Day 22: Shift 3, Sun Room

[norainu]

Renji probably would have just kept sleeping at the table in the cafeteria if someone had let him. He was just so tired (thanks to the drugs) and really didn't feel good either (thanks to the drugs?). But, as was inevitable, a nurse showed up and shook him, none-too-gently, into a state that resembled wakefulness if not closely inspected.

His mind still completely fogged by the dose the nurse had given him, Renji followed the nurse obediently to the Sun Room. For all he knew or cared, they were climbing a mountain, walking upside-down on the ceiling, or he was about to be blown out of an airlock.

The nurse deposited him on one of the couches. A moment later, he was curled up around the dull ache in his side, his red braid (miraculously still intact after his fight with Gin) slithering over the arm of the couch, and asleep once more.

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[tartaros-avatar.livejournal.com]

The 'sun room' was just as painfully bright as expected, and unhelpfully empty. Wonderful. At least he might be given time to think. He found a chair and sat, keeping his gaze tilted down to avoid starring at the brightly lit windows in the ceiling.
He hadn't ruled out many possibilities yet. Devices such as the Malta Group's Orestes Rifle could easily be the cause of his current weakness. It might even have been an Arachnos creation. Dimensional travel had been known to strangely affect meta-human powers as well. And then there was the possibility that this was all an illusion within his own mind, created by some powerful psychic.
It never crossed his thoughts that it might be a self-made delusion, or he really was just a mentally impaired human who had been committed to an honest hospital. It just wasn't a possibility.

[sanguinarily.livejournal.com]

Another choice at random brought him to the Sun Room. It wasn't that he didn't want to be in the library or didn't want to be in the Courtyard... but ah well, he was here now. Soujirou cast a look about, but seeing as he was one of the earlier patients he wandered the perimeter of the room.

One time around and he found a chair to sit in. Soujirou leaned back and thought. Not too much, of course, because thinking too much was always a dangerous thing. You never knew what kind of thoughts your tricky mind would come up with.

So he thought about stupid things and waited. Soujirou was very good at waiting.

[tartaros-avatar.livejournal.com]

((From here (http/community.livejournal.com/landels_damned/66113.html=3fthread=3d3510593#t3510593). I hope you don't mind!))

Recluse had been reading other prisoner's notes on the message board, but unfortunately it seemed he wouldn't be able to gain any useful information without human interaction.
Oh, joy beyond comprehension.
He stood, stumbling slightly. Without his eight spider limbs, his center of ballance had shifted. No matter. I will adapt.
Regaining his composure, he approached the only person who was awake and unoccupied.
"What do you know about this place?"

Politeness wasn't exactly Recluse's strong point.

[sanguinarily.livejournal.com]

Soujirou's attention was grabbed by another patient. He looked over as he was addressed and flashed a quick smile. Demanding, wasn't he? Not that Soujirou was unused to dealing with demanding people, but so far the people at Landels had not been so forward.

"It's Landels," He offered, not necessarily evasively, but certainly not helpful. It wasn't in his nature to open or helpful to anyone, much less a stranger.

[tartaros-avatar.livejournal.com]

tsk. Recluse had forgotten how troublesome things could be when trying to actually talk to people. Being the tyrant ruler of the Rouge Isles meant people's fear made them listen to him.
Let's try this again. He feigned an apologetic look.
"Ah... sorry. I haven't had the best morning. Sunlight's giving me an awful headache..." That much was true, at least. His red eyes were less sensitive than normal, but he had no control over their natural reaction to light.
"My name is--" Which name should he give? He loathed the thought of giving his old human name. He had taken so long to rid himself of that identity, but...
"--Stefan."

[sanguinarily.livejournal.com]

Soujirou bobbed a bow to Stefan. "I'm Soujirou Seta, it's a pleasure to meet you, Stefan-san." He looked up and around, briefly, as if to test the sunlight theory on himself. Of course, there was never a bad morning for Soujirou.

Being mildly obnoxious in conversation was one of his hidden talents. Soujirou had the tendency to bounce questions more than answer them. But who knew what kind of mood he'd be in today?

[haiiro-no-chou.livejournal.com]

Rukia followed the young nurse down a few hallways, taking careful note of her surroundings. There were a number of other people dressed as she was, which was quite disconcerting. Shortly they arrived in a large room full of couches and chairs. The nurse turned to her, saying, "This is the sun room, so you're free to take a rest in here, makes some new friends. You can also go to--"

The rest of the nurse's words faded away, though, as Rukia caught sight of a bright red shock of hair. Renji? Ignoring the nurse, she ran over to where he was laying on a couch and squatted down next to him. He looked terrible! How could he have gotten so injured in such a short time? What had happened? Rukia reached up to shake his shoulder. "Renji. Wake up."

