damned_institute | Day 40: Lunch

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Day 40: Lunch

*hobble wobble*

"Damn that SCOURGE!" Starscream cried out, the slowly-filling cafeteria producing a jarring echo of his raspy voice. His limping, already bad enough from not knowing how to properly use his crutches, was now exacerbated from the injuries he'd received the shift prior. Despite the gauges in his non-casted leg so lovingly provided by the aforementioned 'patient', Starscream could still put some weight on it, but not so much that he could really stop and rest; relieving the soreness under his arms was out of the question. The nurse that walked behind him with his tray, already upset at having to deal with yet another troublesome inmate, was growing rather impatient as his charge slowly made his way down the food line.

"Just...give me a standard serving of the aquatic creature's flesh, some of those fried potato slices, two bananas, and three bottles of juice," Starscream sighed, his anger from just a moment ago assuaged by the physical exertion needed to move the way he did. "I'm going to sit down here...bring it to me when you're done."

He was hardly surprised to find that one of the bananas was completely bruised along its inner curve, or that the handful of 'chips' on his plate were all on the small side. Tired and frustrated as he was, however, he could barely muster a 'damned flesh-creature' before moving his fingers to the plate, picking one of the longer 'chips' and shoving it into his mouth listlessly.

There was an unusually high concentration of sodium chloride crystals on it. Of COURSE.

[For Tony Stark]

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Wally was definitely feeling a lot less of the happy feeling he'd had this morning after breakfast. While talking with Sanzo was interesting, he couldn't agree with the idea that killing Landel was the only way to stop things. They didn't know enough about the situation for one thing, and killing people was something he just wasn't comfortable with.

At least he had managed to get some information about Landel though. Bats would probably be interested in it, even if it wasn't all that much.

The smell of fish and chips had his stomach rumbling the moment he walked through the door and Wally quickly snagged a tray and set about piling on as much food as he thought he could get away with. Breakfast had felt like days ago rather than hours, probably because he hadn't been able to eat as much then as he would have liked. It wasn't easy to come up with reasons to be eating so much food, even if it seemed like he wasn't exactly the only one with that problem.

But... maybe he could afford to pile on a little more than he might have previously...

A short while later saw Wally, laden with a tray piled with several pieces of fish, a stack of chips and a salad, settle himself down at an empty table. The cafeteria was relatively busy, but it looked like everyone already had plans to meet up with others and he didn't see anyone he knew, so he was happy enough to just sit on his own for the time being. And hey, it wasn't like he could get bored, what with the energetic girl jumping up on the table to start declaring things loudly to everyone. Wally laughed, but hoped that she wouldn't end up getting herself sedated over it. That wouldn't be so funny.

Edited 2009-04-06 11:55 (UTC)

[hope you don't mind?]

Mori didn't know how, but he'd slept through the first two shifts. Two. Not one, but two. Two shifts of Mitsukuni going it alone. Two shifts of his cousin without anyone to watch over him or save any sweet things that might have been served for him. And as if that wasn't bad enough, when Mori finally made it to the cafeteria and scanned for his cousin, he wasn't there. He could see that Mitsukuni was okay by the bulletin board, but Mori still felt like a failure. His family would have been disappointed in how poorly he was taking care of the Haninozuka heir.

Getting a tray of food and making sure to take some extra fruit for Mitsukuni later, Mori made his way through the cafeteria in search of the boy. What he found instead was a girl standing on a table and shouting at the top of her lungs about... Revolution? Apparently with tricks and-- oh, there were the nurses. Holding his tray, Mori quirked his head at her and was about to go help, when his nurse caught up to him halfway and forced him to sit at the first table she could push him toward. "Will, please try to make friends, won't you? Following that boy around isn't good for either of you. Wally, this is Will. Will, Wally. Have a good day!"

Mori wanted to protest, but the woman took off before he could, leaving him to sigh in response. Turning to his impromptu companion, Mori bowed his head in greeting and caught sight of the guy's tray. Could he really eat all that?

Wally pulled his attention from table-revolution girl as a nurse approached dragging along a tall teenager who was introduced as 'Will', pushed towards the chair, then abandoned. Huh, that was new. But then it probably wasn't that surprising that there were people who weren't so good at the friends department. Not everyone was as happy to meet new people as he was, after all.

Not wanting to seem rude or anything, Wally quickly finished off the piece of fish he'd been inhaling and wiped his hands before offering one to the new guy. "Hey! Nice to meet you, Will. I'm Wally West," he said with one of his normal, huge smiles.

