Day 54: Lunch

[full_score]

All things considered, last shift had been pretty low key. After this morning's disaster, though, that was perfectly fine by Claude. Some fresh air and a chance to make sure Guy and Okita were all right weren't things to take for granted. It was also good to have a fairly normal, conversation with Guy that didn't slip off into awkward territory

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[thatdamnedninja]

In lieu of chowing down on her plateful of fish and chips, Yuffie Kisaragi was writing a journal entry. Or trying to; after everything that had happened over the past few hours, scribbling words onto a page took more than a little effort.

'Sup, it said in a tipsy blend of Standard and Wutaian. So today is full of suckitude and lame-assosity, and I am super planning to punch it in the face ASAP. I do not care that I already have a black eye-I felt sorry for that stupid soldier, I LET him punch me. It was just a freebie and kind of a dumb thing to do, sure, but I bet bunches of people would be totes YOU ARE SO AWESOME re: my charitable and giving nature. Yeeeeaaah. The Great Ninja Yuffie, doing all the best things since the day she was born. Which is incidentally the day the world became a brighter place or it would've been if Shinra weren't a bunch of snotty jerkasses.

She paused, tongue between her teeth, pen tapping absently, and ruminated for a long moment upon one very simple fact: she really, really hated these soldiers. They

[thatdamnedninja]

"W-Worth it? Of course it was worth it!" Yuffie protested, with as much vigor as she could summon. Seeing the familiar, friendly face of Kenshin helped to spur her on; she had a reputation to maintain, after all. "Okay, maybe the solitary bit sucked-sucked a lot… Y'know, I really wish they'd just kept beating me up, 'cuz straitjackets are not cool, Orosai…" She paused, and took a deep, unsteady breath. It ended with a cough. "That wasn't the right tangent. Uhmmm…"

She dropped the pen onto her still-open journal, and did her best, over the next handful of seconds, to rearrange herself so as not to look like a floppy pile of the most pathetic ninja in existence. "You don't look too roughed up," she commented, "all things considered. What did you do: hide under the tables like a boring, boring, boring person?"

[girlsandgadgets]

Despite the chaos of the food fight and consequent gassing during the first shift, the cafeteria was as clean as ever by the time lunch rolled around. Edgar found himself pleasantly surprised as he entered the room- as one of the first there, it was still in pristine condition. The new guards stood watching from seemingly every corner, creating the same tense atmosphere that had been present before

[quarter_english]

L was one of the first people through the lunch line, his stomach rumbling at the scent of the food. Fish was out of the question, but fruit salad wouldn't be enough to tide him over until dinner; he would, at least, eat some chips, as well as whatever protein substitute they were feeding the vegetarians. The cafeteria was spotless; there was no visible surface evidence that it had been the site of mass revolt only a few hours earlier

[melodists]

Displeasure creased along her brow as Tear entered the cafeteria, the object of her ire centering on this morning's events. It was ridiculous, really, how one's whim can destroy the constructive elements of a single day. Furthermore, it was beyond ludicrous how anyone would believe inciting a food fight would provide enough cover for anything relatively productive. Especially in the presence of soldiers and children. For a variety of reasons, nothing in breakfast had been a good thing

[girlsandgadgets]

Hearing a nurse mention his assigned name, Edgar looked up, only to find Ryuuzaki joining him at the table. Even with the morning's events and the eyes of the Eagle's guards on them, the regular staff had no trouble with their usual duty of forcing conversation on lone patients. No matter- that made one more acquaintance he'd seen more than once, which seemed to be a rarity at times.

"To say the very least, Daniel," Edgar answered with a smirk after swallowing his bite. "I was able to take cover in the Sun Room, but it seems from the watery-eyed looks of the lineup outside that most patients weren't so fortunate. I'm starting to believe these guards

[scintillatingly]

While Albedo had definitely been a little weird for someone his age, Sora had gotten through that conversation without anything too terrible happening. Then again, what could one patient really do to another during the day like this? If he had to worry about anything, it was the night shift, but he doubted that the white-haired boy had any plans to come after him in the late hours

[antiheroed]

What Landel's announcement stated was that some of Riku's theories weren't entirely unfounded. While he thought that it seemed likely that Landel himself would be booted, he seemed to grasp that it was a little more than that. Maybe Landel would stick around, after all-but at what cost? And wasn't it strange that they were just now finding out about this? Wouldn't Sora have mentioned if he knew the place was under someone else's hold, rather than Landel himself? Then again, there was a chance it just didn't come up. Either way, Riku could tell there was more to the announcement than one might initially perceive; it sounded like a harsh, somewhat unnecessary, reprimand, but the pause was what caught him.

It was what he paid attention to. That, of course, and the tone. Landel could have been putting on an act, but he wasn't sure. Riku was certain that his act was the cheery persona in the daytime, and that this was different. But why ... tired? It didn't add up. He didn't quite have an explanation for Landel was so different

[scintillatingly]

Sora had been so engrossed in copying down the note that it took him a second or two to even realize that someone was there. This sort of work wasn't really what he was the best at, but he could tell that this information was really important. A note from the Head Doctor to the old radio man? That was a really big deal. More than that, it was about Jill

[antiheroed]

Upon taking the message from his friend, Riku started reading it carefully. What was said disturbed him somewhat, because it only seemed to open up the possibility that there were things he didn't know. Given Sora's excitement over what it said, it meant that these words were meant to be remembered. He looked them over carefully and committed them to memory; he knew Sora would keep the copy, so he handed it back over. His friend would keep it safe. He was good about that

[shorttank]

Leela made a mental note to keep an eye out for Bella tonight, just in case the girl needed a hand. She seemed sweet, but also likely to need some help if things got any crazier around here. And from the sound of the mad scientist's announcement before lunch, crazier was a given.

