damned_institute | Day 22: Brunch

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Day 22: Brunch

Cid usually liked sleeping in, especially in a place as messed up and uninviting as this, but this happened to be one situation where he really wished he hadn't.

Right there, on the bulletin board. The Head Doctor and he'd fucking missed it? Some part of him wished he'd been there to take his eye out and another part of him knew he wouldn't have been able to. No man that powerful who hid for so long went to dangerous places without some kind of entourage.

Brunch sounded like it'd be filling, at least, though he nearly stopped in his tracks when the bastard announced TEA. TEA. It'd been a damn long while since he'd had some fucking tea, though with all the stress this place had found fit to rain down on his fucking head, it hadn't really been the first priority on his mind. Kinda nice, even if Cid was sure this was just some game the mother fucker was playing to get them all stuck neck-deep in Stockholm Syndrome.

He scanned the mostly-empty room for any sign of a familiar face once he'd piled waffles and sausages and syrup on his plate, though the person he really wanted to talk to was that Reynolds guy. "Spaceship" was the last word he remembered clearly before waking up in his bed, and dammit if he wasn't going to keep it stuck like glue in his mind.

He found a table where he could watch people come into the cafeteria and grabbed for his mug. The steam rising from his drink and the bag of herbs in it was nearly enough to make him grin despite it all, and it was with marked leisure and a little relief that he drank his goddamn tea.

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Martin Landel. Martin Landel. Martin Landel.

Along with the name, Chase refused to let that ever-smirking face fade from his mind. He kept repeating it over and over, even mumbling it out loud on occasion (damn those drugs they'd shot into his system, he could hardly control himself now). He would not forget that man. He would not. Because one day, Chase assured himself, he was going to escape from this hellish place, regain his powers, and come back to kill that man. And he was not about to forget which one he was.

Not that he would ever forget that voice.

The smell of food brought him out of his stupor a bit. Still guided by an orderly (who had a firm grip on his shoulder, a bit too firm, he thought), Chase gathered up a ridiculous amount of food and took it to an unoccupied table. Oddly enough, he was one of the first ones in there - not that he minded, it gave him more of a chance to avoid talking to someone who might irritate him. He began devouring his food as soon as the orderly had left him to go take care of another patient. Damn, but he was hungry - he couldn't remember ever being this hungry before ...

Xigbar didn't see any signs of the two twirps yet, so he thought he'd check in with an old pal and see how the guy was doing. And... strangely enough, it seemed like the Chase that Xigbar had met with earlier had been replaced by an older model, one with the same glare in his eyes but in a weaker shell. Huh, now that was an interesting situation.

So the Organization member plopped right down next to Chase, not bothering with food yet, and let his gaze sweep up and down the other man's body. And after the fun Xiggy had had with Seimei and the bulletin board... he thought he'd deserve a little more hatred before he played buddy-buddy.

"Hey, do I know you? You look kinda familiar, but I'm not sure how to place it. Must've been a long time since we last met, huh?"

Ohh, no.

Chase very carefully put down his fork when Xigbar was done speaking. He turned his head and looked directly at the one-eyed man, his own eyes just barely hiding the fury that had welled up in him despite the drugs. This was one of the few people that Chase would rather have had his eyes torn out than talk to at the current moment. If only he could have found someone willing to take care of the exchange ...

"Shut up," he hissed, voice slightly slurred thanks to the drugs in his system. "I'm not in the mood, nor will I ever be, to put up with you." Chase did not want to have to listen to Xigbar make fun of his current debilitation. He didn't look that much older, did he?

Oh... oh... oh...! Xiggy felt giddy as a schoolboy, knowing that Chase was ~~not~~ in the mood for the games. Especially considering that hiss and the obvious insult Chase took in his condition, this was going to be child's play.

And so very much fun, in the bargain.

"Ah, don't be like that~! This look is actually a really good thing for you; makes you look dignified. Real patriarch right now." He nodded, as though honestly meaning the pointed barbs as compliments, and added, "And hey, now that you're going into retirement I won't have to wrestle you like the other dragons. So just sit back and take a load off~!"

The conversation Sora had with those other boys hadn't been too bad. Even if he had felt like the twins had been secretly snickering about him somehow (didn't twins have a weird connection like that?), Tamaki and Honey had both been very nice. He'd known beforehand that Tamaki was a good person, though, so that hadn't been a surprise.

He'd then gotten distracted by the bulletin board and his hand was aching a little from all the writing when he entered the cafeteria. The massive amounts of food was enough to take his mind off of that, however, and Sora made sure to get a little bit of everything he liked. He ended up feeling somewhat weighed down under his tray of food by the time he was done.

To be honest, he was a bit apprehensive about this meeting that had been set up. He just wanted everything to go smoothly, for Kairi's sake. He still wasn't sure what his opinion was about the Organization XIII members, but maybe this meeting would help him with that.

