Day 46: Sun Room

[human-sponge.livejournal.com]

Peter woke up suddenly, his body twisting in the bed and then forcing him to catch his breath in pain. Pain, which was coming from his middle because of the thing that had scratched him last night, and after that...

After that, Zach had jumped in front of him like some kind of martyr, like the exact opposite of everything Sylar stood for, to take the next hit for him. It got pretty fuzzy after that, so night must have ended right around then.

The man let out a pained grunt as he straightened himself up in bed. For some reason, he got the feeling that he'd slept in. There was no way for him to really tell without a window in the room, but he just knew. The fact that Sam's bed looked long since vacated was another clue.

Sam, but was he Sam again? Had the brainwashing worn off, as he and Roland had hoped, or was he going to have to go through this nightmare for even longer? He didn't know how long he could handle "Zach" and "Harrison" before he started going batty himself.

Pulling himself out of bed, Peter lifted his shirt and saw that he was tightly bandaged. The scratch most likely wasn't nearly as bad as the bite that "Zach" had received, but it still smarted. He let his shirt fall and then had to deal with a nurse chiding him for sleeping through the morning announcements. Not that Peter really cared at the moment. He was too busy thinking about last night and the fact that in a way, he now owed something to Sylar. Except it hadn't been Sylar. That was something he was sure of now.

Lost in his thoughts, Peter reached the Sun Room right as the rest of the patient populace was trickling in from breakfast. Sighing to himself, he headed over to the bulletin board and then saw a note written in familiar yet unpleasant handwriting. Holding his pen in a vice grip, Peter scribbled out a reply and then stalked over to an armchair and fell into it with a huff.

While Sylar was maddeningly frustrating, there was one good thing about the fact that he was himself again. It meant that Nathan was too.

[For Spock!]

Comments

[dualistic]

Right as Harvey and Jason had been gearing up to break open yet another door, Harvey's vision had gone completely black and the next thing he knew, it was morning. Just like always.

Except not. It did feel like there was something of a delay, like he'd "slept" for longer. When he tuned in and heard the voice of Martin Landel, he realized that he was talking about the Sun Room rather than describing their breakfast for the day. (A breakfast he never really got to eat.)

Still, he was more focused on last night than his missed meal. He and Jason had made some good headway both in searching the institute and forming a new plan. While he hadn't gotten as many details about Tim Drake as he would have liked, he had enough to work with. He'd have to track him down today.

It sounded like this shift wouldn't work, though, since there was a chance the kid would be in therapy. Harvey thought that over as the nurse took him to the Sun Room. Was he going to get roped into the tell-me-how-you-feel crap too? No way. He wasn't doing it.

Upon reaching the room, which was still fairly empty, Harvey first looked around for Jason. When he didn't see him, he went over to the board to leave a note for his current partner in crime before finding a couch and taking a seat. He'd need to think about how he was going to approach Robin once he found him at lunch. That would be the best time to do it, when all of the patients were gathered in the same place.

[For von Karma; possible open to one more?]

[lawful_perfect]

[OOC: Sure, one more should be fine, though caveat: I'm probably going to be slooooow. And vK here won't be the greatest company as if he ever really were. X3 ]

"Mr. Fuchs! Come on! You've already missed breakfast. Are you planning to stay in this dreary room all day?"

Manfred von Karma shot the blasted nurse a defiant look, his arms folded and anger rumbling in his chest. Like hell was he willing to show his face in public today. Not after what had happened yesterday and the night prior to that. Never mind that this was all Martin Landel's doing. Oh, he would make the insolent bastard pay for the humiliating torture two nights ago... and for the mind-tampering that had manifested yesterday, in front of five too many people at that.

Worst of all, his daughter would never again regain the esteem she had once held for him, not after their apoplectic meeting during lunch. von Karma had already been losing his iron-fisted grip on Franziska ever since she arrived at this hellhole, but yesterday's incident would most likely clinch it. At the thought of possibly encountering her again, a muscle twitched under his left eye.

Squeezing his upper left arm perhaps a bit too tightly, he responded through clenched teeth, each word deliberate. "I need some quiet time to think, Nurse. This is perhaps the first chance I've had to do so in several days. Leave me here."

His demand was in vain. The nurse shook her head at him and waved her finger at him, as one might do to a misbehaving child. "Oh no, you don't! You're coming with me!"

How... how dare she mock me like this?! von Karma was just about to voice his irate thought when he saw the glint of thin metal extending from her hand. A syringe. That convinced him; the events of two nights ago were still painfully fresh in his mind.

Still, the prosecutor would not be completely outdone here. "Hmph. Very well. But first, I need a minute before leaving this room. I have a note I must post for an acquaintance."

"Oh, okay!" the damned nurse chirped. "Take your time, Mr. Fuchs. I'll wait right here while you write your note for your friend."

Of course, she also felt the need to watch him do so. Oh, how he hated people who hovered so close that he could feel their disgusting breath mist onto his shoulder. Aware of her scrutiny, the older man took special care not to include any questionable wording in his note.

She then led him to the Sun Room, where there were already a number of people gathered. He pinned his note to Ms. Taura onto the board, then looked around to ensure that there were no familiar faces present. There was one that... seemed familiar. A gray-haired young man sitting next to an even younger blond man. Neither seemed to notice him as he studied the former, trying to recall precisely why he initially thought he knew him. A chill ran through von Karma as he realized that his memory was just as unreliable as it had been yesterday. Disturbing.

As he emerged from his daze, he discovered that he was sitting on one of the couches, next to a man he was sure he had never met before. ...Or had he? Oh, curse this hellhole! Instead of advertising his uncertainty of this other man's identity, von Karma merely gave him the same greeting he tended to give everyone else: a forbidding glare.

[zack-fair.livejournal.com]

While it had been nice to getting to know Anthy, his talk with her had actually brought up more questions rather than answering any of his original ones. Well, he had learned a few things, such as the fact that there was brainwashing going on, that there were monsters around at night, and that the nurses and whoever else was orchestrating this wanted them to believe they were completely different people.

Monsters he could handle, but the other two points were really gnawing at him. Then there was still the fact that he was here in the first place, when that shouldn't have been possible.

Not that he could have breached a subject like that with Anthy. He didn't think it would be appropriate to ask, "Hey, so, were you dead before waking up here?" Still, he needed to figure out why it had happened; he just didn't know how to go about it without stepping on people's toes.

One of the nurses led him from the cafeteria into the room he'd passed through before, and he made another few attempts at asking her questions. He tried at getting a location out of her, but no go. Same with asking why he was here. The only answer he got was that he was here for his own good.

Zack seriously doubted that, and yet he did have to concede that he probably wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for this place. It brought up a lot of mixed feelings, but he definitely knew that he didn't want to be revived just to be a guinea pig.

Finding a vacant couch, the soldier sat himself down and stared off, surprisingly thoughtful.

[quidproquo.livejournal.com]

"What do you mean I missed breakfast?"

Axel sighed as he fell back into his bed, folding his arms underneath his head and offered his nurse a lazy grin.

Funny, he could've sworn that he was just talking to his new roommate, but maybe dying took a lot more out of him than he thought. As expected, the redhead decided to take it all in stride for now, knowing it wouldn't do him any good to start up a commotion for no good reason. He wasn't the type to get worked up so easily on the outside, so it was better to just accept it all for now before he got some more clues about this place.

