Invitation to Investigate

[Hime Ningyou]

Hime gasped in excitement. "<You speak Japanese!?>" She exclaimed. "<Thank goodness for that! You are correct, I'm not too good with English, yet.>" She said, laughing a bit awkwardly to herself as she scratched the back of her head. "<I've only been here in America for a few days now, and you are the first person I have had a conversation with that consisted of more than just a greeting. So I haven't had a lot time to learn much besides what is on my learning CD's and the few words I learned back in school.>" She could barely contain her excitement. Another human being besides herself and the other girl, but this one spoke Japanese! Maybe this place wouldn't be so bad after-all. "<Do all the staff here speak Japanese? Oh, I hope so. That would make things a great deal easier for me.>" She paused, looking down. "<Oh! Where are my manners? This is Hana!>" She said with a smile as she held her doll out for him to look at. The doll was clearly broken. It's body was cracked and its 'skin' had lost it's pink luster and had turned to a dull gray. It's hair was black and a bit of a mess and it's right eye was nothing but white.
Hana rolled her one good eye to look at him. "<Good Afternoon.>" She said in her normal, reverse-reverb esque voice.
After the short introduction, she pulled Hana back to her and held her in her arms once more. It wasn't until now that she had realized that she had let her excitement get the best of her. She didn't know how someone like him was to handle seeing something like Hana.
Hime laughed a bit as she got a bit closer, holding her hands over Hana's ears as she spoke in a hushed voice. "<Please, I hope she doesn't frighten you. It would hurt her feelings.>" She smiled as she readjusted Hana back into her normal position.

[Daniel Gainsborough]

"<well aren't you cute?>" with a kind voice, this was the only only response that Danny could manage to direct toward the doll, in truth he was terrified by what he just saw but he couldn't bring himself to say it, or show it for that matter.

"damn! that gave me a start! just what the hell kind of power is that?!" Danny hid his surprise as best he could, that last thing he wanted to do was offend Hime and he had no idea what else she could do.

He smiled apologetically "<I'm sorry i don't know, i only recently started working here myself and have not gotten to know the other staff memebers very well yet>" Danny looked at the office door again "<so are you waiting to see the doctor? if someone is already in there it might take a while....>"

[Hime Ningyou]

Hime smiled and laughed slightly. She was glad that he didn't seem frightened of Hana. Hana seemed a bit pleased as well. After all, she was the one most people feared, when the only thing she could do is move her eye and talk. There isn't much that is dangerous about that.
"<Oh, I see..>" Hime said, a tad disappointed. "<So I guess you know about as much as I do! Maybe a bit more.>" She said, still smiling. "<Yes. A girl walked in there before me. I guess we both got the same note asking us to come here.>" She shrugged, looking back at the door. She still couldn't hear anything going on inside. She delicately patted out a few more creases in her dress, making sure her appearance was still presentable. She could be called in at any moment so she wanted to make sure she was prepared so she wouldn't keep the doctor waiting when he was ready for her. She noticed that Hana's hair had been messed a tad from today's adventures, so she reached into her pocket and pulled out a tiny comb. She proceeded to run it through the dolls hair gently, slowly working out all the tangles until it laid perfectly flat. She placed the comb back into her pocket and looked back at the man before her. "<I'm sorry about that... I want to make sure we are both ready in case we are called.>" She said with a smile as she took a stray strand of her own hair and coaxed it back into place. Once she was in a state where she considered Hana and herself to be acceptable, she again turned her attention back to the Janitor. "<So, Mister .... Barret, right?>" She asked, trying to make sure she got it right. "<What kinds of things go on around here?>" She asked, knowing he might not know due to him being new here. "<I'm not too familiar with what typically goes on in an 'asylum'. As far as I understand, it's where mentally insane people go. The only reason I'm here is because my parents thought I was a bit too obsessed with my dolls... yet they some of my dolls with me when they flew me over here. That doesn't really make much sense...>" by this point, she was more-so talking to herself. Her mind was simply not on track.

[Daniel Gainsborough]

"<oh, uh, please just call me Danny and don't worry you look fine>" he said with a tone of embarrassment, in truth it was less out of embarrassment than out of the fact that he just wanted to be called by a name he would respond to.

