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damned_institute2009-12-20 03:02 am
tostepforward.livejournal.com) wrote in damned_institute2009-12-20 03:02 am
Entry tags:
- aerith,
- aidou,
- albedo,
- alkaid,
- allelujah,
- allen,
- ange,
- anise,
- ashton,
- asuka,
- ayumu,
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- brainiac 5,
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- dahlia,
- dean winchester,
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- hayes,
- hk-47,
- indiana jones,
- jason,
- kanji,
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- kenren,
- klavier,
- kratos,
- l,
- lelouch,
- lockdown,
- lord recluse,
- luke fon fabre,
- luxord,
- mccoy,
- meche,
- mele,
- mello,
- naminé,
- nigredo,
- peter parker,
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- scar (tlk),
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- shinji,
- sho,
- sora,
- sync,
- taura,
- teisel,
- tenzen,
- the flash,
- the scarecrow,
- tim drake,
- tk-622,
- tony stark,
- tsubaki,
- tsukasa,
- two-face,
- tyki,
- usopp,
- venom,
- von karma,
- yomi,
- yuffie,
- yuna,
- zack,
- zex
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]
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]
no subject
"As to the rest of it" -- his manner calmed, returned to gravitas -- "Touta Matsuda would never make a convincing L, nor would they have seriously chosen him to replace me.
"Even if the proxy L they have selected is ineffectual, it would not have been by the initial design of the NPA task force members. They would have chosen the person they thought the most capable; Matsuda can only be a figurehead intended to obscure the identity of that person over a matter of... days, at best. Weeks, if they are optimistic. Over five years, though, more than a few people would have noticed. No. I have a better suspect than that."
That Mello was seeking the return of his firearm implied answers to questions about him that L hadn't yet quite formulated, but which had been suggested by Matt's cautious references. "There have been discussions on the bulletin board about the creation of weapons. If you want to try to find your gun, try to find it... but it's possible that if they were able to acquire useful weapons from the patient possessions room, more people would have them. I haven't heard of any gunshot wounds since I came here."
Would I have? he wondered. His acquaintance was far from universal, and some rumors traveled faster than others. But it was more than that: even at night, when his fellow prisoners fought for their lives against the things that came out to menace them, he hadn't heard a single report echoing through the halls.
no subject
He, of course, thought that no matter how difficult it was for other people to get to where patients' possessions were kept, he would be able to manage it. But he decided not to share that opinion with L, and he was certainly keeping it to himself that his ultimate goal here was to take down Landel and anyone else who got in the way.
After he did that, he'd need to know who to target back home. Once more, he attempted calm. "Who would they have picked as L?"
no subject
He speared a few bits of strawberry with his fork, put them in his mouth, and chewed a bit before he continued to speak. "It depends on a few factors" -- he paused to swallow -- "such as whether or not they paid much attention to my express intentions in suggesting it. But my first guess would be Light Yagami. It would be the kind of choice that group would be likely to make, and because there is an almost inestimable chance that he is Kira -- "
L gave an expansive shrug. "It explains his lack of progress on the case."
no subject
The revelation about the younger Yagami was surprising only in that it fit so well, Mello was annoyed with himself for not having concluded it sooner. He'd known Soichiro Yagami had a son who'd joined the police force, and someone like that would've been perfectly placed to conduct the manipulation he was sure Kira was pulling off. "Why would you have suggested him? He would've only just started college then, right?"
no subject
L's mouth was half-full of fruit again. He was articulate as he could be, under the circumstance.
He swallowed, then sighed at Mello's question. "Do you think I would have suggested him seriously? He is the only good suspect. It was a test."
no subject
He took another bite of pizza, making a face when he found it was only lukewarm. "We both know first-hand how convincingly people can seem to be what they aren't. Those visitors could've been made to believe anything." Whatever the truth was about people's fates once they left, Mello was certain it was well-concealed. "If some version of me was really here before, I guarantee he would've brought hell down on this place by now if he could have."
no subject
He speared more fruit with his fork. The tenor of the conversation was getting on his nerves, if he was honest with himself, and there were a number of a questions about Mello, and his current state, which remained unanswered.
There was no need, at this point, to ask about the scar; its relative freshness suggested some kind of failure, possibly in the Kira case itself.
He couldn't decide whether or not he thought it made its bearer too identifiable to take up his position. L was not, himself, particularly anonymous-looking; there were some crowds he might blend into, but not many. His unusual appearance was irrelevant as long as his habit was to draw attention only when he made a conscious decision to do so and to spend the rest of the time well out of sight. Mello's scar, and his swagger, implied that his habits were different, perhaps even reckless.