[norainu]

It took longer for Renji to wake up than it really should have. For someone that tended to be as on edge as him, the fact that someone had even gotten so close was rather odd.

After a few shakes, Renji managed to pry his eyes open, if only so he could tell whoever it was to go away. Their shaking him was just making him feel sick and even dizzier.

He looked at Rukia for a moment; he knew her, he knew that he knew her, but thinking was like trying to walk through thick mud, and this time it really pissed him off because he knew this was important.

Rukia. Wait. Rukia couldn't be here. It just wasn't possible. This had to be a dream. Considering the bizarre imagery his mind had been throwing at him up until now, he couldn't really be sure if he was even awake. But why would he be dreaming about Rukia? His sluggish thoughts began running in circles.

He took hold of her hand. He'd almost forgotten, somehow, how tiny she really was in comparison to him. It felt real enough. But he didn't want it to be real, because that meant she was here, and life had just become that much worse. Even so... it was good to see her like this, not about to be killed by Aizen. Dream or no, it was a better memory.

"Hey," he said, his voice soft and still rough from last night's trauma, "I miss you."

It wasn't something he would have ever said if he'd been in full control of his faculties, but all the same, it just felt good to say, to see her.

[haiiro-no-chou.livejournal.com]

Rukia was really starting to get concerned when Renji didn't wake immediately. That wasn't like him at all. As kids in Rukongai they'd had to live by their wits alone, and the same was often true of Shinigami. She started to smile when he opened his eyes, but the look of confusion in them, added to the faint bruising (had his nose been broken?), had her eyebrows knitted together. What the hell was going on??

She started to jerk away when he took her hand, but his skin felt too cool, and he just looked so miserable that she let him. His voice sounded about as bad as the rest of him, gravelly and a little wet. She could barely even feel his reiatsu, even from here.

Something was very wrong.

Fixing her features into a scowl, Rukia nudged him with the hand he was holding. "What do you mean, you miss me? Renji, what happened to you?" There were a few other people around, including the nurse who had brought her here, but no real clues as to what was going on.

[norainu]

She was asking too many questions for this to be just the product of his imagination. Which also meant he'd just done something very stupid. Renji made himself let go of her hand - why had he thought he could do that, to begin with? - and slowly sat up. He leaned against the arm of the couch, one hand pressed on the ache on his side...

Oh yeah. Ichimaru had hit him there. Really hard.

"You... shouldn't be here," he said, enunciating carefully so that he wouldn't slur. The fact that she was here left him feeling shaken and ill. I don't want you to be here... "Had a bad night," he offered, as an answer to her question. "Then... got in a fight with the... traitor." Yes. The traitor. Good, he was making sense. At least more than he had before his nap. He hoped. "They..." He paused, slogging back through his recent memory, through the fight with Gin, then the nurses, then, ah, yes. The swift prick of a needle. "They drugged me."

He looked at her, hoping that he'd managed to make sense. He almost wanted to touch her again, just to make certain that this nightmare really was happening, and because... he carefully squashed that thought, like putting his thumb on an ant. Just in case, to keep himself still, he clenched his hands into fists. Even that felt rather weak and distant.

[haiiro-no-chou.livejournal.com]

Rukia almost laughed at Renji's attempt to speak clearly. In any other situation it would have been funny, and she probably would have given him a friendly slap upside the head. She didn't laugh, though. She listened intently to what he managed to say, her scowl growing. Traitor? Does he mean...? Drugged him?? Well, that explains the slur and slow reflexes.

Rukia stood up from where she had been crouched, and looked around her with contempt. What kind of place was this? Why had Renji been drugged, and how did he get into such a pitiful state? She didn't think she'd ever seen her friend look so utterly miserable. Even when he'd nearly been killed by Aizen, he'd had a fighting spirit to the end.

Rukia crossed her arms, looking at Renji again. She figured she would address the more immediate concern first. "Who drugged you? Why?"

[theheirshinra.livejournal.com]

When his name wasn't called Rufus was more than happy to keep to his usual schedule and head for the Sun Room. It tended to be quieter there, someplace that he could get some sleep. Given the damage he'd taken the past two Nightshifts, the idea of relaxing looked all the more enticing.

