Day 50: Cafeteria (Brunch)

[selfrescuer.livejournal.com]

Somehow, after their talk in the chapel, Elaine felt simultaneously more accepting of and more irritated by her future husband. On the one hand, seven years had clearly been good to him. He seemed more sincere and thoughtful than he had been before his disappearance, and he had a more mature (dare she say, handsome?) look to him. On the other hand, there were clearly some things that made even time throw up its hands in vain and say, "To hell with this!" Guybrush was still inexorably prone to disastrous accidents if the story about the Pox of LeChuck was anything to go by, and he was so obviously keeping something important from her that any passing dolt in the Institute would have been able to tell. In the end, that eternal underlying sweetness of his that won out, keeping her from punching him again, at least. That was only by a hairs width, though. Her snugglecakes was going to have to stay on his best behaviour if he knew what was good for him.

She left the Mighty Pirate™ alone for the time being when the announcement of the next shift went off. He would want some time to catch up with Morgan next, presumably. As much as the woman's attitude bothered her, she was a friend of Guybrush's, as she had claimed. Elaine could be strict, but she wasn't the kind of shrewish future wife/past fiancé who would keep her man from seeing his friends. Besides, she needed some more time to catch up on the goings-on of the Institute. Patients filled the building to the brim, now, it seemed; there would be a lot to investigate.

After a few quick trips back and forth to the bulletin and a few new leads to follow up on, the governor gave in to her nurse's persistent nagging and headed to the cafeteria for brunch. After the relatively light fare of the day before, Elaine took advantage of the Institute's admittedly scrumptious offerings and loaded up a full, balanced brunchfast of eggs, sausage links, waffles, and vegetable soup. As expected, the selection of drinks did not offer either root beer or grog. Grog she could live without, at least, she thought while making a face. Eugh. For now, she settled for a tall glass of water.

Elaine settled into a seat in the cafeteria and tucked into her meal. Her eyes didn't stay on her food, though, instead gazing around restlessly; she hadn't seen LeChuck so far this morning, and god forbid he wanted to invite himself to brunch with her if he chose now to show up. A certain horribly unpleasant dinner on Mêlée Island came to mind. She was prepared to either move at the first sign of the dread pirate or signal a random stranger to sit with her before he could.

[For Dean]

Comments

[otnemememento.livejournal.com]

Leonard picked a table that was empty, setting his tray down before using both hands to rub his eyes. He shook his head- Tired. Why am I so tired? It was impossible to know what he'd done the previous night, if he'd gotten any sleep at all or if he'd stayed awake, his mind too busy to give him a moment's rest. All he knew was what he had now: he felt as though he'd either slept too long or not at all, his body aching at various points, his head swimming. What was I doing last night?

He removed from his journal from his pocket, flipping to the first page, looking for information on his activities. He paused, taken aback by what he saw: a photograph of a monster, a charred picture, his own writing speaking of a murder from within the walls of the institution. He read the notes again- if it hadn't been his distinctive lettering describing these events, he'd have thought they were the disorganized notes of a lunatic. Then again, he'd been institutionalized for God only knew how long. Maybe he really had gone insane.

I'm not crazy, Leonard told himself, sitting down and running a hand through his hair. Whatever this place is... it's not me. I have to be able to trust myself, trust my own writing and these pictures. This is fact somehow. Proof. Memories lie, but these pictures and what I've written to myself- they're all I have.

Leonard pushed the tray aside as he started going through the rest of his journal, grabbing his pen in case he needed to summarize areas. He could never know how many times he'd read that sheet at the front of the book, how many times he'd thought along the same track, briefly considering his sanity; however, it was clear he needed to condense the pages and pages of notes even more in order to get the information he needed faster.

[Harvey Dent]

[dualistic]

All in all, the chapel had been even less interesting than he'd expected. He had heard whispers of the time when the Head Doctor himself had showed up there, but it had been foolish of him to hope for a repeat performance, especially after what the man had pulled last night. Chances were that the patients were frothing at the mouth even more than usual when it came to sinking their teeth into Landel considering what he'd just put them through.

He would have been first in line with that effort if he wasn't still reeling from the place he'd ended up with Jones and that kid last night. He wasn't sure if the archaeologist had a better explanation for it than he did, but the time issue was a serious one. He'd practically felt like he'd been walking onto some kind of movie set when he'd gotten a better look at that college, but that still didn't explain the way they'd been ignored, unless everyone there was just another part of Landel's scheme. Still, they'd been people Jones had known, so did that mean more brainwashing?

In the end, he was just running himself in circles, and so Harvey tried to drop it as he walked into the cafeteria with a scowl on the exposed half of his face. He grabbed his protein shake from the food counter as always and then looked for a place to sit.

While the man he'd met in the chapel had been on the more tolerable end of things despite the way he'd put him in on the defensive, Harvey wasn't looking to spend his day meeting and greeting. He searched out a familiar face and ended up spotting Leonard, the short-term memory loss guy from the other day. Honestly, Harvey was curious to see just how bad the man's condition was, and... maybe he felt a certain affinity with him, even if he didn't want to focus on that more than he had to.

"Hey," he said as he took a seat across from the other man. Now wasn't the time for joking, and yet he couldn't help himself. "Remember me?" It was clear from his tone that he didn't expect Leonard to say yes.

[thatdamnedninja.livejournal.com]

'And there was nobody there except for us and a Tonberry (we fried it goooood) and we nearly crashed the airship ('nearly', whew) but we landed in front of Kalm (Cloud comes in handy sometimes, i guess) AND IT WAS TOTALLY EMPTY,' wrote Yuffie, her Wutaian calligraphy quick, casual, and just a little messy. 'Reeve would have a heart-attack if i ever submitted these notes hahaaaa, I even checked for Marls.'

Yuffie paused, tapping her pen in a jaunty non-rhythm against the lined paper. Weird to think that they'd gotten home last night. Weird to think that Reeve was in Landel's. Weird to think about any of it.

At least spendin' the morning chatting with Kaito and Yukari'd perked her up mood-wise, Yuffie admitted in the privacy of her own mind. It'd given her a chance to process without thinking, and to blow off steam without stabbing anything (or anybody) in the face. The rest of her, on the other hand… that was a little trickier. The night had left her feeling wrung out and hung up to dry—except she'd been soaked. Totally not dry at all. And she didn't think the nurse had been lyin' her ass off about that temperature, either.

Ah, well. No time to dwell. Today was lookin' to be a busy one; she'd have to be on the look out for Reeve, had to decide what she was gonna do about Brainy and Mori, had to start (and finish!) reworking her report for Lelouch (including bulletin research, yay), had to raid Sen's old half of the room and potentially play delivery-girl for Okita, had to double back 'round to F6 to heal up Tifa, and then she was thinking about trying for her file and Hanna's possessions again, since last night had been a total bust in that department. Whew.

She was probably forgetting some stuff, too. Good thing she liked leading a busy life, or this'd all the building up to one hell of a suckgasm.

With a flash of a half-smile, Yuffie ducked her head down and resumed writing. A plate piled high with fruit and waffles lay abandoned off to her left side

[For Kenshin.]

[degozaruyo.livejournal.com]

Kenshin was rather glad to get out of the chapel. The room had a gloomy air already, and the conversation with Homura hadn’t helped the mood any. Sen was dead and Okita was an ever-shortening fuse and despite Homura’s insistence that he would ‘take care’ of the situation the rurouni did not find himself reassured. Okita would attack the boy again. It wasn’t a matter of if, but when.

And yet, nothing could be done about it during the daytime. Kenshin felt like a horse chomping at the bit, chafing against his inability to do anything. He had saved the boy last night, but how many more times would he be lucky enough to just hear the fight beginning and arrive in times? How many more coincidences would there be before Okita managed to break free of Homura’s control and luck would turn in his favor?

