DAY 23: BREAKFAST

[stray_shinigami]

That hadn't felt like an entire night

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[haiiro_no_chou]

Well that was strange. One moment Rukia had been talking to Renji and the others, right after she had picked up one of the metal bars, and the next, she was lying in a bed again. Had it all been a dream? But, no, one quick look around told Rukia she was in the same room in which she had woken up yesterday. She sat up, scowling at the sharp pain behind her eyes. That stupid headache still hadn't gone away. In fact, it seemed to have gotten worse

[stray_shinigami]

Renji grunted, glancing at Rukia for a moment before he went back to staring at his tray. He shrugged. "No idea. That's how it goes every night." It had bothered him the first night, and a little less the second night, and now only a couple nights later he really couldn't give a shit any more. The whole situation was so shitty, what was one more thing?

[haiiro_no_chou]

Rukia rested her chin in one hand. "Hm. That's weird." She regarded Renji for a moment, then took a bite of toast. He was clearly miserable, and understandably so, if his friend had really disappeared. Renji looked pale, and tired. Rukia swallowed, then said to him quietly. "Is your friend really gone?"

[stray_shinigami]

Renji looked up slowly from his untouched breakfast again, his lips compressing to a thin, angry line. He really didn't want to talk about this. Why couldn't Rukia leave things alone?

"His spirit thread is gone. That's what I was doing most of the time we were waiting for you. I was trying to locate him. I guess it's possible that I'm even more goddamn useless than I thought, but I doubt I'm that lucky."

He rubbed his forehead, pressing his fingers against his temples in the vain hope that it'd stop the pounding of his head, or at least alleviate it for a moment.

[lost_metal]

Ed woke feeling at least partially rested for once and, thankfully, back in his own room without Adel on top of him and pinning him down to the bed. He muttered something uncomplimentary under his breath, rubbing his back which felt like it had been crushed

[felled_hero]

Ed was lucky. While he did indeed need to face Hughes, the man was in a far, far better mood than he had been yesterday. While the night may not have gone perfectly, it had still gone pretty damn well. Well enough. Certainly well enough to leave him relaxed and ready to face the day.

The Head Doctor's ramblings had only cemented his own feelings - if they could be believed. That the man on the radio wasn't a friend to anyone in the institute. And the details were filed away for further dissecting, sometime after breakfast. Ever so slowly, peices were falling into place.

At breakfast, Hughes grabbed a tray and spotted Ed. He headed over, smiling, and stood beside the teenager's table.

"You okay? I figured you didn't show up last night because you didn't want to, but I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

He didn't make any move to sit, making it clear he really was just checking to make sure Ed was alright.

[lost_metal]

Ed hunched up slightly when he spotted Hughes approaching, futilely hoping that if he made himself look small, then Hughes wouldn't notice him. No such luck of course.

He looked warily up at the older man, trying to guage how much explaning he'd need to do. But Hughes looked unexpectedly cheerful. That made Ed even more suspicious.

"I was going to come," he said, setting down his knife and fork. "But Adel turned up and then Tamaki and then I'd already promised to make Fox a weapon and I did but I was tired from the night before and making alcohol and I sort of fell asleep." His words came out in a rush of explanation, not at all like he'd intended because he really didn't want Hughes to be pissed at him, or disappointed. "Sorry."

[felled_hero]

Hughes's eyebrows shot up at that, and he barked a small laugh.

"Sounds like you had a busy night!" he said, clapping Ed on the shoulder. There was little to no hint of the man being upset or otherwise bothered by what had happened.

"Look, Ed, it's fine that you didn't show up. I'm sorry I was kinda gruff with you yesterday, I just... well, sometimes I forget what it's like to be sixteen. And you're like my own kid, you know? I worry about you. But I do know what it's like to be sixteen, and... hey, just be careful and don't let your hormones override your better sense." Then he paused.

"So, Tamaki's the blond you were with the other day, huh? He..." Then Hughes stopped, mid-sentence, and frowned some. More in puzzlement than anything else.

"Ed? Why were you making alcohol?"

