Day 46: Breakfast

Dec 12, 2009 11:15

For the second time, Rika found herself waking with a start. She blinked at the grey light streaming through the windows, and looked across the room. Anise was still asleep. So. I'm still here. Let me just check...Rika put on her slippers and walked over to the desk, checking the drawer and breathing a light sigh of relief. Good, the knife was ( Read more... )

rika, raine, kirk, s.t., meche, tenzen, tsubaki, xigbar, yuna, anise, kamiya kaoru, leonard, teisel, beelzemon, sam winchester, indiana jones, forte, utena, allen, naminé, asch, luke fon fabre, euphemia, taura, hayes, luxord, lunge, shinichi, ruby, raphael, prowl, mello, brainiac 5, ange, the flash, roxas, albedo, anthy, usopp, remy, tsukasa, heiji, mele, yuffie, ritsuka, the scarecrow, ayumu, lockdown, tyki, kratos, zack, yukari yakumo, l, haseo, shinji, kakashi, sechs, tony stark, ronixis, endrance, kenshin, asuka, haine, bella, scott pilgrim, dias, kaito, dahlia, ritsu, hanatarou, sora, jason, leon (so2), lockon (neil), renamon, keman, hokuto, dist, roland, joshua, cissnei, dean winchester, tim drake, sho, argilla, hanekoma, guy, alfred, emmett, heat, kvothe, venom, nigredo, kibitoshin, allelujah, souji seta, sam, kuhn, lelouch, jun, ratchet, yomi, cloud, sai, aerith, rolo, aidou, edward cullen, mccoy, scar (tlk), hime, loz

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thatdamnedninja December 12 2009, 17:10:23 UTC
Yuffie woke up to the feeling of hands around her throat.

She sat bolt upright, fingers probing at the aches, her breath shuddering. Right shoulder, right arm, sternum, throat, cheek. Nothing terrible; the last one the list was patched up with a big ol' band-aid, and a few cursory pokes told her that it hadn't been stitched. But her throat…!

It didn't even occur to her, not until she was sitting slumped in a chair in the cafeteria with a plate of waffles and a cup of OJ in front of her, that she felt like herself again. Everything she had was focused on the horror-show from last night. Stupidity, desperation, hopeless-helpless; everything she hated and everything she tried to avoid. The scene didn't even have the courtesy to be a blur! It ran through her mind in hi-def, from the first meeting with 'Blake', right through to Cloud's voice registering, dim and angry, on the edge of her consciousness.

Cloud.

"Oh, man," she breathed, her voice a bruised rasp. Groaning, the girl-and ninja once again-buried her face in her palms. The aches stung crazily, like minor wounds always did, but she'd had worse. Worse than worse. Just - hadn't ever been almost strangled to death before, and the picture of Yuri-slash-Blake turned monster wouldn't leave. That was a new one.

[Closed to Cloud.]

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notthistrain December 12 2009, 21:06:41 UTC
"Is this seat taken?"

Cloud hadn't been happy to wake up back in his bed, and he'd questioned his nurse angrily only to be told that Hannah was fine and he'd see her at breakfast. He didn't understand it (What had knocked them out?) but catching sight of the girl sitting alone had assuaged some of his fears. While the nurse had insisted he fill his tray before going to sit with her, he'd made his way over as soon as possible.

She was injured. It wasn't bad, but it still caused a pang of anger in Cloud's gut to know she could have been killed if they'd arrived any later than they had. He couldn't really blame Kenshin for wanting to grab allies, but that didn't make the situation any better.

"Or are you going to call a nurse to shoo me away again?"

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thatdamnedninja December 12 2009, 21:42:14 UTC
The marks around her throat were dark blue and purple, livid and spotted with red where the monster's nails had dug in. Yuffie hadn't seen them, but she didn't have to; they were definitely there. And unless she did something, they were gonna be there for a while. Maybe in some weird, self-flagellating kind of way, it'd serve as a reminder? 'What happens when you're a monumental dumbass with stupidity instead of reflexes, and why that must never, ever, EVER happen again. Ever.'

At the sound of Cloud's-Cloud's; it was so jarring to think that he was back-voice nearby, Yuffie peeked through her fingers, but avoided meeting his eyes. "I'd tell you to sit your ass down and drink your goddamn tea, but that's not my line. And you don't have any tea." Yuffie kept her voice low and quiet, kept her breathing perfectly even. It wasn't too painful, that way. "Was that you last night?"