Moving around the others, he claimed one of the couches for himself and settled into it. Closing his eyes, Rufus let his head rest against the back of it. A light doze would probably be the best he could manage for now, but it was better than nothing.

[beloved-lives.livejournal.com]

For no particular reason, Seimei found the patch of sunlight falling across Rufus' couch to be most pleasing. He sat down and rested back against it, his head level with the other man's waist, leaning against the edge of the cushion. Legs splayed out in front of him, hands folded across his abdomen, his catlike ears flattened back as he closed his eyes.

[theheirshinra.livejournal.com]

Rufus blinked awake as he felt the cushion pushed in slightly. Eyes open, he glanced down and fully expected to find Reno there rather than some stranger. The ears threw him almost immediately. He'd seen quite a few odd things in his time, but not a person like this.

"I must be dreaming," he muttered to himself, laying his head back again. People avoided him on general principle, not flopped down beside him. That was the only thing that explained it.

[beloved-lives.livejournal.com]

Seimei turned his head. "I don't doubt that you would dream up such a creature as I, but I assure you, you are awake." He half-smiled, glancing over the blond.

"Hello there." He said, by way of belated greeting. "I do not believe we have met."

[ontheabyss.livejournal.com]

Brunch had been completely uneventful. Lyta hadn't found herself called for a visitor, and with some free time...

She didn't see any reason to try a new room. The Sun Room suited her fine, so the Sun Room was where she ended up. She found it relatively empty, a pleasant change. Instead of an irritating buzzing, the minds sounded like light white noise. Just a low hum in the back of her mind.

Taking advantage of the quiet and the lack of other people, the red haired telepath stretched out to get some rest.

[saw-this-coming.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/landels_damned/65793.html?thread=3562497#t3562497)]

Sasori silently followed the nurse into the sun room. He looked around the area and noted that there were a few people there, but none of them did he recognize. This was quite unsettling, of course he didn't expect he would see anyone he knew in the afterlife. The nurse held her hand out and gestured for him to enter and find a somewhere to sit and then she turned and left him.

He glanced over his shoulder and watched until she was completely gone from sight and then he began to walk across the room. Everyone was dressed the same, including himself. They wore gray shirts and pants, and the shirts bore a smiley face that almost seemed to mock them all. Keeping to himself, Sasori found an empty chair and sat down. He was not going to react rashly over this situation. Instead he would sit and watch the others until he could figure out exactly what his current situation was and what he should do next.

[she-bloomed.livejournal.com]

All too quickly, Sakura found herself ushered away from the cafeteria, instructed to wander freely between several of the activity rooms; apparently, this was a rare privilege issued only on this, particular day of the week.

As hesitant as she was to leave Sasuke and Iruka-sensei, the pink-haired kunoichi couldn't help but feel a little relieved to be free of all that tension. Zabuza hadn't helped matters, though in hindsight she could understand why anyone would be angry or frustrated to find themselves in a place like Landels. Especially if they remembered dying. It had to be a little disconcerting, but it was Zabuza. What was she going to do? Find him an apologize?

Sakura almost snorted at the thought but managed to refrain as she entered the Sun Room. There didn't seem to be much in the way of things to do here, but it looked like a peaceful place to sit and get some relaxation. Besides, there were a few, other patients sitting around which meant she'd actually get the chance to talk to someone who wasn't from her 'world', strange as that concept seemed in theory.

With a determined smile on her face, Sakura chose a random patient that she didn't recognize and approached him. There was an empty chair beside him, it seemed, but she wasn't going to sit just yet. She hadn't been invited after all, and it wasn't like she knew the guy or anything.

"Hey! Mind if I sit here?" she asked, putting on her most amiable, cute face.

[saw-this-coming.livejournal.com]

Sasori's eyes narrowed when the young pink hair woman approached him. The vision of her being impaled upon his bladed arm burned into his parting memories. So, did the old hag's technique to save her not work? Something seemed terrible off, though. When he'd seen her she was ready to kill to him and trying hard to as well. He remembered her punching him in the face and how he mocked her because he couldn't feel a thing. Now, though, she was acting kind...and cute. His face sat firmly in a frown as he continued to cross-examine her.

"I do not mind," he finally replied to her question. Though, he felt confusion over the current situation and her prescense and actions, he did not hate her and if she wanted to sit next to him he didn't care. Still, he would continue to watch her. She could be trying something, but what could she do? As far as his trained eye could tell she was unarmed, but she didn't need to have a weapon when she had those fists that were able to break through Hiruko and Sandaime so easily. She could probably break a few of his bones now if she really wanted to. He was completely unarmed without his puppet body and he would more than likely feel every ounce of it. It wasn't a pleasant thought.

