Day 27: Lunch

[norainu]

Renji wasn't so certain what this grilled cheese thing was all about, but he liked the sound of some soup. Even if it was strange western soup, well... there wasn't anything bad people could do to soup, in his experience. His good mood was starting to fray at the edges, a little, from the strain of dealing with the Ichimaru issue, and even more from what had been on the bulletin board earlier.

He'd never had difficulty simply writing something before. But...

He shook his head as he entered the line. He didn't want to think about it. He wanted to hold on to the tenuous equilibrium he'd managed to find.

Renji got himself a large bowl of soup, water, and even one of those sandwiches, just to try it. Old habit, recently awakened, had him over to one side of the cafeteria, where the fewest people possible would have the chance to pass behind him. He sat there with his back toward the wall and started eating.

Comments

[i-slay-giants.livejournal.com]

Kougaiji! Just the person he needed to see. He was in great want of a favor and only the demon prince could help him. Then again, only the demon prince thought kindly of him.

"Not really," He smirked. "But maybe you can help me out there, in one regard. Can I trust ya, Kou?"

His smile may have looked playful, but the old glimmer behind his eyes spoke of a serious plan.

[rabbitprince314.livejournal.com]

Arching a pair of elegant brows, Kougaiji looked up at John, smirk and all, and considered him a moment. Did the man need to ask still?

"Yeah, you can trust me." As long as John wouldn't come to his way to revive his mother - Kougaiji wasn't known for his disloyalty towards friends. "What's up?"

The nurse decided to drop his tray on the table just that moment and the redhead glanced up at her with a frown. She arched a brow at him and he figured that a thank you was not needed. The scent of food, melted cheese and toast drifted up to his nose, stomach giving a loud growl, which he ignored in favor to turn his gaze back at John to study the man curiously. Was he in some kind of trouble?

[i-slay-giants.livejournal.com]

Jack glanced around the cafeteria, making sure no one was paying particularly close attention to him, then leaned into Kou. "Do you remember that key I found the other night?"

Of course Kou did, but he needed to ease into the favor, lest the other take him too lightly. He slid the key from his pocket and hid it in a clenched fist. "I need to you hide it for me."

[rabbitprince314.livejournal.com]

"Sure," the answer was readily on Kougaiji's lips as he studied John curiously. He wished he had known what was going on but wondered if he would be provided with an answer if he'd ask.

No other way to find out than come clean with it.

"But why?" He frowned slightly as he pushed the tray slightly aside, bringing his hands to the table, long fingers rapping against the smooth surface rhythmically. "Are you in some kind of trouble?"

[i-slay-giants.livejournal.com]

"Trouble?" The Fable tried to laugh it off. "Yeah, a little bit. It's probably nothing, though, so don't worry too much about it."

He leaned in further, placing his plams flat on the table next to Kou as if he was whispering something in a low voice, but used the motion to subtly slide the key under Kou's hands. Jack was no amateur when it came to sleight of hand. Anyone watching would think nothing of it, since the action wasn't apparent at all. "Still, one can never be too careful, can they? I suppose I don't need to add that if anyone asks, there never was a key?"

[rabbitprince314.livejournal.com]

Probably nothing? That sounded right about comforting, Kougaiji thought sarcastically. He pushed the key further under his palm with his thumb without making a big fuss about it. If John went that far to keep it hidden, he wouldn't want to make all his efforts wasted.

"Of course," he answered the last comment first, a bit frustrated as he shook his head and right after froze to bit his lip to keep a whimper of pain inside. Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck. When would he learn? His voice was trembling a little as he continued silently, keeping his gaze blankly at the surface of the table. "What kind of troubles? I could help..."

[i-slay-giants.livejournal.com]

Jack waved away Kougaiji's inquiries. "It's nothing, don't worry about it. I can handle it." He pointed to himself with a "thumbs up" gesture. "I can handle anything the universe can throw at me! No one here seems to recognize really just how AMAZING I am and that is going to come back to bite them in the ass."

For all his wounds, Jack still had his bravado.

[rabbitprince314.livejournal.com]

"Like white haired freaks with long sword too?" The sarcasm was not hidden, not even veiled in Kougaiji's tone of voice as he regarded John with twitching brows and unhappy curve over his lips.

"It wouldn't hurt you to accept some help," Kougaiji grumbled. The facts that he would never ask help himself and his injuries made him practically useless to anyone in their right mind were obviously something he didn't consider worthy of mentioning.

[i-slay-giants.livejournal.com]

The Fable sneered at the prince. The comment about Gin was not appreciated. "I'm still alive, aren't I?" He pulled his hands away and leaned back. "So I'd call that a victory."

While Jack would have liked to make it the library the previous night, he still subscribed to the notion that so long as he was alive, he hadn't lost completely. If he thought any other way, he would have died long ago in the homelands.

"I have accepted some help," Jack responded to the second comment, a smug grin crossing his face. "I asked my good pal Kou to do me a favor."

[rabbitprince314.livejournal.com]

Kougaiji snorted, grudgingly giving into that, assumably false, mirth that John practically broadcasted. He glanced at the grinning idiot through his crimson bangs and grimaced.

"It better be small then," he demanded, a hint of playfulness tinting his tone of voice even if he was dead serious. "Just so you know, if the next time I see you, you'll be sporting a black eye in the width of your face, I'll be sorely tempted to give you another one." Like he could in this condition.

[i-slay-giants.livejournal.com]

Jack scoffed at the idea of Kou beating on him, but knew better than to say as much. 'That'll be the day,' he mused internally.

"Oh yes," The Fable insisted, "Very small."

He neglected to mention that he was planning a formal challenge to all his would-be attackers the next chance he got to the bulletin board. It wouldn't do any good to worry Kou, now would it?

"You should try your sandwich," Jack said, not so subtly changing the topic. "They're not bad."

[rabbitprince314.livejournal.com]

As Kougaiji didn't indeed know anything about John's plans, he was hesitantly placated with the man's assurance. Why would John lie to him anyhow?

He slipped the key to his pocket quickly before pulling the tray in front of him and curiously eyed his lunch. "You too." He grinned slightly, nudging John's own tray with his. "At least they feed us well here."

[i-slay-giants.livejournal.com]

Jack laughed. "If they fed us well, we'd be eating duck and caviar. They feed us APPROPRIATELY."

He took another bite out of his sandwich before adding, "Oh, did the tea drinker say anything to you about me? He still seems less than fond of my presence."

[rabbitprince314.livejournal.com]

"Hn." Kougaiji looked down at his plate again. No fingers, no limbs and certainly no blood. As long as he could avoid the diet his father's castle quite often preferred, he was good.

"Tea drinker? You mean Kikyo?" He arched his brows as he looked up at John. Kikyo obviously didn't like John, that was true. "He didn't say anything. Not that I remember at least. Parts of last night... are hazy." And with that, he bowed his head again, picking up a fork and started sorting through his food.

[i-slay-giants.livejournal.com]

Jack nodded. "I have some blank spots too."

Sighing, he added, "And it really SUCKS that we never even got to look for the treasure. I'm CERTAIN it was booze..."

"So," Jack decided to go the playful route once more, "Make me anything nice in arts and crafts?"

[rabbitprince314.livejournal.com]

The grease he had to admit, was not very appealing. Kougaiji cut bite sized bit of the sandwich and poked it to the spikes of his fork. "Whatever it was, the price for getting there was too high," he said softly, waving the fork from one side to another.

The comment about arts and crafts made him look up again, snorting at John's tone of voice just as much as his words. "And what you'd like to have? Macaroni necklace?"

[i-slay-giants.livejournal.com]

"Anything made by your loving hands would be more than enough for me," Jack smirked. At least Kou had a sense of humor. He only wished everyone else did.

Well, ok, maybe the pirate wasn't that bad either. Giving him the Tylenol had been a nice gesture and if Jack could think up something small, he'd see that the favor was returned. But first things first, he needed to figure out his plans for the night. "So, are you up for hanging out again tonight or do you think you're going to need some rest after last night?"

[rabbitprince314.livejournal.com]

"That warms my heart, ya know," Kougaiji muttered with a lingering grin which turned quickly into a puzzled frown as he observed the grease drip from the piece of toast he had hanging from his fork.

"I dunno," he answered John quietly, trying to hide his annoyance into staring the bit of unappealing food in midair between the two of them. Everything was just so damn confusing at the moment, and he hurt like hell when he tried to move. But what could he gain by staying in his room? "You?" When in doubt, redirect the attention towards others, right?

[i-slay-giants.livejournal.com]

Jack shrugged. "I'm going to be in my room for a little bit. I'm expecting...things."

Whether it was cigarettes, a woman, or a beating didn't particularly matter. Something was definately happening tonight, though he'd try and push for the first two. "You're welcome to join the party, though, if you want."

There was a funny thought. If Kou showed up and he was entertaining a woman, how would he react? Maybe those two lesbians would come together and Kou wouldn't be left out. Still, it probably wasn't a good idea to mention that to him- he seemed like the sort who wouldn't react particularly well to the suggestion.

[rabbitprince314.livejournal.com]

"Mmn... alright." Kougaiji happily wasn't aware of John's thoughts. Would he have been it was not likely he'd been so calm as he was now, for various reasons.

"Expecting what?" he asked innocently, glancing at John through his bangs. "I dunno, I might drop by sooner or later. What was your room number again?"

[i-slay-giants.livejournal.com]

"M32," the Fable arched an eyebrow and smirked as though he was trying to keep from laughing. God, it really WOULD be funny if Kou showed up in the middle of something scandalous, wouldn't it? Would he even know what to do with himself? The urge was so tempting for the trickster. "You're probably going to want to knock first." It was so hard to fight his penchant for mischief, but given his current predicament, he needed to stay in Kou's good graces.

He intentionally didn't answer what could be expected because, really, Kou didn't need to know.

[rabbitprince314.livejournal.com]

Arching a pair of elegant brows at John, Kougaiji nodded and finally forced the fork towards his mouth. He'd have to eat something. And he was hungry, despite the fact that chewing would hurt and the food was nothing like appealing. If he noticed John's amusement, he did nothing to show it.

Knocking was something Kougaiji would have done whatever the case. His mother had made sure he knew his manners, his father had made sure he also wanted to abide by them and knock before walking into certain rooms.

"So you don't want to tell me what's going on?" he asked directly after swallowing and decided to let his fork rest for a while before even thinking of more.

[i-slay-giants.livejournal.com]

Jack didn't know quite how to address that. So he responded, "You don't wanna know."

That probably would only frustrate the demon prince more, but Jack was good at word play and wasn't particularly concerned.

[rabbitprince314.livejournal.com]

Flash of temper in narrowing crimson eyes, Kougaiji did not voice his frustration, however. He rather threw his fork on the plate and leaned his elbows to the table, locking hands in front of himself and let his chin rest against them, lips pulling into a tight line behind his interlocked fingers.

"Wouldn't I be the judge of that?" he asked silently.

[i-slay-giants.livejournal.com]

Well, that certainly set Kougaiji off. Maybe he DID want to know. Jack pondered for a moment, then said:

"A gynecologist is giving an examination of a college student when he notices a "Y" mark deeply branded into her torso. Curious, he asks her about it and she responds that she has a boyfriend at Yale who loves his school so much that he insists to keep his school jacket on when they make love and that must have left the mark.

The next patient the doctor sees is another college student, this time with an "H" mark on her. Again, he asks what the nature of the injury was and she responds that her boyfriend goes to Harvard and he loves the school so much that he doesn't take off his jacket when they make love either.

His last patient comes in and he notices that she has a "W" on her body. Thinking he has caught on to the trend, he casually asks her, 'So, boyfriend at Wisconsin, huh?'

She looks at him and says, 'No, girlfriend at Michigan.'"

Finishing with his tale, the Fable casually leaned back and took a sip of his drink.