Day 58: Sun Room (Second Shift)

[poorexample]

[From here.]The room was mainly empty when Michael reached it, which was fine by him. It wasn't that he didn't feel sympathy for the other patients, but he also didn't know if it would be helpful for him to talk to them. The staff seemed to think that forming bonds amongst themselves would lead to recovery, but to him it felt more like they would

Comments

[heroesdontshave]

Yeah, definitely 100% civilian. Just like most everyone who got caught up in The Purge. Women, kids, people who'd never so much as been in a fight before let alone handled a gun. Or had one pointed at them. Watching Ryuu's reaction gave him that same sort of impression. Monsters weren't normally something people dealt with much unless they were on the outskirts of town or a member of GC. Was it any wonder he looked worried?

Before Ryuu could get too scared about it, Snow just let out a big guffaw, like he was being silly. "Nah! There's no 'requirement' or anything. To be honest, there aren't even that many monsters inside. They're kinda scattered and hiding, I guess. I've gone whole nights without seein' 'em. There's prolly waaay more outside than there are in!"

Here he plopped a hand onto one of the kid's shoulders reassuringly. "So don't sweat it! You'll be fine. And hey. You ever need someone, just give me a holler, alright? I'll watch your back." His other hand came up into a quick thumbs up. "I can handle whatever this place feels like throwin' at you.

"And anyway. Monsters are only a part of it." The hand he'd used to give a thumbs up was now balled into an enthusiastic fist and Snow lowered his voice a sort of loud whisper like he was divulging some secret tidbit. "See, the guys here figure everyone'll be too busy focused on fighting and running from monsters, right? So that's all they're thinkin' about. But they don't stop to think that everyone's loose in the building and can go anywhere. Long as you avoid messing with the things crawling around here, you can check out anything. Get it?"

[ofthemotions]

Mikado only had a moment to consider Snow's apparent confidence in the location of the animals when one of the man's hands came down on his shoulder. Mikado half-winced under the pressure and proximity. Another person who didn't really have a person-to-person space barrier. He shouldn't complain, he guessed, but after what was said earlier, it was a little.... Uh. The man was really nice, though, even though he seemed a little strange. Offering to help Mikado out when he hardly knew him was kind enough.

And from the look of Snow, he probably had no problem fighting. Mikado smiled weakly at the man. "Thank you. I'll keep that in mind." The smile shifted to become a bit more genuine. It really was nice of--

Then Snow balled up his fist and Mikado leaned back a bit. If when he ran into Mikado it was that strong, how much worse could it be to get hit-- Oh, the man was just making a point. He sighed quietly with relief, listening. Yes, this was the same as well. Good. He'd have to try this out at night, and see what came of it. Mikado nodded firmly. "Right. We could find out what they're hiding." Because there had to be something. Why else would they kidnap all these people--bringing some of them from the other side of the world?

[heroesdontshave]

"Exactly!" he said, mirroring a determined nod right back. Snow wasn't a complete idiot here. He fully understood that this place could be dangerous, especially for people like Ryuu who weren't used to fighting. But that didn't mean they had to coop themselves up in their rooms, hiding in the shadows and cowering. Even if it sounded risky, there was a lot more merit in going out and scoping the place out than sitting around doing nothing. If Snow could convince more people to get up and go out, take up arms and work together as one, there was no power in the world who could stop them!

...Heh, stop them? No. More like, no one would even stand a chance! People were tougher than even they realized. More than the fal'Cie realized, too. They'd see. They'd regret the day they ever underestimated any of them.

"What they're hiding... and who they're hiding. Way I figure it, they got some extra people they're holin' up somewhere else who don't get to wander around with everyone else." Possibly Serah included among those... "But we're not gonna leave 'em there. 'S only a matter a' time 'fore find them, too. Then... we're all gettin' outta here together. Might take a while to pull off, but we'll definitely do it." He grinned. "So don't go gettin' too comfy here, alright? And don't get worried about anything. Just keep your head up and you'll be fine."

[ofthemotions]

Snow-san was certainly... Um. Optimistic. Which was really great to see, actually. He reminded Mikado a little of Masaomi... If Masaomi was a giant hulk of a man who could probably lay Mikado flat with little effort. Mikado was a bit focused on that, being in such close proximity. What Snow has said about other people who couldn't move around was the only thing that seemed out of the blue. "Extra people?" he echoed with wide eyes.

The monologue came to an end, and Mikado actually smiled in return. "Okay." If there were people here with this kind of determination, it was easy to believe that this was just a temporary situation, something to wait through. Mikado knew what could happen what people rallied together--and if that happened here, he had no doubt that things would fix themselves. "Right," he added with a nod.

Mikado liked Snow. His mentality and resolution gave something wanted. There was only one thing, one little detail that caused hesitation. Other than the fact that Snow could likely crush Mikado's skull. "Ah, Snow-san...? How old is Serah-san?"

The fact of a suspicious circumstance unresolved.

[heroesdontshave]

"Uh... Yeah." Snow scratched the back of his head as he thought on that point. "Not really sure why, but... they got other people they're holdin' somewhere else. Guess they go around nabbin' people, then they send some of 'em out here and some of 'em over there."

There really wasn't much other explanation for why people would show up here for a while and then disappear again. Maybe being 'released' just meant being transferred over to where the others were. And that's probably what the whole 'visitor' thing was about: giving people on both sides a chance to talk. ...Though judging by what Lightning had told him, the staff were doing things to the people in the other place. Messing with their heads. Or maybe worse. Supposedly that's what might have happened to Serah.

Yeah, that's right. Even though he was feverishly looking for Serah now, he knew there was a chance that Serah's memories might not be right. She might think she's someone else. She might not recognize him, even. But that didn't matter to him. All he cared about was her being safe, her being okay. Even her being here and walking around... it was a miracle.

This moderately contemplative state of his only lasted a few moments. Snow's attention went back as soon as Ryuu said Serah's name. ...Or some nickname version of it.

"Huh?" Serah-san? Snow-san? Huh. "Oh. Uhh. She's eighteen. That's 'round your age, right?" He looked it, Snow guessed, but he wasn't really much of a judge for that kind of thing.

But the fact that Ryuu was even asking meant he was trying to get a better gauge of Serah's appearance so he could continue keeping an eye out for her. Even if he wasn't saying it out loud, Snow really was grateful.

[ofthemotions]

There were two places, then? Mikado hadn't heard that before. But it actually made more sense, what with the fact that he hadn't ran into Celty yet, and there were rumors that Shizuo was here as well. And actually... That made sense, too, because if Izaya was here, it'd be for the best that Shizuo was in that second place... Probably for everyone involved....

Snow went on to answer Mikado's question, and despite the circumstances involved, Mikado smiled brightly at the man, shaking his head. "No, I'm only sixteen," he replied, then let out a breath of air. "Ah, I'm glad you're not a pedophile, then, Snow-san." A short girl, that was all. Snow himself could maybe be in his early twenties... But if Serah-san was eighteen, she was at least closer to that than Mikado had previously thought. And so, it was that the only thing that made Mikado cautious was his apparently gigantic form and strength.

...Like Simon. Well. As long as Snow was more like Simon and less like Shizuo, Mikado didn't have that much of a problem.