damned_institute | Day 63: Magus Park (Late Afternoon)

After lunch, Niikura was in much higher spirits, enough to actually suggest that he and Shiina go shopping for the heck of it afterward while they digested the heavy burgers. Even after thinking about it for a while, he still hadn't come up with anything he really, really wanted to buy, except for maybe some snacks, and those he could do without, seeing as they'd all be eaten in a matter of seconds. So, instead, he'd used his card to buy something cute (...he'd really used that word. WOW.) for Shiina. He'd actually felt pretty good about it too; even though she'd said that the hair bows were for kids, the smile on her face had said a lot more.

And now? Now, they were taking a walk through the park. It was still windy, but it had kind of warmed up...okay, it hadn't really, but that was okay because he could just protect Shiina from the wind with his gigantic, fat, poofy jacket. If he wrapped at least an arm around her, he could--this was a date, wasn't it? They'd gone out for a meal and some little cutesy activity, and now they were enjoying a quiet walk in a park with a pond and thoughtfully placed wooden benches and--

Niikura decided right then and there to be in denial.

"Looks good," he said with a grin, nodding to the ribbon now neatly tied in Shiina's hair.

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Going out to eat, going shopping together, going for a walk; these normal things were like a balm on her sanity. This was what normal teenagers did. This was how they were supposed to spend their time. It made her almost dread having to face the reality of what was happening to her right then. Even if she couldn't keep it, she wanted desperately to hold onto this one precious moment in time.

The compliment that broke the silence between herself and Niikura caught her off-guard. She smiled, unable to help herself. What a smooth-talker he was, just like her own Shou. She pulled her ponytail over her shoulder, running her gloved fingers through her hair. "Thank you. And, thanks for the ribbon and bow, too."

She didn't have anything to offer him other than her thanks, but something told her that he didn't care for things. He seemed quite content, actually. Another reason she wished time would stop.

She sighed, looking out over the abandoned park. "They're going to take us back soon, aren't they?"

Niikura rubbed the back of his neck. "Aye...sucks, huh? Feels like the day went by way too fast, but y'know what they say: 'time flies when you're havin' a good time' or somethin' like that." He really was enjoying himself, and it didn't take much guesswork to know that Shiina was too. It was cool, having this kind of quiet occasion to themselves, after all the craziness that had happened in the past month.

He just wished he was the right Shou. It certainly would save him a lot of unnecessary pain.

"Which reminds me: tonight. You..." He looked down, grin fading into a worried expression. "...we're not gonna head to the basement, not if you're too sick. We have to figure out how to beat this, whatever it is." It was a blow to him, having to set aside the fun and games, but it was just so wrong to keep going, to keep pushing her when the possibility of saving her was right there, dangling over their heads. He couldn't let that possibility go by, not if he wanted to call himself any kind of man.

"Sophie?"

"Huh?" She might not have known someone was talking to her if her 'nurse' hadn't walked right up to her. They were doing a poor job of getting her to believe she was this Sophie person.

"It's nearly time to go. If there's anything you need to do, make sure to do it before the buses arrive."

"Fine," Sonia said. She didn't know why the woman had been tailing her all day; the town was crawling with guards. And it wasn't like she'd have gotten very far if she had tried to escape.

There wasn't anything else she could do, except talk to the Arts and Crafts members, but she didn't know where any of them were. She had money left over. She supposed she could go and spend it on something, but most of the stuff she'd want to buy was out (as in, they might not allow her to keep them. She'd seen people walking out of stores only to have things taken off them). She hadn't eaten since this morning, but she wasn't hungry.

Mountain's Antiques. She probably couldn't afford anything in there. She'd spent enough time looking around the repair shop today. She had to resist going over to the toy store to buy toys, too. (It was just that they were so hard to find on Mobius! There wasn't a single toy store left now that she was aware of.)

What now? Should she wait until the buses came? There was so much on her mind that she didn't think she could relax if she tried. This field trip had been more of a letdown than that month they'd failed three missions in a row. At least she'd learned a few things about the world she was in.

Sonia went into the park and looked around with her arms folded, hoping to see a familiar face. The wind wasn't letting up.

[Free!]

