damned_institute | DAY 23: BREAKFAST

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DAY 23: BREAKFAST

That hadn't felt like an entire night.

And his goddamn head hurt. Pounded, even. Enough that he wondered if he was going to end up playing another round of "Christen the nurse" this morning.

Maybe it was because he'd spent so much time and energy trying to find Nowe. That could be the reason behind both those problems. Just the thought of it made his stomach turn, made him want to fucking choke something.

Still, there was shit to do. He forced himself out of bed to put away his pens and the other leftovers from the adventures that didn't happen last night. He'd have to try to talk to Sora today, to see if they could just do tonight what they were going to do last night... and to see if the kid was doing alright.

...he just wished his head would stop hurting. That was probably the result of just how badly he'd overreached himself the previous morning.

The nurse that showed up to get him was cheerful. He grunted at her, listening to her with only half an ear until she mentioned all the excitement, about someone pretending to be a patient, all that crap that Landel had mentioned.

Renji gave her a narrow-eyed look. "Dr. Landel is a goddamn lying coward, and he's lying about that, too," he said. Whether it was true or not, there was only so much good cheer he could take on a shitty morning. "I hope he chokes on a cock." No matter how much venom he put in that statement, it wasn't enough.

Then he had to listen to a lecture about language and gratitude for the rest of the walk to the cafeteria, so maybe it wasn't worth it after all. She dragged him through the breakfast line, and he ended up with granola and toast and tea and a cinnamon roll, because not even a shitty fucking night could ruin his sweet tooth. Though that thing was looking a little too sweet.

The cafeteria was pretty much empty; he had his run of the place. He sat himself about as far from the doors as he could get, and proceeded to stare at his breakfast.

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Recluse had refused the crutches offered by the nurse. He didn't want to look like he was unable to function without support. The nurse eventually gave up (she thought he had hurt himself! What nonsense.), and Recluse allowed himself to be led to the cafeteria, ignoring her incessant chatter.

He hadn't remembered anything past searching the kitchen for a makeshift weapon when he suddenly found himself in his cell, the awful lighting giving him an instant headache.

He was limping, but nowhere near as much as he should have been- the bullet had been removed, and the wound healed during the time he was unconscious. It was far from perfect, but it was much too dramatic to be the product of anything less than metahuman powers or advanced technology. Maybe something akin to the tissue regenerators Arachnos had ~~stolen from the Rikti~~ developed.

The sharpening steel that he had stolen was still in his possession when he awoke. It was now hidden in his room, but the fact that he still had it at all made him worry. It wasn't possible that he had been treated and put in a fresh uniform without the makeshift weapon being discovered. He had allowed him to keep it, which was a fair sign that those in charge here were confident in their ability to keep him imprisoned.

Perhaps they were overconfident. This Dr. Landel sounded much too stressed in his last nighttime broadcast to really be confident in his abilities. He had been too defensive and let out far too much information to his prisoners. Recluse had heard that kind of tone many times before, sometimes from himself. It was the tone that many villains took when they felt their plans were seriously threatened. It was pathetic. Especially that maniacal laugh the doctor had broken into at the end. Recluse smirked. "What an amateur".

He hadn't eaten the dinner the nurse had brought last night- it had seemed like the most probable vector for a chemical suppressor to keep him weak and human. But if the staff wanted to administer any drugs, it would have been done while he was unconscious. There was no compelling reason to avoid the food, now. He took a large amount of nearly everything on the menu and sat at an unoccupied table, watching the other prisoners as he ate.

The boy that had shot him was there. Recluse really wanted to kill him now, but that would do nothing but attract unwanted attention. It would be so satisfying, though...

Haku woke with a frown. He'd failed, yet again. He hadn't managed to obtain either of his Master's desired items last night. He would simply have to try harder and not allow himself to become sidetracked again.

