damned_institute | Day 41: Breakfast

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Day 41: Breakfast

Endrance turned his head to look at the intercom, giving it a look that would wither an entire rose garden in an instant. He would never get used to ending up in his room again from somewhere else in the Institute.

He brushed his bangs out of his eyes, not sitting up just yet. He could tell already that his torso had been heavily bandaged, even more so than it had been the night before. The cuts on his arms were covered with fresh bandages, and the one on his cheek seemed to no longer be there at all.

Endrance had been expecting to wake up in a lot of pain, but even that seemed numbed. "They must have given me something," he murmured quietly, as he slowly sat up.

At that moment, his nurse came to get him, pushing a wheelchair along with her. "Peyton, dear, good morning. I've come to take you to breakfast, so..." He shook his head. "I'm fine. There's no need for that...I can walk perfectly well."

She sighed. Well, if he insisted, she wasn't going to stop him. She motioned for an orderly to take the chair away, and walked him to the cafeteria. Once they had gotten there, she pointed him toward a seat, then set a full tray of pancakes covered with syrup, a bowl of fruit, and a glass of orange juice in front of him. "Now eat all of that, Peyton, or else you won't be strong enough to keep walking like that."

He glared at her back as she walked away, then stopped suddenly. There was that faint pulse he'd felt the night before...it was exactly the same.

And so he completely ignored his food in favor of staring at the cafeteria doors, looking at every patient that came in.

[thread will be closed to Haseo. ♥]

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Honey was kind of disappointed when he found himself right back in his room first thing in the morning. They hadn't made it very far at all before night ended. He really hoped they'd had better luck in the other group. Honey rolled sleepily out of bed and wrapped up what was left of the cake, picking the strawberries off before they went bad, then pushing the rest under his bed for later.

He took Usa-chan with him and sleepily followed the nurse to breakfast. She made a tray for him and found him a seat, but once again there were very few sweets to be had. Honey sighed and sipped at his juice. It was going to be a long day.

[Free for threading. Limit: any. May or may not be pounced by Mori sometime along the way.]

Before Soma could respond to Hinamori, she had found herself in her bed. It was as frustrating and sudden as it had been the last few times it had occurred; she hadn't even managed to see any more of the town! She'd seen enough to pique her interest, though. She knew perfectly well where she'd be headed tonight, provided the Arts and Crafts group allowed her. There was something wrong with those ruins, and she wanted to find out what.

She shoved her weapons under her bed (why were they still here? were they toying with her again?) just before the arrival of her nurse, who put up a cheerful stream of nonsense as they headed to the cafeteria. The woman left with yet another admonishment to make more friends, and left Soma to her own devices.

Taking a plate of pancakes and eggs, she took a seat near a boy who couldn't have looked older than fifteen and set her tray down. "Good morning."

He smiled brightly when a girl sat down near him. She even greeted him first! With all the unfriendly people here, that was a real treat. Honey would make sure to be really nice to her in return.

"Hi! I don't think I've met you before. My name's Honey and this is Usa-chan!" he told her, scooting closer. "It's nice to meet you."

Soma was a little taken aback at the boy's reaction; she hadn't expected such an enthusiastic response, given the general mood of the rest of the patient population. Apparently he was the exception to the rule.

...and the rabbit. She hadn't noticed the rabbit, either. Perhaps she'd gotten more than she'd asked for by saying hello. Her experience with children back home had been minimal, to say the least. Still, that was no reason why she shouldn't be polite.

"My name is Soma Peries." Perhaps she should leave the rank off for now. "It's nice to meet you too, Honey, and - ah - Usa-chan."

"Can I call you Soma-chan?" he asked, looking up at her. She seemed a little surprised. Did she not get attention very often? Well, he'd be happy to get to know her!

"I'm from Japan. That's on Earth," he added after a second. It wasn't something he usually had to think about, but lately it seemed more and more important. "Where are you from?"

Soma almost said "No" - nobody called her that, and she wasn't sure how to feel about it - but decided on second thought that it probably wasn't something worth shooting down. Besides, it wasn't as if he were calling her by the fake name the nurses used. "If you like."

She poked at her eggs. "I'm from Russia." It was apparent that nobody else here had heard of the power blocs, so it was probably best to stick with the countries for now. "I've heard of Japan, but I've never been there before. What year is it where you're from, Honey?"

Honey smiled happily when she agreed to let him call her by nickname. A lot of people seemed to get offended, even if it sounded super cute!

"Oh, Russia! I haven't visited there, but I've been to Germany a few times. That's really close, right?" he asked, fidgeting in his seat. "What's it like there?"

When she asked about the year, he looked thoughtful for a second, "Mm, it was 2006, I'm pretty sure."

"It depends where you live, I suppose. I live in eastern Russia, so it's quite far. I've never been to Germany, either." Soma frowned slightly. What did people want when they asked her to describe where she was from? She was fairly sure Honey didn't want some longwinded explanation about the power blocs. "It's...cold. But I don't mind it much. What is it like in Japan?"

