damned_institute | Day 28: Bus 1

Statesman found the new clothes he had been provided weren't too bad... The shirt was just a little tight around his shoulders, and the sweater that had come along with the close had like-wise been just a little small on his large frame.

But if they had trouble getting clothes that fit him properly, he had to wonder what they would stick Recluse in. Of course, he hoped he wouldn't have to be trapped on a bus with that psychopath.

Statesman was willing to work with Recluse at night, but he wanted him to stay away during the day.

Marcus took one of the window seats near the front of the bus and stared at his muffin and juice box. They expected that to substitute for breakfast?

God, last night had been a bitch. And now they were piled off to go somewhere. What? Fuck. Of all the days. This was going to make it a little harder to find the President and Reno needed to find him. Although it would be useful to know what was out there beyond the institute.

On the other hand, he'd at least been allowed to ditch the usual ridiculous uniform for jeans and a sweatshirt that was a bit too large. Not much of an improvement, but as long as the smiley face was non-existent, he wasn't going to complain.

Slumped into his seat, he chewed absently on a thumbnail as he kept an eye out for Rufus. He hadn't been on a bus for years. The last time he'd climbed aboard one was all the way back in grade school.

Now this was more like it, Max decided, running her hands down over her tight denims, t-shirt, and denim jacket. It was almost like being back home again, even if the calf-high boots were just a tad bit too large. She could deal, though. At least it wasn't that ridiculous smiley any longer. The thing gave her the creeps if she stared at it too long.

Reaching to tug her hair up and fastening it into a ponytail with the rubber band she'd stolen off her pack of pens, she followed her nurse out the door and towards the big yellow buses waiting outside. Biting back a snort of amusement, she picked one at random, found a seat halfway back, and made herself comfortable, feet propped up on the back of the seat in front of her, even as she sorted through the bag they'd given her for breakfast.

She was kind of annoyed her fight with Bucket-head the night before had gotten interrupted. She wondered if the guys' attacks on it had done some damage before they were all zapped back to their rooms? They'd had interesting fighting styles and she wouldn't mind running into them again...

She also wondered how Dean and Sammy had fared with their naked female companion the night before. The memory brought a smirk to her lips as she tore off a piece of blueberry muffin and popped it into her mouth.

Mousse didn't quite remember the events of the previous night after he had decided to stop moping and be a man. His head was pounding (had he taking a beating?) and his right hand, though wrapped in bandages and in a sling, was still without any signs of feeling, short of throbbing pain. To make matters worse, a nurse had forced him to wear such strange clothing! Brown cargo pants and a black shirt with some writing on it about enlightenment or something (What the hell did "Nirvana" have to do with the three western looking men?) were not his idea of fashion.

Still, he went along with it, not really in the mood to deal with much of anything. Where were the people from last night? It didn't really matter. He boarded the first bus he saw and slumped against the window.

So. They were going somewhere...

[Waiting for Renji.]

When Rukia woke up, she was, while not really injured, beyond exhausted. The binding spell from the previous night had really taken its toll on her. Dragging herself out of bed, she was greeted by a nurse and given a small breakfast and change of clothes. At least the clothes looked warm and comfortable; she hated tight clothes.

Rukia quickly got dressed into the tan corduroy pants, blue T-shirt, sneakers, and red fleece jacket the nurse had given her. When she looked about ready to go, the nurse also handed over a tiny pair of mittens. "It's chilly out, so we don't want you freezing to death out there!" she said with a kind smile. In truth, Rukia was grateful for the warm clothes; she got cold easily.

The nurse guided her through the institute and outside. The air was crisp and cool, and smelled like dry leaves as Rukia headed for one of the big yellow buses. Climbing aboard, she took a seat by herself near the middle, and peered out the window. Hopefully Renji would see her and get on this bus.

Meanwhile, she nibbled on the muffin and opened the juice box to take a sip. Good thing Ichigo had taught her how to use these things!

Jack sighed and shifted in his seat. Every so often, he would pick away pieces of his muffin with his fingers and pop the bits into his mouth. It wasn't necessarily a BAD thing that he had managed to sleep most of last night, he kept reminding himself. Indeed, he had been in pretty bad shape and in NEED of rest. Hell, his nose was only a dark bruised color now (no longer needing to be covered) and most of his more serious injuries had healed up to the point where he could move around without feeling as if he was being stabbed. Still, he had hoped for some female company after the friendly response on the message board. Oh well, he had her journal; she would have to come find him to get it back.

He had been amused when the nurses came to his door with a change of clothing. While they looked like something you might find at the Salvation Army, it was nothing Jack hadn't worn before at some point in his life. Jeans, at t-shirt, a flannel overshirt...all were not the finest things he'd ever put on, but not the worse either. It was almost as if they were BEGGING him to make a run for it, since he was no longer in the Landel's uniform.

He'd wait until they got to town and the staff wasn't looking. Then, he'd be GONE.

Why a lavender sweatshirt? Did they think it would match his hair well? It wasn't that he found the color offensive, it just... wasn't quite... well, it could be worse. The jeans took a few moments to dress in, since the zipper and bindings were rather different to the sorts of clothes he was used to, but not so strange that he required help.

Thus donned in an unmanly but color-coded fashion, he was herded with his breakfast bag onto one of the large, grumbling vehicles. It reminded him vaguely of dragon technology, which was an unpleasant thought, but certainly could be worse.

Xelloss spied his roommate sitting near the front of the bus, but he was talking to someone already, so Xelloss headed to the back. There he spied another familiar face, and with a wide smile sat down beside Zelgadis, pinning the ex-chimera between the wall of the bus and Xelloss himself.

"Very invigorating weather, isn't it?"

Valyn was surprised and a bit pleased at being given a fresh change of clothes by his nurse~~maid~~. The strange, high necked tunic was even dark red. It was a little bit snug, but it was soft and warm and covered up the bandages on his neck. And the fawn colored rough trousers weren't so bad either. The short women's boots.... well, he supposed clothes were just different in this place.

He needed to be helped onto the bizarre metal wagon, and was urged into a seat near the front. It looked like a very large caravan wagon, with nothing to pull it. How strange. How did it move? What was it powered by?

Tucking back his long blond hair, Valyn looked around for any of his three companions. They had a plan, and he was determined to see it carried out - with as little distraction as possible.

"But I don't want to go!"

Rabastan Lestrange was utterly terrified at the prospect of having to leave Landel's. It took two nurses, one orderly, and the head nurse herself to settle him down (with the help of a little blue pill) and reassure him that he was coming back to Landel's later that evening.

"Are you sure?" he asked for about the tenth time, uncomfortable in his Muggle clothing of jeans and a flannel shirt. Those trainers just did not fit his feet as nicely as boots did.

"Yes, Mr King. You'll be back before you know," the RN said soothingly, leading him to the buses.

That right there presented another problem. Rabastan had never seen a bus except for the Knight Bus, and this one looked nothing like that one. Suddenly, he found himself wanting Severus. Even Harry. Or Yazoo! Oh yes, Yazoo would make this less scary with his cat-eyes. Or Aya! Aya would be very nice too.

"IT ATE THOSE PEOPLE!" Bast yelped, top volume.

"Mr, King, it didn't -eat- them. They're getting on the bus. See?" The nurse, who was now glad Landel's had a good hearing plan, managed to get him calmed and explained what a bus was as best she could while trying to get all the patients in place. With that done (and the help of another blue pill), Bast looked pretty much ready to go.

At the stricken look on his face, she patted his hand gently. "You'll be back before you know it, Mr King. You'll like Doyleton."

Nodding miserably, although feeling very calm to say the least, Bast stared morosely out the window. They were taking him back to Azkaban.

She frowned, trying to get him cheered up some. "Now, Mr King, you know the Head Doctor wouldn't lie, would he? He wouldn't leave you there by mistake."

"Bast blinked at that, a tiny smile starting. No, the Head Doctor wouldn't, would he? And Alec might come too!

Seeing the bit of a smile, she patted his hand again and headed off to help the other patients. It was terrible when patients got institutionalized like Mr King, but she supposed there was no way to avoid it.

Odd as it might sound, Fai was used to wearing strange clothing. They had to keep up with what others were wearing in whatever world they found themselves in, so change was frequent and often odd. Anything was better than those drab uniforms.

He wore plain pants, a tan color with pockets on the sides and a blue shirt that had once carried a logo on the front, but much washing and wear made it hard to even make out. On top of that, a tattered cream jacket with graying bits of fluff still clinging to the hood and collar.

He smiled and hummed softly to himself as the nurses escorted him onto the bus and handed him his breakfast. This place had to be one of the strangest that he'd visited thus far, but maybe he'd be able to catch sight of the others somewhere in town since he hadn't found them in the institute just yet.

Ginji was much happier this morning for several reasons. One, he was out in the sunshine! It was day and he was outside and he was going on a trip! Even if it was still under the watch of the staff of the hospital, it still wasn't inside of the bad place! Two, because of the nice person who had come to his room the night before he wasn't in so much pain! He still couldn't walk very well on his own, but a lot of the pain was gone. It was such a nice feeling he couldn't help but smile. Three, his clothes were much happier now. He wore a bright yellow sweatshirt and khaki pants.

