Day 30: Cafeteria, Dinner

[captain_hunam]

The cafeteria was all but empty when Zelnick got there. He was a little disappointed; he had gotten the impression that patients usually ate dinner in their rooms, so he hadn't arranged to meet anyone, and there really wasn't anyone to sit by and engage in conversation yet

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[endlessjune]

[ waiting for Hanyuu~! ♥ ]

The rest of the shower was uneventful, as Rika and Hanyuu had to leave Mion and Rena to their own devices. Rika briefly wondered if she would be able to squeeze some information out of Rena, but... well, Rena and Mion would hopefully tell her about the events of last night eventually.

But it still frustrated Rika, to never be able to find out what her friends were thinking. She was aware, as always, that something was wrong, but she never knew the extent of her friend's suffering until it was too late.

Well, at least she had Hanyuu to tell her everything, as usual. But now, even her friend didn't really know what had happened to Mion, it seemed. After getting her dinner, Rika sat near the door so that she would be able to spot Hanyuu once the other girl walked through the door.

[meironohosoku]

For the first time since realizing she had gained a physical form, Hanyuu wished she could become invisible once more. At least then she'd be able to listen in on important conversations, and report back to Rika accordingly. Unfortunatly, as with everything in this place, the matter was out of her hands, and the spirit was forced to continue without knowing what had happened.

The cafeteria was still emptier than usual when Hanyuu entered, making it easy to spot Rika. Her first thought was to immediately return to her friends side, although she did have enough of a mind to get some dinner first.

Setting her tray on the table, Hanyuu sat beside the other girl and commented, "That... didn't turn out so well, did it..?"

[endlessjune]

The former god wasted no time returning back to Rika, although that did little to improve Rika's mood at the moment. The more she thought about it, the more frustrated she was. Of course, she was always frustrated with their situation, but at least in Hinamizawa, things were always the same. She had come to expect the cycle of death and rebirth

[meironohosoku]

"I... I don't know, Rika," was all Hanyuu could think to reply. It wasn't the first time she had heard Rika speak that way, although usually that sort of talk was saved until the time of her death drew near. Of course... here, they were required to adhere to a new timeline; one that they had no knowledge of.

"Mion hasn't done anything wrong. You haven't done anything wrong. None of you deserve that sort of punishment." Hanyuu wasn't sure why anyone would want to exert that type of punishment and power in the first place-- especially if the targets were people only trying to live a full life. Wanting to live was only natural, and living was not a sin.

...or was it? Rika had died, and yet here she was, over a century later. Perhaps this was a form of punishment... If Rika was meant to die--

No, no! Hanyuu shook her head, refusing to let her thoughts go there. Rika deserved to live-- they all deserved to live! They had done nothing to deserve this type of fate. The one to blame was the one who had committed that first murder all those

[endlessjune]

Though Hanyuu meant well, her words weren't quite reaching Rika's heart. She had thought that this world would be different - well, it was different, in every aspect, but it was as if Fate was laughing at her for even thinking that being in a different world would level the playing field. But no, it was as hopeless as ever

[meironohosoku]

Hanyuu had seen Rika's anger surface before; given what the girl went through time and time again, how could she not? But, even more frightening than the breaking cup, was her friends words. It sounded like she already believed she was going to die... And if that was what she really thought, then, as Rika had already said, what was the point? If Rika truly was ready to give into the fate she had previously tried to escape, then... That would be that. There would be no 'next time'; they had already established that much... There wouldn't be another reset, and without a reset there would be no way to bring Rika back

[endlessjune]

Hanyuu's embrace was what snapped Rika out of her stupor. It was different; Hanyuu only had her words to comfort Rika, and the spirit could never actually touch her. But when Hanyuu brought Rika into her arms, she rested in the ex-god's embrace for a moment, relishing the warmth.

This was Hanyuu's fight too. It was silly how often Rika forgot that because she couldn't touch Hanyuu.

Returning the hug after a brief moment, Rika pulled away, feeling much better. A century of living and she still could be cheered up by something as simple as a hug. How much of a child she still was

[meironohosoku]

Hanyuu couldn't help but feel relieved seeing Rika's smile. Words could only go so far, and words used to be all she could offer (and it wasn't as though she always said the right things). At least now she was able to lend support in other ways too

[endlessjune]

Rika nodded along as Hanyuu listed off the sources of information that they had. Of course, she could not expect her friend to know the Rules of this game so quickly, but Hanyuu was thinking along the same lines as she was on how to learn these Rules.

"It seems that people are also willing to volunteer information on the bulletin board," Rika noticed that people could ask questions about general things and get consistent answers. And... "That would be a good idea for us, probably. I find it hard to get straight answers because of how I look."

She sighed. Her childish form worked against her in every aspect, even when it came to information gathering. Had she looked older, Mion might have told her what happened. But if what happened to Mion happened to other people...

"I will think of questions to ask tomorrow, when morning comes again," Rika figured it was too late for people to be looking at the board now. "And... I am sure that Mion or Rena will speak to us about this, in time." She had to trust her friend; that was all she could

[meironohosoku]

At least she and Rika were on the same page in that regard. Playing the age card could sometimes work to their advantage; sometimes older people weren't as careful about what they said around young children. But when topics of bloodshed or torture came up, children seemed to be shut out completely.

"Yes, you're right about that." Asking questions through the bulletin board would be best. As long as they were careful about what they asked and how they asked, the question of their age shouldn't come up. Plus, speaking through that would be much easier than speaking to someone in person

[endlessjune]

Hanyuu brought up a good point: Rika was so used to being the only one who remembered the previous timelines that she didn't think of what "world" Mion and Rena came from. For all she knew, they were from a world where everything was perfect. Or they could have come from one of the worst worlds at all