2006 - someone else from the early twenty-first century. There seemed to be a lot of them here; she wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean.

"It was 2309 for me. Things have changed a lot."

"Mm, is it always cold? It seems like it might be fun to visit. Maybe after we get out of here I'll see if Kyo-chan will let us go for a field trip," he decided, adding it to his list of places to see. He should probably make a list for Tamaki, just in case. Tamaki planned the best vacations.

"Japan is really nice! It has busy cities and nice quiet country villages, and even pretty seaside towns. The climate is a little humid, but I like it most of the time."

When Soma said she was from the future though, it was kind of surprising. He'd seen them talk about it on the bulletin, but he hadn't met anyone in person from the future. "Oh! The future, that's so neat! Do they have flying cars and big holographic movies?"

"So you're a student, Honey?" There didn't seem to be a lot of students here, for what were probably understandable reasons. Everyone she'd met who looked her age was either a soldier too or at least ten times older than they looked.

"It sounds nice," she said hesitantly. She was lucky Honey was eager to talk; she wasn't really sure what to say half the time. Part of her wanted to see Japan - it would be easier, now that the world was at peace; the HRL had always permitted Japanese visitors to its orbital elevator, after all. The rest of her wasn't sure just how feasible that would be. She settled with, "Perhaps I'll visit when I return."

She took a drink of water. "We don't have flying cars, but everything is run with solar power. I wouldn't know about the movies." She paused, almost a little awkward - though it was a stupid thing to be feel awkward about. A year ago, she wouldn't have cared. "I've never seen a movie."

"Yup! I go to Ouran High School! You probably haven't heard of it in the future, or um... I don't know, maybe you have! It would be really neat if it was still around!" Would that make him an alumni? It was probably better not to put too much thought into it.

"Mm, you should visit if you get a chance! I won't be there um... but maybe you can see my relatives! Look up the Haninozuka family for sure, okay? You can tell them Mitsukuni said hi!"

It was kind of disappointing to hear there wouldn't be flying cars. That was one of the best parts of the movie! But solar power was kind of neat. It was a growing industry and could be interesting to see what they'd come up with in the future.

"Soma-chan hasn't seen any movies?" Honey gave her an almost pitied look. "That's just terrible! There's so many good stories in movies! Do they not have them in the future?"

"I haven't heard of it, but I'll keep that in mind." The chances of the school still existing were next to zero, but there was some absurd desire to keep Honey from being disappointed that prevented her from saying so. "Your full name is Mitsukuni, then?"

The awkwardness and any possible embarrassment were gone when Honey gave her the pitied look, though. It wasn't as if she would have given up the last few years for the opportunity to see some movie! "There are movies in the future. I haven't seen any because I haven't had the time. I'm a genetically enhanced supersoldier."

"Mm hmm! But everyone calls me Honey. I think it's a lot easier to say and it sound a lot cuter too, don't you think so?" Honey had absolutely no scruples when it came to getting girls to say he was cute. The only thing he liked more was strawberry cake!

She seemed to be relaxing a little, which made him feel better as well. It was always a lot easier to talk to people when they loosened up!

"Oh good! I was worried! Mm, but maybe when you get home you can try seeing one? I bet being a super soldier can get really tiring. I used to be like that too, but it just wasn't for me."

"I suppose." Soma was feeling out of her depth again, though for a completely different reason than she had last night. Demon arts and death gods were difficult enough; trying to act 'normal' was even harder. (Although Honey's bright-eyed cheerfulness was...refreshing? Confusing? She didn't particularly want to use the word 'cute.') "I wouldn't know."

"I don't know about that. Maybe." She had never even considered watching a movie before; briefly she wondered if the colonel had. As far as she knew, the news was the only thing he bothered to watch. Still, the last thing he said caught her attention. "What do you mean by 'you used to be like that'?"

The cuteness appeal only worked on certain girls, but that was alright. Soma was still really nice, even if she wasn't sure if he was cute or not. It sounded like she was inexperienced with a lot of things really. No movies. No cute things.

"Mm... well... how can I say it," he sighed, clinging to the stuffed rabbit on his lap. "My family trains a lot of soldiers for the military. So um... I used to be really serious about it! But there were a lot of fun and wonderful things I was missing out on too, so I decided to try to change."

He gave her a smile that felt a little more genuine, "Eh heh, you probably think that's strange, right?"

Soma looked down. If she were to be honest with herself, it was something she'd thought about over the past few months. It was true she was fiercely proud of her status as supersoldier and of her admittedly short military career, and it was true that she felt most at home on the battlefield. But the time she'd spent with the colonel before she'd arrived here had begun to affect her. She just didn't know how.

Perhaps everything she'd said to E-0057 two days ago had been true. Perhaps she could change.

"I...don't, actually," she found herself saying, and looked a little surprised and embarrassed for doing so. Opting for a quick change of subject, she added, "It sounds as if you have an interesting family."