He had also heard there was ice cream in the town. His mouth was watering just thinking about ice cream. Oh he couldn't wait! He was going to have a good day today, even if he was still a prisoner. He didn't want to be sad anymore.

L.A. had woken up in an entirely different place than where he remembered being last. He supposed he had gone unconscious, been treated, and then put in another room. Maybe it was his room, but how would they know that? In any case, he seemed to be doing all right. He was bandaged up now, and the effects of the scorpion's poison had faded. His injuries had begun to hurt again, but he figured it might just be the sting of disinfectant.

In any case, now that he was up, he was being hassled by what seemed to be a nurse into changing clothes. They weren't very nice clothes at all; the outfit consisted of a nondescript pair of jeans and a shirt with some corporate logo on it, as well as a light jacket. He was reluctant to undress in front of this nurse and the guy in the other bed, but he didn't seem to have any other choice. Once he'd changed, the nurse gave him a muffin and a juice box and led him out of the room.

She took him to a big long yellow bus, where he sat down in the first empty seat he saw. Examining the food he'd been given, he realized he was actually pretty hungry. He wolfed down the muffin and washed it down with the contents of the juice box.

It was a little odd to fall asleep at night and then actually sleep all the way to morning. Roy wasn't sure what had happened - had Greed just never made it? Or maybe night had "ended" before he had gotten there. It was a bit troublesome, but he couldn't dwell on that too long.

Still, something was going to have to be done to expedite the process at night or he would never get anything done.

Even though he was well-rested, Roy's mood took a turn for the worse when he was forced into an argyle-patterned sweater that was likely the least flattering piece of clothing he'd ever worn. The black slacks and boots that went with it weren't as bad, but he still felt like a fool as he got onto one of the buses with his muffin, his drink, and his coupons.

As for the patients already on the bus, he recognized a few -- Renji, Rukia, Reno, and Rufus. They were all in conversations, and he didn't exactly have anything to speak with them about. Therefore, Roy found an empty spot on the bus and settled down to eat. Chances were someone was going to sit with him eventually.

Lyta didn't even care, at this point, that she hadn't done jack shit the night before. She'd slept, and she felt better for it. It was easier to block out the voices and background static.

She didn't know how she was going to handle being in a town. A town. God, when was the last time she was in a town? A normal, Earth town. She had a feeling it would look like one of those historic recreation parks.

Not caring about the clothes - centuries old, they looked like - Lyta dropped into a seat on the bus and leaned back. She was dressed in a simple black long sleeve shirt and jeans with sneakers. That was fine with her. She kept an eye out for Fox, Envy or Kimbley. At the very least some sort of plans could be made today....

Kenshin sighed and stretched back against the high-backed seat in the bizarre horseless carriage. The bandages on his chest were pulling uncomfortably under the Western clothes he'd been given, but the healing blood that Homura had demanded he drink had made the wounds much more bearable.

He and Kyouya had gathered the rest of the blood in the bottle and the emptied flashlight that they had been left, just as Homura had asked. Both were now safely stored under Kenshin's bed, along with his remaining scalpels and the metal claws that he had extracted from one of the beasts.

And now he was sitting here, looking dubiously at the "breakfast" he had been given. Just how was he supposed to eat it, anyway?

What--?

It had to be the question of the day. Oriya opened his eyes with a grimace as the woman from the day before bustled in cheerily. It felt as if he had just been beaten... A rare feeling he had not had the fortune to feel since he was much younger and still only a novice with a blade. He could not say he had missed it all that much. It didn't take long for Oriya to figure out why.

Tired and achy, the swordsman paid little attention to the new set of clothing he was given before he was escorted to the buses. He did not wish to be here. He would have rather slept, if only for a little longer. Yet that did not seem to be an option. Oriya dropped into an empty seat before leaning against the window and closing his eyes.

Gluttony couldn't remember much of what happened last night. He certainly hadn't gotten anything to eat, that was for sure. Hopefully he'd see Envy or the short tasty looking kid. Lust said he could eat either of them, and that would be good.

He had wanted to go to the bus with Lust in it, but the nurses said no. He begged, screamed, and even tried to bite one of their hands off, but the nurses said no all the more fiercly, and gave him the bad drugs that made him feel bad, like he wanted to take a nap, and not good, like if he was getting to eat someone. They dressed him in the only pants they could find in his size, a pair of blue jeans with suspenders to keep them up (there wasn't a belt built by man that would go around ~his~ girth) and a basic white shirt. They also gave him a baseball cap with a red bird as the emblem, possibly indicative of some sports team.

Feeling a little wobbly from the drugs, he sat down in one of the chairs, taking up the majority of it. There was still a little room for someone to sit, but really, who would want to?

Heiji opened his eyes, then sat up with a cry of surprise. Hadn't he just been walking around the darkened halls of the Institute? He had... he knew it. Strange, he didn't feel tired at all. But he'd run around all night! Swung around a pipe! He should be feeling some sort of fatigue, right?

Thoughtful, Heiji pulled out his journal and began to make notes on what he'd discovered so far. He was going to crack this mystery if it killed him.

"Harley~!" His nurse sang, waltzing into his room. He groaned.

"Man, that name is really getting old!"

"You should be proud of your name, Mr. Hartwell," His nurse scolded. She threw a bundle of clothing at him. "Bus number one, on the double!"

Minutes later, 'Harley' sat with his arms crossed and his eyebrows knit on the bus, sulking. Fortunately, he was used to the clothes he was given--loose jeans, a t-shirt, and zip up jacket. If only he could've gotten a hat.

Awakening was a disappointment. Armand held back from thinking, as usual. Two or three days do not make a routine. He hopped right up and hid what he and Citan had stolen in the night. Then he turned back to see if his roommate, Dr. Birkin, was awake yet.

The nurse didn't let him look. She hardly left him a chance to think. She pushed a wad of clothing into his hands and left him with instructions to dress in them and wait on the bus. Then she was gone.

Armand felt stupid. Bus? What was a bus? He blinked for a moment, trying to find some concept to attach to the idea.

At least the clothing was blue. Mostly. The trousers, some very heavy weave of dark blue cloth, were too tight, just enough so that Armand had to suck in what little gut he had to secure the button. The zipper was another modern puzzle that a bit of dogged patience conquered without injury.

But the shirt. He had to remind himself that it was blue. Well, mostly blue, since he couldn't ignore the pale yellow spots that detracted from the sky-blueness of the material, what little there was of it. The shirt--if that is what it truly was--had no sleeves. It looked more like a vest without buttons. He'd die of shame or cold or both, he decided. When he put it on, it left his arms bare and chilly. Nothing for it. When he ventured into the hallway, the general flow of people led him outside.

Armand stared, mouth agape, at the huge yellow... things. Were those buses? "I'm not--" he started to protest until he noticed nurses sedating patients and dragging them into the vehicles. How he longed for someone, Dr. Birkin, Citan or even M. Richter, to explain all this to him. If he was going to keep his wits he'd have to pretend it all made sense. He swallowed down his fear, faked courage, and chose the first bus.

He was handed a muffin, a box and a few serviettes, which he clutched to his chest as he searched for familiar faces. Yes, Richter was here, talking to someone else. And the hungry man. With a shudder of revulsion, Armand chose a pair of seats as close to the front as he could get. He pressed his cheek against the cold glass, almost welcoming the goosbumps on his naked arms. Oh god, this was already a nightmare. Perhaps he could guard the seat beside him from others until his roommate could join him.

SubZero was wearing yellow of all colors. He stared at the bright yellow shirt that they had put him in. The nurse had just smiled and told him he would have to put up with yellow when he asked for something blue instead.

He got on the bus and irritably ate his muffing. Nothing had gotten done last night, but at least he didn't have to put up with HK on the bus. He would probably complain about primitive transports or something.

After he'd gotten himself so worked up about fixing things the previous day, Masaru was not happy to find that he'd slept through the entire Nightshift. He'd probably needed - he felt oddly refreshed, somehow - but that didn't make it any better. God dammit, he was supposed to be doing something!

This field trip crap had him distracted, though. The idea of being able to walk freely outside was appealing; he was used to spending most of his time outdoors and being active. And while he normally didn't think that far ahead (or even at all, as the case could be), getting some outside alliances probably wasn't a half-bad idea.

The outfit he was given for the occasion was simple - a pair of jeans, some sneakers, a black t-shirt, and a red zipper hoodie. Everything fit well enough, since he was of fairly average size, although the hoodie was a bit big on him. Looked like somebody got the memo for what colors he liked an that he'd rather be comfortable than look good, which was nice.

Once his nurse decided everything was in order, he was allowed entry onto the bus, where a grabbed an open seat at random and rested his head against the window.

"Wonder what this place is like," he mused aloud. Going to a town felt nostalgic, although it was bothersome that it wasn't his. Where were they, anyway? The name of where thy were going was pretty weird by his standards.