"Must be." She sighed again. Time was just too short for them.

"I don't think I'm sick, Shou." She wasn't, not really. It was a symptom of something far more sinister, but she didn't want that to hold them back. She gave him a smile. She couldn't hide her fever if he insisted on checking, but she wasn't going to mention the muscle aches.

She did feel a little bad about the rash, though. Biting her lip, she glanced to the side. She clasped her gloved hands in front of her. "I'm not in tip-top shape, but I think I'll be okay. Don't worry about it."

She was still pretending, and at this point, Niikura reminded himself of his resolution earlier to ask her later, which was now, he guessed. The question was how to approach it. Normally, if he wanted the truth, he'd just try to make himself imposing enough to worm it out of whoever he'd cornered, but that tactic was totally inappropriate: he didn't want to be too aggressive.

Well, maybe he'd just wing it. Thinking about the logistics wasn't going to do much anyway, since nothing ever went like he planned it when it came to Shiina.

"Ha ha...alright." He looked away toward the fountain, thankful that there weren't more people in the park. It made what he was about to ask a little less awkward, although it was still bad enough that now, it was his turn to not look fully at the other.

"So. Anyway. Hypothetically. Say we run into someone who's infected, and he--or she, I guess, to be fair--turns into a monster. Say it's someone we know pretty well. What..." Niikura paused and swallowed. "What do you think I should do?"

Hypotheticals. Shous speaking in hypotheticals was never a good thing. That meant he didn't buy it, and he was going to pick until he got the truth. Shiina swallowed down the sick feeling blossoming within her and focused on his words.

There was one little slip that Shiina caught onto. He only considered what he would do in the situation. So he already suspected, though that wasn't so surprising. A tiny part of her was raging, demanding to know why he didn't say we. Why didn't he consider what she could do in these situations? What if their circumstances had been switched?

But that didn't matter right now. He wasn't being rhetorical. "I guess... do what you have to. To stay safe." She blew a puff of air up, fluttering the bangs out of her eyes. "I mean, since this hypothetical someone is someone you know well, I assume they wouldn't want to hurt you if they had the choice..."

She paused. "And maybe..." She trailed off, her gaze turning distant.

He hadn't said "we" because he'd automatically assumed that it would be just him that would have to make the potentially life-changing choice of whether to fight or not; in his mind, Shiina pitting herself against anything like the nurses was just out of the question.

But it was also true that he'd just plain slipped.

Niikura almost winced when Shiina gave him her answer. He'd presented a "hypothetical" to her for the purpose of getting that answer, but it had been one of those awkward moments where he'd been forced to turn his brain off momentarily so that he could actually get the words out. Now that it was back on...he wasn't too sure he wanted to be completely cognizant of everything that was being said just yet. Thankfully, she didn't get angry or offended that he'd all but said out loud that he suspected she was lying to him.

"Alright." He looked back at her. "And...maybe what?"

"And maybe..." Shiina took a deep breath, closing her eyes against the setting sun. Wind was whipping her hair around her, almost stinging as it slapped against her face.

She pulled her jacket snugger against her, creating a faux barrier against more than just the elements. "... Maybe it would be better if they were killed, rather than left to hurt others."

She smiled grimly, releasing a shuddering breath. "Maybe."

Well, that was about as close as he was going to get to a straight answer. Niikura exhaled slowly as he took in the weight of what Shiina had said. It would be okay, then. No hard feelings. Yeah, right.

He'd face that demon later.

"Alright," Niikura said with a firm nod as he crossed his arms. "I hear ya. Hopefully, it won't have to come to that." And now, time to distract her with something else. "By the way, you gettin' cold?" He prodded his jacket. "I'll share if ya want." The grin on his face told her that he was only being partly serious. "Sweatin' away here in this sleeping bag they stuffed me into."

She allowed herself a small smile. Shiina knew him too well. He wouldn't be able to do that if it was her that had changed.

His question threw her off. But his smile was disarming in a different way. It was enough to draw an amused huff of air out of her. "Oh yeah?"

She moved close, reaching out to touch his jacket sleeve. "I guess I could use a little warmth..."

Day 63: Magus Park (Late Afternoon)

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