully. She filled up his tray herself when they arrived, and found him a seat at an empty table. He began eating mechanically, knowing he'd need it to help in his recovery.

[madeinthehrl]

The sudden arrival of morning was no less sudden and unexpected than it had been the night before. Soma woke with a faint gasp, sitting up almost instantly before she realized where she was.

She calmed down quickly after that, though the annoyance that had accompanied the realization didn't fade in the slightest. It appeared she was still here. And she hadn't had an opportunity to fight at all. But surely they had only been in the room for half an hour at most - where had the time gone?

At that moment her nurse arrived, forestalling any further questions. Soma barely dignified the "Good morning, Maria!" with a response, settling for a faint nod instead, and followed the older woman out the door and down the hall with a silence that was almost sullen. She accepted the tray of food and the admonishment to behave herself with a similar lack of grace.

"It never hurts to make friends," her nurse said pointedly. "Why don't you talk to Enoch? I'm sure he'd like to make friends, too!"

Soma followed the nurse's line of sight. A boy who looked about her age, she noted, but it was his white hair that caught and held her interest. And in a way, the nurse was right; more allies in this place could be useful.

Her mind made up, she placed her tray on the table across from him and sat down, face emotionless as usual but not unfriendly. "Hello."

[host-club-honey.livejournal.com]

Honey woke, not feeling terribly refreshed, but at least he'd had cake for the first time in what felt like forever. He was worried that when he awoke it might be gone, since he'd only had a very few bites before the night ended, but it was there, right on his nightstand when he woke up. For such a bad place, they certainly were considerate.

Honey took a few more bites, but startled and hid it under his bed when the nurse came in to escort him to breakfast.

There were no waffles today, and hardly any sweets. It was a good thing he'd been pacing himself with the cake, otherwise he'd be in the same dire straits as before.

[Kio]

ttly backthreading this! i fail D:

[stalksperverts.livejournal.com]

Kio had gone to bed expecting to doze of slightly. His injuries still hurt, though the pain was starting to be a dull annoyance rather than the sharp stings he'd felt throughout the day. He'd thought, foolishly, that he could simply close his eyes and drowse off for a few minutes. Instead, the sound that greeted him was the sharp voice of the morning intercom. Kio sat up in bed, glancing around wildly. His room mate seemed to have gone already and with a sinking feeling in his stomach he realised he might just have missed the night.

Had anyone noticed? They certainly hadn't come for him, though he couldn't exactly recall if anyone knew his room number. Would they have asked Sou-chan? Unlikely. He could still remember their conversation from what it seemed was now the previous day. His heart sank further when the nurse cheerfully invited him to breakfast.

Kio walked behind her and didn't even notice as she piled food on his tray, mumbling about how he needed the strength if he was ever going to get better. He grabbed it from her hands unceremoniously and went to find a place to sit down. He'd worried people. Disappointed them. Perhaps Honey had waited for him all night, perhaps something had happened to them as they waited for him. Kio didn't even notice who he was sitting next to. He ate quickly, his face burning in shame. How could he have made such a childish mistake?

[unmocked-lawr.livejournal.com]

Well, that night had been more productive than most. He could get used to this.

Javert rolled out of bed, feeling good almost despite himself; it was the work of a moment to place the items he had obtained last night in his closet and get back into bed before his nurse came round.

He followed her out of his room and into the cafeteria, playing the compliant patient as ever. The "English muffin sandwich" looked peculiar, to say the least, but he couldn't say it didn't smell at least somewhat pleasant; he took one and a few slices of bacon to his seat.

He positioned himself near the doors, as was habit by now, and watched the other patients enter. Perhaps he might even see a familiar face today.

[rubbermancan.livejournal.com]

Sometimes it took Luffy awhile to get things, but all he had to do was open his eyes to realize that they hadn't made it to the second floor. It was pretty disappointing, but on the other hand, Luffy knew the second floor was still gonna be there tonight. Except, now that he thought about it...

They were supposed to have an awesome pirate party tonight! He'd almost forgotten! Man, he was gonna have to get with Usopp about that, or make a cool bulletin post or something.

The only thing that could have lifted his spirits higher was breakfast, which, awesomely enough, happened to be the shift coming up next. Luffy did his best to get through the line as quickly as possible (though the Cat Ladies kept him from nudging in front of people). Once he'd gotten his tray full of food, it didn't take him long to find a seat.

It wasn't until after he'd stuffed a few good bites of his "English muffin" into his mouth that he looked up at the man across from him, cheeks puffed out like some kind of hamster. "Wait a minute..." he said slowly, not bothering to swallow his food first. He squinted and leaned forward, as if to get a better look at the man. "Have we met before?"