[she-bloomed.livejournal.com]

Great! He seemed a little quiet, but that wasn't so much of a problem. Maybe he knew a little more about this place than she did. Gathering information was first on her list of priorities right now, especially Naruto and Sasuke seemed to be doing well enough.

Or maybe she just didn't want to think about Sasuke right now. He had information in spades, it seemed, and yet she wasn't seeking him out. Maybe it was all just too surreal to have just spoken with him so frankly. Maybe she just wasn't ready for it.

But all the maybes in the world were forced out of her mind as she took a seat next to the quiet guy, never letting her cheery demeanor shatter even as her mind wandered to less pleasant places. Make friends. Get information. Start off slow.

"Are you new here too?" she chirped, writing off the recognition she saw flash briefly in his narrowed eyes as anything but. A hand was offered. "I'm Sakura."

[forgot-my-life.livejournal.com]

Takaya glowered, though not at anyone in particular. He was mostly pissed off at himself. Why had he agreed to meet Naoe alone? Because he was stupid, that's why.

Really, fucking stupid. Takaya reigned in the impulse to throw a punch at the woman who'd dragged him here. He didn't want to get sedated again.

Stalking away from her, still trying to hide how much his side ached, the teenager sat down on the floor, leaning against the wall to take some of the pressure off. Nothing helped really...

After a while, Takaya fell into a light doze, one that would easily be broken at the slightest little thing...

[pimp-plan.livejournal.com]

[coming from here (http://community.livejournal.com/landels_damned/66818.html?thread=3610370#t3610370)]

Great, even the nurses were acting cold to him now. He was the one who had gotten slapped and verbally abused! Didn't he get any sympathy?

Zelos wasn't in the mood to bother with anyone else. Sleep, he decided, was probably the best option. He wasn't really too keen on being the guy brooding in a corner.

He slumped into a chair, hands clasped behind his head. On the bright side, at least he didn't have to worry about any more visits.

And it wasn't like this day could get any worse.

[per-ardua.livejournal.com]

[[Wandering in from here (http://community.livejournal.com/landels_damned/66434.html?thread=3570306#t3570306).]]

Raine was walking fairly quickly, not because she was trying to avoid being intercepted by a nurse (although that would have been nice), but in agitation; she just wanted to wake up from this nightmare. If I just knew that Genis and the others were all right... Worrying about them wasn't going to get her anywhere, but she couldn't help it.

Raine was both upset and had what felt like no reason to be on alert, but a few steps into the Sun Room, she stopped dead and stared. She'd been praying, hoping against hope that she would see someone she knew here... but...

But of everyone she could possibly have run into here, she would rather have seen the head of the Imperial Research Academy than him.

She could have turned around and gone back into the library, or walked past him, but instead she went straight up to her former teammate and stared down at him. The fact that he was wearing the same uniform she was didn't escape her notice, but at that moment she couldn't have cared less. "Zelos."

[pimp-plan.livejournal.com]

Zelos blinked and looked up at the sound of his name. Oh - oh no way! The fact that Raine was obviously pissed wasn't quite registering yet. He was just shocked and really somewhat relieved someone from his world (well, sort of) was here.

"Professor!" he bounced up, opening his arms as if expecting a hug. "You came here to rescue me, didn't you? I knew I could count on you, gorgeous!"

It was ridiculous - she'd obviously been brought here by the same means as him, judging by the uniform - but he was suddenly feeling a little bit hopeful.

He finally took in that she looked more than upset, but passed it off as her frustration with being brought here in the first place.

[per-ardua.livejournal.com]

"Did you forget what I said in Flanoir? I side with the strongest," Zelos snorted.

Pronyma smirked. "Betray you? How amusing. Zelos was our spy from the very beginning. Isn’t that right, Zelos?"

"Is that true?" Lloyd demanded.

Colette asked, voice almost breaking, "It’s not true, is it? Please say that she’s lying…"

Zelos shot back, "I side with the strongest. It was a simple matter of weighing the Renegades, Cruxis, and all of you."

Raine was so angry she couldn't even think straight; the last time she'd seen Zelos, he had betrayed them all--kidnapped Colette and left the rest of them to die. For all she knew, the rest of their--her--group had been killed.

She had honestly intended to say something to that effect, but something like instinct took over; sometimes words weren't adequate anyway. Instead, she punched him in the face.