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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That little brat didn't mean it...he'd like nothing more than to rip Porky to shreds...Porky was sure of it...oh, it was so hard to breath...what had just happened? Porky couldn't remember a damn thing, but something had obviously tried to hurt Porky...It couldn't have been Lelouch, could it? No, not Lelouch...then again, someone as smart as Lelouch was sure to have some sort of psychic power...it's not like he'd be able to hurt Porky physically, anyway...it did mean he was a bit more dangerous, though...he'd be more dangerous if Porky didn't have his own personal psychic...

"Alright, then..." Porky panted, "A truce it is, Lelouch. I suppose it'd be better if we didn't interfere with each other...better than you butting in when I'm trying to do something, I guess..."

Porky laid down on the grass and wiped the sweat off his forehead.

"By the way, Lelouch," Porky mumbled, "Did you happen to see what happened to me? I have absolutely no idea..."

Butting in? Hardly. Porky was free to believe whatever he wanted, though; as long as he had no evidence to prove that Lelouch opposed the clubs' current efforts, it didn't make a difference. The fact that he truly didn't oppose them made that possibility even less important, but as treating it that way had the potential to open him up for attack later, Lelouch would be watching Porky closely anyway. He would have done so regardless, so why not?

"I'm not sure," he replied, sounding genuinely confused and maybe, just maybe, a little concerned. "Do you have some kind of condition? Maybe we should have met in the Sun Room." Not that Porky would have reacted any differently to his Geass there, but blaming this on allergies or exertion was much, much easier to do when they were out in the open like this. The cafeteria was annoyingly far from here, at least in Lelouch's mind. They really should have that gate installed.

"Would you like me to get a nurse?" he asked, still "concerned" but with just the faintest mocking edge to make it that much more convincing. Porky wouldn't believe it if he tried to present himself as entirely worried about him, but reluctantly worried and trying to hide it should work. Porky was old.

Porky smiled weakly.

"Ha..." Porky barely managed to chuckle, "No...I don't think I'll need a nurse...and I'm sure that this isn't allergies or a preexisting condition...I've been the picture of health ever since I got here...not a single coughing fit for a whole day...which could only mean one thing...to suddenly have my body act like this now...while I just happen to be talking to you...who has already expressed some degree of resentment towards me...all evidence points to...you having some sort...of power..."

Porky could barely hold back a laugh.

"After trying so hard to conceal it..." Porky wheezed, "You've only confirmed my suspicions...I'll admit, though...you're a pretty good actor...don't worry, though...I don't have any idea what you can do...but just know that your secret isn't as secret anymore...thank goodness for that truce, eh?"

Porky sat up. Now that he finally knew what had caused it (to a certain degree, at least), the exhaustion didn't seem so...well, exhausting. Not only that, but Porky finally had some dirt on Lelouch. Perhaps the meeting wasn't a waste after all.

Shit. If Lelouch had known that Porky would react this way, he never would have tried-- well, of course that went without saying. Why waste a perfectly good order on someone who was immune to it? The question of whether or not a different order would have been met with more success was unfortunately one that Lelouch would be unable to answer now, but at least now he had a better idea of what to expect from others. That wouldn't help him to salvage the current situation at all, though, and as that was what was more important...

"I was trying to scan you," he "confessed" after a lengthy pause, hiding under an appropriately ashamed-looking mask-- ashamed and trying to hide it, that is. He'd displayed too much stubbornness and pride for anything less to work. "I didn't think you'd react that way-- are you sure you don't have a condition of some sort? It's not usually that obtrusive, but-- you've heard about how the institute obstructs people's abilities."

He made a slight face and looked away, "reluctant" as ever to display any sort of sympathy. "I won't try it again-- unless you give me reason to, of course. We may have a truce now, but I'm not entirely sure I trust you yet, Mr. Minch. A higher-powered scan would fix that." Which was a bluff, but Porky had no way to know that and Lelouch had an excellent poker face.

"Trying to scan me, eh? Scan what, if I may be so bold to ask?" Porky grinned, "Scan my thoughts? Scan my power level or something? Honestly, I thought you'd come up with something better than that, Lelouch! While it certainly wouldn't be odd for someone who harbors such deep suspicions against me to *ahem* 'scan' me, I doubt that being here would actually make your scanning powers more dangerous! That would give you an edge against the monsters here, and Landel certainly can't have that happening, can he? If anything, your 'scanning' power would barely affect me if you're telling the truth! Everybody knows that powers get weaker here, and if your scanning is normally as unobtrusive as you say it is, I would have barely felt anything! Unless, that is, your so-called 'scanning' isn't really scanning at all."

Porky stood up. He was feeling much better now. Actually, Porky was feeling better than ever! Porky was feeling so good, in fact, that he was ready to take a risk. Porky knew that Lelouch would just try to weasel his way out of this if Porky let up now, so it was time for the finishing blow.

"You know what? Prove it." Porky said, spreading his arms wide, "I don't care if it's dangerous or not. Scan me again. I'm perfectly fine now, and that last 'scan' didn't kill me. I can't think of a reason that you wouldn't. In fact, I can only think of a reason why you should, Lelouch! If you don't, it'll only prove that you're trying to hide something. Something so damning that you can't let anyone else know what it is! So if you know what's good for you, you'd better scan me again!"

"Resorting to threats now?" Lelouch countered mildly, his expression blank once more. Things had spun wildly out of control, and while Porky was hardly a threat even with the entirely accurate assumption that Lelouch had a power he wanted to keep hidden, the fact that he'd been able to uncover that much at all was infuriating. He'd underestimated him, and after going to such lengths to make sure that he didn't-- he'd have to proceed carefully from now on, observe Porky's actions more closely, identify this Commander he was associated with, and observe him as well. There were likely others already involved in similar efforts, considering how suspicious Porky was, but more couldn't hurt.

"Mr. Minch, I'm afraid I can't comply with your demands," he continued, somehow managing to give the impression that he was looking down on the man while remaining seated comfortably on the grass. "You're free to believe whatever you wish about my abilities, but if you honestly think that I'm going to lend you that sort of ammunition against me, you're sorely mistaken. It would be incredibly suspicious if you were to collapse for a second time during our conversation, wouldn't it? That combined with my so-called resentment towards you would make it all too easy for you to pretend that I was attacking you deliberately, and as I neither intend nor intended to do anything of the sort, I'm not going to indulge your childish fantasies by obliging you."

He stretched out on the grass and stared up at the sky, apparently dismissing Porky as not important enough to merit eye contact. "You may want to do more research into how powers are limited here, you know," he sighed, raising one hand to his head to shield his eyes from the glare of the sun. "I'd hate to see what other mistakes you end up making out of sheer ignorance." He shot him a sharp glance. "And no, that was not an invitation into my network. The truce stands, but I'm not allying myself with someone who all too readily tries to frame me."

Edited 2009-04-04 21:29 (UTC)

"My, my, my," Porky said, chuckling, "This ability must really be something if you'd go to such lengths to hide it!"

Porky sat down next to Lelouch on the grass and thought about what Lelouch's power could possibly be. All Porky knew at the moment was that it had nothing to do with external wounds. Time to get to thinking...All right. Chances are, it wasn't supposed to actually hurt Porky. Lelouch didn't seem like the type to physically hurt someone for no reason, whether he hated them or not. It just wasn't his style. Besides, to hurt Porky for no reason, even if he was the type to just blindly attack, it wouldn't make any sense for him to attack someone in broad daylight. Ergo, Lelouch's power didn't revolve around causing harm. But that didn't help much in figuring out what he could do...

