DAY 33: BREAKFAST

[yin_yang_fox]

Renamon blinked, and suddenly she was laying flat in the bed she had originally woke up in. The timing was impeccable, accenting Orihime's explanation perfectly. She just hoped that she hadn't freaked the girl out with her little disappearing act. She quickly shifted out of bed, and grabbed the journal she had wrote notes in last night, and jotted

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[officer_leon]

The shift from night to day was considerably less jarring when he wasn't in the middle of something. Still, the switch from standing in the Grand Ballroom to his bed was a bit of a shock. His left arm was bandaged and in a sling across his chest, and there were smaller bandages all across his legs and back.

Leon tossed his baseball bat into the closet, and greeted his nurse at the door, much to her surprise. He felt... better, today, strangely enough. They'd gotten something done last night, even if he didn't quite know what they'd gained. The small, silver sword reminded him of the pieces he'd had to track down in Salazar's castle. Perhaps something similar was going on here?

Once he reached the cafeteria, he made himself a pair of breakfast sandwiches and snagged a glass of orange juice, carefully balancing his tray on his left arm. He glanced around the cafeteria, and spotted Kagura sitting alone at a table. She looked like she'd been injured, as well, a thought which worried Leon considerably. He crossed the room quickly and sat down across from her. He managed a small smile before asking, "What happened? Are you all right?"

[kagurazuki]

Kagura looked up from her breakfast and was pleased to see a familiar face. "Leon-san!" she smiled for a moment, then glanced down at her tray.

"I'm... doing alright," she tried her best to look the part, but it wasn't easy. "Hey... look, we match!" she added, pointing to the sling he wore on the same arm she did. She didn't want him to fret, but it was nice to know that someone cared, all the same.

"I... met with Winry-san and Bridget-san last night," she explained. "We were just going to go exploring. I guess... I wasn't careful enough." She gave a short laugh and a shrug. "I didn't think to look up at the ceiling. The bugs are just so gross, aren't they?"

[officer_leon]

Leon managed a weak chuckle when Kagura pointed out their matching injuries. She was obviously trying to put on a brave face. He frowned, though, when she mentioned bugs. "I haven't run into any bugs here... just that cat from the first night, and a crazy girl in the courtyard." He sighed, and gestured at his arm. "I got this exploring in the basement," he said.

[kagurazuki]

Kagura made a face. "I always get the bugs," she said with a sigh. The first night, there'd been that giant scorpion thing with lots of legs. Then there was the weird bugs she and Bridget had run into outside. And just last night, the giant spider. It was terrible!

She tried to focus on the positive though. It wouldn't help to get all glum about it all. "Did you find anything?" she asked. "Bridget-san and I tried to jump the fence to get out a couple nights ago, but it didn't work at all. And we tried to find weapons and stuff, but all we got was giant spiders!"

[officer_leon]

"We found... it's a small sword. It seems like it's decorative. I think it's a key or something." It reminded Leon of the symbols he'd found when exploring Salazar's castle. There were probably more, and they probably opened up a door. "Had to go through a lot of trouble to get to them."

Kagura's mention of jumping the fence caught his attention. "What happened when you tried to get over the fence?" he asked. Something told Leon that escape wouldn't be that easy-- if it was, the place would be empty by now-- but he figured finding out what was out there wouldn't hurt.

[kagurazuki]

"Ooh. A key?" Kagura gave Leon a curious look. "That sounds just like in the video games, doesn't it? I wonder what it goes to." Probably a boss fight, her mind supplied, but she kept from saying it. She only played video games once in a while. It wasn't like she was one of those scary video game otaku people. Leon probably knew more about it than she did, so she'd let him figure things out.

"Um... it's hard to describe," Kagura pouted. "The wall wasn't very hard to climb, but when Bridget-san reached the top, it was almost like something struck him on the head and pushed him back down. And again when I climbed it, I tried to swing my leg over, but it just sort of... bounced back at me! It's like we're stuck in a bubble!" Stuck here with no way out, that was the scariest of all! Kagura looked forlornly down at her food, using her fork to slowly stir the hashbrowns and ketchup, with no thought of really eating it.

[officer_leon]

Leon shrugged. He'd never been one for video games; hadn't had the time, mostly. Besides, who needed some animated zombie attack when he'd lived through the real thing?

