Day 28; Bus 3

[fyeonly.livejournal.com]

There was, Naomi decided, some sort of cosmic irony in all of this. Not that she was trapped in a deranged and possibly other-worldly asylum with a man she'd idolized for years and a boy who was being investigated for - among other things - the murder of her fiance. No, at this point, those were perfectly normal occurrences. Rather it was the soft, pretty, feminine pink sweater dress she'd been stuffed into in the morning. A chance to wear normal clothes, and she looked like a soccer mom. The white blazer and white boots only made her look like a soccer mom who maybe hadn't given up gogo boots.

It was humiliating. Why couldn't she have jeans and a sweater? And sneakers? Something she would conceivably wear? Not this damned pink monstrosity. And her nurse kept saying how pretty she was.

She didn't care if she looked pretty.

Grumbling to herself, and taking it out on her muffin, Naomi was shoved onto an empty bus and told to 'sit tight'. Oh, she'd sit tight alright....

At least she was relatively certain L was alright. She'd spent the whole night with him, and other than falling on his ass, nothing had happened to him. And hopefully nothing would happen to him in town, either....

Comments

[broken-exorcist.livejournal.com]

And once again, Allen woke in his bed as though the night had never happened. He breathed a sigh of relief when the tattoo vanished again and this time, that woman's awful presence wasn't quite as strong. Was Rinali alright? There'd been only one rat left, but who could say?

He'd nearly forgotten that today was going to be some kind of trip. The nurse came in just as he was waking and present him with new clothing. Thankfully, the woman had given him a little privacy as he dressed, but the clothing itself was another matter entirely! The trousers fit loosely, even with the belt, and flared out at the bottom in a clownish fashion. Why would anyone need cuffs so wide on their trousers? The shirt didn't even have buttons; it was light blue with numbers on the front and back. It might have been some ridiculous rugby jersey, but the fabric was smooth and couldn't be durable enough for real sports. Last was a black, hooded jacket. It was comfortable and warm, so he didn't complain as the nurse returned and led him outside.

His earlier misgivings were forgotten as he caught sight of the busses. Giant yellow metal vehicles. Like a mixture of locomotives and automobiles and he was going to ride in one! He'd seen automobiles only rarely and never did they look like this! He took the snack the nurse gave him with a smile and hurried inside, looking around with childish wonder before he took a seat.

[idolism]

There was no such thing as an early-morning vampire (except for freaks like Ichijou), but there was so much to do. Aidou had no time for personal reflection when the sun rose; Akatsuki was here, and the tattoo was still present, and there was a ‘fieldtrip’ outside of the building, and he’d killed his own doppelganger last night…

Blood scent had a way of lingering, and normally that was pleasant. Not so now. He couldn’t stand his own scent everywhere, absolutely everywhere.

He took the proffered clothes without verbal complaint, although it was hard to mistake his expression for anything but utmost loathing. It was near thing that his upper lip hadn’t curled and revealed his fangs at the nearest victim. Cheap things were one thing… but he looked like a grungy teenaged boy. Teenaged vampire he was, but he was also one of the elite, and ridiculous Western band t-shirts (AC/DC, of an 80s variety) and blue jeans and sneakers were the height of poor fashion. It was despicable. So far removed from his usual image. But that was nothing new in Landel’s, now was it? There wasn’t even complete solace in knowing who, exactly, he was - the world had been shifted so much - but he was, at the very least, still a noble. Clothes weren’t what made him ethereal or gorgeous, that was all vampire lineage.

The buses, though. That was just insolent. Who in the world used public transportation as unsightly as this?

Nevertheless, Aidou followed the white-haired, deformed runt onto the third bus. The sun definitely irritated his eyes, and he wrinkled his nose before finally smoothing out his features as he approached Allen. He could keep it together. He wouldn’t be staying long - Akatsuki would soon follow, he didn’t want his cousin overhearing such talk.

“Well, you certainly look pleased.” Folding his arms across the top of the seat, Aidou stayed standing. “But you were touched by that woman two nights ago, were you not? What can you tell me about her?”

