(From here.)

Holding a gun, ammo, a katana, and a kunai wasn't very easy. Especially when walking around a dark area at night. He'd waited for Akihiko to leave because Homura probably would have skinned him alive if his roommate had found out the club was in possession of a gun. And a key.

But he made it safely to M39 without falling on anything, which was a bonus considering he couldn't see a bloody thing without his flashlight on. He set his katana aside for a moment and knocked on the door.

"Uh... Kenren-han?" he called softly. "It's Hattori Heiji, the young guy from last night? I have that thing you need."

"And I believe it's time to start wrapping up the day," was what the Head Doctor said after the intercom's initial jingle. "Now that everyone's all cleaned up, I think it's time for some... that's right, dinner!

"Tonight, we're serving some scrumptuous rotisserie herb chicken, seasoned with rosemary, lemon juice, and other delicious seasonings. On the side, we have cooked asparagus with bits of grilled onion, as well as small roasted potatoes with garlic and butter; for dessert, we'll be serving vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup on top. Our normal assorted drinks and specialized diet alternatives are available.

"Some of you might find that you have new roommates since your old ones were fortunate enough to recover and leave us. Hopefully, you'll be able to see them again the next time we have visitors if you wish, but in the meantime please treat your new bunkmates kindly.

"I believe that's all for now. I hope you had a wonderful day and that you have a delicious dinner! ...Well, you'll definitely be having a delicious dinner, but there's nothing surprising about that, is there? Hahaha..."

With a seemingly good-natured chuckle, the Head Doctor turned off his mic.

[ All introduction posts for this shift's group of new characters should be made in response to this post. Find your character's room assignments here.

All room threads go in response to this post; please post your character's room number as the subject line of the initial post. Thank you! ]

Kio had been having quite a time with Kunzait. He couln't really believe that one of his childhood characters was here. Well... characters. Some guy with a lot of time on his hands and cosplay. That was all there was to it. He had hoped, as people filed into the Sun Room, that he would glimpse Soubi. No luck.

Perhaps it was better to just accept that his friend was gone. Soubi was in Goura, with Ritsuka. Well, sort of. If the bulletin note was anything to go by, Kio had a handful of pranksters on his hands. He could understand it if this were an appropriate time for jokes and such, but it wasn't. However, should that boy prove to indeed be Ritsuka, then Kio had someone from home. He'd hoped that the identity of the other person would be revealed, but other than minor scathing remarks between 'Ritsuka' and the other, nothing Kio could say was Soubi or not.

If anything, it just annoyed the man. When the nurse came to take him away, Kio went silently. He did not remark on how 'Mr Akatsuki' was being friendly already and how that was a great improvement. If anything, Kio was not himself. But he had to try. Grabbing a tray with enough meat and vegetables, he frowned at it.

"No sushi?". The nurse just smiled. No sushi. Sighing, he moved to a centre table and sat down, picking at his salad. He was a bit hungry. But more than anything, he was despondent. He missed Soubi. He wanted all this to prove to be one giant nightmare.

[Sou-chan! <3]

[for Sylar, I believe]

At the sound of the intercom, Wally jerked awake and blinked around at the room. He’d fallen asleep. He should have been up and keeping an eye open for ZEX, but he’d fallen asleep waiting on his bed.

“Idiot,” he groaned, ruffling his hair and sighing in annoyance. “Way to help a guy out, hotshot.” Hopefully ZEX hadn’t dropped by and thought he’d left or something, or wouldn’t be too mad at him for just forgetting about it like that. If he was lucky, he’d be able to catch up with the other patient at some point and explain what had happened.

Rolling himself a little awkwardly out of the bed, Wally took the opportunity to stretch his injured leg and test how well it was holding up. It was feeling a bit better, not so much that he could abandon his crutch or that it didn’t pull painfully if he wasn’t careful, but better. Tony had apparently made it through the night in one piece as well, which was a relief. He really didn’t feel comfortable about the thought of his roommate wandering about on his own with an injured arm. Not when Wally himself could relax and fall asleep in the apparent safety of their room.

Yeah, he wasn’t going to let himself forget that one in a hurry.

It was at that moment that the door swung open to admit one of the nurses. She seemed surprised to find him awake and ready to go already, but smiled warmly. “Hungry, are we Mr. West? Well in that case, let’s get you to the cafeteria. The staff have provided some delicious French Toast as well as a range of other foods I’m sure you’ll like. Now will you be needing a hand with your leg, dear?”

“No thanks, I can handle it,” Wally replied, smiling back. After all, it probably wasn’t the nurses’ fault that this place was so messed up, so it wasn’t like picking fights with them would do anything. With a cheery wave goodbye, Wally slowly made his way to the cafeteria, keeping a tight grip on his crutch all the while. Obtaining a plate of food was only slightly less difficult than it had been yesterday – he didn’t have the painkillers to work around this time – but he managed well enough, coming away from the buffet with a tray containing a plate piled high with slices of French Toast and slathered in maple syrup, butter, and sugar, as well as a glass of juice. Not quite as good as some coffee would be right now, but the sugar would hopefully make up for it. And, with how few people were here at the moment, he could afford to take more food than might have been considered ‘normal’ – he’d have most of it gone by the time anyone came to keep him company, then he could just worry about how many extra serves would be allowed before he aroused suspicion.

