Day 24: Breakfast

[blood_and_pocky]

Aidou Hanabusa, a vampire, was one of the first into the cafeteria, which was swimming in dim sunlight. A grey morning suited his mood.

The fact that his biological clock was pitching fits was only the cherry on top of the cake; the last thing he wanted to do was sleep. "Waking up", once again, with no memory of how or why he'd been brought back

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[felled_hero]

Well, last night hadn't gone as well as Hughes had hoped. He'd been geared up to hit the doors with Roy, and had ended up...well, doing no such thing. He hadn't even made it out of his hallway, thanks to those damn...things. But he had been given a chance to see what Snape could do, and he was impressed. Maybe he could catch up with the man at breakfast...

He didn't see Roy in the cafeteria. Great. Was Roy avoiding him? Hughes didn't think the other man would, but that irrational part of his mind couldn't help but repeatedly offer the suggestion. Which was ridiculous, but... well, that was what sleeping together did sometimes.

And there were going to be new patients. He piled his plate high with food and took a seat, eyes scanning the nearly empty room for anyone familiar - in one sense of the word or the other.

[felled_hero]

Hughes glanced up, and immediately his face fell into a concerned frown. That wasn't a good sign at all.

"Of course, sweetheart, sit down." What the hell had happened to Elena? She looked absolutely miserable! He knew she'd been given trouble a few times before....

He ran a hand through his hair, unaware of the fact he was being ogled from across the room, and leaned a bit onto the table, his posture and expression all ones of honest concern.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his voice taking the same tone he used with his wife and daughter when worried.

[muted_flame]

The first thought Roy had upon waking up - which was more like being yanked forcibly from one part of the institute to another, along with a sudden time change - was, Where is Hawkeye?

Obviously, she wasn't in his room. In fact, she was probably safe in her own room, with Mantis gone now that day had come, but he couldn't help worrying about her. She could not have taken well to being controlled that way.

Therefore, Roy did not hesitate in getting to the cafeteria, his nurse making a comment about how he seemed in such a hurry. "You must be very hungry, Mr. Wilson."

The alchemist nodded, mainly to get her to stop talking to him. Once inside the cafeteria, he quickly searched out his subordinate and found nothing. He saw Ashton speaking with Lust, of all people, and remembered that he had planned to make a weapon for him. They had arranged to meet after the second time the radio spoke, but Roy was fairly certain it hadn't spoken a second time. Either that, or he had been too distracted by Mantis to notice

[screwthegods]

At least when he had died, Homura had known what was happening: the slow loss of his vision, the numbness that crept into his limbs. Looking back, Homura preferred that awareness to this, a transfer from battle to his bed in what felt like an instant, but had to have been a much longer time. He was dressed in fresh clothing, and his burns had even been treated, though the aching flesh reminded Homura that it was indeed still there when he tried to sit up.

And if the injury alone wasn't bad enough, what did Homura have as gain from his efforts? A single skillet, and not a damn thing more. The pot he had filled with silverware was gone, strewn about the kitchen floor or scattered throughout the Heavens for all Homura knew. But what was most important was that the spoils weren't there, in his possession, a needed sign that the night before hadn't been a total waste

[coolegoist]

Despite having previously resolved to be as pleasant and cooperative as possible with the administration, Kyouya started off his day with growling threats and insults at his nurse for waking him up. That she denied him any satisfaction by only reacting with smiles and patronizing sighs seemed to be the final icing of frustration on this morning's cake.

He hated mornings, and this was under even the best of circumstances. Last night was decidedly not the best. He hadn't been injured, and certainly not as badly as Homura or River, but how long would that last? And how could Tamaki or Haruhi or the twins take care of themselves...? "Why am I even here?" Kyouya groaned after his nurse departed, and buried his face in his hands.

Self-pity - not attractive to the opposite sex. He had to pull himself together. Slipping on his glasses, he went to look for his journal, which he found in the dresser along with...