Her nose was still dripping, and Betty produced a tissue from somewhere. "Thanks," Leela said. Betty wasn't so bad, really. Leela felt if the nurse had had a say this morning, no one would have gotten gassed.

Fish was okay, though Leela preferred dolphin, and she took a couple of pieces and some fries, still thinking over the morning's events and what they might mean. She was inclined to agree with Bella that they were boned and getting boned-er. The question was: was there anything anyone could do about it? Oh, if only she had gotten farther last night.

She found an empty table and took a seat, resolving not to get caught up in violence this meal. Well. Not random violence. If violence happened that seemed to have a point to it, she'd be in for sure.

[

[forgot_it_all]

Time outside in the fresh air seemed to have helped Ritsuka's body to flush out the rest of the toxins because, by the time he returned to the cafeteria, the only real evidence he'd been caught at all was the redness in his eyes. He'd been able to blow his nose enough times outside that he'd gotten over that unpleasantness, and now he could focus on actually eating. Breakfast had been a debacle and he hadn't really eaten the night before either. While Ritsuka was never a big eater to begin with, even he had to admit that his stomach was twisting into knots over not getting enough food

[shorttank]

Another kid with purple eyes (she thought they had a purple tint, anyway), only this one didn't have the otherworldly spookiness of the little boy from breakfast. He was just as painfully thin, though, and despite her drippy nose and general bad mood, Leela felt her protective instincts trying to kick in again. His version of Betty left before Leela could say anything, but she found herself composing a retort. Sure, I have one to spare, thanks to this crazy place.

"I'm Leela. Why does she think you need an eye on you?" He wasn't going to explode or anything, was he? He had the telltale red-eyed look happening, the one Leela knew she was still sporting herself. Leaky heads and straitjackets, all the rage for fashionable patients today in the land of insane insane asylums, she thought. It was half funny, and half sad, to think that if Amy had been the one to get stuck here, her main objection wouldn't be the abduction, but the lack of pink in the standard getup

[forgot_it_all]

"Because she's stupid," Ritsuka retorted, setting his tray down. He really hoped the idiot from this morning or some other one decided to start up their doomed riot again. He needed to eat and he couldn't take missing two meals to other people's stupidity. His stomach was going to start eating itself soon if he wasn't careful.

Although, that wasn't Leela's fault and so his vitriol shouldn't be directed at her. With a sigh, the boy climbed into his seat. It wasn't fair to be so caustic when Leela was just as stuck with him as he was with her at the moment. If he tried to leave, his nurse would likely have a panic attack and then scold not only him, but this poor woman as well.

"Sorry, but yeah, it's because of breakfast. She lost sight of me and I got caught up in that whole stupid mess," he explained. He hadn't done a damn thing wrong and he'd still been tear gassed. "What about you? You get caught in it all?"

[razing_phoenix]

Having to see one of those soldiers at every turn that he made left Guy feeling uneasy, but he got the feeling that the men were going to be around for a while -- at least until the end of the day, but possibly even beyond that. It was unsettling to not know what their ultimate goal was, but when he thought about it like that, they didn't exactly know what Landel's ultimate goal was either.

Still, it was probably best to focus on the positive for now, which was that he'd been able to check up on two people who he cared for and make sure that they were all right. Claude could have been better, but at least that tear gas had made him cry, rather than the night before, when it had been other, deeper issues that had caused his eyes to be red.

A quick stop by the bulletin board also showed him that Tear was actually still here with them. That was a pleasant surprise, even if it was clear that the girl had been greatly bothered by what had happened that morning. Then again, who wouldn't be? But it was just like Tear to take charge in

[avengingfists]

While meeting with Ritsu had definitely been a good thing, that one had left her feeling distinctly more tired than she had felt even that morning. She knew she should have eaten more at breakfast. If only that damn food fight hadn't broken out. Well, that was in the past and lunch was soon to be served. She would feel better once she had some food in her belly

[razing_phoenix]

It didn't take long for Ilia to drop by and take a seat across from him; it was good that most people preferred to sit that way, since having to sit next to a female might not have ended as well for Guy. But despite the many worlds that people came from, sitting across from someone seemed more common. He nodded politely to her as she greeted him, smiling in return

[avengingfists]

The fish was okay but she had never been too fond of frying it. Raw or grilled was the way to go! Add a nice light, white wine and it made the perfect meal. Guy ate his with much more enthusiasm. Still, it was hard to complain when she had been forced to miss most of breakfast. At least there was also salad.

"I'm in the military back where I'm from," she explained, taking a small sip of water. "I may not know why these officers are here, but it's never a bright idea to act up even if this happened to be a routine maneuver. I made sure to get out as soon as the food started flying." Jokers and trouble-making civilians would sometimes try to make a scene when Ilia or other Alliance members were off-duty back at some of the few colony spaceports the Calnus had often frequented for supplies. They learned really quick that just because she was a woman soldier and at ease didn't mean she would tolerate their big-talking, bullying attitudes