Day 43: Sun Room, Third Shift

[shamusdoggydog]

Sam frowned when he heard the intercom message. That didn't sound right. He'd gathered from his conversation with Sen that everybody in the institute was sane, but that the staff were trying to convince them they were mental patients for some nefarious purpose. So why that announcement? If Sam knew anything about brainwashing, he knew that it was a

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[fshrfrndsnotfud]

She was still hungry when the nurse returned to wheel her somewhere else. Dory protested, but the chattering human assured her she'd be able to eat at dinner. She was used to be dismissed--she thought she was anyway--but the cheerful casualness of how this human treated her rested badly with Dory. She was already forgetting the helpful man, KibblesandBits? No, that wasn't a proper name. Oh well, she could ask him when she saw him again, if she remembered. But if she didn't, she'd probably ask his name again anyway. No harm done there

[loyal_soldier]

His nurse finally forced him to move from the dining hall, admonishing him that he needn't be so sad, his friend had just been released. It took all his control to not punch her. Or just see if he had the element of surprise and try to break her neck. That lie had hurt too much to bear. But he tried.

He barely registered what the nurse said, sitting him down next to someone with shockingly colored hair, confined to a wheeled seat. Apparently, she was new.

Well, he'd done a decent job introducing new people to Landel's two days ago. Maybe this would help. "So, you're new here, Ma'am?" he asked politely.

[fshrfrndsnotfud]

Dory didn't see any reason to stop wiggling her not-fins. This man was big and rather blandly colored, not dark enough to hide in the shadows. Well, maybe he'd make a good shallow water fish or a shark. He looked too sad to be a shark though.

She turned her grin onto him. "I suppose I must be. This isn't where I was, but... I can't remember how I got here. That's okay though, I don't usually remember much anyway. Are you new, too?"

[loyal_soldier]

"You're probably new, then," he replied, watching the bizarre toe-wiggling out of the corner of his eye, not wanting to stare. "I've been here for sixteen days. Do you need anything explained to you?" Apparently it might not do much good, but...

[allroadslead]

Brunch had been spent by himself, the first time in awhile, actually, which was something Sam was still getting used to; there wasn't often this many people all in once place in the small towns he passed through and company was even rarer. He didn't mind, necessarily. It was kinda nice. Anyway, he hadn't wanted to bother Dean while Dean was occupied with-Sam honestly wasn't sure. The man had looked. Well, he knew what the man had looked like, he just wasn't sure he believed it despite being certain he hadn't been seeing things or anything like that. But it was simply too bizarre

[k4t4str0ph4l]

Truthfully, Schuldig wasn't in any state that he ought to be talking to Sam Winchester - a man who, in his own estimation, had some genuine potential and no set channel down which to funnel it, like a gun loaded and waiting for someone to decide which direction to aim it. And the Mastermind, not known for his stupidity, generally preferred in any situation involving guns to have his finger on the trigger. The trouble was that his sedatives were still in the process of wearing off, and if he was going to calibrate this weapon to his needs, he'd need a delicate touch

[allroadslead]

Someone else instead of Dean headed for him instead. Usually not something Sam would pay too much attention to; patients seemed to wander over to each other pretty often, seeking company or information or maybe a bit of both, but there weren't many strangers who walked straight over like this, like they were aiming for him specifically for a reason. The only ones who tended to do so were demons.

He watched the man approach with a small, polite smile of acknowledgment because it was either that or eye him with a curious wariness. No point in starting things off like that.

It wasn't until the patient spoke that Sam looked over, a little startled. He blinked, flipping through the past few days to try and figure out what-

Oh. That. Him. Which hadn't been that long ago at all, truth be told, but what with Dean and the town full of reanimated corpses and, well, Dean, he'd been kinda preoccupied. Maybe he should start keeping a list of these things

[k4t4str0ph4l]

"Schuldig," the telepath replied, studying Sam sidelong. When having difficulty fine-tuning his powers - such as when sedated - sometimes visual cues could tell him the thoughts he would otherwise be able to hear. "Subhuman monster, according to your brother." Sedated or not, he knew that the conflict between them on that particular subject would be his primary weapon when it came to getting Sam into a...malleable state of mind. At the very least, he was sure he could escalate Sam's opposition to Dean's mindset enough for the one to counteract the other(because allowing Dean to sway Sam the other way was out of the question - he had enough sense to recognize the threat they could prove if they both started to subscribe to Dean's narrow views). Of course, if he could make Sam actively useful, under his influence, so much the better

[not_rly_fai]

It wasn't until the announcement went off that Yuuhi remembered that visitors always seemed to come after the town visit. The nurse led him into the Sun Room though, so he tried to be polite and nice as possible. Would they let him go today? Would he be another that vanished between shifts? And if so, would he finally be able to help Ashura? Or would he just disappear like all the others?

His jumbled thoughts left him feeling anxious, but he followed the nurse into the Sun Room and had a seat on one of the empty couches. He cast a few sidelong glances at the entrance before he settled into the seat. What if he wasn't able to leave today? What if Ashura didn't even come? What then?

[Closed to Subaru]

[broken_babylon]

So far, Subaru's day had been both short and extremely unpleasant. He'd made Hinasaki-san's pain worse, and he still had no idea just what had happened last night. He hadn't seen Hokuto at all yet--was she okay--nor Yue-san.

Many people seemed even more distracted and out of sorts than usual, was it because of what happened last night? Or was it because it was visitor day? For a moment, Subaru wondered if he would have to face that trial. Would they send Seishirou-san to him, changed beyond understanding, just to watch him struggle with the decision of what to do?

It seemed like that kind of day.

Somehow it didn't surprise Subaru, then, that the only familiar face he spotted was the one he still wasn't entirely comfortable with. Their first meeting had left Subaru wary of Fai-san, but he'd also proved very helpful the night before last. Subaru owed him at least a thank-you. "Fai-san."

[not_rly_fai]

When someone called his name, Yuuhi sat up straighter, searching for the source, eyes landing on Subaru. He fixed his smile in place and waved in a friendly way, even if he felt like a wreck on the inside.

"Subaru, it's good to see you," he said cheerfully. There was truth in that at least. Even though last night had been a terrible mess, it seemed like the majority of the patients were alright. Though he still hadn't heard a word from Ururu. He quickly changed that line of thought before he got sick to his stomach.

"How are you doing?"

[broken_babylon]

Subaru was in much the same position--inside he felt raw and battered from his conversation with Hinasaki-san and all the old wounds it had reopened, but he was trying not to let it show on his face. He wasn't as good at it as Fai-san--Subaru could only manage blank neutrality, not false cheer. He touched his scarred cheek just under the false eye he'd been given the day before and tried to smile a little. "Better than I have in a while, all things considered." Better physically, certainly.

[whos_da_man]

[free though may eventually abandon for Chidori and/or she'll join. Not confirmed, though. Maybe a drive-by from Mitsuru. Limit: any]

True to his word, Junpei did not leave the Sun Room. He was kind of hungry, but he'd told Chidori he was going to stay in the Sun Room until he saw her and, damnit, he was going to! Besides, staying sitting down meant he didn't have to get up and limp around on his ankle.

But... he really should go post something about Ryoji to Mitsuru. He wasn't sure how they were going to deal with him and the whole Persona thing. They couldn't just let Ryoji wander around by himself at night, but staying around SEES meant he'd eventually see the evoker and all that. With an exaggerated sigh, he hobbled over to the board, left a note, and then hobbled back to the couch closest to the main doors.

Where are you, Chidori?

[marin_karin]

[Quick drive-by before going to run into Minato.]

