[from here]

Wally took a quick look around the hallway before looking back at Tony. "Maintenance closet, nurses' station and maybe a doctor's office? I'm guessing most of that stuff'll be on the second floor, right?" He hadn't seen much of the institute last night, as this was when he'd kicked into superspeed on his way out. Things were mostly a dark blur at that point and even if there had been signs around, he probably wouldn't have noticed them. Though if there were signs, he wasn't sure if he'd trust them at this point.

[In M13 to start]

Homura had spent the time for dinner in thought, to such a degree that he all but ignored Shito during the meal. He was trying to think, not like his future self would have, because that was all but impossible. Still, after his decisions that day, he wanted to take measures to help the group he had gathered. The position of leader was no longer his, and rightfully so with his utter inexperience. But there had to be something he could contribute, be it input or observations made with what he knew now--anything he could add that would possibly help them all escape.

And of course, there was the matter of fighting.

His body had the tone of a well-trained warrior. It was surprising in some ways, to find much harder muscle beneath the skin than what had been there only days ago in his memory. Yet Homura knew that would only go so far in battles, and that he would need experience to be of use in that area. So when the call for night came, he moved over to the closet, standing in the doorway and looking at the sword.

It had the shape of Nataku's blade. Somehow it didn't surprise Homura to find out that this was the case.

Unlike the week before, the buses pulled in to the front of the Institute before the sky became dark, and so the departure was a very organized situation rather than a chaotic one. Nurses and orderlies escorted patients off the buses, and just as the front doors to the Institute opened and the patients were taken back to their rooms, the intercom clicked on with its usual jingle to the sound of the Head Doctor's cheery voice.

"Hello, patients, and I hope you all enjoyed a delightful day at our neighboring town! I regret that last-minute duties prevented me from joining all of you on your trip, but I'm glad I can talk to you a bit now before you retire for the night!

"As far as dinner tonight, we have a wonderfully exotic meal of tasty, spicy lamb curry for you, served on a bed of steamed rice and with a side of seasoned vegetables and plain Indian flatbread. For desert, we'll be having sweet rice pudding, and we'll be offering our normal assortment of juices, milk, and water as drinks. As always, for vegetarians and for those of you with mild tastebuds, a large, fresh garden salad is always an option.

"And... I believe that's all! I hope you all enjoy dinner and that you're able to wind down from the excitement of today's excursion."

The intercom clicked off.

[ All room threads go in response to this post; please post your character's room number as the subject line of the initial post. Thank you! ]

Sai leaned his head woozily against the cool glass of the bus window. Helping out his fellow ninja had been a failed effort thus far, and he didn't have any idea how Naruto had been able to put up with that friend of his for so long. If he was asked to lead Sasuke around in the future, unless they came to terms with their differences before then, he would have to turn the task down.

It was probably a good thing he hadn't eaten in town. The movement of the bus combined with his sedation would most likely make him sick to his stomach if he had. He wasn't sure how he was going to explain the situation to Naruto if he had to.

He had a wet paper towel for his black eye that'd had a couple ice cubes in it before they'd melted. (His "violent behavior" meant they weren't willing to leave him with a bag of ice - something that could be potentially used as a blunt weapon.) It was sitting in his lap now, though, for what little good it was doing him.

Not the best of days.

[for Honey-chan (sorry, Team Naruto, I forgot)]

Rukia filed out of the bus with the other prisoners, shivering a little in the cool autumn air. She was a little irked that the nurses hadn't given her mittens on this trip. Forced to stuff her hands in to the pockets of her jeans, Rukia hunched her shoulders and wandered to the edge of the park before turning around to look for anyone she knew.

Nurses and orderlies were already milling about, supervising and watching the prisoners. Rukia's plan was to get a hold of something - anything - that she could use as a weapon when they returned to the Institute that night. It would be difficult with so many staff members around, but she was determined; the last thing she wanted was to be trapped on the buses again with no weapon.

Sanji woke up groggily to find his nurse already in his room. He gave a sleepy and half-hearted "Buh?" before realizing that nurse meant dayshift, and he'd fallen asleep after dinner.