Feeling pretty happy with how things were looking so far, Wally hummed faintly to himself as he dug in to his breakfast.

Tonight, Tamaki was determined not to get called away from his clinic duties! Or any of his other duties, for that matter! Not even the bombshell drop of running into Elena - older and with no memory of him - could sway him this evening.

The young blond set out the supplies, frowning thoughtfully as he worked. That didn't mean he wasn't going to think about what had happened. On the contrary, it was nearly all he could think about.

He just didn't know what to do about it.

[From here]

In the incredibly boring and uneventful hallway that followed, Tyki paused. He guessed he was pretty early, considering there was a huge lack of anyone around. No monsters or not even other patients. The thing there wasn't a lack of, though, were directions to head in to. And that was pretty much the question that kept the Noah occupied right now;

Where to?

[For Peter Petrelli!]

[From here]

With the smoke in his mouth, Tyki almost casually walked from one deserted hallway into the next. Or at least, as casually as he could when the wounds he still had objected to his movements. Going out with plenty of injuries probably wasn't the best idea, but there was something about staying in his room two nights in a row.

Not having a reason to stick around, he moved into the next hallway.

[To here]

After a pretty uneventful dinner Tyki gratefully inhaled from his cigarette. Oh, how he had missed his nicotine, and it'd be a cold day in hell if he'd ever have to go without them again. The Noah took a moment to enjoy his smoke properly before finally stepping out into the still-deserted hallway.

Landels was another distance away from a smoke-free nut house.

Now that he had everything he had been looking for, Tyki found himself wondering what to do for tonight. He could track down that Shinigami person, but the odds of randomly running into this 'Hinamori Momo' were pretty slim. Searching the building for someone who he wouldn't even recognize wasn't the way he liked doing things, anyway. He'd have to find something else to do for tonight.

He guessed he'd think of something entertaining along the way.

[To here]

The intercom's jingle rang out and the somewhat uninhibited movement that was going on between the main activity rooms halted as the Head Doctor made one of his usual announcements.

"Good evening everyone, and I'm very pleased to see so many of you in such high spirits after meeting with your loved ones! However, like with all good things, it can't last forever, so I ask now for nurses to escort our patients in the waiting rooms and in the main areas back to their rooms, where they will be treated with a special Sunday... steak! That's right: today, we'll be serving juicy, delicious steak with fries and cooked vegetables on the side – simple enough for everyone to like and good enough for everyone to thoroughly enjoy! (Our patients with specialized diets will receive their alternate meals, of course.) Our usual beverages are available, and for dessert, we'll be serving warm slices of apple pie.

"After all, patients, t's always wonderful to see all of you cooperating with the staff even when given so much freedom, so I'd like to personally thank and congratulate all of you for helping us, your family, and more importantly, yourselves. Hopefully, we can help you to a speedy recovery so that you can see your loved ones more often, but first... dinner! I hope to speak with you all again soon."

The intercom clicked off.

[ All room threads go in response to this post; please post your character's room number as the subject line of the initial post. Thank you!

On an added note, just wanted to clarify to players of characters who are canonly vegetarians and the like that you get to decide (within reasonable and realistic limits) what kind of diet your character gets from the staff. :3 ]

Miku hurried away from her new friends (and kitten) to the cafeteria. For some reason she was just terribly ravenous. Her nurse smiled, relieved that her patient had finally chose to eat something and wouldn't continue that backslide into poor health. She loaded the girl's plate with French toast and fruit, dusted the bread in powdered sugar and a bit of cherries in red-red syrup and sent the girl to sit.

"There we are, Alice, a nice healthy meal," she cooed, and patted Miku's head. Miku sighed, but carefully cut into her meal and started eating, keeping her eye out for Sousuke.

[from here]

Lucivar paused at the bottom of the wall, waiting for the others to cross. It was the first time he'd been here during the evening and he took a moment to look around him. The area was quiet but not the strange stillness that felt as though everything was waiting for something to happen. Lucivar had no desire to be around when that something decided to show up.

"Which is the closest door?" he asked Renji, glancing around him. "Does it lead directly to the cafeteria or is there another wall we have to jump?"

[from here]

Wally took a quick look around the hallway before looking back at Tony. "Maintenance closet, nurses' station and maybe a doctor's office? I'm guessing most of that stuff'll be on the second floor, right?" He hadn't seen much of the institute last night, as this was when he'd kicked into superspeed on his way out. Things were mostly a dark blur at that point and even if there had been signs around, he probably wouldn't have noticed them. Though if there were signs, he wasn't sure if he'd trust them at this point.

The announcement screeched on and off twice, once for the Doctor and once for Martin Landel. He didn't seem to give the patients any clues tonight though, other than his usual taunting and hints that he was omnipotent. He wasn't though. The Radio People had power as well and it didn't sit well with Okita how no one was actually sharing any with the rats in the maze. Guy was getting ready to go, so Okita did the same. He shed his Institute clothing and dressed himself in his yukata, still wincing slightly as he pulled the obi tight around him. He hid a few pens in his sleeve nonetheless.

