damned_institute | Night 53: F21-F30 Hallway

The Head Doctor's announcement was an unpleasant coda to an already uncomfortable evening. After a pretty good day (well, as good as days got in the Institute), fourth shift had turned out to be a bit unnerving. Lana had cornered Chief Gant in the Sun Room, a move that caught Ema by surprise. It seemed needlessly dangerous, especially with the oncoming night shift. He'd already killed two people to advance his own agenda, what was going to stop him from killing Lana to keep his secrets from getting out to the other patients? Ema had spent the entire shift sitting in the far corner of the Sun Room, carefully out of Gant's eyeline, trying to put her enhanced hearing to use but ultimately getting a headache from trying to block out all the other noises in the room. What good was enhanced hearing if she couldn't target it properly?

Even more frustratingly, Ema hadn't been able to talk to Lana as the patients were herded back to their bedrooms. As such, Ema was determined to hunt Lana down and talk to her before the nightshift really got going. Whatever had been discussed between her sister and former the chief of police had serious implications for both of the Skye sisters. Ema didn't like being left in the dark like this.

As soon as Ema shook off the Head Doctor's not-very-veiled threats about the following day, Ema stepped out into the hallway and started the trek toward her sister's room. Thankfully, the hallways hadn't really filled up with people moving yet, which was to Ema's advantage; she moved slowly, keeping one hand against the wall as she advanced into the darkness with only her flashlight to illuminate the way.

It helped, but it wasn't enough light for her to actually see much of anything.

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1014563.html?view=74732835#t74732835)]

Edited 2010-12-13 07:43 (UTC)

[from here]

Having traversed this way twice before, Stefan reached her room in record time. F30, the first door visible upon entering the block. He was already reaching out to knock before he'd even properly stepped in front of it (which was odd, in a way, since he was so used to coming into Elena's house or room unannounced), and rapped on it once... then twice... then three times.

"Elena," he called out. Silence. His fist touched the door again, without a sound, and he listened hard for... voices, breathing. Something. When his other hand went for the knob, the door opened easily, and he knew before he saw inside that she wasn't there.

But he had to see anyway: two beds, hers virtually untouched (did anyone honestly sleep on their beds?), but the dinner on her desk had been eaten and he thought he felt her warmth he touched the seat of her chair. "Elena?" he repeated, louder this time. He didn't care who heard him, not if one of those people could be her. It took seconds to search the tiny room, seconds to confirm what Stefan already knew in his heart: Elena was gone — not only gone, but taken.

She wouldn't have left on her own. She'd been here, she'd promised him that she would stay in her room tonight, and now she was gone. He wasn't overreacting. He was thinking calmly, rationally right now. Okay, no, he really wasn't, but this was Elena.

When Stefan finally left, it was in a dead run. Forget conserving his strength, forget staying in the shadows. He had to find her.

[to here]

Edited 2010-12-14 10:03 (UTC)

Well that wasn't creepy at all.

Only it was, as evidenced by the varying levels of disbelief Yukari donned on her face while staring at the intercom-- or its general direction anyway, because in an instant the room plunged into darkness, and the more her mind went over the events that happened within the past few seconds, the deeper her expression became. Yeah, technically she was here for "last night", but she could hardly remember it considering how fast it came and went; it felt as though it only lasted a few minutes, so much it fell into the back of her mind, like some blurry dream she could hardly recollect.

But it did go a little something like it was now, all eerie and creepy. That doctor's voice that only existed as an echo throughout the halls of the institute by day-- its odd, scatterbrained demeanor walked through a door into freakin' bizarro land, because although Yukari had only a short time to get somewhat accustomed to it, even she could tell he did one hell of an impressive one-eighty into something a whole lot more sinister.

And Yukari knew what sinister voices sounded like.

She did remember one thing, however; tentatively reaching underneath her pillow, Yukari slowly pulled out the flashlight there. A part of her was already feeling hesitant about this-- Kaito had an offer to follow through with her, but was she really ready to trek through this place with only a flashlight?

God, this had better be worth it.

It took her a little bit to finally muster up the courage to actually leave her room, but eventually, Yukari cracked the door open and slipped through, venturing into the hallway outside.

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1014563.html?thread=74773795#t74773795)]

Edited 2010-12-14 10:49 (UTC)

Having a plan of action helped, and even though it was a vague one, it was less so than Leela's usual plans, which tended to consist of two steps: one, find someone to beat up, and two, beat them up. She knew by now it would take serious sneakiness, and a lot of luck, before getting to the point where kicking would be the answer. That was okay. She was willing to work for it.

She put on her boots and coat and grabbed her flashlight, and only just remembered to take the radio, too. Just in case.

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1014975.html?thread=74791615#t74791615)]

Edited 2010-12-15 05:51 (UTC)

Aigis was feeling better after her talk with Kay. She was almost overly-bubbly, but it didn't both Aigis in the slightest. Now that she thought on it, she wondered if maybe the woman from lunch today had been trying to cheer her up in her own way. How kind everyone was, to an android such as her.

After dinner, she almost reached into her drawer but stopped herself. Instead, she just grabbed Schrodinger and sat on her bed, clutching the plush kitty to her chest. Minato had said he would come see her, didn't he? She had been very harsh in her treatment towards him over the bulletin. Even she wasn't sure what had overcome her. It was like... the emotions had overrun all logic and...

It didn't matter now. She would wait for him, like she had said. If he chose to ignore her note and leave her, so be it. But deep down, she really hoped he would come. She wanted to see him. She wanted to make sure he was here. She needed a constant right now. If not Minato, then who? It had been hard when Heat had been taken, that was certain, but if it happened to Minato, she couldn't even bear the thought!

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1014563.html?thread=74953507#t74953507)]

Minato tilted his head to look at the number on the door, slipping his flashlight into his pack to free one hand. He didn't want to think too far ahead at the moment. All he wanted to concentrate on was that Aigis was here, and they had to talk. Or Aigis had to talk. ...Or neither of them would talk.

With that in mind, he knocked lightly on the door.

It could have been hours or minutes that passed as she sat waiting for Minato. She had sat completely unmoving, save for the occasional stroke she gave to Schrodinger. The knock on the door was startling, and pulled her out of her blank reverie. Someone was at the door. Was it too much for her to hope it would be him on the other side?

Quietly, she got up from the bed and placed the cat plushie down, then made her way to the door. Taking a deep breath, she reached forward and pulled on the handle.

And there he was. Aigis remained motionless, unsure of what to do. Something inside her wanted nothing more than to reach out and touch him. To make sure he was certainly, tangibly there in front of her. Another part said it was foolish and that logically he would have come. But it still felt almost like a dream.

"Minato-san..." she said at last, then stepped aside, allowing for him to enter the room. She didn't know what else to do at this point. She felt frozen and she dared not hope for anything.

He was still holding his sword, evoker and mesh bag strapped to his waist with less finesse than he ever showed his school uniform or other Dark Hour gear. But his face was blank as he looked at Aigis, nodding in greeting before accepting her invitation into the room.

Anything he had wanted to say had evaporated from his mind. Here was someone who had been looked so upset and broken just yesterday, quietly allowing him inside. Maybe she felt obligated. Maybe it was a symbolic. Maybe that was just the part of his personality that had developed into Orpheus.

His free hand slipped into his pocket as he turned back to face Aigis. When he spoke, it was with a certain amount of caution. "How are you?"

He didn't leave, for which Aigis was thankful. She kept her eyes averted as he came inside. It was hard enough, knowing he was probably wasting his precious free time checking on her. He was too kind.

"I am f..." She stopped, took another breath, and started over. "I am fi... I am... I..."

Why was this suddenly so hard? She had been able to talk to Kay without problems before. But then again, she had been completely honest with Kay. Maybe that was why. She could not--no, should not lie. For that was what she had almost done. When had lying become part of her programming? When had she been allowed to speak in whatever way she wished?

Looking fully at Minato, her face blank, she forged ahead. This time without the impediment. "I am coping. It has been difficult. Much has happened since we last met face to face."

As Aigis struggled through an answer, Minato stared at her with muted surprise. Was it that difficult to talk to him now? He could have come by tomorrow if she was having this much trouble. ...But he had insisted on this meeting, hadn't he?

