Night 54: Patient Possessions Storage

[quarter_english]

[From here.] The storage area for patient possessions turned out to be one of the larger spaces L had infiltrated at the Institute, about the same size as the file room across the hall. Low brown shelves, filled with labeled white boxes, spanned all four walls

Comments

[girlsandgadgets]

Edgar blinked, still puzzled. First the odd look- it disappeared the moment it was addressed- and now Ryuuzaki was brushing against him? Edgar's contact had been entirely accidental, as two adults traversing a tiny storeroom littered with boxes were bound to enter into each other's comfort zone eventually; however, after all that business on the stairs of Ryuuzaki keeping his back to the wall? He'd made it clear he didn't entirely trust Edgar. Frankly, Edgar couldn't blame him: they were trapped in an asylum headed by a madman, and the situation was only going downhill with the military involvement

[quarter_english]

"I'm stronger than I look," he replied.

The Fs. L's gaze moved to the right--no Laurier yet, but he continued to scan. The shelves held several hundred identical cartons. Finding the correct one might take a few minutes. What if Laurier doesn't have one? It was always a possibility. In that case, he might start rooting through boxes belonging to others, looking for anything that could be useful

[girlsandgadgets]

So this was the infamous patient possessions room. Edgar had heard about it several times, but despite having made it to that hallway and the storerooms there on more than one occasion, he'd not checked that particular room. There was something to be said for his exploration skills, but his mind had been on making new tools on those nights. He had a private smirk, knowing what some would say about his priorities

[quarter_english]

In some situations, L would have questioned Edgar's adamant refusal to doubt his sanity. However, the assertion had a good amount of support

[girlsandgadgets]

Physical contact? It was an odd catalyst for an effect from tainted food, and one Edgar would have never suspected; however, it did explain some of the strange behavior from Ryuuzaki moments earlier, particularly the close contact in the wide hallway. If he'd not been granted the same knowledge, what was it he felt, then?

Ryuuzaki paused in his revelation at just the right time- Edgar spied his box on a high shelf. He almost missed it, the MARCH, EDWARD catching his eye on a second glance. Excitement ran through him, tinged with trepidation: perhaps the box would hold some of the answers he'd been looking for. While he knew it was unlikely there would be anything about Landel's whereabouts or the inner workings of the institute contained in it, there was a chance the possessions from his "real life" would hold a clue as to why he'd been brought to Landel's in the first place, or even why he remained while others were supposedly released. He was willing to take anything. Beggars couldn't be choosers, after all

[quarter_english]

L remained still, for a moment, fixing Edgar with a long, wary, calculating look. He had steeled his own posture, as much as it was possible to do so, in anticipation of the possible attack--his spine stiffened so that he stood almost at his full height, which was still less than Edgar's. When he was sure that he wasn't in any danger of immediate assault after all, he exhaled with an almost inaudible hum, and relaxed

[girlsandgadgets]

"Not hiding it so much as not mentioning it," Edgar said with a shrug of his own. "The title means nothing here, though people do expect certain things from one claiming to be a king... like proper behavior or insanity, I'm sure." He smiled to himself, recalling days where he'd been told he had an abundance of the latter and a distinct lack of the former. While it felt invasive to have someone gain that kind of knowledge with only a touch, Edgar had to admit he was curious: just how much did Ryuuzaki know

1/2

[quarter_english]

Edgar was right, of course: claiming to be a king was only useful if there were more than a few people around who knew you as one. Otherwise, it might be a liability. L would suspect delusions of grandeur as an explanation before he would believe that he was conversing with royalty; one was more common than the other. It wasn't the same as his reason for keeping his own profession close to his chest, but he could understand it

2/2

[quarter_english]

It was strange, how much of it was true, and how much of it was still a lie. For example, the citizenship and place of birth were correct in the technical sense, but they couldn't be used to attempt to research his background without a date and his real name, at which point anyone who tried would run into certain walls that he had taken care to construct. Even so, just enough of the data was accurate that he might have been alarmed to find the passport the night that he and Jones had visited the file rooms. In the interim, there had been his visit "home," and the events of Monday night, both evidence that Landel was capable of reproducing uncomfortably intimate details. That made it less of a surprise. Now it seemed like nothing more than another prop, useful only for sending Daniel Laurier out into the world one day

[girlsandgadgets]

Edgar watched as Ryuuzaki pulled items from the box supposedly belonging to Daniel Laurier. He'd found a knapsack inside, along with a handful of other pieces. While Edgar couldn't tell if the collection held the same twisted significance his own had, but at least it was practical.

"Ready." With a nod, he headed for the door.

[To here.]