damned_institute | Dayshift 22; First Shift; Sun Room

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Dayshift 22; First Shift; Sun Room

As always, Tamaki woke up in his bed. He didn't know how he got there, but he woke up still in the clutches of fear he last remembered from the night. The fight in the hallway, Ed and Adel, the thing...

He was out of bed immediately, determined to make sure his friends were alright. He listened to the man on the intercom, not liking the idea of some big surprise. He didn't imagine any surprises could be good. And he hoped his friends felt the same way...

When his nurse came to get him, he chose the Sun Room instead of the chapel. He wanted no part of whatever was going to happen. He only hoped that Ed and Adel had the same idea....

They probably didn't. Agitated and worried, Tamaki paced along the window, hands behind his back, and waited.

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"Well, I've never heard that name before," Luffy said with an easy tone. That was saying something, considering he'd come across a lot of names since he began his voyage. (Granted, whether he actually remembered them was a different issue altogether.)

"I think it's really cool!" he added with a small chuckle. The enthusiasm in his voice was bright and genuine, an indication that he truly meant what he said. "What kind of place do you come from, anyway? I've met a lot of people here who live above the White Sea, you know. It's amazing!"

When she asked him what he did back home, he laughed a little. "I do all sorts of things! Like...drawing and napping and eating good food." The dark-haired boy idly scratched his scarred cheek. "But before I woke up here, I was sailing on the Grand Line so I could find the One Piece." He gave her a friendly smile. "I'm a pirate!"

"A pirate?" She didn't tend to repeat words in moments of surprise, but something about him made her a little less strict about her composure. Perhaps it the age that she couldn't quite determine, or his earnest sincerity. "You don't seem like the pirates I've heard stories about," she said, smiling until she remembered why she had sat down with him to begin with.

"I'm from a place called Amestris. There are some others here from the same place." She frowned carefully. "I'm a soldier there. I use guns."

"I don't?" he asked, turning to look at her with a curious expression. "Are there pirates where you're from?" He wondered if her world had any sort of Pirate King, or if the pirates she mentioned were of a different kind.

He suddenly thought of how awesome it'd be to have pirates in space. Maybe he'd ask Junior or RC about it sometime.

"Amestris?" Luffy echoed, pausing in thought. It sounded oddly familiar, like he'd heard it not that long ago. "Who else is from there?"

When Riza said she was a soldier who could use guns, Luffy's eyes lit up. "Oh! You're a soldier! Like a Marine? I have a friend who's in the Marines!" He laughed a little, thinking of Coby and how he was finally getting to live his dream after being enslaved to pirates for all those years. "I dunno if he knows how to use a gun or not, though. Are you a really good shot?"

Riza pursed her lips, still not certain if she would or wouldn't say it. "I'm usually a good shot," she answered, not proud of it at the moment. "But not in the dark," whe added, tentatively.

She watched his face for a moment before she continued almost nervously before he could respond. "I suppose it is like a Marine, but based on land. Colonel Mustang and Brigadier General Hughes are from Amestris. And Edward Elric." She smiled a little, now. "And the only pirates I've ever heard of are mean-spirited pillagers. I've encountered my fair share of charming thieves, but you don't seem unkind in the least."

Luffy watched the woman curiously. She seemed a little...sad? It was strange, since, as far as Luffy knew, they weren't discussing anything all that depressing. Then again, it was possible she was just homesick.

"Well, it's hard to see in the dark," Luffy said with a sage nod, as if unaware he was stating the obvious. He laughed a little. "I can't shoot a gun even when the sun's out, so that makes you a million times better than me!"

The pirate's eyes lit up as soon as Riza mentioned Colonel Mustang. "Wait, you mean Roy? I know that guy! He can make fire and swords and things, right?" His dark eyes gleamed with excitement. "He's so cool!"

Her comment about pirates made him chuckle. "I don't think anyone likes mean people. But, my crew's not mean." He flashed her a wide smile. "They're good people!"

Riza smiled with some confusion. She wasn't sure how good people who were not mean could claim such a profession as piracy, but Luffy didn't seem a bad judge of character, and she supposed it might be possible. She decided to take his word for it.

So he also knew the colonel. She was used to it, the effect the colonel had on most people. She couldn't deny that he was impressive when he wanted to be, though in some ways he impressed her most when he wasn't aware of himself. "Yes, that's him," she affirmed. "He's very popular in Amestris, too."

But perhaps that was all over, now. Would she ever know for herself what happened?

"Did you know anyone here when you first arrived, Luffy?" she asked, steering her thoughts away from her own questions concerning Amestris. "Has anyone else come from your home?"

"I'll bet he's popular!" Luffy said with a laugh. "I think it's really cool someone can make fire like that! My big brother can make fire, too, but he had to eat a Devil Fruit first, so I don't think it's the same thing." He paused for a moment, as if trying to keep everything straight in his mind. The effort was a little taxing, apparently, because he gave a dismissive shrug after a second or two.

"Did you know anyone here when you first arrived, Luffy?" Riza asked him. "Has anyone else come from your home?"

"Yeah," Luffy replied. "Well, kind of. When I first got here, I had two of my crew with me - Zoro and Sanji. But, I haven't seen either of them for awhile." He paused, scratching his scarred cheek, and he gave a small chuckle. "You know, I wouldn't be surprised if they found a way out of here. They're both super-strong."

But then his mouth pulled into a tight frown. "But...if that were true, I don't think they would've left me and everyone else here like this." His eyebrows furrowed, and his frown only grew. "I know the bastards who run this place do weird stuff to the people here, so..."

At first, it had been easy to remain optimistic about his friends' whereabouts. But even though Luffy wasn't always the sharpest tool in the shed, he could put two and two together when the situation absolutely called for it.

Without even thinking, Luffy had taken to cracking his knuckles. "If they did anything to my friends, they're gonna be sorry."

Although she knew the colonel wasn't capable of actually producing fire--or causing it--without aid, Riza didn't think it prudent, or very polite, to make the correction.

She felt for him as he considered the fate of his friends aloud. She was relieved that it sounded as though whatever had happened to them had taken place before she arrived, but it was an entirely selfish relief, and she regreted it.

"I don't think they would have left you here either," she assured him. She had no basis for it, but she believed people were inherently good, and Luffy didn't seem the type of friend anyone could consider leaving behind. "But it doesn't mean the worst. It may be that they can send us home as unexpectedly and as easily as they bring us here. Perhaps they didn't know they were leaving." She studied his eyes, hoping to see a reflection of her optimism there. It seemed evident he had been here much longer than she had, and although his momentary cynicism was probably well earned, she still hoped he might feel better.

She frowned, suddenly, as an echo of his recent words wandered through her mind. "The things they do to people here, Luffy--" she pursed her lips, but decided to go on: "I've been meaning to tell you that . . . I was the one who fired a gun at you and the others." She knew her expression here betrayed far more emotion than usual. "They did something that night. And I didn't know what I was doing. I wanted to apologize for not overcoming it." Her eyes had fallen to his hip, then to the floor before she forced herself to look at his face again. "I'm glad that you were not hurt more than this."

Luffy seemed to consider her words for a moment. Then, the darkness in his eyes seemed to melt away, and he gave a bright smile. "You know, I hadn't thought about that before! You might be right!"

He could almost hear Nami chastising him for being so quick to..."jump to conclusions," as she called it. After all, he'd just told Riza that his friends were super-strong, right? What kind of captain was he if he was going to go doubting his crew like that?

"The things they do to people here, Luffy--" Riza seemed to hesitate a moment, and Luffy looked at her with curiosity. "I've been meaning to tell you that...I was the one who fired a gun at you and the others." As soon as she spoke those words, a neutral, unreadable expression settled over the pirate's face. He stared at her intently with dark, wide eyes. Some people would have found it unnerving.

But he didn't say anything as she continued speaking. "They did something that night. And I didn't know what I was doing. I wanted to apologize for not overcoming it." Her eyes went from his injury, to the floor, and then she finally made herself meet his gaze. "I'm glad that you were not hurt more than this."

At first, Luffy honestly didn't know what to say. It was true that, yesterday, he'd been furious at whoever had shot him, Junior and RC. In fact, he'd been wanting to make plans to hunt down the sniper and teach him a good lesson.

But, Luffy really liked Riza. It was impossible for him to continue feeling angry at the sniper now that he knew who was responsible and the circumstances surrounding the shooting. And the sadness in her face was sincere, Luffy was certain of that. Riza was genuinely sorry for what had happened, and she sounded like she wished she could fix it somehow.

"You shot me," he said after a moment. His voice was low and serious, a sharp contrast to how he'd been speaking earlier. "Because the doctors did something bad to you." Luffy paused for a moment, and he closed his eyes.

"Well, that's all I need to hear." First, he'd been kidnapped, only to discover his precious hat missing. Then, he was separated from his friends, and now they were using nice people like Riza to fight their battles for them?! Luffy slammed his fist into the palm of his hand, and his eyes flew open.

"I'm definitely gonna kick their asses now."

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Dayshift 22; First Shift; Sun Room

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