Day 28: Bus 2

[hajike-tobiume.livejournal.com]

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.

Comments

[roger-hug.livejournal.com]

"Oh, no. We didn't really pull any pranks, except we would sometimes run away and hide for hours or days."

It hadn't occured to Bridget to be frightened while on the bus. He'd reasoned that if they wanted to kill them, there had been plenty pf chances before now and dying on a silly bus ride just seemed, well, kind of stupid to him.

But, seeing Usopp look so nervous made him remember that not everyone thought like he did and he smiled warmly at the other boy. Reaching out, he lightly grasped Usopp's hand and gave it a friendly squeeze.

"It'll be okay."

[usoppsenchou.livejournal.com]

There were cliffs. They were driving near cliffs. He could see cliffs. That there appeared to genuinely be a town at the bottom of the mountain path didn't reassure him much.

Struggling to keep his breathing under control as his eyes were now locked on the view outside, he added shakily, "H-hiding? For days? That's a long time."

His hands were clenched into little nervous fists, but he didn't pull away at Bridget's reassuring squeeze. Instead he glanced towards the other man out of the corner of his eyes, not wanting to look too far away from the window again in case of unexpected plummeting death. "... I really have a bad feeling about this trip," he added in a slightly squeaky voice.

[roger-hug.livejournal.com]

Bridget's smile and voice were gentle and, after adjusting Roger so that he was safe in his lap, he reached out and took both of Usopp's hands in his.

"We're going to be fine," he said. "This trip? This isn't anything for the great Captain Usopp, right?" He gave another smile. "If anything happens, you have the bounty hunters Bridget and Roger at your side, okay?"

[usoppsenchou.livejournal.com]

"I-I-I'm not scared! I'm just ... aware of all possibilities! The great Captain Usopp is legendary for his keen, alert mind!" Usopp denied, although it wasn't very convincing lying considering how he was shaking. "I... I mean, if something happens... h-how will the great Captain Usopp save the bus? If, say, we went off the cliff, or caught on fire, or gas came out of the ceiling, or explosive gas came out of the ceiling and caught on fire and then we went off the cliff--"

He stopped by biting on his tongue accidentally, wincing at the pain. Still, he managed a very weak smile once again after he'd paused, realizing himself how silly he must sound. "It will be easier to help save the bus with legendary bounty hunters around, at least."

[roger-hug.livejournal.com]

"Exactly," Bridget chirped. "And I know that we're going to be fine. This bus? It's safe, and nothing will happen to it like that." Of course, he didn't know that for a fact... Tech like this was unheard of in his world. So.... old fashioned, but it looked new so... it had to be okay.

"Between the three of us, nothing can stop us." He put on his best confident smile and squeezed Usopp's hands again.

[usoppsenchou.livejournal.com]

"This bus is safe?" Usopp repeated, then closed his eyes shut tightly, taking a long, deep breath. There was absolutely no reason to believe Bridget had some greater knowledge concerning the bus and its safety, but looking out the window was too terrifying. "This bus is safe. Right. It's safe."

He opened his eyes again, the shaking stopped. "... Right. Not even whatever's in that town!" He raised one of his clenched fists, this time as a show of confidence. "An Usopp-Bridget-Roger attack combo will be unstoppable!"