Day 63: Bus 3 (Evening)

[lighthearted]

Sora had to admit, that soup had definitely hit the spot even if he'd had to force the first few bites down. His stomach was full and warm and while the fever was definitely still there, it felt more manageable now that he had some fuel in his system. It was too bad he couldn't carry a water bottle around or something, since that would have also been a help with cooling him down.

Then again, the wind seemed to be doing a fine job of that on its own. A nurse made sure to walk with him as they moved back toward the buses, doing her best to shield him from the wind with her body. It was something that Sora actually appreciated; she didn't have to do that, after all, and with how weak he felt right now fighting the wind was pretty tough.

Still, they made it back safe and sound, and Sora boarded the bus, realizing at a delay that he hadn't even bought anything on the trip. It was a waste, but he wasn't going to dwell on it too much. He already had enough on his mind as it was. Like the fact that he hadn't seen Riku and Kairi all day and couldn't have told them about his illness even if he wanted to. He'd at least had the chance to make plans with Tsubaki, but still, where were his friends? If there was a time when they should have been around, it was now.

Sora leaned against the window, keeping an eye on the other patients that were approaching. He wiped his hand over his forehead and found that it was still covered with a thin sheen of sweat. Not much he could do about that unless he found some medicine or Dr. Facilier worked out a cure. One step at a time, right? He could beat this.

[For Albedo and Nigredo.]

Comments

[ichangedforgood]

Robin was already on the bus. She'd made her purchases and been otherwise focused on mapping the city. She always focused on reconnaissance first, actions second.

That was why when a loud man gave a speech at the front of the bus, she had the decency to listen... but not to join him. Her mind immediately began working - the nurse was clearly vested in settling him down. And why shouldn't she? He was calling the other patients to arms. She wondered how long he had been a patient at this establishment to speak this way, to incite a riot that she suspected had not been planned out in advance. He was simply hoping for the best, playing on people's emotions to unite with him now rather than in secret before this crusade.

Idiot.

That was when she started to concoct a plan of her own... just as soon as more of the Landel's staff got involved.

[damned_nurses]

Mr. Davidson had a knack for causing trouble (which was saying it lightly), but she had never thought he would resort to making such a ruckus in front of his peers when they were in the middle of a trip. The nurse slid up the bus steps with practiced ease, an exasperated look written clearly across her face.

"Mr. Davidson, please." She pressed one hand against her hip while the other gestured toward the bus seats. "Take your seat. Now is not the time for this."

[heroesdontshave]

And here was another sense of deja vu. Just like that time in the cafeteria, the immediate reaction from the people around him was a lot less underwhelming than what he'd been picturing in his head. For a few long beats, more people were looking at him or each other with uncertain expressions rather than with a renewed spark of rebellion. In fact some were even outright discouraging, which just deepened his frown further. Not being fighters, he could understand, but this? It was like... like they didn't even see a point in trying! Like they really had just decided to give up completely!

Then... it happened. someone up front yelled out in agreement. And someone else was trying to start up a rebellious chant, trying to help motivate the others into action. Maybe these people really did need extra pushing. They hadn't been pushed to the brink of desperation yet, so getting them to suddenly act might not be that easy. But apparently, some people weren't content in sitting by and doing nothing. Even if it was just a few, the fact that people were waking up was a good sign.

"I'm not sittin' down!" Snow yelled, though whether it was to the nurse or in response to Ippo was up in the air. "We've been sittin' here and takin' this long enough!" He turned to face the nurse who had climbed up the steps to meet him, fierce determination on his face. Even if the voices behind him were very very few, it helped embolden him further. "You want us to go back? Well, we're not! We're goin' home!"

That was all the warning the poor woman was getting before Snow threw a hard fist toward her stomach. Or as hard as he could with the limited mobility in the aisle. He'd really much rather not have to hit a woman, especially one who didn't look like much of a fighter to begin with, but an obstacle was an obstacle no matter what it was. The only difference was he was a bit more charitable with how he hit. He wasn't aiming to break ribs or smash in faces; he only wanted her out of the way. If he could make her drop to the floor... or better yet, if he could throw her out of the vehicle entirely, that would be good enough.

[ichangedforgood]

Oh, a brawler. How quaint. She'd fought plenty of his type, including members of her current crew. Now seems best. She tapped her new hat more firmly onto her head.

