Hitsugaya woke with a start.

His entire body ached, but the pain was nowhere near as bad as it had been the night before. His injuries had been tended two with clean gauze and bandages, and he found every movement wasn't agony. He wasn't in the best of shape, but thanks to the miracle of landel's strange time distortion, he had mostly recovered from the vile poison without having to waste anyone else's talents.

And in his hand, still...there was the key.

He dressed quickly, sliding the key onto the key ring from his desk drawer and stuck it into his pocket. Whether the key stood to gain them anything or not, it stood as a vital reminder that they could succeed in this place. There was hope, as insignificant as it often seemed. They could beat this place.

That small shred of hope made getting up worth it.

The nurse who escorted him to breakfast was cheerful, and commented idly about how wonderful it was to see young Tommy Winters up and about again after his unfortunate run-in with a bad case of food poisoning. He smirked slightly, knowing that any lies the institute forced into their heads were only that: lies. He wouldn't buy it for a second. And on top of that, the concept of muffins sounded almost appetizing. While he still preferred his authentic Japanese cuisine, the food here was slowly becoming more and more bearable. He would have preferred a warm bowl of sweet nattou over rice over the mufffins, but they would do. The plain yogurt and fruit, on the other hand, was excellent. He piled his plate high with fruit as usual, and got several small bowls of yogurt as well.

Finding the most convenient table to the end of the food line, he took a seat and scanned for the new arrivals. New arrivals meant people who would be lost and confused. Renji did a good job of making a bulliten post last time...he should recommend abarai-fukutaicho do the same again this time.

[Waiting for Angel]

[[from here]]

He went for the path least traveled, heading away from the entrance instead of back the way he'd already been.  While this new way also lead outside, it was fenced in and like much of the building, gave him a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach.  It made him feel like a prisoner again.  He hadn't escaped all of that only to be held captive again. 

The air outside was cool and he tied his jacket around his waist rather than put it on.  He liked the cold much more than he liked the heat and right now the cold would keep him awake.  Besides, the blood around his wound wasn't wet anymore, so it didn't chill him as it had before.  The walls outside were high, but maybe he could still climb them.  They weren't nearly as tall as the walls before.  The grass here was neatly trimmed and seemed to be made for some outside sports.   White posts stuck up from the ground on either side of the field.  A shed sat in the far corner of the field, probably a good start if he was going to try climbing.  At the very least, perhaps there was something useful inside.

[ from here ]

The landen behind the counter was badly dressed and watched him. He paused in the only clear spot to look through his coupons. It didn't look like the staff wanted them to come back with any books. Ah well, he could look. There could be something to learn there.

Saetan found the spaces between the shelves a bit clausterphobic, and all the books seemed worn and well-read. He didn't recognize any titles since he only knew books from his own Realms. He ended up in the section that, by the lurid art on the covers, held romances and what the witches in the Coven had called sniffle books. The memory made him smile, and he pulled one off the shelf to flip through it.

Momo's mind was turning over all the possibilities surrounding this "field trip" to the surrounding town when she settled down in the corner of the Sun Room away from the Arts & Crafts room. She curled her legs underneath her as she waited for Shouko-san to find her. The shinigami had no idea what she looked like, so she kept an eye on all those entering the room.

It was still very cold, or at least she was cold, and the momentary thought of getting her coat from her own room passed through her mind amidst the field trip thoughts. She pushed it away and decided to deal with it being as cold as it was since she'd already been late to one meeting today and didn't want to start making it a habit.

As she waited, she pondered the next day's possibilities. Maybe, just maybe, once away from the institute the shinigami will have access to their full reiatsu. And if not, maybe they'll have a better idea of how they are being limited so much. Maybe Aizen would be able to find her then. He'd save her... right? Right?

Renji wasn't so certain what this grilled cheese thing was all about, but he liked the sound of some soup. Even if it was strange western soup, well... there wasn't anything bad people could do to soup, in his experience. His good mood was starting to fray at the edges, a little, from the strain of dealing with the Ichimaru issue, and even more from what had been on the bulletin board earlier.

He'd never had difficulty simply writing something before. But...

He shook his head as he entered the line. He didn't want to think about it. He wanted to hold on to the tenuous equilibrium he'd managed to find.

Renji got himself a large bowl of soup, water, and even one of those sandwiches, just to try it. Old habit, recently awakened, had him over to one side of the cafeteria, where the fewest people possible would have the chance to pass behind him. He sat there with his back toward the wall and started eating.

((Coming from here.))

Chase slipped into the chapel, his lips pursed. He looked around, for the moment not seeing anything - after all, he was just barely inside.

He closed the door behind him and slowly stalked forward. Some nights ago, the voice on the radio had hinted to a treasure being hidden here. Had anybody gotten it? If not, would it still be here? If so, was there something else?

Damn it. Maybe this place hadn't been the best choice. After all, Chase had never been very religious. Sure, training at the temple meant he had followed the strict ordinances set by the superior monks, but religion? Not a very popular subject among the truly debased and amoral ...

[From Here]

He’d walked past the bathroom Usopp had introduced him to on the first night, before heading directly towards the last hallway in this particular block. It was rather fortunate that he was placed so close to his ally’s location, and he found it more of just a matter of playing a waiting game as he silently marched down the hallway.

Passing by the other rooms without too much notice, Yuber’s movements came to a stop just after halfway down the corridor as he came across M33. It took a little rearranging, but the knight managed to hold the two blades and the torch in one hand, before he neatly folded his arms across his chest. He didn’t bother with his usual tactic of simply entering into the room, but instead found himself comfortably leaning with his back up against the wall while he waited for Usopp to emerge.

The knight was only hoping that he wouldn’t be kept waiting for too long.

[From here.]

It was around that time when Jade's pace slowed considerably, almost to that of a snail's. Even though it involved a woman of some sort, he was certain that he'd have more than enough time to dwell between the halls while still making it back before his Majesty reached his own destination. He walked the halls with more ease than he held moments before, swinging his fontech back and forth as he wandered along.

The rail caught his attention almost instantly, and Jade found himself looking over the edge in practically no time. Even at this height he was able to make out the shapes of chairs and couches that lined the Sun Room's floor. This area seemed to awaken some nostalgia inside him, reminding him of the very bridge that overlooked the first floor of the Cathedral back in Daath. If he remembered correctly, it was where Luke came to him after seeking whatever moral support he could squeeze out of his allies. Life was more hectic back then, and they were facing dilemmas that no person could keep to their own.

Jade chuckled at those memories, letting himself relax in the darkness.

[To here.]

[From here.]

By now the Colonel was just surprised.

From everything he'd heard earlier that day, he was expecting monsters to pop out of every orifice of this Institute. Instead, it remained all but blissfully quiet, and in a way it was a big disappointment. Though as they say, knock on wood or he'd regret what he just said (or thought). Yet the silence gave him time to think, a small bit of time to contemplate to himself without the loud chatter of other patients around him.

By then he was venturing in territory that left him alert despite whatever bit of introspection came to mind. Eventually, Jade chose to hug the wall, fingers pressing lightly against the cold surface as he continued along his way.

[To here.]

[From here.]

The hallways were eerily silent tonight; Rukia just hoped she was moving quickly, and that something more sinister wasn't going on. Passing by the first few hallways, Rukia turned right when she saw M10.

[From here.]

Rounding the corner by the nurse's station, Rukia shined her flashlight around and went through the door to the first M-Block.

The intercom clicked on with its usual jingle, the Head Doctor clearing his throat before he made his last shift-changing announcement of the day.

"Well, now that everyone is clean and having fun, I suppose it's time for everyone to be escorted back to their rooms for dinner! Yes, yes, I know the game room can be entertaining and doctor sessions can be fulfilling, but we only have so much time in the day, don't we?

"Ah, and speaking of dinner, tonight, we'll be having an old favorite--seasoned steak, a baked potato, and peas! Yum, yum. You also get a choice of vegetable soup or caesar salad--just tell your nurse which you'd prefer--and may also choose from our usual variety of drinks."

He made his usual pause, perhaps contemplating what the night would have in store once the sun fully set. Now, however, wasn't the time to reveal such musings, and so he ended on his usual cheery note:

"That's about all for now! I hope you all enjoy your suppers."

And again the intercom turned off.

Gluttony didn't want to leave his Lust, not after he'd just found her!  But the mean tasty nurses said he had to.  "You can't join her in the women's showers" was a bad excuse.  He didn't like the mean tasty nurses.  Maybe Lust would let him eat them later.  Still, he knew he would see his Lust again, and that was good.  He liked Lust.  She was good and beautiful and smart and kind.  Why did they have to take him away from his Lust?

Still, he would see her again.  And she would tell him it was okay to eat the tasty nurses, and that would be good.  His new friend liked eating people, too.  That made him happy to find a friend who shared a love for eating people.  Today was a very good day.

As he entered the showers, he stood under a shower head and opened his mouth wide to drink up the water.  It wasn't as good as eating people, or eating waffles that didn't scream when he bit into them so weren't nearly as good as eating people, but it was still swallowing something, and that made him feel better.

[From here]

Xemnas briefly paused as he reached the staircase, his orange eyes slightly narrowing as he gazed upwards, trying to determine whether something above waited, or not.

The Darkness didn't provide him the slightest moving shadow, nor any sounds broke the everlasting silence. For now, both the stairs and the immediate area around it were void of anything remotely sentient.

With that, the Nobody silently climbed the stairs.

[To here]

[From here]

Xemnas had quickly made it into the next hallway, noticing he was one of the few patients sneaking around in the darkness. It seemed no abominations had appeared thus far either, which was something he wanted to make use of as long as possible.

Not lingering for too long, he carefully headed to the nearest staircase.

[To here]

[From here]

So far no stupid distractions.

Albel quickly proceeded into the next hallway, carefully scanning the darkness for any scum lurking within it (though without a flashlight, it made it pretty difficult to see anything).

Eventually, the Captain reached the door leading to the recreational field. As he turned the doorknob, he felt the cold chill from outside on his face. Without lingering too long, he headed outside.

[Off to here]

Dinner had been great, even if he hadn't been able to get seconds or thirds. Luffy also generally liked to eat with company whenever he could, but it seemed his roommate had mysteriously decided to skip out on their meal tonight again. He didn't really understand it. After all, who in their right mind would skimp out on eating right before another nighttime adventure?

He didn't have time to dwell on that baffling thought for long, though. The Head Doctor's announcement marked the end of the day (he'd been here more than long enough to figure that out), and tonight he was practically itching to get out. After all, Usopp was going to run around with him tonight. While Luffy could be content to have adventures by himself, he'd actually missed his crew a lot since his arrival, and he was glad to have one of his closest friends around to have fun with.

Come to think of it, Usopp had wanted to meet with him tonight outside his room, right? Luffy didn't really like the thought of standing around and waiting for someone out in the hall. Not because of the threat of monsters, of course, but because it was just so damn boring to do that.

As Luffy stepped outside of his room with his flashlight in hand and his radio around his neck, he figured he could wait at least a little while for the sharpshooter to come around. He plopped down onto the floor, legs crossed and arms folded over his chest. Hopefully he wouldn't drift off to sleep -- or see something really interesting and wander off on his own. He couldn't make any promises, either way.

Only real men worked outside with flora while the women stayed primped and fresh inside the air-conditioned Institute.

Or so this was what came to Axel’s mind as he dumped a shovel full of soil into his half filled pot. Never mind the fact that he was still injured, and that the nurse tried to persuade him to reconcile his thoughts and come to the Sun Room instead, but Axel had the feeling that he’d get a bit more private time if he came outside. And lo and behold he was the first one there, so with a lazy shrug he balanced himself on one crutch while he worked with whatever plants they gave him with the other.

If only Marluxia could see him now. The redhead sneered at the thought of the man laughing hysterically before a pot connected with his face.

[[From here.]]

Recluse turned the corner from his cell block's hallway and headed for the door out. He knew what the man he would be fighting looked like, but he didn't know which room he was in. He'd just have to get to the intersection leading to the Sun Room to head the man off.

He wasn't planning on killing the man, just making his life extremely unpleasant.

[[to here]]

((from here))

Ginji felt a little better now that he had met someone else tonight and he was actually on the right track to getting to Kurama's room! Without even getting lost once.

Ban-chan would be proud, he thought. Thinking about his partner made Ginji feel extremely lonely though, which was silly because he had friends in this place too... Friends that weren't Ban, but were still good people.

He was going to see one of them and then he would be able to get more power tonight to help the people who needed him.

Patting his pocket to make sure that the radio was there, Ginji headed down the hallway towards Kurama's room.