Guy was not fortunate enough to receive his old clothes, but perhaps that wouldn't put him at too much of a tactical disadvantage. Western clothing still didn't sit right on Okita. When he fought, it pulled at his knees and slowed him down. He preferred the openness of his yukata or even the wide legs of his hakama over pants and slacks. Even the t-shirts were tight. Once he was dressed, he looked over in time to see Guy leaving with a meat cleaver instead of his old weapon. Good to see that his roommate was upgrading. "Yes, I'll see you tomorrow."

It was a promise, a thin one, but a promise nonetheless. They would meet each other again and they'd have another dinner together. Okita would survive through the night and the day. Now he had to. Waving to Guy, Okita started toward the bed when he suddenly felt his chest constrict and he faltered, coughing. It wasn't hard, more like something got caught in his throat, but the action didn't exactly help his broken ribs and the wound in his side. Gritting his teeth through the pain, he sat down on the bed and tried to ride it out so Guy wouldn't see.

[from here]

The warm night air kissed Archer's face as he stepped outside. A half moon was out, giving considerable illumination. On the bright side, it meant that he could see pretty well, even at night, but on the other hand, it meant hiding wouldn't be as easy, especially out in the field, without any cover. Nonetheless, he cautiously made his way over to the shed.

[to here]

[from here]

Still no one.  Although he could hear muffled voices through a few doors, the corridors were so black that if it hadn't been for his flashlight, he wouldn't have been able to see where the walls met the floor.  The circle of yellow light bobbed with his footsteps, periodically swinging towards the walls.  He'd been caught off guard before, and he wouldn't let it happen again.

He counted the room numbers:  M34.  Easier than last night, that much was certain, but the design of the institute still infuriated him.  Landel had gone to great lengths to make their stay difficult, with the monsters and sedative-armed nurses.  Something like bad architecture just seemed petty.  He gave the door a solid knock then leaned against the wall beside it, the beam of his light still darting around the shadowy space.

[Coming from here]

So they still had to deal with one of the brainwashed patients tonight; the rest were being carted off for experimentation. Something had changed in the routine. There'd been a pattern earlier, one night to those "trials", the others for the brain-washed patients. But tonight was different for some reason.

So what made it change?

Sanzo was suspicious of sudden change, mostly because it always signaled something was up.

Was it because of that "Jill" pissing Landel off? Or just pure whim?

Whatever the reason, it wouldn't do the patients any favors.

[from here]

Now this place, Tokito kinda liked. It really was just like a McDonald's. There was even a ball pit! Though it was pretty crowded with what Tokito assumed were locals--but how could he tell, since everyone was in normal clothes today?--it was a kind of crowded that he could deal with; everyone had their own thing going, their own friends or family or food, and they weren't too interested in bothering other people, especially strangers.

So Tokito pulled out the coupon for the Tasty Meal (and ice cream!) and approached the counter to order.

[also, free for poking]

Shiki was a little disappointed. When she heard the words 'field trip', she had expected the town to be a whole lot bigger. How could you even go shopping properly in a town like this? There needed to be a whole lot more stores, she decided. Two department stores, boutiques, and a record store, at least.

She walked down the main street. Maybe she'd stumble into something.

Rukia filed out of the bus with the other prisoners, shivering a little in the cool autumn air. She was a little irked that the nurses hadn't given her mittens on this trip. Forced to stuff her hands in to the pockets of her jeans, Rukia hunched her shoulders and wandered to the edge of the park before turning around to look for anyone she knew.

Nurses and orderlies were already milling about, supervising and watching the prisoners. Rukia's plan was to get a hold of something - anything - that she could use as a weapon when they returned to the Institute that night. It would be difficult with so many staff members around, but she was determined; the last thing she wanted was to be trapped on the buses again with no weapon.

Sanji woke up groggily to find his nurse already in his room. He gave a sleepy and half-hearted "Buh?" before realizing that nurse meant dayshift, and he'd fallen asleep after dinner.

"Shit!" He sat up abruptly, which gave his nurse a start. "Nami-swan!" How had he allowed himself to sleep through an entire night? What if she'd tried to return to the basement? What if she'd been waiting for him to appear and protect her? He'd let her down!

"There, there. Calm down." His nurse set a familiar flannel shirt down on the bed and Sanji eyed it with confusion. The last time he'd worn that had been... "Sorry I didn't knock or anything, but I was so excited~!" A pair of jeans followed the shirt. "Today is the field trip into town! Aren't you looking forward to it?"

The chef had to admit, the town had been an interesting enough place the last time he'd been. If he could find Nami early on he might even be able to lead her around... So he didn't complain too much as he changed into the other outfit (which he really wished they'd let him keep - anything was better than the regular gray) and was led out to the first of the buses.

He took a seat near the front, hopefully easily visible to any of his crew - especially to a certain member of his crew.

[for Usopp!]