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notthistrain December 12 2009, 22:24:56 UTC
The blond smiled, taking a seat next to her so he could take in the damage better. He also took a sip of his juice. She was right, it wasn't tea, but a small bit of humor couldn't hurt the situation any. Yuffie was such an energetic person normally that seeing her down was enough to make anyone depressed. Telling her that they could find her a scarf and they'd pretend the marks were hickeys was probably pushing things too far, though.

"It was. Me and that red-headed friend of yours, Kenshin. And his girlfriend." He frowned, not liking the missing piece of memory between then and now. "What happened after we showed up? It's like I blacked out." There hadn't even been any impact to the back of his skull, or any disorientation this morning that would indicate he'd been knocked out by force. He'd just... woken up. As if the night before had all been some sort of incredibly lucid dream.

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thatdamnedninja December 12 2009, 22:44:53 UTC
Yuffie let him look, because it wasn't like she could be self-conscious about these things anymore. You hung about with a bunch of weirdoes on a mission to save the world for long enough, and you sorta got used to having them checking out the damage before tossing you the mastered Restore. Not that it made her feel any less of an idiot. Never mind the fact that it was all Hanna's fault. And Martin thrice-damned Landel's. This was the second time she'd been brainwashed by these bastards, and it was starting to get - what, old? Old didn't even cover it. Neither did 'really fucking annoying', but there were only so many adjectives in the world.

She let her elbows hit the table, resting her weight on them. "Thought I heard him, too. Kinda fuzzy," she replied, still quietly. "And that - it, um, it happens every night. No matter what you're doing and where you're doing it; you can be an hour's drive outta town and they'll still drag you back." A dark little snicker escaped her. "Lucky it happened, this time."

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notthistrain December 12 2009, 23:40:31 UTC
Every night? The people in charge of this place had that much control over them? That was incredibly disconcerting, and it was obviously done so that the patients would feel that any manner of escape was impossible. Cloud could already tell that Martin Landel excelled at knowing how to demoralize his patients.

There was always a means of escape. It was just a matter of finding it.

"I was told you've been here for maybe two weeks or more." He didn't know how he could have helped her sooner, given the manner of his own arrival, but that didn't make him feel any better. "I'm sorry I couldn't be around for you before now." Even if 'being around' meant he was just as trapped as she was.

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thatdamnedninja December 13 2009, 00:01:31 UTC
"Today's my fifteenth day," said Yuffie, with about as much bubbly enthusiasm as a Tonberry at its best. "Feels more like a… I don't know. A holy hella long time, anyway." She paused to take a few sips of juice, swallowing with a little difficulty, and almost absently she dug an elbow at him for the apology. "Sorry to burst your bubble, Sparklepants, but I wish you weren't here. You haven't even seen a fraction of what Landel can do." There was a pause, a long one, as the young ninja stared a hole through the opposite edge of the table.

And that wasn't all, was it? Cloud had a lot to catch up on; more than Yuffie really had it in herself to explain. "Makes Hojo look like a paragon of angelical virtue, actually. And - not that I'm…. er, y'know. Not glad to see you. Alliance or not, being surrounded by Turks isn't my idea of a picnic." She'd missed AVALANCHE, more than she could ever-or would ever-be able to admit.

For the first time during the conversation, Yuffie turned in her seat to look at him. To actually, really look, almost like she was sizing him up or comparing him (still purposefully avoiding those mako-bright eyes of his; the last time she'd seen those, they'd been staring at Aerith, not her). He looked… younger. Lighter, too, than when she's last seen him. And his attitude, that was different too. That was - nngh, awkward. What should she tell him? Could she tell him?

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notthistrain December 13 2009, 01:39:06 UTC
Fifteen days. It wasn't so long in the grand scheme of things, but it was still far too long for her to have been left in this shit-hole. Then there was the matter of the bulletin, and that fact that she looked like it had been far longer than fifteen days since they'd last spoken. And to have only Turks for company? Cloud didn't think he'd ever felt as sorry for her as he did then.

Though what she said about Hojo... He didn't think there was much, if anything, that could put the man in that sort of light. He wasn't willing to argue the point with her, but both of them clearly had biased viewpoints on the subject. If he ended up being stuck there long enough, he might be able to compare the two. Not that he planned on sticking around much longer if he could help it.

"Well, no matter what he can do, we'll get out of here." They'd fought to hard to let it end like this, and he rested a hand briefly on her shoulder. "I know I might not have any right to make that statement now, but I know that the more of us there are, the more unstoppable we become."

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thatdamnedninja December 13 2009, 02:30:23 UTC
Leviathan, she wanted to believe him.