Upon reaching the cafeteria, he was slightly disappointed to see that neither the blond from the night nor his Master were present. He was slightly worried, but he covered it up with a warm smile at the nurse. His face didn't ache like it had before and Haku was curious as to how much the wounds on his face had healed since last night. The bandages were certainly lighter and he felt that he wouldn't even need hem by tomorrow.

Choosing light fare from the food lines, toast, and a small glass of juice, he walked over to a table that had a good view of the whole hall. He offered a warm smile to the man (who reminded him of Zabuza-san) sitting there.

"May I sit here?"

Recluse glanced at the new arrival, nodding his ascent. He didn't return the smile, but that wasn't peculiar behavior for him. If he had smiled, it would have most assuredly have been a lie.

The boy had an impressive amount of the left side of his face covered in bandages. "I suppose the nurses insisted that you hurt yourself. Is that a souvenir from night shift?"

Haku laughed softly and sat down in a way that allowed him to keep an eye (the only usuable one at the moment) on the people that had finally begun to trickle into the room.

"Not last night, but the one before that," he answered. His voice was soft and polite. He had no cause to be rude to this man. Not yet. "And I suppose that the staff here must think that I've done it to myself." He smiled again. "After all, it's not as though a monster could have done it."

((Apologies. A snow storm knocked out my satillite connection for the night >_o))

"Of course. They'd never let us roam the halls at night, anyway," Recluse replied sarcastically. "I'd love to find out how they would explain away something like my gunshot wound, too." He'd love to find out how they had rigged things so that he could actually be wounded at all by a gun. Normally, the bullet would have simply flattened as it hit his skin, unable to pierce it.

"I have only been here for one day. The monsters I saw last night had already been dealt with by others. What have you encountered?"

((Don't worry about it. ^^ I hope you're okay.))

"Perhaps you fell," Haku supplied, taking a small sip of juice. After not having eaten for nearly three days, he was hungry, but he knew better than to wolf down his food. There was no need to here after all. "Onto a bullet left carelessly lying around."

He glanced over the man. Information of the like that he was requesting was fine to give away. It wasn't a secret. He smiled warmly.

"Last night was my second night. During the first I found two creatures that resembled nurses," he said. "In the way that a venomous snake resembles a tiny lizard. They wore the uniform, were shaped vaguely like a nurse, but were also rather grotesque to behold." He took a bite of toast and considered the man.

"May I ask your name?"

((Our dog is highly confused by the snow up to her torso, but everyone's fine, thanks))

"Interesting. They gave you those injuries?" Mutants, undead or constructs of some other nature. By Rouge Isles standards, it sounded fairly normal, really. With such a description, they easily could have been from the Infected or Lost (What boring names mutants pick for their alliances), or more likely one of Dr. Vazhilok's undead organ harvesters. That man has such a Frankenstein complex.

"My name is Stefan Richter." It was. He just didn't use it any more. Not up until now, at least...

Haku never lost his smile. "They did. Two of them attacked and, while it shames me to say so, I reacted far too slowly to completely avoid getting hit." And it was odd that his Master hadn't said anything about it either. "They were decorated with a number of sharp items. IF one could defeat them..." He lifted a shoulder and laughed softly.

"But I am weak."

He bowed his head slightly when given a name. "It's an honor to meet you Stefan Richter. My name is Haku." Though he doubted the larger man cared all that much.

“You speak as if you normally would be able to avoid such an attack. Has this place limited your abilities?” It would be interesting to find how many other metahumans were among the prisoners here.

“The same.” It sounded like an alias, but that wasn’t a foreign concept to him. “Haku… Like this? (http://www.kanjisite.com/images/kanji/4kb/haku_shiro.gif)” He drew the outline of the kanji on the tabletop.

Haku laughed softly again. "I think everyone has found this place to be something of a drain, haven't you?"

Haku watched Stefan draw the kanji for his name and nodded, smiling brightly. "That's right," he said happily. It was a small, simple, and unimpressive name. Perfect for someone like himself. Zabuza-san had told him it reflected his personality as well: white and pure as clean snow.