Kagura's description of the wall, and the apparent force field surrounding it, made him frown. "There has to be some other way out," Leon said, shaking his head. "You can't create something with no way of leaving. Even Landel might want to get out of here someday." There had to be something, some way of escaping. Leon munched thoughtfully on his sandwich, wondering what the sword-key might open.

[kagurazuki]

Not only did Leon make sense, the things he said made her feel a lot better too. Yes, there had to be a way out! It just wouldn't make sense if there wasn't! But it looked like it just wouldn't be through conventional means. So maybe they had to go underground? The idea wasn't particularly appealing.

"Maybe it's only there at night time?" she suggested. It made sense at least. In the day time they were all so heavily guarded, there just wasn't any way for them to get loose. "I wonder if we could try escaping in the day time?"

[officer_leon]

"It might be," Leon agreed. "Not that it does us much good. They've got plenty of ways of controlling us normally during the day." He glanced around at the nurses and orderlies standing along the walls. In his survey of the room, he spotted Mark, sitting in a wheelchair and heavily bandaged. He waved at the other man, uncertain if Mark would see him.

"Escaping during the day probably wouldn't work too well," Leon continued, looking back at Kagura. "You saw what happened when there was that riot. They'd be able to stop us during the day, for certain." And even if a few made it out, what would they do? Who could they tell? If everyone seemed to be from different worlds, just where were they?

[kagurazuki]

Kagura sighed. This just wasn't fair! Leon was right though, even with the riot, no one had managed any escapes or even really done anything productive. "I just wish I could talk to Hatori-san," she pouted. It was probably getting repetitive, but she just knew if she could speak with him he'd help them out! "He'd help us, I know he would."

She looked up worried from her tray, "I don't want to see any more of my friends get hurt."

[officer_leon]

"He's one of the doctors here, right?" Leon asked. "Maybe you could try sneaking over to his office when he's here." He didn't much like the idea of advising Kagura to potentially get herself in trouble, but he didn't have any other ideas. And it would be best if she spoke to him directly.

"We'll just have to be careful," he said, trying to sound reassuring. He wasn't sure how well it worked. "I think I'm going to lay low tonight and try to recover a bit." He'd have to leave a note for Hitsugaya at some point today.

[kagurazuki]

"Yeah," she agreed, "Yeah, I guess I should give that a try." Maybe she could get someone to go with her. She had a feeling that if she tried to make a break for Hatori's office, it could end badly, but she had to at least try, and having a friend with her might help.

"Don't push yourself too hard Leon-san," she told him, sending him a worried look along with her words. She had a feeling he wouldn't listen, just like Bridget, but she'd feel better if she at least tried.

[officer_leon]

"Just be careful, when you're going," he warned her. "The best thing to do is act like you're supposed to be where you are. If you look suspicious or guilty, they'll pick you up right away." Ah, lessons in infiltration. Took him back to the days after Raccoon City and his early training. Lucky for him, he'd never been required to do much infiltration... at least, not the kind where maintaining a cover was required.

"I'll do my best," he said, with a small smile. He doubted he'd be able to stay in his room all evening, but he'd certainly try to avoid too much trouble.

[kagurazuki]

Was there a chance she could really get away? Even if she did what Leon said, the nurses would probably catch on quickly. She rarely saw someone walking down the hallways by themselves. She'd try though! "Mm, okay. I'll let you know if I find anything out."

"Good," she nodded. Now she just had to get Bridget to do the same. Taking it easy for a night sounded like a good idea anyway. "How're the others? I haven't seen Javert-san or... Treberi- Tre- his friend for a while."

[officer_leon]

"I don't know, I haven't seen Javert for a while," he said. "I've met a few others here-- Mark, in the wheelchair over there, and a girl named Diva." Leon shook his head. "She seemed like she might be here for a good reason." He tapped his temple with one finger, indicating that Diva was a little bit unbalanced. "I'll look around for Javert today, when we're outside." Leon realized, rather abruptly, that he hadn't been outside during the daytime yet. Well, he'd be rectifying that problem today, anyway.

[kagurazuki]

That didn't sound good. Javert had seemed a bit stiff, but he was a nice person. He'd helped her out on her first night, just like Leon had. And he'd given her bandages when she'd been hurt. She hoped nothing bad had happened to the man, that would be terrible! And it sounded like even Leon's other friend had been injured as well. There was just no beating this place!

"Diva huh," Kagura frowned, "I wonder if that's the same one I met. She was crazy! Kept saying stuff about getting revenge on people and... she was really weird."