She wanted to believe him so hard that it almost hurt. In some ways, it was worse than that day three years ago, when she'd fell into step with AVALANCHE and followed him down into the crater. Knowing damn well what was waiting for them down in the depths, and that there was only a chance and a wish that all of them would make it out alive again by the end. Optimism alone could only take you so far; it was faith that'd taken her there.

Cloud was Cloud; he might be a little different, but he was still her friend and the leader of AVALANCHE. Somebody to trust and respect, in her own style and fashion. Somebody she needed, no matter how her mind shied from the thought. After all this time without her old comrades, it was… Somehow, she needed to find that old strength and faith again. Teams were like families; hard work, but more precious than anything. Well. Almost anything, when there actually was a Wutai around to weigh them against.

With a smile that edged on bitterness, she dropped her weight to the side and rested it against his hand and arm. "I'm holding you to that. But how 'bout you find out a bit more about what's going on here before you start making promises? You've got a helluva lot of catching up to do."

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notthistrain December 13 2009, 04:13:50 UTC
"I'm sure I do." And he would. It would even be forced upon him, he bet. That didn't dampen Cloud's resolve. Yes, he was approaching this through the eyes of a complete (for lack of a better term) newbie to the Institute, but now that he knew how hard they were striving to knock down the patients' spirits he was going to do all he could to hold onto his.

But now for the hard part. "...Such as what Rude meant when he spoke of a 'time issue.'" Meaning basically 'why do you look older than sixteen?' but that went without saying. If she really knew the answer, as her own response to him saying when he'd come from would suggest, then he wouldn't need to say anything more. He was going to have to be willing to accept the impossible, it seemed. That they'd been dragged here in the first place was impossible enough, yet here they were. "Just tell me whatever you need. I'm willing to listen."

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thatdamnedninja December 13 2009, 04:41:27 UTC
Huh, he wasn't pushing her away.

That was just fine with Yuffie. She stayed right where she was, waffles untouched, and her muscles stiff with a tension that'd been with her for days. "Yeah, there is that one. You might've noticed already, but I look older than you remember. Say, like, by a couple of years? Try three. When these guys got me, it was 0010. Reno said he's from 0009, and…" She shook her head, just a little, with a disgruntled little snort. "I dunno. I don't know how they do it, but they snatch people from time and space. Cloud, most of the people here have never heard of Gaia. No Wutai, no Midgar, or Junon. No airships, Shinra, materia, or AVALANCHE.

"It's usually better not to think 'bout it too hard, 'cuz I know I can't explain it. And you learn to expect weird stuff, like, say, seeing people who should be dead." Yeah, that was another kicker. This place was one gigantinormous huge kicker all on its own, really. "It gets weirder, too," she added, making up her mind. "Sometimes, people disappear. They get killed, or they're 'released'… And then they drop by the visit. On Sunday. They come back, durin' the visitor shift, sayin' they were cured, and they want you to get better. That's how I met 'Conner'. … Well, er, not the dead ones. They're dead, except for when they get resurrected into zombies."

As usual, when avoidance wasn't an option, Yuffie went for the 'open the floodgate' plan of attack. It might've been comical, if it weren't for the deadly seriousness in her still-soft voice, underlying the awkward clumsiness in her phrasing.

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notthistrain December 13 2009, 06:40:08 UTC
Cloud had expected to hear the unbelievable. He just obviously wasn't as prepared for it as he thought. He listened to what Yuffie told him. He let the words process. The more she spoke, the more he tried to find some hint to her tone or inflection that she was joking with him... but it wasn't there. She kept going and she was dead serious and it wasn't even logical.

The blond tried not to let his bafflement and disbelief show in his face, because that wasn't what she needed right then. She needed him to be there for her - to be able to help her through this mess. And it was definitely a mess. A mess beyond messes, if any of this was to be believed. Rude believed it, or he was playing along. Reno too, apparently.

But that there would be people from other worlds, other planets outside their own... It wasn't totally unbelievable, he supposed. Cid would have wanted to be able to travel there himself. They all seemed human, though - not like Jenova, the so-called Calamity from the Skies. But then, Jenova had taken on the form of those that already dwelt on their planet, hadn't she?

It was too much, and he couldn't deny that it was too much. It was doubtful she even expected him to believe it all right off the bat. He ran his hand through the hair at the base of his neck. "That's, uh... wow. Yeah, I guess... I'm just gonna have to see some of this for myself."

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thatdamnedninja December 13 2009, 07:11:59 UTC
"Crazy, yeah? Yeah. I thought so as well."

Yuffie trailed off, one leg swinging loosely under the table. He wasn't taking it badly, all things considered; he didn't believe her, but that wasn't what really mattered. He was making an effort, and he'd get it eventually. "Talk to Kenshin again, sometime. He's one of the ones from that Earth place, and he's a good guy." High praise, coming from the ninja.

"Anyway, that's only the start of it." She cocked her head slightly. "We're cool on the whole 'infested with monsters' thing, but there's a few to watch out for. Like that-that thing from last night; they pretend to be loved ones 'til they've got you, and then they chow down. I'll give you my list tonight, or something.

"The stuff that can really get you is the mindfucks. They do, um, psychological torture, like making you relive somebody's death like it was your own, scientific experiments, and brainwashing. They call that one Special Counselling. You get your stuff back, you get needled and drilled, and then you're sic'd on the other patients to do Landel's bidding." Flippancy, now, just a touch, because it all felt so raw right now that reverence would hurt like a bitch. Keep it chill, like you're talking about the weather. See, not so hard, is it?

She closed her eyes, the chick from the library drifting through her mind. She'd been so scared, like a kid faced with a wolf for the very first time.

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notthistrain December 14 2009, 02:46:44 UTC
Talking to Kenshin again would definitely be on his to-do list. That, along with tearing this place to the ground. He already knew there were some sort of tests happening in the Institute, but the outright mention of experimentation hit a deep nerve. Worse, Yuffie's attitude about the whole thing made it clear that she'd been a part of worse brainwashing that what he'd seen the day before. Whether he could get himself to believe everything she said or not, he at least believed that much. Mako eyes narrowed in anger at the tabletop, and his appetite was suddenly gone.

The hand on her shoulder squeezed. He wasn't going to ask about it. She didn't need the matter dragged back up into the light. He willed the anger down as well. It would end up being directed at the wrong people. The nurses would just be pawns. "I said I would listen, but if you'd rather not talk about it, you don't have to."

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thatdamnedninja December 14 2009, 03:17:53 UTC
Something almost like surprise flickered across Yuffie's face, followed by a mostly suppressed wince as his fingers pressed right against a bruise.

This Cloud, he really was… All of a sudden, the little ninja laughed, a soft little snicker to spare her throat. The damage wasn't too bad, but breathing too deep sent sharp pinpricks through her nerves, and it made her chest ache where she'd been punched. Last time she'd seen him, really seen him, he'd been so dour and dreary and emo. Almost like every day and every word was an excuse to kick himself silly on the inside. It'd been like guilt had parked itself on top of him, wriggled its way into every nook and cranny, until he was diluted with it.

Now, this, this was Cloud. This was the Cloud she'd robbed blind in all those forests. This was the Cloud who'd chased her through Wutai and waved aside her life-history to demand his materia back. This was the Cloud who'd she'd seen fit to follow all that way, and if anybody could help her tear this place to its component atoms, it was him.

… Ugh. She was really gonna have to sort herself out, thinking all sappily like this. Being happy to see friends was one thing, but this was hitting a little too close to squishy-marshmallow-fluffy-time for her liking. "If I let talking about that stuff bother me," she said eventually, when the gigglefit had subsided, "it'll just be another point to Landel. He might've controlled me, but I won't let him rule me like that. 'Sides, it's important - if you ever come up against someone on SC, you need to know what to expect from them, right? And tryin' to talk them down doesn't work, no matter how close you are. Ask any questions you've got."

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notthistrain December 14 2009, 13:28:08 UTC
...What had he said? Cloud blinked, watching Yuffie with an expression that might have included a light 'Oro?' if coming from another acquaintance of hers. The laughter was unexpected, and he wasn't sure what he'd done to warrant it, but it looked as though she was feeling better for it so he wasn't going to complain. He smiled too, relieved that she was once again showing how impossible it was to truly break her spirit - Wutai's spirit, wrapped up in one little energetic ninja package.

"Any questions, huh?" Where do they keep the weapons? might have been one, followed by What part of the building do you think would burn the fastest? But he knew it wasn't as simple as that or Yuffie would have been long gone. Perhaps there was one... "Your friend last night - he was dressed differently. I don't know if you saw. He was also armed. The clothes aren't so much an issue, but I know I'm not the only one without a weapon that could use one." Him, his roommate, and there had to be others like them. Kenshin's 'friend,' who he'd claimed was also skilled in combat, hadn't been wielding a blade either.

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