[hamenleai.livejournal.com]

A skirt. They'd put her in a skirt.

Granted, it was a nice skirt, but that was entirely not the point!

Shana uncomfortably followed her nurse through the hallways as she tried to get adjusted to the feel of fabric swishing about her bare legs. She felt... indecent. There were other girls wearing pants, why had she been put into a dress? And not even a whole dress, just the bottom half of one! She would have much preferred her normal clothing from back home to this. She was going to be paranoid all day!

At least it was pretty, she was forced to admit as she stepped outside into the sunshine. The skirt was a deep, earthy brown with embroidered pleats and floral stitching in bright lavender that matched the sweater she wore overtop. Her books were a comfortable worn sort of leather that was soft to the touch. At least that was normal, although she'd never seen an elven lady wear boots with a dress. Was fashion so very different here?

All thoughts of her appearance were forgotten in an instant however, as she laid eyes on the contraption that was supposed to carry them to town. Wide-eyed, she tried to resist her nurse's insistent nudging, but her protests about getting on the iron... whatever-it-was, were thoroughly ignored.

She was handed a paper bag containing her breakfast and promptly shoved onto the thing called a 'bus' and told to find a seat. A seat in the big, unsafe looking... what was this? Was it like a wagon? What moved it? She'd never seen anything like it before.

Finding an empty seat, she ran her fingers over the cool metal on the interior of the wall next to her, trying to figure out what it was made of, and if she could pick up any traces of the magic that had made it, or would supposedly make it move.

[the-clown-king.livejournal.com]

Oh goodness, what a night! Despite the blood and vomit and everything else, he was feeling productive. The clinic was success. and he was doing what he'd set out to do! He was helping people!

And today he had his dates! And real clothes! This was a wonderful day!

Bursting onto the bus rather happily - and happy in his blue V-neck sweater and black jeans - Tamaki grinned widely and bowed to a red haired teenage girl.

"My pardons, fair maiden! May I take this seat beside you?" Even if he had dates to go on, he still wasn't going to shirk his Hosting duties! And the poor girl looked rather confused. It was his duty to offer her company!

[felled-hero.livejournal.com]

Despite not even leaving Roy's room last night, Hughes didn't think the night had gone too badly. At least Roy was able to get some sleep. And while the other man might well gripe about not accomplishing anything, it was better he take a night off and take care of himself.

This whole town event was an interesting one. Hughes couldn't remember even mention of leaving the institute before this little trip. Not that he wasn't sure there would be precautions taken to keep them in line, but....

The 'buses' were the biggest damn automobiles Hughes had ever seen. They were like train cars! Huh. He stared at them in fascination, before he was urged on with a bag of breakfast. He nodded and smiled to the scattering of other people on the bus and took a seat near the back.

Hopefully he'd find Roy when they got to town....

[inb4crazy.livejournal.com]

((Hope you don't mind--))

To say Mion was eagerly awaiting a field trip to a new and wonderful place where hopefully the horrible things she had been getting used to in the past two days didn't apply would be a big fat lie. At this moment in time she wanted nothing more than to be put through the same sick routine so she could find Rena or Hanyuu and see if they were okay after that monster attack last night.

Instead, she was being forced into an ugly range sweater and some skirt and forcing her onto a bus. Looking around and seeing neither of her friends were on yet, she began walking down the aisle. Finally, she tapped the shoulder of the man who was currently occupying half of one of seats.

"Uh, excuse me, is this seat taken?"

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

Well, a whole load of nothing had happened last night. TK was surprised to find himself back in his bed, though. Had he gotten hit by a stun or something? He just hoped that things hadn't gotten bad after that.

It was more than a little surprising to get put in civilian clothes at the start of the day. Old, faded black pants and a grey shirt with a very odd picture on it. (http://www.blog.artthailand.net/wp-content/uploads/Dali_The_Eye_1945.jpg) The shirt was from some museum shop, in a place he'd never heard of.

TK let himself be lead out to the transports, boarding one that seemed fairly empty. He truly hoped that groundcars like this one weren't the norm for this planet. This thing even had wheels.

[claire-ity.livejournal.com]

This was so fourth grade. Claire barely resisted the urge to pout and stomp her feet, the general frustration of the whole night making her irritable. Despite her apprecitation for clothes that weren't dull and creepy, she wasn't exactly jumping for joy at what she'd been given. The jeans were fine. The ugly maroon sweater was not. Claire wasn't sure if the patterns were snowflakes or snowmen, but it was embarrassing.

Having dragged her feet as long as she could, Claire was finally escorted out by an annoyed nurse who informed her she was holding everyone else up. That was just fine. As much as Claire hated Landels, she was suspicious of any place these freaks wanted to take her.

Placed next to the nearest (and possibly only, from what she could see) open seat, Claire slid in next to TK but didn't sit just yet, scanning the bus for Wesker or that rude boy she'd pried off a girl not a few days ago.

She was sure it was him. The same one who attacked her. He'd messed up by letting her hear his voice, and she wasn't going to let him get away with what he'd done. Claire's search was cut short as she was quickly pushed down by a staff member as the doors closed and the bus started moving.

Sighing, she turned to TK, eying his own clothing with an arched eyebrow. "Nice shirt," she said.

[longlivetheking]

When his nurse mentioned he was going to have to change into the 'outfit' she was holding (of which one the colors was nearly blinding him), Scar could only offer the female human a rather blank expression.

What was he supposed to do with these strange cloths? Should he put them around his body like the colorless ones he had now? What were they for? It only occurred later to him that humans wore these because they lacked fur.

A few awkward and especially embarrassing moments later, Scar was finally changed into his new outfit and ready to go. He - still - stumbled down the hall, feeling awkward and uncomfortable. He was given a bright yellow shirt with some symbols on it along with black jeans (ironically making the yellow even more bright) and a jacket. Not that the former lion could name any of those garments, but it hardly mattered.

His bright, green eyes widened as he saw the large, yellow objects parked in front of the institute. They widened even further when the nurse said he needed to step into one of them. That was ridiculous! He wasn't going to step into something he didn't even knew what it was! But before he could turn around or even utter so much as a simple protest, he was shoved inside.

Finally seated, the nurse gave him his breakfast and left him to his own devices. Instead of eating his meal, his feline eyes scanned the vehicle while attempting to regain his composure.

What kind of alien object was this? He remembered some kind of field trip being mentioned. These things most likely had something to do with it.

[requiemforasoul.livejournal.com]

The Head Doctor’s cheerful speech over the intercom had caused Siegfried to wake up a little disorientated. Last he remembered Ed had been running off down the hallway, with he and Steve following behind.

The nurse who arrived later had been equally as cheerful as the doctor when she handed him some clothes and told him to get dressed quickly. He’d been given a faded green shirt and pants made of a material he didn’t recognise. Once dressed, the nurse had ushered him out of the building and towards what Siegfried presumed were the ‘buses’ that had been mentioned over the intercom. They seemed to be the method of transport in this world, and were very brightly coloured.

After being given his breakfast, Siegfried dropped into a seat next to a dark haired man.

“Morning.”

[kingofknights.livejournal.com]

Saber was humiliated. Not only had they crippled her power, driven her from her peaceful ending, and left her to play silly games in a place designated for mad people, but now here she stood, herded into a large, yellow car of sorts in pink, corduroy pants with a tacky, short-sleeved black shirt with the words "Ashberry's Shoes Outlet" written in faded, pink script. The blonde knew nothing of Ashberry's Shoe Outlet and could think of no logical reason why anyone would wish for her to advertise it in such a fashion. And the pink... Even her lace-up shoes were pink! How humiliating. Someone would surely pay for this. It was a mockery of her status as both Servant and King.

And pink... Pink really wasn't at all her color.

[hack-ed.livejournal.com]

Ed had won the race, but then everything had stopped suddenly and it was morning and the silly nurse was back with her silly stories. At least the redhead had finally gotten to see a spooooky monster. But now... the nurse had made her wear shoes. Even the baggy of food couldn't knock away these blues.