"Is she saying she doesn't know about the other patients here?" Danny's mind focused on this "but she is right... it wouldn't make much sense to send a mental patient to the hospital with the problem... and on that note, she doesn't seem to realize that making dolls talk is more than just a minor issue..." his mind was now in overdrive, he had learned more from Hime in five minutes than in the last two weeks he has been sneaking about here. Danny has also gained the most important thing of all: some weight for the rumor of the link between this asylum and his father's murderer.

Danny snapped himself out of his trance, he was definitely more interested in this place now, in its purpose, and in the patients.

"<honestly, I'm not too sure what exactly 'goes on' around here that's more a question for the doctor, I just keep the floors clean>" he chuckled at his bad joke "< but near as i can tell, aside from counselling with the doctor you just spend your own time about, fighting off boredom and such...>"

Danny couldn't bring himself to mention the tests, he had heard them, some over the P.A., patients being called for tests, it doesn't happen often but each time it does every hair on his back raises on end; he wasn't sure what happens in them but he knew it couldn't be good.

"<but don't worry, I’m sure you'll be fine>" Danny smiled gently, although he was unsure of those words himself he hoped he was right.

[Hime Ningyou]

"<Do you really think so?>" She asked happily, twirling around so that he could see the dress in its entirety. "<Danny, huh?>" she asked. She supposed that maybe that was some sort of nickname or something. She smiled and nodded "<Alright, Danny it is!>" She giggled slightly. This was great! She felt like maybe she had made her first friend at this place. "<If you want to, you can call me Hime-chan!>" She exclaimed but smile slowly faded as she realized that it didn't seem to her as if he were paying attention. His eyes seemed to be looking off into the distance rather than at her. "<Umm... Excuse me? Danny?>" She asked, leaning in a bit closer, tilting her head a tad to her right. He must have been thinking about something important. Without him looking back at her, she was barely getting anything at all!
Finally, it seemed as if he came back to Earth. Her smile returned as she straightened her posture back to her normal standing position. She was a little disappointed that he had not acknowledged her name, but still giggled along with him at his joke. It was also a little disappointing that he didn't have an answer for her question. "<Oh! Well, that doesn't seem to bad.. I'm doing that already!>" She smiled, listening to his words of encouragement and bowed slightly. "<I will do my best!>"
She paused, a puzzling look crossed her face. "<Say, Danny? What kinds of people are admitted here? Do you know that?>"

[Serenia Castor]

As soon as Serenia was inside the office, she took note that there were voices outside the door as she shut it. Hime was one, but the other....where had she heard that voice before? It must've been the janitor, Daniel. Or something like that. She had never really talk to the man before, but she had seen around cleaning the messes that a few patients have ever made. Like, one time, someone shattered a mirror that Serenia's soul was in because they were frightened of the appearance of a female within the mirror.

She turned her attention back to the doctor that must've been waiting for her for quite sometime, considering she had that letter for at least over six hours now.

Serenia took in her surroundings in case there might be a mirror, or any reflective surface for that matter. She didn't find anything. Adjusting her white shirt that fit her tightly, she straightened her spine.

"You called for me, Dr. Mornshaw?"

She took seat in the chair a front his desk, and rubbed her palms against her jeans and tucked her flips flop feet beneath the chair.

"You're new, you must be. I've never seen you, plus....I've never caught your scent, nor have I seen you in mirrors. i trust you know my power, because you are, what, my personal doctor now? I presume you have my file, of course, so, I do not expect to be asked any questions. Clear?"

[Daniel Gainsborough]

"again with that name..." it bothered danny, it didn't sound odd to him but it still caugth his intrest.

"what kinds of people huh? well... i guess it couldn't hurt to tell here there are oothers like her here... might even make things easier..."

