damned_institute | Day 40: Recreational Field

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Day 40: Recreational Field

Kio's breakfast ended on a much happier note than it had started. However, for once the announcement truly surprised him. He blinked as his nurse came to pick him up. Recreational Field? But.. but if they had a greenhouse, he wanted to go there. The prospect of gardening was a truly liberating one, an island of joy in this hellhole. He thought about going to the Sun Room and lying down, but it occurred to him that he hadn't had proper fresh air since being here. With a cheery goodbye wave to Honey, he followed his torturer outside.

It was much better than he had expected. The sun wasn't too hot (what time of the year were they in, anyway?), so he walked slowly along the walls, fascinated by the size of the field. He wondered if Sou-chan was alright. He hadn't even checked the board. Well, if Soubi wanted to apologize, Kio would be willing to listen. The place was so crisp and clean. He had to think if anyone had ever gone over the walls. What was out there? Freedom? Or a different sort of monster?

Leaning against one of the walls, Kio took as much advantage of the sun as he could. He desperately wanted a lollipop. One was quietly nestled in his pocket, but he would need to wait until the nurses were busy with other patients before he tried anything. Soubi had gone to some trouble to get them, the least he could do was make sure they didn't get confiscated. So with bated breath, Kio waited for a shift in the mood. He was, for once, content. Not happy, but not going crazy either.

[Sou-chan! Team Loveless deploy!]

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This day was looking to be as pointless as every other day spent here. Being dragged from place to place for no discernible purpose, encouraged to take part in some sort of "activity" that made no sense -- Itachi was sure he was being mocked. And if he noticed that someone was mocking him, they were not being subtle at all.

He inwardly scowled as his nurse nearly pulled him onto the field, telling him he should get some exercise and play a game or two with the other patients. Of course he should get some exercise, and he would be, if he weren't being trapped in this bizarre prison. But he didn't think the nurses would be comfortable with him training on the field; it was far too violent. As for playing a game, he wasn't too clear on what that entailed.

He approached one of the other patients, who was kicking one of the balls that seemed so common on the field. As far as Itachi could tell, nothing could be gained from such an activity, but he could be wrong. And if it had to do with playing a game, he was a bit curious as to what that was, even if he was sure it was something stupid. "Excuse me," he said politely. "What is the purpose of kicking one of those balls?"

Indy looked up to see a young man, possibly Japanese but more likely another self-styled magician or rocket-ship captain, if the question was any indication. Or maybe just from the past--fair enough. He bit back the sarcasm and explained. "Normally it's used in a game called 'soccer.' Two opposing teams each try to get it into the other's goal." Indy indicated the goals at either end of the field.

"For my part, I'm just kicking it around to get some easy exercise and avoid the nurses' wrath," he added. That wasn't strictly true--what he really wanted was to be doing something low-key enough to invite conversation. Information about Landel's or about the man's world--which to start with? He didn't exactly look like the type for small talk.

"I could explain the rules more easily if I had some sort of reference," Indy suggested innocently. "What kind of sports are you familiar with?"

Itachi blinked. He still didn't understand the purpose at all, unless it was some way of fighting? Some people chose to call fighting a game, though Itachi didn't approve of taking it so lightly. He didn't want to ask after the purpose yet again because he had a feeling that might be rude. At any rate, kicking the ball to avoid attracting unwanted attention from the nurses made sense after a fashion, so he nodded.

"What does one gain from getting the ball in the goal?" he asked, figuring this would be a way to get to the root of the matter without repeating the same question.

"I'm not familiar with any sports," he added, to explain his confusion as much as to answer the man's question. Normally he wouldn't feel comfortable admitting a lack of knowledge, but information about kicking a ball hardly seemed so crucial that it would be dangerous to make known his weakness in that department. "They might exist in my world, but I have not experienced them myself."

Another one of the "those world" types, then. Indy was still reserving judgment on the plausibility of that until he had more evidence. Odd--he couldn't think of any cultures offhand that didn't have any kind of sports, especially simple ball games like this one. What kind of position would a young man like this be in, not to have experienced them? Nobility? It would fit with the formal language.

"A point," he explained. "It's a kind of competition; people play for fun. A match lasts...oh, I don't know, about an hour and a half; I haven't been to one in a while. The team with the highest score at that point wins, obviously. Sometimes there's money or a prize involved, but for the most part, it's just a recreational activity."

He surveyed the field; most of the men (kids, really--no surprises there either) seemed to be standing around by themselves waiting for someone, the same way he'd been. Idly, Indy wondered if they could get a match together. He wasn't much of a soccer player, but he was pretty sure he could still hold his own with this crowd, at least.

Oh. Recreation. So it was merely for the purpose of fun, which Itachi didn't really understand, but he'd known enough people who liked to have fun that he had grown to accept the phenomenon. Even if he would never understand it. The money part would make more sense, but no one seemed to have any money here, so anyone playing on this field would be doing it for fun.