Ed stood beside this new person, not really paying attention to much, her eyes downcast and heavily lidded. She felt very sleepy still, though she had hardly spent much of last night awake it seemed. She wasn't sure why people were so afraid of the nighttime when it didn't last very long. Maybe it was different every night... she sighed, and finally addressed the other girl who also seemed out of sorts.

"Can Ed sit with you? Sad and grumpy makes us two."

And if Ed had called it wrong, well then she could use someone to cheer her up, though she wasn't sure it was possible. The mop and extension cord she'd found last night had been taken away before she'd woken up this morning. And she'd been given 'special' clothing for the field trip. It was all black. Black, black, black. No fun colors at all. A black hoodie over a black t-shirt, black jeans, and horrible evil terrible black shoes and socks. Ed almost felt sick.

[byname-bynature.livejournal.com]

"Sean! Wake up Sean! It's time for the field trip!"

Artemis attempted to open his eyes, but everything was black. Instantly he sat up and screamed. Oh God, OH GOD I'M BLIND. What am I going to do? I can't see anything, oh God...! The boy started making choking noises, as though he were going to vomit.

"Sean, calm down!" He felt the hands of Nurse Hedgerow still his heaving shoulders. "Let me remove your bandage, it's okay..." She gently rubbed Artemis' back, as though trying to soothe him out of his frenzy. Moments later, he felt a bandage being unwrapped from around his head. Light was slowly reaching his eyes, until he was blinking back the halogen glow of his room. Ah, to see again.

"Maybe this will teach you not to pull a cat's tail, yes?" His nurse laughed. Artemis blinked in confusion. "It sprayed you, remember? Oh, you were probably so upset you couldn't think straight. Well, that's all behind us now!" She said cheerily, handing Artemis a bundle of clothing. He looked at it, picking out pieces of clothing. A small muscle twitched in his cheek.

"What is that?"

"Your clothes for the trip!"

Artemis boarded the bus a few minutes later, looking extremely displeased. He wouldn't be caught dead and buried in an outfit like this. He'd worn something similar on his heist of The Fairy Thief, but there was no point in wearing it now! The red t-shirt had a mysterious black stain at the hem, the jean overalls were far too big on him, and the red baseball cap would just be blown off in the wind. And his shoes... he was grateful not to be wearing slippers, but the inane, thick-soled hightops were plaguing his feet again. How did people run in shoes like this? The only functional part of his outfit was the zip-up hoodie, which was so covered in brand-names and labels, he felt like a walking advertisement--again.

"I look like a horrid excuse for an Italian plummer," Artemis hissed through his teeth while stomping to the back of the bus and flopping down next to a window. He was going to enjoy the view at least.

[undesirableone.livejournal.com]

Harry felt good to be in normal Muggle clothing again. It was a little strange to have on jeans that fit in properly. He didn't even need a belt to wear them. The trainers were old, worn and comfortable. The shirt he wore was a faded green while the jacket they had given him was black with sliver stripes down the arms. If he had been in any other mind set he might have been irritated to have been forced into Slytherin colours, but the night before distracted him enough. He wanted to know how Snape was. It was a little weird how they had just simply passed out while in the middle of trying to get the professor to safety.

Harry's scarred hand clenched inside of the jacket pocket. He kept glancing around for some sign of the greasy haired man, and admittedly he was curious about what time of Muggle clothing Snape would be wearing. It was bizarre enough to see the man in Landel's uniform, but Harry could simply not picture him in jeans or any other kind of Muggle clothing.

Finally he made it to the bus and looked around. After a moment he found someone who matched a description he had been interested in on the board. Unless there were more than one person with two different coloured eyes at Landel's.

Harry went up to Artemis and cleared his throat. "Mind if I sit next to you?" he asked. "The bus will probably fill up soon enough."

