Day 41: Courtyard (4th shift)

[guyslikegames]

Jiraiya had been right about the bulletin, at least. Yousuke guessed that meant he'd probably have to take some of the other things he'd said a bit more seriously as well. Like the monsters at night

Comments

[emotionl4arobot]

The end of lunch seemed to take far too long in Brainiac 5's mind. Luxord's attention had been bad enough to begin with, but at least he'd been able to keep a good grip on his reactions

[deadlynoble]

With the nurses remaining constantly vigilant, it made it all the more difficult for Ciel to steal away and explore, thus leaving him loitering around trying to keep himself occupied. His desire to actually socialize with most of the patients was rather low, but he supposed it was still his only window to more information about the institution and his captors

[emotionl4arobot]

Someone was watching him. It wasn't exactly an unusual feeling; Brainiac 5 was used to attracting attention due to his intellect and status with the Legion, but considering both his appearance now and his experiences in the last few days, he didn't expect the attention to mean anything beneficial.

He glanced up, half wondering if his morbid prediction had come true and he'd find himself alone with the red-haired psychopath again, but it turned out to be a boy several years younger than himself watching him with a strangely calculating look.

"Is there something I can help you with?" he asked caustically, glaring back at the boy.

[deadlynoble]

The other boy's tone didn't escape Ciel's notice, already triggering his own ire in response, especially after his entire morning had done well to successfully place him in a bad mood. It wasn't enough that Sebastian was missing and the food here was terrible as well as whatever it was they attempted to pass off as a decent accommodation. Nothing was even remotely up to par with what he had in his London estate.

What got to him the most, though, was the lack of privacy, all eyes on him constantly and making it all the more difficult for him to investigate. He couldn't take the nurses constantly fawning over him and referring to him with false terms of endearment like "sweetie." It was really starting to get on his nerves

[emotionl4arobot]

"Then what are you staring at?" he demanded, eyes narrowing in unconscious imitation of the younger boy. He knew what the answer would most likely be. While injury was far from uncommon in the institute, it was less common to need a wheelchair to move around and the bruises on his face and neck no doubt stood out as well.

However he clearly wasn't the only one who'd had a more unusual pattern of injury, judging from the patch covering one of the other boy's eyes. It didn't look like a recent acquisition so much, as there were no visible bandages and it didn't appear to be bothering the boy, and his gaze lingered on it as he speculated when the injury had occurred and what exactly had happened.

Finally he gave into curiosity and asked, "What happened to your eye?"

[deadlynoble]

Ciel's hand remained firmly by his side though the urge to touch his eye patch again was present. He'd momentarily forgotten that his eye was still covered, having grown far too used to having it there that it no longer even registered unless others pointed it out, which brought up another disconcerting fact: Had the nurses looked under his eye patch during his arrival

[emotionl4arobot]

Brainiac 5 tilted his head slightly, studying the other boy for a moment before the beginnings of a smirk touched his lips. "Nothing that resulted in you apparently losing or damaging an eye," he pointed out.

Under other circumstances he might have tried to be more tactful or avoided the subject entirely, but at is was, his meeting with Luxord had left him feeling tired and upset and he couldn't be bothered to go out of his way to play nice to a stranger whose company he hadn't wanted in the first place.

"Was it the result of the supposed monsters or something else?" he continued. He hadn't seen anyone else talking about being attacked by other patients, but it was unlikely that Grell and Luxord were the only dangerous individuals here.

[deadlynoble]

Ciel's mouth screwed up in a scowl as he turned his glare towards the other boy. He hadn't quite expected him to be so invasive, but it seemed he wouldn't let the matter drop so easily. If Ciel was going to stay here, he would have to continue to mask his identity at the risk of word spreading in London that the head of the Phantomhive estate was caught in a mental institution -of all placesOn the other hand, Allen had told him they were outside of his natural timeline. The chances that anyone would even know his name was becoming less and less likely. Still... if Allen was wrong, he would be putting himself at jeopardy by revealing anything that could be damaging to his reputation. It never hurt to take precautions

[emotionl4arobot]

"It might not be any of my business," he snapped, though his voice was beginning to sound rough again, no doubt from his earlier bouts of crying. "But you hadn't offered any other options for conversation either. And..." He sighed and glanced away. "I suppose I was wondering if we were in a similar situation."

One hand rose to rub absently at his temple. Another new pain he wasn't interested in dealing with right now, though it was fortunately lessened by the medication already in his system. He wasn't sure he would be able to handle a migraine on top of everything else that had happened today.

He didn't look up at the question, though if the younger boy hadn't expected an answer, he was going to be surprised. "I guess you could say I... made some enemies. There are some people here you should try and avoid if at all possible."

[deadlynoble]

That sparked his interest. Ciel had heard plenty about the monsters and the head doctor, but it hadn't really occurred to him that some of the other patients themselves could prove to be a threat. He'd assumed they were kept under control by the institution, but recalling what would happen come this evening, it was very likely even they would run wild to do as they please. There was more than one threat looming over him, which meant if he didn't figure out some way to defend himself quickly, he could be in serious danger himself.

His face shifted to something grave, deciding to prod this subject further. If he could at least learn who to keep his eye on, he could at least have some tactical advantage for the time being. He might even be able to monitor their daytime activities when there was less of a chance to fall victim. "And who would these enemies be?"

[emotionl4arobot]

Brainiac 5 looked up at the other boy in surprise at the sudden seriousness considering how things had been going so far. It made him wonder briefly if he had been overly defensive and if the conversation might have gotten to a better start if he'd been less

[deadlynoble]

Ciel's visible eye widened before he could control himself, letting his emotions get the better of him for an instant. A part of him kept repeating that it couldn't be the same Grell Sutcliff who had paved the streets of London in blood and who had even taken it upon himself to murder his aunt right in front of his eyes. It couldn't be him! There was simply no way!

But... but if he himself had been drawn here by some inexplicable force, who was to say others from his own world hadn't been taken along, as well? Had they both been brought here at the same time? The other boy's words implied that he been terrorizing him and others for quite some time. Besides, The last Ciel had seen of Grell was when the death god had been taken away by William T. Spears. It was also likely that this place could have been part of his punishment. Of course, that would mean he was in some sort of penitentiary for the super natural. Again, nothing he could determine without further prying

[emotionl4arobot]

It was impossible for him to miss that reaction. The boy knew Grell. Perhaps even thought that the other patient was harmless and that Brainiac 5 was simply trying to cause problems. Of course. He really shouldn't have been surprised, considering his luck so far and Grell's rather vocal performances via the information board. It was entirely possible that a good percentage of the institute believed the man to be completely harmless.

The question was greeted with a rasp of something that might have been a wry chuckle. "What has he done to earn my dislike?" he asked. His throat and eyes burned and Brainiac 5 swallowed with difficulty and looked away.

"Apparently I managed to... annoy him first. As he took great pleasure in pointing out to me on a number of occasions." His hand unconsciously rose to lightly touch the wad of bandages and padding wrapped around his left shoulder. "Our last encounter was last night." Even saying just that much caused his voice to hitch slightly and the Coluan boy bit his lip to try and maintain his

[deadlynoble]

Somehow, Ciel was unsurprised by the fact that the boy could be annoying enough to have gotten even under Grell's skin. Regardless, the fact that Grell was terrorizing the other patients and with little or no provocation at all. Considering the boy was still alive, though, meant that Grell had at least had his chainsaw confiscated. It was one less worry, but it didn't put Ciel at ease.

He would have to search him out, as well, while he was here. If only he had Sebastian to make this easier. His butler could easily find the files he needed and draw up the names and whereabouts of each and every patient here. Furthermore, what would he even do if he encountered Grell face-to-face? Without any suitable fire arms, he would end up no better off than the boy before him.

He'd just have to continue to lay low for the time being and conceal himself better. "Has this Grell targeted anyone else or does he focus all of his attention on you?"

[emotionl4arobot]

It took Brainiac 5 several minutes to collect himself enough to feel confident in saying anything, let alone answering the question. The time it took for him to clear his head also allowed him to think more objectively about the questions he was being asked, which helped him calm down faster. While he could understand the other boy's curiosity and how he no doubt wanted to learn how much at risk he was, the conversation now felt more like an interrogation and the fact that the other boy had recognised Grell's name bothered him.

"Why do you want to know so much about what happened?" he asked instead. "You seemed to recognise his name, do you think I'm lying?" He frowned, looking the younger patient over. "Who are you?"

[deadlynoble]

Ciel should have expected that the questions would be turned back on him. Not everyone was as naive and easy to interrogate as the boy from earlier. He'd underestimated this one a bit, but it wasn't anything he couldn't quickly and easily cast off. He'd already gained quite a good amount of information from him already. At least, he knew Grell was here before Grell had found him, which put him one step ahead of the death god.

"It's only a matter of curiosity. The name does sound familiar, but judging by your descriptions thus far, it doesn't seem likely that I know him."

It was a lie, but Ciel was good at bluffing his way out of situations. If this boy were to mention to Grell that someone who recognized him was within the institution, he would be placing himself back on square one -a pawn to be easily eaten before he'd have a chance to make a decent attack. He couldn't allow that to happen at any cost.