damned_institute | Day 47: Sun Room [2nd shift]

The other version of himself having been here was turning out to be a mixed blessing. By investigating what he'd tried, Mello had a head start of sorts. But the people who'd known him had already come to their conclusions about him, and those carried over. With Homura, in particular, it would've been nice to have had the option of playing dumb.

"If you'd give me my fucking sunglasses back, I could go outside," he told the nurse as she escorted him from the cafeteria. She was annoyingly impervious to cursing, no matter how much he did it. The doctor had sounded downright cheery during the latest announcement, and Mello was feeling contrary.

"Oh, but the sun room is just as nice, Michael. Very relaxing."

"Yeah, my whole life would be fucking great if I could just relax," he muttered.

He didn't just want to avoid being made to run around or play nicely with the other children or whatever the hell they did out there in the damn sun, he also wanted to keep an eye on the bulletin board. After he posted his note, he sprawled into one of the chairs, where he'd catch anyone looking at it from the corner of his good eye.

[for Kagura!]

The last thing Artemis wanted to do at this moment was run around the Recreational Field. Or at least sit there while he avoided people playing games, running around, fighting...

He didn't even want to be in the Sun Room. The Sun Room meant more people--more noise--to deal with. While it hadn't bothered him very much in the first week of this torture, rounding two weeks was starting to grate on him and ultimately wear him down. He couldn't hear himself think, and his own mantra was sounding like pre-recorded audio that he played over and over again to assure him that he still existed.

Schuldig's experience was most likely the closest to what he was feeling. The closest experience that he knew of, at the very least. Artemis wanted to ask him for advice, wanted to know what Schuldig did that allowed him to keep hold of his sanity. But what right did he have to ask these things when he'd been the cause of the loss of Schuldig's ability?

His nurse refused to let him go back to his room, citing that if Artemis moped too much, he wouldn't be able to get out of whatever slump he was in. Also, he'd have to come out again anyway: he had therapy today.

Which was exactly what he wanted, of course. Combating Disraeli again without a telepath--without a friend--to aid him.

Artemis sat down in an armchair away from most of the other couch and chair set ups and near the door to the cafeteria. Perhaps this way, he would go unnoticed, and he could be miserable in peace.

[Free!]

Kurt had been really worried about Kitty, but now he was wondering if it would have been better to not let her see him like this at all. She was worried, he could tell. And she also probably knew that while Kurt was telling the truth, he hadn't told her everything. Like how he'd totally had his ass handed to him while he tried to explain he was different from her. Or how he didn't really get a very good look at whoever attacked him. Everything had happened so fast, he'd only got a glimpse of her. It hadn't helped that shining her flashlight in his eyes had totally ruined Kurt's nightvision and he'd been unable to see clearly for most of the ensuing fight.

He tried once more to get his nurse to take him back to his room or to someplace that wasn't as crowded, but she still wasn't hearing any of it. For one thing, Terry was still sleeping, apparently. Second, she didn't want him 'hiding' because of a few bruises and scrapes. So Kurt took the second best option: he asked her for a book and he curled up so he could hide his face behind it while he read. Even the protests of his nurse couldn't stand up against Kurt simply saying, 'This is how I read'.

Once she was gone, Kurt heaved a sigh and stared depressingly into the pages. At least he was safe from Terry, and he'd gotten Kitty informed and so forth, but he'd... sort of told Peter a white lie on the bulletin. Sure he was more or less both physically and emotionally fine, but part of him kept replaying the insults in his head. It had been a while since that had happened, after all...

[Free!]

Kairi entered the Sun Room lost in thoughts and worries, wondering if Sora was okay or not, wondering if Roxas was okay … Axel, Naminé …

She missed them all quite terribly, she realized. Why did it felt like she hadn’t spoken to them in years instead of only days? Just how long had she been asleep for? She’d have to ask Sora after she found him; and get all of the information out of him, of course. She had to know about everyone else … she just had to.

Other than everyone she knew from home, Kairi was also worried about everyone she had met in Landel’s as well. Especially Rukia, since they had been pretty close roommates … and she had helped her so often. She had never been able to pay her back for the night when that girl had attacked her, after all. Rukia had healed her and used up all of her energy …

Sighing, Kairi plopped down on a nearby chair, hoping the best.

When Bella entered the Sun Room, she was surprised to see it mostly empty. Not that she minded, really – the silence was calming, and it allowed her to think about what she would do come nightfall.

Unconsciously, her body moved towards the Bulletin Board, looking over the notes written by other patients. It at least gave her something to do for the time being.

Minutes later she was sitting down on one of the empty couches, thinking. She had to plan it out perfectly … perhaps run the second the lights went out, so she could at least make it upstairs and go from there. She’d even be willing to crash into a door to break it down if it came to that.

Once Bella had her mind set on something, there was rarely something that would get her to stop.

Talking with Chekov had been good. He'd learned more about the guy and hadn't had to carry the conversation himself. Plus he'd received extra strawberries for Mitsukuni; and anyone willing to give his cousin a present was a good guy in Mori's book. The taller teen made sure to swoop by Mitsukuni as he headed out to wherever he was going, depositing the two strawberry packages in his hands before his nurse shooed him away. They were still trying to break "William" of his bad habit of clinging to his family apparently. It was annoying, but not enough that Mori would fight the staff for it. He'd see Mitsukuni again soon enough.

Very soon, hopefully. It made Mori nervous not to have his cousin in his sights.

His nurse ushered him to the Sun Room and he went obediently, making a beeline for the kittens. If he couldn't play with Mitsukuni today, then he'd have cats. He liked cats. They were warm and--

Ow.

Mori glanced down and saw one industrious calico kitten already trying to claw its way up his pant leg. Leaning down, he picked it up and set it on his shoulder. A second tabby cat soon joined the first and then he went to find a couch to lie down on. The two kittens were busy trying to settle on the back of his neck and on his shoulders, so he figured it best to get somewhere that they wouldn't have far to fall if they made a mistake.

Taking his seat, Mori lifted both animals off his shoulders and put them in his lap. That lasted for all of two seconds before the calico was climbing up his shirt front while the tabby sat and cried. Sighing, Mori picked that one up and cradled it in his arms leaning back slightly so the calico could better rest on his chest. This was one way to pass the time until he could see Mitsukuni again - even if it resulted in little claw marks everywhere.

[For Anise!]

"You really should go outside sometime, Geoffrey. You're dreadfully pale. A little sun might do you some good."

But I might chip a nail, you ugly woman. "A-ah, maybe some other time. It's rather cold out there. I wouldn't want to fall ill."

"If you insist. Try to soak up some sun in here, okay?"

I'll soak you in something. "Yes, ma'am."

His nurse left him at the door and Grell shifted from foot to foot for a moment before heading into the Sun Room. His conversation with Luxord had been less than enthralling what with the Gambler suddenly pulling the distant routine. Had he forgotten their bargain? Or was it time for Grell to woo the heartless knight? Regardless of the reason, Grell was annoyed. He liked Luxord, but if the man betrayed him, he'd stab him right through that nonexistent heart of his and send him back to his grave.

But at least around Luxord, he'd been able to act a little more like himself. Now he was stuck playing goody-two-shoes until Sylar showed up in the Greenhouse. Easing himself into a chair at one of the tables scattered here and there, Grell leaned his chin in one hand and absently drummed his fingers against the tabletop. Nothing to do, no one to really bother.

Lord, it was like a slow day at the office. And he hated being stuck in the office.

[for Harley!]

