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]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Huh? Oh, you mean the zombies, right?"

What a bizarre conversation this was turning into. Not that it had exactly started out normal.

"I thought that kind of thing only happened in the town or something."

Never mind that people died in the institute at night, or blood ran from the walls, or any of that. mostly, he wanted to see what Harvey knew. And if he played dumb, then hopefully Harvey would forget he ever spoke to "Gary Summers."

It was a little strange that Harvey was able to play it so sane, though. Generally, Two-Face was a lot freakier than this. Was that a difference between their worlds? Hey, maybe it was better to not ever know.

He had to make sure to warn Nightwing about this, thought. Batman, too, although maybe Bats already knew. Or maybe Bats wasn't here anymore at all.

Tim didn't want to think about that last possibility.

"Hell if I know if that's how it works," Harvey said, managing to make a shrug look annoyed as he glanced across the room at nothing in particular. The truth of the matter was that he'd just heard different from the man he'd spoken to last shift -- apparently the creatures had been here in the institute as well -- but he wasn't going to share that with Drake. It might be a pointless bit of information, but seeing how that's all they really had here, Harvey would rather keep it to himself.

"Still, in my experience zombies count as monsters, so you have seen some," he pointed out as he glanced back at the kid. Either he'd been bluffing or he was trying to draw Harvey out and get him to say more about what he'd been through.

Both of them were being careful while seeming casual, and Harvey wondered just how much he would be able to get out of the kid before the shift was over. He'd drained over half of his protein drink already, so it might not be too much longer.

"What, you run into a lot of zombies where you're from?" Tim asked. He knew he was pushing buttons. Of course he knew. But old habits died hard, and it was easier to deal with Harvey by being a pain in the ass than by being anything else.

He wondered why, of everyone else in the whole damn place, Harvey had to sit next to him. It put him on edge, that was for sure.

"Anyway, I've heard there were bigger, nastier monsters, but I haven't actually seen any. Maybe people are exaggerating? Panicking? I don't really know."

He believed that there were bigger things out there, though. He really did. But he liked to let people think he was in denial. There was no reason to let anyone know his ability level; the deal with Joshua and Mr. H was a little different. And obviously Bart knew. But Harvey? He wanted Harvey to decide he wasn't worth the time or effort, and get lost.

"Hardly," Harvey quickly shot back as his brow furrowed. It pained him on the burnt side to do that, but it was hard to kick the habit when he'd been moving his face in certain ways for all of his life. One would have thought he'd learn to be careful when every wrong move made him hurt, but maybe it was his own brand of masochism.

"Do you?" It was hard to imagine a Gotham that was overrun with the living dead, but he got the feeling that Drake was just being a smart ass. Jason hadn't mentioned that Robin was such a little prick, but it was a good thing Harvey didn't have to play nice during this conversation. His anger management wasn't what it used to be.

As for the kid's skepticism, Harvey couldn't really judge. He'd felt the exact same way until he'd run into a few of the things himself. Chances were Robin was due for a monster attack by now, and if not that, then he and Jason would have to play their part instead.

"I'd say don't believe it until you've seen it," he said with a shrug. "I'm sure your time will come soon enough." It was best to be ambiguous about his own experience with the things.

"What, zombies? I'd have never even believed in zombies if I hadn't seen them with my own eyes."

Tim was sure he was pushing Harvey's buttons. It was all over his normal half of a face. Sure, it wasn't the best idea in the world, but he was actually...kind of enjoying it.

He wasn't sure he liked the way Harvey said that thing about "your time will come." It was...almost ominous. But he was probably reading too much into it. What he wouldn't give to find Bruce and run this all by him, but, apparently Bruce was gone. Again.

Maybe he'd talk to someone else about it.

"Boy, I sure hope not," he said at last. "I don't think I want to believe in monsters."

Harvey doubted anyone wanted to believe in monsters (anyone who did was the sort of person who actually belonged in here), but he got the feeling that Tim was just trying to say the things he'd expect any kid his age to say provided they were normal. In other words, not him. Still, the mask was easy enough to see through when Harvey had a vague idea of what was hiding underneath it.

"Maybe you'll never have to," he muttered in response, though his tone was doubtful. If Drake scraped by his time in this place without even seeing a monster, then that was just another sign that the world was truly unfair. Harvey had already learned that a few times over, but these days he searched for justice wherever he could. Usually it had to be enforced by his own hand, however.

"Just how long have you been here and dodging the supposed monsters, anyway?" There was a good chance the kid would lie, but there was always that small chance that he would speak the truth. Either way, it would be interesting to hear his answer.

Day 46: Lunch

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject