Day 24: Lunch

[jei]

Not wanting to be dragged along on whatever Mission of Annoyance Schuldig had planned for himself at lunch, Farfarello instead headed straight into the cafeteria, alone

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[broken_exorcist]

Something was wrong. Something was really, really wrong. Had the other man not heard him correctly? Was he the only sane person here? He supposed it was possible... that this wasn't the Dark Order at all, that this was some other place, but that didn't change the fact that the man in front of him was an Akuma.

This one was even so presumptuous as to refer to himself as a type of God! The Noahs at least were only claiming to be his apostles, but wasn't that going too far?

He looked to the dark-haired man, what other hope did he have? "I know he might look like your friend, but this man is dead! He's no longer the person you knew! He works for the Millennium Earl and he's terribly dangerous! There are others here too, several!" His eyes were pleading, almost on the verge of tears, "You have to believe me! I'm an exorcist, so I can-" He paused, trying to make himself believe the words as well, "I can handle this!"

He squirmed in the red-headed Akuma's grasp, trying to get a leg up since his arms couldn't reach, maybe he could at least get his feet far enough.

[muted_flame]

While Roy had no idea what a Shinigami was, he knew that Renji wasn't dangerous - at least, not toward other patients. While he had never met the man personally, he had heard only good things, so it seemed that this was all a misunderstanding on the teenager's part.

To be quite honest, he was getting sick of his protestations, especially when it was obvious that Renji wasn't trying to hurt him or anyone else. He drew toward the boy and placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it firmly.

"You've just woken up here, correct? I'd advise that you calm down, take a few deep breaths, and listen to us before one of the nurses comes over and pumps you so full of drugs you can't see straight. You're bringing a lot of attention to yourself, and you'll soon learn how bad of an idea that is." The colonel happened to be good at verbally smacking unreasonable teenage boys - he only hoped that this one started to come to his senses already.

[stray_shinigami]

Renji sincerely hoped that Allen would listen to Roy; if they attracted too much attention, he might get sedated too, since he already had a bad reputation with the nurses. And that would be very unhelpful.

"I've been dead for quite some time, longer than this gentleman here could possibly have known me," Renji said, calmly. "This is nothing new. Really. I'm Vice Captain of the Sixth Division of the Gotei 13, which is something I figure makes no sense to you. Just like your babbling makes no fucking sense to me, or to this guy here. So chill the fuck out, would you kid?" He sighed. "I'd really like to put you down before you get both of us up shit creek."

[broken_exorcist]

It wasn't the first time someone hadn't believed him about an Akuma. Most people didn't know much about them in the first place. He often wondered why the Vatican didn't publicize that sort of information.

"But..."

And if this wasn't the Order, where was it? There were so many things that didn't make sense. He could only hang in the air and stare after Mustang for a few moments, his mouth hanging slightly ajar. Why would he be afraid of the nurses in the first place? None of them could possibly be worse than Komui. And they never drugged him unless there was work to be done on his anti-akuma weapon.

And there was more. Vice Captain? Gotei? The words were completely unfamiliar, but... but... why hadn't the Akuma attacked yet? Or even transformed?! The behavior was so strange. And if this wasn't the Order... how was he going to get back to Rinali and Ravi and Miranda and the others? The last Akuma had said they were in danger, that the Earl might kill them at any moment! He didn't have time to waste in this... this... whatever game this was!

What was he supposed to do? The only constant he'd ever had in his young life was to destroy Akuma. Ever since he'd been cursed, his left eye saw things so simply, so clearly. Almost like black and white. Akuma or human. Those he could see, he would destroy. He was a weapon. But now... now if he believed these men, that constant was no more. He was shaken.

"No," he shook his head, not even noticing the tears that were beginning to spill over his cheeks. "No, that's impossible! I have to-... I have to..." If he wasn't an exorcist, if he didn't destroy the Akuma, what purpose did he have?

[muted_flame]

Renji was dead? Had been for a long time...? That was a little abnormal, and made him think of the homunculi, but it obviously wasn't the same thing. Here, it wasn't that much of a concern, anyway. Technically, Hughes also dead, wasn't he?

The terms the shinigami was spitting out didn't really matter, as he was just trying to make a point to the boy. It seemed that with their combined efforts, they were finally getting through to him.

But then the tears started flowing. Roy sighed.

He nodded to Renji, an indication that he should put the boy down now, and he backed away slightly to regard the new patient carefully. "Calm down," he said, trying to make his tone softer than normal. "Now, are you willing to let us explain? You'll feel much better once you have a better idea of what's going on."

[stray_shinigami]

Renji agreed with Roy on this one. And seeing the tears on the kids cheeks... well, it just made him feel like the biggest asshole that had ever walked the world. He carefully set the kid back down on his feet, though he kept one hand on him long enough to make sure he was steady.

Really, if it were anyone else, he would've just hugged them. But he doubted this kid would appreciate it, and he wasn't about to get all mushy like that in front of Roy. He did, however, ruffle the kid's hair.

"Hey, it's okay," he said. "Everyone's in the same boat, here." He sure didn't have any Hollows to slay, though he certainly had his other duties to do, and a purpose. "If you want to do your duty, protect people, there are much better ways than coming after me... or any of my people. We're on the same side, here. It sucks, but if we fight together, we'll get through it." As always, when he said those words, as cliche as they sounded, it was obvious that he believed them. And while he didn't know what Allen's duty might be exactly, he could still guess that it was basically protecting people from... something. The way he'd told Roy to run had certainly been an indication of that.

[broken_exorcist]

What was he doing? He was facing one of the greatest threats of his life and he was sitting here in front of two people he didn't know, one of them an Akuma, and... and... he noticed with shame that he'd started to cry and rubbed fiercely at the tell-tale tears with the back of his hands. The right side was easy enough to wipe away, but the tears from his cursed eye came out black as well, leaving dark smudges on his cheek.

At least he could breathe a little easier, having been set down, but he almost fell over once he had his feet back under him. Then the Akuma had to go and do something like that. Muss his hair just like... just like...

He sniffled, trying to rid himself of the last bit of his emotional outburst. They didn't realize how hard it was, what they were asking. The blood was pumping through his veins so quickly, it craved the Akuma. It was almost like fighting instinct itself. Could it really be true? They were on the same side? His duty was protecting people, yes, but also saving the Akuma! How could he do one and not the other?

Allen hugged his arms tightly to his chest to keep from shaking and rubbed them slowly, his wide eyes going from one man to the other. "Please, do explain."

[muted_flame]

Roy relaxed somewhat when the boy didn't attempt another attack the moment he was put down. It seemed he had come to his senses, at least slightly. Either that, or he was too busy crying to have the energy for anything else. At this point, that was in their favor.

He did notice the strange eye and the consequent tears that were definitely not the wrong color. He thought of his own eye and bit down on his lip.

"You are in a place called Landel's Institute. It is meant to house the mentally insane, but it's all a front. We are all of sound mind, and instead have been brought here to be tormented by the people in charge of the hospital. During the day, they treat as well - feeding us, giving us free time to do as we wish so long as we aren't violent, and so on. At night, we get the chance to search for an exit, but there are also monsters sent after us to get in our way of that. We as patients have to unite to have any hope of getting out of here, so attacking each other is not the most productive way to go about things."

He paused for a moment, tilting his head at the boy.

"My name is Roy Mustang, by the way. Now, why don't you tell us a little about yourself. For instance, what is an Akuma, and why did you think Renji was one?"

[stray_shinigami]

Renji nodded in agreement with what Roy had to say, though for now he decided to keep his commentary to a minimum. He didn't want to set Allen off again, and they needed to get to actually eating lunch at some time.

It really made him wish there were a booklet or something they could just hand new people, but it would probably seem like too much of a joke if done like that. He could be patient. He had all the time in the world.

"Abarai Renji," he added, just to get his full name out there if they were sort of doing introductions. "We must fight together," was about all he could say, just to add emphasis. He glanced at Roy, since that was, in fact, just the thing he wanted to talk to the guy about.

[broken_exorcist]

It sounded like madness, but Roy explained it so neatly; he seemed so certain. How was any of this possible? Why would someone put him in a mental hospital? More to the point, why would he be in a mental hospital that really wasn't a mental hospital at all? He could believe there were Akuma about, he could see it clearly, but monsters? Monsters weren't real. For a while he'd considered that vampires might exist, but they'd proven that wrong as well.

"I'm Allen Walker," he said in a small voice. He would normally add a handshake and a 'pleased to meet you,' but he hated to lie, unless it was cards and then it was every man for himself. Roy at least seemed to genuinely want to know about him and Akuma. As for the red-haired Akuma, he tried to look at him as little as possible.

"An Exorcist for the Dark Order. It is my duty to protect the people and to bring salvation to Akuma." He swayed slightly, but took a step to keep his balance. He looked at the ground as though the answers might be there. It had been a while since he'd had to explain any of this. "An Akuma is one of the Millennium Earl's puppets. The Earl grows stronger in times of grief and pain. He targets people who have... lost loved ones. Offers to make them a deal, to bring back the one who was lost. All you have to do is call out to them and he'll bring it back, but..." he paused, glancing up at the Akuma before him, then back to Roy.

"He puts them in a metal body. An Akuma body. It looks like a sort of twisted skeleton. It speaks with their voice, it really is them, but they can't control themselves, they have to obey the Earl. The first thing they're ordered to do is to kill the one who wished them back. Then they steal their skins, wear them as a disguise. That's what an Akuma is. A trapped soul in a false body."

He swallowed nervously. Would they really believe him? "They get stronger, manifest different powers, but they all want to destroy humans. That's what he orders them to do. Parade in those false bodies and take their prey. You can't see it with human eyes." His voice became a little stronger, "But I can. I can see it. That's how I know; how I'm sure of what he is. But they can only be saved by the Innocence. If the Akuma are destroyed by anything else, that trapped soul is lost forever." He didn't add that his eye could see that as well, that it was the most painful to watch, knowing he'd failed, knowing he could've saved them if he'd just been stronger, faster, better. Allen didn't have time to waste here in whatever dream or illusion or warped reality this was. His friends were counting on him. They were waiting.

[muted_flame]

Well, wasn't that morbid. Roy couldn't help but be reminded of the homunculi - these Akuma were more or less the same thing, weren't they? An abomination that resulted as a failed attempt to bring someone back to life? And they followed the orders of one single person, though he knew now that the homunculi hadn't been completely mindless when it came to that. Some had rebelled.

Either way, it seemed like there were many other beings in other worlds similar to the homunculi, considering how many times he had been able to make the connection.

"While Renji might seem very similar to an Akuma as far as you can tell, I doubt that he is. He's not even from your world. Everything here is mixed up, so a misundertanding like this is common. Here, whatever you're accustomed to doesn't matter. That earl, the akuma... None of that is prevalent here. It's very likely there aren't any true akuma here at all. All you should be concerned with is trying to get out, just like the rest of us are, so you can get back to your world. It sounds like you're needed there." Unless Allen was just self-important, but that wasn't really relevant. So long as he got the message across...

[stray_shinigami]

"Exactly," Renji said. "If it makes you feel any better, Allen, I certainly don't want to be here, and I certainly don't want to be in this gigai they've bound me in to. I have a job back home, and I'd like to return to it - like pretty much everyone else here." He decided to continue emphasizing the main point, just to make sure it stuck. "But I'm not an Akuma thingy, and I'm certainly not under anyone's control. There are other Shinigami here, and they're not akuma thingies either. I'd suggest you ask before you leap, next time, because while most of us are pretty laid back, I doubt the Captain would put up with that kind of shit."

Renji chuckled softly. "That Innocence thing sounds an awful lot like a zanpakuto. Funny how that stuff works out."

He looked at Roy. "Dunno how much time's left for lunch, and me'n the Captain'd still like a chance to talk with you if you're so inclined."

[broken_exorcist]

Neither one of them understood. Even if he was able to escape this building, he'd still have to locate the Ark. Or at least find the fastest way to Japan. What was wrong with him, why couldn't he activate even to level one? With even that little bit, he might be able to knock down enough walls that he could escape, but... this whole thing was ludicrous. Different worlds?

And the idea of asking someone if they were an Akuma before attacking was completely ridiculous! More often than not, they would attack him first! He never asked back home. If he had, they'd have shot him full of holes before he could get out "I beg your pardon, but..." They tried everything. They posed as children often to invoke sympathy. He was lucky, he'd told himself. He was lucky because he was the only one who could see through that. The other exorcists could only remain constantly paranoid of anyone who approached them.

"Yeah," Allen replied softly, hardly feeling it. He had no idea what a zanpakytoe was. He supposed it was possible that it was like Innocence. It might even be Innocence that was causing all of this. It was known to cause strange anomalies where it rested, waiting to be found. Miranda's had caused an entire town to rewind, to repeat the same day over and over until they'd found the source. Maybe this was the same. If they could get to the root of it, they'd find some kind of Innocence was causing it all. Maybe...

He had no idea what else to do. They hadn't exactly covered this in his basic training. He hated the frustrated, helpless feeling most of all. Not to mention the physical pain in his arm from the failed invocations. He took a shaky step backward. He didn't want to be here anymore, having this conversation that only half made sense.

"I'm sorry," he said finally, unable to meet either man's eyes. And he was. Though perhaps not for the reasons either of them suspected.

[muted_flame]

While they had at least assured that Allen wasn't going to continue trying to attack Renji, the boy still didn't look particularly convinced. That wasn't exactly his problem, though. The boy would just have to find out the hard way if he didn't want to listen to them. He did feel a little bit bad, since he knew how hard it was to swallow all of what Landel's was at first, but this kid was not his responsibility.

"There's nothing to apologize about," he said firmly. Now was not the time for self-pity, so the way Allen backed down irritated him. "I'll give you one more warning. Everyone's powers are weakened by this place. That's most likely why your attack didn't work nearly as well as you expected it to."

He turned to Renji and nodded. "Lead the way."

[stray_shinigami]

Renji nodded, sparing Allen one last glance. "Everything is different here," he said. "You'd be best off listening to those who've been here a while."

With that, he lead Roy over to Hitsugaya.