[theycutitout]

It was all beginning to run together. Blood, water... There wasn't a significant distinction anymore, and it was troublesome because it couldn't be explained. Well, it couldn't be explained sensibly, anyhow. And if moments melded together and night and day began to lose their distinction to her, did it matter that the blood and the water were becoming the same substance? Muted voices and a dozen forgotten forevers carried themselves in the voices of her nurse as she'd urged River to breakfast. Words weren't spoken and intentions lost in the winds of her world. She only walked the path that needed to be walked, the one that was always changing but always leading to the same unspoken existence. Her eyes were glazed over, and her movements purposeful and completely fluid. Don't stop moving. Don't pause to think. Move. Be like the water. Be like the blood

[opposingheaven]

Well, last night had been kind of a waste, hadn't even got to see how well the vegetable peeler worked against the monsters people talked about, but Kenren was used to taking things slowly. Bide your time and plot and get a feel for who you could trust before you did anything huge, otherwise you'd end up dead. Admittedly, he had sort of ended up dead, but it had been a moral victory.

Anyway...

He spoked cheerfully with the nurse as she led him to the cafeteria, thanking her for her help and all that nice stuff that made them trust you just a little bit more. Even if he didn't trust any of them one single bit.

He took his plate and settled opposite a young looking girl, feeling the need (as ever) to be sociable. He'd find Goku and Hakkai later, he was sure. He still needed to finish his conversation with Goku, after all. Poor kid.

He smiled brightly at the girl. "Morning, miss."

[theycutitout]

As another logical impossibility approached, River appeared too lost to notice his presence. Her eyes were fixated on the glass of water until the very moment just before he spoke. Dazed as she'd seemed, the girl as suddenly very alert, gaze drifting to the mark on the man's forehead before it met his again. On her toes. A dancer was always on her toes, and yet he seemed friendly enough.

"The water's cloudy. I wouldn't drink it if I were you," she advised seriously as she turned her attentions back to the cup in question. Helpful as always in such a maddeningly vague way. Some would say it was part of her charm. "It's not unlike a Biblical plague. Blood's not unlike water anyway. Composed of 92%. More transparent then we'd like to be sometimes."

Morning. It was morning. Not candlesticks tonight.

"Is it raining?" River wondered simply, unclear as to whether or not she was talking to him or not.

[opposingheaven]

He was a little startled at her sharp gaze when she looked up, the way it drifted over his chakra before she met his eyes. He tried not to let it borhter him, meeting her gaze squarely.

He glanced down at the glass she seemed so preoccupied with and then nodded. "I'll bear that in mind. Never been fone of drinking water anyway," he replied. Coffee and sake were his poisons of choice in any case. Shame they didn't seem to serve any here.

The rain question did take him by surprise, seeming so random and unconnected. He shrugged. "Not here, I don't think. Somewhere it is, doubtless."

[somber_secret]

Hisoka did not feel like getting up this morning. It was childish, but he felt sick, he wanted to stay home.

"Hisoka!!"

The nurse couldn't care less.

After giving Hisoka a lecture about staying up late-- "and don't you say any different, you look like death warmed over!"-- and allowing the shinigami a moment to grab his journal, the woman proceeded to chatter endlessly as she escorted him to the cafeteria. He didn't bother to listen, keeping his back and shoulders painfully straight as he walked into the room.

If he didn't he'd be tempted to curl into a ball and stay there.

Hisoka felt sick.

Ignoring the only people in the room, the shinigami left his nurse and seated himself at an empty table. He wasn't hungry. He placed his painfully blank journal open on the table in front of him and stared at the lines.

[shiki_master]

Tsuzuki was surprised to find that one moment he was kneeling next to Hisoka, ready to stop the red-haired man if he tried to hurt his partner; and the next moment, he was waking up in his bed. Was it all a dream? No, it couldn't have been. He was still in the building...this prison, hadn't his roommate said?

And speaking of his roommate, Tsuzuki could easily see that he was here as well. And he didn't want to have to explain his actions last night to someone that just simply towered over him. And people thought he was tall...

Getting out of bed, Tsuzuki pulled on the slippers that were nearby and hustled out of the room, only to be intercepted by a nurse along the way. He gave her an odd look when she called him Mr. Reeves, but allowed himself to be escorted to breakfast. After all, there was nothing better to brighten his mood than cinnamon buns! Except maybe that chocolate cake he had last night...

Tsuzuki was delightfully giddy at the prospect of food when he entered the cafeteria, and decidedly not when he suddenly saw Hisoka

[somber_secret]

He had forgotten a pen.

It had taken a few minutes of trying to figure out why he was staring at the notebook for to realize it, too. Oh well. Hisoka couldn't really remember his reasons for taking his journal with him anyway...

Perhaps he'd think of it later.

"Hey." A small shake.

"Hey, are you alright?"

The shinigami was suddenly tempted to crawl under the table in attempt to escape. Wasn't he just lucky to have Tsuzuki be the first one to approach him that morning? Hisoka bit back a sigh as his head began to ache.

"I'm fine."

He should have stayed in bed that morning... The boy straightened a bit more to prevent himself from slumping over on the table and ignoring the world.

[shiki_master]

Tsuzuki's smile slipped for a moment at the sound of Hisoka's voice, but he caught it and reinforced it. He was pretty dense sometimes, but even he couldn't overlook that Hisoka wasn't fine.

He moved a little closer, tempted to rest a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"You sure? I mean, it's ok if you are, but I just wanted to make sure.." he trailed off, feeling a little awkward. He wasn't used to dancing around subjects like this. It was so much easier to just say what was on his mind, but with this... It just wasn't so easy.

"I was worried about you..."

[foxyroses]

Kurama woke with a start from his bed, stared at the ceiling for a moment, and then slumped back against the mattress. Another night gone. Nothing accomplished. But at least they didn't get eaten alive by those rats... Thank goodness for small miracles.

What was troubling was the announcements last night. The pieces were beginning to fall together and the thought of how they were laying made Kurama's stomach turn just a little. Whatever the head doctor's intentions had been by telling them of Alec's story, he was sure that sympathy wasn't supposed to be one of them. But it was there anyway.

Kurama could understand the circumstances, and it wasn't troubling to know that this 'helper' of theirs wasn't fighting solely for them. Considering the facts, no one was fighting for anyone else, but as long as they fought together, that was fine

[daddyslilkiller]

Omi woke up not long after Kurama had left the room. The last thing he remembered was the rats, but he obviously wasn't in the hallway anymore. The darts and pens were right where he'd put them in his waistband. Talk about uncomfortable. So something had happened last night, but he couldn't remember what. He shrugged it off after a moment's thought. He was unfortunately used to sketchy memories.

He hid the darts under his mattress. He probably wouldn't need them during the day.

In the cafeteria, he zoned in on the cinnamon rolls. He might admit to having just a bit of a sweet tooth, maybe. A quick survey of the room quickly showed that Kurama wasn't sitting with anyone yet. It didn't take long to grab a glass of juice and make his way back to the table with his cinnamon roll.

"Good morning, Kurama-kun."

[foxyroses]

Kurama looked up at the voice and smiled slightly, nodding his head in greeting. "Morning," he replied, setting down the fork he was using. As he had assumed from his earlier check, Omi seemed alright.

"Have you seen your friend yet?" He had noticed Aya already take a seat, but as for the patient they had intended to meet, Kurama didn't have the faintest idea as to what he looked like.

[daddyslilkiller]

To be perfectly honest, he'd seen Kurama and headed straight over. He hadn't bothered to really look around. Once he took time to do a proper job, he noticed Aya and Yohji talking to each other at another table.

For some reason, he was oddly hesitant to actually go over to them. If he was honest with himself, he just didn't want to see Yohji as changed as Aya was. It was going to happen eventually. He couldn't, and wouldn't, avoid his team for that long, but... well, he could put it off for a little while longer, couldn't he?

He nodded to the pair. "Yohji-kun is talking to Aya-kun. They both look alright." He blinked at Kurama, eyes going too-sharp for a moment as he looked him over. "You're okay?"