[be-my-tool.livejournal.com]

Zabuza got on the bus and sat down towards the back, staring at the seat in front of him. He wasn't in a good mood and the over-alls and baggy flannel shirt they had stuck him in didn't help. He felt confined. His mind kept going over all the things he had told Haku the night before. He felt like he had made a horrible mistake. He felt irritated and sick.

He hated feeling anything.

He not looking forward to having to sit next to someone. He gritted his teeth and waited.

He hated the days in this place.

[verbatim-worm.livejournal.com]

Sheska wasn't allowed her journal. She was placed in a denim dress and long coat and pulled out of her room. She'd asked nicely to be left in the library, but the nurses refused. So she timidly hurried onto the bus and sat on the first empty seat, her bum budging into the person next to here.

"Sorry!" she whimpered. "You don't mind do you?"
She felt so vulnerable here, she was too scared to look around for a familiar face. But the one she looked at, the one belonging to the guy she'd disturbed...oh, it didn't look happy.

"I can move..."

[sneak.livejournal.com]

Before he could get any confirmation about whether that man who had been in the room with them had been the real Gray Fox, day had flooded in and he was no longer with Snake, but back in his room. For a moment he thought that he must have blacked out again, or maybe that they had done some more messing with his memories, but how could they have pulled something like that off?

It was all a little unnerving, but there wasn't much he could do about it. The fact of the matter was that it was day now, and there was that field trip to deal with. Raiden just hoped that he could find Snake, Otacon, or even Fox.

As he started to get out of bed (it looked like Mason was still asleep), a nurse entered with some folded clothing. "Here you go!" she said, handing them over along with a muffin and a juice box. What was he, a kid? Not that he had really done the elementary school thing, but he knew the stereotype.

Still, wearing something a little more normal would be nice, and it wasn't long before Raiden was heading down the hallways in a black turtleneck and some brown cargo pants. The staff seemed to be more alert than they had been yesterday -- they must have realized that patients were going to be looking for ways to escape.

As he got to the buses, he was ushered onto one at random, but considering he hadn't seen anyone he knew around, it didn't really matter which one he ended up on. Raiden scanned the bus, but to no avail. Everyone on it was a stranger.

Since it was still filling up, he figured he would grab an empty row and hope that no one would decide to sit next to him. Still, the likelihood of that was pretty low considering his track record.

[prisonerofdeath.livejournal.com]

Fox had, predictably, been on his way to Otacon's room when night had ended. It was as if the place really did not want him to get the tools to Otacon.

Fox had been given plain old, worn pants and a buttoned long-sleeve shirt, and a faded brown jacket to go with it. It wasn't too bad, but the jacket smelled like moth balls.

Neither Snake nor Otacon were on the bus when he arrived, but that kid, Raiden was. Fox took a seat next to him.

"Morning, Raiden," Fox offered as a greeting. There was hardly any reason to add 'good' before it.

Raiden really did look like Raikov... a little younger, perhaps. But the resemblance was remarkable.

[son-ofkrypton.livejournal.com]

Clark jerked awake.

He wasn't standing up before Kyon, looking around and wondering if the guy was really going to be okay. In fact, he was somehow back in "his" room (he'd never really think of it is as his - his only home was back at the farm), and with no memory of how he'd gotten here. Clark had grown up knowing he was weird - or "special", depending on who you asked, like his parents - and while he didn't really like finding a new, freakish power tacked onto him like the newest flavor of the week, he'd rather put up with that then these growing number of memory gaps. First that time when he'd found himself asleep in the middle of the highway and almost got hit a second time by Lex's car.

Now this. Only this was at least twice in a row that he'd ended up back someplace without remembering how.

Clark wasn't at all ashamed to admit he was scared about this. He didn't like not being able to say what he was doing or how he got somewhere. What he could really use was his parents to help him walk through this, if this had anything to do with his powers.

Actually, he really just wanted to see Mom and Dad again.

Clark couldn't help feeling down as he was escorted down the halls. While it did feel nice to wear normal clothes (the only thing they had in his size was blue plaid, which was fine with him), it didn't really do anything to improve his mood. He was scared about himself, about the others. Kyon, Allen, Rinali, and Robin. He didn't know if they were okay, or what happened to them, and Clark first thought was you left them followed by you could've done more.