Shaking hands - definitely Western. Mori reached out and shook Wally's hand (wow, that was his real name?) politely with a firm grip. He'd spent enough time overseas to know how to give a good, friendly handshake - which was vital considering most of Mori's communication was nonverbal. "Morinozuka Takashi." He paused and then tacked on his nickname for easier use. "Mori."

It was odd to meet someone who's actual name was the same as what the nurse's used. It could have been a coincidence, or it could mean something. It was probably just a coincidence though. Looking at Wally's plate, he raised an eyebrow and then looked at his own food. If the guy was that hungry, he could afford to fork over some of his stuff. It wasn't like he couldn't go get some more if he needed it. Picking up one of the extra plates of fish he'd picked up in case he found Mitsukuni, he held it out to Wally.

Oh right, the whole name thing. He should probably make a point to remember that in the future, but it wasn't exactly easy when the nurses called him by his real name instead of a fake one. Hmmm, maybe he should mention that to Bats as well? Even if he'd likely already figured that one out on his own.

"Mori, huh?" Well that was easier than the mouthful he'd said before that. Wally didn't speak any Japanese (well, except for the weird language thing here Seiya had told him about), so he didn't really want to offend the guy by butchering his name.

Specially when Mori then turned around and did something that immediately brightened Wally's lunch. "For me? Awesome!" He accepted the plate with a grin that, if possible, was even larger than before. "Thanks! I, uh, have a dietary problem, so I have to eat a lot." Mori hadn't asked, but Wally knew it had to look suspicious that he needed to eat so much, and hey, the dietary excuse had worked pretty well so far!

Mori nodded when Wally confirmed his name and was glad that he could speak so many different languages. Pronouncing foreign names wasn't that hard when you spent so much time in Europe. Of course, most of the time he and Mitsukuni were in Germany, but he had a fluent grasp of English as well. Not that it mattered since he rarely spoke.

Quirking his head to the side, Mori looked at his tray and handed over the second plate of fries as well. If Wally had a dietary problem, then he should eat as much as he could. Mori wasn't going to sacrifice Mitsukuni's fruit, but he could give up the extra bits of food otherwise. Besides, he wasn't entirely certain what this commoner food was anyway. Fish and chips sounded British, but he'd never had them before. "You should eat then."

[Hope it's okay if the loli-shota drops in?]

Honey felt better after playing outside and getting some fresh air. He wandered in after his nurse, but pouted at the food they were serving. Nothing very sweet. He picked up some fruit to go with the fish and chips and looked around for anyone who might need a friend. It wasn't long though, before he spotted his cousin, and all thoughts of finding others disappeared.

"Takashi!" Honey called out, bounding over to the table, somehow managing to balance the meal on the tray and keep his pink stuffed rabbit plush from ever hitting the floor. That wasn't to say that several fries and a couple bits of fruit hadn't been lost in the journey though.

He set his tray next to Takashi's and climbed up into his chair, head and shoulders barely peeking up above the table. "You must be one of Takashi's friends!" he smiled brightly at the man sitting at the table with them. "I'm Honey! Nice to meet you!"

It occurred to him much too late that he probably should have asked before just barging in on their conversation. He turned large eyes and a tiny quivering lip on his cousin, "It's okay if I sit with you, isn't it?"

Mori didn't seem to be much of the chatty type, but he didn't seem to mind Wally talking either, so that was okay. Wally was more than capable of talking enough for two, as John had learned pretty fast.

"Thanks," he said again with another grateful smile, accepting the second plate. "It's not exactly easy getting enough all the time, considering the nurses and stuff-"

Whatever else he was intending to say was cut off though by the arrival of a little kid, towing a rabbit toy and a tray of food, who apparently knew Mori. Wally wasn't exactly sure what to say at first, but then the quivering lip clinched it.

"Of course you can!" he said quickly. "No complaints from me, how 'bout you, Mori?"

Wally took the plate of french fries and Mori nodded to him. He was about to sit back and listen to the guy talk when something caught his attention. Or rather, pinged his radar. Mitsukuni had come into the cafeteria and, like a shot, his cousin came over. Taking a quick glance at the nurses, he made sure they weren't going to come over anytime soon and then returned his attention to his companions.

Mitsukuni looked like he was doing well. Maybe he'd even forgive Mori for--

Oh no, the puppy-dog eyes.

The Haninozuka heir really knew how to stab Mori right through the heart. Nodding his head vigorously to Honey and then just as quickly shaking it to register that he had no complaints, Mori wished he had something sweet to give him just to make up for his failure that morning. He had fruit. Maybe Mitsukuni would accept that? It wasn't like cake, but...well, it was all he had. Reaching over, he apologetically placed an apple on his cousin's tray and then picked up Mitsukuni's fork to start cutting the fish up into easier to eat pieces.

