DAY 23: BREAKFAST

[stray_shinigami]

That hadn't felt like an entire night

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[foxyroses]

Kurama woke with a start from his bed, stared at the ceiling for a moment, and then slumped back against the mattress. Another night gone. Nothing accomplished. But at least they didn't get eaten alive by those rats... Thank goodness for small miracles.

What was troubling was the announcements last night. The pieces were beginning to fall together and the thought of how they were laying made Kurama's stomach turn just a little. Whatever the head doctor's intentions had been by telling them of Alec's story, he was sure that sympathy wasn't supposed to be one of them. But it was there anyway.

Kurama could understand the circumstances, and it wasn't troubling to know that this 'helper' of theirs wasn't fighting solely for them. Considering the facts, no one was fighting for anyone else, but as long as they fought together, that was fine.

Kurama got out of bed and checked on the sleeping Omi to make sure he was alright before heading off to breakfast. He stopped at the bulletin board for only a moment, when none of the nurses were looking, then continued onto the cafeteria.

At the moment, the food didn't hold too much interest for Kurama, but he needed to eat. So, piling a few things onto his tray that looked somewhat ok to his uninterested appetite, he took a seat near the doors, where he could watch everyone coming in.

[daddyslilkiller]

Omi woke up not long after Kurama had left the room. The last thing he remembered was the rats, but he obviously wasn't in the hallway anymore. The darts and pens were right where he'd put them in his waistband. Talk about uncomfortable. So something had happened last night, but he couldn't remember what. He shrugged it off after a moment's thought. He was unfortunately used to sketchy memories.

He hid the darts under his mattress. He probably wouldn't need them during the day.

In the cafeteria, he zoned in on the cinnamon rolls. He might admit to having just a bit of a sweet tooth, maybe. A quick survey of the room quickly showed that Kurama wasn't sitting with anyone yet. It didn't take long to grab a glass of juice and make his way back to the table with his cinnamon roll.

"Good morning, Kurama-kun."

[foxyroses]

Kurama looked up at the voice and smiled slightly, nodding his head in greeting. "Morning," he replied, setting down the fork he was using. As he had assumed from his earlier check, Omi seemed alright.

"Have you seen your friend yet?" He had noticed Aya already take a seat, but as for the patient they had intended to meet, Kurama didn't have the faintest idea as to what he looked like.

[daddyslilkiller]

To be perfectly honest, he'd seen Kurama and headed straight over. He hadn't bothered to really look around. Once he took time to do a proper job, he noticed Aya and Yohji talking to each other at another table.

For some reason, he was oddly hesitant to actually go over to them. If he was honest with himself, he just didn't want to see Yohji as changed as Aya was. It was going to happen eventually. He couldn't, and wouldn't, avoid his team for that long, but... well, he could put it off for a little while longer, couldn't he?

He nodded to the pair. "Yohji-kun is talking to Aya-kun. They both look alright." He blinked at Kurama, eyes going too-sharp for a moment as he looked him over. "You're okay?"

[foxyroses]

Kurama followed Omi's gaze over to Aya and the man he was seated with. Yohji. Well, he would make sure to remember him, then. A friend of a friend was an ally, and allies were treasures in this place.

In response to Omi's concern, Kurama nodded. "Just fine save for a few scratches near my ankles. But considering the fact that we both still have feet to walk on, I'd consider ourselves well off." It was a little hard to tell if the redhead was joking or not, but there was a somewhat light tone in his voice, despite the grim humor.

[daddyslilkiller]

Well, Omi was going to take it as a joke, grim or no. Led to fewer awkward questions that way. He smiled before digging into his cinnamon roll. Why bother with silverware when you had fingers? Cinnamon rolls were definitely finger food. Sticky finger food, granted, but that just made it better.

"Same here. Just scratches, I mean." He hesitated. This might be an odd question, but he was curious. Not to mention the vital data he was obviously missing out on after last night. Might as well ask Kurama. "Does Night Shift always go like that?"

[foxyroses]

"So far? Basically." Kurama hated to admit it, but it was true... Something always stopped him from doing anything productive. But at least he hadn't run into that woman again... He didn't need another disabling wound.

"It's rare to actually get anything done around here...especially on nights when they brainwash people. Tonight should be a little less hectic, if you wanted to try again."

He paused. "By the way, I was wondering: Where did you learn how to fight with darts? Most boys don't play darts quite that seriously."

[daddyslilkiller]

"There's not much else to do, is there? They know exactly what we want, so they know exactly how to make sure we never get it." His tone didn't indicate any real upset over the idea, but more the frustration of someone thinking through a difficult problem. So far, Landel's was still just a puzzle to be considered and eventually overcome.

He blinked at Kurama's question. My, what an interesting cinnamon roll. "Is it really safe to talk about things like that where anyone could overhear?"

More than likely it was, since he was pretty sure no one in the cafeteria was paying attention to anyone else, but still. It felt wrong to just talk about Kritiker in the middle of a crowded room.