Oddly enough, the thing that made him stop and smile was the sight of the buses. They weren't from Smallville High, but they looked close enough that he could take some comfort in something actually be familiar around here. Clark approached one, and, stepping on, paused at the head of the steps, glancing at the other patients. It'd been a while since he'd been on a bus, seeing as he had the bad habit of sleeping in late and then being forced to beat the bus back to school, but at least it was something he knew.

The farmboy headed down the aisle, ducking his head, as he picked a seat and sat down.

[afraidnot.livejournal.com]

So, the day had finally arrived. It was a chance to actually leave the Institute’s walls and venture out into the outside world. She wouldn’t miss out on this opportunity, especially after last night’s failure.

A violet tank top underneath a (hooded) black sweater, along with jeans and boots… Not very “girly” by the Institute’s standards, but Raven was absolutely fine with that. Once done, she headed into the last of the three buses, but not before being given her very own muffin and juice box.

“Cute.” She remarked, noticing how the breakfast seemed like something right out of kindergarten. With her breakfast in hand, Raven entered the bus and looked for an available seat.

“Mind if I sit here?”

[traitors-smile.livejournal.com]

It was with a weary body and an aching head that Gin awoke. The blood from that creature was gone, but luckily, his knives remained. He packed them away as the nurse arrived, bringing an interesting change of clothing along with her. Jeans, she called them, a white t-shirt with a blue and red logo on the front instead of the standard smiley face(what was "Pepsi" anyway?), and a greenish colored old army jacket. The name tag on the front had been scribbled on. Smith or something, Gin didn't really care, but why did they all have to wear such fitted clothing? Japanese style was much more comfortable.

Ah well. Today was a day of opportunities. He followed the nurse outside into the crisp fall air and onto the bus. A few seats here and there were already taken and he really wouldn't mind just sitting and napping in the back if he could get away with it. He sat, going through his breakfast bag. The baked good was fine, but what was the box? He shook it, some kind of liquid inside, but... how was he supposed to open it? After a few minutes, he gave up on that one, leaning against the side of the bus, his food beside him, trying to catch a few more minutes of sleep.

[sugarsweetblood.livejournal.com]

There went the evening, but at least she didn't thinks she'd given herself away. If any of those strange guys asked, she'd done it out of defense because "he thought I was a monster~", with all the necessary whining and pouting that went along with that.

This morning decided to draw her thoughts away from cover up the moment the nurses stuffed her into.... some really really odd clothes. Out of everything she'd been forced to wear while here (the limited clothes that was), Rhode found the Ten-E-Shoes the most uncomfortable. She could barely tolerate the pants, and the over-sized pink coat was at least decent, the shoes were just too wrong! They weren't heavy enough, or black, and probably wouldn't do well for kicking things. Where was the black, shiny leather of her Mary Janes?! And her socks?! If they were going to give them different clothes, then could they at least give her those?!

Arms folded as best the bulky coat sleeves would allow, Rhode was shuffled onto a big yellow thing in a bad, though curious mood. There was so much happening all at once that she couldn’t' help her curiosity. What was the big yellow thing she'd been herded into? It was kind of like a coach, only not, and there were no horses or underdeveloped Noah ready to draw it forward. So strange!

She'd been about to ask a nurse what it was, but the sight of white stifled her curiosity quickly! The muffin and juice box (strange thing) were quickly grabbed before she darted off to sit with her choice of seat mate.

"Alleeeeeeeeeee- hey, you're not Allen!" she realized only after taking a seat beside someone much to tall to be her precious exorcist. But... that hair looked like Allen's!

[charredashes.livejournal.com]

Asch was more than a little surprised to find he had slept through the night-- and most of the previous day, too. He was used to getting little or no sleep for days at a time; why should a few days in this place affect him like that?