[winged_moon]

For once the transition between night and day wasn't quite so jarring, nor was waking quite so unpleasant. Yukito had opened his eyes to find much the same thing he'd seen before the night had ended, considering how similar the patient rooms were: the only difference was that Touya was gone and he could see Ken asleep in the other bed. But Touya was here now, in the Institute, and even if Yukito wasn't actually with him it was still a comfort to know that he was still there.

And you can't tell me that you're completely unhappy about it, either, he silently told Yue, as he piled his tray as high with food as they would let him. Maybe you could let him know that? Being grouchy with him doesn't really accomplish anything. And it also left him as the awkward third party between two people he cared about, which was never pleasant.

He got no reply to that, though - it wasn't as though he'd really been expecting a positive response, but nothing was certainly better than annoyance or an outright rejection of the idea. It cheered Yukito up slightly, and he dug into his food with his usual enthusiasm.

[for a cute thing who needs hugs]

[bewarethecute.livejournal.com]

Ururu didn't remember much about how the night ended. She knew her friends were gone, and that there had been someone she'd run into, and something about vampires and cake, but only the first thing really seemed to matter. Ururu wasn't crying anymore at least, but she felt like she would start again if she thought too much. So the little girl did her best not to think at all, silently following her nurse into the cafeteria, and barely getting anything to eat.

She didn't want to look around. If she did, Ururu knew that she wouldn't see any of her friends. No Orihime, no Shiki, no Fai-san, no Kurogane, no--

Suddenly the girl gasped, her tray dropping from her hands and clattering to the floor. Breakfast suddenly wasn't important, because Ururu had finally found someone, one of her friends, and the rush of relief was just too strong. Ignoring the nurse that was now unhappy with her, the girl raced over to Yukito as fast as she could, jumping up to hug him tight as soon as he was in reach.

"Yu-Yukito-san!" Ururu pressed her face into his shirt, unable to keep from sobbing hard anymore. "I'm so glad...you're still here!"

[see-my-back.livejournal.com]

Sakura was once again disappointed by the progress they'd made at figuring out the puzzles of Landel's Institution. She woke in her bed, as was becoming the usual, and groaned in frustration. They weren't getting anywhere! Not with this place and not with Sasuke either! She was really going to have to step it up a notch or something or she was going to go crazy for real!

She hid away her weapons before the nurses arrived, deciding to bring her journal and a pen with her as she'd seen other patients do, and tucking away a single razor-blade between the pages was a simple matter. They might be able to control a lot of things, but she wasn't going to be caught empty-handed. She didn't see any other ninja out just yet, so she picked up her tray and took a seat, eating quietly and writing the occasional note in her journal.

[Sai]

[tsunagari.livejournal.com]

Sakura wasn't the only one disappointed in lack of progress. Sai had hoped to be able to get Usopp to the pharmacy as he'd wanted, but they'd hardly made it up the stairs. What a short night that had been. He'd need to speak with the pirate later, see what they could do about it. He also needed to speak to Mello. The nurse allowed him to stop and leave a brief note before they made their way into the cafeteria.

Unfortunately, he didn't see the blond upon entering. That was all right for now. Hopefully the man would see his note. The ninja didn't want to be involved in any disputes between him and other patients. He had enough to deal with in regards to those from his own world.

The pink hair of his teammate was easy to spot after he'd gotten his meal. With no other familiar faces immediately visible, he made his way over to her table. Granted, he was a bit hesitant to approach after the events of the day before, but she was his teammate. (And it wasn't as if that was the first time she'd punched him.) The usual smile was in place as he greeted her. "Hello, Sakura. Was your night successful?"

[faithful-frost.livejournal.com]

Haku woke suddenly and it was with a sudden feeling of emptiness and the numbing feelings of shock. The nurse and orderlies (they didn't want a repeat of yesterday after all) that came to get him first hustled him out of his room and then through the food line. He thanked them absently and took a seat farther away from the current growing crowd.

Haku ignored his food and simply sat quietly, looking at the plate of food as though it were the only thing worth paying attention too.

He wanted to be left alone .... but he was afraid to be as well.

(For Kakashi, I think?)

[lostonlifesroad.livejournal.com]

The end of night was more than a little disappointing, considering that not only had they not gotten to the basement, but that Dias's group hadn't arrived in the kitchen. Kakashi was a higher rank than the other ninjas he had been with that night, so technically that meant he didn't owe them any explanation. But he'd likely give it anyway, if for no other reason, than to keep them from forming their own incorrect theories. It wouldn't be good for morale if they got the wrong idea about things.

