Day 57: Cafeteria

[gald_digger]

Edgar's charming company had raised Anise's spirits enough that not even the Head Doctor's voice could bring them back down. Besides, she was feeling pretty sure that Landel wasn't actually around. To begin with, it wouldn't make sense, and secondly, his announcements sounded suspiciously like ones she'd already heard before. While Anise wasn't

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[human_sponge]

It was hard to tell whether or not anything was really registering with Mikado when he was staring off at nothing, forgetting all about his food as his mind wandered. Peter realized that it was hard to grasp, and probably even more so for someone the boy's age. He wondered if he'd been too forward or if there was something else he could say to help Mikado understand, but after a moment the boy came out with a question that was straight to the point.

And, unfortunately, very difficult to answer.

Peter brushed his hair back behind his ear somewhat nervously and then gave out a small, humorless laugh. "That's the question. There are all sorts of theories about why we're here and what the people who brought us here really want, but no one can say for sure. Some say experiments, others think we're being trained to fight." He shrugged and glanced away, bothered by the fact that he still couldn't say he was sure about either option.

"The point, though, is that we're stuck here. You might have friends here, but you might not. Either way, what you have to be careful about is when night comes. We're allowed out of our rooms to go wherever we want, but all the lights go out and it can be pretty dangerous." Especially for a kid who probably had no idea of what he was getting into -- although Peter also realized that looks could be deceiving in a place like this.

[ofthemotions]

...The first two theories presented were really irregular, and just added to the option that Peter was just crazy. But in all honesty, from a different standpoint, those two options made sense. Mikado had watched people fight who seemed like it couldn't just be something natural, and bordered preternatural instead. And experiments? He had proof of those, and just the mention gave weight to the opposing option, of someone with a grudge behind all this.

Were people still going missing? Was this where they were kept, or was this something entirely different? Mikado blinked a few times, placing the fork he had been holding down, and instead touching his hand to his chin in thought. A different kind of question then. If Peter didn't know why, he might know how. "How were you taken? I just woke up here..." And... nothing. Gas, maybe. Some kind of chemical to keep him under until he was settled. Like he knew anything about it other than what he'd seen used in movies and books.

Which seemed to be what Peter was describing. The dark was dangerous? Mikado raised his eyebrows. "We're allowed out of our rooms? Can we just leave, then?" Maybe from the outside, he'd know where he was.... Unlikely, since... he still got lost in Ikebukuro, but there was possibly a chance that he'd recognize... Something. Maybe. "Why do you think it's dangerous?"

[human_sponge]

If Mikado was looking for details on what to watch out for at night, then they may have just hit a point where Peter was going to lose the kid. He'd already gone through this with Firo, though. He'd told him about the monsters and had received disbelief in return, only to get an apology a day or so later when the kid had realized he was right. Maybe it would go the same way with Mikado.

"No, I don't think anyone remembers how they ended up here. It's like you fall asleep in one place and wake up in another." It was disorienting, seeing how most people would expect to at least recall vague images from when they had been half-asleep or something along those lines. At this point, though, Peter imagined that they were knocked out and then teleported here. If that was the case, it wasn't like there was much to remember anyway.

"But yeah, you can get outside the building if you're lucky, but you won't be able to get far. It's dangerous because -- bear with me here -- there are monsters that are trained to attack us to keep us from getting anywhere." Not to mention the fact that they suddenly ended up in their beds every morning, but Peter figured that was the sort of thing that you had to experience firsthand to even understand.

[ofthemotions]

So it was the same. Hm. If everyone had no recollection, maybe.... He had to stop thinking about it without more information. At least this person seemed open about everything. Mikado nodded in acknowledgment, accepting the point to think over more later. That, at least, was something that could be taken. Something obvious and clear.

Unlike Peter's second point. That they could get outside was reassuring--if nothing else, finding out about the surroundings would be acceptable. Of the other part....

Maybe it was that Peter spoke so rationally, even giving that he understood it was a hard point to bear. Still. Monsters? Even after Celty-san and everything with that, having it said like this.... Mikado laughed slightly, a bit awkwardly. "Do you mean... like there's attack dogs outside?" Attack bears. Who knows what could be trained to do things?

[human_sponge]

The laugh made it clear that Mikado wasn't used to this sort of thing, though Peter imagined that most people weren't. Even where he was from, where superhuman people existed, the idea of monsters was just ridiculous. They couldn't all be called experiments gone wrong, either, since some of the stuff he'd seen went so far beyond that.

"You could say that," he responded after a pause. "Some of them look like animals that are half-dead... and they usually are much larger than you'd expect, too." That was the case with the cats, at least, and he figured it applied to most of the other mammals here.

"It might sound nuts and you can believe whatever you want for now, but just..." He cut off for a moment to sigh. "Be careful, all right?" It was all he could really say for now.

[ofthemotions]

...Animals half dead? What kind of place was this? Breeding vicious attack animals and just what--starving them? Just to make sure people didn't leave. Why didn't they just lock them inside then? None of it made any sense at all. Mikado frowned in confusion, listening to Peter regardless.

"...It is a little hard to believe," Mikado replied slowly. "But I'm glad that you took the time to tell me. Thank you." The boy nodded his head in brief gratitude, before glancing over to the group of men dressed like the one that had escorted him. "Those guys over there wouldn't answer anything."