Itachi nodded, to continue with the politeness. "I don't normally spend time taking part in recreational activities. But I understand now. Thank you." He looked at the man a bit curiously. They obviously had entirely different sets of experiences, and he wondered what other kinds of knowledge the man possessed that might be useful. He didn't have anything better to do than to inquire after such things, because while he should be gathering information and making plans, that would be difficult to do under these circumstances. "What kind of world do you come from?"

What kind of world did he come from? Indy found himself momentarily at a loss for an answer. The one without all the ridiculous hokum everyone else here wants to embellish theirs with, was his first inclination, but he checked himself. No point in taking his irritation at the current circumstances out on other patients.

He dribbled the ball for a few steps, buying a little time to consider his answer. Indy didn't have any soccer technique to speak of, but at least the movements felt good. "This one, as far as I can tell. Probably the same country, but seventy years in the past. A lot's changed." He stopped the ball with his foot, punctuating the statement. "And you?"

Itachi carefully watched the man's movements. So, you moved the ball by kicking it, and kept it in your possession by stopping the momentum with the other foot, then repeating the process starting with that foot. It wouldn't be too hard should Itachi ever need to try it. He likely would not, but it was good to be prepared for any situation, and new physical skills were not something he would turn down.

That the man was from the same world was interesting. Even if he was from the past, he probably knew a great deal more about their location. "Not this world, I believe." Of course he couldn't be sure, but -- "Too many things are different. Unless you've heard of a Fire Country in this world? Or a Hidden Village of the Leaves? That's where I am originally from."

Indy noticed the younger man watching and kicked the ball sideways to him. "The main rule is that you can't use your hands," he explained with a small grin, interested to see what Mr. Didn't-Normally-Spend-Time-Taking-Part-in-Recreational-Activities would do.

He hadn't heard of either of those places, of course. It was always possible that "Fire Country" and "Hidden Village of the Leaves" were the native names for some remote corner of the world he'd never visited (where no one had thought to invent ball games?), but it also didn't sound terribly likely. Well, this was exactly the kind of thing Indy had been hoping to learn more about.

"If you don't mind my asking, what's different about this world?" he asked, gamely playing along. "Aside from the obvious fact that you probably spent a lot less time hanging around insane asylums and making things look good for the nurses back home, that is."

And, presumably, the ball was passed from person to person in the same manner -- by kicking it, and then stopping it with one's foot. His instinct was to dodge when the ball was kicked at him, but that surely was not the man's intent. Itachi carefully watched the ball's trajectory, because even half-blind and without the Sharingan he was an expert at judging an object's movement. He wasn't sure how to stop it with the side of his foot -- wouldn't it bounce off? -- so he carefully put his foot on top of it at the right moment, with enough pressure to stop the rolling, but not enough that it would slip out from under his foot. Glancing cautiously at the other man to see if this was what he had intended, Itachi kicked the ball back just as carefully, his aim perfect even if it was not the kind of physical action he was accustomed to. However, given his recent failings, he wasn't sure if kicking a ball well was any kind of consolation.

"Slight differences," he answered. Almost enough to make him believe he was just in another country, but that wasn't likely. "The food, the way the building looks, the manner of address of the people, and the things which the nurses and doctors reference. Also the -- buses, I believe they're called? We have no such machines where I'm from. I don't believe we even have insane asylums. In my world, people are judged by how powerful they are, not how sane they are. The most powerful people are often those lacking in sanity." Not that he was insane himself, despite being one of the most powerful shinobi. No, never. It was people like Madara and Pain who had lost it.

The guy hadn't been lying about not having played ball games before--or if he had, he was sticking to it admirably. Good hand-eye coordination, good aim...military of some kind? Indy couldn't be sure. He stopped the ball as it sailed back right at his feet and bounced it idly off his toe.

Everything the guy was saying sounded pretty standard until he got to the part about machines. "Buses?" Indy demanded sharply as soon as he could get a word in edgewise. The soccer ball thudded lightly to the ground and rolled. "Did you ride them here at Landel's? Where did they take you?" They might not be on site, at least not anywhere obvious, but buses anywhere meant that there was a destination. Were they taking patients on field trips? Where? Maybe more importantly, what was the security like, and who had the keys?

Itachi stopped the ball again as it rolled towards him, but he kept his foot on it for the time period. Obviously the man already knew what buses were, and that they implied travel. He must be from a similar world after all. Of course, if the man didn't know about the trips to Doyleton, it would be a matter of great interest to him. It had been to Itachi as well, before he determined that there was no chance for escape. Even so, it had allowed him to procure his first real weapon, so the trip's value could not be discounted.