"Very much so. Under normal circumstances, something like a bullet shouldn't have been capable of injuring me at all." He scowled slightly as he said this- he hated reminding himself of his present fragility. "What of your own abilities? What would 'normal' be for you?"

"There seem to be quite a lot of Japanese among the prisoners here." A disproportionate number of the people. This place was supposed to be in the US, wasn't it?

It was good to know what kinds of things this man would be able to do under normal circumstances. Haku frowned and thought about the question. "Hmm... I should be much faster," he admitted. "And my chakra is locked." He wasn't certain if this man knew about chakra, so he attempted to explain without giving too much away. "Chakra allows me to use my skills to their fullest." He took another sip of juice as he thought. "I should not have been hurt at all that night..." Ordinarily, Haku would have frozen the creatures where they stood, or moved much faster than they were able to and dispatched them that way. He smiled, shrugging again.

"Of course," he added. "As I said before, I am weak." Zabuza-san never said so, after all, he'd been able to defeat his Master in battle since he was very young, but still... he had failed.

"Japanese?" Haku tilted his head. "I'm not Japanese. I'm from Mizu no Kuni."

"Chakra is an energy source for metahuman abilities?" It wasn't a term he was familiar with. "Does it have any specific affinities- an element or something similar?"

"If you believe yourself to be inherently weak, then you limit yourself." Recluse wasn't in the habit of being reassuring or nice at all, really.

Well. That was strange. 'Water Country'? "Ah. I suppose we are from fairly different dimensions, then. In mine, your nationality would be considered 'Japanese'. Or more correctly, '日本人'." His accent sounded just slightly off to him. He hadn't used any Japanese in years, but Rikti had been a more important language to decipher in the past decade.

"Perhaps 'weak' is a poor choice in words," Haku amended. "I'm told that I'm...hmm... too kind." He smiled. "For my own good I suppose."

He frowned, thinking. "Chakra can have certain elemental properties," he said. "Wind, fire, water, earth. It all depends on what's being utilized at the time. I know some who prefer one or the other. Say lightning or water. Their attacks and skills reflect the type being used." He wasn't about to get into the whole Kekkei Genkai mess. That was his own sin to deal with.

He thought over the idea that he would be something other than a member of the Land of Water. "Japanese hm? Interesting. I'll have to find out more."

"Ah. I have ever had that said of me." Unlike Haku, the killing of his own father raised no response in him, apart from... satisfaction, maybe. It had furthered an objective. But there had been no additional complications surrounding what relationship he had held with the now long dead Rudy Richter.

"It sounds fairly close to the energy some such as myself are able to channel in my home dimension." The source was most likely quite different. But no need to get into that- it was a closely guarded secret by both himself and his opposite in Paragon City. Only a few elites were allowed to know.

"Are there any others from your homeworld here?" It never hurt to find out about the extent of a group or faction's power.

"Admittedly, only one person has ever said that to me," Haku laughed. HIs Master was the only one to think of him like that... as a kind, gentle, pure person.

Haku filed all the information on power in this man's home for later thought and smiled.

"There are," he admitted, "Though I do not know how many." He'd only seen his Master, Naruto-kun, and Sasuke-kun.

"A friend, mentor or something similar?" Most wouldn't place such importance in the word of one person without some sort of... emotional attachment.

"Are they all able to use chakra? I'm interested in how common it is overall." There was something else bothering him, as well.

"...How thoroughly have your powers been suppressed?"

Haku had to laugh at that. "Nothing so silly or unimportant as that," he said. He would never presume to address his Master in such a familiar way. "Though he is the one that taught me many of the skills I use now."

He nodded. "To the best of my knowledge, they all can. Though with various degrees of success."

He hesitated here. "I haven't had much chance to test it out," he said. "I haven't lost everything, but I'm wary to try without a good reason." He might lose them all together that way. He looked down at one of his hands. He wasn't able to tell for himself, but if he still felt cold to the touch (how many times had Zabuza-san complained of that?), then his bloodline abilities might still be there, if weaker.

((heading out into the wilderness to shovel snow- will be back soon!))

"My mistake, then." Whoever this person was, they had fostered quite a lot of dependancy in this boy.

"My own powers have been severely limited. I still have the skills that made them effective, but it is... aggrivating." He had always been a very effective fighter, and had made sure he had not let technique slip over the years, unlike Marcus. He seemed to now rely on three things: A right hook, picking up something heavy and smashing people over the head with it, and an overabundance of Deus Ex Machina which seemed to follow him around. Stefan was still a person you wouldn't want to fight, but he just didn't inspire the terror he normally did.

"Have you or any others undergone physical changes from their normal state?" That sounded rather bizarre, but he had to ask. He certainly had changed drastically.

Haku made certain to file this information in the back of his mind, where it could be recalled at his leisure later. He nodded, to show he understood. "I can understand that frustration." He knew his Master would be upset as well.

"Changes?" Haku thought about that. Changes to one's appearance were commonplace in his world, so it was perhaps not as normal here? "The only thing I can think of that might match what you're describing would be those of us that died prior to coming here." He smiled and gave a warm laugh. "That does count as a rather drastic physical change where I'm from: dead to live. But as for the body changing shape?" He shook his head. "No. And none of the people from my world have enough energy to do so consciously ... or so I understand."

Interesting. Returning from the dead wasn't all that rare- One of his lieutenants was technically dead. However, the heroes seemed to have the vast majority of the reanimations. That was part of what made his job so frustrating sometimes... "Do you know how long they were dead?"

As for the physical changes... Well, why not tell the boy. "I seem to be missing several limbs. No evidence of surgical removal, they are simply gone." Along with his skin color. And glowing eyes. And venom. And all his other powers...

...Recluse realized just how much he hated this place.

Haku shook his head and spread his hands. "The only time frame I've heard it two years." And it hurt to even think on that. Two years since his Master had fallen. Since he'd failed Him.

Several...limbs? That was interesting. Haku didn't find the fact that this man claimed to actually have had more limbs than he currently had, but that he'd had them taken away. "It's obvious why they would have taken them, but it is strange that there would be no marks... Perhaps they have far better medical skills than I previously thought...."

"In my world, two years is quite a long time after death for revival. Unless their spirit was bound by the manner of their death, it would most likely be impossible." And even if the soul had been bound to an object or idea, they would still be dead, with all the complications that came along with it. Ghost Widow was a prime example. But this sounded like a complete return...

"They have at least the same level of medical technology as my world. But from other factors, I would guess that they may in fact be superior in at least some capacities." The fact that the limbs had been removed so completely was worrying as well. There were hundreds of connective tissues and muscles that had spread throughout his torso to support the limbs, all near-invulnerable.

"In my world, death is a fairly stable thing..." There was always talk to certain techniques to raise the dead but Haku had never heard anything beyond rumors, so he didn't place much stock in such things. Maybe he should have paid more attention...

"I did some checking around and raided a medical room the night before last," he said. He wouldn't offer up information on what he'd taken, but the fact that he'd been there was easily found out if someone had taken the time to check. "I did not see anything capable of doing or even aiding in a procedure of that kind of complexity." He tilted his head. Obviously what they were seeing here on a nightly basis isn't an accurate assessment of this place's capabilities. He felt silly for not realizing it sooner.

"Differences between dimensions can be drastic." Arachnos had done quite a lot of research in this area. It had proven quite useful.

"Then it is most likely there for appearance's sake. Any incriminating aspects to this place are well hidden or currently sealed off in some manner." His guess would be in an underground area- it would minimize the chance of detection by outside observers, and could make it much more difficult for any intruders to escape. But that was how he'd set up the thing.

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