damned_institute | Day 52: Game Room

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Day 52: Game Room

Lunch had taken his mind from his worries, if only for a few minutes. But after the intercom sounded and the nurses began leading patients onto the next activity, one look at the bulletin board brought everything back in full force. No replies from Ashton, Dias or Dad. By now Claude felt like he was practically counting down until the end of the day, when he was going to have to finally grapple with the real possibility that most of his friends from before Landel's, as well as his own father, had fallen victim to the institute.

And now he was going to have to deal with his mother being here on top of that. It didn't seem like a coincidence that she'd show up right when his father's whereabouts were so up in the air. But what did it mean? Why couldn't Landel leave his family out of this?

Normally, the announcement about new video games would have made him perk up, but his eyebrows only knit together with concern as his nurse led him into the game room. That didn't seem to stop her from trying to get him to unwind, though.

"Oh, come now, Thomas, you've worn that expression for most of the day!" she told him with a frown. "Why don't you have a bit of fun now that your eyes are all better? I'm sure you could use it."

The last thing he wanted was to be reminded of his "sleep studies", he darkly thought to himself. But before he could protest, his nurse had sat him down in front of one of the television screens. There was an old gaming console, one Claude had never seen before, and he glanced at her with a confused expression. "Go on," she encouraged as she placed one of the controllers in his hands. "I know how much you enjoy these kinds of things. Someone will come play with you soon, too, I'm sure. Doesn't that sound nice?"

He didn't have time to answer her, because she'd soon bustled off to tend to some of the other patients. Claude watched her leave with a sigh. He realized the daytime staff meant well, which made knowing what they turned into at night even worse to think about. But now he was just being negative for the sake of it, wasn't he?

Taking in a small breath, he reached over to the console and turned it on. As long as he was waiting for some kind of answer from the bulletin, there probably wasn't much he could do except pass the time. Claude watched the title screen appear on the television, his expression growing more curious in spite of himself. Super Mario Bros....

[For Prussia!]

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After his (not completely deliberate) set-up, of all the reactions Uryuu had expected, the one he received wasn't one of them. While Sora-san had said enough for him to know that unique abilities weren't that at all here, Sora-san's response now highlighted that summoned weapons were unusual. Funny wasn't the word Uryuu would have used, but surprise registered regardless on his face, and he might have asked further, had the topic of Hollows not taken center stage.

"You've heard of Hollows?" he blurted, realizing after the initial shock that it wasn't, perhaps, so strange-- Sora-san had been the one to post about Hanatarou-san's "release". With that in mind, he composed himself, attempting to seem as if the subject only had the smallest relevance to him.

"For how long," he started, the words slow and careful, and not as cold as he might have liked, "was Hanatarou Yamada-san here? If you say other patients, then should I assume there have been other shinigami here as well?" Uryuu had not had the same experiences or bond with Hanatarou-san as had Kurosaki (or Ganjyu-kun, for that matter), but knowing what he had done for Kuchiki-san, he would sooner have considered associating with that shinigami than some other unknown one. That is, if his promise hadn't forbidden it.

Preoccupied with this, to Sora-san's protest, Uryuu shook his head. "No," he dismissed, "it would be rude. Not that Sora-san needs to worry about it." In return. Really, considering that Sora-san was his superior in experience here, Sora-sempai would have been the most accurate term. But, as the other boy couldn't be older than he was, it felt strange.

While Ishida didn't say anything about it, he seemed similarly surprised that Sora could summon a weapon. Now it made him wonder if a time would come when they could see each other in action! A magically appearing bow sounded like it would be pretty neat, if he just didn't think back to the fight he'd had with Xigbar in this place.

When the other boy asked about Hollows, though, Sora was quick to nod. It had only been mentioned a few times, but he was almost certain that Renji or Rukia had told him about them. Maybe even Ichigo. Either way, he knew it rang a bell, and when Ishida went on to mention Hanatarou, he became even more certain that they were on the right track here.

"You know Hanatarou?" Sora just barely stopped himself from saying knew instead of know -- his roommate was out there, not dead. He'd be fine, as soon as the rest of them figured out how to take Landel down once and for all. Either way, he hadn't seen any notes signed "IU" posting to him on the bulletin about Hanatarou, so hearing that Ishida was acquainted with him was a bit of a shock.

"But, umm, yeah, he was here for a while. We were roommates, probably for... at least two weeks," he guessed. "There used to be a bunch of other shinigami here, but most of them are gone now." Gone, or dead. Sora didn't want to think about it, but he'd heard the reports himself. Hitsugaya had come back from death, and even then, he hadn't stayed long, but Renji? Renji never had. It wasn't something he wanted to talk about if he could avoid it.