Xigbar seemed to be the only one who was in the cafeteria so far, though he was talking to another man. At first, the Keyblade Master wasn't sure if he should interrupt, but they had planned this, right? So he walked over, swaying a little as he tried to balance his tray without spilling everything. He set the tray down as soon as he reached the table and glanced up at Xigbar curiously.

"We're still going to do this, right?"

Chase narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth at Xigbar, but none of it had the same energy, the same ferocity that he usually had. And he knew it, too. There were drugs in his system holding him back. He hated it beyond most things he could ever hate ... although Xigbar was certainly much higher on the scale than the drugs.

"I'm not weak." It was hard to move his jaw. "If we fight, you will be forced to fight me with everything you have. Don't think I'm weak just because I'm older." Older. Not old. He had spent over ten years of his life learning to fight with just his own strength, which this place could never take away. And he'd spent nearly 1,500 years learning further, training harder, and even if he didn't have his magic-granted strength and power he was still a force to be reckoned with. Hadn't he tried it thousands of times, not using his powers? And succeeded?

When the brown-haired boy approached them and adressed Xigbar, Chase blinked slowly at him. Still going to do what? Even under the drugs, he listened intently, not about to miss any opportunity he might get to ruin Xigbar's chances of escaping.

And just like that, Xigbar was all smiles once more. Hah, Chase was so much fun to prod! And the man was easy to tease, and he got so upset so easily! Easy as pie.

Then Sora came up, and Xigbar easily grinned. "Hey there, kiddo! Yeah, we're gonna be doing this, I just wanted to greet an old friend of mine. Chase, this is Sora. Sora, Chase. I'm gonna go ahead and nab some-"

...there was a red-head flirting with Namine. And winking at her. That filthy, disgusting... oh, it was on now. "Be good boys, I'll be right back," Xigbar absently said, getting up and striding over to the 'situation.' This required decisive, immediate action.

((Going to bother Zelos and Namine~!))

((Back from the bothering))

Huh. Zelos was definitely asking for it, and even though it was obvious that the red-head hadn't taken the warning seriously, Xigbar didn't seem bothered by that at all. Instead he plopped right back into his seat, glad to notice that neither of the men had wandered off or done anything like that.

"Now, as I was saying. It's not a real pow-wow without some grub, but I'm going to wait until the guest of honor makes it."

And then? Then he got his first full, complete look of the Keyblade's Chosen, his yellow eye intent on the small boy and his rather lacking frame. How on earth could he have lost to this shrimp? It didn't make sense, not at all. Weird, weird, weird. "By the way, name's Xigbar. No place, fresh intros, right?"

He'd never had a conversation with a Keyblade Bearer before. This was way out of Xigbar's league.

It was strange to be abandoned so suddenly after having approached the Organization member, especially since he ended up being left alone with someone who he didn't know - well, he had a name, but...

The guy didn't look very happy, and he also looked drugged. Sora examined him carefully, curious as to what had happened but not certain if he should actually ask. He didn't have much faith in the sort of company Xigbar kept, after all. The guy just looked mean.

It didn't take too long for Xigbar to come back, though, and for some reason Sora felt relieved. Even if he was an enemy, at least he was familiar and had already established that there would be no foul play.

Guest of honor? Oh, right, Kairi. It was odd that she held that title, considering he was usually the one who got all the attention. Sora shifted uncomfortably under the man's gaze, but responded nonetheless to the introduction. "I'm Sora."

There came Kairi. Sora couldn't help smiling as she rushed over. "Heeey. So..." If they were ready to start, shouldn't they move somewhere else? And also find Luxord?

Xigbar vanished, and for those few moments Chase felt himself relax. After all, the boy who had approached them was small and somewhat fragile-looking; Chase just wasn't threatened by him. The eyes might have been what put him off - so blue, so utterly ... trusting. Unthreatening. He knew the boy was looking him over, gauging him. If he asked any questions, Chase wouldn't mind answering; after all, it wasn't as if trying to kill their lead tormentor was anything to be ashamed of.

Unfortunately Xigbar quickly returned, and a small and equally trusting-looking little girl arrived not long after. Chase quirked his eyebrow at the collective, aware that he was no longer Xigbar's main objective - good. Even if the man had pointedly used the phrase 'old' to irritate him ...

"Chase Young," he said flatly to Sora, keeping his ever-growing glare on Xigbar. The drugs had to leave his system eventually; the sooner the better, and if activity helped them, then he would act.

"Sorry to jet, dude, but this is Keyblade-People-and-Princesses-and-Nobodies Only. Be a good boy, and all that, 'kay?" And then Xigbar offered a smile, an expression utterly foreign on the Nobody's face just because it was an approximation of happiness, which all of them knew by now was just a show.

A rather creepy show, at that.

Then he turned to the two children, and gestured to the few empty tables that remained. "You two go get yourselves comfortable, 'kay? I'm going to grab some grub and Number 10, and then we can get this party started. Pleasure to meet ya, Princess~!"

And with that he moved out. Being responsible meant that he had to grab everything that was needed... Ugh. Why couldn't Luxord have just followed him?

((Going to start a new thread, yays~!))

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Day 22: Brunch

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