Peter's concern seemed sincere, and Mikado blinked downward, really wondering what went on at night. From the way Peter spoke, it seemed like it was assumed Mikado would still be here by then. He... didn't know what to think about that. "Can I ask you one other thing? Where is this place? It's not familiar at all to me."

[human_sponge]

Surprisingly enough, Mikado seemed to be handling all of this much better than Firo had. While Firo hadn't ever been outwardly rude, he had made it more obvious that he wasn't buying it. Mikado seemed unsure himself, but he at least took a moment to thank Peter for trying to help. He would understand how useful the information was eventually -- that much Peter knew for sure.

"No problem," he replied with a nod. "And don't ever expect to learn too much from the staff here. Most of the time you're better off asking other patients. There's a bulletin board in the Sun Room where you can post up notes, too." That was something that was easily missed and yet very important in the long run.

As for Mikado's next question, Peter sighed for a moment and ran his hand over his mouth before answering. "That's another mystery. I think it's pretty much a given that we're in America somewhere, but no one knows more than that." It was hard to guess where exactly, but judging from the range of weather and the surrounding scenery, Peter's guess was that it was somewhere on the east coast. They could just as easily be somewhere like Oregon or Washington, though. All Peter really knew was that he was a long way from New York.

[ofthemotions]

And new terminology to settle on, if all of this turned out accurate. The big guys were the staff--which he had gotten, really, from the way they had lead him around--and everyone else were patients. If this was a mental institute, that meant everyone here were crazy, and if it was a... conspiracy or something, that meant that probably all of the people here had been locked up against their will. The certain thing was that Mikado was not insane, so that added weight to Peter's words. If he was here, that allowed the possibility that others might be the same.

As well, another way to test out the weight of words would be the bulletin board Peter mentioned. At the least Mikado could see if people lined up on this. He nodded again. "Okay."

It was the last thing said that shattered any outward calm in the boy. For a moment, Mikado was still gazing at Peter in troubled thought, and apparently digesting the information. Then his eyes widening, blinking rapidly as he leaned forward, hands clutching the edge of the table. "America?"

[human_sponge]

It was pretty bizarre, that the thing that drew the largest response out of Mikado was their location. Still, it was clear that the boy was from Earth, seeing how he clearly recognized the name rather than being puzzled by it. In that case, he was probably freaking out because he was so far from home. Still, even though Peter was originally from America, he couldn't say that he felt like he was "at home" in any way.

This might not even be their version of Earth, after all.

"... Yeah, America," he said with an apologetic smile. "I'm guessing you're not from here?" He had already guessed Japan, but he didn't want to vocalize that in case he was wrong. "There's a kind of... system in place that translates everything we say to each other, so right now you sound to me like you're speaking English." And he was probably speaking Japanese as far as Mikado could tell.

It was pretty bizarre, but he couldn't be too upset because it was also convenient. That and their fast healing wounds were really the only breaks they got here.

[ofthemotions]

And things would get weirder and weirder. Mikado had to wonder if someone like Karisawa-san would enjoy all of this. Translators...? Wasn't that something more... of a sci-fi manga than anything else? He was... starting to sincerely lose his rational capabilities in looking at this. His eyes flattened slightly, color dulling. America. Attack... animals of some sort. A mental asylum. And a speech translation system. It was the things that defied a known reality the most simply that became the end point. Mikado found himself wanting to stop thinking for a moment. To stop contemplating which of the things said were accurate.

He was silent, then spoke up belatedly. "No, I'm not, sorry. I'm from Japan." Something he never thought he'd have to say in a situation like this. He had been in two areas his entire life, and the second had been such a severe transition. Now, if Peter was right, he was in a whole different country. He couldn't fathom it. And he really couldn't believe that Peter was speaking and hearing english. Were there chips? Hearing devices? He felt at his ear unconsciously, before realizing it and lowering his hand sheepishly. "Are you really... not speaking Japanese?"

[human_sponge]

It took Mikado a while to respond, and in that time Peter focused on his food. He had nothing better to do and it would probably be a bad idea to just keep talking and making the kid's culture shock even worse. He would have taken more care with what he'd said if he'd realized announcing that they were in America would be such a big deal for the boy, but at this point it was too late.

At least he'd been right about where he was from. Peter nodded and then replied with his own hometown: "I'm from New York specifically, so this is a pretty big change for me too." The middle of nowhere, not a skyscraper in sight? Yeah, it was bizarre. Depending on where in Japan Mikado was from, it might be just as strange for him for that reason.

"But yeah, believe me, I'm speaking English. I know about three words of Japanese and my pronunciation is terrible." There was a reason he'd asked if he could just call him Mikado, after all.

It looked like he was out of time, though, since the intercom came on soon after, announcing that it was time for some patients to see visitors and for others to wander in the available areas -- or even watch a movie. He glanced to the boy and gave him an encouraging smile. "Anyway, I know it's a lot to take in, but... if you're careful, you'll be all right." He'd managed while basically powerless, so anyone else could pull it off too. That was what he figured.

Standing from his seat, Peter gave Mikado a wave and then headed off, contemplating what he should do with the rest of his day.