Regardless, he wasn't given much time to think on that, as the nurse entered with a change of clothes for him. He couldn't say he was happy to be forced into this 'field trip', but he couldn't deny being glad to get out of that ridiculous uniform with the mocking face on front. Granted the clothing the nurse had provided him with for the trip wasn't much better. The pants, jeans she had called them, were uncomfortable, and the shirt (at one time it might have been dark red, but time or something else had changed it to a dull, redish-pink color) was simply hideous. At least he was given a jacket to wear over the shirt.

Once changed, the nurse led him outside, chattering on about how he was certain to enjoy the field trip. Since this was the first time he had been outside since arriving there, Asch normally would've used the opportunity to take in his surroundings and look for a possible way to escape. Then again, nothing about this place was normal, and the first thing the God-General found himself wondering was: What in the name of Lorelei are those things?!

The nurse, upon realizeing after a few steps that her patient was no longer walking beside her, quickly backtracked to the redhead and took his arm as she tried coaxing him onto the bus.

Asch wasn't the least bit assured, mostly due to the fact she spoke as though she were speaking with a child, but he finally climbed aboard the 'bus', as she had called it, and sat in the first available seat he saw. Although it was mostly just to get the nurse to shut up and leave him alone, the 'there's nothing to be scared of, dear' comment may have had something to do with his cooperation.

Like hell he was going to let anyone think he was scared of some weird looking, big yellow... thing.

[full-score.livejournal.com]

It'd been jarring to just wake up in his room like he hadn't been wandering the Institute just moments before, but Claude figured he was getting the hang of things. He wasn't exactly a stranger to waking up in weird places, so at least having nightshift abruptly end on him was something he'd come to expect.

When he opened his eyes, his first thoughts were of Ashton. He'd left his friend with Dias...was he all right? Had Axel and Naminé gotten pain medicine for him after all? Claude could only hope.

I'm sure I'll run into him at some point today, he told himself as he hastily shoved the sword under his mattress and hid the books he'd "borrowed" in the closet. He and Ashton had to meet up sometime. After all, he'd promised him he'd find him today, hadn't he?

He's got Dias to look after him, he couldn't help but silently add, but, for some reason, that didn't make him feel much better about the whole ordeal. Like hell he was just going rely on Dias to do things he could just as well do himself. But that didn't change the fact Ashton had wanted Dias to stay with him last night...

It was about that moment that his nurse entered the room and excitedly handed him a fresh change of clothes, chatting about today's "field trip" in a lively tone. It certainly wasn't his uniform (he never thought he'd actually miss it, considering how much he disliked being a Federation officer), but it was definitely a step up from the drab, gray clothes everyone had to wear everyday.

"Don't you look nice!" the nurse said with a wide smile once Claude had changed. "You should stay nice and warm while you're outside. We wouldn't want you catching a cold, would we?"

Claude had to admit he could have been stuck with something a lot worse - a dark, faded jacket, a blue, button-up shirt, some casual slacks and a pair of worn sneakers that was a little too big. A brown paperboy cap and a red scarf had been included in the outfit, so the nurse hadn't been kidding when she said he'd stay warm today. He was grateful for that at least, even if the way his shoes flopped a little when he walked was kind of embarrassing.

After receiving his packed lunch, he was promptly escorted to one of the brightly-colored buses. It was definitely dated compared to what he was used to, but Claude recognized a school bus when he saw one. Still, he made sure to climb onto it without little to no fuss, unlike some of the other, more unfortunate captives.

Once he saw Asch sitting in one of the seats, he couldn't help but feel a little relieved. The way he'd been sleeping like the dead had been kind of strange, and with the way his first roommate had suddenly disappeared before, it'd made him worry just a little bit.

He didn't ask if he could sit by Asch, opting to just slide into the seat next to him instead. "Hey there," Claude said. "Glad to see you're finally awake. You weren't sick or anything, were you?"

When he glanced into his paper sack, he rolled his eyes a little. "To be honest, I thought I'd escaped this sort of thing once I, you know, graduated from elementary school."

