Day 57: Cafeteria

[gald_digger]

Edgar's charming company had raised Anise's spirits enough that not even the Head Doctor's voice could bring them back down. Besides, she was feeling pretty sure that Landel wasn't actually around. To begin with, it wouldn't make sense, and secondly, his announcements sounded suspiciously like ones she'd already heard before. While Anise wasn't

Comments

[predictator]

Despite the return of the hospital ruse-complete with Landel stepping up to the microphone (or a recording of him, at least, if what he'd read about an announcement "remarkably similar to today's" having been broadcast earlier was true)-Izaya was displeased to find the decent food had not returned along with it. He accepted a bowl of pink slop with a barely repressed grimace, and then headed off to find a seat with a good view.

Once he was seated, however, Izaya pushed the gruel aside and set his notebook on the table in front of him instead, opening it up to begin sketching out a rough diagram of the inside of a lock. He had skipped the lesson of how locks work in an attempt to get Castiel working on something more quickly, but if the man was to be successful at it, being able to visualize what was going on where his eyes couldn't see would be a big help. He could slip the drawing to Castiel to study on his own time, or else post it on the bulletin. The latter option was far less appealing, but he might have to resort to it if

I already feel bad XD

[rolling_go]

Ippo nursed a bowl of pink goop that was not getting any smaller. The surface was smoothed over with a spoon and then systematically stabbed until there was nothing left but floppy peaks. That was how his mind felt: Jagged peaks that just wouldn't stay smooth!

His face was an expression of the storm inside him. The young man had never been good at concealing how he felt. When he was happy, it showed. When he was anxious, troubled, his gymmates had to deal with that rain cloud as well. Outside influence did little to lighten his worries. It was his short-comings that shaped his mood, and right now he felt scared.

The boxer hoped desperately for a visitor, any visitor. His mom, a friend, anyone he could make contact with to let them know he was alright and it find out how tattered he had left his former life.

[predictator]

That was certainly interesting. In scanning the crowd to look for Castiel, he found instead a stocky young man with emotion written on his face as plain as day as he stabbed at his bowl of goop with a spoon. Even better: he was seated not that far from Izaya's own spot.

He could return to the diagram later. Izaya snapped the notebook closed and set it on his tray before picking the whole thing up. If he was going to approach the young man, it would be best to make it look as though he was just looking for a place to eat lunch.

Izaya carried it a few seats down and set it carefully on the table across from the boy. "May I join you?" he asked, pausing before sitting to appear polite. Beginning to prod the boy about his interesting expression could come next.

[rolling_go]

The question was asked, but flew over his head as he continued his angsty pink goo sculpture. Eventually, Ippo got that feeling you get, when there was something just outside your periphery and it beckoned. Well, he eventually looked up, saw the expectant look on a man's face, and blanched.

"...W-Were you talking to me?" A quick glance down the table showed that, yes, he was the one. "Sorry--I mean, yes you can sit! S-Sorry," The boxer apologized again, and once more, just in case he didn't hear the first two. His own bowl was set to the side as he watched this stranger take his seat. He was Japanese and had a handsome, wholesome appearance which was a relief. Hopefully this would end well.

Or it may not even start, actually. Ippo had nothing inspiring to say even at his best moments.

[predictator]

Izaya was feeling rather ignored. It was a feeling that he wasn't particularly used to-or at least one he didn't much like, even if the fact that the young man was wrapped up enough in his thoughts to not hear the question was interesting in and of itself. He finally reacted a moment later, questioning if he'd been the one addressed and then apologizing repeatedly.

Izaya adopted a thin smile in a semblance of cordiality as he finally took a seat. The boy had been preoccupied a moment ago, but now he could see if coming over here had been worth it.

"I couldn't help but notice you seem troubled." It was a statement of the apparent reality, of the reason Izaya had approached in the first place. He couldn't just ask about it directly (not yet, at least)... He'd take this slowly, to see how the young man would react to the observation before he took further action.