Kakashi looked over at his roommate, still asleep in bed. At least it didn't look like he was injured, though he knew the blood in the room had to have come from somewhere. Either way, there wasn't exactly anything he could do about it now, aside from being thankful that the nurses patched them up sometime between the end of night and the start of day.

By the time his nurse came, Kakashi was up, his collection of scalpels hidden away from confiscating hands. He cooperatively followed her instructions, going to the cafeteria and getting his meal. There weren't too many familiar faces just yet, but it was probably too early to worry too much about that. Besides, one Kakashi did see belonged to a person he needed to address, especially after what he'd seen on the bulletin board.

"Hello, Haku-kun." Kakashi was polite, but not overly cheerful when he went over to the other ninja. Zabuza had gone missing, and Kakashi only needed to look at Haku for confirmation of that. There was a level of sympathy there that stemmed from his own past, but Kakashi already knew he'd not offer many details about that. Still, he'd do what he could for the ninja. Kakashi respected the boy in a way that eclipsed the fact that he'd ended up killing him. "Do you mind if I join you?"

[piggy-king.livejournal.com]

Ho, hum. Another day, another step closer to escaping. Porky only hoped that he wouldn't have as horrible a night as he did yesterday. First there had been the ghost that seemed to enjoy mocking Porky more than hurting him, and then there had been the lack of knives in the kitchen. Well, at least he had been able to get...frying pans. Then again, Porky wasn't sure that that could even be counted as an accomplishment.

Porky's nurse wasted no time in shuffling him out of his room and to the cafeteria. Porky grabbed a tray and, as usual, piled it high with bacon and two of the sandwiches they were serving as the main dish. After that, Porky turned away and found a chair to sit in.

As he ate, Porky began to think of his plans for the night. The only thing he could think of was getting baseball bats, but that was a last resort. Well, it would be if he had any other plans. For now, it was the only resort.

[traitors-smile.livejournal.com]

So far they'd found nothing, but that wasn't to say he wasn't still entertained. Gin put away his weapons and other things, wondering if he could get away with hiding the small kitchen knife on his person. One never knew when it might come in useful. It wasn't a shower day, so he slipped it into his waistband and let his shirt hang loosely over it. He'd really have to fashion some kind of sheath for it one of these days. Maybe an arts and crafts project in the near future.

There'd been no deaths among the shinigami tonight, far as he could tell, which at least meant that people might be a bit easier to deal with. He didn't see many worth going after when he got his breakfast, so he decided to bother one of the new people. A round old man caught his eye and as scarce as older people were, he figured it was worth a try.

"Mornin'," he offered, setting his tray down across from the other man. "Name's Ichimaru Gin. Don't think I've seen you 'round here before."

[brightlyshine.livejournal.com]

Waking up was the worst. The lights were too bright, and everything hurt, especially her chest, and she'd managed to develop a headache. How'd she get to her bed again?

Parts of last night were a blur in Elena's mind, while other things were etched in vivid details inside of her memory. Being strapped to that table was something she didn't want to think about as much as she could get away with. She had a feeling her roommate had been involved at one point, so maybe she'd have to talk to her later. But for now she'd be happy if someone shot her. She could still feel the materia inside of her system, but it wasn't in control anymore, at least for now. She was afraid of being around people, though. What if the berserk won out again, and she accidentally hurt someone? Or what if she already had?

A nurse started to lead her towards the cafeteria, but Elena had to quickly make a side trip to the nearest bathroom - apparently the built up nausea from the night before hadn't left her yet, and walking and thoughts of food made it worse. She tried not to think too hard about the fact that what she lost from her stomach now had tints of green to it. Eventually composing herself, she was able to make it to breakfast, now definitely not planning to actually eat anything.

She did grab a glass of water, but didn't touch it, resting her arms on the table she'd found and used them as a pillow. The worst part was that she couldn't even blame the feeling awful part on getting drunk last night.

[For my Turks]

[offduty.livejournal.com]

Elena still looked like pretty bad off when Reno's gaze found her in the crowd, but she was up and about and that was about all any of them could ask for when it came to their line of work. Not that this was work, but whatever. The sentiment was the same.

He took his food, distractedly for once, before heading over to her. He still had no idea what the hell had happened to her, except that it had to do with materia and Elena getting weirdly whacked out. But he couldn't really ask her about it, either. Not because he wasn't sure interrogating her this early on would be the best idea, but because he didn't know if she even knew herself what had happened.