A mental sigh. That's what he got for trying: awkward situations.

When he received a stutterless response, he nodded silently and fell into a more relaxed stance. This time, he allowed his expression to do the talking for him, his head tilted slightly in askance. What happened, Aigis?

Most of the others she had met today had used words to comfort her, but he had always been so quiet. But that was what made Minato special. He didn't need words to communicate. It was easy enough to see the question in his eyes and bearing.

She nodded, then walked to her bed. She picked up Schrodinger again, studying the stitches in his fur. Her words were calm, measured. She'd repeated the scene enough to know what needed to be said. "I was taken for special counseling last night, as you know. I was returned to my original model and I did exactly as I was ordered. I did not fight them when they came for me, either.

"I ended up fighting with several patients, three of which I injured. One in particular suffered from several wounds. I am actually quite surprised. He was rather sturdy, to survive not only gunshots but hits from Athena as well."

Her tone didn't change. It remained steady and mechanical, much like how she used to talk when they first met. It was easier this way, holding back from her emotions. Hopefully it would last.

It took a moment for Minato to properly process what he was hearing. He had known about what had happened last night; their notes to each other on the bulletin board had given him a pretty clear picture of what to expect. He had gone through the counseling too, with the evoker at his hip the only lasting physical reminder. It was difficult, knowing what you had done against your will, knowing that you had thought you were in the right state of mind at the time.

Apologizing on the board to those he had harmed. Meeting one of them, Abe, in person to ask for the evoker that had been confiscated from him while he was unconscious. Allowing his mind to be opened up, exposing his Personas to Abe, and watching him react to the monsters in his expansive soul.

Aigis had likely gone through something very similar to that. And on top of that, she had been upset earlier in the day by something he had not had time to ask about. Yet she was reciting what had happened last night like she was giving him a report.

His concern was almost palpable. This was all wrong.

He didn't say anything and for once Aigis wasn't sure if she could read his expression. She knew how he ought to be feeling, but his face contradicted her knowledge.

"Are you not angry?" She looked up from the plushie in her hands and into Minato's eyes. He didn't seem angry. Why wasn't he? "Do you not understand?"

What was the last date he remembered? She couldn't recall, but it had been after Ikutsuki's betrayal, hadn't it? He had already seen her at her worst. She had almost killed him and all the rest of their friends that night. She would have if something hadn't held her back, a flaw in her programming or a virus she hadn't been able to detect. She had fought back then and succeeded, holding strong until Koromaru had take the initiative and stolen the manual controls from Ikutsuki.

After an ordeal like that, fighting against deviant instructions should have been easier, but no. It was not the case. She dropped her gaze from him. Her chest burned. "Can't you see that I failed?"

She was expecting a certain reaction out of him. Shame? Anger? Disappointment? None of those were on his mind, though. How could they be, when he was thinking about what she had gone through -- not just within the institute, but back in their world, too.

It was like the Moonlight Bridge again, with Aigis bearing her heart and waiting for him to push her over the edge while she was already so destroyed. The physical changes when the situations resonated so similarly to him. The comparison was further bolstered by the recent bombshells he had to deal with. The end of the world. His death. Things that he shouldn't push aside, but did in order to give Aigis as much compassion as he would normally show others.

Minato dipped his head when her eyes averted, and he propped his sword against the wall quietly. Then his arms were up, hands resting on Aigis' even as she held onto the plushie. His eyes were calm and knowing, even as his frown dipped lower with worry.

"You couldn't have done anything." The doctors wouldn't have allowed her to.

That was why he was here. That was why he had come for her. She needed to know before she went further into a downward spiral.

She didn't expect for him to touch her, so it was with surprised that she returned her gaze to his. He seemed upset still. Not angry. And his words, they were too kind.

"I do not understand." She felt that almost painful pressure behind her eyes, like yesterday. She wanted to give in, but she would not allow it. Instead, she rooted herself in her resolve to remain neutral. She could not let it affect her any more. Her feelings could not hurt her if they were not real.

"I cannot help but believe I have become useless. This body is powerless." She hardened her expression. "Scrap metal."

Minato's face did not change as he listened to how Aigis described herself. He couldn't hope to truly understand the transformation she had gone through, from a robotic body to a human one that apparently was accompanied by a truckload of tangled emotions.

His hands dropped down, but he remained directly in front of Aigis while he shook his head. She had to realized that, while her body had changed, it wasn't useless. She couldn't give up on herself like that and allow her body to be used against her.

"You aren't powerless." This went beyond her body and her physical strength; this was about her mindset and confidence, which he wanted to rebuild as best he could. But how? "You have to adapt."

He had almost slipped 'just' in there. You just have to adapt. But that would make it sound so easy, so simple. And if there was anything he understood from looking at Aigis now, it was that none of this would be easy or simple for her.

Adapt. A reasonable enough goal. It even sounded manageable when he said it that way, but she was unsure. Could she adapt to this kind of situation? This body... She had believed she had come to an understanding about it. But that was before, when even the simplest thing like eating seemed a miracle. Why did this false humanity have to become so stifling?

"I have to overcome..." she muttered under her breath. That's right. She had people who depended on her, no matter how useless she may be at this time. If she could adapt as Minato had said, then she may gain the ability to provide support again. Just as she used to in their battles back home.

"Can you tell me something then, Minato-san?" she asked, regaining a bit more strength in her voice. Not so beat down. Not so emotional. And maybe a bit more mechanical. "What kind of expression should I wear in this instance? What feelings should I portray? I thought I understood before what human emotions really were, but lately... I have begun to doubt."

Heat. Utena. Rei. They all claimed she seemed human but what had really made them think that? She couldn't fathom it.

Doubt. It was all too common, especially here. Even he had been wrought with doubts here more often than back home, doubting what he was seeing, whether he had even met Mitsuru, whether Souji had been in the institute, whether Yukari had been "discharged" before she was "returned." He shut his eyes momentarily as he thought of an answer.

But what Aigis was doubting was an understanding of what human emotions were. And maybe it was the fact that he was human--perhaps he took his humanity for granted--but he found there was no easy answer this time.

So it is a longer silence than usual. He regards his friend thoughtfully once he opens his eyes again, his voice quiet.

"You shouldn't 'wear' an expression. Everything you feel makes up your expression." Confusion, anger, distress, frustration, grief, self-pity, doubt. Clarity, acceptance, determination, hope. "Feelings are complex."

The understatement of all humanity.

He took his time to answer. Long silences were common with Minato though, so Aigis was not put off but his contemplation. In fact, it was almost fitting to have to wait for an answer. She had been carrying this question for a long time, longer than she probably even realized, perhaps even before she had come here.

Minato's answer wasn't simple at all, but she hadn't expected anything easy. In fact, it made choosing an expression more difficult. Though if she followed his advice, there should be no choosing involved at all. "I agree, it seems complex. As a machine, in my former body, my expression was based on a formula that took many factors into account. However, I believe it was still much more simplified than human emotions."

She nodded a little to herself then smiled ever so slightly. "It was easier being what I was before. This body does not sort information into data or respond in a uniform fashion. It is not a bad thing, but it can be troubling, too."

She looked up at his eyes. She had always adored those eyes. Those eyes that saw her as a friend and not just a tool. So kind and comforting and patient. "Thank you, Minato-san. I feel..." She paused, thinking over her words carefully. "I understand that I may be closer to humanity here than ever before. But it is a hard thing to accept and place faith in, especially after last night."

Minato nodded as he listened to Aigis think about the process aloud. Emotions could be formulaic in some instances, which was something Aigis could appreciate, but there would be "variables" that made human emotion less predictable and more ... chaotic. Mood swings, strong feelings, resolutions. In his mind's eye, he could still see the physical representations of his friends' growth--the ascension of their Personas.

For a moment, he was distracted by the wayward thought of what had happened to Aigis' Persona. But he quickly dismissed the thought so he could focus on responding. She was looking at him, after all, with a tentative smile.

He wanted to assure her that things would be okay and make that smile a little stronger. So he smiled as he spoke.

"You never stop learning how to be human." He was just sorry this place was where she had to experience so many of the negative aspects, which in turn made his smile wry. "You just received a crash course."

"I see. So it is hard for humans, too?" Such a thing had never really occurred to her before. Her nature as an android must have been rather special--she woke up already understanding all her necessary functions and processes. How did humans cope with everything, then? All the twisting, curving emotions and the unexpected ups and downs that came with everyday interactions, they were all so overwhelming.

"Things have been quite difficult to process in the last few days." Aigis lifted Schrodinger and presented the stuffed cat doll to Minato. "I believe it all began when Heat, a dear friend, gave me Schrodinger-san. That night I also gained Yukari-san's Evoker, so I showed him Athena."

She stopped speaking for a moment and just... breathed. It was hard to talk about these things--having acquired their missing friend's Evoker, her last time seeing Heat--but she felt they needed to be said. "The next morning, I found myself not only in possession of Schrodinger-san but also a set of weapons I was unfamiliar with. I believe... Heat left them to me." And now he was gone. That part didn't need to be said.

A dear friend. She had trusted this Heat enough to show him her Persona as soon as she had the capability. It answered his own silent question about her ability to summon a Persona, and now he had an explanation for Aigis' weeping the other day.

She had made a new friend. She had been hurt. She had felt loss. And with Yukari's disappearance, and the institute being what it was... Aigis had reacted just as anyone else would have under the pressure, unfamiliarity with emotions or not.

He looked over the stuffed cat as he thought, vaguely wondering where this Heat had found a stuffed animal to give to Aigis. Part of him wanted to try and soften the blow of Heat's disappearance by rationalizing that there had been a lot of "discharges" lately. Another part wanted to comfort her on the emotional front, since she was obviously still learning how to cope with loss.

Another part simply wanted to state the obvious. "It sounds like he cared about you a lot." ...He should probably say a little more than that. "He wanted to protect you even when he was gone."

Aigis hugged the plushie to herself, feeling marginally more comforted by holding it close. She nodded at Minato's words slowly, taking them all in. So few words, but saying so very much.

"I would like to believe that is true." She didn't want to give herself too much credit, but she knew neither Heat nor Minato were ones to lie about how they felt. Heat had always said he would help them, too, offering to join them in the fight against Nyx. That, she felt, could not have been a lie either. It made her hate this place all the more. She had lost a potential ally and friend. But it conflicted. She had met Heat here. Without this place, she would never have known him either. "He often said things I did not understand, but he made it quite clear that he wished to help me."

She moved to sit back down on the bed, still keeping Schrodinger held close to her. "I wish I could have spoken with him more. Though it is strange. I never believed I would make connections outside of S.E.E.S. before now."

"We had to protect your secret." There was a slight apologetic tone to his voice. While he was sure that Aigis' programming or responsibilities bore part of the blame for her lack of human interaction, he also knew that they could have had added to the perception that Aigis could not make connections outside of their group.

Would it have helped her, interacting with other students and people in Iwatodai? He did not know much about her life with the Kirijo Group besides some vague details, but Aigis still approached many things with a certain ... naivety. They could shield her by shuttling her from the dorms to the school, but here...?

The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like they had not really prepared Aigis for proper human interaction. He could only encourage her to be curious and hope it would not hinder her too much inside the institute -- while keeping tabs on her as best he could.

"You should make friends. Even if it may hurt." Friends were a source of strength and motivation.

"Yes, it was vital that my nature remain a secret." She had understood the reasoning, true, but now she wondered whether all the worry had been needed. Time and time again here she had been told by others that she seemed utterly human. Then again, she certainly hadn't been very human until shortly before she obtained Athena. She remembered that had been the day everyone had told her she had changed. But had she really? Perhaps it was as she feared and they had only said it to give her false hope.

She looked up, surprised by his words. She almost expected him to tell her to be more discreet, or to return to only speaking to S.E.E.S. members. But he did not. And that made her undeniably, indescribably happy. "I can... keep making friends? That is fine with you?"

He warned it might hurt, but she didn't care. Not when she felt... how did one describe it? So... warm? Warm. That was the only would she could think of to explain it. She clutched Schrodinger in her arms again, but this time it wasn't out of misery but elation. "I believe I would like that."

It seemed like this board was content to let more clues slip by each night, as Erika listened to tonight's intercom announcement. It seemed someone had been harassing Landel the whole day; she hadn't been ignoring those little slips in his speech, sounding like someone might have been correcting him in the background. But who was The Eagle? The detective pondered that one for a moment, writing down some possibilities before snapping her notebook shut and tossing it into her pillowcase. Despite leaving it behind, everything inside it had been returned to her room tonight. Really, she had to wonder whose job it was to restock their rooms and mend their clothing.

Yukari had left before her, but Erika didn't seem all that rushed. Tonight's objective had changed from her original plan; tonight, she was going to head into these file rooms and see exactly what kind of information Landel-san had on her (and on Sync, if she could find his before he did). There were several rooms she wanted to visit: the file rooms on the first floor, and then the patient possession room and the other file room on the second floor. Any one of these would prove useful in solving the mystery of the shadows tonight... assuming nothing else happened.

What did Landel-san have planned? Whatever it was... well, before, Erika might have been eagerly anticipating it, but the detective had a more appropriate air of caution about her as she finally gathered up her things and left her room, heading down the hall.

[ to here ]

There went that disembodied voice again, speaking such cruel and mysterious words. Amaterasu could feel the vibrations of a growl within her throat as she slid off of her bed and hurried swiftly across the floor. It wasn't hard to figure that the so-called 'Head Doctor' was an enemy in this place. He had to be a demon of sorts.
Ammy made a special mental note that she would do her very best to vanquish him as soon as possible.

She was quick to turn her flashlight on as she stepped out into the hallway. Other patients were coming and leaving their rooms around her. As she had on previous nights, the goddess ignored them and set off.

[ To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1014563.html?thread=74863907#t74863907) ]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1016785.html?thread=75026129#t75026129)]

The next hall was about as quiet as the first, although Niikura still kept his eyes peeled for the look of the thing. No sign of Badd's target, though - which meant time for Room Inspection Round Two. They'd made it through one hall without any mishaps; with luck, this one would prove the same. He'd still be keeping his distance, though, whenever Badd pried open a door.

...and he couldn't let things get too quiet. Still looking around casually, Niikura asked, "...so, Badd-san, where ya from? Anyplace interestin'?" Knowing this guy, he'd take the question with suspicion, but it was worth a shot.

Edited 2010-12-27 09:00 (UTC)

Badd was going through the rooms faster now, a bit annoyed. Laden with one teenage idiot and unable to find another, did his life ever not suck? At this point Badd was considering not going back to jail at all and finding some little hidey-hole in the country to spend his lasts days in instead.

"Los Angeles, nowhere special," he answered flippantly. "You?" Badd would bet on somewhere in Japan, from that little 'san' on the end of his name. Could be Zheng Fa, of course, Badd hadn't done much research on the country besides what parts of it the ring had their grubby little hands in, but the accent wasn't quite right.

Niikura smirked as he watched Badd zoom through the rooms. Looked like someone wanted out of his company, what a pity. He seemed to have that effect on people around here.

"Nihon," he replied. "But ya probably already guessed that." It was always interesting to see how quickly people recognized his origins through the honorifics. "And I've actually met a couple of people from Los Angeles - know a guy called 'Damon Gant'?" He crossed his fingers. Maybe Badd would turn out to be the desperately needed third party source he was seeking.

And then there was that girl, the one who called herself the Yatagarasu. A name had been signed too - Kay Something or Another. She was also from Los Angeles. He'd never seen this girl in person, but hey...the more he thought about it, the more he was liking the idea that this was the girl Badd was looking for. Niikura would keep this information to himself, though; it wasn't like talking with Kay about the limits of justice had involved her room number.

Badd didn't give him a horrified pause or dramatic doubletake at the name, he was too experienced for that. He continued moving down the assembly line of open and shut doors.

Spoken with Gant, hm? Now that was a name to drop. Badd weighed the information he might be able to gain against the potential risks from the seemingly innocuous Nihongite. He'd been a part-time cop and a part-time corporate spy, and in both jobs information was the most precious resource you could have.

Let's see what Niikura knew.

"I knew him on the outside," he said, leaving the relationship ambiguous. It would be wisest to play it cool and act as if Gant was nobody important. "Why? He a friend of yours?"

Jackpot. But he couldn't celebrate yet: Gant was probably "known" by many because of his high-profile position, but it didn't mean that Badd really knew him and what kind of man he actually was. Time to test for quality. (Great minds, they thought alike.)

"Kinda, but I think I'm the only one that would consider us 'friends' by any stretch of the word. I teamed up with him a few nights ago out of circumstance, and..." Again, how to say things without sounding unnecessarily suspicious? "...took an interest in the Chief, I guess. Guys like him, I'm always a little suspicious of 'em." He looked at Badd. "Sorry, if yer good pals with him or somethin'."

"Pals? Heck no, I could never stand being in the room with the guy." Badd gave a slight roll of his eyes and felt queasy at the very thought. If nothing else he never trusted anyone who laughed too much...not after her.

Empty, horrified stare, messy but empty. If the kid was on the level it was a good thing he had that healthy sense of paranoia, Gant had proven that he had few boundaries to his depravity. "I'm guessing the Chief never told you exactly how he got that position," he commented as he shut another useless door, giving Niikura a sideways glance. "It was a huge scandal a few years ago, though probably not something that Japan would care about."

Outing a cop in a federal prison would be the equivalent of putting a hit out on him, unless he had the kind of protection Badd had bartered for. Being a police officer here might not have the same danger to it...but if it did, Badd wasn't particularly fussed. The bastard deserved far worse than cushy couches and fine meals three times a day.

"Oh, okay." First strike.

The second strike...he was totally unsurprised. Of course Gant had to have trampled on a few people on his way to the top - and yet, he'd looked sincerely honest when he said that he always acted in pursuit of justice. And Niikura was rarely wrong when he read people; there had to be a catch, some tie-in that he was missing.

"No, I guess it slipped his mind," Niikura said, looking serious for once - almost scarily so. "Why don't ya fill me in?"

In a way, Badd really would be putting a hit out on Gant by talking, except this kind was different. Right now, Niikura had no intention of actually performing Akumetsu - he had no mask, for one, and no wish to truly, finally die - but the next time he and Gant saw each other...wouldn't that be interesting? Finally, he had his payment for all those questions he'd answered.

"He sure didn't sleep his way to the top. Where to even start..." Badd made a little musing noise as he went along the hallway.

"Damon Gant's murdered at least two people that we know about. The first was a prosecutor name of Marshall. Gant impaled him and messed with the crime scene to pin the blame on this sweet little girl named Ema Skye, then hid the evidence and used to blackmail her older sister Lana. He got promoted to Police Chief for catching the killer, then got Lana made Chief Prosecutor so he could control the DA's office too."

He was still trying to play it cool and detached, for all that the thought of what Gant had done made his blood boil, but a tiny bit of anger leaked into his voice. People who hurt kids, especially girls, were likely to get a little police brutality in their interrogation. There were criminals and then there were flat-out monsters.

Niikura's grip on his flashlight tightened so much, for one second, he almost thought he would break the damn thing in half. It...it wasn't even just bribes and luxurious, excessive pensions. It was murder. That was--

Katsuragi had gone almost the same way: killed for profits. Killed like his life didn't matter, like he was some tool. Unforgivable. Evil. Evil evil evil evil evil--

"But he was caught." And probably supposed to be paying for his crimes by rotting away somewhere - yet instead Gant was relaxing in a mental asylum where, for at least for half the day, they spoiled him with quality meals and nice, calm, therapeutic activities. Well. That might all be ending very soon.

Badd picked up on the small shift in Niikura's demeanor, the way his body tensed at Badd's revelation. Interesting. The next door was opened slowly and Badd barely paid any attention to the contents within. He kept talking lightly about earthshattering matters and watched Niikura out of the corner of his hawk's eye.

"Took years and another corpse to do it. Another detective got too close, so Gant killed him and pinned the blame on Lana." Badd was a bit fuzzy on the details. They'd all been following the case at the precinct but it had been years ago and the papers were barely able to keep up with how quickly the 'facts' changed. "Nearly got away with it until some hotshot lawyer got involved. They sent him up the river forever, no idea how he wound up in a cushy joint like this pretending he's got amnesia about the past two years."

More than he deserved. Badd wouldn't have acted as Skye did, he'd have taken matters into his own hands more efficiently. He knew as much about destroying evidence as he did about finding it and he was at least Gant's equal in size and skill with a weapon and they'd have had a bad corpse rather than a virtuous one in the back of the prosecutor's car...

It wasn't worth thinking about now. Gant got his trial, even if he claimed not to remember it, and once Badd got out of here he'd be sent right back to state pen where he belonged. Justice was done and it was done the proper way.

But if Gant so much as looked at Kay he'd break the bastard's legs.

Now that he was over his initial bout of fury, it was time to concentrate on the important details - names in particular. For example, both Lana and Ema Skye were on his list of law enforcement written in his journal, and Lana's position as Chief Prosecutor checked out. So...maybe he would need to seek one of them out - probably the older sister since she was more likely to take it better - if he needed to and get some motivations straight.

And then there was the matter of the lawyer Badd had mentioned, probably the same one Gant was talking about at lunch. And yet, the Chief had seemed to think pretty highly of whoever it was that had...actually figured him out. Simple admiration for a worthy opponent or something more? It marked another investigation to consider.

"Huh. Well, thanks for lettin' me know. Looks like we'll be havin' an interestin' talk the next time we collide." Oh would they ever. "Also...he might not have amnesia. Time gets pret-ty complicated 'round here." Niikura nodded to himself as he folded his arms. "I mean, what year are ya from? Probably not 2007." He was just going to assume that from now on with everyone he met and leave himself free to be pleasantly surprised.

Oh, not this stupidity again. Was there some kind of script they were all working from that said 'time travel and mysterious evil night monsters and also being very clingy to people who really don't want you around'? Everyone seemed to keep to the party line on that one, as obviously stupid as it was. "Don't insult my intelligence with that time travel garbage," Badd growled. "I didn't take it off Gant and I'm not going to take it off you."

Gant hadn't even been police chief in 2007, if Badd's memory served him properly, so the number seemed pulled from absolutely nowhere. At least if Niikura had named the 1700s Badd might have given him points for creativity. And all that right after Badd had helped him out, too.

"Riiiight." Well, guess he just had to take that as 'I'm not from 2007'. At least it wasn't too hard to decipher. "Should've figured ya'd say that, since between the two of us here, yer the sane one. My bad."

Hopefully he hadn't burned a bridge. Badd had given him some useful information, and Niikura had an inkling that he had more, too. But then, he hadn't exactly tried to prevent it from going either, given what he'd just said. Sometimes, it was just plain difficult for him to be any shade of respectful.

Badd let out an annoyed grunt. Little punk. "I'd say I'm the sane one. I'm not the one thinking I could take a guy three times my age armed with nothing but a radio. So what's your story, what did you do to get stuffed in here?"

He really didn't expect an honest admission of criminal guilt or proper insanity. People here seemed picked at complete random--teenage punks, old men, murderers, little girls. But knowing what Niikura had been doing might help give him another piece for the dizzying nonsensical puzzle that was Landel's Institute.

They were reaching the end of the hall now. Half the area down and still no Kay. Badd really hoped she was taking a nap.

"And a flashlight," Niikura added cheerily, waving it.

And ah, now what to do? He could drop the truth on Badd ("I'm not sure, but it might have something to do with my terrorist activities - or else one of my clones playing a really stupid trick on me.") or he could play dumb. Well. He'd given Mello a roundabout answer a few nights ago; that one ought to do the trick.

"And that's a good question, 'cause I don't know. I'm a student." Niikura shrugged. "Got on the bad side of some thugs recently, but that's it. Nothin' insane."

Another hall down, and no sign of that girl. Third time was the charm, though, right?

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1014307.html?thread=75073059#t75073059)]

Edited 2010-12-30 20:28 (UTC)

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