[rolling_go]

"Ah--Well..." Ippo stabbed at his meal with more fervency before it was inevitably pushed away to the next seat. He was more surprised that the man cared enough to ask than simply realizing his transparent mood.

"I guess you could say that." He tried for a bubble of laughter to soothe the self-pity he felt inside, but it came out as something akin to a feeble meow. "I'm... getting a bit tired of this place... I heard there might be visitors today. But not everyone is going to get one."

He felt truly miserable that one patient's lucky day would be another's heart break. Hopefully he would be placed in the former category.

"Have you had a visitor before?" This line of questioning would do no real good. The boxer was just paranoid and needed reassurance, even from a stranger. But he couldn't be that much of a stranger, right? They were both Japanese! They would look out for each other... Right?

[predictator]

Even better: the young man had begun to talk about what was on his mind without any prompting at all and his emotions continued to play close to the surface. Good, good; so far this was shaping up to be worth having come over for. It was time to start asking questions, carefully, to start pushing and prodding without showing his true nature.

His smile took a weary turn. "Aren't we all?" he agreed, adding a small sigh for good measure. Izaya was far from tired of the hospital himself; there were certain aspects had quickly worn thin (such as the pink gruel that the young man had pushed aside), but there were so many opportunities to be had! With people such as this young man, and Villiers and Castiel and his fellow people-watcher Grell, how could he tire of it so easily? So many people, and most of them ones he might have never had the chance to observe

[rolling_go]

"Y-Yeah, I guess that's true..." In his self-wallowing, he had cut everyone else out. He hadn't meant to! There were definitely people he worried for, like Claude--and Rapunzel! Yes, he was trying to help her escape this place! They hadn't gotten to safety last night, but try, try again! And that was what he would do for his new friends here! His attitude probably won him no point with this man, but actions spoke louder than words--or, well, more accurately, a lack thereof. Word had never been his closer friend. In fact, they were usually his arch enemy. Little ever went well when he opened his mouth to say more than "Yes, sir!"

"Yeah, I'd like to have one. Anyone really! I got put in here so fast, I have no idea what went wrong..." Stopping, the young man looked up at Izaya, wanting his opinion on this too, just in case! Claude hadn't seemed very enthused about visitors. "Don't you--Ah, I mean, wouldn't you like to have one?"

[predictator]

'I got put here so fast, I have no idea what went wrong.'

From what Izaya had gathered, it was a common enough story-it certainly held true for his own experience in arriving at the 'hospital' (and though Landel had been in charge then and this 'Aguilar' fellow now, he still had his doubts about who might have really been in charge), but for the young man to have mentioned it in such a way... Did he not realize that it was common? Or did he actually remember something about it, but not enough to piece together the entire picture?

Izaya strummed his fingers on the table lightly as he considered both the meaning behind those words and also the question he'd been asked. While he didn't particularly want to visit with anyone, simply seeing someone from home would be a start towards answers-towards information. Had he been missed? Did anyone even know where he was? What was going on back in Ikebukuro in his absence-and in the absence of Shizuo and Masaomi? Was there a reason that he was here, and had anyone conspired to put him

[rolling_go]

Ah, Ippo hadn't thought of that. Actually, that wasn't right. He hadn't thought of it because he didn't quite understand the reason why. Even though his mother was the one who put him in here, apparently, that didn't mean Ippo didn't want to see her. They clearly needed to talk about something! Friends and family were there to help you! They wouldn't care how you appeared; they weren't that shallow--well, Takamura wasn't... exactly.... No! No, he did motivate in his own... special... way.

"W-Well, I mean, the nurses told me I..." The boxer stopped before the words could be formed. The explanation was so surreal, and yet he felt really embarrassed confessing. "Th-That is--They said I tried to, uhmm, well I... I jumped in front of a bus," he finally let out. It wasn't exactly what he had started to say, but the word suicide was just not going to come out.

"But I don't remember that--Of course, they also said that was normal with head trauma, so..."

[predictator]

The young man may not have said anything in response to Izaya's comment on visitors, but the expression on his face said enough to satisfy him. He was stumbling over his words after that, and Izaya's smile was back. He hoped it would be taken as sympathy rather than amusement, even if the latter was more accurate.

Coming over here had definitely been the right decision. While Izaya himself had only limited information about the 'Joshua' they had him on file as, he had been able to meet with one of the doctors here before the military had taken over the daily operations. Still, there were really only a few details he needed right now: it was often difficult to get useful information from the nurses, the doctors knew his (and presumably others') real name(s), and he-along with everyone else here-was supposedly insane. It didn't seem like much of a stretch to say that this youth might be willing to believe that they were

Ippo and his paper-thin flood gates

[rolling_go]

"I'd like to talk to them, though. I want to get out of here! But uhmm..." Were there doctors anywhere around this place? Honestly, Ippo had heard very little about help once the military had taken over. "The nurses had been friendly and then..." he pittered out when one of them walked past. "Well, they aren't anymore. This isn't--I'm not sure what this place is now. It's not so... warm." The last thing he wanted was to start ripples in this place. If anything were to be overheard, would the boxer be plucked and punished? The tear gas incident was still fresh in his mind.

"Well if remembering will get me out of her faster... I know brain damage is common, but I'm only nineteen and I can't imagine it could be this bad already. I've never forgot parts of my day before--" Oh, actually... Okay, scratch that. He had, but it was only for that match! He remembered everything after it! Oh god, maybe he did have brain damage!! Did he remember his match with Sanada? NO! HE DID NOT! He remembered the terrible pain in his head and organs. Maybe

[predictator]

Ah, the military. Izaya's companion didn't express that their current guards were not their former guards outright-he simply indicated that they were no longer friendly like they were before. While looking at the surface of the situation, that was certainly true, but was the surface the only thing the young man was looking at? He seemed open to the idea that talking to the doctors and remembering what he'd forgotten-or never known in the first place, if Izaya's guess was right-would lead to getting out of here, and so...

He was sulking now, and Izaya smiled at him again-his reaction to the Izaya's words, the resulting mood from a few well-placed words; Izaya wanted to see more and more and more! Humankind still had so much more to show him, and right now, this boy was so very interesting"I'm sure you'll remember in time," he suggested. "And even if the nurses aren't as friendly as before, I'm sure once the doctors come back during the week, they'll be the same as ever. Maybe you could request to see one of them soon

sorry its so short

[rolling_go]

"Y-Yeah?" Ippo perked up slightly, believing the confidence that the young man exuded through his words alone. It was nice to see someone who appreciated what this place was ultimately trying to do for them. The methods were not exactly what he expected, but it seemed that it was because of so much resistance from the patient-boy in general. So many were violent and without wish to help themselves. Ippo was relieved to hear a level-headed response to his problems

I should be the one apologizing for all my tl;dr

[predictator]

Makunouchi Ippo. Izaya made note of the name, wondering whether it was the boy's actual name or the false one he would have been listed as here. It didn't particularly matter which one it was, beyond whatever belief Ippo held in regards to his true identity, but it could be interesting to find out which it was.... A question for another time.

Izaya bowed his head towards Ippo in return at the introduction, but it was a slow, slight movement in comparison to the boy's.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ippo-kun. I'm Orihara Izaya," he said, after a short moment of silence in which he tried to decide which name he should give. If he was playing along with the idea of the hospital, giving the name 'Takahashi' might be better-but he was faced with the fact that he unfortunately knew precious little about who this 'Joshua Takahashi' was supposed to be. Giving out a false name in person was a little different than giving it out online-or over the bulletin board. His integrity could be put into question if Ippo learned that he'd lied

no tl;dr is luff!

[rolling_go]

"Eh, Shinjuku? Really?!" Ippo leaned a bit closer toward Izaya, suddenly a lot more energetic when talks turned to anything outside the realm of the institute. His large hands fidgeted on the table until he finally forced both palms flat on the plastic surface to stop his chronic anxiety