[REMODELED] main community

[His eyes slowly blink open and he feels a little groggy as he sits up, a hand coming up to rub at his eyes to clear his fuzzy vision. He feels like he's been sleeping for days, or possibly even longer. The last thing he remembers is being at the waterfall with Yamato-sensei and ..?]

Ungh .. my head hurts .. I feel like I got trampled by a ten ton toad.

[He looks around the room, noticing the whitewash walls that were somehow familiar. Had he been here before? Was he back in Konoha? Had he finished his training?]

Sakura-chan? Baa-chan? [He calls to them, thinking he is perhaps in the hospital back home, as the room definitely smells like it.]

[But it looks different he realizes, but he doesn't know where he is. His head is still fuzzy.]

Where am I? Am I in a hospital or something? I don't feel sick ..

[For some reason he knew he couldn't stay here but .. why? He couldn't quite remember and it made him panic just a little bit. Those memories were still so fuzzy.]

Oh yeah! I was training with Yamato-sensei and Bee-san and then--! .. I don't .. remember what happened next .. Ugh, maybe I did hit my head. That would probably explain why I'm here and not there!

[Glancing about he finds the device which he picks it up and accidentally turns on. It reminds him of the comm devices back home they sometimes used on missions.]

What is this thing? Can anyone here me? Is this thing even on?

/ He watches the screen closely, an attempt to get acquainted to the device in his hand. The doctor seems calm, seated in bed and watching the screen. Calm, indeed but there is a certain fatigue in his eyes. /

This is... the first day of awakening, they tell me. Though everything has been much too vivid to be a dream, lucid or otherwise.

/ He turns his attention back to the device. It was clear that he was lost in thought for a moment there. /

Ah. My apologies. I'd... meant to introduce myself to my fellow patients.

My name is Kazutaka Muraki and... this is my first day of awakening. I am afraid I do not have much more to say after that for I am still in the process of sorting out everything -- what is real and what isn't but please. I will be more than happy to speak to you if you desire my company.

I don't know what happened to me, but there's one thing I do know. I didn't make my memories just so that someone could take them away from me. Again.

[muffled silence as Naoto presses a hand against her face]

...How many other 'patients' are here? Nill? ...Badou? .......Heine?

[Lots of people have already started talking, but Xion couldn't think of anything so say, really. But she should say something, right? ...that's what you do in hospitals, isn't it? Say hello? So she clicks on the video and stares at the screen for a few moments, chewing her lip. Here goes nothing.]

...hello.

...I'm Xion.

[...and she can't think of anything else. This is probably just annoying people, isn't it?

Click. End transmission.]

[Fujiko can’t believe any of that. In fact, she’s pretty sure that few people would believe such a tale about such a 'fabricated' disease. Worst than that, now she’s going to stay locked up in that place. Do they really want to keep her there, like in a prison? That she won’t accept.]

At first, I really thought I was in a hospital, because of the gunshot, but this is no regular hospital… [She thinks to herself, looking at the device that was given to her.]

Maybe... Well, here goes nothing. [She fiddles with the keys on the device, and is able to turn on the video function.]

This is Mine Fujiko speaking. [She says, pausing for a moment.] Jigen, you bastard, I know you are out there somewhere, so get on your feet and get me out of this place, right now! [She sounds highly irritated. She isn’t sure if he’s within the vicinity of her ‘communicator’, but she’s sure that he will find a way to break into that place and get her out. He helped her escape prison once, didn’t he?]

I just … Hope he knows I’m here. [She thinks to herself, crossing her arms. She had to hatch a plan to get out of that place, in case he didn’t about her whereabouts.]

[the video feed turns on, revealing the face of a golden-eyed boy in his late teens, regarding the device with a serious sort of look on his face - a hint of skepticism, a hint of confusion around the eyes, in the tilt of the mouth]

Dreams.

[his voice is a bit soft, but not lacking in firmness]

Usually, I'm not the one waking up from dreams.

[he's quiet for a while, his eyes falling closed and his mouth curving into a small frown. he opens them after a moment, and sighs, as if he expected things to go back to normal while his eyes were closed]

Does everyone here believe what we've been told?

...none of it was real. [Murmuring almost to himself, before speaking up properly]

I was just wondering...does anyone else, um...having trouble believing it? It's just...if it hadn't happened...it doesn't make sense...how can it not be real, when I can feel him still...

I guess, what I mean...is there something that's lingering, that makes you not believe it? I know...I want to believe it. But...

[She picks up the communicator, and turns it around in her hands. After a moment, she turns it on, though doesn’t realize so for a few minutes. ] Although it doesn’t seem very complicated to use now…I don’t ever remember having seen something like this before. Maybe they were launched while I was asleep. I’ll have to remember to take notes on these for when I return home.

Oh. I seemed to have enabled the video recorder. [She looks into the camera, blushes and looks away, and then looks back and clears her throat. ]

[ She steadies herself, and speaks as best she can, in a clear and high voice. ] Hello, everyone. My name is Kotomi Ichinose. I don’t know what exactly has happened to me, or any of you, for that matter, but…I-I think I’m new here…but aren’t we all new…?
[She begins to shake, the gravity of her situation impacting her full-force. ]

[She closes her eyes, thinks to herself for a minute, and regains her strength ]

Let me start over. Hello, everyone. My name is Kotomi Ichinose, my hobbies are reading and playing the violin. I am new here. Because of that, it would seem I have no friends yet. I am happy to make all of your acquaintances, and hope we will all become good friends in the future.

[ Static and rustling. When she finally speaks, it's in a very small voice. ]
Um... Ah! It's on...

[ A pause. Her voice is soft and thoughtful. ] When I asked the nurse what I was supposed to put here, she told me I could write about the dream I had while I was asleep. But it's so strange. I'm not sure what to do. Was it truly, truly not real? Can dreams feel like that?

[ She sighs quietly, and is silent for a moment. ]

So maybe I ought to be happy I'm here, in this place. Because it means a lot of terrible things never happened, in reality. And it means I can, maybe I can... remember what really did happen, and I can go on to live normally again. I am alive. But I can't help but be confused and sad.

[ She falls silent for another moment, then her voice picks up: ] My name is Euphie. I'm glad that none of us have to go through something so scary like this alone. It's nice to meet you, everyone.

Hello? Um, is this machine working? I'm sorry, I'm not very good with-- ack! [There is a fumbling sound as he drops the device floor. Several moments pass as he picks it back up and looks it over.]

Oh no, did I break it? I hope I didn't break it. [What if the people in charge get mad at him? Would he get in trouble?] ...ah, is it still on? Um-- sorry, I... [And off it goes. Maybe he'll try again later. Like in a few days.]

[ The soft voice of a woman can be heard over the PDA and read over the network. She sounds friendly and not at all unkind. She sounds genuine. ]

Welcome, patients. My name is Doctor Linda Grey. I am your warden.

You've all recently awoken from your deep slumber... you may be confused, angry, sad, or all three. But we, the staff at Yellow Brick Institution, promise-- no, guarantee-- that things will make sense. Not tomorrow, or even the day after that, but with time. We will assist all of you with your conditions and restore your misplaced memories. I will be honest and say that this process may be frightening or overwhelming to many of you, but you are not alone here. Every single patient here is in the same situation as you are. And the staff is here to help. Please cooperate and become an active participant in your own recovery. We will take care of you.

[ She clears her throat and continues on in a lighter tone. ]

Today is a historical day; we have worked tirelessly to awaken patients from their sleep, and have finally found a method that works in practice as well as theory. Today is day one.

Please make yourselves comfortable; the weather is lovely if you are to venture outside and use any of our outdoor facilities. However, our beach is closed for today. Starting tomorrow, it should be up and running for everyone to use. If you would prefer to stay indoors, we recommend you look at our extensive library. If you are lost or require assistance, please alert one of our staff doing their rounds.

Thank you, and please enjoy the rest of the day.