With enough coaxing the Nobody finally moved off his bed, standing to his full height in order to stretch before following the woman out the room. This was his first time since he'd arrived that he got to step out of his room, and as expected it was as dull and boring as everything else. Just the way he liked it.

Still, it was awfully strange how he found himself in this kind of predicament. Was this really what the afterlife was? There was certainly no chance that he was actually alive, so the thought of surviving was absurd even to him. It didn't help that the loud clicking noise refused to go away, and after a while he finally opened his mouth to inquire about it.

"Hey, uh-"

"And here's the Sun Room, Mr. Flynn," His nurse interrupted him once they stepped through, showing him the space with a sweep of her arm. "You'll be spending your time here until lunch."

Before Axel could start a second time the woman had already left, leaving the redhead there with an unsatisfied look on his face. Of course, the expression didn't last long, and in the end he decided the best course of action was to hang out with whoever seemed the most interested.

Unsurprisingly, that chance came without much effort when those green eyes caught a black, spiky mass on a nearby couch. The Nobody made a bee line straight for the figure, getting within a foot of where the latter was sitting before leaning his face in. There was an equally thoughtful look on Axel's face, stroking his chin as he thoroughly examined the other man and his 'assets'.

"Hm."

[gothamsfuture.livejournal.com]

Terry left breakfast feeling sorry for Forte, but he couldn't exactly let that keep him from getting his own plans done. Which was why he made a line straight for the bulletin once he got into the Sun Room, looking for answers that scanning faces in the cafeteria hadn't provided. Tim Drake had answered, and things were looking good there at least. But the one person he wanted to hear from most still hadn't replied, and Terry slammed a fist against the corkboard in frustration.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." A nurse's scornful look made the show of temper brief, and Terry let out a sigh. "Sorry." Though he didn't mean it, not when for all he knew, Nurse Happy Face could tell him just what trick this hellhole had played on Bruce that was keeping him from talking to anyone. Even if he didn't trust Terry, Alfred was here, not to mention a Robin and one of the founding members of the JLU. Even for someone as solitary as Bruce Wayne, leaving that many people to worry just wasn't like him.

Something was wrong. What pissed Terry off then was that he couldn't do anything about it.

[For Fuzzy and Spidey~]

[tightsofmight]

"I hope you all enjoyed that delicious breakfast!"

And with that, Peter snapped upright in bed, grappling for a pillow sack that wasn't there. Where was - oh. Oh, fantastic. He'd passed out just waiting for Kurt and pals. And then, he'd slept through breakfast. Today was waffle day.

Peter flopped face first back onto his pillow in despair. "Mmmmmmmmmmmmmrgh!"

That was it. That was the last night he was wasting on a sum total of zilch. From here on out he was booking it through every hallway and today? Today he was getting Kurt's room number. And Kitty's. Maybe that Alex guy's too, if only to keep a close eye on him.

And Matt, god. And Logan. At this rate they'd never find out what happened to them. Looked like it was about time to bite the bullet and ask the last person he trusted.

Right on time, she pushed through the door, yapping about how he'd been out cold since last shift yesterday and how he'd better get a move on his day. All Peter could do was grit his teeth and play along, and throw out the question as innocuously as possible.

"Hey, there was a blind guy around here. Reddish hair, tall? I haven't seen him in a while..."

"Oh, Matthew?" The nurse blinked in surprise. "He was released some time ago, I think. Just after the Doyleton trip. I had no idea you were close."

Peter's heart sank. Right after Doyleton. Shit. Oh god. It had been absolute chaos, and Matt relied on his hearing and his sense of smell. He would have been completely overwhelmed between the smell off the zombie things and the screaming and the moaning - okay, no, some people faded away. Like, just disappeared. He'd heard about that happening, right? There was a fifty fifty chance that he'd just vanished instead. Those were good enough odds.

It didn't help that twinge in his chest. Another knot in his throat. He'd barely known the guy, all things considered, but he'd latched on to him, he supposed. The Daredevil he knew was a total ass, but this one was cool and made jokes and came with him to the morgue so he could sob like a baby over Harry. Hung out with him and Kurt. Watched his back. Matt had said that he was friends with the older Spider-Man back home, and maybe that made Peter kind of...assume things...

He licked his lips and tried again. "What about Logan? Shortish kind of guy, really hairy. Uh. Canadian?"

"Hmm, I believe he was released? I'll have to double check, but I'm sure he went home a few days ago. If I'm thinking of the right man of course."

This was not good.

Peter slunk into the Sun Room with heavy feet. It didn't help that instead of Kurt or even Kitty, the first person he saw from his failed expedition last night was Alex, lurking around the bulletin board. Great. Well, there was no use avoiding him. The room was only so big, and he'd look like an even bigger dork than he already did trying to duck behind couches. The guy probably wanted an explanation for being stood up last night anyway.

He slouched into the wall far enough to interrupt his staring contest with the board, noting that Alex looked in about as good of spirits as he was. Hooray. He tucked away that knot in the throat for the time being and dug up something that could pass for his normal motor mouthy-self. Alex didn't know Matt or Logan. Why should he give two anythings about them?

"Okay, so either I was wrong in thinking that that hallway where Kurt tackled me on my first night wasn't in front of his block, or the night ended way earlier for me than it did for you guys. And the universe has already punished me for this by denying me waffles, so please don't punch me in the gut again."

[replicatedorder.livejournal.com]

That was a pretty annoying announcement, Luke decided, as he was ushered away from the cafeteria into the sun room by the same nurse who had greeted him when he woke up. It was the first time he heard one all the way through and without the grogginess of sleep getting in the way, and he counted himself lucky for having managed to skip the majority of the past ones. Somehow, it was worsened by the fact that he was being forced to leave where he was and head to a different room. He wanted to stay by Guy's side and talk about other things—like maybe encourage Guy to talk about the different machines here—but it didn't seem like a good idea.

Either way, he needed to let the rest of his friends know he was there. Luke considered adding an additional part of the note to Asch, but he decided against it. As much as he wanted to talk to him, he would hope to see him face to face, as that might make it difficult for Asch to cut off interaction when he got frustrated. If he didn't see him as the time ticked closer to dinner, he would return to the bulletin to speak to him.

With that part of his goals handled, Luke moved to take a seat with a sigh. He observed who was coming in curiously, doubting that he would recognize most of the people. This wasn't Auldrant. It was a fact that would need to settle in, along with everything else. Yes, he had accepted it, just as he would accept most anything from Guy at face value. He trusted his friend to be honest, and it wasn't the type of thing he would lie about. All it did was add another level of confusion for Luke when he had time away from his friend to stop and observe.

He realized observing just made him frustrated and restless, but he didn't want to know what would happen if he decided to act out. Luke didn't have the means or the energy to do so. Still, he thought left him holding on to his notebook more tightly than he realized, a rather serious expression left over his features.

[for Sync!]

[godforsaken]

Sync wanted to die.

It wasn't a thought primarily induced from the pain he was feeling, but that wasn't to say that it didn't contribute to the final product. No, these thoughts weren't new at all, and yet he never seemed to reach that point. It was as if fate itself was mocking his hatred for life, refusing to give him that he wanted more than anything simply because he didn't appreciate what he already had.

But what was there to appreciate when he was already born a failure?

Green eyes slowly opened, lingering thoughts of his dreams dissipating when the pain finally hit him in full. The God-General gritted his teeth, but other than that he showed no outward discomfort. There were more important things to worry about, to painfully swallow and digest like everything else in this damned prison. The very thought of 'last night' made his blood boil, features contorting into a snarl for those few seconds. As much as he refused to believe it ever happened his injuries proved him otherwise, sending shocks throughout his body when he tried to sit up. Sync slowly hissed, using his free arm to push himself up before shifting most of his weight to that side.

To think that this institute could even control him like that ... Brief flashes of yesterday entered his mind, face heating up in both anger and humiliation.

He'll make Claude regret not finishing the job.

"That was a nasty fall you had, Stephen." It was his nurse's words that pulled him from his thoughts as she entered the room, offering him a worried smile. Sync's face relaxed, though it was easy to see that he was anything but chipper.

"Yeah..."

Shifting his arm a little in his sling, the God-General tried to move to the edge of the bed, doing so slowly as to not agitate any of his wounds. He refused a wheelchair, seeing it as nothing more than a sign of weakness (plus his legs were just fine), and carefully followed his nurse out of his room and down the halls. Maybe it was nothing more than a string of conveniences, but the first thing Sync's eyes fell on when he entered the Sun Room was not the supposedly dead swordsman, but instead the familiar red mass sitting nearby.

The teen's expression remained calm as he walked away from his nurse, slowly making his way to where Luke was. It didn't matter if the redhead saw him first, and it showed when he didn't bother beating around the bush when he finally stopped in front of him.

"You've got some nerve showing your face at a time like this."

[nobleman]

Guy entered the Sun Room feeling far better than when he'd woken up this morning. It was remarkable how just talking with Luke again could improve his mood so drastically, but that was just how it went when you were separated from a friend for a while and didn't even know where they were. He watched as the redhead moved over to the bulletin board and smiled to himself.

Honestly, he wouldn't have minded spending the entire day with Luke (who was going to stop them?), but he knew that his friend probably wanted to track down some of the others, and Guy had his own people to check up on, especially after last night. While Anise and Claude had found him in the end, they hadn't gotten the chance to talk for too long before night had ended.

There usually wasn't enough time in the day to see everyone as it was, so he couldn't spend all of it with Luke, as much as he'd like to. Besides, there was the matter of giving the younger man some space. Guy wasn't exactly a babysitter anymore.

Sinking down into a seat, Guy lifted up his arms and tried to do some stretching exercises to get the stiffness out of them. It hurt, but it had to be done. He needed to be able to lift and swing a sword again sooner rather than later.

[For Claude; strict reserve.]

[full-score.livejournal.com]

The transition from night to day had been abrupt, though not really unexpected. By now Claude had gotten used to waking up in his bed at the strangest times, so when he opened his eyes and saw the white ceiling staring down at him, he automatically shuffled around to hide his things before the nurse came. As he did so, however, his thoughts continually buzzed with last night's revelations.

Dias and Guy -- alive? Was it true, or had they narrowly missed a fatal encounter with another one of Landel's tricks? He'd probably need to check on Celes over the board if he couldn't find her in person. And then there was Anise to see to. As well as to verify whether his friends were truly back or not...

He could scarcely think on how he would feel if he saw them in person today, as if doing so would somehow jinx everything.

And yet he managed to grab the paper crane he'd failed to deliver last night before the nurse arrived to escort him out of his room. It was slightly beat up from its ride in his pocket during his encounter with "Stephen" and the trip to the morgue. Claude gently worked at straightening its wings and neck as he walked down the hallway, his eyebrows faintly furrowed in concentration. It gave his fingers something to do, at least.

"Taken an interest in origami?" the nurse asked cheerfully. "That's wonderful, Thomas. Maybe you can make some of those cranes with the paper next to the bulletin board."

Claude was about to reply, but he paused when he realized that the sun room was crowded with more people than it normally was during breakfast shift. A lot more, come to think of it. Upon noticing his confusion, the nurse kindly said, "Oh, you missed first shift already, dear. Why don't you relax a little bit until lunch?"

Well, that was disorienting. It was rare for Claude to sleep through breakfast, though he guessed it showed just how run down he'd become over the last few days. After offering the nurse a forced smile, they parted ways, and he began wandering across the room. Part of him considered leaving a note on the bulletin. Actually, he was about to head toward the board to do just that, but his heart skipped a beat once he caught sight of a familiar face, forcing him to stop in his tracks.

Guy.

Before he could even think, his legs brought him closer to where the man was sitting until he was standing just a few feet away. Despite the immense wave of relief that washed over him, it was almost surreal, seeing him doing stretches like that, as if he were preparing to lift some weights or run a marathon. To think that just the other day he'd been lying cold and stiff in the morgue!

A chill ran down Claude's spine. On second thought, maybe it was better not to think too much on that after all.

There was so much he could have said to him -- so much he wanted to say. But Claude's thoughts were so jumbled that all he could do was excitedly blurt the first thing that came to mind. "Y-you're really back!"

[winged_moon]

Waking was like slogging through waist-deep snow, difficult and only worsening the bone-deep weariness he felt. When the morning came, accompanied by the sound of that voice on the intercom, he'd given up on it entirely and fled deeper into unconsciousness. It might not be something he could do forever, but for now and as long as he needed to, he wanted to hide from the world, from this place in which he'd been trapped and forced to make an impossible decision. Until Fai had made the decision for him, at least, and he'd caused the death of someone he was supposed to protect.

When the intercom sounded for the second time, though, this time he wasn't allowed to continue sleeping, as one of the nurses had arrived and was shaking his shoulder in an insistient fashion. "Come now, Alex, you can't sleep all day," she said, in a chiding tone, even as he tried to ignore her. "You've already missed breakfast. Up and at 'em."

He finally gave in so that she would leave him alone, allowing himself to be led to the Sun Room. It wasn't as sunny as usual, however, and that suited his mood perfectly. He found an unoccupied couch and settled down, fully intending to go back to sleep, ignoring the momentary flare of annoyance as he sat on his hair and pulled it painfully. Putting it up into the usual braid was too much effort, though, and he allowed the idea to fade away as he dozed off.

[reserved for Touya]

[guardiancomplex.livejournal.com]

Touya awoke in much the same position he'd lost consciousness in: on his back.

His wounds still stung, but fortunately it seemed as though nothing was serious enough that it required a stitch or a butterfly closure. He was simply bandaged--though he noted with some disdain that he smelled like blood and antiseptic.

He stared at the ceiling, wondering if it was too much to hope that last night had just been some sort of dream or nightmare. The pangs in his chest and stomach told him otherwise. Somehow, Touya knew that if he asked about Fai, he wouldn't like the answer he got.

And how was he supposed to feel anyway? Someone had died and they were no closer to escaping. Worse, it was partially his fault. He'd been the one to push going to the basement. It was he who had insisted they explore more. And then Yue had to kill Fai. It was too much for his mind to take in.

"Thomas?" his nurse said quietly from a crack in the door. Touya lazily lifted his head and looked at her. "Did you want to get up? Breakfast is over, and--"

Breakfast. Yuki. Yuki might have been at breakfast. Looking for him.

