Day 41: Lunch

[perfectrecord]

Just as von Karma started to enter the doorway leading to the Courtyard to look around for anyone remotely resembling his daughter, that pretentious lunatic's voice rang out over the Intercom, heralding the approach of lunch time. Right away, the damned nurse practically dragged him back into the cafeteria and towards the serving tables, telling

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[mukuchi]

He felt...sluggish.

Mori woke up and the first thing he thought to do was to jump and turn so he was again in the path of the girl and --

Nothing. Well, save for the pain. Rather than jump, he abruptly sat up in bed, and rather than turn, he fell back against the pillows, gripping his left side. Broken ribs and what seemed like a broken arm. The teen grit his teeth as he realized he'd be making an appearance in bandages and a sling meaning he'd be getting a lecture or worse from Mitsukuni. But what of the others? It didn't take long for Mori to hide the giant shuriken under his bed or for the nurse to come and get him. Following that, he checked the bulletin and was glad to see that everyone was alright. He arranged to have the girl - Yuffie, apparently - pick up her weapon and then...

He'd apparently passed out again. Great. When he woke up again in his room, his nurse told him to take it easy and lead him to the cafeteria, explaining that it was now lunch. How had he managed to oversleep so much? Maybe it was the medicine the nurse was now shoving in his hands? He hadn't taken those in the morning. Weird.

"Something to help with the pain, dear. Take it, will you?" Mori merely nodded at his nurse and drank the pills down with water. She then handed him a tray of food and let him wander into the cafeteria. It didn't take long before he spotted his cousin and, ignoring the looks from the nurses, he headed over to him, stopping just short of putting his tray down next to Mitsukuni.

"..." He wished he could hide the sling.

[thatdamnedninja]

Yuffie managed, somehow, to sweet-talk her nurse into letting her run back to her room quickly. It'd only take a second, she promised! Just a second. She just wanted to grab a pen - see, the one she'd been using had run out already! Okay? Okay. Despite the nurse's increased vigilance, she still wasn't any match for some good old fashioned ninja tricks; the candy was soon palmed, and Yuffie was soon sauntering into the cafeteria.

There weren't many people around yet, but that was just fine with her. It'd give her a nice head-start before her meeting with the snuggle-bunnies -- uh, the Turks. She actually felt up for that now, at least; chatting with Guy had been hella awkward and occasionally jerked on her nerves, but it… it'd been good to talk to somebody, she had to admit. Not to a therapist. And not to somebody who really knew her. So, despite her anger at Landel, despite all the other messed up feelings… she actually felt kinda good. And that was neat.

Well, it also gave her a couple of minutes to run a little errand.

Yuffie spotted the kid quickly. Tiny, blond, big bunny. Easy enough! She didn't exactly relish the prospect of the little boy finding out exactly why she was delivering a bunch of her hard-earned candy, but that's what lies were for. … Uh-oh. Her strides faltered when she noticed who was standing next to Honey. Wasn't that -- aww, crap, it was. The guy with the hero-complex. Maybe this wasn't-- no, she wasn't going to chicken out. It'd be quick; simple. In and out. Deliver the candy, then go find out what the hell Rude wanted her for. Sucking in a breath, the young woman managed to summon the first grin of her day so far, and hopped to a complete halt next to the table. "Hi," she said, glancing between the pair. For a moment, her gaze lingered on Mori; she fought not to wince. "Sorry if I'm interrupting something, but I've got a special delivery to drop off."

[host_club_honey]

It took a lot to get the better of Honey. Usually he had no problem keeping up his happy and energetic attitude. Sweets helped of course, but when people he cared about got hurt, that was just too much. When he saw Takashi being escorted in, he watched with concern as the other boy went through the lunch line.

Takashi hadn't been gone that long last night, so how had he gotten hurt so badly? Honey didn't like it, not at all, but he also knew the dangers and risks that came with going out at night. Usually, he didn't mind being protected by Takashi; from scary fangirls or weird curses, but when there was real danger... Honey just hated seeing his friends get hurt.

"Takashi... you better sit," Honey said after his cousin had been standing for a moment. It looked like it hurt a lot, even if Takashi didn't say anything.

