Yet another intercom jingle sounded, and the nurses, anticipating the Head Doctor's orders, already began grouping around the patients as he began to speak
( Read more... )
Thanks to a afternoon well spent, Yuffie was quickly forced into a detour to the women's bathrooms before being let back to her room. She skipped down one hallway to irritate her nurse, which didn't work, and skipped backwards down the next, which did.
"Hanna," Plucky admonished, "you have got to stop trying your luck!"
"I'm not trying it," replied Yuffie, blasé as ever, as she righted herself with a light-footed twirl. "Y'know, you really should be celebrating. Throwing a party! Possibly be giving me some kind of treat, like, say, I dunno, something cool and just for me." At her nurse's askance look of what, Yuffie sighed dramatically. It was no use; Plucky just didn't get it. Probably on purpose, which meant that, if nothing else, one thing hadn't changed; the woman had absolutely no sense of adventure. What kind of person didn't want to bend the rules at any and every opportunity? And, for that matter, what kind of person refused to reward somebody as singularly amazing as the Great Ninja Yuffie?
Her dance-like gait slowed by the door. One arm set on her hip, the other stroked her chin thoughtfully. What's gonna happen tonight? she wondered as she walked those last few steps. More importa-well, less importantly, but still worth thinking about a ton and a bunch, what was gonna happen now? Dinner shift was always the awkward shift, always tense and irritated and irritating. Cheery as she was today, even her happy veneer of egocentrism could pop like a soap bubble in the face of Sen's… Sen-ness. Yuffie wasn't willing to walk on eggshells even for the sake of her own good mood, never had and never would be.
She bade farewell to her nurse with a sloppy salute and a cat-canary grin. Well, whatever; she had more than enough practice at keeping her own spirits buoyed in the face of adversity. Yuffie entered the room with a pointedly boisterous bound and a twirl, which, incidentally, told her that she had at least a few Sen-free seconds. Fine with her! Yuffie could use the time to wolf down some of her dinner, which she did without much relish.
The conversation with Haseo had done little to clear up the mystery of the individual she'd encountered the night before, and Ayumu was left feeling somewhat dissatisfied about her situation now. That particular avenue of investigation didn't seem to be a profitable one, even though she'd had some fleeting hope that a cooperative guardian would be willing to give a hint or two about the Institute. Another dead end, and she'd been taken off her previous assignment: what now did she have to do?
Although -- if she no longer had to avoid raising suspicion where Lelouch was concerned, and Okita had even suggested she might find something in common with her roommate, would it be better to try to reconcile with Yuffie? She was still Himura's friend, and that grudge hadn't died: if anything, their conversation at lunch had fanned it to new life. But if their dinner hour was somewhat less uncomfortable and awkward it'd likely be for the best, for both of them.
The roommate in question was already present by the time she reached the room, of course. Ayumu's demeanor remained unchanged until the nurse had left, but with the click of the door lock she sighed and dropped into her chair, eyeing the dinner tray warily for a moment before leaning forward to pick up the fork. "Good evening, Yuffie-han," she observed, neutral with a hint of friendly.
Oh, there we go. Yuffie's head cocked slightly, but her mouth was full of spaghetti and garlic bread, so she couldn't immediately come out with some golden, scathing remark. Not that she had a ton to work with, she had to admit. Sen wasn't simpering and blathering intolerably just yet, wasn't saturating the room with her usual woe is me, the delicate little flower spiel.
Yuffie had a healthy appreciation for flowers. Well. A selective, healthy appreciation. She wasn't like Aerith, unconditionally loving and nurturing everything that stuck roots in the ground and grew toward the sun. Yuffie's choices were of the thorny variety, pretty and painful, and the climnable variety. Couldn't count on all her fingers and all her toes the number of days and nights she'd spent up in the trees
She swallowed the mouthful and washed it down with a long pull of water. "Evenin'," she replied, airily. "I don't think it's poisoned tonight, but I could always be wrong."