"Shit!" He sat up abruptly, which gave his nurse a start. "Nami-swan!" How had he allowed himself to sleep through an entire night? What if she'd tried to return to the basement? What if she'd been waiting for him to appear and protect her? He'd let her down!

"There, there. Calm down." His nurse set a familiar flannel shirt down on the bed and Sanji eyed it with confusion. The last time he'd worn that had been... "Sorry I didn't knock or anything, but I was so excited~!" A pair of jeans followed the shirt. "Today is the field trip into town! Aren't you looking forward to it?"

The chef had to admit, the town had been an interesting enough place the last time he'd been. If he could find Nami early on he might even be able to lead her around... So he didn't complain too much as he changed into the other outfit (which he really wished they'd let him keep - anything was better than the regular gray) and was led out to the first of the buses.

He took a seat near the front, hopefully easily visible to any of his crew - especially to a certain member of his crew.

[for Usopp!]

[from here]

This shinigami moved out into the hallway at the end of the women's block. It seemed she was moving faster than the others given how empty it all seemed. She shot a quick look down both Signum and Skuld's hallways as she headed to the door to the outer hallway. She paused at the door, listening for sound beyond it, before opening it and continuing on her way.

[to here]

The intercom came on, and as it did, it seemed to carry a little more interference than usual for a daytime announcement, a little more static. While the patients might have thought for a moment that once again the elusive woman on the radio had hacked into the Head Doctor's system, the man himself soon proved that theory faulty as he laughed over the broadcast.

"Hello, hello, everyone, and I'm sorry for the bad quality of this broadcast; we've been having some technical difficulties lately, you see, and we wanted to make sure everything was fixed by tomo...."

His voice crackled out into inaudibility for a moment before fading back in.

"Yes, hopefully that will be done soon. In any case, now's the time that you all head back to your rooms to enjoy a delicious meal... seasoned salmon! Yes, we have filets of very tasty, very juicy salmon seasoned with herbs and garlic; on the side, we have mashed potatoes, peas, and to drink, our usual assortment of beverages. For dinner, you'll all be enjoying vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce."

The intercom's broadcast crackled again. The Head Doctor laughed, seemingly a little nervously.

"Ah, yes, perhaps we'll be able to finish the repairing tomorrow, when all of you are away at... Doyleton! Yes, yes, you're all in for a fun and exciting day, a day whose activities will be new for some and a welcome familiarity to others. You'll be under strict supervision, of course, but... well, I suppose you'll find out all about the circumstances tomorrow, before you set off, mm? Yes! In any case... I hope you all enjoy dinner!"

The intercom clicked off again as the nurses began ushering patients back to their quarters.

[ All introduction posts for this shift's group of new characters should be made in response to this post. (You can find your character's room assignment here.) Remember, everyone responds to this post with their character's room number in the subject line. ]

As she was waiting to be led out of the cafeteria, Hokuto looked for someone in Arts & Crafts, and spotted... Renji. She covered her mouth with her hands to muffle her giggles; after everything she'd heard about him, he was the LAST person she wanted to go to with this; he'd probably figure out exactly why she wanted the night off and never let her hear the end of it!

I'll just wait for Momo, I guess... she can't spend the whole shift in the shower, right?

Knowing her friend and vice-captain liked fresh air too, she opted to go outside; she settled down in the grass and pulled out her journal. Writing was... kind of a bad idea right now, but she could always draw something. Clothes were always fun, since they were what she liked sketching the most anyway; after some thought, she started on a dress design.

[[Fukutaichou~!]]

Yuffie bounced all the way through collecting her lunch, all the way to a good seat- one with a nice view of the whole cafeteria, which was something she'd been missing out on during the past day or so that she'd been stuck in the Institute- and hell, she even bounced into her seat.

A good mood? No, really?

Despite the occasional blip, talking to Sagara had been awesome. He was a fun guy; he wasn't a prude, didn't have a stick shoved so far up his ass it was poking out his eyeballs, and he'd actually had a conversation with her. One that hadn't revolved around doom, gloom or how much life sucked. If she could find other people like that and keep in touch with Sagara, maybe there was a little hope for this place.

