damned_institute | Day 28: Bus 2

Entry tags:

Day 28: Bus 2

Momo tugged on the collar of the light blue sweater she was wearing as she followed her nurse to wherever these buses were, winding her hair up into its customary bun as she went. It was an odd feeling, knowing she was about to go outside of the institute's borders. Maybe the Head Doctor was about to make an error and the shinigami, as well as everyone else, would no longer be limited and they could finish what they started several nights back.

That was probably too much to hope for. She was feeling better this morning, even with the blood moon, and was mildly looking forward to the bus ride. Captain Jack said he was going to be here this morning and even if it wasn't customary breakfast in the cafeteria, she's be satisfied with him sitting next to her on the bus.

The nurse handed her a muffin, some napkins, and a small box with a straw. She stared at this box for a moment before shaking it. From the sound it contained liquid. How odd... Momo wasn't sure why they would but liquid inside a small paper box - it didn't make any sense to her and she wasn't sure how one was supposed to get it out of the box.

Clambering onto an empty bus, Momo chose to sit in the very back near the emergency exit. Maybe she could force her way out of it as they were moving and escape the limiter enough to come back and level the institute, freeing everyone. Or maybe she just wanted to be able to see everyone that was on the same bus as her. Wishful thinking versus reality.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ah! Alfons hadn't expected Miku to shift over to his seat! Were women so forward in the world where she came from, that they could sit together and no one would ask questions? But then she explained the situation, and the boy nodded in understanding. "I suppose that's true," he allowed, feeling a faint blush on his face.

After a moment of awkward silence, Alfons quietly said, "You seem to be a lot better this morning. I hope that you're feeling well?"

Thankfully this nightshift's change hadn't been quite so strange. He'd been in his room already, but... Ritsuka sat up and looked around, finding that all the patients were gone and his stuff was still sitting out. Quickly hiding everything, he checked the camera and found, to his dismay, it needed batteries. Apparently, about the same size as his flashlight, too. He'd have no problem sacrificing the batteries for that. His nurse decided to enter then, and his face fell.

Was that what she wanted him to wear? In public?

After much yelling and fighting over it, the nurse won and dropped Ritsuka off on the second bus. His face was burning from embarrassment as he made his way down the aisle, hoping no one would say a thing about how utterly ridiculous he looked (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/souzouryoku/drawing/Landel/img003.jpg). The jeans and black turtleneck weren't bad - they even helped hide all his bandages - but the light blue sweater with kittens playing with string, the red kitten earmuffs and the red scarf were too much. If there was one good thing, though, it was that the size of the sweater made it easy to conceal his camera. He spotted an empty seat in front of Alfons and Miku and took it, putting his sack breakfast down before turning in his seat to look at them.

Miku was pretty cute in normal clothes.

"Hey."

Miku felt like she might burst from happiness. "Good morning, Ritsuka-kun," she greeted him with a smile. He looked... all right. Just the same as always (and she was especially fond of his earmuffs. Maybe he would let her wear them, it would cover up the fact her ears were turning pink, and not entirely from the fall chill), which drew a relieved breath from her. They were all together, thank God for small favors.

Turning her attention back to Alfons, Miku smiled. "I'm much better. Didn't I tell you, sleep cures everything? Well, mostly everything." Her shoulder throbbed in reminder. "And did you two fair well last night? I'm sorry I didn't meet up with you, since I was asleep and all," she apologized with a duck of her head.

Alfons was honestly glad to see Ritsuka... even if that sweater was kind of much. And seeing the two of them with so much reminded him that it was really getting cold outside; he'd have to see if one of the nurses had just forgotten to hand him a jacket or something, or if he'd just overlooked it earlier. In his condition, getting a chill wouldn't be a good thing. "I'm glad to see you," he said to the black-haired boy, then turned to Miku.

...and was Miku feeling all right, really? Her ears were turning pink, so maybe she was cold after all... Trying his best not to worry, the tallest of the three instead said, "I met a few people, but I didn't really get that far... there were two monsters one right after another, and I couldn't really get past the second." He'd almost been petrified, really; how many horrible things would this Institute have!?

Pulling the earmuffs from his head, he let them hang around his neck and leaned over the seat to get a better look at the other two. Soubi would undoubtedly be coming along any moment, so he wanted to enjoy his time with his friends as much as possible. It worried him that Alfons had run into monsters again, but hearing that Miku spent the night asleep was a bit of a reassurance. He'd been worried about them last night, even though he'd finally had a productive evening.

"It's alright, a friend of mine from home was with me and we were actually pretty successful until we ran into a few giant rats," he said to Miku, trying to downplay the monster attack. Then turning to Alfons, he frowned slightly. "Are you alright? You didn't get hurt, did you?"

He was itching to show Alfons the camera he had hidden away, but he wanted to wait until it was appropriate to do so.