It looked like he was going to have to endure being called Sora-san after all, but he was kind of used to that after meeting so many other shinigami and people from Japan. So Sora decided to drop it in the end.

Not having forgotten that he'd responded to that note with "GW", Uryuu glanced away at Sora-san's question, fingers pushing at his glasses. He did not regret nor feel self-conscious at having used different initials, but if they were going to be working together in some capacity, it seemed likely to come out at some point or another. If it ever became necessary, he could simply come up with another set, or another name, with another type of writing. Being good with his hands had a number of bonuses.

"Ah," he said, dropping his hand and looking back, "the staff call me Gerard Way."

Two weeks. Uryuu didn't know anything like enough about Hanatarou-san, but given the little he had witnessed in Soul Society of the general attitude toward the 4th Division, it didn't seem likely his disappearance would have made a stir. Not that he would have heard about it. Still; though he barely knew the healer, he'd thought he'd recognized his spirit pressure when the other shinigami had entered Hueco Mundo. Otherwise preoccupied at the time, and with the far more immense pressures of Kuchiki Byakuya and Zaraki Kenpachi, it had been difficult for even him to be sure.

Speaking of other shinigami. "Who else?" he asked, keeping a thread of urgency and another that demanded from the query. If there had been a bunch, he ought to narrow it down. Shaking his head, "No, I don't need to hear about most of them. Shinigami aren't -- never mind. In particular, I want to know if Kurosaki Ichigo has been here. Then, I suppose, Abarai Renji or Kuchiki Rukia. Also, have any others who aren't shinigami been here? From that world, that is."

Inoue-san. Sado-kun. It would both clarify and invite more questions about how Landel tampered with time; but worse, it would make his stay here longer than expected. If they'd been released, Uryuu would not, could not take any opening to his world. Not without finding them first.

[sorry for THE THIRD EDIT /stabs grammar]

Edited 2010-10-16 22:32 (UTC)

Oh, so then Ishida had been "GW," too. All of these aliases and code names were pretty confusing, in Sora's opinion, but he had to be understanding and assume that the people who did that had good reason to. Sora personally did his best to always sign his name when he posted on the bulletin, because he didn't like to be an insincere person.

It was possible, then, that Sora had gotten to know Hanatarou better than Ishida, even. He didn't like that thought, because he had been close to his roommate and now all of that was gone. Ishida was quick to ask more questions, though, which inevitably caused Sora to look at him with a worried frown on his face.

All three names that Ishida gave were people that Sora had met in this very place. He had known Renji the best, but had spent enough time with both Rukia and Ichigo for them to count as friends. Sora sighed, trying to figure out how to tell Ishida that all of his companions were long gone.

"I met them all," he admitted, "but it was a few weeks back. There was... Hitsugaya, too. He ran Arts and Crafts for a while, actually. I think Rangiku worked under him?" Sora wasn't sure about how all of the rankings worked for the shinigami, but the more he spoke, the more people he remembered. "There's also Momo -- she might still be here, but I haven't seen her around for a while." He didn't want to tell Ishida about some of the fates that these people had suffered, but at the same time, how could he not?

"I... think that's everyone," he said, finally finishing. There may have been a few others, but he'd only met them in passing and their names weren't coming to him at that moment. Sora had told Ishida about the people he was most interested in, so there was that, at least.

All of them? The news hit Uryuu with the force of a physical blow, stunning him past expressing even surprise for the time that Sora-san spoke. He'd thought he'd been prepared to hear it, but clearly, that wasn't the case. The other names were familiar, too, with spirit pressures he knew better than Hanatarou-san's. In part because their energies were that much stronger, leaving that much more of an impression, as Vice-Captain and Captain. They had visited and fought in the human world. Momo wasn't a name he recognized at first, though it eventually struck him, having been mentioned in hushed voices in the 4th Division. She had been Aizen's Vice-Captain, a member of the 5th Division.

When the shock began to subside, the emotion that came twisted a grim, uneasy smile into place. "Ridiculous," he said, "before I woke here, two days ago, I was with them. Kuchiki-san and Abarai were fighting below, but I could feel their spirit pressures. Kurosaki had just left, but... not that I don't believe Sora-san, but this Landel is something."

