damned_institute | Day 51: Breakfast

Yuffie Kisaragi, indomitable bouncing ball of sunshine and unfathomable ebullience, was tired. It'd been a long night full of gibberish and getting nowhere fast.

"Can't I—"

Plucky, who had been busily loading a plate full of French toast and bacon, tittered. "I'm afraid not, Hanna, darling. A chat over a nice, hearty breakfast would do you a world of good, don't you think?"

"Aaaaactually—"

"Come on, let's find you a seat. Plenty to choose from this morning!"

For a long moment, Yuffie seriously considered doing something—anything—to act out. Punch her nurse, rub jam in an orderly's face, climb a wall and hang off the ceiling, jump on a table and parody Loveless… A ruckus like that would definitely jolt her back into gear, right? Sedation aside. And it'd turn Plucky's good day right on its head, which was always a bonus worth shooting for.

But, by the time she'd reached a decision—and it was an epic decision, a really awesome one; everybody'd appreciate the genius, she was sure—she was already alone. Her breakfast tray had been set down neatly by the nurse, who had left with an infuriatingly winsome smile.

"Wow," Yuffie muttered. Shaking her head, she picked a chair at random and threw herself into it. She kicked back, one arm slung across her eyes, to wait. For what, she wasn't totally sure. Some moron to decide that she looked like good company? That was how it usually went.

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"Hmmm, yes, " she mumbled, realizing he might not understand what she was talking about. Maybe she should clarify. "Agi. The ability to use fire."

Finding comfort in this place was certainly the last thing she wanted to do. Becoming used to this place? Unlikely, even for a Shadow battling android. The world she strove to create was peaceful and free of terrors at night. She wouldn't rest until they were free from this bondage of terror.... And with that thought, Aigis realized she was prioritizing again. This place had somehow leaped higher on her list than defeating Nyx, and that should not have happened. And yet, here in Landel's Institute, time seemed to stand still and Nyx felt worlds away.

"I appreciate your patience with me, Heat," Aigis whispered, looking back up. "I must remember, I cannot fall complacent here. Nor can I let them beat my spirit down."

She sighed, deflating a little again. "I only wish I could make it farther through the night. I was able to travel a bit last night, even to the second floor, but because of my disabled abilities... I was unable to progress to my satisfaction."

"I know what Agi is." Heat waved off the explanation a bit irritably. He should have explained his own question better, but it didn't really matter now. "I use it too."

Neither of them were getting very far, it looked like. Somehow they had to make it back before Aigis' two week deadline was up, and Landel seemed to be doing his damnedest to keep them from that. It wasn't even taking much for him to do so, and that was the most infuriating part. They didn't know how powerful Landel was, but they knew he had almost complete control over what they could or couldn't do here.

Meanwhile, Aigis' demeanor was reminding him far too strongly of Sera right now, and he rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck. "Hey, we'll figure this shit out. Quit looking so depressed about it."

"You also..." Aigis looked up, surprised by this new information. Heat also used Agi. Maybe that wasn't so special. Some Shadows used Agi just as easily as Junpei's Trismegistus could, but Aigis realized something she had never even considered before. Reaching out, the android very tentatively touched her fingertips to the tattoo-like mark on his arm; he had taken her hand before, but she didn't want to overstep.

"I wonder. Maybe a demon is more like a Persona than a Shadow." She smiled in a quiet fashion. "Or, at least, perhaps your kind of demon is."

She looked depressed, did she? Maybe that was true, but couldn't she be allowed at least a little bit of shame and sadness? "I'm sorry. I do not wish to trouble you, Heat." She forced an even brighter smile than before, but it was a pathetic attempt. It faded within only a few seconds, and she sighed again. "It is not something I believe can be easily 'figured out.' It is a physical problem, and not one this body can easily remedy."

Never before had Aigis believed having a human body could be so limiting. How much had she wished she could understand her friends better, and how she had envied their mortality. Now Martin Landel had taken her dream and turned it into a shackle. It could only bring her down and impede her.

The awkwardness increased as she reached for his arm, and his face turned slightly pink. However, he didn't move it away, allowing her to get a better look at it. "Sure. Maybe." He had no idea what a Persona was like, but if they used the same sort of spells he did, then perhaps there were similarities. Every time he thought he had a handle on what he was, something else popped out of the woodwork.

"And stop saying that. You're not any trouble." Quite the opposite, really. She wasn't a demon, but she was more similar to those he knew than practically anyone else in the asylum. That meant something. She also wasn't crappy company, which couldn't be said for most of the people he came across.

He patted the top of Aigis's hand lightly, trying once again at the comfort thing.

Aigis wasn't sure what to make of the changing of color on his cheeks. Was he angry, or sad? What feelings preceded a blush? His words sounded relatively neutral. So Aigis just tilted her head as she traced the outline of the hungry flame. "I assure you, it is a good thing." If Heat's type of demon really was more like a Persona than a Shadow, then that would technically make him a guardian spirit rather than a hungry, soul-eating monster.

"It gladdens me to hear that," she said, truly very grateful for his kind words. But it also strengthened her resolve to work harder, to become someone who truly deserved to be seen as an asset rather than a burden. He may think she was no trouble, but she knew the truth. She would work hard, and without a doubt she would become the person Heat thought she could be.

She sighed again at feeling his reassuring touch on her own hands. If anything, this body made up for its impediments by giving her the ability to understand sensation. And Heat's hands were especially warm, perhaps even warmer than Minato's. It made her wonder, did his name come from such warmth, or was it because of his ability to use Agi?

Day 51: Breakfast

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