Danny sighed trying to find tyhe right way to explain it "<well Hime-chan I've never really got to know them myself butfrom what i've been told... and from what i've seen... they seem to be unique, much like you...>"

danny pointed at Hana indicating Hime's ability to control dolls "<though im not sure how...>"

[Hime Ningyou]

Hime looked down at Hana and held her up a bit, looking at her as if to inspect her. She then looked back at Danny is a puzzled expression. "<Unique like.. me?>" She asked, holding Hana to her chest once again. She paused for a second, then said "<I suppose if there are more people like myself, that doesn't make me very 'unique', does it...>" She asked, more as a rhetorical statement, rather than a question. She twisted her mouth to the side, still trying to think this over. Did he mean that the people here had dolls as well? Surely that couldn't be it. Maybe he meant that the people here all had 'weird' abilities like she did? That made more sense. She began to pace in a small oval shape, making sure to stay in the same 3 tiles on the floor. Her shoes made a slight tap sound with each step that kept perfect time. Suddenly, she felt Hana twitch a bit, which was strange since Hana was unable to move. She stopped walking and held her up, looking into the dolls eye. "<Ohh....>" Her eyes widened, her jaw dropped, and she nearly dropped Hana as well. "<This place....!>" She looked at Danny, hoping he would lay some of her fears to rest. "<This isn't a very good place, is it?>" She took a deep breath and brought Hana back to her. "<The people here... we all have no true problem! At least, nothing an asylum is meant to handle, as far as I know. Right?>" She asked. "<I was told an asylum is for people who have mental problems. My parents sent me here because they thought something was wrong with me! But there's nothing wrong with me! My mind works perfectly fine! And if everyone here is like me, then we were all gathered for a different reason! It's too convenient! Right!?>" She backed up against the wall of the hallway, taking a deep breath and trying to regain her composure. "<I was hoping to meet this doctor. I was hoping he would see that there was nothing wrong with me. I was hoping they would send me home because they would see that this was all a big mistake!>" she looked up at him. "<But that's not going to happen, is it? This isn't a mistake. I'm not going home.>"

[Daniel Gainsborough]

Danny watched as hime attempted to decipher his message "<poor choice of wording...>" he could see that hime was thinking hard about what he meant, he watched as she started to pace "well, well..." he could tell she was coming to a conclusion, her expression changed to surprise- no, more like shock

"so she figured it out..." Danny was impressed, initially he thought Hime wasn't all that smart for not knowing why she was here right away but apparently she had more surprises then just the doll in her arms. "guess i can lay off the evasiveness now i definitely can't make things much worse..."

Danny's tone switched from casual to serious "<you're right, this is a bad place, i don't know how or why but it is. as for you...>" he tried to find a way to say it without sounding cruel "<putting it bluntly: there is something wrong with you, you may find it normal to have powers but to the rest of society it is a serious threat to them, whether that threat actually exists or not and as they say 'you can never underestimate the stupidity of the general public'>"

He let out a frustrated sigh "<no.. i don't think i could tell you that you'll be going home anytime soon, nor can i say that you're stay here will be easy, god knows the gloomy atmosphere here alone can send someone off the deep end... but it seems you have no choice for now...>"

Still serious, Danny's tone of voice gained a hint of intrest "<still... you say you're parents sent you here? for mental issues no less?>"

"that's highly unlikely japan has it's own asylums there is absolutely no reason they would send her all the way to america to get help... on top of that, the costs of doing so would be far more than what most normal families can handle..."

"<if you don't mind my asking, what exactly happened on the day your parents sent you here?>"

[Hime Ningyou]