The rurouni meekly followed his nurse to the cafeteria, too lost in his thoughts to even notice his surroundings. He was growing stagnant, he could feel it. Ten years of peace had not dulled his blade, no matter what Saitou said, but a month in this place was surely enough to make a man rot.

The cafeteria was slowly filling by the time they got there, so maybe it wasn’t any surprise that he couldn’t see Kaoru. It was early yet. If he didn’t see her by the next shift, then he would allow himself to ask after her. Not yet. He wouldn’t worry yet.

Kenshin picked a seat in full view of the door so that she could see him when she came in…and also near a certain young ninja. “May this one join you?” he asked cheerfully, trying to banish the darkness from his thoughts. “If it won’t disturb your writing, that is. Letters to your lover, perhaps?”

[adorkabledragon.livejournal.com]

“Calvin, dear, you have to eat something--don’t give me that look, young man.”

Keman wanted to tell the obnoxious woman that she wasn’t his mother and had no right to talk to him this way, but the words seemed to get lost on the way to his mouth. He was still too tired and woozy from the sedatives to fully articulate what he was thinking. The food on his tray went untouched; it didn’t look particularly appetizing at the moment anyway. Maybe he’d be hungry later, when the drugs wore off, but for right now he didn’t trust anything that they put in front of him. He felt cold and sick and very much alone, even after talking to Howl the shift before. How could he even begin to tell anyone about what they had done to him? No one would believe him, anyway. Dr. Jones thought he was completely mad for saying he was a dragon, so how would “they took me away at night and turned me into my natural form against my will” sound?

Most of the friends Keman had here right now had no idea what he really was. Seeing what he really looked like would probably frighten them, or worse. He’d attacked two people last night simply because they’d startled him. His so-called friends wouldn’t react any differently; they’d see a creature they didn’t recognize and try to defend themselves. They’d see a monster.

[L and Indiana Jones!]

[its-the-mileage.livejournal.com]

It wasn't much, but Indy felt good about what he'd learned from Logan (was that the guy's first or last name? He wasn't sure). Thinking about an expedition--if that was the word for a trip to the basement--was also vastly preferable to thinking about the upcoming visitor shifts. Indy heaped his plate with sausage, potatoes and eggs and continued not to think about said shifts as he looked around for a seat.

It only took him a second to pick out Keman. He was by himself, not eating, looking exhausted and maybe like his dog had just died. Indy swerved and headed that way. The chances that he could actually help might be slim, but he felt bad seeing a good kid like that looking so down.

"Morning," he said as he got within earshot, giving Keman a glance to determine whether the self-professed dragon could stand company right now before he sat down. "Are you all right?" The answer to that looked like it was pretty clearly "no," but Indy wasn't sure how else to approach the conversation. He hoped Keman would understand the good faith in which he was asking.

[idolism]

_{[free, like an overly dramatic bird~]}

Aidou was not some pathetic creature to hold his head low for very long, and by the time brunch rolled around, he filed into the cafeteria, noncommittal.

He couldn’t be held back. He was a vampire. These, too, were truths, very simple ones that didn’t usually need remarking upon. He reflected on them as he took a helping of everything from the cafeteria line. Yes, he was still an aristocrat no matter what was done to him. He wasn’t completely powerless: he retained his quick mind, and a portion of his physical prowess. Youthfulness perhaps wasn’t his greatest asset, he thought, in comparison to the greater strength and experience of older vampires. But his time in Cross Academy--that had served him. He felt he did have some experience navigating the waters of non-vampires, and that navigation had become more important than he’d believed, when he’d first arrived at the hospital.

What was standing in his way was not totally himself, but Landel’s seemingly impenetrable wall of intrigue and circular trials.

And then, sitting in the chapel, he had thought of Kaname-sama, and even the most confounding of the Head Doctor’s hardships seemed full of chinks. Aidou had vastly more significant affairs to devote himself to over this nonsense, and was hence reminded that he was inevitably going to free himself or die in the attempt. Simple truths. He hadn’t so much forgotten these things in the last week or so as perhaps let them slip too far from his thoughts. Well, he knew his priorities, and a string of failures wasn’t going to change them. Defeat might keep him grounded, but defeatism was idiotic.

That was debatably why he had started thinking about different avenues to try on his way downstairs, starting with the red-eyed female he’d met in the library a week before. If he took a step back from everything and looked at the big picture, the risks involved with associating with certain people were worth it if he got somewhere. He had to wonder: would another kind of vampire have thought that way sooner than him, or later? Huh…

One of everything equated to a fairly large helping of food, and the noble had to make room for it in a spot out of the way of most of the windows. Real food would have to come later. And then there was his journal, which he had collected in between checking up on the bulletin board. He put that in front of him and arranged his food around it so that he could write if he wanted. Even physically revisiting the facts and adding new ones to his handwritten notes could change something, bring to the forefront a connection he hadn’t made before. Right? Why the hell not. He’d be open to the possibility.

[gald_digger]

Anise spent some time at the Cafeteria's counter, carefully selecting items from the buffet. The main attraction on her tray ended up being a couple of fluffy waffles, topped with syrup and a big pile of strawberries. It was accompanied by sausages, some kind of little crumbly potato bits, and, as always, a cup of milk. The perfect breakfast for a growing girl!

That 'growing girl' was soon off to find a table, but it wasn't long before she noticed a familiar (and very handsome) face. Normally, she might have bounded over and started her usual flirting routine, but this time she hesitated. Aidou had been giving her a lot of mixed signals lately. Sometimes he seemed to really enjoy her company, and sometimes he seemed concerned about her, but lately he just acted like he wanted to get rid of her.

So what did Aidou really think of Anise? Avoiding him wasn't going to help her figure it out.

The girl started walking again, stopping when she was across the table from him, and gave him a bright, cheerful smile, as though she'd completely forgotten all the times he'd been cold to her in the past week or so. "Aidou! Good morning! Is it okay if I sit here?"

Hopefully he wasn't going to be in a grouchy mood today.

[number-crunch.livejournal.com]

Sho was in a foul mood. His second encounter with the questionable Alvin Draper, his second period of time completely wasted. It was a small sample size, but the mathematician didn't exactly have a lot of spare time to experiment.

Arguing with that kid on the board hadn't helped his mood any either. As for the lack of legitimate responses, Sho wasn't sure whether he had positive or negative feelings about the lack of other Reapers. Heck, even some of those parsecs from parallel dimensions would have been at least interesting to investigate.

Filling up his plate with far more food that the nurses thought were necessary, Sho sat down in one of the far corners and brooded worked on his calculations.

[Free]

[catstreetblues.livejournal.com]

The tray of food slammed down first. "So, Composer, how's it hangin'?" Sanae slid into the seat across from Minamimoto and picked an apple off of his tray. He took a bite. "You're musterin' the troops, I notice."

Oh yes, he'd certainly watched that little post with interest. While on one hand he had been more than 99% sure that no other Reapers would answer, the slim chance of one actually answering was, well...too good to pass up. And of course, he had to keep up with Minamimoto's activities somehow. He was still the Producer, even if Josh was dead and he was some sort of criminal now.

[chainsaw-royal.livejournal.com]

While Hime didn't particularly like the carefree mash up of two meals into one, she at least appreciated that the larger selection meant a higher probability of being able to avoid the greasy fried foods the institute seemed intent on feeding them. Or so one would think. In reality, such foods still dominated the vast majority of the menu.

So it was with a bagel and bowl of fruit that Hime cruised through the line then back to a table near the entrance. Sipping at her juice - she really wish they would them have tea - the princess awaited the appearance of her robot vassal partner.