The nurse entered the room quickly as Touya began hoisting himself out of bed at what must have been record speed for someone who had been shot twice and had some odd cuts on him. She fussed and he walked. She warned him not to move too much and he ignored her.

Fortunately, he didn't have to go very far. Yue and Yuki were nearly asleep on a couch, and while he normally would have taken a seat on the floor and waited for them to wake up, he thought waiting wasn't the way to do this. He took long strides to the couch, slid next to them and, without wondering if Yue or Yuki was in control now, pulled him into his arms and held him fast.

[swornandbroken.livejournal.com]

Mello's second meeting with Sai had proved less irritating than the first, and he'd finally given in and eaten the food the Institute provided, so while he was cranky, it was due to being stuck in this fucking place, not hunger. He really had expected to bust his way out the previous night.

Then again, there was still the question of 'Daniel' to be resolved. Mello tried to be vigilant against believing things he thought ought to be true, as opposed to things that were demonstrably true, and he knew he was susceptible to wishful thinking in this case. He still wanted to know what the hell Landel's, Daniel, L, or some combination thereof, were playing at.

After disposing of his tray, he followed the nurse, giving a pretty good outward display of cooperation, to the sun room. He'd already gotten into the habit of tuning out the intercom announcements, and he didn't even bother rolling his eyes at this one.

Even if he didn't get an opportunity to observe Daniel again, he'd become resigned to the need for finding allies here. He automatically noted all the windows, looking up and shielding his sensitive left eye from the light that came through even on a rainy day like this one. This room was like a fucking fishbowl.

He took some time at the bulletin board, this being the first time he had seen it. The message that was obviously from an L less addled than he had been (who else here knew about the Coil connection?) was moderately encouraging. Mello quickly posted a question of his own, then backed off for discretion's sake, finding a seat in one of the off-white chairs and settling into his usual sprawl.

[For Edgeworth!]

[high-prosecutor.livejournal.com]

Miles had a lot to mull over as he stepped into the Sun Room. The conversation with Renamon was fresh on his mind, and he was glad to not have been called for therapy. He didn't want anything that the false doctors here had to offer; he had already had enough of that for a full lifetime.

He glanced around, looking for other familiar faces, then saw one he hadn't for quite a while. The voice in his head murmured low for just a moment, but he ignored it for the time being. This was the daytime. As much as he hated to admit it, the nurses would take care of any problems.

He took a seat in a chair opposite Mello's, bowing his head once. "It's been quite a while, Mello. Have you been ill?"

[meironohosoku.livejournal.com]

The day was going on as it always had. It was still early, of course, and there really wasn't a reason for things not to be normal, but Hanyuu wasn't really sure what she had expected. She honestly believed that she had simply gone to sleep after dinner the night before last, and then slept through most of the day yesterday, only to wake up in time for night to begin. That was what her memories told her, but if she believed what Arlene had said last night (and she did), then she had been missing for several days. It was very... confusing, to say the very least.

Sighing, the spirit curled up on the end of one of the couches. Not only that, but now she knew that Archer was gone. She should've been happy -- she knew that she should have been glad that Archer wasn't here any more, but... She wasn't even sure whether he had died, or just... disappeared, and she had been too scared to ask. In a way, she didn't want to know. At least that way she could pretend his disappearance was similar to her own, and she could hold on to the thought that maybe he'd return someday. She shouldn't have wanted that, and she felt guilty since she did, but he had been one of her closest friends in this place. She would've liked to see him again.

Hanyuu leaned her arms on the arm of the couch and rested her head against her arms. She'd be able to talk to Arlene again in a little bit, and then hopefully she and Rika would be able to figure things out later tonight too. For now though, the spirit would just have to wait.

[longlivetheking]

[Mind a lion?]

That had been irritating enough, and Scar was even somewhat grateful when the nurse finally showed her face and began ushering him towards the Sun room. He had been planning to locate a usual seat upon the floor rather than sitting on that silly human furniture, but the nurse had seemed to notice what he had in mind and began to chide him how he shouldn't sit on the floor as she ushered him towards a couch. Scar rolled his eyes in annoyance, but had little choice but to comply. She left after her charge had finally taken a seat, and the former lion didn't pass up the opportunity to glare at her back before looking around the area.

And only then he noticed he was sharing the couch with someone else. How surprising. The other patient was a little girl with a rather curious color for a mane. Or hair, how they called it. Then again, most of these humans had hair colors every color of the rainbow.

"Good morning," he greeted, more out of habit than the sake of being friendly. Breakfast had left him a little too irritated for that.

[lostonlifesroad.livejournal.com]

By the time the nurses had taken them to breakfast, there was just enough of the shift left for Kakashi to eat. That was fine with him, since he never minded the opportunity to lose himself a book. Though it wasn't entirely possible with everything going on, the novels by Phil Randy, as bad as Jiraiya claimed them to be, still were a welcome distraction. After all, starting with the next shift, Kakashi would have to resume his duties again. It didn't bother him of course, but he knew just how important it was to take a breather every now and then too.

And it was a good thing he had. Nothing could have prepared him for what he'd find on the bulletin next time he looked.

They'd brought Obito here. Uchiha Obito, straight from Grass Country, and from the sounds of it, before Kakashi had realized how terrible his own mistakes were as a child. How many times had he read the name before it really sunk in, that it was his actual best friend, and the ninja who had influenced his life more than any other? Everything, from the philosophy Kakashi lived by to the sharingan eye that had made him infamous in the ninja world, he owed to Uchiha Obito.

Because Obito had died.

Suddenly the weight of everything that had happened since that day, both in the Institute and out, collided in Kakashi's mind with renewed fervor. All the things Obito wouldn't know, but would ask about, would expect Kakashi to provide the answers for--but how could he? What was he supposed to say? Everyone you cared for is dead, Obito. Even me. Sorry about that? Somehow, Kakashi didn't exactly feel eager about it.

Yet responsibility aside, the jounin couldn't help a childish sense of glee. He'd wanted to say so many things to the real Obito since then, words he'd only been able to speak to a stone with his name carved in it. He wouldn't understand, not the way that the spirit that lingered in Kakashi's memories had. But it was better, would be so much so, because he could see Obito flail and stumble, and then get up to prove he really did have the heart and soul of a ninja. Even if he was a crybaby.

And Kakashi could show how much he really had changed. He'd never forgiven himself for his choice to abandon Rin, because of what it had cost, and Kakashi knew that wouldn't be altered now. Still, he had the sense that if he really did let Obito see the kind of man and ninja he'd become, there'd be something gained from it. Maybe something so small as Obito not regretting the idea of his own death so much, once he found out about it.

It wasn't exactly a topic Kakashi wanted to bring up, but one he couldn't so easily avoid. Even if he didn't go into that part of what happened during the war, how long would it be before Sasuke and Obito found each other? Somehow he didn't think his student would hold back information on the massacre that had followed some years later (particularly if Kakashi couldn't talk to Sasuke first), and the assumption would naturally be there. No, it would be better for Kakashi to be the one to tell Obito, and to make sure his friend knew how significant his death was.

Now, if he could only figure out a way to do that.

First thing first though, and Kakashi moved off to the side of the Sun Room where he could easily scan the crowd. Obito would be there eventually, and Kakashi didn't want to waste any time. Not when they only had a limited amount of time to not only cover the past, but also the present danger.

[Closed to Obito. Strict reserve.]

[itsdustdammit.livejournal.com]

To say that Obito was disoriented by the bulletin conversation would be a vast, vast understatement. Not only did it seem like Sakura was right, and people came from different times, but in Kakashi's world, sixteen years had passed. And Rin was safe. He had no reason to believe the soulless ass, but he suspected that Kakashi was one of those people who never lied to teammates. There was probably a rule about it somewhere. He'd find out soon enough, though, along with everything else. On a less important note the "you know this guy?" comments were a bit disparaging, too. In sixteen years, he should be a ninja known all across Konoha! Why the hell was Kakashi the only one who knew his name? There had better be a damn good explanation for that.

For all of this. He wolfed down the rest of his breakfast and parted ways with Sakura, thinking that he didn't like her very much. He didn't like being yelled at, period, but being yelled at because people thought he was crying was especially annoying. It made sense, though, if some weird time-thing had made Kakashi her her sensei. Was every Leaf-nin going to be that way? Minato had been patient, and Rin so kind. It would be awful if, overnight (or over 16 years), everyone had turned into Kakashi-clones.

He picked a sofa and sat down, not disguising his nervousness. He didn't like when the world around him changed, especially in such a drastic way. It left him feeling uninformed, lost, which left him feeling helpless. That was one thing Kakashi was good at, though: telling people what to think and do. As long as the kid (man?) wasn't lying, Obito should have some answers soon.

Not as soon as he expected, though. They hadn't set a specific time--no clocks, Obito noticed--but still, he'd expected Kakashi to approach him within seconds and demand why it had taken him so long to find a place to sit, or lecture him on how sitting was needlessly letting his guard down, or something like that. Obito didn't know what his teammate looked like anymore, but Kakashi was observant and never wasted a second if it could be avoided, especially when that second could be used to lecture Obito. If this was going to be a lecture. He didn't know what else to expect.

Obito's mind was sretched between nervousness, unfocused anger, and confusion. He bit his lip and waited. There was nothing else to do.

[scalyfishman.livejournal.com]

Depth Charge, when he woke up, wasn't just cranky. Oh, no. He was furious.

Maybe he'd had it coming to him- he'd been letting his guard down a lot over the last couple of days, getting complacent, just sucking up the daily grind and rolling with it without blowing a gasket or two over it when he probably should have done. Well, to the Pit with that. Nothing justified what they'd done to him. Nothing. They could tear out his circuits or rip out his gears, but his processor- his personality core, Primus, his mind- that was strictly off-limits. Do not pass Go, do not collect energon.

He felt oddly queasy, standing in the Sun Room. How had they done it? He couldn't remember any experiments, any surgery, any treatment... zip. Was he really so easily manipulated? Well, whatever the case, they'd done a slagging good job of it- everything he'd said, everything he'd done... just knowing how deeply he'd fallen for it was enough to ignite something inside of him. Something, he realised, that had been conspicuously cool for what felt like an age, but, in reality, couldn't have been more than the week he had spent here.

It occurred to him that he was going to make them pay for this, and that was odd enough- feeling that old instinct kick in. He hadn't exactly sworn an oath in mech fluid, Depth Charge conceded, but there was more than enough passion to back him up.

"Mr. Price? Are you alright?"

He blinked uncertainly, then realised he was standing in front of his nurse. Right.

"Get out of my face," he snapped back, sidestepping the woman before she could object and kicking back on a sofa across the room. The power he felt for it was immense. Primus, it was good to be back.

[hailmegatron.livejournal.com]

[Did you want something, Mr. Officer~?]

Lugnut trudged into the sun room, mood slightly lifted by the idea of finding and slaughtering Landel with HK-47 and those meatbags he'd mentioned, but still miserably morose, and shaky from the yawning emptiness that was burrowing into his fuel tank.

Blitzwing gone, Megatron gone, Scourge deserted, the Maximal...

... right over there.

He blinked, wondering if he'd crossed a wire or two. But the Maximal hadn't replied the day before, how could he be there?

With a shudder, he decided it was better to ask, and stormed over towards Depth Charge, demanding loudly, "You! Why didn't you respond to the bulletin yesterday?!" How dare he make Lugnut wo-- make Lugnut think he was gone, too!

[shamusdoggydog.livejournal.com]

Sam stood in front of the bulletin board with the intention of rereading that monster list he'd seen yesterday, but he couldn't find it anymore. All he found were a bunch of messages for people he didn't know, and a surprisingly large amount notes claiming that the writer hadn't been themself yesterday.

Sam thought he saw the word MAX on one of the notes, and his heart leapt. But once he'd read the rest of the note, he realised that it couldn't be him. The handwriting was messy enough, but it wasn't Max's kind of messy, and the writing style was strangely formal. Not his Max.

Disappointed, Sam walked away from the bulletin board and slumped into a chair. He'd give anything to be playing Fizzball with Max right now. Or baseball. Or golf, or even cricket. Really, he just wanted to hit something with a stick.

[for Scott Pilgrim]

[Sorry for the wait!]

[vstheworld]

Scott was on his way back to the bulletin to check up on the promising notes he'd gotten about forming a band. If he was going to be stuck here until he found some kickass way to escape at night anyway, then he saw no reason not to make the most of the boring daytime. What better way to do that than to form the most rockin' rock band to ever rock the rocky foundations of Landel's Institute? Of Rock?

As he approached the board, however, he caught sight of a familiar face, and not in the "Hey, I know that fictional character" way, for once. Well, he did know that fictional character, but he was one of the few who didn't look like himself anyway, so whatever. Long story short, it was Sam. He hadn't seen the big dog around the institute for at least a couple days now, which puzzled him a bit. Scott quickly changed course, heading over to the neighbouring chair. "Hey," said Scott with a short wave as he plunked himself down in the big, comfy armchair. "How's it going, Sam? Where've you been lately?"

[screwthegods]

Coming away from breakfast in a decent mood, Homura made his way into the Sun Room and immediately posted the club notice. It'd been considerably more difficult to come up with the wording, which was part of why the demi-god hadn't done it the day before. Of course, the stress of the prior night combined with the effects of Landel's brainwashing also factored into the choice. Now, however, they would resume their efforts, ideally with replenished vigor, as he'd hoped certain members would've taken the night to rest.

The task done, Homura made his way to a couch in the Sun Room, carefully lowering himself into one of the spaces. His ribs were better, yet far from healed, and even movements as simple as these tested his control. He could sense eyes on him from nearby, most likely the nurse who kept trying to force him into one of the wheeled-chairs, and who would continue to receive a stubborn refusal each time.

Laying his head back onto the cushion, Homura looked up through the glass ceiling. He was alone then, when it was far too early to make plans for the night, and thus he had only his thoughts to occupy him. He wondered what it felt like outside; days like these brought their own frustration if only because he couldn't feel the warmth or chill for himself, whichever it might be. Regardless, there was something calming about being able to close his eyes, however temporarily, and recall memories of days he did spend far away from walls and the secrets within them. He much preferred those times, in the one place where the gods resided that truly seemed pure.

[For Nataku]

[stringless-doll.livejournal.com]

Homura was sleeping. Well, knowing the demi-god, not sleeping exactly but maybe dreaming half-awake. Nataku had come out of breakfast both cheerful and full of new mischief, but for once he found himself reluctant to disturb the nap for that. Homura looked peaceful. It was a rare sight.

So just this once he crawled onto the couch beside Homura very carefully, and just in case he was listening he said, "You can keep sleeping if you want." before he leaned - still carefully, with very little of his weight - against Homura's shoulder.

[runner-up-robot.livejournal.com]

Breakfast had been quiet and uneventful. Which was... good? It meant that, other than a vague complaint, Forte didn't have to talk to anyone about what had happened. On the other hand, it meant he didn't have much to think about except what had happened - what was probably written in the journal he held, the things he'd said, the things he'd... felt.

That was the real problem, wasn't it? He could tell people that he'd been brainwashed, that he didn't mean what he said. But he had no idea what to do with these emotions that kept surfacing - were they just an effect of being stuck in this body, like hunger or pain, or maybe just a side-effect of whatever "Frank" was. Did he feel like this before yesterday? It was hard to remember that kind of thing, but he had been confused... especially when it came to Sheena.

*sigh*

Sheena... something about her made his brain shut down. Suddenly he became irrational, distracted, nervous. Frank's strongest feelings were definitely about Sheena, even if Forte didn't understand what he'd been talking about. But where they really just Frank's? There was something there, something more than just respecting her as a fighter, but he didn't know what it was, exactly, let alone what to do about it.

[mizuhomaiden.livejournal.com]

At least Sheena looked composed and okay by the time she left Raine and headed into the Sun Room. The half-elf was back, according to the board, some of the others were back. Yukari was not. That was just... unfair. Though it looked like, from the board, the youkai wasn't the only one still lingering in the previous day's delusions. Whoever 'Geoffrey' was, was also still stuck in them. That didn't really make the ninja feel any better. And she still couldn't deal with Yukari. So, it was time to play Avoid the Youkai again, but this time actually put effort into it.

Sheena was looking for someone to talk to that she normally wouldn't (but not someone knew - she didn't want to make any new friends at the moment) but spotted Forte. He had been a semi-topic between Raine and herself. She couldn't quite shake off the robot's confession when he'd been Frank, especially now that she'd realized that's what it had been. She also couldn't quite shake off that without her youkai, there was something just a bit appealing in his interest. Like it was something she could take comfort in for a bit.

Ugh. That feeling had a name - rebound. Gods, that damn youkai had messed with her emotions more than she'd thought if she was considering Forte for rebound. He was a robot. Robots didn't have feelings like that, right? Get a grip, Mizuho.

Well, she supposed she should at least say hi and see if he was back to being Forte like everyone else except her youkai. So, with a sigh, she started across the room to the robot.

[whos-da-man.livejournal.com]

['Sup, Ryoji. Let's scope some hot babes out!]

Junpei supposed Homura was... okay. For an asshole. Whatever.

Checking the board yielded a message from Minato. So, they'd taken him and brainwashed him like that had Yukari. That totally sucked. But it looked like someone had Minato's Evoker and was willing to give it back. Awesome! Noe they had two Evokers. A part of him was a bit irritated that he didn't have his Evoker, but he probably shouldn't wish for his considering what has to be done to get it; he had his own vampirism issues to deal with. But with Minato having been in the Sun Room, this did leave Junpei in an odd position. There was a very real chance that Ryoji had run into Minato and saw his Persona.

Well, shit. Mitsuru wasn't there anymore to do the explaining and she did say they should tell Ryoji about the whole Dark Hour/Persona crap. Junpei might as well bite the bullet and do it himself. Ryoji might be willing to believe more of it if it was Junpei telling him and not one of the senpai. So, finding a centrally located couch, Junpei kept an eye out for Ryoji.

[nonametrump.livejournal.com]

Ryoji had been in a bit of a daze since yesterday; he knew that time had passed, but it seemed like he'd let the nurses shuffle him from one room to the next without a thought. He'd been feeling fine (as far as he could tell), but maybe he'd still been a bit under the weather... In any case, it seemed to have passed, and today... today was going to be a great day.

And what better way to start out the day (well, other than breakfast, which had been uneventful) than to hang out with Junpei? He spotted his friend sitting on a well-positioned couch and headed over.

"Hey, Junpei-kun!" he called out, waving at him. "Mornin'!"

[number1smiley.livejournal.com]

[strict closed to the younger Winchester]

It seemed Teresa's unacknowledged desire for Lelouch to do something she understood that she felt justified in getting violent over was not going to come to pass. His and Euphemia's morning meal passed uneventfully as far as she could tell. So it was that Teresa decided to stop watching them and go look at the bulletin board.

So Homura had posted for the History Club. It seemed he was having as much trouble as she was talking about their activities. She would just bypass the restrictions by speaking to the demigod herself later on. Turning back to lean against the wall, arms crossed, she did spot Homura, but he appeared to be resting. He certainly looked like he needed it. She would find him come lunch and let him be for now.

[boyking]

With Ruby here, Sam wasn't certain how he was supposed to feel. She was a resource, and she was the only one who had the same details he did about Dean and the deal, who knew exactly what'd happened without him having to tell her because she'd been there. In some ways that was...a relief, that he wouldn't have to worry about deflecting questions from her. Or at least, not as many questions. But at the same time, it made things more complicated with Dean around.

He shook it off. There were still other things to be concerned about aside from Ruby. God, he should start writing out a list at this point or filling in a calender or something. Tick things off as he went along.

The Sun Room was empty enough that when he stepped inside, it wasn't too difficult for the blonde woman from yesterday to catch his eye. That conversation had been weird to him as—well, as whatever he'd believed the previous day. Today, though? Today it was nothing but intriguing. It bothered him that he remembered telling her things he shouldn't have had he been in his right mind. He wasn't worried if she was a demon because if she was one, she'd already know his life history inside out, but if she was something else...

Never mind. The only thing left was to find out more about her and how the hell she knew about him from a look. She obviously wasn't human.

And she really did remind him a lot of Jess on top of all that. It was throwing him off.

Sam walked over to where she was resting by the wall. "We met yesterday," he said. "In the library. Do you mind if we talk?"

[arc-wrench.livejournal.com]

Well, that had been surprisingly productive. HK was used to spending the day doing nothing more than staving off boredom in the form of antagonizing meatbags or being antagonized himself, not that it was his favorite way to not be bored. Now they had a third member to the group, if SubZero failed to show up again. A Decepticon. Hopefully, this would not be amusingly disastrous.

HK was escorted to the Sun Room and found a place to sit, stiff and mostly unmoving, apart from angular motions of his head to inspect the meatbags currently in the room. If none of them bothered him of their own volition, he'd have to chose a likely candidate to pester.

[For Tony Stark!]

[i-dont-paint.livejournal.com]

The new censorship policy, Tony decided after a few minutes spent examining the bulletin board upon being herded into the sun room for the morning, was going to be remarkably annoying. The messages made it obvious enough that something had happened during the previous day, but what it was, he couldn't begin to guess. Even the theories regarding linkages to other of the recent disturbing occurrences weren't enough to puzzle it out.

The one note that both stood out and was intelligible was little more heartening; after nearly two weeks, he knew better than to think 'gone' meant 'escaped' in even the most optimistic situations. It shouldn't have bothered him, he only barely knew one of the men Peter mentioned, and hadn't even met the other, but 'shouldn't' and 'didn't' were becoming two very different things.

Lost in thought, he nodded abstracted acknowledgment to HK-47 as he took a seat nearby.

[hajike-tobiume.livejournal.com]

After taking a moment to tack a napkin up (http://community.livejournal.com/damned_bulletin/625552.html) to the board at random, Momo rubbed her temple and yawned. She was a bit tired and the couches looked inviting.

Choosing one off to the side, but in view of the board, the shinigami sat down and tucked her legs underneath her. Her burns were mostly healed and at least the nurses finally agreed that she didn't need her left arm in a sling. Resting her head on her arm, eyes half-closed, Momo let her mind drift. She had therapy later on according to her nurse. Would Dr. Disraeli have the art supplied he'd promised her?

[For Artemis]

[byname-bynature.livejournal.com]

Artemis wasn't feeling particularly relieved at suddenly being himself, but he felt better about it at least. Still, the thought of cleaning up 'Sean's' mess wasn't something he was looking forward to.

He was at the very least extremely relieved that Schuldig had posted a reply to his earlier frantic message. He'd been so happy to see it, his knees had nearly given out--not because his life had been on the line, but more that he couldn't take the thought of Schuldig saving his life, and Artemis taking Schuldig's in a moment of panic.

Answering a few posts, he left the board feeling considerably lighter--somehow. Still, there was the question of setting Brainiac 5 straight, and finding some way to heal Haku yet again.

He turned around and saw (thankfully) a friendly face. One he hadn't spoken to in a few days. Putting on a faint smile, Artemis approached Momo.

"Good afternoon, Hinamori-san," he said. "Do you mind if I join you? You seem to be a little tired."

[composers-proxy.livejournal.com]

While the thought of some new music was enticing, even if it was played on CD, the nurse had other ideas and led him right back to the room he'd started in yesterday. It was big and there was that bulletin, but not being able to run around as he liked felt stifling. Shibuya, as crowded and dirty as it was, it was still home. But instead of the low hum of people around him talking and advertisements blaring every which way, there was just the strange static that seemed to grow louder the more people he was around. It was like listening to the radio on a channel he couldn't quite tune-in to.

Besides that, he could actually see the Arts and Crafts room, but the nurses wouldn't let him go inside. It was like being stuck outside the last obstacle of the week and running into a barrier. Only here there was no Reaper to play games with or challenge so that he could get through. Just a sea of grey pajamas, not a red hoodie in sight. It was probably the first and last time he'd ever actually wanted to see one of them.

With nothing better to do, Neku stood in front of the bulletin, fiddling with his radio and trying to find a station that would actually play something interesting and not the top 50 for those over 50.

[Reserved for Sho and Sora]

[number-crunch.livejournal.com]

While meeting Giovanni had been no positive coefficient to Sho's mood, it hadn't managed to completely cancel out his gain from last night; he was just one more iteration closer to dealing with the problem that was Joshua.

Of course, a conspicuous mass of orange reminded the mathematician that a new factor had recently been added to his formula. The probability that it would remain inconsequential? Seemed low. He needed to know just how involved the brat was with the Producer and Composer.

"Neku! I see you made it past your Day 1," he said with a wide grin on his face as he approached. "Starting to see what you have to solve for in this equation?"

[offduty.livejournal.com]

Man, so much for meeting the the grand general yesterday.

Not that Reno was had looked forward to that meeting anymore than he looked forward to finding all they had was decaf in the morning, but still, it'd kinda been a done deal and he'd rather they come find him than have Sephiroth pop up over his shoulder outta nowhere. That would just be freaky.

Oh, well. At least everyone knew not to drive him nuts now.

His gaze settled on a familiar bush of spiky black hair over on the other side of the room.

Then again.

He blinked. What was this, a tenth anniversary reunion? Was everyone just popping back, dead or alive? And if so, what was with the lack of his people? This didn't seem fair. It was all...unbalanced. And stuff. 'Cause he could use Elena right now. He couldn't believe she'd disappeared both times, right under his nose, and he didn't even know how or why. It was just not right. Hell, he could use Tseng right now, too.

Rufus might be complicated. But he wasn't go there.

Reno found a couch and plunked down on it. Where was Rude when he needed someone to bitch at?

[Kagura? :3]

[kagurazuki.livejournal.com]

Maybe it was selfish, but Kagura was feeling a lot better after breakfast, while Ritsu was probably... well... he'd be alright, wouldn't he? Maybe she ought to tell the nurses about the secret technique for calming him down when he had one of his fits. They were a lot more likely to just try their needles and... well... that wouldn't end well either.

The nurse cut their conversation short and she hoped things would turn out alright. It might take a bit longer, but she could pick up Ritsu and Bridget and they could go out tonight together if they had to go out at all. At least, that was the plan. Those didn't always turn out the best either.

There were few familiar faces when she entered the room, though whether that was because there were more people vanishing and being replaced by new ones or just that some were taking longer with their breakfast, she wasn't really sure. She hoped it was the second one though. At least there was one familiar face that was easy to spot with that mess of bright red hair. Kind of like how Kyo or Yuki or the others were usually so easy to spot in a crowd.

She walked over and stood in front of the couch, trying not to fidget nervously as she approached. "Ah- Reno-san. I- U-um... if it's alright... Would you like some company?"

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

Breakfast had been pretty quiet. That was good, really. He had been worried last night when Hayes hadn't shown up. If things had gone all to hell before they even started, he would have blamed nothing but himself.

622 was quietly obedient (if eternally wary) as his nurse shooed him towards the Sun Room, finding a seat away from everyone else, trying to relax. It wasn't really easy since he was the only Stormtrooper here, but at least no one was bothering him.

[Come and bother him, Xiggy!]

[numberii.livejournal.com]

Of course, the respite from bother was about to end as soon as it had begun. After his game with Luxord, Xigbar was feeling quite playful and sly, and the only thing he was missing was someone to tease. That someone presented himself in the form of a rather well-built guy sitting in the peculiarly stiff way of someone trying to relax and finding it difficult to do so.

Which made him the perfect candidate. Xigbar promptly hopped onto the arm of the chair, perching easily as he grinned down at the other man. "Yo," he said with a wave, "you look awful stiff. Somethin' going on?"

[repeatingfate.livejournal.com]

[Hi there, Remy! Tell me about Paris!]

Rika smiled in Hanyuu's direction as she walked into the Sun Room. She didn't want to worry her right now, but at least seeing her helped a little.

Now...to worry about Greta. She had already silently decided that she would watch over the older girl as much as she could. Rika still wasn't entirely sure of the connection between the witch and the redhead, but anything where the witch was involved couldn't be good.

With that decided, she composed her features into a shy smile. She could use a little cheering up, and was hoping to make a new friend.

[tiny-chef.livejournal.com]

As the nurse escorted Remy into the sunroom, he thought about Meche. She seemed nice... nicer, actually, than most of the humans he had met when he was back in Paris. Everyone was being nice to him so far, and he didn't know how to feel. It was almost suspicious; he didn't think any of these people would do anything but try to kill him if they knew he was a rat.

"Here, Nicolas," the nurse said, careful to pronounce the name correctly -- Nee-co-lah -- and therefore sounding a little bit stilted. "Why don't you talk to Rachel?"

'Rachel' was a young girl, much smaller than this new body of his, but still much bigger than he would have been in his own skin. He gave her a look that was both friendly and awkward.