His surprise had made him speak more, give more details than he might otherwise have. Uryuu shook his head, the motion slow, and pressed his lips into a thin white line before asking, and unsettled, he couldn't keep the emotion from it: "Sora-san's certain? There are two others, they aren't shinigami. Sado Yasutora, and -- and Inoue Orihime."

Uryuu braced himself, now expecting it.

Ishida's response was expected, even if he didn't show much of it on his face. But just his silence and the way he was staring off made it obvious enough that the news was hitting him hard. If they'd known each other better, Sora would have at least put a hand on the other's shoulder to reassure him. Not that there was really a silver lining in a situation like this, but...

"Time here is weird," he admitted. "The head doctor can take people from different points in time, if that makes sense. So you might run into people here who don't remember as much as you do, and stuff like that." It wasn't always easy for people to wrap their heads around, at least not until it actually happened to them.

"But yeah, I'm sure. I got to know Renji and Rukia pretty well, before they left." Left was a vague way of putting it, but he just couldn't talk about what had happened to Renji right then. The man had always watched out for him while still taking him seriously, and to suddenly have a constant in this place taken out just like that; well, it hadn't been easy, that was for sure.

As for the other names, Sora was almost certain he'd never heard them. Orihime sounded sort of familiar, but if so, it was just one he'd heard in passing. "I don't think I know those two," he said after a pause. "But you could always try the bulletin. It's not like I've met everyone in this place."

Hearing it said so matter-of-factly by Sora-san, both the anomaly in time and that his fri--those with whom he'd worked before had been prisoners, made doubt impossible. Not that Uryuu had been much disposed toward it; to say that he instinctively trusted the other boy would be erroneous, but something about him nonetheless made it difficult for Uryuu to distrust him. They were completely different, yet it was reminiscent of--

It little mattered. He nodded at the simple, yet impossible explanation. The past few months of his life had prepared him well for that which couldn't be possible. Even if they hadn't, to deny it would be foolish; more than that, pointless. Sora-san had apparently known Kuchiki-san and Abarai well and long enough to befriend them. Strange, yet only a single grain in the mountain of the inexplicable that was Landel's Institute.

To assume that because Sora-san had not known Inoue-san or Sado-kun meant they had not been here was tempting, but unwise. Yet, if they had been, it couldn't have been while Sora-san knew Kurosaki and the others. The bulletin it would have to be. "I'll do that. How long has it been since Kurosaki, Kuchiki-san, and Abarai were here? For how long were they here?"

A beat, and necessary as it was, even managing to look at Sora-san directly: "Ah... thanks for the information."

His tension subsided for the moment. Uryuu reached to adjust his glasses, letting out a long breath. "What a pain that guy is... now I'll have to rescue Kurosaki before leaving." And the rest of them. Perhaps he'd even look for the other shinigami. It would be worth it, just to see the look on Kurosaki's face. Provided he could reach him through whatever trick of the mind Landel had put him through.

"I don't suppose," he then began, flattening his hand again on the table, "you know by what names the staff called them?"

While it was hard to keep track of all the questions that Ishida was asking him, Sora didn't hold that against the other patient. If their positions had been switched, Sora would have been doing the same thing. It was just that he had been here for so long that he was usually able to keep track of when his friends came and went; luckily, both Riku and Kairi had stuck around for longer than expected after their return, and he could only hope that that would continue.

"Ichigo has been gone for the longest," he started. "It's probably been for at least three weeks. For Renji and Rukia, it's more like two." It felt like longer than that, if only because so much could happen in the space of just one cycle of night and day in this place. "They were all probably around for at least a couple of weeks." Sora hadn't been keeping track back then because he'd been hoping that they would never disappear, but that had clearly been the wrong assumption to make.

It seemed like, just judging from Ishida's next comment, he was more focused on Ichigo than anyone else. Sora wondered if they had been friends, but it was hard to tell. Still, he couldn't help nodding out of empathy. "Yeah, I've got a few people I need to save, too." Donald was currently at the top of that list, but there were so many others. Sora sometimes still wondered if someday, he would find Nowe again.

As for the last question, it was something that really caused him to have to strain his brain trying to think back. "The only one I can remember is Renji's," he admitted after a fairly long pause. "It was Kyle. Kyle... something." Had he ever known the last name? He wasn't sure. But those fake names had never been as important as the real ones, which made him wonder why Ishida wanted to know. To ask the nurses about, maybe?

However limited the information, Uryuu listened with avid attention. He was least certain of the importance of the time, outside of the obvious -- the more time had passed, the less other patients would know or remember, with a two to three week retention rate. Fewer patients would remain who knew anything at all. Kyle something? Sora-san had been helpful; Uryuu wouldn't think ill of him for this single disappointment.

Unaware that his question was a point of curiosity, Uryuu made no attempt to explain. It seemed obvious to him. If the staff called them by fake names, then their files would be organized by those names. Especially if a patient had been "released" under that name, whatever "released" really meant.

"I expect the club has that, then, as one of its goals?" He asked, shifting gears, back to both the subject of saving those "released", and to the club. With this new burden, the thought of exploring in the night threatened to reek of pointless tedium. Uryuu knew better. Too little of the mystery of this place had been unraveled thus far. Not that he could completely resist the taste of urgency, could completely deny the frustration of this bound to drag imprisonment, when in his world, the situation was what it was. Even if it hadn't been. Landel having some device to tamper with time did not guarantee that the patients would have success with it.

"In the long-term, of course. Either way, I'll join in tonight." The benefits outweighed the drawbacks. Perhaps the so-called club had maps he could copy.

When Sora was suddenly put on the spot, he fumbled for a moment before trying to find some sort of suitable answer. "Well, it's kind of hard to know how to help the people who've been taken until we either get out or stop Mr. Landel, but..." That was one of his goals, of course. It was just one that was harder to define in that he didn't know how to work at it now.

But Donald was out there, along with who knew who many other people. Sora wanted to save them all, once he could figure out the best way to do that. For now, he was stuck waiting for them to visit him (or someone else), with no real way of getting a hold of them on his own. Which was frustrating, but Sora tried to tell himself that at least Donald was safe.

He was glad that Ishida clarified his question in the end, because it really was a long-term goal. Sora did end up smiling to himself at the thought of seeing people like Ichigo and Rukia again. He wasn't sure if Renji was gone for good or not, so he tried not to think about that.

"Thanks for helping!" he said sincerely as he grinned at the other boy. "I'm going to put the assignments up on the bulletin as soon as possible, so keep an eye out, okay? I look forward to working with you, and I hope that you like the club well enough to stay." That was about all he could hope for, really. If Ishida had been friends with all of those shinigami, then Sora was almost certain that he was a good person; Sora hoped that he would stick around, so they could get to know each other better.

The running thread continued: the available information was insufficient. Even if he were to choose to dismiss Sora-san, he could not imagine that every single other patient, that the previous leaders of the club had all been inept. What it provoked in him was disbelieving frustration that so little had been ascertained in Sora-san's month in the institute. Would he also have to spend days that became weeks, and weeks months, in order to scrape out the tiniest parcels of useful information?

Uryuu was no stranger to having to remain patient during long waits with no end in sight; it had been years before a shinigami appeared. He struggled with the initial swell of dissatisfaction, managing to keep it (almost completely) from his face. With Sora-san's grin, the effort disappeared, having to refocus to keep him from looking too discombobulated. After a month, that the guy could have a smile so wide and so genuine. Definitely reminiscent of--

"There's no need to thank me," Uryuu once more reached to adjust his glasses. "I'll benefit from it as well." A beat, during which his hand (again) fell, and he had to look at Sora-san without the motion as a barrier. "As for whether it will last, only time can tell."

Somehow, it didn't sound exactly as he'd wanted it to; or, perhaps, throwing out the cool, distancing words in answer to that sincerity left him on edge. To cover, he pushed back the chair, intending to stand. "Then, I think we're done here." He looked, without quite meaning to, over to the televisions and gaming consoles. Back to Sora-san, inclining his head. "I'll look for your posting."

It was kind of hard to hear such harsh words from someone he'd only just met, but Sora also knew that Ishida had a point. They barely knew each other, which meant that the Quincy was only going to trust him and continue to work with him if Sora proved himself. He had done so much in his past -- he'd saved entire worlds -- and now it was hard enough just to make a club seem appealing enough that people would stay in it.

But he was going to give it his best, and that would hopefully shine through to anyone who was watching. "I won't let you down," he said as he stood from his seat along with the other patient. He didn't miss where Ishida's gaze flicked to for a moment, although it was hard to know if he was looking at the video games with disdain or longing.

Sora knew where he stood on the matter, but the intercom had already gone off and so he clearly wasn't going to have any time to play. There would be other opportunities, but it was still a little disappointing. "All right," he agreed as he waved to the other boy. "Good luck tonight." Which whatever he ended up doing; Sora realized that was up to him.

So, with that, he headed off to meet a nurse who looked like she was in a good enough mood to let him spend some time at the bulletin to write up that post. Here came the moment of truth!

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Day 52: Game Room

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