However, one thing was obvious. Lelouch's ability involved the mind. Why else would he use it on Porky, the one person that Lelouch was most suspicious of? Thankfully, Lelouch had also given him one clue as to what it was not. It was most certainly, without a doubt, not the power to read minds. If it was, he wouldn't have used the word "scan" to conceal what it truly was. After all, that could imply that it was the power to scan Porky's mind or something, and Lelouch certainly wasn't going to tell Porky what he could do so readily. Could it possibly involve manipulating the mind? That would certainly make sense. Porky wouldn't remember it, as Lelouch would already be messing with Porky's thoughts already. Erasing a memory or two would probably be simple for him. But why would it have affected Porky so drastically?

Ah, but Lelouch had seemed surprised by his reaction, too! That meant that...well, Porky didn't quite know what that meant, but he knew enough to call Lelouch out one last time!

"You needn't worry about that," Porky said, "About giving me ammunition or indulging my admittedly childish demands. You've already given me quite a lot of material to work with. Gohohoho...Do you want to hear my deduction? Well, I suppose it's more of an induction, actually, what with deductions being absolutely true and inductions being guesses, which is what my theory is...but that's not the point!"

Porky jumped up from his seat on the grass and pointed directly at Lelouch.

"All the evidence points to one conclusion, little Mr. Lelouch Lamperouge!" Porky said as he grinned, "Your power is obviously not externally damaging, nor is it internally damaging! In fact, it isn't physically damaging at all, as it revolves around the mind! However, it's function doesn't damage the mind, either, and it doesn't read minds! I can only conclude that your power is either mind control or the power to confuse people! You were trying to eke some incriminating information out of me, either by making me not think straight or by directly forcing me to!"

It was Lelouch's move now. Porky was sure that one of his conclusions was correct, but it would be interesting to see how Lelouch reacted.

Again, shit. If Porky had been able to see through that much-- they could just be lucky guesses on his part, but as thinking that way would invariably lead Lelouch into even more dangerous territory if they weren't, he needed to approach this from another angle. Saying more to distract Porky from the truth obviously wasn't working, but as saying nothing at all would more than likely lead him to assume (correctly) that it was the worst of the two options, Lelouch couldn't try that, either. Should he pretend to crack under the pressure and admit to the less incriminating option? No, that would definitely lead Porky to conclude that it was the other. Would taking the opposite route lead him to believe the opposite? It might, but then it was also possible that he would see through the attempt and redirect his attention accordingly. That meant...

... This all would have been so much easier if his Geass had just worked when it was supposed to. Damn Landel to hell and back for putting him in this position! When he found him-- but now wasn't the time to think about that. Lelouch had to find a way to get Porky off of his trail for good, and while at this point it was unavoidable to do so without leaving him with some kind of leverage over him, imagined or not, it was nothing that wouldn't have been revealed anyway the second someone from his world who knew the truth showed up. He'd seize the less damning conclusion for now, but it would only delay the inevitable. That would give him the time he needed to put the rest of his plans in motion, but not much else.

He sent Porky a startled glance, then quickly looked away, brow furrowing just enough to convey a sense of confusion and worry that Porky was able to put that much together and, as always, that he was trying to hide it. "How-- astute of you," he muttered, changing tone directly after the "how" from faintly incredulous to mocking and confident... if tinged with (entirely, disgustingly, loathingly feigned) awe. "I must say, you've outperformed my expectations, Mr. Minch. I didn't think anyone would be able to piece together my ability."

Edited 2009-04-05 02:08 (UTC)

"Gohohohoho!" Porky laughed, pleased at himself, "I'm not going to lie, little Mr. Lelouch Lamperouge, my mind is as sharp as a steel trap! Not even the psychics I knew back where I used to live could confuse me! And if they couldn't, there isn't a prayer for you! I'm not going to lie, though. That power of yours barely made me break a sweat! It was so easy to focus myself that I was actually wondering if you were doing anything!"

Such a pity! After all that Porky had gone through, all the worrying, all the paranoia...In the end, Lelouch turned out to be nothing. No, Porky wouldn't have to worry about Lelouch interfering at all. Even if he did cross the line and try to halt the glorious progress of the Pigmask Club, Porky always had the knowledge that Lelouch had a power, and one that allowed him to manipulate minds, as well...It may just be confusing people, but there was no telling how everyone would react if they knew Lelouch was trying to further his cause via manipulation. Well, there was no point in revealing something like that if Lelouch was willing to stick to the status quo. No point creating unnecessary conflict, after all.