Giant Rats..?! Ugh, Ruri might like the idea, but that was one thing the girl hadn't encountered yet.

Miku gave them both concerned looks, furrowing her brow. Well, that was silly. If the two had been especially hurt (more than she remembered them being), then they wouldn't be here, wasn't that so? Of course it was.

She plucked the juice box out of her bag and shook it. "I'm glad you both were with someone last night."

"I'm fine," Alfons insisted with a small grin. He certainly didn't want the other two worrying about him, not when he'd made it out in one piece. "But are you all right, Ritsuka? Giant rats can still be dangerous... though I'm also glad that you met someone from your home."

Wait... wasn't that guy that Alfons had talked to earlier talking about finding Ritsuka? Mm, it was worth asking about. "And did Mr. Soubi ever find you, either? He seemed kind of desperate to speak to you, when he was talking to me..."

As it was, though, Alfons really wasn't that hungry. Last night had kind of robbed him of his appetite, so he put his breakfast to the side and out of mind.

It was good that they were all unscathed for once. Their luck with monsters seemed to be the worst in the Institute, and seeing that every so often they could get away from them without major injury was encouraging. Ritsuka sighed slightly in relief and picked up his breakfast, pulling the juice box out. He would have preferred milk, but this was good enough. Hanging over the top of his seat, Ritsuka shrugged at the giant rats. He didn't want to worry the two of them unnecessarily.

"It was fine - they didn't really get to us," he said nonchalantly as he opened his juice. He had forgotten that Alfons had met Soubi until now and he tried hard not to blush, remembering his and Soubi's reunion here. "Yeah, he found me. He's the one who was with me last night."

Perhaps now was a good time to show them... Ritsuka cleared his throat and glanced around the bus conspiratorily before pulling his camera out of his sweater. "And because he was there - I got this."

Still hanging over the top of his seat, Ritsuka held the silver digital camera out with both hands to Alfons and Miku. "It's not mine exactly, but it'll do." He paused and looked at Miku apologetically, realizing he hadn't had time to look for her camera. "I couldn't find anyone else's stuff though. All the things there are what belong to our fake identities."

"No, no it's fine," Miku replied almost automatically, her eyes glued to the camera. It... it was so tiny. "If you'd found it, I'd just be happy to know it's around. Though, maybe the person they expect me to be, this Alice girl, had a camera. That's what the doctor told me, in so many words, anyway." Miku smiled at him.

"I'm glad you didn't have too much trouble, Ritsuka," she continued as she stabbed the juice box with a straw, and kept her thumb over the straw's opening so it didn't shoot out and hit her. "Tonight, though, I think I'll try my luck and go searching. I haven't done anything for... days." The photographer frowned slightly and sipped her juice. "Anyway, that can wait. Shall we stay together in town?"

As for Alfons? He found his attention focused on the camera, his eyes wide and an expression of pure baffled confusion on his face. That was... "...it's so small," he said in wonder, "how can it possibly work?"

His hands reached for the device, yet he managed to stop himself before actually touching the thing. It would be the height of rudeness to do it without Ritsuka's express permission, after all... and Alfons knew that he'd run the risk of breaking it just by not knowing how it worked when he handled it. Still... he really really wanted to know how it worked. Really!

As for that question? Alfons pursed his lips, thinking. "I don't have many other plans, so I'd be fine with staying with the two of you, if you don't mind."

"She might. I don't know whose box I found this in, but there might be more like it there." Ritsuka was excited. Both of his friends seemed interested in his camera and that meant they might want to make memories later in the day. The idea of Miku exploring, however, made Ritsuka pause. "Are you going with someone? That room is dangerous..."

He caught movement out of the corner of his eyes and smiled at Alfons. His friend had expressed interest earlier in how things functioned, so he offered the camera to him. "Technology advanced to the point where microchips and circuity were small enough to fit inside a case this small. Unfortunately, this one runs on regular batteries rather than a rechargeable, so it's a little bigger than normal."

"My friend from home and I are probably going to go out for a bit, but I can meet up with you later, is that okay?" The batteries he'd pulled from his drawer were sitting in his pocket, giving him a secure, content feeling. It was the first in a long time. It felt strange asking them like this, but he'd wanted to do it for so long that he couldn't pass up the chance. Besides that, it was still a little embarrassing to ask people in case they refused him. "But, um, after that, if you guys are free... would you like to make memories with me?"

Soubi had been unable to speak all morning. Even his battl-eaxe of a nurse admitted he looked 'scary'. But what did they expect? All he and Ritsuka had to do was drop off the supplies to Tamaki and head off to his room. Just him and Ritsuka. In his room. Peace and quiet, songs of bunny rabbits and trees.

Instead, the 'clinic' was crowded and then BAM- Soubi woke up alone.
He hid his new treasures away and sat on his bed hating Landels more than ever. Even is it was delaying the Goura trip.