"Yay! I'm glad!"

The man Takashi was sitting with was really friendly and didn't seem to have any problem with Honey joining in. When he turned his big brown eyes on the other though, it was hard not to giggle at his reaction. The sad puppy face disappeared, replaced with a cheery smile. He took the apple from Takashi and almost bit into it before he remembered he'd promised to try to find one for that person on the bulletin. He considered the apple for another second or two, stuck in indecision before he finally set it back down, going for the fruit cup already on his tray first.

"I didn't interrupt anything important, did I?" he asked, glancing curiously over the fruit cup at either boy. "Me and Usa-chan were late from playing outside."

Wally watched the display with amusement, it seemed like Honey had Mori wrapped around his little finger. "I'm Wally West," he said, remembering himself. "So, how do you guys know each other?"

The name 'Honey' felt like it should be familiar, but he was certain he hadn't met the kid earlier, so it had to be from the bulletin. Which really didn't help narrow things down any. Wally had lost count how many people he'd spoken to over that about everything ranging from superpowers to the cafeteria's fare. Oh well, he'd either remember later or he wouldn't. Either way wasn't going to affect his enjoying lunch with company.

"Nah, you didn't interrupt anything," he said easily. "Just talking about lunch." Speaking of, Wally tugged a plate of chips over to himself and set to work on them with gusto.

Ah, the smile came back. That was good. It meant that Mori wasn't in the dog house anymore. Really, he hated it there. The last time he'd gotten in trouble with Mitsukuni, he'd ended up flipped over the boy's shoulder and slammed into a wall. It had been for Mitsukuni's own good (cavities were a terrible thing), but the throw had hurt. Mitsukuni's fish was cut up now, so Mori laid the fork with the tines resting neatly against the rim of the plate within easy reach for the boy.

Mori felt like he hadn't been doing enough lately for Mitsukuni and when the boy pondered the apple and then left it, the taller teen felt another shock hit him. Why hadn't Mitsukuni taken the fruit? Perhaps he was saving it for later? Or for someone else? He hoped it wasn't that he didn't like what Mori had offered. He knew that Honey would explain their relationship to each other, so he sat back and waited, watching Wally dive into his food like a starved man.

Some people said it was hard to tell what Takashi was thinking. Honey was no mind reader and he had that problem on occasion, but with how often he was around the other boy, it wasn't something he often had to think about.

Takashi said nothing, but Honey honestly hadn't expected him to say much. "He's my best friend," he replied as matter-of-fact-ly as he could. It didn't work well when you looked like you were ten, but he gave it his best effort, patting his cousin on the arm in a friendly way and hoping Takashi wouldn't fret too much.

"We're from the same school back home. There's a few of us here actually. It's nice to meet you Wally-san!" he said enthusiastically before returning to his meal. He speared one of the pieces of fish and chewed on it, wishing there was sugar or something sweet to add. That bit of cake that was left was still waiting for him in his room though.

"Hnn... the food is okay," he told Wally, "but they don't let us have enough sweets. I really really miss those."

"He doesn't exactly talk much, does he?" Wally commented between bites of chip. Not that he particularly minded himself, but it had to make things difficult for Mori, especially here.

He frowned slightly as Honey explained further. School kids being brought here too? Specially kids as young as Honey... Okay, he'd met a couple of younger kids, Skuld and Bart, but that was a little different. Skuld said she had magic and was a goddess (or something like that anyway) and Bart was a speedster and hero as well, so he would at least be sort of used to all this (even if Wally still wanted to keep an eye on him), but Honey was just a little kid.

Wait a minute. Something didn't add up right there.

"Wait, you mean you're from schools in the same area or something, right? Like Honey's from Whatever Elementary and Mori's from Whatever High? You can't both be from the exact same school, right?"

Mori smiled a bit when Mitsukuni declared that he was his best friend. They were best friends, and cousins, but it was always nice to hear him say that. Just like it was always a little funny to hear people comment on Mori's silence. He could talk if he wanted to, but he rarely ever found a situation where three words wouldn't do the same as a speech. Besides, anytime he ever did say too much, people stared at him.

"Same school," he chimed in, taking his fruit cup off his tray and handing it over to Mitsukuni. The sweets would have to come later. Mori would save his dessert again, and maybe he could even convince Reid to give him his. Speaking of...where was Reid? After hearing that someone was looking for him and seeing him last night, Mori hadn't really caught wind of his roommate.

Straightening a bit, Mori cast an eye about the cafeteria, but couldn't quite pick him out.

[ You're fine; no worries ]

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Day 40: Lunch

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