DAY 23: BREAKFAST

[norainu]

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.

Comments

[the-clown-king.livejournal.com]

"I need to apologize, Kyouya," Tamaki said, quickly. "I've... seen a lot here, and done a lot, and I think it's changed me. But in good ways." He ran a hand through his hair and offered his friend a smile. Which quickly turned to a frown.

"No one knows. But they do things to us, at night. They take people away." He shuddered some, thinking on it. "They did it to a friend of mine. Before I came here, but he told me about it. They changed him, he wasn't himself. It was only for he night, but..." And he looked up at Kyouya with strangely haunted eyes.

"Sometimes, at night, you can hear... screaming. From the examination rooms."

[coolegoist.livejournal.com]

Kyouya listened carefully to him, and grew increasingly disturbed to hear Tamaki — normally vibrant and carefree — speak in this way. What was almost worse was that Kyouya didn't know what to say.

If he had his notebook, he could give Tamaki a fairly detailed account of the blond's activities in the last week at Ouran, save for all those hours he spent accompanying Eclair. He could shoot down his delusions like that time Tamaki told Haruhi about how Nekozawa had 'cursed' him. Coolly, smoothly, easily.

Nothing in his old notebook mentioned abductions or experiments or screaming.

"Apology accepted," Kyouya said at last, awkwardly. His breakfast remained barely eaten before him, and he pushed the tray away. "Even though I don't understand how you could've been here for so long... How long have you been here?"

[the-clown-king.livejournal.com]

"I don't know." Tamaki shook his head. "A week, maybe? Time's...funny here." That was the only way he could explain it. "I don't understand it either, but that's how it is. I've been here for a while, though. And I know there are people who have been here months...."

Escaping wasn't easy. But they had to! And they had to rescue Edward's mother, as well. And the others....

"Kyouya... I know the twins don't believe a lot of the things I've said about this place, but it's very dangerous and we aren't fit to survive on our own here. I've made friends who will help me - help us...."

He hoped Kyouya wouldn't react the way the twins would. He didn't think so - Kyouya understood using the skills of others. But he needed to be sure.

[coolegoist.livejournal.com]

A week? The list of questions grew ever longer, but Kyouya controlled his annoyance at the unreality of the Institute. Answers required patience. Part of him understood the part about time being 'funny,' however. The events of last night had flashed by too quickly in retrospect, but at the time...

"What kind of friends?" Kyouya asked warily. It was an understatement to say that it was easy to take advantage of Tamaki, and just with a glance, he didn't trust the assortment of people in Landel's. Then again, he hadn't trusted Homura-san, but the man had helped protect them.

But Tamaki making friends didn't surprise Kyouya in the least, especially if he'd spent a week here already. Tamaki could be on a deserted island and he'd still find a way to make friends.

[the-clown-king.livejournal.com]

"There's Edward and Adel - they're from different worlds than us, but they're good people. They saved my life last night." Tamaki lowered his lashes some at admitting that. "And I'm not being dramatic, Kyouya. I really would have died last night, if not for them." He knew he would have. he would have just let some monster eat him.

"They're our age," he went on. "And there's Azel - he's the first person I met here, he was so very kind to me. And Elena - but that's complicated - and my roommate Ritsuka..." The list was a bit long, he realized. But they were all good people!

"Oh, and Fox. And Robin Hood. And Count Dracula, but he prefers to go by Alucard. And no matter what anyone says about...er... him and I, don't believe it!" tamaki flushed a brilliant scarlet at that, remembering some of the rumors floating about.

"And...er... don't believe everything you hear about me and Elena, either. Er...or me and Ed..." He just got redder and redder as he spoke.

[coolegoist.livejournal.com]

Kyouya mentally recorded the names as Tamaki listed them off, and felt his eyebrows go higher and higher when the roster got to Robin Hood and Dracula. That Tamaki was speaking earnestly meant nothing, since he was always earnest. What the hell were these people telling him?

Then came the blushing, and the protest of rumours...

Kyouya snorted and covered his mouth with one hand, and soon found himself struggling to suppress snickers. Only Tamaki could go from discussing his near-death experiences to romantic entanglements in less than sixty seconds. The tension of the last few hours unwound as Kyouya laughed, along with all the frustration and fear and helplessness.

This is probably a hysterical reaction, he thought.

[the-clown-king.livejournal.com]

"Kyou-kun!" Tamaki sputtered, flailing some. "It isn't funny!" How could Kyouya laugh at him over this?!? He folded his arms and huffed, turning away some. He'd expected some form of...well... something from his best friend!

"This isn't something to laugh about! It's a very serious situation and I have no idea what to do! Hosting is one thing but... well, all of this is just confusing! And everyone just keeps kissing me!"

[totallytheseme.livejournal.com]

"Ever thought that it might be because you keep kissing back, Milord?" Hikaru asked, tone surprisingly light for someone who had nearly wet himself while cowering behind two other boys AND his twin the night previous. Even if Kyouya knew about it, Tamaki didn't. And he didn't need to know.

For once, he was glad for the irregularities of Landel's, the way they all ended up back in their beds at the end of the night. It had been pretty damn convenient that they had all been whisked away just as the monster charged them. Scary, yeah. But no one had gotten hurt, and that was what mattered.

He tore off a piece of cinnamon roll and stuffed it in his mouth, wishing that they served coffee in this place. He would have even welcomed that instant Commoner stuff Haruhi liked to buy at this point.

"It's weird to see you without your notebook, Senpai," the Host pointed out around a mouthful of 'delightful sugary goodness,' or whatever Landel had called it.

[forgot-it-all.livejournal.com]

Ritsuka timidly approached from his corner of the room, attempting to gauge whether or not it was alright for him to intrude. Somehow or another he'd lost some of his nerve in the walk across the cafeteria. He seemed so small next to these people... No! Cowboy up, wasn't that the term? Tightening his grip on his tray, he took a bolder step forward and closer to the group.

"Um..." Oh yeah, that was a great start. He knew Tamaki, but the other two were unfamiliar. By description only he could tell that the redhead was probably Hikaru, but it might be Kaoru... He could never tell with twins. The dark haired teenager was completely unknown to him and he gave all of them a well-mannered bow, before asking, "Mind if I join all of you?"

[beloved-lives.livejournal.com]

Seimei usually stayed in his room through breakfast, either taking the time to get a shower or just sitting quietly. Sometimes a nurse brought him something. But today was different. He knew that Ritsuka would not be happy if he simply left him alone, so he followed his nurse to the cafeteria.

Once there, he was just making his way over to where his brother was sitting by himself, looking a trifle anxious, when the boy got up and went over to some other people.

He followed, of course, coming up beside Ritsuka and putting a hand on the other's back. "Good morning."

[coolegoist.livejournal.com]

"Is that so? It could cause a lot of trouble for me if your reputation got back to Ouran," sighed Kyouya, pushing the events of the previous night out of his mind for now. Triviality he could deal with. He nodded at Hikaru in acknowledgement, about to mention the cheap notebook he'd found in his desk when more people arrived.

Kyouya returned the newcomers' greetings with his usual pleasant smile, in a markedly better mood now thanks to Tamaki. "Good morning. Please sit down, there's plenty of space."

It was a testament to his composure that Seimei's cat ears and tail provoked no visible reaction. He wondered if either boy was one of Tamaki's strange new acquaintances.

[the-clown-king.livejournal.com]

"I do not always kiss back!" Tamaki said, and then realized exactly what he'd said. He had kissed back, last night. But that was just once! That was all! Why did Hikaru have to be....

Because that was how Hikaru was. Tamaki took a deep breath and then let it slide. When Ritsuka showed up, he beamed brightly and waved to the other boy. He was glad he had recovered from the night before. He felt sick knowing the other boy had suffered the same thing that he did.

"Ritsuka-kun!" he exclaimed. "Oh, and Seimei-san!" He gave a small bow to Ritsuka's older brother. "Good morning! Ah... these are my friends, Hikaru and Kyouya! Hikaru, Kyouya, this is Ritsuka and Seimei. Ritsuka-kun's my roommate!"

[totallytheseme.livejournal.com]

Hikaru had been about to respond to Tamaki's insistence that he never kissed back with evidence to the contrary when a small boy sat down with them, closely followed by the "nekomimi" kid. He sat up straighter and peered at them.

The King's introduction only confirmed his suspicions.

"You shouldn't make assumptions, Milord," he said airily, waving his hand. Then his voice switched, imitating his brother's perfectly, and he grinned. "For all you know, I could be Kaoru. Haruhi's the only one who's ever REALLY won the 'Which is Hikaru-Kun? Game!,' remember? That stunt you pulled two years ago doesn't count."

Laughing, Hikaru went back to his normal voice and gave the kid as kind a look as he could muster, which was saying a lot.

"But, yeah, I am Hikaru. We talked on the bulletin board a little, remember?"

[forgot-it-all.livejournal.com]

"Morning, Suou-san. Glad to see you're alright after last night." Ritsuka smiled faintly and set his tray down, still a little nervous. Suddenly, he felt a familiar hand on his back and his entire face lit up. He turned quickly and attached himself to his brother's waist. "Seimei! I was worried about what happened to you. I woke up in my own bed this morning - it was really weird."

Returning his attention the group, he bowed again and properly introduced himself. The talk about one being the other was a little confusing, but he brushed it off. "Aoyagi Ritsuka, as Suou-san said, I'm his roommate. Nice to meet you, Kyouya-san. And nice to finally meet you face to face, Hikaru-san. I remember our talks - thanks for helping me out back there."

It was weird using honorifics, but he figured if Tamaki was a lord, then these people might be as well. Offending them would not bode well for further relations, and despite how troublesome it was to maintain this cheerfulness, he'd done it in school before and he could do it here, too. He set his notebook down next to his tray and realized he hadn't thought of what to do after coming over here. Taking Seimei's hand, he motioned toward the food. "Aren't you going to eat anything?"

[beloved-lives.livejournal.com]

"Hello." Seimei kept a polite distance, but smiled slightly for the assembled group. He returned the hug that Ritsuka gave him, sitting down beside the other soon after.

"No." He folded his hands on the tabletop; he never ate in front of others if he could manage it. His body had become accustomed to getting very little in the way of nutrition. "I'm fine." He might, might, muster up the urge to have some tea later, but for now he basked in his brother's attention.

[coolegoist.livejournal.com]

"Aoyagi-kun. It's good to make your acquaintance." Was this little boy one of the people Tamaki claimed would help them? Doubtful, but it wouldn't do to jump to conclusions.

Ritsuka, Seimei. Kyouya noted a similiarity between the two as he resumed eating breakfast, silently taking in his surroundings while the other boys all talked to each other. There was a certain ease in Tamaki and Hikaru that spoke of long experience with this place—longer than Kyouya's, at any rate. So they weren't lying to him about that.