Before he'd said more than a few words though, another person approached, this one he remembered because of her speech a couple days ago, wasn't it? For once, Honey didn't have much of a response. He blinked a few times in surprise, following her gaze to Takashi before looking back at her. Was he missing something?

"Um... Okay..." he managed, somewhat dumbfounded by the whole situation. What kind of greeting was that anyway? Not at all a proper host club greeting!

[mukuchi]

Okay, awkward. Maybe he shouldn't have come to see Mitsukuni after all. He hated worrying his cousin when it was his job to protect him. He was supposed to be keeping him away from the unpleasantness of this place, not showing it to him. Mori considered leaving for a moment, but instead he set his tray down and sat. There was no use in running off now.

Miraculously (and possibly through training), he didn't wince or show any outward signs of pain. His ribs hurt, but it wasn't so bad that he was going to let it bother him. His shoulder? Was another problem, but the sling helped with that, so there was no use in letting the pain show. It would just make Mitsukuni worry more anyway. Looking over at the smaller teen, Mori was about to say not to worry about him when someone approached and--

Awkward.

It was the girl from last night trying her best not to look like she was the guilty party. Mori blinked at her and then looked to Mitsukuni, noting that he was starting to figure things out. Not good, not good at all. The last thing Mori wanted was for this girl to get in trouble because of him. Not her fault she got brainwashed, right? And it wasn't like Mori couldn't handle a little pain. Best to get Mitsukuni back onto the Host routine so he didn't linger on the bad things for too long. Mori gave his cousin a questioning look - the sort that said 'Why aren't you greeting her properly?' and then turned back to Yuffie, standing and bowing to her graciously as a Host should. Even if that Host had gotten a shuriken to the face the previous night. As he raised his head, he smiled slightly, letting Yuffie (hopefully) know that there were no hard feelings on his end.

[thatdamnedninja]

Damnit, her face was betraying her again.

It was a little too late, but Yuffie managed to smooth out any signs of guilt - any guilt, even just perceived guilt; she didn't care if she was just overreacting. She'd never been one to spare people's feelings, but needless cruelty was Bad, and Honey looked like somebody had kicked his puppy. So she was sparing both him and herself, in some weird, convoluted way. Awkward situations were better avoided.

… Or averted.

Mori was standing, bowing smoothly and -- smiling. Huh. Yuffie slid one foot back a little in surprise, but otherwise managed to not make a complete dork out of herself… and, after a moment, she smiled in return; small and genuine, fleeting like a summer shower over the redbrick of Wutai's heart. She inclined her head. Despite how she chose to act most of the time, she was Wutaian, amongst a whole lot of other things; she could accept the gesture for what it was. She didn't have to think too deeply. "Well, guys," she said, after a pause, "As cool as you are, I'm running on a schedule. So, here…" she turned back to the little blond, held up her hands. Empty? A flick of the wrist, and not any more! Held carefully between her fingers was an assortment of candies; three Lindor chocolates, two Hershey's Kisses, and one strawberry hard fruit candy. Another little flick and they were sat neatly in her palms. She offered them to Honey.

[host_club_honey]

Honey might enjoy acting like he was blissfully unaware of what went on around him. He liked to be childish and spoiled and adored.

But he definitely did not like it when his friends kept things from him. Especially Takashi. How long had they known each other? Honey startled slightly when Takashi gave him that look for not greeting the girl properly. He knew it, but still, there was something strange about everything that was going on with these two.

He snapped to attention quickly though. Whatever it was, he'd talk to Takashi about it later. His friend was right; they had a guest and it would be rude not to treat her as such.

Just as he opened his mouth to introduce both of them, the girl performed a magic trick and presented him with a handful of candy. He was left with his mouth hanging open in amazement.

"Ah-! It's Yuffie-chan! Thank you!" he put the pieces of the puzzle together and held out his hands to accept the candy. And so she must owe Takashi for...

Oh.

He was careful not to make too big a fuss over the candy, but he thanked her again as she handed them off and then tucked them away into his pockets. For now, he didn't have much stomach for them anyway. He'd have to be careful with the chocolates or they'd melt, but maybe he'd feel like eating them later.

"Sorry for keeping you Yuffie-chan. Come visit us another time though, okay?"

[mukuchi]

Mori was just as impressed as Mitsukuni when Yuffie pulled the candy seemingly out of nowhere. She had skills to rival any ninja he'd ever seen and that was saying something, considering where he'd grown up. But then, he noticed Mitsukuni out of the corner of his eye and he realized he'd failed. Of course his cousin would figure things out. He'd know that it was Yuffie he'd run into at night and, well, that sucked. At least Yuffie knew Mori didn't blame her.

Sitting back down when Yuffie announced that she'd be leaving soon, Mori nearly missed the chair. Mitsukuni was upset and it was his fault. And it'd be his fault if Mitsukuni got upset with Yuffie which would upset-- bah, the whole thing. He should have been able to catch that shuriken, even if it had been the size of a large dog. Or a small bike. The idea of catching a large dog was rather unpleasant. Maybe he really should have waited to see Mitsukuni until later in the day.

Nodding to Yuffie, Mori sat back and waited until he was addressed - knowing it'd be coming soon since he'd done something dumb and kept quiet about this whole thing to Mitsukuni.

[thatdamnedninja]

Contrary to popular belief, Yuffie was more observant than most people. She also just so happened to neglect thinking about what she'd observed, sometimes; acting without reflecting on her surroundings or the consequences had been one of her biggest faults three years ago. And sometimes, she pretended that was still the case. Now, though…

… She knew damn well that she was busted.

Yuffie straightened, kept her chin up and the cheer on her face. "Nah, don't worry 'bout it! Just enjoy the candy," and don't blame Mori for what happened, "and I'll see you some other time."

With a small farewell salute, the ninja turned on heel. Walked away with her arms swinging by her sides to join the line for food, and to move on to her next meeting with Destiny -- also known as Rude of the Turks, terminal Jerk and head-shine extraordinaire. Man. This was gonna suck.

[To here]

[host_club_honey]

Honey watched Yuffie go, keeping a practiced smile on his face as she ran off. Takashi didn't want her to be in trouble and really, he wasn't upset with her. He did feel pretty helpless for not being there when his friend had been badly injured. And while he also felt worried over Takashi's new injuries, most of all, he felt bad that Takashi hadn't seemed to think he could just come and tell him that something had happened. Friends were supposed to be there for each other during hard times, not shoulder it all on themselves. He didn't like that disconnected sort of feeling.

"I got to talk to Kao-chan during showers," he started, doing his best to still sound cheerful. "I think he's doing a little bit better. But I haven't seen Hika-chan for a while. Or Tama-chan. Oh- but I did meet a really nice girl at breakfast. Soma-chan said she piloted real mobile suits!"

[mukuchi]

Yuffie took off and Mori sighed internally. He'd been hoping to avoid relating his injuries to Yuffie as much as possible to keep the guilt from her, but it seemed that his presence at the table had caused that entire plan to backfire. For however 'cool' people said he could be, Mori wasn't all that bright sometimes.

He did, however, know his cousin well enough to know when he was pushing himself to be cheerful. As much as Mitsukuni didn't like the disconnect between thoughts and actions, Mori disliked it more. He especially felt uncomfortable when he knew it was his fault. It'd be better to just talk it over and get it all out in the open, but he wasn't the best at doing that. When he felt guilty over letting Mitsukuni get a cavity, he couldn't talk about it. He had to make Mitsukuni hate him enough to throw him across the room in order to feel better. But this? This was different and he didn't exactly know how to go about making it all better.

At least Kaoru seemed to be doing better. Hikaru was probably around somewhere, but the news of Tamaki was unsettling. Mori had noticed the bulletins asking about him, but hadn't followed up on it. But mention of breakfast and a girl named Soma who piloted mobile suits seemed interesting. Mitsukuni must have enjoyed that conversation. Mori listened to what Mitsukuni had to say, nodding slightly to confirm that he'd heard it all. Even though he wanted to keep going on the happy-go-lucky routine, he didn't want the bad feelings to remain like he knew they were. He gave his cousin a look that said he knew that Mitsukuni was upset and that he was sorry, and then said, "...I didn't want to worry you."