Saved by the bell, or well, whatever the hell ended the stupidity that had gone on last night. Riddick was at least glad he'd picked the shiv back up in the last few moments he could remember, which were rather hazy thanks to the mind-control shit the mermaid had thrown at him. He'd fully intended on killing the girl who'd dared to throw magic at the creature he'd succumbed to once that second song had started.

He was so pissed off about having his will bent and broken so badly he really didn't give a shit about the clothes he'd been given for this trip. After the grey sweats and happy faces, humiliation was relative. The orderly had described the sky-blue shirt Riddick was now wearing as a 'polo' which must be old-earth lingo for 'dorky as hell.' The plaid golfer pants simply added to the retardedness.

Riddick took his dark mood as far back in the bus as he could, ignoring everyone else to find a seat by himself. God help whoever sat next to him. Hopefully it wouldn't be anyone.

Nami did not appreciate feeling this disoriented.

Nor did she appreciate the shapeless red hooded sweatshirt the nurse had put her in. Normally she made do with knotting her T-shirt in the back for a tighter fit, but one could not knot a hoodie. At least she got a skirt to go with it - plain black, knee-length, which she could certainly pull off with some amount of classiness. And lined boots - so she wasn't entirely a fashion disaster, but .. close to it with this large thing on her upper half.

Nami also wasn't a fan of how she hadn't actually been able to get anything done last night. Perhaps she shouldn't have trusted Alfons and the pink-haired girl to be useful to her - as they really weren't, in the end. And then she'd come upon that guardian of the kitchen. What could he have been guarding? Certainly not food, as they received enough at dinner to last them the entire night. Though there was Luffy to consider - he could eat a place like this out of business.

No, there was something there. Not just food. They'd been taunted to go down in the kitchen, and down in the kitchen they would go.

First Nami would have to catch up with the rest of her nakama, though. It was a shame that none of them were on the bus she'd been herded to - and the thought of being herded in the first place rather maddened her! - but that straw hat, that green hair, that long nose and the curls - they'd be unmistakable from a distance, even in a foreign world. As for Sanji? Well, she never exactly had to go looking for Sanji.

She sighed as she looked over the tickets she'd been given, munching absently on her muffin. How had Luffy received his hat, anyway?

The jerking of the bus into motion woke Naoto with a jolt, he'd dozed off after the nurse had herded him into the bus. The bus that Naoya wasn't on. Naoto frowned, and tried to reach out to his younger brother--before remembering that he couldn't.

At least he wasn't wearing the usual uniform. He hadn't taken much time to look at the clothes he'd been given that morning before putting them on--come to think of it, he'd been back in his room, too, not in Naoya's like he had been when he fell asleep last night. And his closet had been full of things that didn't belong there.

Though the black hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans he'd been given seemed like something more Naoya's style to wear, it was at least warm. He'd been handed gloves, too, but those were definitely not something he'd usually wear--they were smooth and black, a lot like the ones Naoya usually kept in his pockets.

He was inexplicably tired. The motion of the bus started to lull him back to sleep, Naoto rested his head against the cold glass of the window. He'd be woken up again when they reached the town, he was sure.

This... 'field trip' was certain to be a great opportunity. Not only would he have unfettered access to the other Shinigami, that they might exchange information, but... the Head Doctor himself intended to make an appearance. He had to be taken care of... a Hollow such as the world had never seen before, and it was organizing a meta-spatial prison. He would be guarded, of course, but... they were many. They could overpower said guards, and tear said doctor's head from his shoulders. An amazing opportunity.

That did not make this new, atrocious ensemble any more bearable. He felt like a prostitute, in such form-fitting nonsense; hardly an outfit appropriate for a man such as Byakuya. Not even appropriate for Renji, actually.

Speaking of whom... Byakuya spied the redhead as he entered the bus. If he was, as seemed true from a distance, alone in the seat, then Byakuya intended to sit with him; they had things to discuss. Things that should not wait. Unfortunately, Renji was not alone. No, as Byakuya drew closer, the seat's second occupant came into view...

And he nearly soiled himself. Rukia?! he thought, madly; what was she doing? There were so many things wrong with the scene in front of him... he couldn't even begin to describe it! The drooling, the undignified slouching, the EXCESSIVELY FAMILIAR POSITION... it was unacceptable. UNACCEPTABLE! He had been lied to, damn it all... she'd said they were friends. Nothing else.

Lies.

LIES!

Byakuya seated himself quickly, and faced the window, doing his very best to cool the gathering rage. He had intended to talk with Renji today, to tell the boy all the reasons why he was an adequate and useful lieutenant.

There was one to scratch off the list.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject