damned_institute | Day 46: Lunch

The mere fact that she'd been susceptible to whatever hold the Institute had had on her yesterday was sufficient to leave Ayumu both upset and angry - no, not angry, downright furious, both at herself and whoever was responsible for that. But there was also the fact that because of it, she'd lost out on an entire day of work, and in several ways had ruined some of what she'd done already. That little conversation with Himura the day before, for instance, was something she'd sincerely prefer not to remember if she'd had any choice in the matter.

Unless the man was a complete moron, which, unfortunately, was one thing she couldn't believe of him, he had to have realized just who her brother was. After all the effort to keep that fact quiet (not exactly a secret, but certainly not advertised; half the Shinsengumi probably never even realized it because there was no reason to) she'd gone and chatted about it with him. Told him all about it, practically painted a bright target around a weakness that shouldn't have existed in the first place.

She'd spent the shift in the Sun Room pretending to sleep, while in truth forcing herself into calm. After years of practice she could shunt away the useless and distracting emotions, focusing only on what was important and needed to be at the forefront of her mind, and by the time the intercom signaled the lunch period she was feeling considerably calmer. The time to silently observe others had, as well, alerted her to something she probably should have noticed earlier: Mello was back. Would her previous objective be reinstated now? He seemed to have far less of a bulletin presence this time, so perhaps not. Still, though, it bore investigating.

None of her thoughts were visible, of course, as she moved through the line, examining the lunch selection somewhat dubiously. Now with the benefit of Yuuko's memories she might recognize the food, but she certainly didn't share the enthusiasm for it that her imaginary self apparently had. Ayumu skipped past that part and settled for the salad bar and some bread, then positioned herself in a place where she could watch both the door and the rest of the room, setting her journal open in front of herself as though planning to write something. There was far too much that she'd missed, too much work to do now.

[for Okita]

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As Kagura watched Allen eat, she was a little surprised; she hadn't met anyone with a big appetite like hers, except for Shiro, although he was a completely different story. If Allen was anything like her, she didn't think he'd be satisfied with just three slices of pizza, and when he got up for seconds, she was proven right.

"Oh, sure," she said watching him go. Now that she had eaten five slices, Kagura was by no means full, but she was in a better mood, having satisfied the groaning in her tummy. However, when she saw Allen come back, she paid special attention to the mark on his left eye. As a person with strong spiritual senses, Kagura could sense the evil taint emanating from his mark. If she hadn't had received training as an exorcist, she might have felt sick from the feeling, but Allen didn't seem to be bothered by it.

Whatever the mark was, it felt foul like a curse. She had run across a few of those in her line of business, and she was worried what effects it might have on Allen. Just to be on the safe side, she decided to ask him. "The food is pretty good. By the way, Walker-san, are you feeling alright?"

Allen finished half of another slice before he answered her. Not that it took long!

The girl was looking at his eye again. That would be three for three on people and their attention to his eye today. Was it really so strange? Even back home he didn't get this much attention for it. When he'd been with Cross, people didn't dare question him because he was Cross's apprentice. Now he was an Exorcist, so maybe that was why no one really bothered him about it now.

But here, it was something everyone seemed to notice. Oh well, he'd just have to deal with it.

"The food is good, yeah," he agreed, amicably. There was a slight pause before he answered, "Yes, I'm okay. It's just been kind of a strange day. I just woke up here yesterday, so it's all kind of new to me..."

Although Allen claimed he was alright, Kagura was still concerned about the curse mark. She wasn't familiar with the evil taint and had never encountered anything like it before. If she was back home (and not a fugitive), she might have been able to research Allen's condition, but she didn't think the institute would grant her the same resources. The only good news was that the curse didn't seem to be affecting him now, but she didn't know how long it would remain dormant. Before going back to her pizza, Kagura noted that his scar was old, so she wondered how long the taint had been with him.

"Did someone explain to you what's really going on here? Like about the nightshift?" Kagura asked, concerned that Allen might not be aware of the institute's dark side.

"Oh, well...a little. Javert told me some about the place after dark. When I went out last night, there was nothing too bad, but I guess we were just lucky. I'll listen to whatever you have to say, though!"

In truth, he still didn't know too much about the place. Hime and Teresa hadn't exactly been waxing poetic about the intricacies of the place. They were just leading him around. Hime seemed convinced he was going to get hurt, but he wasn't about to let himself get hurt when there were people relying on him. He knew he'd gotten stronger. This place wasn't going to change that.

This was the second time today that she had to explain things to a new arrival; Kagura was beginning to wonder just how many patients the institute had. From Allen's comments, Kagura inferred that he hadn't fully grasped their situation yet. Regretfully, she put her pizza down. Kagura had a feeling this was going to take some time, and while she liked her food hot, getting Allen up to date was more important.

"Where to start? You might have noticed the staff calling you by a different name. That's because this place is supposed to be a mental institute, but in truth, it's a prison. You probably don't remember arriving here. That's because they kidnapped us from our homes." Kagura paused her explanation, so Allen could digest the information. It also allowed her to sneak a few bites of pepperoni and sausage.

"During the day, they try to convince us that we're crazy, which is a lie, and at night, they unlock our doors only to pit us against dangerous creatures." Kagura hadn't encountered any evil spirits yet, but her spiritual senses could instinctively feel the danger permeating the halls.

"I was here last night, so I heard some about it," he said. Some of what she presented to him wasn't really new information. He still wasn't sure what kinds of "dangerous" things they were supposed to find at night.

"I can take care of myself at night, but, I want to help everyone. I want to make sure everyone can get home, not just me. You know?"

Day 46: Lunch

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