[host_club_honey]

Despite his efforts to remain happy, Takashi saw through it in an instant. On one hand it made him a little nervous, but on the other, maybe it would be good to talk about things. Honey could tell he was sorry even if the boy hadn't said so in words.

He tried to reply, but found it was harder than usual to talk. He wasn't going to cry, he was definitely NOT going to cry!

"I worry more when you don't tell me," Honey said after fighting back tears for a few moments. You trust me, don't you? he kept from saying it, even if it was plain on his face.

"Takashi," he sighed, poking at the fruit on his plate, "I know we're in a bad, scary place. That people get hurt every day and that everyone's memories are different... I know I don't seem like it, but... but I can deal with that okay. But when my best friend gets hurt and doesn't feel like he can talk to me..." Honey sighed again and shook his head.

"I'm not mad," he was, but Takashi was sorry and there wasn't much else that could be said. "But don't be afraid to tell me things, okay?"

[mukuchi]

Mori felt his gut twist the moment he saw that look on MItsukuni's face. The way the boy was trying not to cry, and that look of heartbreak at thinking his friend didn't trust him. It wasn't that Mori didn't trust him. It was the quite the opposite really; he trusted the Haninozuka heir with his life. They'd been friends since they were born so why wouldn't he trust him? He cared a great deal for his family, including Mitsukuni's family, but that was precisely why he hadn't been able to say anything.

He had failed in the one thing he was supposed to be able to do - protect people. He'd gone down in the line of fire, and lost to a girl with a giant shuriken. Maybe that wasn't the worst loss imaginable, but he hadn't been able to confirm Kio and Willy Wonka's safety - or even Mitsukuni's safety until the morning. For a guy who was used to always being the best line of defense, losing was hard to deal with.

That and Mitsukuni was mad at him. He nodded slightly when his cousin asked him to tell him things and then tried not to let his shoulders drop like he'd been scolded. "I promise." And he would. From here on out, he'd tell Mitsukuni if things went south. It was just that, well, this time he really hadn't had time.

[host_club_honey]

He'd probably said too much. Really he didn't want Takashi to feel bad either, but... ah, sometimes his temper just got the better of him. Honey dug back into his pockets and started unwrapping the candy a piece at a time. First the kisses, then the truffles, and last, of course, the strawberry candy. That one he left alone and would save for later. But the others he popped into his mouth, enjoying the sweetness of each one. It might've seemed silly, but it was his way of trying to make amends. And accepting what Takashi gave him was part of that.

The candies were all but gone in a matter of moments, long before the nurses could stop or wonder what it'd been. He smiled a chocolately smile up at Takashi. He gave a contented sigh and leaned carefully into his best friend's side, gentle in case there might be other injuries.

"We're all doing our best," he said as much to himself as his cousin, while he hugged Usa-chan to his chest. They couldn't feel bad about that, or get discouraged if it wasn't enough. There weren't any instant fixes here and, like it or not, they were going to have to get used to it. "It'll be okay."

[mukuchi]

Maybe it was silly to anyone else, but seeing Mitsukuni accept the candy was more than enough for Mori. It meant that things would go back to normal sooner or later. Letting out a barely noticeable sigh of relief, Mori relaxed back in his hair and looked at the meal he'd been handed finally. More commoner food, but he'd been learning to expect that. It was kind of like going to Haruhi's day after day, so it wasn't that bad.

Mori returned Mitsukuni's chocolate smile with a small one of his own, as the smaller teen leaned against him. Mitsukuni was thakfully light enough that his weight didn't really bother Mori's injuries. Even if they did, he wouldn't have moved. It was comforting to have his cousin at his side, without the nurses telling him it was 'unhealthy' to always be around one person. Reaching out, he grabbed a napkin off the table and handed it to Mitsukuni to get the chocolate off his face. He nodded slightly and then looked out across the cafeteria. Things would be okay. They always worked out somehow or another for them, so why would it be any different here? As long as they all stuck together, the Host Club and all of their friends would definitely persevere. "Try again tonight?"