Day 48: Sun Room [Second Shift]

[perfectrecord]

Hmph. While this Rude was the proverbial "man of few words," von Karma found more potential use from him than a number of the other patients he had met put together. He would still ask Franziska about the man... as well as the other people he had learned that she had been spending time around. Many of them were utter fools, especially that

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[fourstonewalls]

Lana strode into the Sun Room and straight over to the bulletin board. Once there, she pulled out her notebook and started jotting down anything and everything she came across.

One particular series of notes caught her eye; the cover story of a video game was as clumsy as the Institute's was not, but the notes had been left to stand. It seemed a flimsy alibi stood without inspection; only what must be obscenities and a few logistical details had been pruned from any of the discussions. Though that didn't take into account any which had been removed in toto. She was just about to close the book on that conversation when her forward progress ran aground on handwriting that matched the hair she'd spotted in the cafeteria. Handwriting that she received almost as often as memos from the prosecutors she supervised; notes substituted for conversation when she came home too late or too silent

[scientist_skye]

The nurses hadn't exactly been thrilled with the way Ema rushed through her shower and then insisted on being taken to the Sun Room, but considering that the girl had at least been compliant in going to the showers in the first place her request was difficult to deny. Especially considering the fact that the girl refused to take 'no' for an answer; she hadn't become violent, but she certainly was adamant. Even with her hair still wet and her clothes sticking to her limbs where she hadn't dried off completely before throwing them on, Ema made it very clear that she had no intentions of staying in the showers for any longer than she already had

[fourstonewalls]

Confirmation was never so bitter. And that was something, when coming from a prosecutor. But there was no running away from this conversation now; the only way out of the trap was to plow straight ahead. Whether or not it was a path of her choosing was irrelevant; the situation was what it was.

Lana swiveled on her heel, her back ramrod straight. The gesture lost something when done in slippers and sweatpants, but she was still taller than her sister, and she knew how to use every inch of height.

All sixty-six of them were screaming composure, in a language she knew Ema knew how to read. And that she would see the nervousness underneath; neither Lana's hands nor her voice would shake as she replied, but that in itself was telltale enough.

"Ema. So they got you, too." It wasn't a question. "Are you alright?"

[scientist_skye]

Ema knew her sister well enough to realize that the composure was put-on. The reverse was also true, although Ema's attempts at remaining calm were far less effective. "Yeah. I was just outside the courthouse, and then... I was here." After a few beats she added, awkwardly, "I'm sorry I ran off. I just... panicked." Hopefully Lana wouldn't pry; after a reveal like Joe Darke, the reason for the reaction would have been obvious.

The question gave Ema pause. Scientifically speaking, the answer was a solid no, but she didn't want Lana to panic about already-healing wounds. On the other hand, however, she didn't want Lana to somehow find out later and be angry that Ema had withheld information... so really there was no good response. Ema could sidestep the question by responding about her mental health, but she had a feeling that wasn't what Lana meant; after everything that had happened to her even before arriving here, the answer to that question was far too obvious for Lana to even ask

[number_crunch]

Incompetent integrals who couldn't even understand the importance of his announcement aside, Sho was still in a great mood. Striding into the Sun Room, Sho noticed his victory declaration had been taken down - considering who had answered before, he knew who it was, so he wrote the kid a note back, leaving his laughter on to the paper rather than hurting himself laughing again.

Settling down in a nearby couch, the Reaper realized he might have eaten a bit much - his injured ribs felt like they were creaking under the strain of the added volume in his stomach. Ah, well. A little discomfort was nothing compared to his good mood.

[for Mr. H]

[catstreetblues]

Rather foolishly, Sanae had assumed that if he avoided the courtyard, he could put off talking to Minamimoto. By the time he noticed his error, however, the nurse was already prodding him into the room. So much for him.

Ah, well, perhaps it didn't matter? Sanae was feeling a little less shell-shocked after his talk with Renamon (and perhaps a little inspired too); he could handle the Reaper without developing a migraine as long as he knew what he was getting himself into. Minamimoto would spend most of his breath on taunts; that was a given. Sanae would take it all with his usual patience, of course, but he did want to give the new Composer a little warning - a little deja vu. Now to make it look easy.

He sat down on the couch next to Sho, catching himself before he went a little too far with his act and threw a casual arm around the other man. "So, how'd you do it, huh?" This ought to be good.

[number_crunch]

And there was just the man he wanted to speak to - what was a Composer without a Producer? If Joshua was any indication, still alive. Still, one case out of one was hardly a relevant sample size, so he was willing to let Hanekoma stay for now. He'd make a note to keep an eye on him though

[catstreetblues]

Well, it wasn't like Sanae's job description included in the fine print "You Must Knock Off The Composer Occasionally". He'd probably set quite a few unpleasant precedents for what he'd done, actually. Producers were supposed to just keep to themselves and handle any issue the Composer needed resolved - but then, most Producers hadn't dealt with Composers who had taken issue with the entire Game before.

He nodded slowly as he digested Sho's explanation. If he'd heard right, it sounded like the Reaper had just made his own O flare in typical Minamimoto-resourcefulness - which, Sanae had to admit grudgingly, was a good use of Imagination. "I see." Minamimoto's apparent injury didn't escape his notice, but that was something to bring up later. First he had to drag all the facts out into the open. "I thought your Game wasn't supposed to end until tomorrow night. Looks like...going against the schedule actually worked out this time

[scintillatingly]

[From here.]

The dampness of Sora's hair made it so that its usual shape was slightly weighed down by the water, and yet his spikes were still fighting to poke out the way they always did. He ran a hand through all of it, letting out a small sigh as he headed toward an empty seat. It looked like he'd showered pretty quickly, since the Sun Room was still almost empty.

Maybe he should have savored the hot water and the soap for a little longer, but there was no point in dwelling on it now.

Sitting down in a comfy armchair, the boy pulled his legs up and then crossed them comfortably. With his body all warmed up from the shower, he was almost tempted to take a nap. What he really knew he should be doing, though, was keeping an eye out for Riku or Kairi. Both of them were probably still getting clean (or on their way to), but he made sure to watch for them nonetheless.

[For Luxord!]

[clockmongler]

Well, that had been an embarrassing night. To spend all his time losing track of his location and missing an important date? He could very well defend himself by reminding those interested that a maze by definition was something meant to confuse and disorient those inside it by creating cut-and-paste walls of unmemorable architecture and therefore he was not at fault for being easily mislead in this institute, but

[scintillatingly]

Just as Sora had been losing his concentration and feeling himself slip off into a doze, he heard his name being spoken and perked up from his armchair. It took his eyes a second or two to clear, but after that the blond man standing before him was unmistakable.

So he was about to be bothered again. Great. Sora shook a hand through his still-wet hair and fought back a sigh. "Morning," he returned, but his tone wasn't exactly high up on the friendly scale.

"You should know by now that this is no game," he pointed out. "You've been here long enough." In fact, Luxord and Xigbar were the ones who'd stuck around for the longest, other than him. That wasn't exactly an encouraging realization to be making, but there it was nonetheless. Leave it to this particular Nobody to act like everything was a game, though. That had even come down to life or death, in the past.

[clockmongler]

...So the keybearer "knew" of his presence as well. It was curious and fascinating to hear so many testimonies of his earlier escapades when X himself could recall no such things. It was as if someone had cleared the table of his earlier hand when his attention was elsewhere, yet the rest of the players had already counted his cards

[himetsuru]

[from here]

Showering had been far more painful than a shower had any right to be. Falis wasn't even sure if she managed to get all the blood out from the depths of her hair. She'd refused to let the nurses help her, not cleaning herself far quicker than she usually did if only because of the pain.

Curling up on the couch, Falis rest her head against the backrest and closed her eyes. Owwww...

[Hokuto]

[akarusa]

[[From here.]]

Hokuto wondered dully if she should just go back to her room; only when she saw Falis did she remember why she hadn't asked for it. She wanted to cry for a moment, but once again this was a grief too deep for tears.

She did see that Falis was hurt, so she only sat down next to her and then curled up, head on her girl's shoulder. "Hi," she whispered. Even that one little word made it very clear that she was not okay.

[himetsuru]

Falis opened her eyes when she felt the couch shift, about ready to tell the person to fuck off and leave her alone when she saw it was Hokuto.

"Careful. Got chewed on by a demon last night," she said, shifting slowly with a grunt of pain to put an arm about he girlfriend. "Tell me what happened."

[akarusa]

She sighed, barely audibly, and just shook her head, pressing her face into Falis' shoulder a little more. I can't... She'd barely spoken today and didn't want to. She'll be mad that I got hurt, and Subaru... I just can't.

Maybe she would sleep again, now that she was with her lover. Maybe. Even if knowing that the other girl was hurt too didn't help her state of mind.

[iwhipthefool]

She had her powder. The prosecutor had awoken to find it neatly packed away as she'd had it last night, but she had little time to do anything other than confirm its presence before she could hear her nurse coming. Janet was a loud woman, often chattering with the orderlies as she came down the hall, and Franziska, for once, was thankful for that. She locked her drawer where she hid the powder and her father's fingerprints and then turned, arms crossed when the door opened behind her.

"Good morning, Wilhe--"

"You're late."

"We thought you might like to sleep in a bit. You're always so stre--"

Franziska's hand slammed onto the table, causing a pen left there for some strange reason to jump and roll in a frantic circle. "You're late," she repeated, earning an exasperated sigh from the nurse. Good deed or no, Franziska hated being left to sleep longer than she liked. "I have things to attend to. Take me to the Sun Room immediately

[perfectrecord]

There she was. Finally. The elder prosecutor had already seen Franziska before she approached his table. He noticed her momentarily tracking the little pest as it scampered across the room away from him. His arms were folded in a disdainful, tight cross as he glared at the damned cat. Hmph. Has the Head Lunatic never considered the likelihood that any of his prisoners might be allergic to these useless, parasite-ridden creatures? A health hazard! Yet another infraction to include on the list of charges I will personally serve Landel!Now he turned to his daughter, nodding at her in return to her formal curtsy. "Yes, Franziska. I have several matters to discuss with you. Please take a seat." He motioned to the empty chair next to him

[iwhipthefool]

Ah, there was no question that he was himself again. None of the strange awkwardness or the unfamiliarity hung about him now. He was the same pillar she'd always known, as stern and unforgiving as ever. As he motioned to the chair across from him, Franziska bowed her head and took it, wasting not a single movement as she perched on the edge of the chair, ankles crossed, legs to the side. Even if she wasn't in a formal setting, her father commanded that sort of...atmosphere. Everything he did was done with such grandeur and

[perfectrecord]

The elder prosecutor appraised Franziska as she followed his command, right down to the attentive, upright posture and the perfect angle at which her ankles intersected near the leg of the chair. Ladylike and graceful, just as he had taught her. ...And just like her mother. For a fleeting moment, the resemblance between the memory of his late wife and their offspring now sitting before him was uncanny. Hmph, he was quick to turn his thoughts to something far more productive, at least not all of my valuable lessons have been wasted.

As Franziska explained her reasoning for disclosing her room number in a public location, von Karma listened, processing every bit of information she gave. His hawk-like gaze narrowed at the mention of this "man."

"Yes. I have spoken to Mr. Kibitoshin before. I can appreciate how thick his mind is. Why, it would amaze me were he able to see through that ridiculous 'puzzle' that the so-called 'Cake Club' posted just before dinner last night." von Karma scoffed at both the transparent ruse and the