"I take it you have not been here so long. On Saturdays the buses take us to the nearby town, they give us coupons for pointless things, and we are allowed to walk around. We're extremely well-guarded the entire time, however, so there is no possibility of escape."

No chance for escape, maybe, but to say Indy was interested would've been a big understatement nonetheless. Which day of the week was today? Towns meant some chance that the locals might help you, or at least give you information; they meant chances to barter.

"I think this is the fourth day I've been here," he replied. "How far away was the town, would you say? Close enough to reach on foot in a night's walk, or would you need some kind of transportation to get there?" The townspeople might well hit any wandering nutjobs on the head and send them back to Landel themselves, but there might be some impressionable townswoman who could put him up for the night at the price of a wink and a smile. At any rate, it was a more likely plan than any other Indy had had so far.

Itachi considered the question, even as he experimentally rolled the ball beneath his foot, getting a feel for the technique. He didn't have a good perception of how distance was covered in those machines, given the speed they moved and the way the sensation of movement was displaced. It didn't help that his attention had been focused elsewhere on the way back, namely his brother kissing Naruto-kun, of all things. He was still rather confused by that development. But he had the clear impression that the ride had taken a bit of time, even considering how fast the "buses" were.

"I don't know," he replied honestly, an uncomfortable admission but probably one that did not expose any particular weakness. "One might be able to walk there given an entire night, but time moves strangely and the nights cut off early here. I have also heard that those who go outside the Institute's walls at night still find themselves back in their beds come morning."

"Yep," Indy confirmed grimly. "Happened to me last night. I was hoping that there might be some chance of getting out of their range, but you're right--just leaving the grounds doesn't cut it. We must've been hours away when they got us."

It hit him that up until now, he'd just been assuming that a human assailant was getting the drop on them, but he couldn't be sure how well that theory held up. Surely he or Pierson--probably both of them--would have noticed the presence of another person in the church, cautious fellows that they were. Some kind of sleeping gas? That'd be plausible inside the Institute, but out in the middle of the woods? Or did they have some way to knock you out from a distance until they could come collect the bodies?

Indy got the feeling he was starting to pick up on one of the big truths of Landel's: nothing was ever gonna be simple.

Itachi had certainly given the man enough information at this point, considering it wasn't something he was usually inclined to do. So, it would only be natural for him to ask for information in return. "If I might ask, where did you get to last night?"

He didn't know much about the outside area, having dismissed its escape potential once he found out people were still brought back to their rooms. The problem lay within the Institute, and nothing could be accomplished until Martin Landel was defeated. Simply running away wouldn't get him his Sharingan back, nor would it get him back to his own world, nor would it fix what they'd done to Sasuke. And everything he wanted to accomplish depended on those three things. Not to mention that they had to disable the mechanism by which they were returned to their beds before they could escape. Even so, it would be best to learn something about the surrounding area, so that he could have a greater range of knowledge about the place without wasting time exploring it himself.

Indy recognized when his brain was being picked, but he didn't see too much harm in sharing at least some information. Hopefully this guy would be sensible enough not to rush out there and toss through everything before Indy had a chance to get a more thorough search in. "The ruins of a small town," he answered. "Looks like it's from a little before my present time--that is, about eighty years before when we are now, give or take a few."

Now he got a little cagier--that probably wouldn't be enough for the other man, but at the same time, he didn't want to make too many shaky conjectures or make the place sound too intriguing. The less other patients got involved, the better. "Hard to say yet what happened to it--most of the buildings have been smashed in. A lot of human skeletons are grouped together in one site, the church--the central religious building," he added, in case the word wasn't part of the religious context of wherever the hell this guy came from. "I just had enough time for a preliminary look there before I got dragged back. I'm hoping to do some more work out there soon, though."

Itachi nodded at the description. It was. . . interesting, if not particularly useful. He had no need for dead buildings or dead people. Knowing that it was there was better than nothing, however, and it was always possible that there were more important things hidden among the rubble. Better to let other people investigate that while he continued trying to regain his abilities, but he might need the information at some point down the line.

"Which direction is it in?" he asked, just to confirm. "I don't find such things very interesting when we would simply be returned to our beds anyway, but there might be something more there."

"Head south out of the main gate, then due east--at least it's east according to the map orientation," Indy said, perhaps not without a hint of reluctance. "It's easy to get turned around out there; the fog's so thick you can barely see your hand in front of your face. Sorry I can't be more specific than that, but my partner and I stumbled on it by pure chance."

That answer did a good job of walking the line between helpful enough and vague enough, but what got to him was the fact that he wasn't hiding anything in giving it. Between the fog and the lack of landmarks, Indy wasn't all that sure he could find the place again himself--at least, not without some wandering. Maybe Pierson's bread crumbs wouldn't have been a bad idea after all.

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Day 40: Recreational Field

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