This line of thought raised another question: what had happened in the five years that separated them? The few hints Mello had given him seemed shadowed and incomplete. Matt had mentioned Near as someone who had been at Landel's in the past, yet Mello had not mentioned him at all, presenting himself as the current investigator. None of what L knew about either of them indicated that Near would have been content to step back and allow Mello to claim the case for himself.
"What do you think Near would have done? He was also here. They might have developed a plan." L's tone was as innocent as it could be, with his mouth full of half-chewed fruit.
no subject
He also hadn't known that Near had been a prisoner here as well, and tore the crust off one of the pieces of pizza, frowning, as he considered this. Near certainly hadn't gone missing from back home; Hal would have told him, even if she'd been instructed to keep it quiet. So it was either in Mello's future, or irrelevant to him.
He scoffed at the idea of any variation of him being up for cooperating. "Near doesn't have what it takes to get out of here. I'd be shocked if he can tie his own shoelaces. He'd be a midnight snack for the first monster whose path he crossed. Trading information? Maybe. Outright planning together? It would never happen." It was salt in the wound that Near had gone, no matter what the conditions or circumstances had been, while Mello was here (again? it didn't matter: he was stuck and Near wasn't), and he tore a piece of the crust off with his teeth as forcefully as he usually crunched chocolate.
no subject
L had achieved it in two months, starting from scratch. Although it was true that he'd had the advantage of some cooperation with the Japanese police, they'd hindered him in other ways, and much of what he had learned was extraneous to his involvement with them. The FBI was useful, too, but they had assisted him only for a brief time. What had consumed all the months since then was a maddening series of attempts to prove what he knew to be true.
Even allowing for a number of circumstantial strictures -- that his own chosen successors were quite young, and that Yagami would almost certainly have suppressed as much evidence as he was able to -- L was disappointed that so little progress had been made in half a decade. Mello's comment about sharing information supported his suspicion that Near was also pursuing the case, and that they were not collaborating, or not collaborating much. There was no way of knowing how far Near might have gotten on his own. Probably not much further than Mello, if Kira was still a factor.
His flat gaze had been trained on Mello for a few seconds, but then he shook his head, as if to clear it. There is never any point, he thinks, in wasting much time wishing that circumstances could be different from what they are; it only prevents us from confronting them in an effective way.
"For the time being, Kira is... not irrelevant, but a secondary concern. The case may become more important again in the future. The current situation is more vital at the moment." He paused to load his fork with more fruit; there were now only a few pieces left. "Apart from resentment, which is natural, do you have any other specific thoughts on it?"
no subject
"I don't think it's random who they drag in, but there's no pattern I can see, yet, except that they take people who know each other. You, me, Matt, Near, someone called Mikami, who apparently knew me. That's not a chance sampling from back home. They've gone to a hell of a lot of trouble to get specific people." Including what amounted to time travel, and apparently being interested enough in Mello himself, among others, to kidnap them twice. But why? He tore another bit of crust off, but just tossed this one onto his plate.
"Who told you Near had been here? Did they actually see him?"
no subject
"My own should have been relatively difficult; I was taken from a place with strong security measures. To me, the supposed irrelevance of how secure the situation ought to have been implies relative ease on the other side of the equation." He paused to shrug. He preferred to work on as few assumptions as possible; a guess might be lucky, but supportable facts were always preferable. Hunches came later, and were mostly useful as directional cues. He would still have to double back if a weak hunch didn't pan out, and decide how much effort to commit to a strong one.
"Some of the people here know each other; some do not; without interviewing everyone who is here, has been here, and will be here in the future, there is no way to be absolutely certain about the assertion. What we can say is that some people who know each other have been here."
On the periphery, nurses seemed to be picking up their activity. He suspected that it was only a matter of time before one came to encourage him to move on to the music room, a prospect he wasn't looking forward to. He wanted to be able to hear Landel's announcement; if it interrupted the conversation, so be it.
"Matt mentioned that Near had been here. Do you think he would have taken it on faith?"
no subject
"No one should've been able to get to me, either." Mello had sidestepped the security to get into Lidner's place easily enough, but no one on earth should have been able to break in while he was there, not stealthily enough to catch him by surprise. He still didn't believe plucking people out of any time they cared to was easy; the idea made him feel too powerless, and he'd never accept that.
He rolled his eyes reflexively at the realization that it was almost time to get fucking herded along again, but he was done eating.
"No. Matt wouldn't have believed it without a reason. Do you know who this Mikami person is?"