Day 26: Breakfast

[tsunagari]

Sai awoke rather groggily, which wasn't a good sign for a ninja. It meant he was probably ill. He'd need to get checked up with a medic-nin before he did very much more that day. Eyes blinked open slowly to stare at the ceiling and then narrowed in confusion. Not his ceiling. Was he already at the hospital

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[rabbitprince314]

Kougaiji woke up with a gasp. The last he could remember was talking with John beside the railing upstairs, he could faintly remember hearing some kind of intercom crack on and someone talking through it, things he couldn't understand, matters he knew nothing about

[black_ageha]

He was a living contradiction - dead but breathing. A life that hung suspended from a thread, waiting for the next moment to take him where he belonged. He had all the patience in the world. Seishirou had called this place a game, but it really made no difference to Kikyo. It was just the next stage beyond nightmares. Somewhere that was not his previous life, which had gone beyond his reach, and he did not miss it. Though his body, perhaps, instinctively craved with an appetite it was accustomed to appeasing.

"Why don't we find some other ways to keep you entertained?" Seishirou had said

[rabbitprince314]

Either it was Sanzo or his twin brother, who Kougaiji had not had the pleasure of meeting yet. The cafeteria was slowly filling with people, all wearing this same ridiculous uniform. Yawning, talking, eating - it was all so fucking bizarre.

The nurse brought his tray and laid it in front of him, scolding at him for not having been swallowing the pills. Under her careful scrutiny, he gulped them down with cold water.

When she left someone else sat at the table, opposite of Kougaiji. He was still busy staring after the nurse and missed whatever the man said.

"What?" he asked while turning to look at the man at the other side of the table. Long black hair and calmness that made Kougaiji feel a bit uneasy. "Didn't quit catch that... Come again?"

[black_ageha]

With a slow arch of an eyebrow, Kikyo gazed at the young man from across the table, pausing for a moment before answering.

"Good morning," he repeated, this time with a softer smile. The stranger looked slightly out of place and maybe somewhat uncomfortable. But if Kikyo was good at anything, it was putting people at ease - even if it was false ease. "I hope I am not intruding on a private reverie. I can find another place to sit, if you prefer."

[rabbitprince314]

"No..." Kougaiji snapped, then closed his mouth hurriedly. "No, it's fine. I'm just..." he muttered, brushing his fingers through his messy hair. Then eyed that smile for a brief moment, deciding that relaxing would be a good idea.

"Morning," he said, exhaling slowly. "Just having a shaky start I guess."

He wished the painkillers would soon kick in. At least he would be less on the edge when he wasn't in pain anymore.

[black_ageha]

"Ah...I understand," Kikyo answered. He didn't let his gaze linger on the young man, but he could deduce from his movements that he was injured. Kikyo was no stranger to pain, and could tell with some accuracy when there were wounds on another, even when they were not so obvious.

"My name is Kikyo," he said, offering him another smile. The nurse might have called him something else, but whatever he was known as here made little consequence to him.

[rabbitprince314]

"Kikyo," Kougaiji said thoughtfully, "hello."

Last night he had not given his whole name to John at first. Because he had thought it'd cause troubles with humans, but obviously John had not recognized his name, nor did this seem like the kind of place where he would be known anyhow.

And he disliked lying when he could avoid it.

He did not smile, and as usual he was hard pressed to give any pleasantries either. But his gaze was lucid and curious, not hostile as he looked at Kikyo and nodded. "I'm Kougaiji."

[black_ageha]

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance," Kikyo murmured. He let his calm amber eyes rest on Kougaiji's lucid ones, a pair of startling red. Kougaiji's expression almost seemed familiar, like something he had seen before on someone else's face.

"You look a bit pale. Are you unwell?" he continued, with amiable curiosity. Before he paused for an answer, he added helpfully, "I don't mean to pry with my inquiry. I would not wish to add any stress to a shaky start as it is."

[rabbitprince314]

Kougaiji listened to Kikyo speak, a small frown pulling his brows. Why were they all inquiring after his health? He was fine, damn it! And there was definitely no need to pamper him!

"I'm fine. Just a small injury." He almost snapped, glancing away briefly and sucked in a calming breath. "It doesn't matter," he continued, quieter than before. "I was in a fight before being dragged in here."

[black_ageha]

"I see." Kikyo made no further inquiry, for he could tell it was unwelcome, and he wasn't curious enough to discover more.

He took a short sip from his water, falling into a momentary silence as he scanned the room. It was filling up with more and more people, of various kinds. All were dressed in the same ridiculous clothing, an ugly gray hue with a laughable design on the front. He missed the smooth feel of his kimono on his skin.

The fruit still stood untouched in his bowl as he said, "This place looks much different in daylight." Maybe he was addressing Kougaiji, or maybe just voicing a thought out loud.

[rabbitprince314]

"Tell me about it," Kougaiji muttered, his tone of voice unamused but his irritation hardly directed towards Kikyo. The redhead had been tentatively poking his plate during the silence between them. The painkillers was finally kicking in and he suddenly found out that he was starving.

"I was up there," he pointed vaguely to the direction of the sunroom, "last night. And I think there was a fight down here."

He picked up his fork hesitantly and speared some fruits to the plastic spikes, then popped the food to his mouth. At least the facility was feeding them well.

[black_ageha]

"Ah.." Kikyo nodded, not very surprised. "I passed one last night as well. Rather...it seemed more like a haunting than a fight. I must admit, I wasn't paying close attention." He vaguely remembered a pale ghostly young girl and something of a blue aura.

"I spent most of my evening in the kitchen," he continued, as though he were recounting any other evening of his life. "Where I had the fortune to discover that the lights were not out on account of an electrical outage."

[rabbitprince314]

"Kitchen?" Kougaiji asked after swallowing a mouthful of fruits. He couldn't remember the last time he had eaten anything, it must have been before his fight with Goku. And actually, he had lacked the appetite while under Ni's mind-control, unlike almost every other youkai out there.

"Are you saying only the lights were off? Electricity still worked? That's kind of odd." He shrugged slightly and cut a bite size bit from his pancake with the side of his fork and popped it into his mouth.

[black_ageha]

"Yes...the kitchen," Kikyo smiled, eyes watching him almost fondly. Maybe it was his youthfulness, or something even less tangible. This Kougaiji was rather cute.

"That is quite odd, indeed. As though someone is going out of their way to make things difficult. But fortunately, not so difficult that one cannot brew a cup of tea to bide their time."

Kikyo leaned toward the table to push his bowl of fruit gently toward Kougaiji. "You are welcome to my fruit, if you like. I have not touched it."

[rabbitprince314]

"...thank you," Kougaiji stopped to eye Kikyo curiously, crimson meeting amber for one silent moment, then he had to look away, blinking. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was an air of elegance around Kikyo, something of manners and traditions, old blood and high society. None of which were unfamiliar to Kougaiji either.

He pulled his back a bit more straight as he directed another gaze at Kikyo, this time accompanied by a pale smile. "But you must be hungry yourself."

[black_ageha]

Kikyo gave a soft chuckle, friendly-like. "That is very kind of you, but no... I had a late night meal, so I'm quite alright." In any case, he never ate very much in the mornings. A cup of black coffee and maybe a cigarette was his morning routine, but neither seemed to be on the menu, here.

The youth's face looked quite appealing when he smiled, even if it was just a shadow of one. Kikyo's eyes lingered for a moment on that smile before he said, "Have you been here for very long, Kougaiji-kun?"