[For Depth Charge]

[scalyfishman.livejournal.com]

Hearing from Ratchet had been oddly reassuring, considering he was the kind of guy who came off like he had a permanent case of rust, but maybe that just made them all the more likely to get on. Pot, meet kettle, etc. Though maybe 'get on' was an exaggeration- they could stand each other. That was good enough for Depth Charge.

And speaking of things being good enough he didn't have to looking for long to find the princess herself, waiting patiently near the doors. The Maximal grabbed a tray, filled it up with the first things that caught his eye ("Granola and tacos? How adventurous for you, Mr. Price, well done!") before sidestepping his nurse and sliding into the seat opposite Hime.

Straight away, he made a point of folding his arms and giving her a one of those prized Looks of his- one hundred percent merciless sarcasm distilled into one glance. "This alive enough for you?" Well. Ninety nine percent, in this case, perhaps. She might have had a point, albeit a very, very small one.

[runner-up-robot.livejournal.com]

So, he finally got away from Sheena without pouring his feelings out to her, or having her calm him down. And he felt... like crap. At least before, he was just good and angry. Yes, he was frustrated, but mostly he was just mad at assholes that deserved it. Now he felt all knotted up inside and confused again, and she made him feel bad for being angry. Why shouldn't he be? Of course, he wasn't even mad at her... or was he? There wasn't even a good reason, it wasn't like she'd even done anything. And of course, now she probably felt worse and he... he didn't even know whether he had wanted that or not.

All of that rolling over in his head again, he followed the crowd filing into the cafeteria and took a plate. He grabbed a few burgers, and found an isolated seat to eat at. At least there was the chance he could fight someone soon, if they responded to his note. All he knew for sure he wanted right now was to get into a real fight. It didn't matter if he won or lost, he was built to be a fighter, and he needed to just take out his anger somehow.

[shorttank.livejournal.com]

Leela was feeling jaunty after her talk with Gren. Trading theories about the insanity of their surroundings was always nicer with a cute guy... not that she'd done a whole lot of that, having jumped straight to the making out the last time she'd been in a strange place with an attractive man. She wouldn't do that here! She wouldn't be distracted from her quest to get half-de-eyed and back home. She shot a glare at Betty, thinking about this, but the nurse ignored it and kept prattling on about the talents of the chefs here.

The food was decent, Leela had to admit, but it was going to get fattening before long. She prudently took some fruit and granola, and noticed someone else with purple hair as she was going through the line. Maybe he'd been messed with, too. Or maybe he was just a punk. They had those in this time, right? It was worth looking into. Leela went over to his table.

"I like your hair. Waiting for anyone, or--?" She gestured to the empty seat across the table from him.

[oneman-onekill.livejournal.com]

Awww man...this was what happened when he spent too much time talking to girls. Niikura groaned as he sat up in bed. That had been a waste; Hokuto hadn't even heard of Akumetsu.

He played surly teenager as the nurse led him down to the cafeteria babbling about brunch and about how she knew that it was important that growing boys get lots of sleep but really this was ridiculous. At least they agreed on one thing, Niikura mused: this was really ridiculous.

He piled his plate high with food and then went to go find a seat. There weren't that many people at brunch yet, so most of the chairs were empty. The teen picked a table that seemed nice for no apparent reason and took a big bite out of the burger on his plate before sitting down.

[for...Mello, I think. Otherwise free.]

[swornandbroken.livejournal.com]

Mello paid as little attention as ever to the food. He'd accepted the necessity of eating here, but that didn't mean he had to like it. A couple of sausages, some pancakes and syrup, which made a lousy substitute for chocolate, but might at least fend off the sugar-deprivation headache.

His inclination was to find an isolated spot and go over what little he'd learned so far today (not enough, never enough, here), but he was growing accustomed to taking the hard line with himself. It wasn't like anyone else was going to snap him out of it if he got too absorbed in his own thoughts. So when he spotted that Niikura kid, the one the Yakuza wasn't fond of, sitting alone, he made his way over to the table. Turning potential allies into definite ones was always a good idea, and there was a part of Mello that wanted to remind the kid he was on the ball when he wasn't sedated. He deliberately assumed permission, knowing, and hating, that he would once never have had to do so consciously, and set his tray down. "Hey."

[idkmybfframen.livejournal.com]

Naruto woke up to the sound of the intercom, going on about "soccer" or something. He zoned out after a few sentences, not knowing or caring about soccer and movie selections. What he did care about, however, was food! It sounded like there was a bunch to be had. And hey, it wasn't ramen, but it was still food, and he was pretty hungry.

He was still disappointed about the crap that had - or, rather, hadn't - happened yesterday, but at least he knew there were more people here than he'd originally thought! Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi, Kiba, Shikamaru...was he missing someone? Probably. But Sakura would remember, or Kakashi would. No use sweating the small details. He'd have to find the bulletin board and see if he could talk to them, though.

The nurse came to collect him, calling him the wrong name. He glared at her and, ultimately, decided to ignore her.

Once in the cafeteria, he gathered several different kinds of foods that didn't go together at all. He looked around to ask the nurse about ramen, but she wasn't next to him anymore. Leave it to anyone here to be super useless!

He decided to sit down and eat before running off in search of a familiar face. Maybe he'd get lucky and they'd find him, anyway.

[free!]

[tsunagari.livejournal.com]

A familiar head of blond hair caught Sai's attention the moment he walked into the room. His nurse was insistent that he got a plate of food before he sat down, however, so he hurriedly made himself a plate of salad before making his way over. Some other time he'd take the opportunity to truly select from the different dishes offered on Sundays, but not today. He hadn't spoken to Naruto much since his (most recent) return, and this was as good of a time as any.

Just as long as Okita was on the other side of the room and not likely to make another attempt on his life while Naruto was present to be put in danger. The two of them might be enough to take him out, but he didn't want to test his luck just yet. The ninja kept his focus elsewhere, since staring was only bound to draw more attention to himself.

Sai set his tray down lightly across from his friend, offering the closest he could get to a warm smile as he took a seat. "It's good to see you again, Naruto. How was your night?"

That was always a good easy subject to start out on, even if it meant trying to describe the unusualness of his own.

[lighthearted]

Getting to check up on Nigredo again had been nice, even if they hadn't been talking about the most cheerful things. While Sora was worried about Junior, he was equally concerned for his brother and how he'd handle the institute without support from his sibling. Sora wasn't sure if the two were all that close, but just having someone familiar around must have been a comfort, especially for someone so young.

While he'd done his best to give the boy as much information about his brother as he could, he wasn't sure if he'd really been that much of a help. Still, he'd tried, and that probably had to count for something. Sora was going to do his best to keep an eye on Nigredo, since he wasn't sure if anyone else was at this point.

But now it was time for brunch, and Sora had to admit that he was pretty hungry. When they ate right after waking on every other day of the week, having to wait until later on for Sundays usually left him starving. Luckily, there was a large array of food to choose from, and so the boy quickly went to work piling his plate. There wasn't much that could stunt his appetite.

Riku was right about that, at the least. Sora smiled to himself, remembering his friend's bulletin message as he scanned the room for either of his friends. It didn't look like they had made it yet, and so he took it upon himself to find an empty spot for the three of them to sit.

As he started in on a hot dog, a nurse who was passing by smiled at him and nodded. "That's right, Matt," she spoke up, "you should make sure that you're talking to your visitor today on a full stomach so that you aren't distracted."

That actually made Sora pause before he took another bite, but the nurse had already left to check in on other patients before he could say anything. He was really getting visited today? He still remembered that time with Riku, but it had been so long ago that he'd figured that was the last time. It looked like he'd been wrong.

Frowning, Sora did his best to focus on his meal as he tried to figure out who might be coming to see him.

[Riku and Kairi!]

[kingdomless.livejournal.com]

"Can you even see anyone over that pile of food?" Came Kairi's voice as she sat down across from Sora, a smile crossing her face. "Because it looks like you can't."

The princess had quietly entered the cafeteria, humming to herself before collecting a plate of food (fruit, juice, the usual.) and spotting Sora. She knew that she was supposed to eat with her two boys, and she was at least thankful to see one of them already sitting down, thus saving them a table. It felt like ages since she had actually spoken to either of them, and she was more than excited to see how the two were doing.

Poking at a piece of fruit with her fork, Kairi nibbled on the end of it quietly for a moment, giving Sora a bright smile. "I'm glad to see you in one piece! I was worried about you and Riku last night, but I knew you two would be able to protect yourselves."

[zack-fair.livejournal.com]

Speaking with Soujirou had given Zack a pretty good distraction for a while there, but now that he was back in the cafeteria and surrounded by the rest of the patients, he couldn't ignore the fact that Aerith hadn't responded to his bulletin note and was nowhere to be seen in the mess hall.

This wasn't a situation where she would have ignored him to tease or anything, which meant that she was either missing his messages or she wasn't around at all. She would probably only be missing them if she couldn't get to them, which made him wonder if she had gone the fate of her roommates and fallen into a deep sleep.

Checking her room that night would have to be his next course of action, since he didn't know what else to do. Other friends of Cloud's had cropped up, even people he had never met (and what was with that message of Cait's?), but still no flower girl. If she didn't come to him, he'd just have to stop at nothing until he found her... or confirmed that she wasn't there to be found.

If she really was gone, then the time had just been too fleeting. He didn't want to assume that she wasn't here, not just yet, but even the possibility was enough to sting.

While Zack wasn't feeling too hungry with all of this swimming around in his head, he still went through the motions of getting a plate of food from the buffet. Sighing, he searched the crowd for Aerith one more time before finding himself an empty seat. He glared down at his food for a moment, challenging it to look more appetizing, before forcing himself to start eating.

[flamingfurball.livejournal.com]

The nurse wheeled Nanaki into the queue, despite the fact that he'd been telling her he was perfectly capable of walking now. He'd even demonstrated, but a small mishap later and he was back in the chair with a bruised knee and a scowl. Things got worse when he asked for sausage links and some hot dogs without the bread. She piled his plate with salad as well. It was a waste, he didn't even want to try green things today.

And so, he gave the attempt to request something of his nurse one last little try in the form of asking to be sat next to a young man who looked familiar. He didn't saying anything more than 'there please'. For the first time that day, she obeyed and he congratulated her listening skills.

As per Zack's instructions (well, besides the walking bit) he said 'Hi' and stared intently at him. Just like the picture he'd seen. Interesting.

"Are you still affiliated with Shin-Ra?"

[war-wounds.livejournal.com]

Ratchet couldn't remember what term that human from the other solar cycle had told him to use, and so when his nurse made to get him some fuel he simply laid a hand on her arm and said, "No carcasses this time."

What she brought back did look very plant-ish, so he must have gotten through alright.

He was slowly getting used to the leaves and plant chunks, but the little round things were a new challenge. He'd have to tackle them eventually, though. The fatigue and tremors were not improving; it was amazing how quickly organics used up their fuel.

[stlg13bomber.livejournal.com]

In the end Carter had settled for a quick round of whatever scant prayers he could remember, followed by the usual bedtime petition for his parents and his grandmother and his dog and his country to all stay safe and sound. That almost counted as church, and he could flee to breakfast guilt-free.

Maybe he hadn't made it out last night, but tonight he definitely would do it. For sure. Until then there was all this delicious fresh fruit to help soothe his youthful frustration. Carter took his normal large portions of food from a selection that seemed to be a mix of breakfast food mixed with lunch food...oh! Brunch! Hey, that was pretty clever, he'd have to remember that. The future had the best ideas, you could get two kinds of food at once and save time eating it all.

Licking his lips, Carter slid in next to an older man who had enough grit about him to maybe be military. His tray was piled with little piles of nearly anything the layout had to offer, just to make sure he didn't miss out on anything good. "Good morning!" he said cheerfully.

[human-sponge.livejournal.com]

Seeing Claire again probably should have been more of a shock to him, but after seeing the girl come and go so many times, he'd almost gotten used to it. Like with Nathan, Peter was left wondering how long Claire would stick around this time. He hated the way they both got tossed around like rag dolls, but there wasn't much he could do about it except hope that his information would somehow help them to stay for longer.

While there was still so much more that Claire had to learn, he'd given her a pretty good base of knowledge. She hadn't been able to accept all of it that easily, but if she spent enough time here (which he was honestly hoping for at this point; while he didn't want her to be in so much danger, it was better than her memories being erased time and time again), she would slowly start to adapt. They all did.

He wanted to stick with her for the rest of the day, but the nurses weren't having it. After giving him a BS explanation about how Claire was a new patient and needed to focus on meeting more people, they were separated and Peter was led into the cafeteria for brunch. He went along with a nurse's insistence that he get food, as last night had been tiring and his conversation with Claire had only added to that. He needed to keep his energy up.

Once he'd put together a plate of food, Peter found himself a seat and took it without much more consideration than that. With Claire here now, he wondered if he'd be seeing any more familiar faces, and he wasn't sure if he was excited for the possibility or dreading it.

Either way, he needed to focus on his work for the night, which meant that he'd have to put a note on the bulletin about the paramedic group. He'd gotten a few useful items for his work last night, but that was only the beginning. He'd have to head into the Sun Room after his meal to tack something up, then.

[dual-worlds.livejournal.com]

His return to the institute upon night's end was not unexpected, though the message he had heard did intrigue him. There would be time to look into the matters alluded to by Martin Landel, however. Consequently, Spock largely concerned himself with making his report to Kirk while taking measures to remain discreet about details that would warrant a negative reaction from the staff.

Judging by some of the messages written by other patients, it appeared his and McCoy's experience was not an isolated incident. Others had apparently found themselves, however briefly, returned to their respective times and places. Now Spock was more certain that their being transported to the Enterprise had not been a mere accident; indeed, he suspected Martin Landel had either allowed it, or had even deliberately arranged for it to happen. The head doctor's curious comments last night only added more weight to that argument.

Once first shift passed, his nurse insisted he leave the bulletin board and led him into the cafeteria. Once again, she exhibited a keen interested in monitoring his food consumption. Although Spock believed the staff provided him with more food than he required, there was no convincing his nurse otherwise. When she was not satisfied with the small plate he'd assembled for himself, she intervened and swiftly presented him with what she considered a healthy portion of salad greens, fruit and soy beans.

Though Spock had anticipated her to leave once he had a plate that was to her liking, it seemed she was not going to be satisfied until she had secured him a companion for him to eat with.

"Oh, I remember you spoke with Mr. Campbell several days back," she informed him with a warm smile. "It looks like he needs some company. Why don't you join him, Mr. Penn?"

Spock glanced over toward the individual in question. It appeared the nurse's observation was correct. They had indeed introduced themselves at one point, though Spock was still uncertain as to what to make of Peter's claims about his roommate since their first meeting. Aside from the brainwashing incident, and their unexpected discovery of one another, Spock had not detected any abnormal behavior from Gabriel. There was his sudden removal from their quarters last night, an incident neither of them had been able to prevent, but Spock currently saw little reason to share that with Peter.

Regardless, it appeared the nurse wished for them to dine together, as witnessed by the manner in which she brought him to Peter's table. "You remember Mr. Penn, don't you?" she asked him. "Why don't you eat together?" At the very least, Spock supposed this would be a good opportunity to obtain more information, although it was difficult to ascertain whether it ultimately would be useful to him or not. It was partly for that reason he gave a small nod in acknowledgment before sitting down with his tray across from the human.

Evidently pleased with her work, the nurse quickly hurried off to tend to other patients in the area, leaving the two of them to their meals.

[rocksthecourt]

Klavier wasn't much for senseless optimism, but he almost dared to say things were proving to be... okay today. Last night hadn't been fantastic, but it was far better than his previous nights had been. And he started out the day with a bright-eyed, smiling young lady. Yes, maybe he had reason to believe things might be looking up a bit. Let's hope he could maintain this little trend he had going.

After collecting a plate of eggs and a muffin (with some assistance from his liebes nurse), he made his way over to the left side of the room to take a seat, as he'd stated he would earlier. He was going to be meeting with Lamperouge this shift, and he wanted to be sure they didn't end up missing each other. Especially not after screwing up the last time they were supposed to meet. Thankfully, the cafeteria wasn't crowded just yet, so there were plenty of seats still available in this part of the room.

As soon as the nurse left him be, Klavier placed his notebook alongside his tray, trying his best to flip it open to one page in particular. A bit difficult to manage with one hand, but doable. ...Ah there we are. It was a simple page of notes in the form of a checklist. Nothing important, honestly. But in the upper right margin of both pages was a scratchy doodle of the G symbol he used to sign his bulletin posts. It wasn't especially prominent, but anyone making an effort to look at his book should easily notice it.

This should have been enough for Lamperouge to recognize. Klavier himself had no idea what this man looked like, so he really couldn't do anything but sit and wait for an approach. In other words, there was no point in paying any attention to the people around him. Instead, Klavier simply picked away at his eggs absently, staring down at the notebook as though fully engrossed in what was written there.

[for L.L. + 1 guest]

[kingside]

Although Nunnally was finally standing on her own two feet, Lelouch felt as though it would be best if he were to handle retrieving their meals on his own. She'd had a very trying night, and since her morning hadn't been much better so far, arranging the most relaxing day he could under the conditions seemed to be the best next move to make. Getting a few things posted to the board came after that, and once he had gotten that out of the way (those notices really were becoming quite tedious), he and one of their nurses accompanied her into the cafeteria.

"Mr. Gavin should be on the left side of the room," he said to Nunnally as they walked in the direction in question, not because the detail was anything he felt he should actually explain but simply as something to say. Reassuring her with the sound of his voice came just as naturally to him as holding her hand, and besides, he liked being able to talk to her about nothing of real consequence. "I haven't met him in person before myself, but he seems like a nice man." The operative word there was "seems," but Lelouch could, at the very least, claim to trust him more than people like, say, Mihaeroff. That didn't mean he'd be watching Gavin any less closely with Nunnally around, but it was something.

Fortunately, Gavin turned out to be relatively easy to locate, and Lelouch gently led Nunnally to an empty seat diagonal to him, pulling the chair out for her largely out of reflex as he said, "Mr. Gavin, I presume? I'm Lelouch Lamperouge. Forgive me for the abrupt introductions, but I need to fetch our meals." What would Nunnally want to eat, what would Nunnally want to eat... ah, of course. He glanced down at the girl in question, the professional smile he'd been wearing for Gavin's benefit warming considerably as he met her eyes. "Nunnally, will you entertain him while I'm gone? I promise I'll be fast."

[ai-no-minako.livejournal.com]

The mention of food had immediately captured Minako's attention, especially after she'd avoided it the day before-- and especially because the man on the intercom seemed so fascinated with describing it. She all but dragged the nurse back downstairs to the cafeteria and then spent a moment staring at the selection with something approaching awe until her stomach growled and reminded her of why she was actually there. Well. The place might be a creepy horror-movie-in-disguise, but they sure did feed people well.

Hopefully they really didn't drug the food, but... well, if she was going to end up stuck here for a period of days or maybe even weeks she couldn't starve herself. Mimicking the other people already present, she grabbed a tray and went down the line, picking out a somewhat random assortment of food. Once finished she turned to survey the almost-empty room with a thoughtful frown, then shrugged and headed over to an unoccupied table that gave her a good view of the door. Now that all those people weren't on that trip or whatever it was yesterday she was curious to see who else was stuck here, too. And maybe one of them could answer some questions.

[Howl]

[slipperymagic.livejournal.com]

Howl allowed the routine to take him after he had left the unfortunate Keman. All those emotions made him feel uncomfortable and inadequate, and Howl was eager to abandon any further attempts to find something in himself that he simply lacked.

That routine was slightly different that day, as it seemed that visitors were expected. He wondered with a strange lack of emotion whether or not anyone had come to see him. It would, of course, not be Megan or Sophie or Michael, but some construct made to appear as them. The magical thing would would see a reflection in his mind, and appear as thus. Still, he sometimes craved a familiar face, enough to tolerate a well done doppelganger. He knew what those people expected of him, and he knew what they wanted. It made dealing with people so much easier when it was all laid out like that.

Of course, perhaps Sophie shouldn't have been included on that list. He wasn't sure what she wanted besides to frustrate him and make him miserable, perhaps in some misguided attempt to teach him a lesson. Her attempts hadn't made any impression on him, and he still denied the way that his life had slowly begun to shift to keep her in it. And yet, he always remembered that ginger haired girl he had seen for only a moment. It was most likely that he had imagined her. He had seen a pretty girl, much like that little mouse, with her bow lips and stern gaze, and he had allowed himself to hope. The thing he had been hoping for seemed an exciting relief at the time, but he knew in the long run it would only make him miserable if Sophie were to appear. And if that were her, who had managed to lift that blasted curse, where he was unable and she was unwilling?

Howl gathered himself a modest breakfast and some napkins with which he continuously dabbed his nose sadly whenever a nurse cast her eyes his way. He was distracted only by the sight of a pretty blonde sitting alone, and decided to continue fishing for sympathy at her table. She was very young, he realized, near in age to Lettie Hatter.

Regardless, he gave her a smile that was soft and tired, but filled with manicured friendliness. It was a warmth that his eyes could not reflect, despite his best attempts. "Good morning, miss," he greeted, and balancing his tray on one hand, he swept his dark hair from his glassy eyes with the other. "Would you mind terribly if I joined you?"

[byname-bynature.livejournal.com]

Artemis had barely finished dashing off a quick note to his mysterious contractor when his nurse called him to brunch. Honestly Artemis didn't see what was so wonderful about an 'all-you-can-eat' buffet. It encouraged the mass-production and mass-consumption of food, without any regard for how it was prepared or how it tasted. Quantity over quality, something Artemis had never been in favor of--even where money was concerned.

His nurse set him up with a nice vegetarian salad, as well as a half-sandwich and some juice. All in all, a decent meal, and one he could eat with a sling holding his left shoulder stationary. It was fortunate he was ambidextrous, he supposed. He didn't have to suffer the same sorts of humiliation other patients did when their arms were rendered useless for one reason or another.

Artemis sipped his juice (sadly, he was becoming used to it), and watched as patients filed into the Cafeteria. He was looking for Badou, Sai, and Haku--to make sure they were all still in one piece. So far, he was disappointed.

He continued to eat and think, brow furrowed. He only had a few moments before the entire room deafened him.

[For Mihai]

[whichwayagain.livejournal.com]

Catching up with Renamon had been nice, but Mihai's empty stomach also approved of the idea of brunch. The food was plentiful as always, though with a much greater variety than normally offered to the patients at large. Did the tradition of treating Sundays as something special extend even to a place like this, then? No priest had shown up in the temple, however. Still, Mihai might have held out a tiny bit of hope that both day and night would allow the patients a true rest, if he were twenty-five years younger. But his long term of employment in a position that knew no holidays or weekends left him sour to the idea.

Still, his nurse at least seemed happy to leave him to choose his own seat. Was she tired of monitoring his every step, or confident that he wouldn't wander into the wrong showers? Her glare provided no answers, and rather than search out anyone in particular, Mihai opted for the first open position he came across. Certainly the woman had other things to do besides stare at his back. How could she expect him to eat his meal in peace otherwise?

"Ah, hello." Now Mihai took the opportunity to see who he'd actually sat across from. A young boy, far too young to be here. Mihai felt a pang of sympathy on seeing the sling, having been confined to one himself not so long ago. This kid, however, seemed perfectly capable of functioning even with one hand, and Mihai couldn't quite deny being envious of the youth. Only a little, though. "You weren't expecting anyone, were you?" Mihai hoped not. He wanted to eat, not play musical chairs.

[kindalikedit]

Dean beat Sam to the cafeteria. For once he just wasn't real hungry, and while he knew he'd wolf down whatever he put on his plate, it was just kinda more keeping his mouth busy than actually being starving.

He heaped on some eggs and tacos - might as well mix the two for some variety - and glanced around the cafeteria, giving a casual scan of the room. Same number of nurses and orderly standing guard, for the most part evenly spaced out and keeping an eye on their charges. They'd done this song and dance over and over before. Considering the Scooby Do teleport doors from last night and he wasn't even sure how good the odds were of just walking out, even assuming they could in good conscience leave these folks. So far no sign of the Doctor, either. Considering the Doctor was the only one who knew about the trip to the TARDIS, he figured the guy was still alive, what with that note and all on the bulletin board.

Maybe he should shove Sam at the Doctor, see what he made of the guy. At the very least Dean would feel better watching Sam trying to puzzle the Doctor out.

He picked a seat at random. Okay, maybe it wasn't entirely random; the chick there was hot and that was good enough for him. Dean slid into the seat across from her, setting down his tray and juggling the cup with water in it with ease as he flashed her a smile.

"Breakfast of champions you got there, sweetheart."

[Hitting up Elaine]

[selfrescuer.livejournal.com]

All right, maybe not just any random stranger, she thought. It seemed that without her even trying to get someone's attention, a man had appeared to fill the seat across from her, and he looked to be the flirtatious type. At least he had all his teeth and wasn't stinking drunk on grog; that was more than she could say for most of the men who had tried to flirt with her in the past (undead ones aside).

She raised an eyebrow slightly at the "sweetheart," but didn't make anything else of it. He wasn't being that rude yet, at least. Besides, now she had an opportunity to talk to someone who hadn't been stuck at the Institute the previous day. And who wasn't Guybrush. "What they offered us here yesterday was snack food at best. I'm just making up for lost calories," she answered, the corner of her mouth quirking up. "Last night didn't exactly help."

[moral-liberty.livejournal.com]

The nurse led him from the chapel without incident, and urged him to eat as they entered the cafeteria. His listlessness must have led to her intervention, as she left him alone for a moment to retrieve a heavy plate. Her hand lingered on Kaworu's shoulder for a moment after she had set it down in front of him.

"Tell me if you need anything," she advised, and he copied her smile. It was a kind gesture. She reached beyond her self and towards him, although it seemed unnatural now. Not for her, as the exchange of emotions was the only reason for Lilim to live, but it was not for him. Kaworu Nagisa, called the Fifth Child, was an angel. It could not upset him, as there was no purpose in mourning truths. It was instead the impact of this truth that created his dissatisfaction. The nurse demonstrated kindness because she believed him to be human.

There were few exceptions. Shinji knew, but Kaworu was unsure if he understood. Shinji did not want to understand. Would he now decline to touch Kaworu, after seeing that he could not change? The only existence left to them now was this place. It was the only life in which he was free to remain near Shinji.

Kaworu dug his thumbnail into the peel of an orange. In concentrated movements, he tore the skin, and twisted the fruit so that the shell came off in a long, unbroken spiral. It held his attention enough that he was able to find some comfort in the focus. It required he set all other thoughts aside.

[For Asuka!]

[lookitmemama.livejournal.com]

"Lorelei, what would you like to eat? The salad bar is open so if--Lorelei...?"

Asuka had stopped walking in the middle of the cafeteria, staring off into the crowd of patients already seated and eating. He wasn't hard to find amongst the others, there weren't very many albino boys running around in this institute.

Man, he has some nerve showing his face around here.

"Miss Adler--"

Momentarily forgetting her nurse's presence, the eva pilot turned around and quickly pointed to the buffet line, a plan beginning to form. "I want a giant sampler, three of everything, and a well-made chef salad.... And! A glass of water and milk!" Hopefully that would buy her enough time to reach the traitorous snake. "I'm going to go find my seat now..." She continued forward, glancing back once briefly to make sure the woman was doing what she was supposed to do. The threat of sedation was no longer a determent. Humanity's survival was worth a lobotomy.

The boy was alone and thankfully there were few patients around him and his table. "Well, well, well..." Her thing fingers brushed across the clean table, stopping right in front of the Fifth Child. "Here you are..."

[falseblack]

Where does one begin in contemplating a sibling's absence? And the consequences left behind? If Rubedo disappeared due to no one's volition, Albedo and Nigredo could not be at fault. Something like this had happened previously, and the eldest had returned. Memories forgotten, but returned in one piece. No harm done.

And that was what was most important, was it not? That in the end, the three could stay together and work together, regardless of the distance widening by miles. It did not matter if Rubedo and Albedo knew about Executioner, and they certainly shouldn't care that one was infected and could possibly turn on a moment's notice. Twenty-seven was only a number, no different than twelve. Maybe Rubedo only never knew what to do with a pair of children and truly never cared for a father's imposed order while Albedo had only acted on a loneliness never filled.

When you lined the pieces, it was Nigredo who seemed the most unfair. He had always acted on the policy of neutrality in the twins and their bond (or their lack thereof); why take to sides now? It wasn't as though there would be loss in reconciliation. The prospect, in fact, was most desirable. It did not make sense for him to call abandonment on one side.

The youngest was lonely, true, but it wasn't his place to seek appeasement from another. It wasn't right. And if this had been truth and had been acted upon, would Rubedo have somehow remained?

His nurse had set a full plate before Nigredo, but the child had not paid any mind. Instead, he focused on nowhere in particular, his waveform toeing the line between an absent red and a sleeping white. The expression on his face did not appear any different from other patients, but the lack of activity might have clued one in to something unsettling.

[For Senna.]

[windstwilight.livejournal.com]

That had went well. It was fine. Talking to a stranger like that, laughing in that way. Yeah. She was fine. There was no more reason to hold the past in the way that she had been. If she couldn't walk forward, she was useless to the people she cared about. If she couldn't a raise a sword to defend them, could she really call herself their friend? She would smile for them, fight for them, and move the future closer. It was what she could do with the power she had.

Senna got to the food shift early, and glanced the cafeteria for a friend to apologize to. She didn't see any of the LDGC offhand. Frowning, she accepted a tray single-handedly, wondering when exactly the sling would come off. Not soon enough, maybe. She'd have been a lot more help to Hana last night without it. Ah, well. No more of that.

She almost passed the child, as unassuming as he was. But the severe distinction of hair and eyes caught her gaze, and Senna swung around to drop her tray on the table, following suit soon after with a smile. "Hey you," she offered gently. "How're you doing?"

[osakapwnzu.livejournal.com]

Well uh... yeah. Good times.

Hearing things that weren't there? Check.

Flipping out and shoving Kaito out of his room without much of an explanation? Check.

Shinichi returning home without him? Check.

Shinichi turning back into Conan for absolutely no reason at all in front of a complete stranger?

Check, check, fucking check. This day didn't suck more than the day he found out Shinichi had run off to do his Kid-Obsessed thing while he was nearly spider-food, but it was a close... fourth. Four was an awful number, it fit. Shinichi had always been extremely careful about his identity as Conan. Blowing his cover because of something as dumb as changing back randomly in front of a guy he'd just met wasn't just bad luck, it was shitty luck. Maybe Kaito was right--maybe he was just inherently lucky. After all, he hadn't been caught up in the parade of misfortune Heiji and Shinichi seem to have been dragged into without their consent. Whatever Kaito did to stay so lucky, it was good. Heiji might have to torture it out of him if he continued with this 'no evidence' schtick.

The 'Conan Edogawa Is Shinichi Kudou And Vice-Versa' issue was just another thing Heiji had on his plate now, courtesy of Landel's Brand 'Screw-Me-Over'. So Heiji did the only thing he could do in this situation: he ate.

He must have had seven pancakes on his plate, but it hardly seemed to matter. He was packing them away at a slow, but steady pace, with no sign of stopping for anything besides a sip of juice. He'd have to figure out what to do about the guy who saw Shinichi, but for now he'd just eat. If anything, it would keep his mind off of the possibility of impending death.

[Yukari~]

[remedying.livejournal.com]

It was a rarity these days that Yukari found herself in a surprisingly good mood; she may have woken up slightly annoyed that she didn't get anywhere the previous night again, but that was quickly subsided for something a little more cheery after joining Yuffie and Kaito in the sun room earlier. It was nice, Yukari thought, that even in such a grim place where times were rough more often than not that normal and casual conversation could still happen among friends. It was certainly a nice change of pace, if not relaxing.

Come second shift, Yukari had to admit to herself she had gotten pretty hungry, so she didn't hesitate to pile on some food and look for a seat. A quick scan of the room didn't come up with anyone she recognized, but by this point, she just shrugged it off; she hated to regard the institute with any sense of familiarity, but at least not spotting anyone she knew didn't bother her nearly as much anymore. Maybe later, Yukari decided, so she picked out the first seat that was nearby and slid her tray down on the table. If there was one thing she learned, most people didn't mind where you sat.

Then she looked up, noticing who was her company for the meantime. A teenaged guy, who... Well, it wasn't very often she saw someone so tanned, and briefly Yukari thought it didn't look so bad on him. But then she mentally laughed it off, because there was no way she was ever gonna let him know that came to mind, so instead she focused on other things. Like how peeved his face seemed to be, and just how much food he was shoveling down. She thought back on Junpei and Minato, and how much of a food machine the both of them could be sometimes, and if it weren't for them Yukari would wonder if he was capable of eating that much at all.

She didn't doubt he could. "Hey, you all right there?" Yukari began conversationally. "You kinda look like you'd rather strangle something."

[vodka-jump.livejournal.com]

Russia glanced once more at the bulletin board before the nurse urged him that it was time to eat. He hadn't even been around a day and America was already spreading rumors faster than France. It was no surprise that England was backing him as well, but that did mean that at the very least he and America weren't the only ones who'd been annexed by this place.

The thought of food though, was at least somewhat calming. There was a variety of foods he hadn't really seen offered altogether before. He picked several different things, always glad to try something new. Hopefully the food would be better than Japan's cooking. He tended to get so forgetful and leave his sewing needles near the food. It made for decidedly crunchy ohage.

The economy here, he decided, must be very healthy, especially if they were able to support so many free-loaders here with food. They hadn't been forced into manual labor and it didn't seem like they were being sold anywhere, so what was the point?

While he didn't sit right next to anyone just yet, he did have a fairly good vantage point to sit and stare from a distance. There were plenty of weak and small ones and some that looked like it just might be fun to see what kind of face they made when they were screaming in agony. That might be nice too.

[Florence America ♥ ]

[willbethehero.livejournal.com]

Talking with England in the Chapel hadn't exactly been the boost of encouragement America had been hoping, but he couldn't think about that now. He had to put on his best and brightest smile for the meeting he had next, because it hadn't been so long ago that he'd dealt with the USSR that he'd forgotten how those meetings went. America had to make sure he didn't show any outward weakness for Russia to pick up on, because damn it, he refused to approach this as if he needed Russia more than Russia needed him. They may have taken his land and his people, and maybe even his inhuman invulnerability, but America was still America, and damn proud of it!

And when it came to being in good spirits, a pile of cheeseburgers definitely went a long way toward that effort.

Ignoring the nurse's disapproval of his stack of food, and any stray thoughts about how American the whole set-up and selection were, America headed over toward the nation that had once been (and thought he still was) his greatest foe. Finding Russia in a crowd was never hard: isolated and grinning at the weaker ones around him like a cat. America couldn't stand things like that, and he clenched his tray harder, walked across the room with a quicker step. But he refused to let it show, and by the time he'd claimed the spot across from Russia, hopefully blocking his view, America was smiling just as brightly as he had as a colony.

"Hey there, Russia. Is now a bad time?" Obviously America didn't care so much, since he'd already sat down and started munching away on his first cheeseburger. Oh man, evil or not, this place could cook! "I wanted to go over the potential truce, and even nations like us can have a peaceful meal together, right?" So long as America watched out for incoming silverware, anyway. He wasn't going to loose an eye to a plastic spoon.

[1imited-edition.livejournal.com]

The feelings of triumph had lasted all of five minutes before the second-guessing began. Leon's agreement to teach her one of the arts that allowed quick creation of weapons was something she had sought with less success for most of her time here... but that agreement was less than the great triumph it had briefly felt. It was a verbal contract only, and he might yet renege; she would after all have to tell him of her method of learning, of Sheena's reaction. If she did not it would be a betrayal of whatever small trust in her intentions had allowed him to agree, and she might have another Sheena to deal with. Or simply worry over, since she had made precious little progress in achieving any kind of resolution to or amelioration of her situation with the woman.

Beyond that she might simply fail. She had grasped Raine's otherworldly magic, but the strange bonds that lay behind Sheena's were something she could not imitate and when one considered the great variety of magics present at the institute it would not be strange if this one also defied her.

And beyond that... it was simply that the sense of accomplishment was more than was warranted, even if all went well. She could fulfill her promise to Momo, make Laevatein whole again and a fitting tribute to her fallen knight, arm more of the patients... but once there had been Signum, not simply a tribute, and others who had made weapons, and they had not found freedom. If anything the institute had only grown more chaotic and dangerous since.

It was a single small step, the mere promise of some slight utility. She would only disappoint herself if she imagined more.

So why did I feel that way in the first place? She silently asked her waffles.

[Open.]

[mizuhomaiden.livejournal.com]

It wasn't like Sheena had the energy to put up any resistance against her nurse when the woman steered the feverish ninja to a table. It wasn't like Sheena had the energy to even bother looking at who she'd been sat with, nor the words the nurse said that should have indicated to her that she was being placed with someone she knew.

All the ninja had the energy to do, especially after that draining moment with Forte, was to put her head down in her arm while her nurse headed to gather her food. Food the ninja didn't think she could stomach. A visible sheen of sweat at her brow, dampening her bangs, a paleness to her skin... Sheena hated being sick.

And so, she did not realize the nurse had stuck her with the one person she had absolutely no desire to ever deal with again. Stupid flu.

[mitase.livejournal.com]

As he entered the cafeteria Hanatarou automatically glanced around, looking for friends and potential enemies alike, and almost immediately spotted Senna. She seemed to be okay, with no visible ill effects lingering after last nightshift even if she was still wearing that sling for the injury she wouldn't let him heal. So... whatever had been wrong didn't look like it was something physical, and it wasn't apparent now.

She was busy talking to someone else at the moment, though, so after a worried look to determine her current state Hanatarou kept going toward the line for food. There was a rather confusing variety of stuff to choose from, so he randomly grabbed a couple of things and then blinked when his nurse added a plate of pancakes with a brief lecture on how he never ate enough. Rather than argue about not being hungry, he just nodded with eyes lowered and moved to take a seat at an empty table.

