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

Comments

[blood_and_pocky]

Aidou had sat in a corner on purpose, and now here he was being harassed. As usual. It just never stopped.

But these weren't like the humans he associated with. These were far more infuriating, stupid little human fighters that tried to press him into their ideas of 'strong' and 'weak'. Not even hunters, the vampires' greatest opposition, were so foolish. Fury curled cold and sharp in his stomach, coiling tighter and tighter. He was about to lose his temper. Only when vampires threw tantrums, they levelled cities and slaughtered hundreds.

Fight? Land a strike"... You don't get to doubt me," he began, slowly. He'd picked up a spoon to begin eating cereal, and now was just using one finger to stand it upright in the milk, gently bobbing it up and down. He kept his gaze pinned to the point where the tip of his finger met plastic. If either had been able to look him dead in the eye, they would have registered the inhuman cast to his irises, the gradual twisting of his pupils. As it was, he was at the point of alarming even normal

[sasuke_of_sound]

"Have you seen Takaya yet?" Sasuke asked abruptly, realizing with a glance around the cafeteria -- rowdy as usual, he noted with some irritation -- that he hadn't seen the other patient yet. What had the kidnap-and-experiment been about? If it was even a legitimate experiment, and not simply fooling around with a human subject. "Or Lee?"

Aidou's comment, apparently apropos of nothing, earned him a blank stare that was partially Huh? and mostly I don't care. Sasuke had his doubts about Aidou's effectiveness, and the vampire's habit of (at least acting) flighty wasn't raising his position

[faithful_dog]

"He's not in here," Naoe said with a set jaw, looking away from Okita to stare at the table. He glanced back at the Okita and shook his head. "No, I apologize for staring." He didn't mean to ignore Aidou's question right away, but he was also being asked things directly. He must have been going a bit insane to who the other man reminded him of, he told himself. After all that person had been dead for a long time, besides he wasn't exactly right, more just a feeling and who knew what that was like. Besides, no pictures had ever been taken of the man, and it wouldn't do for a modern day monk to know who he was by sight.

"The med wing?" he asked thoughtfully. "I don't believe so. I've been to a lab and then to where they held those they took away last night." There was a pause. He didn't share his 'plans' for the night, but they included finding Takaya and staying by him.

[blood_and_pocky]

It was a fine group they must have made. A guy who didn't know anything, a kid who thought he knew everything, and another strange guy who... looked a bit off. If they were worth their weight in battle experience, Aidou wasn't seeing it. Then again, he was still pissed from earlier words and earlier insults - one of the selling points to the Academy was it's size and location; it made it all the harder for the Night Class to be exposed to human immodesty and consider teaching them a life lesson. Here, there was no escape

[notachick]

He hated not knowing things - it was just such a bother and made for really boring conversations on his part. All he could do was listen for clues and soak up information. While doing so was helpful and necessary, it did mean he was only a passive player. Although, the way Yoshiaki was looking at him definitely sparked his interest. Then Aidou pulled out a journal and Okita peered over at him. Perhaps he had one of those in his own room... He'd have to check. Maybe it was with that strange toy he'd found earlier under his pillow.

There was, however, one thing that Okita could contribute and he set his utensils down, wondering if he could get away with pocketing the knife. A quick glance at the nurses nearby said he'd probably get reprimanded. "Aidou-kun has a point - although I believe he and I are the only ones not acquainted. I'm Okita Souji, it's good to meet you, Yoshiaki-san."

[sasuke_of_sound]

Sasuke frowned at the news that Takaya hadn't been seen yet. What the hell had the experiment been? It wasn't as if Sasuke had no experience with bizarre experimentation, but as a general rule his body was to be kept in perfect operation (and as such he wasn't usually a subject, although there had been exceptions

[faithful_dog]

Naoe turned to stare very blatantly at Okita now. He said nothing, but it was obvious that he did know that name and that he had been very surprised to hear it. These people can tear us from the pages of history? he thought. Then why had they taken Takaya instead of Kagetora? Why hadn't Naoe been able to have his Master with him instead of the teenage boy? At least then Takaya wouldn't have been tortured or hurt or whatever they had done to him. He wouldn't have to be so worried about the boy either

[blood_and_pocky]

Maybe he'd find himself a guinea pig, and see what came out of being taken somewhere out of the way during dayshift. Although results would be twice as viable, Aidou wasn't about to test theories out on his own. Leave that to the expendable ones.

As Naoe explained the layout of the M-U hall - nothing more specific then what he had already had - he made some minor adjustments in his journal, including Sasuke's contribution. He answered Naoe's look with a 'Thank you.' That was one blank spot taken care of.

It was certainly odd to have to think in terms of humans having power. Only the touch of a vampire would ever bestow those sorts of abilities on a human, but here, Aidou had seen too many unnatural things. He had dug his heels in a bit like the choleric old bats (er... excluding Ichijou's grandfather) on the council tended to do, but he was loosening up to the idea. A little, anyway. It'd be just as annoying to overestimate them, as underestimate them

[notachick]

Doctor's offices, med wing, M-U hallways - all of this was upstairs, which would help explain where the stairs he'd seen earlier led. The female blocks were no doubt separated from the rooms he woke up in earlier, and, as the others talked, he carefully wrote a map within his own head. He was lucky Sasuke and the others were so talkative and free with their information. It was good to know that daytime went in shifts and that therapy was next. Conversations from the bulletin board let him know what the nighttime was something to be feared (or perhaps embraced). The idea of "experiments" concerned him, but it seemed like no one had a choice in that. Behind his pleasant smile, Okita calculated things out, weighed the options, and drew plans for later. He wanted to explore tonight, to test the limits of this facility, and learn more about exactly where he was and when

[sasuke_of_sound]

Sasuke glanced down to finish his meal and, when he glanced back up, realized that Zabuza and Haku had entered the cafeteria. (And Iruka, he noticed after a while, but Iruka mattered less.) Still need to talk to Zabuza, he noted, and shrugged at Aidou's obvious jab

[faithful_dog]

"I'm sure you won't have too much trouble Okita-san," Naoe said carefully, looking at the swordsman. "I've been here a few nights already and have yet to really encounter any 'monsters'." He glanced at Aidou but said nothing else.

It was the truth though. All of the talk about how horrible the night was and other than having to deal with Takaya being hurt by the doctors, who were probably humans, he hadn't really encountered anything more terrifying than a few rusted doors.

"I'm not saying that they aren't here, so many people have spoken of them, including Takaya-san," and of course he believed Takaya. "But I have no doubts in your ability to survive."

[blood_and_pocky]

He accepted Okita's response with a internal sigh of resignation - it was so like Ichijou, it really ticked him off. He couldn't say he wished any of the Night Class were here exactly, being weak and degraded and trapped like he was, but... it was lonely! There was no one to talk to! In a life or death situation, even the girls were smart enough not to give in to their hormones, so he didn't even have a flock of ladies trailing him around

[notachick]

Well, Sasuke certainly clarified things, didn't he. It all seemed rather fantastical, but he couldn't let that little fact get in the way of his belief. He was in the future, after all, and that voided any claim he had to normalcy. Sasuke, for all of Aidou's disparaging looks, had skill and Okita knew that would be important sooner or later. More than likely, he had friends, too, and that would certainly be an advantage. Aidou didn't seem the type to make friends and Yoshiaki was thoroughly dedicated to one person. If Okita was going to network, it would likely be through Sasuke

[sasuke_of_sound]

Regardless of whether Okita had monsters and the like in his world, he swallowed the information without flinching, which was impressive. He'd likely be useful once he'd finished figuring out what was going on

[faithful_dog]

Naoe nodded slightly to Okita. He didn't feel like explaining any more than what he had already said though and instead thought about the best way to answer Sasuke's question

[blood_and_pocky]

That Okita didn't do more than accept the facts was sort of disappointing, especially at the 'monsters' and 'demons' part. People who didn't scare easy were just as boring as people who did