Most of the female patients were going to the greenhouse this shift, according to the nurse, but she'd suggested that Nunnally could stay in the Sun Room instead if she wished. The option of staying with Lelouch apparently wasn't available, unfortunately, as it seemed that he had to go to "therapy" now, and she'd accepted the nurse's offer with a grateful smile. Using the crutches was difficult enough by itself, but she was already feeling exhausted after just the conversation with her brother and didn't really want to make her way to wherever the greenhouse was.

Nunnally paused to look over the bulletin board that Lelouch had mentioned, but the sheer amount of posts on it was somewhat daunting. She gave up after only reading a handful, then carefully made her way to an empty couch while trying to ignore the orderly shadowing her on the way. It wasn't that difficult to sit down and she managed on her own, but did allow him to take the crutches and set them to one side before she leaned back and closed her eyes.

There was so much to take in now; half of what her brother had said would ordinarily have been entirely possible, and then there was the fact that Lelouch had explained it to her. Perhaps if she could accept that -- and she had to, given that she had no doubts that he was really Lelouch, and really alive and breathing -- then she could accept other worlds and alternate realities and monsters roaming the hallways after dark. And then she had to attempt to sort out her feelings toward him now; she'd been conflicted enough before, and now to have him alive but without the memory of so many events, she...didn't know what to think. Or do, or say.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the feel of something soft bumping her leg, and she opened her eyes again to find a small kitten, dark grey with a rakish black spot over one eye, curiously examining her leg braces. As though sensing her eyes on him, he glanced up and meowed, twitching his raggedy black-tipped tail, and Nunnally couldn't help but smile. At least she'd have company, she thought, settling the kitten in her lap and stroking his soft fur as she closed her eyes once more.

[Euphy~]

Things were inherently wrong, more and more so every day, but that did not mean anything had changed from the first day she had been here. Renamon was not human and would not give in to this. Rika was still waiting for her, either here or back home. And for all the people that had vanished or succumbed to the horrors that resided here, Renamon could not simply let herself continue without finding out the secrets of this place. Nothing had changed from the day before either. She was not close to any of these things.

But the Digimon found that it didn't quite matter. She would persevere. She would continue. And she would succeed. Left to her own thoughts, Renamon stood near the bulletin board, glancing it over idly while she considered her options.

[free]

[Hey there, tall, blonde and spiky!]

In a way, Sheena did feel a bit better after having Ritsuka listen to the stuff that had been swimming about in her mind. Maybe just getting it out, in some form, to a real person and not just the blank pages of a book, was what she needed. As thrilling as playing with a bunch of potted plants would have been, only not really, Sheena chose to stay inside. It was probably for the best given how injured she was. Especially with her hand. Sometimes being ambidextrous was a pain since she normally didn't think about what hand she did things with. Besides, gardening sounded like a two-handed job anyways.

The ninja was on her way to the bulletin board, her movements a bit stiff, when one of the young cats, not quite a kitten but certainly not old enough to be an adult, started doing what cats loved to do - get underfoot. Stopping, Sheena slowly knelt down to pet the furball. Unfortunately for her, the small bell she wore one a string about her neck swung freely as she'd forgotten to hide it once more beneath her shirt.

A dangling, slightly jingling bell and one young cat was a combination made in cute heaven. Unless cute heaven happened to be around the neck of a fairly injured ninja. The cat batted at the bell and managed to snag a claw on the string. The cat the proceeded to struggle at freeing its paw and Sheena, with only one usable hand, really, tried to help and failed.

"Hey, hey! Hold still. I'll get you free if you just--" No luck. Catching a glance of someone nearby, she called out, "Think you can give me a hand before it really starts to freak out on me?"

If only he had thought to bring his journal with him to breakfast, then Hanatarou might have been able to do something useful for once, even if it was just passing on a map that he'd copied from the bulletin. It had to be difficult for Remy here...someone whose first thought was to cook something probably wasn't really the fighting type, and he could sympathize with that. If he'd run into someone protecting the Sun Room then Hanatarou wouldn't have been in very good shape either.