He'd been given flared cords, the colour of english mustard, tatty crocodile-imitation shoes and a red raincoat. The one thing he did like, however, was the black turtleneck jumper that went underneath. It hid his scars and gave his neck a break from bandages.

He slipped a few cigarettes and the lighter into his pocket and headed out with his breakfast. He stared long and hard at the buses, deciding to try number two. He was going to trust his instincts with this and make sure he got a space next to Ritsuka. He walked along the narrow space between the packed seats, but he didn't have to look hard. Ritsuka was sat up, leaning to the seats in front and speaking to two people. Recognising Heiderich, Soubi decided not to jump to conclusions and automatically dislike the situation.

As he got closer, he could hear Ritsuka's words. His sweet little request. And as he got closer still...he could see what Ritsuka was wearing.
"And I thought you couldn't get more adorable," he smiled, running a hand over Ritsuka's head. The long fingers 'accidentally' brushed Ritsuka's cheek as the fell down to the earmuffs around his neck.
He sat down, quite pleased. Maybe today wasn't so bad after all?

Making memories sounded like a good idea, and she was as interested in the little camera as Alfons was. If she and Rei used these on assignments, why, that would take care of more than half their equipment! She was about to answer Alfons and Ritsuka's worries (really, she didn't get hurt all the time. Usually.) when some stranger joined them.

Instantly she felt nervous, and he was touching Ritsuka in such a... weird way. "Ritsuka-kun, is this your friend?" she asked, choosing to skip over their concern for her plans for her concern of her friend.

Alfons was about to say more, as well, but seeing Soubi suddenly appearing rather made him clam up a bit. The group was getting a little crowded, and it seemed like the older man and Ritsuka really did know each other. And, more importantly, Alfons had a piece of technology to poke around with. It was always a lot easier to deal with technology than with people, especially when Alfons was reminded by that phrase alone that his life wasn't going to be lasting that tremendously long. Even if the Institute didn't finish him off.

Still, none of those showed on his face, and he smiled as he nodded to Soubi and accepted Ritsuka's camera. "I'd like that," he said to the request of making memories, "and whenever you're ready, we'll... er... meet up somewhere?"

His weak laugh was masked by the rumbling of the bus, and the German looked out the window as the vehicle started moving. It seemed like they were on their way! ...and how quickly this bus moved!

Soubi appeared out of nowhere, touching his hair and brushing a hand down his cheek. It seemed innocent enough, but Ritsuka knew enough about his Fighter to know that the touches weren't accidental. He was particularly irritable about anything having to do with his clothing and gritted his teeth. "I am not adorable. This sweater is absolutely hideous and once my nurse is out of sight, I'm giving it to some homeless guy on the street."

He noticed Miku's concerned look and sighed as he nodded. "Yeah, this is Soubi. Soubi, this is Miku. I think you already know Alfons, right?"

Ritsuka was glad that Alfons was willing to make memories with him and he assumed Miku would be as well once she got over her suspicion. Maybe if Soubi didn't act too weird they could call be friends, unlike the Fighter and the Host Club. The bus rumbled into motion and Ritsuka slipped from his perch into his seat. After a moment, when the ride grew smoother, he popped his head back up and looked over at the other two. "If we're going to make memories, we should try meeting at a park or something if they have one. I might need to find more batteries for that first, though, so maybe at lunchtime?"

"If you say so," Soubi smiled, thinking Ritsuka just looked even more cute when he was angry. "You'll need something to keep you warm then." Soubi looked away, still smiling. There was so much more he could have implied and suggested the situation, but he was on his best behaviour. Mostly. Stroking, aside.

He gave Ritsuka's friends a little finger wave. "Pleased to meet you. Thank you for your help Alfons." He vaguely remembered a suggestion about meeting the boy for breakfast, but Soubi had found Ritsuka. Even if he'd remembered Alfons, he wouldn't have needed anything more from the boy anyway.

Soubi settled back and looked at the muffin and juice he'd been given. Not an ideal breakfast, but food all the same. He spotted Ritsuka's and gently nudged the boy. "Eat your breakfast..."
Later he'd have to check Ritsuka's wounds, though he suspected they'd been taken care of like his own. He wasn't going to do it here, however, in case it embarrassed Ritsuka.

He put his head back against the seat. Batteries. There was a dilemma. If the torch batteries could fit, then Ritsuka could use those. Soubi didn't want the boy wandering about without him, so they'd at least have one torch.

"It's nice to meet you," Miku said politely, unsure of what to make of the stranger. She exchanged a glance with Alfons. "First thing, first," she began as the bus took off and turned to Alfons, still fiddling with the tiny camera. "How does this camera work? We don't have anything this small except maybe Polaroids. And their quality is horrible."

Cameras were something she could talk about all day long.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Day 28: Bus 2

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject