damned_institute | Day 50: Cafeteria (Brunch)

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Day 50: Cafeteria (Brunch)

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]

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Just as Zack was absentmindedly forking a tater tot into his mouth, a nurse started to wheel over what had to be an injured patient, and the soldier couldn't help straightening in his seat as he took in the stranger. What had happened? There were no obvious signs of injury, no casts and not even any bandages, and yet something clearly had to be wrong...

Waiting for the nurse to leave them be, Zack had been ready to ask the obvious question, but the teen beat him to the punch.

And what a punch it was. Hearing the company's name was almost as bad as getting smacked across the face. Years ago, he had been able to handle needling from anti-Shin-Ra activists without a problem, having been solid in his decision to work for the organization. Nowadays, after he'd been tortured and then discarded by the company himself -- and more than that, had been forced to watch friend after friend get ground under Shin-Ra's heel -- it felt like an embarrassment.

"No," he said, shaking his head vehemently, "I work for myself now. Uhh, have we met?" This stranger clearly recognized him, and it seemed most likely that it was the person from the bulletin with the messy writing. Zack had honestly been expecting someone a little younger, but he wasn't going to judge too harshly.

"I'm glad," he said, still watching, unmoving. He wasn't really sure what humans moved. Usually his tail would flick about absently, though he supposed some people tapped their fingers. He flopped his hand onto the table and looked at it, trying to coordintate a little tap. His fingers flapped about for a moment and he gave up.

"I'm Nakani," he said, slowly. He'd done exactly as Zack had asked, and it seemed people here were not from the same world, they wouldn't know about Shin-Ra. Oh well.

"I suppose I can afford to trust you a little more if you don't like Shin-Ra." They weren't a problem anymore, but if people were from the past, it could be troublesome should they find out what Nanaki was.

There was something about this kid that was just downright weird. He moved jarringly and seemed awkward in general. Zack realized that might have something with the fact that this was their first meeting, but if that was all it was, the reaction seemed pretty extreme. Still, this was someone from home, and so Zack was going to be as friendly as he could.

"Well, Nanaki, I'm Zack. You already knew that, I'm guessing, but now it's official." He grinned, holding back the urge to offer his hand for a shake. He didn't need to make the kid any more nervous than he already was. Keeping his hands to himself would probably help Nanaki feel more at ease, or so he hoped.

At the comment about Shin-Ra, Zack managed a small laugh and nodded. "It seems like everyone's got a grudge against them these days," he agreed. He was curious to know if Nanaki had a specific reason for his, but didn't think now was an appropriate time to ask.

"So, you heard about me through Cloud?" he questioned with a tilt of his head. "How did you two meet?"

He seemed very friendly, that was good. Nanaki was fully aware how humans regularly bared their teeth, he'd been raised around smiles and even his time in the forest couldn't make him uneasy about them.

Although Zack seemed the sort that might smile too much. All the time, about everything. Nanaki would have to see if it ever lacked sincerity.

"Not without reason," he pointed out. Humans could be foolish, but not when it came to a dislike of Shin-Ra. Whatever their reason, they were right to hate the Company. What it was.

"I did," he said, quickly remembering to nod and doing so almost enthusiastically, though his expression remained neutral. "We met..." Through Aerith? In the Shin-Ra building? "...by chance. I know how you met him, so I won't ask. What was Sephiroth like when you first met him?" he asked, suddenly struck by the curiosity bug.

Zack had to agree there. After supporting Shin-Ra and being proud of working for them for so long, he now felt like he had complete license to cut ties with them. They had pushed way farther than he'd ever imagined they would. Maybe he had been naive to trust in them so much in the first place, but now he certainly knew better.

He did have to wonder why Cloud would decide to befriend someone like this by chance, but that just made him even more certain that there was more to Nanaki than met the eye. In fact, it sounded like he may have gone along on that big journey with Cloud and Tifa and Yuffie and Aerith to defeat Sephiroth.

His suspicions were practically confirmed when the redhead asked him a question about the general himself. Zack's expression faltered for just a split second; he didn't want to have to think back to a time when he had admired Sephiroth and seen him as a role model, but it would seem odd if he refused.

"He was... well, he was pretty serious about his job, but that didn't mean that he didn't know how to have fun sometimes. He just had a weird concept of what fun was." He clearly recalled when the man had told him about how he'd snuck into the simulation area to mess around with Genesis and Angeal. "I was able to kind of befriend him, if you could call it that." It was painfully clear that much had gone wrong since then, but he doubted that Nanaki needed to hear that part.

Nanaki's face finally showed a small amount of expression as he tilted his head and listened curiously.

"It's very strange to think of him as...." He was never really a normal person, "anything but the Sephiroth we fought. Does it bother you if I ask questions? I'd be interested to know what Cloud was like too."

He looked at his plate and managed to separate the meat from everything else. He probably shouldn't eat in front of Zack. Or at least wait until he wasn't watching.

"....Please don't let me stop you from eating."

Even though Zack knew that it was a bad idea to be curious, what Nanaki said still left him wondering. He'd seen the insanity in Sephiroth's eyes in the reactor and during their fight, but it had still been a pretty isolated incident. This was something that would be tougher to ask Cloud about, since the younger man had known Sephiroth beforehand, if briefly, and so maybe this was the best opportunity.

He wasn't going to like the answer, and yet he asked anyway. "What was he like as far as you know? When you fought him?" Zack didn't know if Nanaki had much of a concept of Sephiroth beyond being an enemy, but there was really only one way to find out.

The question about Cloud did make him smile briefly, though. When Nanaki urged him, Zack nodded to himself and moved on from the tater tots to a waffle he'd grabbed, cutting off a piece and then plopping it into his mouth. "You should eat too," he said, speaking around the food.

Now, for Cloud. Zack swallowed his bite of waffle and leaned back in his seat. "He was... well, really nervous. He was trying his best to do what he could on every mission, but a lot of his own insecurities held him back. We were buds. I did my best to help him build up his confidence, and I guess it's done some good." Not that he was going to take all the credit, but he would never stop being impressed by how much his friend had grown after his death, and perhaps partly because of it.

"How did he seem, or what sort of opponent was he?" Nanaki asked. "He was ruthless, powerful...insane, either way." Troubled too, but there was no sense in pitying him. He was too far gone and cruel for that.

"Yes," he said, quietly, "I should..." He looked at the knife and fork, then slid his gaze to Zack. He spoke with his mouth open and many other humans had bad manners, so Nanaki decided he should be allowed to pick the first sausage up in his hand and began to nibble and chew the end, trying to swallow without throwing his head back.

"He sounds very different to the Cloud I know." He would have liked to have met Cloud like that. But the thought of how much people changed made him think of how short their lives were. And here was Zack, who ought to be dead. It was horribly confusing. Even Gilligan wasn't certain about his feelings.

Nanaki gave a miserable huff and tried to slurp some of his juice, wiping the mess from his face. He was in a miserable human body now too. What if he died too soon?!

He quickly scanned the room for a familiar face and saw Yuffie. That was a little better, for now.

Ruthless, powerful, and insane. Honestly, the first two words would have fit Sephiroth even before Nibelheim. When it came to his opponents, the general had never held back -- and he had been harsh with his own subordinates, too. Powerful went without saying, as far as Zack was concerned. The fact that such a strong man had fallen into insanity so quickly was deeply disappointing, but he realized that the time for mourning was long past.

Continuing with his own meal, Zack also couldn't help noticing the way that Nanaki handled his food. Once again, it fit that sense of awkwardness that he had noted from the start, but Zack had to admit that he'd never seen someone who acted quite like this. Wouldn't it be rude to ask, though?

At the comment about Cloud, Zack smiled and nodded. "You're right about that. I mean, he's still Cloud, but a lot has changed from when I knew him." To go from a half-aware, mako-poisoned kid who couldn't even walk on his own to someone who could call the shots and pilot an airship on top of it all? Well, it was pretty amazing, if he was going to be honest.

When Zack was again distracted by the way that Nanaki was continuing to struggle with eating his meal, he found himself unable to stop a question from leaving his mouth. "Uhh, are you... okay?" That seemed like the most polite way to question someone about why they were having issues with basic motor skills.

Nanaki thought it would be polite not to mention that Cloud had thought he was Zack. Or rather, he'd lived certain parts of Zack's life. His confidence seemed to have stemmed from that, after all.

"You were an inspiration to him," he said, politely.

He felt his cheeks heat up when Zack asked if he was alright, his mind racing to place what might seem wrong. His mood, his habits? Whatever it was that gave him away, it was frustrating.

"Yes... I am," he said, unconvincingly and entirely aware of the fact. "I am....adjusting."

An inspiration. It was a nice word for it, and Zack could only hope that it was true. His death wasn't something he'd wanted -- he doubted that anyone really did, even those who asked for it -- but the idea of it having some meaning and pushing his friend to do so many great things... well, it made the whole thing a little easier to take.

Granted, here he was again, alive and kicking. Zack still wasn't sure if there was a time limit on all of this, but he was going to just take things as they came. Even if it involved seeing Gaia as it was years after his own death.

When Nanaki explained that he was adjusting, Zack frowned down at his food as he tried to figure out what that even meant. Suddenly, he realized that this whole situation was strangely familiar. The odd movements from his conversation partner, the difficulty with eating... It all reminded him of his talk with ZEX.

Did that mean -- was Nanaki not in his normal body? Zack tried to eye the other patient subtly, searching for clues, but there was no way of really knowing. He could just ask, but if it turned out he was wrong, that would be both awkward and really rude of him. Instead, he decided to go with a more discreet line of questioning. "Adjusting in what way?" he asked as he took another bite of his brunch.

Nanaki was about to lift another lump of meat into his mouth, but stopped at looked at Zack. His face was blank for all but his eyes as he thought about the situation. He supposed, from what he knew, Zack could be trusted. But still.

"In many ways. Aren't you? This is a very peculiar situation after all."

That was a pretty generic response, which might mean that Zack was just reading between the lines a little too much. Either that, or Nanaki wasn't going to be completely forthcoming, which he couldn't fault him for too much. A lot of people didn't trust him off the bat because he used to be with Shin-Ra, and this was also the first time they'd met, regardless of how well Cloud might have spoken for him.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he agreed with a nod as he chewed on a piece of sausage and glanced off in thought. "I have some experience with this kind of thing, though. I'm still not sure if Landel is quite as bad as Hojo." Though he was reminded of the situation Yuffie had painted for them last night, and had to suppress a shudder.

Chances were that Nanaki had heard of Hojo at one point or another, through Cloud or just as a matter of course, and so Zack didn't bother to explain. He didn't want to make the teen feel like he was being patronizing, after all. As much as he teased Yuffie, he didn't really see age as a sign of inexperience or ignorance.

Nanaki, as composed and calm, began to nod as Zack spoke. But the mention of a certain scientist set his back hunching up as he growled, every bit a caged animal. He hated Hojo, the vile little man. He could barely be considered human, and Nanaki didn't even like humans much, so that was saying something.

"I've been told he's not responsible. It makes sense. The day time would be much worse if he was."

That was a much larger response than Zack had been expecting, especially since Nanaki had been pretty mellow thus far. Or, not mellow, but quiet and kind of awkward. The way his shoulders tensed as he made a weird growling noise caused the soldier to straighten in his seat out of shock, but it didn't take him long to calm down again -- after all, that sort of reaction wasn't out of hand considering they were talking about Hojo.

Nanaki had to have dealt with the scientist personally. That was the only reason to react so strongly to just a name, even if Zack could relate completely. If anything, that made him more convinced.

"Tell me about it. At least here they let us walk around a little bit." They were still forced to go to the rooms that the nurses told them to go to, but they could stretch their legs and even get some fresh air. Zack wasn't saying it was paradise, but it was way better than the Shin-Ra mansion's basement.

"So, what did he put you through?" he asked with a tilt of his head as he popped another piece of sausage into his mouth. "If you don't mind me asking." Some people were okay with talking about it and some weren't. Zack wasn't exactly the sharing and caring type -- he'd give the facts, but he wasn't going to turn on the waterworks.

Nanaki had been suspicious that Zack was searching for answers about him and the question was further evidence towards it. Really, he should just ask straight out, Nanaki wasn't going to deny what he was, but he was happy to dodge careful questions.

"I don't mind direct questions. It was captivity mostly," he grumbled. There'd been some prodding and poking, but he was mostly being saved for Aerith. "I would ask you the same.... but I suppose I know." So did Zack know he was dead? It wasn't that long after the Mansion that he was killed. Or perhaps he was unhappy long before that ordeal?

Captivity, huh? Well, that seemed to be the name of the game, especially when it came to Hojo. Zack sighed and gave Nanaki an apologetic look. Even if the kid was kind of weird, it was clear that he didn't deserve to be put through something like that. No one should have to be put at Hojo's mercy, as far as Zack was concerned. It didn't matter what they'd done.

It sounded like Cloud had shared enough details of what they'd been put through that his friends didn't even need to ask. Zack felt a little bit uncomfortable about it, but it wasn't the sort of thing that could be kept secret for long. "Yeah," he responded as he shook a hand through his hair, "four years of being cooped up with some experimentation on the side."

Not to mention the mako. Lots and lots of mako. It was no surprise that seeing the Lifestream had made him feel a little queasy.

At that moment, the intercom went off and the nurses started to hustle around the room claiming patients. The time never seemed long enough, but Zack also knew that he was playing catch-up with everything that had taken place after his death. It was going to take a while. "Well, it was nice to meet you," he said with a small smile. "I'll see you around, all right? I wouldn't be surprised if we end up working together sometime."

"Four years," he repeated with a nod. It had only been one for himself. Give or take. "I don't think we'll be here for that long," he added. It was his attempt at optimism.

"Work?" he asked, head tilted. "I...suppose." What did he mean by that? Was he coming back alive, or...perhaps he meant here. "I would like that."

Zack also hoped that they wouldn't be stuck in this place for four whole years. He'd already given up too many years of his life to Shin-Ra's greed; he didn't need to go through it again. While Zack realized that he had to be somewhat grateful to Landel for resurrecting him, that didn't mean he had to lay down and allow himself to be experimented with out of gratitude.

Nanaki seemed a little confused, but in the end he responded in the affirmative, and that was the important thing. "Sounds good," Zack responded with a nod as he stood from his chair, abandoning the rest of his meal. He'd eaten enough. Giving the kid a parting wave, the soldier moved away to meet up with a nurse.

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Day 50: Cafeteria (Brunch)

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