Reno grunted softly to himself, annoyed, and slid into his seat across from her.

"You look like shit," he stated, but not callously.

[tightsofmight]

Peter couldn’t find the voice to protest as he was towed into the cafeteria line. He was fixed with one final stern look, the nurse spouting off another warning before leaving him to his own devices. Shakily, he picked up a tray, decorating it sparsely with whatever was closest to him.

A frantic sweep of the room didn’t reveal anything. No one matched this Grell person’s description. He wasn’t sure what he would do if he found him – at least during the day. If he ever caught him at night, he wouldn’t think twice before pounding him into the floor. Not after what he and his buddy ‘Luxord’ did to Brainy. Too bad he didn’t know what the other guy looked like; he’d have to ask tonight at dinner. Putting any questions on the board would only alert the pair that someone was coming for them. As much as he wanted to sound the alarm and raise hell for those lunatics, it wasn’t the smart thing to do. At least not yet.

Somberly, he drifted into a chair and picked at his meal. Swallowing anything was difficult when the deep black bruises around his roommate’s neck kept flashing before his eyes.

[for Eddie Brock]

[blacksustenance.livejournal.com]

Brock woke up not sure which part of him was still sore - the fresh stab wound or the fact Blue Ranger had kneed him point-blank in the balls without any real symbiote protection.

He also wasn't sure what to believe. The whole "I'm possessed, but I'm not the bad guy" thing he could get behind, being in weirdly similar circumstances as whoever that human was the Reach was in. But then there was that weird pull of his Other to kill, to obliterate and while hatred wasn't anything new to either of them, it was new to feel this sheer instinct of feeling threatened, really threatened. It was rare for the symbiote to get spooked, but spooked it was. Still, the human in him was wondering if maybe what Blue Ranger said was true. Shit, he might have an alien in him, but he wasn't interested in infesting the world, and he didn't think his Other was, either.

Brock's strides were a little ginger, but they managed to make it to the cafeteria. The stab wound hadn't been anywhere near fatal, but it was still another reminder they were mostly human...a reminder they didn't really need. Brock kept finding his hand was drifting to the bandages hidden by his clothes, as if surprised they were there.

He was distracted stepping into the cafeteria. That feel of Parker hit them again, except this time they had to actually look around to try to pinpoint this different Spider. The kid was picking half-heartedly at his meal, obviously distracted by something, which meant it was the perfect time to approach him. Brock didn't know what his game plan was or if he even had an endgame. All he knew was he needed to be near the Spider, no matter what he looked like. Brock wandered over, reaching out with one hand and softly knocking on the table.

"Hey. You okay?" Brock asked, for all appearances politely concerned.

[scalyfishman.livejournal.com]

Day into night, night into day, and frag all coming from it at all. It was strange, floating from one moment to the next without any idea of what would follow, as if removing X had wiped any sense of purpose from his processor and left him with what could only be described as an itch he couldn’t scratch. Almost as if he needed that son-of-an-eight-track to function properly. And that wasn’t a thought Depth Charge wanted to entertain for more than a nanoklik.

This time he didn’t wait for an escort. Impatience drove him from his bed and out into the hall almost as soon as he woke up, much to the surprise of the nurse who found him burning parquet in front of the cafeteria. But now that he was inside and sitting down with a tray he found himself wondering why he’d bothered. Weird fuel, obnoxious staff, patients… fan-slagging-tastic.

A hiss of a sigh escaping him, he began to deconstruct the so-called ‘muffin’ on his plate into its separate layers (rather viciously) with his knife. Strange. It was almost therapeutic.

[toxicspiderman]

Everything was sore. Joints, eye sockets, lungs. S.T. didn't want to get up. He pulled the covers back over his head and told the nurse to fuck herself. He didn't even have the energy to offer to watch.

But she wouldn't go away, and her perfume was nauseatingly strong. He swallowed, and the back of his mouth tasted like sand and salt. Roads at the end of winter, dry before the spring rains. He got up and followed.

The cafeteria was loud and overly aromatic. The aversion of some vets to the smell of cooking pork made a sudden, horrifying amount of sense. Cauterized flesh. Maybe he'd give vegetarianism another try. He shooed the nurse off in search of something bland, and looked for a place to sit. The idea of small talk with some chirpy teenager made him shudder.

There. Someone he recognized. Depth Charge wouldn't ask questions he didn't want to answer. He took the tray from his nurse and slid into the seat. The other man was deconstructing an Egg McMuffin.

"Morning. What'd that sausage do to offend you?"