[foxyroses]

Kurama agreed wholeheartedly with the predicament they were in. The only real solution seemed to be to just try harder. And to find decent weapons. He was still under the impression that pen were not going to cut it.

I doubt anyone is going to care what two delusional teenage boys are talking about, so long as we don't raise our voices. For the most part, the nurses leave us be unless we cause a ruckus." Like the one they had just witnessed between two of the other patients. He recognized Adel as being on of the ones to intervene, but made no motion to him. It wasn't like he really knew him that well.

Kurama noticed how Omi seemed to be wanting to avoid the topic, but he wasn't about to back down this time. It wasn't like there were more pressing matters. And talking kept his mind off of less enlightening subjects, like how Dr. Landel would sound during his final moments on this earth...

"Is there something wrong with telling me about this, too? You certainly seem to have a lot of secrets..."

[daddyslilkiller]

The people who got so much attention directed to them were obviously stupid and therefore not worth much of Omi's attention. A harsh view, perhaps, but one that often paid out.

"If we were just delusional teenage boys, I think things would be easier." They might actually be at a normal institution, for instance. That would almost seem a relief after a day at this place.

"A lot compared to who? I don't think I have a lot of secrets." He really only had one secret, maybe two if you counted his past and his current occupation separately. That wasn't a lot at all.

And, of course, it also didn't answer Kurama's question. Any of them.

[foxyroses]

"Delusional according to the staff," Kurama clarified. "I certainly wouldn't consider myself delusional, and I wouldn't like to be that way, either. Even if it would be easier than this place." Because being delusional actually meant that there was something wrong with you... In a situation like this, the imprisonment was entirely unjustified.

"And it seems every time I ask something about you, you give me a roundabout answer." Kurama paused. "I'm not sure how I should feel about someone being so disinclined to tell me anything. Especially when I've already divulged a rather personal secret of my own."

His ability to control plants was something even his own mother didn't know about... But he had trusted Omi with it out of necessity.

[daddyslilkiller]

Omi occasionally wondered whether there wasn't something wrong with him, with the amnesia and everything that went along with it. Then again, he had always trusted that Kritiker wouldn't let him lead Weiss if he were too damaged, which was reassuring. It was nice to know that he didn't have to be the final authority in everything.

He poked at his cinnamon roll more, using it to give himself time to think. "It's not you. It's just not that great of a secret." He smiled slightly, seemingly embarrassed. "You probably wouldn't even believe me."

[foxyroses]

Kurama returned the smile reassuringly. "If you tell me it's the truth, then I'll believe you. You don't seem the type to make up stories for no reason." Of course, he wasn't going to believe anything the other threw at him. It at least had to be reasonable and mesh with what he already knew about Omi. Granted, that wasn't a lot, but still...

[daddyslilkiller]

Omi made up stories all the time. He told his team stories about how much he was actually telling Kritiker about them. He told his targets stories so he could get close enough to do his job. But, if Kurama wanted to be that trusting...

Omi put on the most insolent grin he could manage, which was really pretty good considering he was usually polite, at least on the surface. "What if I said I headed a crack team of florist/assassins?"

His tone clearly invited Kurama to take the whole thing as the bad joke of a bored teenager. Sure, it fit what Kurama knew about Omi, but who would believe it?

[foxyroses]

A team of assassins?... Headed by this boy? It sounded like a joke, especially the way that Omi grinned, but Kurama knew better than to trust expressions. Even if his roommate did look like a kid, that didn't mean he thought like one.

And he couldn't really judge, could he? Yusuke and Kuwabara had started their 'detective work' when they were fourteen. And Kurama, too, if he really wanted to count that. Though he might have looked fourteen at the time, that certainly wasn't his true age.

It would explain the weapon proficiencies, as well as his ability to take charge last night. At the time, Kurama thought it was out of necessity, but looking back now, he could see the connection more clearly.

Truthfully, Kurama wasn't sure if he believed him or not. The idea of florist/assassins wasn't that ridiculous--at least not as ridiculous as a spirit thief or a middle schooler working for the realm of the dead or being humanity's defendant against demons. Still, it would set his mind at ease to know that this place wasn't abducting normal children.

Kurama gave a shrug at Omi's suggestion. "Who knows. Maybe if you could elaborate, I could tell you if it seems too far-fetched. Believe me, though, I've seen stranger things." Like a twelve year old boy fighting on a team that was bent on the destruction of the entire human race. The thought of his fight with "Game Master" Amanuma was still a sore spot for Kurama, even if the child had been brought back from the dead after the apocalypse was averted.

But it seemed that Kurama would have to wait for his answers, since the intercom chose that moment to break in with a shift change. "Or not. I guess we'll have to talk about this later." They could potentially go to the same place since they were both under eighteen, but Kurama didn't want to press Omi too much and he already seemed nervous to be talking about this. Kurama only wanted answers, not to isolate his roommate.