Once he'd sat down he glanced at Senna again briefly, sighed, and looked around to determine that no, there was still no sign of Tsukasa. Hanatarou absently gnawed on his lower lip for a moment, then shrugged and turned to his breakfast. Everyone should be okay, right? Maybe he should check the bulletin after he ate or something to make sure.

[Hokuto]

[akarusa.livejournal.com]

Hokuto looked around hopefully for Falis, but no luck; she did, however, see Hanatarou. She grabbed some food (mostly on the healthy side, because she did still need to recover her strength) and went to sit with him. It was tempting to sneak up and hug him from behind, but since that might end badly she just put her tray next to his and smiled at him as she sat down.

"Hana-kun!" Maybe it was too familiar, but he wasn't the formal type either. "How have you been? I haven't talked to you in ages, it feels like."

[see-my-back.livejournal.com]

It was hard to have much of an appetite after dealing with Gai-sensei, Sakura decided, as she walked into the cafeteria. It never ceased to amaze what kind of strange combinations they came up with to serve the patients here. While it seemed there was a sort of schedule to it all, it was still odd, most definitely.

She picked up a tray and grabbed a bowl of soup, adding in some of the tofu from the salad bar since most of the protein offered came in really odd shapes for meat. Besides, soup was probably best since she wasn't all that hungry. Add a bowl of fruit and side of salted soybeans, and it looked at least edible.

It wasn't hard to spot Naruto, but she kept a close watch for other ninja as well. Kiba would be here, he'd said as much, and it was possible more were on the way. Possible. She pulled out a chair and sat, reviewing some of her notes and glancing up every so often as the nurses brought people in.

[Kiba!]

[livesbyinstinct.livejournal.com]

If there was one thing to positively be said about Landel's, it was that the food was actually decent. Better than decent, really, though Kiba hated to admit it. He resented it, in a childish sort of way. He resented the fact that the bastards who were responsible for this mess could serve honestly good food and yet hold hundreds of people here against their will. It was like shoving flowers in someone's face after you had just purposefully pushed them down a flight of stairs, and were miles away from regretting it.

He also hated the fact that he was hungry. He didn't want to touch a single thing the institute offered him, but he was starving, and there was nothing wrong with the food. Dammit all to hell. And if he didn't take something in the next five minutes, he was sure his nurse would probably shove something down his throat herself. His mother had done it, and considering how large this particular woman was, he doubted she would have any qualms following in his mother's footsteps. He hadn't even bothered to pick up a tray. All he had in his hands were a few tightly wadded napkins. Kiba was too busy scanning the cafeteria for Sakura to bother.

It didn't take long, of course. It was hard to miss a head of violently pink hair. Kiba frowned once he had spotted her, eyebrows furrowing before he grabbed a burger and a small handful of sausage links, shoving them into his collection of napkins before darting off, completely tuning out the surprised cry of his nurse.

Thankfully, she didn't follow him. Perhaps she had finally taken the hint that he neither enjoyed nor appreciated her company, or perhaps taking some food had satisfied her, or maybe she had dealt with so many patients like him during her lifetime that she knew when it was better to use force and when it was better to just leave things be.

Not that Kiba particularly cared, she could use whatever reason or excuse she liked, so long as it got her off his back.

He navigated his way through the cafeteria, sliding his way into empty spot just in front of Sakura, setting down his food in front of him. His initial frown had deepened into an annoyed grimace. He recalled what Sai had told him--that not everyone would remember the same events like he would, like they were taken from a different point in time, with the world just carrying on without them. He really didn't take much stock into the time thing, but he could buy into memories being tampered with.

Which brought Kiba to his main problem: just how much did Sakura remember? A full day might have passed and significantly cooled his initial anger at being knocked unconscious, but Kiba was still sour enough about it that he was more than eager to tell her off--to let her know that her little stunt wasn't funny, and that he and Akamaru sure as hell didn't appreciate it. But if she didn't remember anything about it? That complicated things. Had today been yesterday, perhaps nothing Sai could have told him would have stopped Kiba from giving her a piece of his mind.

He stared at Sakura for a few more seconds, expression unchanged. He might as well get straight to the point. He didn't care how bitter he sounded. "Look, what's the last thing you remember?"

[Sorry for the wait!]

[aperfectbloom.livejournal.com]

Yuyuko, after the initial crushing disappointment of being woken to a breakfast-free morning (much worse than anything she'd heard about in connection with the night, particularly as it was he practice to stay in her room and get a sound night's sleep rather than engage in frivolous adventuring and gross-monster-slaying) had been delighted to discover its compensation in brunch. A workless day where you ate late sounded perfect for sleeping in... and the distinction that made it separate from normal, breakfasting days (as opposed to just sleeping in all the time, which was certainly an option when she was ahead on her administrative work or could foist it off on an underling) would ensure that it did not simply become routine.

Yes, definitely a practice worthy of import, the ghost thought as she plowed through her meal.

[For Yukari.]

[mind-the-sukima.livejournal.com]

Yukari excelled at many things. Waking up was not one of them. In fact, one could say she excelled at the art of not waking up. And today? Today she was in top form.

When the doctor's first announcement came up, Yukari hadn't even stirred. When the subsequent nurse came in, gently shaking her awake, the youkai's response had been to snore loudly. When bodily hauled from her bed, Yukari remained limp and her eyes didn't even open. There had been hope in the nurses eyes after they sat her up and the blonde's eyelids stirred... only to immediately fall shut again as her head fell limply back. Unsure of how to handle such extreme disobedience when sedation obviously would be more counterproductive than anything, the nurse went to seek advice from a more senior member, leaving Yukari sitting there.

When she came back, the woman was sprawled on the bed in a position that in no way looked comfortable but she nonetheless seemed to be sleeping in. That was concerning enough, but when it became apparent the position of her arm was cutting off her airway? That had both nurses rushing over, shaking her awake urgently. Finally, finally Yukari's eyes opened.

"...what time is it?" she asked. When informed it was before noon, she immediately let them close again.

After that, it was an uphill battle to keep "Ms. Cloud" upright and awake, to put her slippers on and walking down the hall. Twice, the youkai simply slumped against a wall and fell asleep. Once, she even fell asleep in the middle of walking, one of the orderlies barely managing to catch her before she simply landed face first on the tile. Eventually, she made it out to the Sun Room... by which point, it was already time for brunch.

She was herded along with the other patients, not even particularly awake as she walked through the line. However, the smell of food at least did a little to perk her up, if not focus her, and by the end of it, Yukari actually looked awake, if not conscious. Satisfied that she wasn't going to fall over any time soon, a naive impression on the poor woman's part, the nurse left Yukari to find her own seat.

As appetizing as breakfast smelled, the youkai really had no interest in eating. She really just wanted to curl up and fall asleep, preferably on a ninja-shaped pillow. She couldn't see her target in the growing crowd, but there was an easy solution to this - just tap into her newly awakened Sheena-sense and...

Get absolutely nothing.

Blinking dumbly, Yukari tried again but found she just had no idea where the ninja was. Which, if she thought about it, was a little concerning. There was a rising modicum of panic under that blanket of weariness, a fear that she couldn't sense her summoner because there was no summoner to sense. After a few seconds though, she noticed she could still feel that connection to Sheena, she just couldn't sense where it connected. Breathing a little sigh of relief, the youkai resolved to find her the old fashioned way. Or give up after a few seconds and settle for napping without a warm ninja pillow.

Lucky for her, a wonderful compromise presented itself in all its pink-haired glory.

Tottering on over, Yukari let her tray hit the table with a clatter before slumping in her seat next to Yuyuko and leaning heavily on the ghost, clinging pitifully to her sleeve.

"Yu~yu~ko~" she whined, her cry turning into a yawn halfway through. "I can't find my pillow~"