"You know, little Lelouch..." Porky said finally, "Perhaps I overestimated you. Now that I know your true colors, however, I'm sure that we'll be able to get along just fine. I won't interfere with your admittedly helpful but rather dull plans, and you won't interfere with mine. Does that sound good to you, little Lulu? Ah, it's alright to call you 'Little Lulu,' right? I mean, you're so very young compared to me, right?"

So young...so much to learn. Well, at least he had learned the valuable lesson that Porky was not someone you wanted to oppose.

Lelouch clenched his teeth and continued looking away, somehow managing to stay silent. That utter bastard-- he'd snap back in a second if it hadn't been clear that the instant he did, Porky would start perceiving him as a threat again-- or, more likely, as someone who needed yet more incentive to stay in his place. Lelouch detested being spoken of in such a dismissive way, but it was better than having to openly contend with Porky on top of all of his other plans. This version of the truce wasn't even remotely what he'd envisioned, but if the alternative was having this (fake) secret exposed, he'd have to accept it. That would at least give him the opportunity to build up enough support that he could convincingly claim that, should Porky divulge this "secret," it was defamation of character and nothing else. That would probably even work now, especially since Lelouch honestly hadn't used his Geass in any particularly condemning way as of yet (he'd panicked with Emmett and he hadn't made the man in the Sun Room do anything he shouldn't have done already), but it didn't hurt to be cautious.

The nickname made him visibly flinch, and although he tried to clamp down on the reaction as best he could, he was too late. Porky probably saw it, and that along with the muscles working in Lelouch's jaw would be enough to cement his supposed victory. On one level, that was perfectly fine with him, but on another-- "Don't call me that," he ground out, glaring balefully at nothing. Shirley had called him that. Mao had called him that, and although neither of them had been the sort to include the diminutive Little, having that tacked on was too much to bear. If Porky was going to remind him of Shirley and all of the mistakes he'd made regarding her every time they spoke, intentionally or not, that was all the more reason to destroy him. It honestly hadn't been personal before this, not when Lelouch had thought as little of Porky as the man apparently did of him now, but this would not be forgiven.

Porky might think they had a truce, but Lelouch had just declared war.

Heh. No need to worry at all, now. If Lelouch was willing to keep silent as Porky insulted him so, then he might as well be in the palm of Porky's hand. There was absolutely nothing that Lelouch could do to Porky at this point. Well, there were things he could do, but, compared to what Porky could do, they were nothing more than minor setbacks. After all, rumors or a potshot at Porky's reputation would be inconvenient, but revealing that Lelouch intended to carry out his no doubt ambitious plans via mind manipulation? That would be absolutely devastating.

"Ooooh!" Porky said gleefully when he saw Lelouch react to the nickname, "Did I strike a nerve? I certainly don't mean to offend!"

Porky could barely help but laugh at Lelouch.

"I...I'm sorry..." Porky said finally, wiping a tear from his eye, "I just didn't think that you'd get so bent out of shape over something like a nickname! Here, I'll come up with a new nickname for you...Hmmmm...Oh, how about 'Lucifer?' That's cool sounding! No, no...maybe Lampy? No, that's lame...hmmmm...Nope, I can't think of anything. Looks like I'm going to have to stick with Little Lulu! Unless, of course, you really don't want to be called that, Little Lulu."

Calm. He had to remain calm. Porky wasn't nearly the same threat Mao had been, not when there was no Nunnally here for him to terrorize, but if he kept using the nickname in that tone, Lelouch was going to do something violent. And Shirley-- no, he couldn't think about either of them. Porky didn't know exactly what memories he was dredging up right now, but he could tell he was getting a reaction. The best way to make him stop would be to nullify the effect the nickname had on him. Lelouch should have done that sooner, but with how enraging it was to see that smug satisfaction coming from one of his inferiors, he hadn't been able to.