Hey, he was happy to sit anywhere that wasn't near one of those cats.

"So, Rachel," he said, once the nurse had puttered away, "how long have you been here?" And were you a doll or a monkey or something before that? From what Scarecrow had told him, it wasn't an unreasonable question, but it might lead to him having to answer things he didn't want to answer.

[brooklynisangry.livejournal.com]

Good, everything was okay with Loz. He'd felt so awful when he'd woken up and realized how bad he'd blown him off yesterday. Well, comparatively. By Beelzemon standards.

Only problem was, now there was nothing to do. Well, nothing that came to mind that wouldn't get him drugged, because priority number one was still finding a way out (as directly and stupidly as possible) and blasting this place to rubble. Until then? Not much. He wasn't really good at this whole sitting still and relaxing thing.

...Although the chair he was sitting in was pretty comfy.

[Free!]

[brooklynisangry.livejournal.com]

[Off to bother Ratchet over here! (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/771971.html?thread=63218819#t63218819)]

[see-my-back.livejournal.com]

After checking the bulletin, it looked like all bets were off on a certain boy being an Uchiha heir in her future. (Not that she was giving up or anything. This changed nothing! Hell yeah!) It was disappointing, but at least it gave her attention a new focus. They were bringing people from the past as well as the future. Time was getting seriously messed up.

She didn't know if it was a good thing Obito had been lost in a mission before the massacre or not. Even if he'd survived that, the massacre would've done him in soon after. A grim thought, but one she'd let Kakashi deal with. He'd insisted and she wasn't feeling much obliged to stop him. Especially after he'd used her forehead like a giant memo-pad. Classy. At least the redness was dying down.

It wasn't long before she found herself in front of the bulletin board again, perusing the posts and other happenings and getting a feel for just how much the nurses were planning to censor them.

[Shikamaru]

[toobothersome.livejournal.com]

The conversation with Momo left Shikamaru deep in thought, mostly about her problem, though a very, very small part of him was considering his own experiences to make sure they weren't coloring his perception of what she'd told him. So, when he took a place at the bulletin beside Sakura, he was silent, which wasn't out of the ordinary, though the effort of pensiveness without the effort of highly focused thought probably was. It only took a second to push everything involving Momo into the back of his mind once he saw the lingering slight pinkness of her forehead. It was almost gone, but an infantile part of himself couldn't help but be amused as he tried to hide his smirk.

A less infantile part of him, concerned with his own well-being, was most definitely not going to admit to being present for the event.

He hadn't read much of the bulletin yet that morning, which was unusual. He skimmed it quickly, making note of everything he read, some of which was perplexing and warranted further thought. When it came down to it, Shikamaru didn't know much about Kakashi beyond the fact that he was the leader of Team Seven, loyal to them and anyone else from Konoha, intelligent, and generally a good and trustworthy human being. So, the whole thing about the new kid wasn't really of interest to him. It looked like Kakashi insisted on dealing with it by himself, which was perfectly fine with Shikamaru. Less work for the rest of them.

"They're becoming less strict," he said, tapping a smiling sticker, "but I doubt it's laziness. They want us to keep talking. Cuts down on the likelihood that they can read our minds, unless it's a misdirection." Shikamaru wouldn't put it past them; the patients were clearly dealing with an intelligent foe.

Business finished (though Sakura had probably figured out all of that herself, and he was more confirming her probable conclusions than offering new ones), he leaned against the wall beside the bulletin to better look at her, folding his arms and this time allowing the smirk. "So I take it you're feeling better. You were a real pain in the ass that way, you know." He'd only played that game against her, discussed her situation with the others, and worried about their ability to keep her safe, but that had been enough. In his book, worry was one of the more troublesome emotions.

[tartaros-avatar.livejournal.com]

Ugh. At least the day was still overcast, but not enough. Recluse's only response to his nurse's irritating cheerfulness was a baleful glare, finding a chair in the most shadowed corner of the room to sit. He'd had a small chance to vent his frustrations (unfortunately, without killing anyone) with talking to Falis, but all the problems he had to deal with were still clamoring for his attention, none of which really seemed interesting or feasible enough to deal with at the moment.

One of those problems was Marcus. As odd as it might seem, if that man disappeared, Recluse would be incredibly annoyed. All his hard work would have been for nothing.

[Free as a bird! ...A grumpy bird overlord.]

[faithful-frost.livejournal.com]

(It can be stabby time naw?)

Haku's talk with 'Arlene' at breakfast had been... well, he was no longer one flinch away from tearing the limbs off of other people at least. He even managed to work up a polite response to some vapid question the nurse asked him. Once they made it into the Sun Room however, he was quite glad to get away from her.

Oh, hell. Spotting a familiar face, Haku bit down on a sigh and walked over to Lord Recluse. He stopped short three paces and kneeled down. He was careful to do so in such a way that wouldn't attract too much attention, but he was clearly facing the older man, and he bowed slightly.

"My apologies for my behavior yesterday," he said softly. He didn't offer an explaination, since if the man was worth anything, he would have figured it out by now.

[euphemise.livejournal.com]

That...Euphy had to laugh, just a little, as she bid Lelouch farewell and stepped into the Sun Room. All she could think was Yep. That's my big brother., at the turn the conversation had taken before it had ended. It wasn't a bad thing, she just really hoped it didn't get in the way of her making friends.

She plopped down onto a sofa in an entirely un-princesslike manner, sighing up at the ceiling for a moment. She wasn't as all right as she should have been, or so she thought. She needed to put on that brave face, the one that said she would be perfectly all right, around most people. On the inside, though, her nerves were still raw, still aching. Euphemia might have given into the urge to cry again...

...if not for the kitten that had suddenly jumped into her lap. She couldn't cry with a kitten purring away, after all. She smiled down at it, gently scratching behind its ears and stroking its soft fur. She had always heard that animals just knew these things, and in that moment, she believed it.

[please recruit her into the Living Dead Girls Club, Meche?]

[sheisthecause.livejournal.com]

All right, Meche told herself as the nurse dropped her off at the Sun Room door, on with the campaign of meeting new people. It sounded as though this room was pretty much the only game in town this shift other than therapy, so she already had a pretty big crowd to choose from when she arrived--although she had to wonder again where Manny and Senna were. Sleeping late? Meche caught herself getting apprehensive and stopped. It was probably nothing. Maybe she was just early.

She glanced around, looking for someone who didn't seem too busy for some company. It didn't take long. A young girl (with pink hair again, but even that was starting not to seem too unusual by now) was plunked down on one of the sofas nearby, playing with one of the kittens. The little darling was obviously really loving the attention; Meche could hear him purring from here. Another animal lover! Yep, she was sold.

"Looks like you've made a friend," she said as she came around the sofa, smiling at both the girl and the cat. Boy, what an adorable pair; you could put them on a Christmas card. "Oh, just look at him. He probably thinks he's in kitty heaven right now." Her voice ended in a coo as she bent down a little to get a closer look at him.

"Kitty heaven" was supposed to be just an expression, but Meche found herself wondering if a place like that really existed. Well, there were birds in the Eighth Underworld, right, so it seemed likely that there was room for animals in the Land of Eternal rest, too, if they could find a way to get there. Too bad that wasn't the kind of question her travel agent ever seemed to have any answers to.