"Oh, no. I'm not the one who suspects poison." Someone on the bulletin earlier had, but really, even if there was some kind of drug in the food (which would explain the blackouts at night) there wasn't much else they could do other than starve. Apart from the inexplicable blackouts and being moved while unconscious -- which was unpleasant enough, certainly, but had never been proven to cause any harm -- there were no obvious side effects, and being able to function, not weakened by hunger, was important in a place like this.
She carefully picked up some of the noodles with her fork, examining it curiously before taking a bite. Though strange, this was certainly one of the more edible meals around here. That always seemed the fact with the last meal of the day, actually. Mid-day meals were often greasy, and breakfast...well.
"It doesn't have to be poisoned to be...strange, though," she continued, prodding at the rest of the noodles with her fork. "I think I'm becoming accustomed to this, but I'd really rather not have that opportunity."
"Hanna," Plucky admonished, "you have got to stop trying your luck!"
"I'm not trying it," replied Yuffie, blasé as ever, as she righted herself with a light-footed twirl. "Y'know, you really should be celebrating. Throwing a party! Possibly be giving me some kind of treat, like, say, I dunno, something cool and just for me." At her nurse's askance look of what, Yuffie sighed dramatically. It was no use; Plucky just didn't get it. Probably on purpose, which meant that, if nothing else, one thing hadn't changed; the woman had absolutely no sense of adventure. What kind of person didn't want to bend the rules at any and every opportunity? And, for that matter, what kind of person refused to reward somebody as singularly amazing as the Great Ninja Yuffie?
Her dance-like gait slowed by the door. One arm set on her hip, the other stroked her chin thoughtfully. What's gonna happen tonight? she wondered as she walked those last few steps. More importa-well, less importantly, but still worth thinking about a ton and a bunch, what was gonna happen now? Dinner shift was always the awkward shift, always tense and irritated and irritating. Cheery as she was today, even her happy veneer of egocentrism could pop like a soap bubble in the face of Sen's… Sen-ness. Yuffie wasn't willing to walk on eggshells even for the sake of her own good mood, never had and never would be.
She bade farewell to her nurse with a sloppy salute and a cat-canary grin. Well, whatever; she had more than enough practice at keeping her own spirits buoyed in the face of adversity. Yuffie entered the room with a pointedly boisterous bound and a twirl, which, incidentally, told her that she had at least a few Sen-free seconds. Fine with her! Yuffie could use the time to wolf down some of her dinner, which she did without much relish.
Reply
Although -- if she no longer had to avoid raising suspicion where Lelouch was concerned, and Okita had even suggested she might find something in common with her roommate, would it be better to try to reconcile with Yuffie? She was still Himura's friend, and that grudge hadn't died: if anything, their conversation at lunch had fanned it to new life. But if their dinner hour was somewhat less uncomfortable and awkward it'd likely be for the best, for both of them.
The roommate in question was already present by the time she reached the room, of course. Ayumu's demeanor remained unchanged until the nurse had left, but with the click of the door lock she sighed and dropped into her chair, eyeing the dinner tray warily for a moment before leaning forward to pick up the fork. "Good evening, Yuffie-han," she observed, neutral with a hint of friendly.
Reply
Yuffie had a healthy appreciation for flowers. Well. A selective, healthy appreciation. She wasn't like Aerith, unconditionally loving and nurturing everything that stuck roots in the ground and grew toward the sun. Yuffie's choices were of the thorny variety, pretty and painful, and the climnable variety. Couldn't count on all her fingers and all her toes the number of days and nights she'd spent up in the trees
She swallowed the mouthful and washed it down with a long pull of water. "Evenin'," she replied, airily. "I don't think it's poisoned tonight, but I could always be wrong."
Reply
She carefully picked up some of the noodles with her fork, examining it curiously before taking a bite. Though strange, this was certainly one of the more edible meals around here. That always seemed the fact with the last meal of the day, actually. Mid-day meals were often greasy, and breakfast...well.
"It doesn't have to be poisoned to be...strange, though," she continued, prodding at the rest of the noodles with her fork. "I think I'm becoming accustomed to this, but I'd really rather not have that opportunity."
Reply
Leave a comment