damned_institute | Dayshift 22: Sun Room (Evening Shift)

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Dayshift 22: Sun Room (Evening Shift)

It was probably a good thing Penelo listened to that weird silver haired man (she never really did get his name, did she?), because her short investigation of the Bulletin Board revealed that she wasn't alone after all. Larsa and Gabranth were here too, for whatever reason.

Penelo still couldn't quite wrap her mind around the concept that Gabranth was alive, when she had heard his dying words and had later attended his funeral back at Archades. Basch had taken his place since then, and it just boggled her. How could Gabranth have returned to life? There was no force in Ivalice that could do that.

Then again, it looked like she wasn't in Ivalice anymore.

Penelo sighed, seating herself at a table near the bulletin board as she waited for Larsa and Gabranth to arrive. Hopefully, Larsa would have some answers; she never doubted his ability to dig up information, no matter what the situation. Even so, what did they get themselves into?

"At least Vaan isn't here," Penelo reminded herself. She had gone from frantically searching for Vaan to praising the Gods that he hadn't been captured in this prison.

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When Kurama finally returned to the Sun Room, it was with low spirits. His heart was heavy with worry, even as his thoughts were turned towards murder and revenge. For four days, he had troubled himself over the fate of his mother, wondering if she was safe at home or if she'd been taken as well. Actually finding that she was here only made it harder to bear.

Kurama crossed the room at a slow pace, his preoccupied gaze following the ground he was walking on, but not really seeing it. If only he'd been more alert, neither of them would be here... He sat down heavily on one of the couches, placing his head in his hands, his elbows propped up on his knees. He didn't bother looking around the room for familiar faces. He wasn't interested in approaching anyone... Unless it involved maiming the staff. Dr. Landel, specifically. There would be hell to pay before this was over, ten-fold now that his mother was involved... And Kurama was going to make sure every person on staff paid his dues.

Hisoka narrowed his eyes upon the arrival of a familiar face, a familiar face that was now the epitome of defeat when it had been guarded and untrusting when the shinigami last saw him. A surge of anger and annoyance swelled up and Hisoka pushed himself away from the wall, reminded of Tsuzuki after a meeting with Muraki.

With a few steps the boy had reached the other and, without a greeting or any preamble, stated with a low voice-

"You believe them."

Kurama lifted his head. For a moment, he'd wondered who would bother him at a time like this, but seeing Hisoka, the redhead relaxed slightly.

"In a way," he admitted quietly, but continued on. "I don't believe these are 'visitations', if that's what you mean...but the people are real. At least, mine was. And this was merely an excuse to parade them in front of us." Visitor wasn't the right word, but hostage was.

"As if knowing that others we care about are here, just out of our grasp, will keep us from retaliating..." A bit of the color drained from Kurama's knuckles as he clenched his fists. He had no intention of giving up now... Not that he ever did. It only made escaping a little more tricky.

Anger fading at Kurama's words, Hisoka's annoyance then took control. Crossing his arms, the boy shifted his weight and narrowed his eyes further.

"You yourself claimed that everything here given to us by them was a lie, how are you so sure that your visitor wasn't the same?" Hisoka asked critically, studying the other boy closely. "It's not hard to trick the mind into seeing what it wants to see, just one clue and it jumps to a conclusion."

"Everything is a lie," Kurama countered. "Everything except for this."

He sighed heavily, leaning back against the couch, gazing up to the balcony overhead. "I know well enough how easy it is to be tricked. It's happened before, on my own world. For a brief time, I was fooled into believing my old partner had come back from the dead... Ridiculous as it sounds." Even more ridiculous was that he'd been here, but that was another story.

"I've been alive for much longer than you could imagine. The time I've spent as a human is barely even a fraction of that. But still, that woman taught me about myself and compassion and multitudes of others things. She taught me more in seventeen years than what I learned on my own in over a millennium of existence."

He paused, looking back to Hisoka. "The point is, there are things about her that could never be replicated well enough to slip by my eye. Every movement, every word she spoke. There was nothing out of place, and no one is that good. I may be wary, but a son knows his mother when he sees her."

As tempted as the boy was to comment about mothers, Hisoka held his tongue and allowed the other boy-- or man, considering his age-- finish his monlogue. If what he claimed was true, then this place also had his mother or a very good replica.

"The speech on the bulletin board claimed that our loved ones-" Hisoka's eyes narrowed at that. "-have undergone the very same treatment... Do you think perhaps the same has been done with your mother?"

