Day 29: Waiting Room/Lobby 2

[sugarsweetblood]

She was still picking pancake pieces from her hair as her nurse lead her towards another room. The stickiness was all right, but only Jasdero wandered around with old foodstuffs in his hair like an idiot, and Rhode had enough etiquette not to fall to his level even without the Earl around to scold her. Picking at her hair was a helpful action

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[daddyslilkiller]

He'd barely had time to grab a bite to eat before a nurse was pulling him aside to check his bandages. She'd tsk'd over the state of his back, telling him he should really be more careful when he was playing with the others.

He actually managed not to roll his eyes over the tone or the implication that something like what had happened last night could happen from completely innocent means. It was a great feat

[damned_visitors]

There were low voices outside the door after a while, getting louder as if the speakers were approaching the door. It was likely that they didn't carry through the door, but one was a bit hesitant, as if worried about the meeting to come. (The other, naturally, was as calm and comforting as any of the nurses in the institute would be.)

Then the door opened. Hirofumi glanced inside, caught sight of his younger brother, and smiled, then walked in. The nurse just behind him closed the door quietly.

"Michael," he said, sitting down across from the boy. "I'm sorry we haven't been in to see you sooner, but this place has some strict rules about visitation. How have you been?"

[daddyslilkiller]

'Michael'? Who- ...Oh. Right. Him.

Hirofumi would, of course, forgive Omi for staring. Rather a lot, actually. The unfamiliar name coupled with a face that seemed like it should be tugging at his memory at least a little bit would have been disconcerting on the best of days, and Omi would be the first to admit he was far from his best at the moment.

Maybe if this headache would go away, he'd be okay.

He shrunk back in his chair, ignoring the pain it caused in his back in an instinctive quest to be anywhere else, anywhere but here with this person who seemed very nice, but had no right to be treating him so familiarly. No right.

...Right?

Then his voice finally caught up to his brain, to spectacular effect. "What?"

[damned_visitors]

Hirofumi's smile turned a bit sad, but his expression remained overall genial and hopeful. It was natural for Michael to be confused, startled, and even afraid; after all, he was in this institute for a reason. He barely remembered his own family, thought he was in some strange world of politics and assassinations. Or so the institute had said after their investigation and first few days of observation.

"I asked how you've been," he repeated patiently. "It's been a while since we've seen each other last. Have you made any friends here?" It had never been difficult for Michael to make friends back home, given his natural optimism, but here ... well, the whole family had been unsure. Hirofumi himself had wondered if sending Michael to Landel's had been the best idea, but for the cost and professed success rate ... well, it was the best they'd found.

[opposingheaven]

It was kind of good to feel as though something had been done last shift, but Kenren was still seething. It would be difficult to tell unless you knew him well and could recognise the signs, but if you did, it was easy to see that he was about ready to break something (or someone, that might be more satisfying

[damned_visitors]

Some might argue that he hadn't dressed up for the occasion, but quite to the contrary. He was wearing a tie, and that was something to be noted. Not everyone earned such a thing, after all, and even if it wasn't on quite right, it was on, and that counted in the end

[opposingheaven]

Kenren's bored expression faltered when he heard that voice and he had to force his hands not to clench at his sides. That... fuck... that wasn't even Hakkai's voice, although he was struck even more by the similarities. No... this was...

The General swallowed thickly, gritting his teeth as he fought to retain his composure. He should have guessed. If Kenren himself was here and alive, then why not Tenpou? But a visitor? The thought that they'd managed somehow to make him believe their lies made him feel sick.

Finally he looked up properly at his friend, his usual cocky smirk firmly in place. "Yeah well, it's hardly the most thrillig of places," he replied, stretching out and resting his arms behind his head. As informal as ever. "They didn't give me much of a warning. Let alone that you'd be coming dressed up all formal, just for me."

[damned_visitors]

Ah, so he had noticed. "Do you like it?" He thought it might have been a newer one, but it was hard to tell. Cluttered apartment and all. At least there'd been no avalanche of books when he left. He might have been late if he couldn't close the door properly.

"They didn't tell you? Well. 'Surprise is the spice of life,' as they say." He took the seat beside his friend then, acting as if this was just another day. An involuntary commitment to an insane asylum really didn't change a person that much. Or so he thought. The eye was suspicious though.

"I wonder. If we started smoking here, how long do you think it would take them to notice?" There was a purpose to the question, of course, and from his pocket was produced a pack of cigarettes. Somehow he thought it'd be more meaningful than the tie.

[damned_visitors]

To most he might have seemed a little overdressed, but it really would be a shame to present himself to the world in any other condition. It wasn't that he wanted to impress or comfort his dear sister, Catherine. Certainly not that. He was a gentleman of leisure, and as any good gentleman ought, he made sure to dress in as refined a manner as he could. He had brought a couple of books with him to keep him occupied, and as she entered the room, he was sitting casually in a chair, reading Knut Hamsun's Hunger. It was a good book, one of his favorites, and helped to pass the time in this dreadfully boring and unsanitary place.

As his sister entered the room, he glanced up and set down the book. "Well then," Tyki said with a bored sigh. "Let's get this over with, shall we?"

[sugarsweetblood]

Without the nurse to ignore or the activity of cleaning out her hair Rhode hadn't been able to just sit still in the new room. Even if she hadn't been slightly more angry than usual she still wouldn't have been able to keep her seat - sitting still was far too boring. Once the nurse had left she'd gotten up and looked the room over.

It wasn't a place she'd been to yet, but unfortunately the sense of newness was the only exciting thing about the room. There were still nurses around and random people everywhere, some not dressed like patients. No toys or even books were present to keep her entertained. Just people. She'd had enough of those for one day

[damned_visitors]

Tyki...oh yes. She insisted on calling him by that silly little name, didn't she? And what did she call herself? Rhode, wasn't it?

One white glove reached into a jacket pocket and slid out a deck of cards. "Father suggested I come visit," he said, not bothering to respond to the fake name she had called him by. Telling her just how wrong she was sounded more like a chore than being here in the first place, and certainly didn't sound like fun. He enjoyed breaking the will of many people, but seldom his baby sister. "He sends his regards."

He expertly bridged the cards and looked over at her with a slight smile. "How have you been?"

[sugarsweetblood]

It was definitely Tyki - that face, that voice, those mannerisms, even that same deck of cards he liked to play with. Tyki was there.

His presence only left her feeling more confused than she'd been on her first day; it was more baffling than her powers being absent. How was he being so calm? Did he think this was a joke or something? Had the twins put him up to this!? She recalled having thought them behind this charade at first. If they really were playing their tricks on her...!

Before she could even begin to sort out those questions she needed to decide what to do about the Tyki she saw. She felt she should either do or say something instead of just standing there in shock, but nothing was coming to her. Actually, there was too much coming to her for her to sort out a proper course of action. So many options were open, and each conflicted with the other. She wanted to both throw something at him and hug him, scold him for taking so long, yet say that she'd missed him... possibly hurt him even as a means of affection (Tyki would

[misterprince]

Sanji didn't know what to think when he'd been led to the second waiting room area and asked to sit patiently for a while. He was a bit upset that he'd been led away from Argilla when it had seemed like he was really getting somewhere, but that wasn't the half of it. Obviously this meant he was one of those people with "visitors" and he had no idea where this was going to lead. Would it really be someone he knew, or was this just another excuse to throw monsters or doctors at them while they were separated from everyone else?

If it was a real visitor, he hoped they were at least female. Though as much as he wanted Robin there with them too it was bad enough that Nami had been put in this situation. Robin without her abilities might be too easily overpowered by this place's horrors. Sanji frowned at the thought.

What if it was an enemy? Would he have the strength to take them on here and now? Well, he'd have to, wouldn't he?

[damned_visitors]

Gary knew he'd been to Landel's Institute before, but he still needed the nurse to lead him to where the visitations were going on. Still, with the way his hands were in his pockets and his eyes shifted around the room, it looked like it might as well have been his first time.

"Mister Prince is this way, sir," the nurse told him kindly as she gestured towards the blond man. Gary's face visibly brightened when he caught sight of the familiar face and he made his way over.

"Nathan," he said quietly after he approached him. "It's been awhile, huh?" He took a seat without being asked, and he folded his arms over his chest while gazing at Nathan. "You look better than the last time I saw you."

[misterprince]

The chef stared at the man he knew as Gin with wide eyes, not saying anything at first as he sat down beside him, eyes wide. This was what they meant by visitors, then? Why Gin? He hadn't seen the man in ages, it seemed. Had he been brought to Landel's too?

The use of the name Nathan, however, caused the surprised look to turn into a frown. This couldn't really be Gin. Not if he used that name. It had to be someone taking his appearance - someone like Mr. 2 perhaps. But then, it wouldn't be Mr. 2 either...

"Is that so?" he answered warily. He hadn't been that bad off when they'd met last, had he? "Can't say it's due to the food here. How have you been?"

[damned_visitors]

Okay, so maybe that wasn't the warmest greeting, but at least Nathan seemed to recognize him. That was at least a start.

The comment about the food was kind of strange, but then Nathan had always been really particular about how food was prepared. "They feed you all right, don't they?"

Maybe he should have brought a meaty sandwich for him or something, even if Gary doubted it would have been as nice as Nathan would have liked. Still, Nathan was never the kind of guy to waste food, so it would have definitely been eaten at some point.

"And I'm fine," he answered with a shrug. There'd been a long time where he hadn't been able to say that, but he really did mean it this time. "Things have been pretty quiet with you gone, but they're not gonna keep you here forever or anything, so I can deal."

He gave a brief pause, his eyebrows furrowing some. "What about you?"

[stray_shinigami]

Renji was all set to head to the library, to find somewhere quiet where he and Rukia could sit and copy maps. He was utterly shocked when the nurse claimed he had a visitor, though he quickly recovered, his face setting into a scowl.

He couldn't imagine who they were going to drag up, other than maybe a pretend Ikkaku. Which he'd have a hard time not laughing at. He followed the nurse to the room, noticing that Rhode was already there. He smirked at her, but also made a mental note to watch her might be showing up to see her. Just in case someone that looked just like that person eventually appeared among the prisoners.

He sat where the nurse told him, since there wasn't really a point to being a bastard about it, and took out his notebook. He might as well work on finishing up one of the maps while he waited for this pathetic farce to start.

[damned_visitors]

"Are you sure it'll be okay?" said the boy with a frown, arms crossed. The nurse only smiled and gently took hold of the doorknob.

"Of course. You remember him, and I'm sure he'll remember you. If he gets violent, we'll be right outside. Just call for us." She turned the doorknob a bit. "Just remember to follow the rules, and everything will be fine. All right?"

"Yes. Of course." He smiled and nodded, trying to keep his expression pleasant and calm as the nurse opened the door and told Kyle he had a visitor.

Noah Scarborough entered the room, hands behind his back, and smiled at Kyle.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?"

[stray_shinigami]

He'd been expecting a lot of things, and all of them had been forgettable, and ridiculous. He'd been expecting a familiar face.

But not that face.

Renji dropped his pen. It bounced off of his leg and rolled under his chair, unnoticed.

It took far longer than it should have, for someone like him, to find his voice, and it sounded funny to his own ear when he said, "Nowe? But--"

He cut himself off. But you're dead. Supposed to be dead. Gone. I failed you. But maybe he'd been wrong. He hadn't known, for certain, what kind of range he had. So maybe he'd been wrong, and for once he didn't mind being so absolutely wrong, because it meant there was still a way to make good on his promises, their friendship, on everything.

He cleared his throat. "It's good to see you," he said.

[damned_visitors]

"It's good to see you, too." Noah made his way over to the other chair in the room, sitting down and watching Kyle with his smile still on his face. He had, after all, not seen Kyle in quite a while, and even though he was now only a visitor to the Institute, he still remembered everything that had happened.

For a moment, Noah was quiet, trying to remember and forget the past all at the same time. Then he sat up, questions clear in his eyes.

"So what have you been doing since ... well, since I left? I'm sorry I wasn't able to say goodbye, but everything happened suddenly." Noah scratched at the back of his head. "How's ... how's Matt? Is he doing all right?" Seemed like he would. Matt always had been optimistic and strong, from what Noah knew of him.