He turned his mind to the thoroughly delightful prospect of bringing Porky down for good to distract himself, turning over the possibilities for his next move as meticulously as he could while maintaining the appearance of anger. He couldn't recover too quickly without Porky growing suspicious, and as irritating it was, continuing to pretend that the nickname was a weak spot even after he could finally sever any and all attachment to it would work in his favor. The more advantages Porky thought he had over him, the better. That carried with it the unpleasant idea that he might become so secure in his "superiority" that he start demanding concessions of Lelouch, but as that would violate their (unfair, unfair, horribly unfair) "truce," he'd be allowed to move freely then. Besides, even with the comparisons to Mello one could make, he was the more trustworthy of the two. That along with the fact that he'd tried using his power on Porky, a bastard if there ever was one, rather than one of the comparatively innocent patients would count in his favor. If the only evidence was Porky's word, there would be suspicions, but it was clear whose side would win.

... At least, that was what he told himself as he slowly but surely began to calm down. There would still be obstacles-- many of them, in fact-- but he had time before that would become an issue. Playing along with Porky now would ensure that. It was revolting in ways he couldn't possibly articulate, but it was what was needed to be done to bring this place down. As long as he kept that in mind, he could do anything.

"I don't," he said shortly, nothing in his body language or tone to suggest that he was anything less than infuriated at this treatment and his inability to prevent it. "But that isn't going to stop you, is it?"

After Porky watched Lelouch lie there frustrated for a good while, Porky sat down on the grass and looked up at the sky. Mocking Lelouch was fun and all, but if he was just going to deal with it all quietly, then it wouldn't be amusing in the least. Hell, Porky only messed with people when they were either cocky or easily provoked, and since Lelouch was now neither of these things, something like this got old pretty quick.

"I dunno," Porky said eventually, "I might stop, I guess. I'm not a complete douchebag, you know. Sometimes I'm a pretty nice guy. To be perfectly honest, I walked into this meeting wondering why you were so suspicious of me. I mean, besides our little exchange on the bulletin board, you didn't even know me. In fact, I actually help a lot of people out on the bulletin board...unsigned, of course. No one would believe what I said if I told them it was me saying it. As an example, you know that little question you had about time traveling? The guy who was talking about the time tunnel was me. And yet you still don't trust me...Now I guess you have a pretty good reason to be wary, though."

Porky gave a small chuckle.

"To be fair, though," he began, "I now have a reason to be equally suspicious of you Lelouch. To be honest, I'm a little jealous, too. It must be nice having such a convenient ability to work with. Me? I don't have anything except the brain in my head. It's worked well enough, though."

Porky laid down on the grass and sighed.

"Well, you still hate me, and there's no way I can change that, I guess," Porky said, "Anyway, you don't mess with me and I won't mess with you. It's as simple as that. I may not seem too dangerous, but there are ways that even the most worthless or disliked people can cause damage."

Lelouch didn't believe any of it for a second. Certain things-- the fact that Porky was the one who'd told him about the time tunnel, for instance, and the admission that he was dangerous-- he could accept, but wondering why Lelouch was so suspicious of him? Did he really think he was that subtle? The fact that someone so stupid had nonetheless managed to corner him made it that much harder to hold on to the thread of calm Lelouch had managed to capture, but it wasn't impossible.

Remaining quiet would probably clue Porky into the fact that he was planning something, unfortunately, so after heaving a soft sigh of his own, Lelouch glanced over him and replied, "I won't mess with you. Like I said, we have a truce. It would be foolish of me not to honor it." The implied "because you're smarter than me," if a total lie, left a bad taste in his mouth, and he looked away once more. He couldn't wait for the shift to be over. The meeting with Porky had ended up being the worst way to spend it, and if all he had to look forward to now that things had gone downhill was feeding the man's ego, he wanted to get out.

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Day 40: Recreational Field

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