Interesting.Kyouya headed into the cafeteria early, pausing only a moment when he saw his best friend being accosted by-Renge? He

[screwthegods]

The voice pulled Homura from his reverie, though he didn't bother to restrain his foul temper from Kyouya. When he wasn't in a good mood, Homura preferred to be alone, the solitude giving him opportunity to think without having to worry about impressions, or more importantly, having to bother with trivialities not worth his time.

"Ootori Kyouya." Homura returned the greeting, his voice lacking its typical coolness. "I'm afraid now isn't the best time."

Of course, the boy had no idea how fortunate he was. Normally when Homura said something like that, he was speaking to some opponent rather foolishly trying to throw their life away by fighting with him. And while Homura did indeed enjoy battle, he could be quite merciless when he was in a foul temper...and there was little fun when it came to battling the weak.

Yes, Kyouya was very fortunate. Most gods weren't quite so benevolent as Homura, nor as patient.

[coolegoist]

"Very well," answered Kyouya, unfazed. He couldn't blame Homura for being less-than-pleased this morning-the burns he'd incurred were obvious even bandaged up and complimented with a fresh change of uniform.

He himself had been in a sour mood just minutes ago, but there was something satisfying about having the upper hand for once since he'd come here. And, well, he couldn't claim that seeing Renge be Renge wasn't a heartening sight. Not that it wasn't tragic that she was here too. Right. Were his priorities insensitive?

Kyouya casually picked up his tray again. "I thought you'd like to know that the metal you collected from the kitchen is currently in my room. If you wish, you can pick it up when night comes again."

[notachick]

The nurse/prison guard/figment of his imagination led him through the halls and into the cafeteria. She was apologizing about the weather and explaining the schedule for the day, but Okita wasn't really listening to her. His knees smarted from the fall and he was still just trying to figure out what this place was - prison, hospital, illusion? He memorized the route from his door to the cafeteria, but frowned at the increasing frequency of unidentifiable objects and Western things. This certainly couldn't be anywhere in Japan. It wasn't until she started talking about him that his ears perked up

[blood_and_pocky]

But of course, it was one want that was never going to be fulfilled. There was always someone who had to test the waters, even when amongst a group of other nobles.

Now he was alone, and had to act as his own arbiter. Which was why Akatsuki was always rather wary of Aidou going to town by himself.

"Yes," Aidou replied simply. He was still idly mangling his first victim, the bagel.

[notachick]

Okita watched the teenager stab the bagel like he had a grudge against it, and then sat down anyway. He gave the other boy his best indignant pout and picked up the flimsy plastic knife, slicing the bagel in half as he assumed he was supposed to do (from Aidou's mangled example) with relative ease. "That's not a very nice way to greet a new face."

He dipped a delicate finger into the dollop of cream cheese on his plate, sticking it into his mouth to test the flavor, and was delighted to learn that it was quite good. The pout quickly disappeared as he set about testing the various foods on his plate with childlike glee. "So, Mr. Grumpy, do you have a name to go with that sour disposition?"

[blood_and_pocky]

He saw that pout and immediately wanted to stick his shard of knife in it and keep on stabbing. At least until the image of Ichijou teasing him relentlessly with that same exact expression went away and refrained from tormenting him

[part1of3]

The sensation of Dias' hands on his bruised skin had affected Ashton enough to make his body react - causing him to cross his legs hastily and raise a hand to cover his mouth in surprise - before the intercom spoke for the end of the night and spoke again for the morning, and Ashton disappointedly rubbed his eyes open.

No more Dias. And no second radio broadcast for Colonel Mustang to know to come to his room. Which meant no swords tonight.

Ashton rolled off his back (it was so nice to wake up that way, and still so new again) and onto his side, burying his face in his pillow for a moment, last night's memories far too fresh in his mind for him to want to get up. ..Well, he'd have to, else the nurse would come to drag him away. So he hopped up, ready to face the day. Then he hung his coat up and hid his bloody ladles, and started to stretch while waiting for the nurse. She showed up with a smile, so he let himself be escorted to breakfast, journal and pens in tow

[lustful_thing]

A night's sleep had done wonders for Lust. She was able to walk with the aide of a crutch instead of that god awful wheeled chair, and the bruise on her cheek had faded. She'd slept through the entire night, apparently needing to sleep to heal. Fine. Now she was hungry - she hadn't eaten the night before. Without bothering to even look to see if that small girl she shared her room with was up or not, Lust breezed out of the room - as best she could on a crutch - before her nurse, leaving the woman sputtering and warning her about exerting herself.

She piled a tray high with food, her stomach grumbling insistantly. Human bodies were disgusting. Scanning the room, her eyes fell on a young man with a rather soppy expression on his face. She sauntered over and sat down across from him, head cocked, and lips half-curved into a small smile.

"It isn't often to see someone looking pleasant about here," she said.

[theycutitout]

The pain of the burn wound stung, but it probably wasn't registering as it should have. The area felt numb, ignored. The pain would flare for a moment, angry at being neglected, before admitting defeat and succumbing to the numb anticipation that washed over her body. It was dressed, as expected. They wanted their cattle fresh, not rotting away

[part1of3]

Ashton snapped out of his reverie, looking at the two with a faint smile. He vaguely recognized the older woman - where had he seen her before? He'd certainly never spoken with her, but he'd seen her around - somewhere here, not before Landel's. A woman with such presence (and such injuries) begged at least a glance.

And the other was River, the most present (and most alive) of Dias' three tragic little sisters. Although, Ashton supposed, Dias wasn't aware of Rena's past. He at least deserved to know, though chances were so small that he'd ever see Rena again. He'd tell him. Someday soon.

"Ah.. hello, River!" he greeted the girl with a smile, then turned to Lust. "..And I look pleasant, you say? Mm.. ah, I certainly wasn't aware. Hee hee." he said dreamily, stirring his uneaten cereal a little more before finally taking a bite. Oh, it was fantastic. All food was fantastic here. Except the peas. Nasty little things.

[blacksustenance]

Eddie Brock woke up with the taste of Mute Guy's eyeball on his tongue.

He also felt nauseous, but it really had nothing to do with popping the asshole's eye into his mouth like a grape; sitting up and wincing, they knew it was that creature's brain from last night acting up like a really, really bad tuna sandwhich. At least he wasn't throwing up, which was probably a plus. And the discomfort over their first meal was canceled out by the second, which, while mostly tasteless, still had that little extra flavoring that one got when one carried out their revenge

[perfect_meld]

And Kasady thought he was the master of the shit-eating grin, but Venom was rivaling them with that particular smile spread across his face.

"Well, well, what's this? You almost look like you got the Spider's ass this time," ask Kasady, as the serial killer sat down across from the other pair. There was a faint note of disdain at that last part.

They'd never fully understood that portion of Venom's obsession with Spider-man. The brat was flat-out annoying, getting underway constantly like one of those dog-rats you saw the Big Stars carryin' all over the place: personally, Kasady would've been content to just have the Spider smashed into the sidewalk.

[blacksustenance]

And here was Kasady to rain on his parade. Brock refused to rise to the challenge behind the remark, deciding to remain in his smug little afterglow for as long as he could manage it. Lord knew he didn't get enough of what he deserved and while he was half-convinced that God was watching out for him - sort've; He had dropped the symbiote unexpectedly in his lap after Brock asked Him to smite Peter Parker - there simply wasn't a whole lot he could enjoy in his life.

Swallowing the bite of bagel and cream cheese, Brock eyed the other Host. It bothered him a bit to know that Kasady was so able to read their mind, to read what he'd thought private and more than a little bit weird. It was rather like a stranger you'd never seen before walking into your house, laying up shop, sitting in your favorite chair and somehow knowing how to work your cable.

"I just had a productive night," Brock said, and washed down the bagel with milk. "A very productive night

[perfect_meld]

"Added a few items to the menu." Kasady replied. It was a start, even if he hadn't gotten Mr. T's name yet, but it'd be easier to approach him again now. Either last night was a coincidence, or people really seemed to get drawn to that guy too, so.... get near that man, and get closer to the food source.

Kasady wasn't about to let the matter drop though, not when Pinky up and got his and his Other's curiousity.

"You got our attention, so come on, man, spill it."