This wasn't good. No. Not good at all. She took a few steps away from the wall that had been keeping her on her feet and listened carefully to his words. Indeed, they were not encouraging but at least now she was getting answers. She took another deep breath to calm herself further. She had gotten almost barbaric just then and that was not the image she wanted to portray. She figured the easiest way to get through this would be to answer any questions this doctor might ask, out of fear of what might happen. She held Hana tighter. The realization that she probably would never go home again was like a dagger through the heart. She nearly choked on her own emotions. She would be crying at this point if she had that ability. She tried once more to calm herself as she attempted to answer his question.
"<Well, there was nothing particularly abnormal about that day.>" She said, trying to run the days events through her mind. "<They've always been concerned about my love of dolls, but I have been very careful to not reveal my abilities to them. They don't know that I can speak to dolls. They don't know that I have become one, myself. And the don't know that I... that I can turn others into dolls, as well.>" She said, looking down to the doll in her arms. "<You see... Hana is more than just a doll... She's also my twin sister. And as far as my parents know, she is a missing person.>" Hana's eye moved to look at the janitor. "<They felt that, since I am 20 years of age, and I still carry this doll with me everywhere I go, that I must have some sort of mental issue. My family is not short of money, in fact we have our own estate, so sending me to America for treatment didn't seem unusual. I don't know how they could have found out, but this is too great for it to be a coincidence. I suppose it is possible that someone who found out about my abilities could have tipped them off, but my dolls kept very close watch over everything in our home. If something like that had happened there, I would have known.>" She began to pace again, try to piece together all the parts of this grand puzzle. She was also wondering whether she should reveal more of her abilities to her new friend. She didn't exactly know who she could trust anymore, it seemed like she could be a bit too trusting at times, but only towards those she received good vibes from. She decided that maybe she should tell him about the fatigue he would be experiencing once he was out of her range, but she didn't exactly know how to word it. Maybe she would say something about that, later. "<I don't think my parents knew exactly what they were getting me into when they sent me here. Whoever could have informed her of my abilities might be the same person who told them about this asylum. In which case, they might not have been fully informed. I mean, my parents loved me, and I remember how my mom cried when I left. They told me they would see me in a few months, when my treatment was finished. I may not have been the favorite out of the two of us, but I am all they have, anymore.>"

[Daniel Gainsborough]

It was becoming increasingly clear to Danny that Hime was worried about her predicament, hiding silently beneath a forced calm. He listened to her as she recounted those days past

"she's a little overly trusting, saying all this to person she just met" Danny could help but feel a small pang of guilt he mentally marked down anything of interest "so she can more than just make them speak... i knew there was more to this... my instincts are never off" as he thought that hime's head turned downward

"<You see... Hana is more than just a doll... She's also my twin sister. And as far as my parents know, she is a missing person.>"

Hime's words shocked Danny, in any normal situation he might have assumed that she really DID have mental issues but from what he already knew about her the odds of what she said being true were higher then he found comfortable. "holy crap..." what Danny felt at this very moment was complete fear, he wouldn't let himself show it but he was terrified of Hime "if she could do something like that to one human..." amid the chaos if his own fear Danny managed to look at Hime's face, he could clearly see the guilt that resulted from her honesty. he breathed small sigh of relief "god I'm such a tool... of course she didn't do it on purpose..." regaining his composure he continued to listen to hime's story.

"hmmm... so there's is a chance she was re-directed here by a third party... but why?" although a myriad of reasons came to mind, they all bordered on conspiracy and Danny was only interested in the truth, not fantasies of renegade governments or superpowered company empires

after hearing it all Danny waited for a moment, contemplating on all this information, he spoke up in a slightly frustrated tone "< well your certainly right, they must have been misinformed... not just because sending you all the way to America makes no sense but as you said they they would 'visit in a few months'... but i have yet to hear of visitors ever entering this asylum...>" his expression became more grim "<actually... i don't think i have even heard of visiting hours for this place...>"

[Hime Ningyou]

"<I was afraid of that...>" she said, referring to the 'visiting hours'. She felt so foolish. She never once questioned coming to this place. Or at least, not in a way she should have. She felt almost betrayed but then reminded herself that her parents probably knew about as much as she did.
By this time, she had filled up on her share of 'soul' to last her the rest of the day. How much longer was that girl going to be in there with the doctor? She continued to look down. She knew she could afford to feast some more, but she didn't want to hit him with that kind of 'brick' just yet. She didn't want to appear rude to her new friend, but she knew it was for his own good in the long run. She patted her dress again, making sure all the wrinkles had been put back into place from her latest rollercoaster ride and then proceeded to fix Hana's attire as well. Anything to keep her attention down and away from his eyes.
Hime didn't really want to know anymore about this place. She was a lot happier being ignorant. She wished she hadn't been as curious as she was.
She also wondered if it would be OK to reveal more things about herself. Afterall, she didn't have any friends of her own in this place and she felt the more someone knows about another, the closer they would become.
Now that she thought about it, she knew little to nothing about him, since she had been doing all the talking.
Without looking up, she asked "<So, what brought you to work in a place like this?>"