Day 47: Sun Room [2nd shift]

[notthistrain.livejournal.com]

Cloud knew he should be taking the opportunity to check out the rec field during the day. The fresh air would be a welcome change from the crowded stuffiness the Institute usually provided, and he would have a chance to scope out the area when it wasn't all under the cover of darkness. When offered a choice, however, he remained in the sun room. He told himself it was so that he could watch the bulletin, him still being fairly new and needing all the information he could get, but the thought rang hollow.

The real reason he was here, he knew, was because he would be out there. Maybe it was weak of him, but he needed a chance to breathe. Ever since he'd arrived it had been nothing but one shock after another, and seeing Zack standing in the cafeteria that morning talking to Aerith had been the final card that caused his tower to crumble. He needed to just sit back somewhere out of the way and start rebuilding.

Being able to watch the bulletin from here was just a perk. Cloud made himself comfortable on one of the sofas, watching people come and go but not really paying attention to them. He took the time to try and rate this on a scale of the biggest messes he'd ever gotten thrown into.

(for Sheena)

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[usoppsenchou.livejournal.com]

And now she was looking at the board and laughing. Usopp stood off to the side awkwardly, staring at her again, waiting for her to finish and start talking again. Well, some of the conversations were a little funny. At least she calmed down fast, and he smiled over at her slightly, unsure. Everyone he met today seemed to remind him of someone--well, two people, but that was still a large number considering how many women he had in his life.

Nami. Definitely Nami. It wasn't just the red hair, either.

"I guess so, even if they do seem kind of strange. And I think some people just post stuff to be weird or get other people riled up, but I haven't been reading it long." Actually, to Usopp, it looked as if there might be a few grudges being quietly ground out on the board, between the patients as well as with the institute, waiting for a more violent resolution off the boards. "It's hard to filter through what's useful and what's not, though someone told me the 'clubs' are mostly teams that work together posting more subtly." He glanced over at the editing nurses, but they had enough to focus on with filtering patients' words on the board.

"She said, if you wanna travel with someone at night and don't have a partner, working with a club is a good way to stay safe. Everyone's said not to go anywhere alone, because you don't know what might happen. So either you should pick a buddy in the day, or pick someone up here talking about 'clubs' and 'dreams' and all that silly stuff. What the club names mean still hasn't been explained to me, some make sense and some are too weird." That all but emptied his knowledge, assuming someone who'd been here nearly the same amount of time he had would know about monsters and the whole 'alternate worlds/times/whatevers' business. Usopp couldn't think of any reason not to tell, even if the idea of her running around at night was a little disturbing.

He couldn't decide if it were disturbing because of the danger to a younger woman, or disturbing because of Asuka. Maybe both.