Spurred on by his determination that if he ran into any other new people he'd be better prepared, he worked up the courage to ask the nurse if he could get his journal from where he'd left it in his room. To his utter surprise she didn't seem either surprised or annoyed by the request -- she only smiled and told him she'd be back in a few minutes. A little stunned by his success, Hanatarou flopped into an empty chair and stared blankly at nothing as he waited for the nurse to return.

[time to talk shop?]

Solitude, even in the company of a nurse, let Senna's mind slide back into the fractures the past days had created. She didn't want to think about it, really didn't want to think about it, but it was there, residing in the silence. Senna had been Sarah. Not believed, but had known she was Sarah. And had known that Senna was just made up. Just someone created from the imagination. The girl shivered.

And that she had slept an entire day and two nights? Yeah, no. She liked sleep, but Senna couldn't believe that for a minute. She hadn't just slept. Something had happened. So what was up with this? They make her into someone else and then knock her out for a day? Where's the plan behind it? And from Momo's notes and what she could remember... Other people, too, weren't themselves. Were they all okay now? Soma seemed like Soma, but....

In the sun room, the girl kicked the end of a couch and cursed. "Damnit!" Didn't she have enough fun stuff to play around in her head? She had woken up to a memory, a great fun death one like all the ones she'd been having lately. She didn't need... a life she could remember better than her own as well. What was she supposed to do with something like that? Sighing in annoyance, Senna plopped down on a couch, fingers tapping a theme on her thighs.

[For Hitsugaya!]

Yukito greeted the prospect of going out to the soccer field with obvious enthusiasm, and made his nurse almost break into a jog in order to follow him toward the door. Actually getting outside was always welcome, especially when it didn't involve having to watch out for giant birds overhead. And if his roommate was anywhere, it would be out playing soccer, so maybe he'd be able to reassure himself that Ken was really still here somewhere.

Once in the Sun Room, though, he paused briefly to take a look at the bulletin. They hadn't looked at it at all the day before, and sometimes there was useful information. And indeed, someone was offering chocolates, which immediately caught his attention (he couldn't have imagined the faint sigh of distaste from Yue at that, but chose to ignore it anyway -- he had a sneaking suspicion that his other self's supposed hatred of food wasn't completely truthful). He rather happily scribbled a quick question in response to that post, then went back to reading over the others with renewed interest. How many other offers of treats had he missed?

[Sakura]

Haine convinced the nurse to let him go to the goddamn bathroom to scrub the fucking mustache off his face. And boy did it take some fucking scrubbing. Apparently ball point pen was harder to get off of bone-white skin than anyone might have thought. Finally satisfied at the lack of mustache, and brimming with a renewed hatred for all one-eyed redheads, he came back out into the hall. Unfortunately, the nurse was waiting for him.

Haine argued with the nurse briefly about the recreational field. He wasn't exactly a fan of the Sun Room, either, but the great outdoors were NOT his friends. He didn't want to be out there unless there was serious cloud cover, or the planet was facing away from the sun entirely. He didn't have nearly the right amount of clothing to be wandering outside. Jesus, didn't these people actually read files on the ones they kidnapped? The possibility that the files were all filled with garbage didn't cross his mind at the moment. Instead, he worked on keeping his distance from any and all females in the vicinity.

He found an unoccupied couch and plopped down on it, ready to be left well enough alone. Not that anyone ever respected that in this place, but a guy could dream, couldn't he?

[Unwanted: one so-called brother.]

Now with a full stomach and feeling the warming rays of the sun, Yukari found herself feeling sleepy. Then again, she had felt that way before breakfast and the Sun Room. Still, that didn't change things. She did lazily note that Sheena was having some sort of an issue with a cat, but before the youkai could ~~exasperate the problem~~ help with the problem, someone else rescued her. Oh, well.

Not seeing any other crises that needed averting, Yukari flopped down on a couch in the sun and promptly nodded off.

[Free]

Along the way, Riku picked up the same nurse that accompanied him when he first woke up. The woman's fingers latched around his bicep in a manner that frustrated him, and he wanted nothing more than to brush her off. But it seemed she wanted to drag him in an opposite direction. Outside, maybe, but he shook his head, still trying to be as placid as possible. The information from Shinji made that difficult, so he kept his mouth shut for the moment.

"Do come out, Adam. It'll be nice."

Her voice irritated him. "No," he said, quickly glancing around the room but not really focusing on anything. "I think I'll try my luck in here." His gaze stopped on the board with the various things attached to it. Interesting. It wasn't talking to anyone, which he desperately needed to do to find out more. Shinji, as much as Riku felt like he needed to make sure he wasn't killed, wasn't much of a help.

Fortunately, the woman decided to abandon him, and he was free to move to the board to read over everything carefully. All of it lacked a context, but he still read each piece of information he could see immediately carefully. It was a start, anyway.

[for Naminé!]

...Goddammit. Why was it every time he was in the middle of talking to someone, he either found himself waking up or was suddenly getting dragged away by his nurse? It was really freaking annoying. Always shoving him around and lecturing him and stuff. Who did they think they were, anyway?! This time, he hadn't even gotten to finish his conversation before he woke up! Argh!

With how long he'd been here, he should probably be getting used to this by now, but he just felt more confused and pissed off as the days went by. This place was so different from anything he'd ever had to deal with. It just kept getting weirder, too. And all the while he felt like he should be doing something to help, but he couldn't think of anything. He hated feeling so useless...

Kanji looked around the big bulletin board room as soon as his nurse shut her trap long enough for him to go in. Pretty much empty, wasn't it? He was kind of hoping Souji would be in here somewhere, but looked like he was outside with the others. Probably should have figured, him being into sports and all. Well, whatever. He was just going to have to deal with it for now.

He glanced at the bulletin board for the whole of four seconds before he decided he wasn't in the mood to stand around and read shit. Instead, he turned walked away from the board, looking around for a good empty spot away from everyone else. Maybe he could get a nap in or something before lunch.

[for Chise!]

It had taken some convincing and borderline tantrums, but Asuka's two nurses eventually gave up on the hope of sending her outside. She was having none of it and that was that. Playing in the dirt with plants was retarded. She wasn't some house wife that needed to learn how to tend her backyard garden.

So she argued that she was just too pale skinned to go wandering outside. Her nurses were still skeptical but they let her be, and Asuka triumphantly strutted through the sun room, looking for somewhere to lounge. Noticing a few patients periodically loitering around one of the walls covered in pieces of paper, the second child made her destination as well. As she grew closer, Asuka realized it was a board of messages all hand-written.

[Free~ No limit! Asuka's an attention hoar]

There were two interesting developments with regard to her quarry today: first a new arrival in whom Lelouch had been very interested, and then a comment from Okita in response to Homura's post which made her wonder what the captain had planned. Had he noticed something that he hadn't passed on yet, or was he going to change her assignment? Unfortunately Euphemia was already approaching the new arrival by the time Ayumu reached the Sun Room, but she moved over to take a seat where she could watch the pink-haired woman as well as the door.

It seemed that today was another therapy day, but she hadn't been selected for that at any point. Had this been a real medical facility she might have wondered at the lack of attention from doctors, but since she knew it wasn't, Ayumu was merely puzzled by how people were chosen to see them. Was there some criteria that decided it, or were assignments made at random?

Something to be considered, perhaps, though she doubted there was any concrete information to be found. She merely opened her journal in her lap, but instead of writing anything just sat and idly drew designs at the edge of the page, pretending her attention was on that rather than her surroundings.

[Dean]

That session with the boy was certainly informative, and Erika decided the next step would be to confirm this place's location. Of course, she couldn't do that simply by stepping outside and looking around (that would be far too easy), but if she could just get a look at the local plant life, perhaps get a glance at any natural flora, she would be able to pinpoint a location.