Which reminded him. He had been meaning to write a copy of that speech down somewhere, preferably before it was altered or taken down. The words themselves were littered with taunting little clues and hints and when the boy had the time he wanted to study it...

Kurama's gaze narrowed as Hisoka voiced what had been going through his mind since he'd first laid eyes on his 'visitor'. "More than likely," he replied. "Which means that even if I find a way home, I can't leave without her."

It was frustrating. If she was here with him, it would be one thing to keep her safely by his side, even if it meant exposing his secret life to her. But outside the building, she was out of his reach, and there was nothing he could do about it. Except hope that the world outside this building was safer than inside.

And even if he did get them both safely home, would her memory return to normal? What did she believe to be real, anyway?

"You said you were going to look for your file tonight, didn't you?" he asked suddenly, giving Hisoka a curious glance.

"If you even find a way," Hisoka pointed out dryly, realistic as usual. "Keep in mind, escape is more than just finding a way to get off the grounds."

And then there was the problem of being brought back, especially considering how easily they all had been brought to this place before. If things came down to it, Hisoka was sure that this 'Landel'-- or whoever was bringing them here for him-- would have no qualms with bringing those who escaped back again with no problem at all. Pushing his thoughts aside, the younger of the two turned his attention back to Kurama and nodded slightly.

"I expect it to either be in a file room or in my future doctor's office." As if that bastard could ever be considered a doctor, more like a executioner wearing a smile. "I'm willing to bet more on the latter, I just need to find the place."

Kurama nodded. "I'm coming with you tonight, then. I can show you where the offices are and help you get in, but I can't tell you which room is who's other than my own doctor. You'll have to find out that much on your own. Maybe one of the other patients who had him last time can tell you. Check the bulletin, but try to be discreet. We don't want to alert the staff to what we're doing."

As for the other stuff about breaking out, etc... Well, that could wait for now. He'd deal with one thing at a time.

"If we don't find the files tonight in the offices, we'll try finding the file room tomorrow night."

Hisoka studied the other boy thoughtfully, a small frown on his face at his self-invitation, but merely nodded in return. The shinigami may have been stubborn with more than enough pride to share, but he knew when and where to draw the line. Searching for a doctor's office in the middle of the night with monsters and not even a inkling of where to go was deemed as one of those times.

"Do the doors have any distinctive markings on them, like name plates or numbers?" If so, he would probably be able to skip checking the bulletin board completely-- though he still had to do that anyway to see if anyone had yet to reply to his search for Tsuzuki and the others...

"Would anyone know of these file rooms?"

Kurama shook his head. "I don't know. I was a bit preoccupied when I went to see my doctor, so I didn't notice, and I haven't been back that way since. I wouldn't count on it, though. It would be better to ask around on the board than to leave it to chance."

There was only so much information that could be passed across the board, though... Only so much that could get by under the watchful eyes of the nurses.

"As for the file room, I'm just as clueless as you are. And that's a rather tender subject to be putting on the board. Unless, of course, it's coded. And even then, I'm not sure how many people would pick up on the code." He paused.

"Either way, we can check the offices tonight. If it's not there, we'll explore more of the building and ask around tomorrow." And maybe even find some decent weapons along the way...

Hisoka crossed his arms, brow furrowing further. "I can check, but I'm not sure how much longer we have before we're herded back to our rooms for dinner and they can't exactly give me that information over the board..."

He trailed off, eyes wandering around the room as he thought things through. He could always phrase the question carefully, remaining vague at all times as he had done while asking around for his co-workers. Unless...

"I may have an idea, only time will tell if it'll work, but it is worth a try. Besides that, asking around seems like the next best thing to exploring the place ourselves."

Kurama nodded. "Do what you need to, then," he replied. It wasn't really his business how Hisoka got the information he needed, just so long as he got it. As for himself... Well, he knew where his doctor's room was.

"We may want to stop by the kitchen on the way tonight and see if we can't find knives. They'd work better as a weapon in case we're caught. I've run across the same woman twice now, and if she finds me again, I'd at least like to repay her for the glass she put in my arm the first night." He wasn't going to be caught off-guard like that again, that was for sure.

"As far as meeting up tonight, my room is closer to our destination. Would you mind meeting me there?"

Hisoka frowned slightly at the mentioning of needing a weapon, the news learned from the bulletin board still clouding his mind. With a simple nod at the question of meeting at his room, Hisoka made his way to find his nurse.

"I'll see you then."

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Dayshift 22: Sun Room (Evening Shift)

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