Just as soon as he'd pulled back his fist, she was on her feet. She wasn't that far back in the bus, but the aisle was blocked and she needed to move while his back was turned. Thankfully even though she was a tall woman, she was thin, so bench-hopping was the order of business it seemed.

She made sure to end up on the side of the bus that was opposite his punching arm. That way, when she came up beside him, she could reach for that other arm. As she jumped into the aisle directly behind him, she tried to grab that arm with one hand and pull back on his opposite shoulder (the punching side) with her other hand. Normally that kind of restraining position was reserved for her summoned limbs, but she didn't have that luxury right now.

If she accomplished her goal, she planned to moved her hand from his shoulder across his neck for a choke hold, crooking her elbow under his chin.

"That was not very nice, was it? Hitting a defenseless woman like that." Her voice was sardonically pleasant - some might even call it her normal tone - but it definitely contained a dare to test her own prowess in a close-quarters struggle. He was only 5 inches taller; she'd fought bigger. "Ms. Nurse, are you alright?"

[damned_nurses]

Although quick on her feet and well-trained for such scenarios, the nurse did not expect the punch. An overwhelming force connected with her stomach, sending her stumbling back into the railing and onto the floor. She gasped and winced at the resulting pain, but the woman still reacted with excellent precision. A hand shot up, waving to call for nearby assistance. The gesture summoned an orderly from the back of the vehicle, who gave up his attempts to pacify the lackluster noise and made his way toward the front.

Another patient, however, reached the problematic patient first and was already in the process of restraining Mr. Davidson. Here, both the nurse and the orderly took pause. Though appreciated, the assistance would prove more troublesome than helpful. It kept the orderly from properly subduing the out-of-control patient while exposing the well-intentioned patient to harm. Though she could not speak at the moment, the nurse frantically signaled for the female to take her seat.

On the other hand, the orderly was in a relatively focused state. Rather than yelling at the woman for her proximity, he took another route. "Miss, if you'll move to the side, I can takeover from here," he called.

[heroesdontshave]

Snow had been expecting that hit to knock the woman out or else make her drop to the floor in a curled ball, out of the way. The fact that she was still on her feet was pretty impressive, he had to admit. It made him feel a little less bad about having to hit her if they were a little closer to equal footing. Maybe he should've expected it since the staff here tended to be a lot stronger than they looked. And maybe he shouldn't hold back any, either.

Despite her immediate gesture, he didn't pay any attention to what might be behind him. It wasn't important. All that was important was barreling through whatever was standing in his way and taking control of this thing so they could get the hell out of here. But before he could even attempt a second hit, someone suddenly grabbed him from behind, an arm slipping around his neck in a choke hold that had him craning backward just a little bit. He was able to turn just enough to see who it was though. It wasn't another nurse or one of the guys either. It was... some girl. One of the other people trapped here. And she was... attacking him?!

"The hell are you doing?!" he managed to yell out, a mix of confused and completely outraged. The nurse and the other guy and pretty much everyone and everything else was completely forgotten. What. The. Hell?! Did she not understand what was going on?! Why was she helping them?! Was she... on their side?!

Honestly, he had absolutely no interest in fighting any of the other "patients." They were all on equal footing and shouldn't be fighting amongst each other to begin with. But whether she was a real "patient" or not was questionable at the moment. That and... well, the confusion and adrenaline of the whole thing meant he couldn't think much anyway. He was only reacting. And right then the only thing he could think to do was thrash. And thrash wildly, at that. He used his body weight to twist and flail like a tantruming kid to try and throw the woman off and let him go!

If it didn't work, he'd probably start throwing himself around like a bull and a rider, against the sides of seats and whoever or whatever might be there.

[ichangedforgood]

Admittedly she hadn't expected him to be THAT strong - enough to swing her around like that. Did he have an Ability too? Still, she held on tight as possible and realized he was trying to rotate too, such that her feet would not only go into the air but might even hit the driver's seat. She focused on her timing and managed to push off of the seat-back, while holding onto Snow, so that both of them went tumbling down to the ground.

Satisfied, she stood up and off of him while the nurses took over, even with the bus rocking violently. Before she could stand up fully, however, she realized that something had happened - she turned to the driver and he was whipping the wheel back and forth.

He's lost control! "Everyone brace-"

Then came the impact, which sent Robin falling backwards through the aisle and into one of the nurses.