Utena's chest suddenly tightened a little. A friend of Aigis's had disappeared, then. The would-be prince's gaze fell at that. How many had gone in the time she had been here now? She hadn't even really been counting in the first place, so there wasn't even a way to tell. She knew the big ones, though. Seiya. Naoto. Hughes. Celes. Juri... It had been a while since she had last seen Harley too, hadn't it? Utena bit down hard on the inside of her lip when she realized that. Bastard! You'd better not have taken her too, she thought with grit teeth, Landel's crackling intercom voice echoing in her mind in vague, menacing tones. When she was done with Aigis, Utena decided she was going straight over to the bulletin to post a message, then out looking for Harley.
There was one thing that gave her some hope about the disappearances, though, and it was what she was about to relate to Aigis now. "Some of them do get brainwashed, I think. I don't know if some of them go home too, but I do know that people say they've seen friends come back as 'visitors' before. They believe every single lie the Institute has to tell," she admitted heavily, sitting down next to her friend. With the tips of her fingers, she poked idly at the shreds of paper in front of them, no particular pattern in mind. "But they don't ever die, at least. I think Landel keeps them all somewhere, just in case he wants to use them again. I have a friend, Himemiya Anthy - she disappeared once, and a nurse told me she'd gone home believing what the Institute told her. Now she's back, though. She doesn't remember her time here before, but she's alive and she's herself, at least."
Utena paused again at that. The little collection of paper shreds was starting to look like a flower now, maybe even a rose if she squinted. That wasn't what Utena had intended to make, but somehow, it had come out anyway. Looking at it with Himemiya fresh in her mind, that worry from before stung at her again. She shook her head and looked back up at Aigis, trying not to let that show. "That's what happened to me too. I don't remember knowing anything about this place before I went to sleep and woke up here, but I'm told I've been here before."
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There was one thing that gave her some hope about the disappearances, though, and it was what she was about to relate to Aigis now. "Some of them do get brainwashed, I think. I don't know if some of them go home too, but I do know that people say they've seen friends come back as 'visitors' before. They believe every single lie the Institute has to tell," she admitted heavily, sitting down next to her friend. With the tips of her fingers, she poked idly at the shreds of paper in front of them, no particular pattern in mind. "But they don't ever die, at least. I think Landel keeps them all somewhere, just in case he wants to use them again. I have a friend, Himemiya Anthy - she disappeared once, and a nurse told me she'd gone home believing what the Institute told her. Now she's back, though. She doesn't remember her time here before, but she's alive and she's herself, at least."
Utena paused again at that. The little collection of paper shreds was starting to look like a flower now, maybe even a rose if she squinted. That wasn't what Utena had intended to make, but somehow, it had come out anyway. Looking at it with Himemiya fresh in her mind, that worry from before stung at her again. She shook her head and looked back up at Aigis, trying not to let that show. "That's what happened to me too. I don't remember knowing anything about this place before I went to sleep and woke up here, but I'm told I've been here before."