Naturally, her plans were a little hindered since the "recreational field" was only for the male patients, though Erika did make quite a case for herself, boasting that a detective such as herself should be allowed access to areas of interest and then muttering something about gender-discrimination when she was hastily whisked away from the entrance. The Sun Room was a compromise then, since she wanted to see this "Bulletin Board" that was mentioned.

The bulletin board was her original destination, yes, but upon entering, Erika found a very familiar figure somewhere near the couches, eyes widening for a moment before a grin spread across her face. Ah, of course! This Fragment was too interesting for it to be a mere holding box for pieces, as she constantly reassured herself!

"M-My Master!" However, when Erika got closer to the girl, there was something... wrong. For one, her Master had donned the same boring gray outfit everyone else was wearing instead of her elegant dress. Another thing wrong was in the physique; that girl whom she mistook for Bernkastel looked much younger, and was lacking in a certain "area".

Erika frowned, looking at this... piece she just mistook for her Master. What... what was she...?

[ HI RIKA. MEET YOUR TRIPLET. ]

He wasn't sure exactly what had been wrong with him, but Kio found the nurse slightly irritating. She seemed to fuss over him like a mother hen, something he'd never really appreciated. Still, he supposed, it was better than the cool detachment of the everyday world he'd lived in, so he allowed her to check him for rashes, fevers and even stuck his tongue out when she asked him too. "You look much better, you know. We were afraid we'd lose you." Kio quietly quirked an eyebrow. Had he been so delirious?

Well, whatever disease they'd conjured up for him now, he was grateful to be out of that stuffy room. He found he could walk well enough and when the nurse asked him where he wanted to go, he immediately asked for the Sun Room. He could keep an eye on the board from there and see if they were around. How stoically he'd been avoiding both. It hurt to think that they could run around this Institute while he waited delirious and alone. If he'd been sick at all.

Sitting down on one of the sofas, Kio looked around. New faces all the time, replacing those who were gone. He hoped they hadn't vanished.

[free]

Teresa found and empty place and sat down on the floor with her back leaning against the rigid wall. Crossing her arms, she closed her eyes to rest, allowing many things to pass through her thoughts.

First was the girl Lelouch had spent his morning meal with instead of her. That was fine with Teresa, but it made her curious as to the identity of the girl - the same one that was currently talking to Euphemia across the way. Clearly she was someone important for Lelouch to completely forget about his appointments which brought to mind family. No matter. She would ask Euphemia eventually.

Aside from her upcoming night with Morgan and the locked computer, the rest of her thoughts centered on Homura and his message that her means to a claymore was gone. That was... disappointing to hear, but she would adapt. The demigod was offering her another weapon, one already made, which was thoughtful considering the likelihood that it had originally been promised to another. Should the blade hold up to her strength, she would gladly take it. Her other option is to find the one within this place that held Ophelia's claymore. The other hybrid's black card posted on the board and the exchange that followed it confirmed that whoever that had been had Ophelia's sword in possession.

Or she could find her own. Assuming it had come with her, of course. Being dead made a few things a little unclear.

If there was an opportunity to not spend time entirely surrounded by boys, then Tsukasa was going to take it, and such he asked to be taken to the Sun Room instead once breakfast was over and he was allowed to choose what to do. He almost wished that he still believed he was a boy. It would have made him feel less uncomfortable in this body, in the showers, not quite able to fit into one group or another because of this place. Ugh, this was pathetic. No, he had to think differently. He liked who he was. He was An and he had friends and a girlfriend and people who cared.

He flopped down onto the couch that the nurse led him to, sprawling out comfortably. One of the cats soon approached him and Tsukasa smiled, wiggling his fingers to encourage it. It jumped up onto the couch, sniffing at his fingers with interest before snootily climbing onto his chest and curling up, a warm comfortable weight.

[Free]

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