A connection? Maybe so. He didn't often talk about his family, but he wasn't afraid to either. It just... rarely came up and being from a family of elite martial artists wasn't really very cute.

"Eheh! I'm glad you don't think so!" he commented. She seemed kind of shy? Embarrassed? by his question. It was sweet, he decided. Soma seemed like a nice girl.

"They're alright," he shrugged. "My father was really strict, but after I beat him, he said it was okay to do what I like, so long as I don't stop training." He looked thoughtful. "I miss my little brother Chika-chan though. I hope he's doing okay. He liked to try sneak attacks back home, it was fun! Except when we made a mess of the Host Club room, Kyo-chan wasn't very happy about that..."

"So your father teaches martial arts?" Soma was intrigued. If Honey had really beaten him - which, to be honest, was difficult to imagine, not to mention believe - then perhaps he could teach her. Anything to gain an edge in this place. "I might like to learn sometime. We were given basic training in physical combat, but mobile suit pilots rarely get a chance to utilize it."

She paused to take a bite of her pancake. "What's the Host Club?"

"Mm, well mostly me or Chika get sent out to teach these days, but I think he still does it sometimes. We're trained in a lot of different combat types." That was why they were called from places all over the world to train soldiers or teach lessons. It'd been a while since he'd had to go though.

"But I can help if you want, I don't mind. We- ah- wait, really, mobile suits?! Like mecha?! Uwaaaaa Soma-chan that's so neat!! It must be so much fun!" Honey exclaimed with excitement. That was the sort of thing he only saw cartoons of or toys! He didn't think they'd really exist someday! It made Host Club seem really pale in comparison.

"I'm in the Host Club with a group of my friends from school. We cater to customers and have tea or sweets and fun activities. It's a lot of fun! And the girls always seem happy to come see us."

"I'd be very thankful if you could tea - " began Soma, but she was quickly interrupted by Honey's exclamation. Clear surprise registered on her face then; nobody else here seemed to even have heard of mobile suits, not even anybody from the twenty-first century.

But the enthusiasm Honey displayed at the mention of them put him quite firmly on her good side. Her eyes lit up for the first time, and the slightest hint of a smile tugged at her mouth. "You've heard of mobile suits? I wouldn't call it fun, but I love piloting. I couldn't dream of doing anything else."

"The Host Club sounds nice," she added hesitantly. Which was to say it sounded very civilian, and yet oddly pleasant despite that - or maybe because of it.

Ah! There it was! An actual smile! Barely there, but Honey hadn't missed it. "It sounds amazing! It's okay if they don't have flying cars in the future if they have real mobile suits! I thought they only existed on television!"

So Soma was a mecha pilot? They really did have people from all different places and times here!

"Well it's not as exciting as real mecha, but I still like it a lot. We get to do all kinds of things together and visit lots of new places."

"Really? What are the mobile suits on television like?" It would be interesting, at the very least, to hear what the fictional predecessors to units like Tierens and Flags were.

"Visiting new places sounds exciting to me." Granted, you could always visit new places as a pilot, but you didn't exactly get a chance to appreciate the scenery. Which was a stupid thing to think - why would that matter? - but it was kind of true nonetheless. "Is that why you went to Germany?"

"Mm, well I don't watch much television, but I've seen lots of the toys. They're always going out and fighting battles in space for the sake of the planet! Things like that!" he nodded.

"Some of them even transform or combine to make even bigger mechas!" Honey usually stuck with the plush animals or other cute toys, but robots could be fun too at times.

"You say it like you don't get to go many places Soma-chan. Do they only let you pilot your mobile suit to special locations?" Maybe they were still top-secret or being tested. That would make sense. The governments didn't always want all the other countries knowing about their latest toys.

"Well, my mama is German, that's why I guess I don't look very Japanese. We go see her family sometimes."

"I guess we've done that a few times, even if our mobile suits don't transform or combine." Soma couldn't hide the small note of pride in her voice. "Well, mostly we fought battles in space for the sake of the Human Reform League, but that amounts to pretty much the same thing. And the last one was for the United Nations taskforce. I think that counts for the sake of the world, doesn't it?"

She shrugged slightly. "My first battle was in space, and I've fought in China and in Africa before, too. But I've never really gone outside of the military bases there. I didn't explore much - I didn't really see a need to." Besides, Commander Kim would probably have been loath to let his precious supersoldier wander off the grounds.

"Mm! So Soma-chan is a big hero then!" he said, practically wiggling in his seat from excitement. Even if Soma's face didn't show a lot of expression, he'd heard enough girls to know when she was feeling good about something. And how could she not if she'd helped save the world? "I think that's great! You must've worked really hard!"

"Mmm," Honey thought for a moment about how strict his father and family had been about his own training and it wasn't hard to understand why Soma might not've gotten out much. "But that's okay. That just means you're dedicated to your work! It's admirable!"

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madeinthehrl - 2009-05-14 20:47 (UTC) - Expand

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