As if last night hadn't been bad enough, Mitsuru really had to wonder what this I.R.I.S. program was, or what it was doing making announcements instead of the head doctor. It was being awfully obvious about the reason behind this place, and even if it didn't explain exactly what these "Next-Wave programs" were, that had to mean that these visitors weren't to be trusted. Even the nurses acted as though nothing had changed from the normal announcements.

She needed to ask around on the bulletin later, to see how much information anyone had on the visitors and just how "tailored" they were. For now, she needed to find Iori, who was waiting in the Sun Room just as he said he would.

"You wanted to speak with me?"

[whos_da_man]

"Yeah," Junpei replied when Mitsuru showed up. He still hadn't seen Chidori and he was getting antsy, but he needed to talk to his senpai about this whole Ryoji thing.

"Ryoji-kun is here now," he informed her. "He's from December and apparently nothing's happened between my time and then to affect the normal world. But... What are we going to do? He doesn't know about our Personas and... well, it's not like Akihiko-senpai and Yuka-tan even know who he is." Junpei really didn't know what to do. "But we can't just leave him to fend for himself at night, you know? So... what are we gonna do? He's going to end up finding out about us eventually in a place like this."

[marin_karin]

Ryoji? Wasn't he the new transfer student in the same class as the juniors? She'd been rather busy and distracted when he'd first arrived, so she wasn't sure, but Iori had been hanging out with him quite a bit since then, hadn't he? It was good, at least, to hear that nothing more had happened after the time that Iori remembered, but he was right.

"They may not know who he is now, but it's simple enough for them to get to know him. You're right, though; he doesn't know about our Personas. It's not like back home, where he would simply forget if he saw us use them during the Dark Hour." Mitsuru sighed and reached up to rub at a spot on the bridge of her nose between her eyes. It meant one more person to keep their eye on, but it wouldn't be right to just leave him to the monsters and any kind souls who happened to come across him. "We should protect him. And if it becomes a problem, we'll explain that this isn't something he can talk about to anyone once we get back to Iwatodai. Hopefully he'll understand."

[lady_general]

Though her meal had hardly been eaten, Celes said her goodbyes to the boy Ken and made her way back into the Sun Room, and sank gratefully into a chair. IRIS's message made her skin crawl; re-educated patients? Well, she knew of that already. "Leeroy Jenkins" had already come to visit Celes, wearing Noah's face and speaking with Noah's voice. It was disturbing.

However, that was neither here nor there. Her nurse said she'd had a surprise coming next shift, and Celes was apt to prepare herself for the venture. She took apart and remade her braid several times, before finally loosening her hair and leaning her head back against the couch. She would have to be patient. She would have to be calm.

[Momo, and then Dias. <3]

[hajike_tobiume]

Momo had finally ventured from her room. Given her injuries, the burns visible even in places on her face, it wasn't hard to convince the nurse that she needed more rest after she'd taken a few moments early on to examine the board. She felt Matsumoto's loss, but she'd felt it disappear at the end of the previous night. It might have affected her more if she hadn't been locked into an emotional combat with the slowly corrupting soul of a knight she'd called friend

[lady_general]

Celes had seen Momo when she'd woke up in the morning, but the woman had been sleeping then, with little clue as to which injuries she'd received. Now faced with Momo and the wounds themselves, Celes felt suddenly apprehensive.

"Lady Hinamori, you are welcome to all the time you need," Celes greeted and motioned to the couch. There would be little time for her to relax today, it seemed, and she still had a need to see Hughes, for this evening's assignments. "How can I be of service?"

[hajike_tobiume]

Sitting down, Momo nodded to Celes.

"If you have not become aware of it, Vice Captain Matsumoto Rangiku fell in battle last night," she began with. "I am sure you can imagine what this is doing to Arts & Crafts. I am not resuming my duty with that group in the capacity I once had been. Yet..." Momo paused to catch her breath. "Yet, I cannot leave them to flounder. I wish to discuss an alternative with you."