After a quick gulp of pink lemonade, Yuffie settled to munching through her food and keeping an eye on the door.

[Waiting for Dean, I think? :x]

Artemis Fowl was, yet again, exceedingly displeased to be naked.

As much as Haku insisted that since he had experienced public bathing before, this time would be easier, the feeling was not mutual. Artemis' body was his own personal business, as far as he was concerned, and no one else's. His only comfort was the fact that he was not hideously tattooed anymore with various and sundry insults branding him a moron.

Still, that did not stop him from taking a towel into the shower area once again, Nurse Hedgerow grudgingly allowing it. She could see no other way of getting the boy to bathe. He was as stubborn as ten teenage boys. And after that lecture on psychological torture through means of public humiliation...

The boy let the water run over his head, the towel clutched firmly around his body. And he thought. July. How was it July when it had been fall just a week previous? It was impossible, logically speaking. But what part of this place fit in with any sort of logic Artemis had ever encountered? No, if he didn't let go of the fact that things would be as insane as people claimed he was, he would lose his mind.

His fingers brushed the burn mark Caleb had given him for what seemed the fortieth time. ...He had to get himself together, or this would only be a small taste of what awaited him in the hallways.

[For Omi]

[starting off in M13]

The last part of the night was little more than a blur in Homura's mind. The men had rushed in, but not joined them, instead staying off to themselves. Before any of them had a chance to react, however, a voice sounded through the air, mocking some other person Homura had never heard of, and the patients themselves.

To Homura, whoever that man was, he sounded a great deal like a god.

But before he could ask questions, the demi-god found himself no longer in the chapel, but some strange room on a bed. Is that what Kenren had meant from his earlier warning? Homura sat up, glad at least that the world didn't spin when he did so. Then the same man from before began to speak again, with a completely different tone. It was confusing to hear him talk that way, calling them patients instead of prisoners as he had before. Homura listened quietly as the announcement was made, then got out of bed.

Maybe he wouldn't have to go anywhere yet. It wasn't like Homura knew where to go anyway, and that meant he had time. If this was his room, and if he had been here as long as Kenren had said, there was a chance he could find something with answers. The Taisho had even told him that Homura had seen Rinrei. Certainly he would've written something down, made a map, something that could let him find her again! He started with the desk at the end of his bed, first finding a small stack of notebooks. Picking up the first, he flipped through, turning the pages with quickening desperation as he found each one to be blank.

[from here]

One row over - first row in. Sai had stopped needing to look at the room numbers some time ago. He couldn't help but wonder if Usopp would be surprised to see him. His visits were a regular occurrence, but it wasn't as though he'd told the pirate he'd be coming this night in particular. He didn't think he'd be shooed away, but perhaps he should have asked?

[to here]

"Good evening, patients and staff!" the Head Doctor said just as the intercom's usual jingle ended. Strangely, he seemed even more tense now than he had been throughout the day, though as he continued to speak, he seemed to get back into the usual swing of things. "I hope you all had very productive outdoor activities today and helpful therapy sessions to boot. Now, however, we must all begin to retire, and as always, our nurses will be bringing your dinner to your rooms shortly after your being escorted there. Tonight's meal includes a generous portion of delicious spaghetti with tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese (and meatballs if you choose), along with sides of hot garlic bread and fresh Caesar salad. For dessert, we will be serving slices of moist chocolate cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream."

The Head Doctor paused, and there was the sound of rustling and then muffled voices, as if the doctor had put his hand over the microphone and was clarifying something with someone--a female voice, probably Lydia. He took his hand off the mic and cleared his throat.

"Yes, that's all for now. I hope you all enjoy dinner, and remember, some of you tonight will be lucky enough to participate in our CM-US Experimental Therapy Trials, so look forward to that after the meal. Goodbye for now!"

The intercom clicked off.

[ Please respond to this post with all dinner shift threads between roommates, putting your character's respective room in the subject line. ]