[unmocked-lawr.livejournal.com]

"A bus. Is that what it's called, then? I was expecting something more descriptive. 'Deathtrap,' for instance."

Javert's nurse made a faint noise of exasperation. "For goodness' sake, Mr. Hunt, you know perfectly well what buses are. Do hurry, we haven't got all day."

Javert only frowned and shook his head, eyeing the monstrous yellow thing warily. The day was not going well; aside from his now-usual irritation at having woken up without accomplishing anything useful the previous night, he'd been given some sort of paper sack and forced into uncomfortable clothes (his nurse had called them 'jeans' and a 'T-shirt,' and the jeans were scratchy and too short and the T-shirt was too wide and said 'Pink Floyd' on it, whatever that meant, and she'd laughed at him when he'd very politely requested a cravat and a waistcoat). And now - this.

He was far from terrified - he'd been known in the prefecture for possessing courage to the point of recklessness - but he was hardly going to go rushing into a situation where he didn't at least have a general idea of his chances of survival. Well. There had been that incident at the Gorbeau tenement. But he'd gotten out of that one all right, and it had made for a damn good story afterward. Anyway the point was that those things clearly looked dangerous, and he wasn't about to try his luck this time.

"Come on, Mr. Hunt," said the nurse again, and Javert took a reluctant step forward. Perhaps that would take the awful, patronising tone out of her voice.

"One question, mademoiselle," he said, forcing himself to be polite. "How fast does this - bus go?"

"Don't be silly. You know - the usual speed. Forty or fifty miles an hour?"

Oh, good God. Any thoughts of stepping forward again completely vanished from Javert's mind as he dug his heels in. "Absolutely not."

[wiz-kid-redfive.livejournal.com]

Dairine had been looking forward to the trip to Doyleton. Maybe she could find some sort of computer there and forge a connection to Tom, Carl, Nita, Kit, Sker', the Powers, somebody. Of course, she'd also made arrangements with that Thursday person via the bulletin board for breakfast - with luck the description she'd been given could narrow the crowd down enough.

Someone was having an argument with a nurse about the bus. Dairine stopped to observe long enough to notice that the arguer was anachronistic and had sideburns. Oh, crap. It's Javert, she thought, suddenly nervous. She hadn't meant to write what she'd written, really. It had just...come out. She'd crossed it out and everything, but obviously not well enough.

Nothing for it but to apologize. Wizards did their best to make amends. She tiptoed around the nurse in her "new" sneakers - in actuality they were quite old - and tapped Javert on the arm shyly. He hadn't fared too badly out of the whole clothing debacle, and neither had she. Dairine's standard attire was a too-large t-shirt and a pair of jeans, and, luckily, the Institute had provided her with that. And a windbreaker. Good thing, too. The weather seemed to be autumnal, although it had been spring when she'd gone to bed those few nights ago in Hempstead.

[deathbymidget.livejournal.com]

...There was no way in any realm ever conceived of that they could be serious.

Bad enough that the night had ended suddenly yet again, leaving Hiei with a pounding headache and a belt to show for his efforts. Even worse that he'd have to face Kurama and Kurikara's 'I told you so's in the day to come.

But this, this? It was unthinkable.

"You don't actually expect me to put this on, do you?" Hiei snapped at the nurse, who was leaving the room to give the young man his privacy.

"Of course I do, dear. You wouldn't want to catch a cold."

Hiei scoffed at the threat of some silly disease, but when the talk of sedation arose, he begrudgingly put on the clothes he'd been brought. Kurama's smugness would be enough without getting drugged over an outfit.

Though even the fox might understand once he saw this.

The black pants and sleeveless shirt were acceptable enough, even preferable given what the Institute normally chose for them to wear. It was the jacket he was forced to wear over it, dyed a nearly blinding pink, with the words "BAD MAN" printed across the front in obnoxiously bold letters.

There was nothing he could have done to deserve this.

The only good news was that no one he knew seemed to be on the bus chosen for him by the staff, leaving Hiei to scowl at the bagged breakfast they gave him, and will the day to be over sooner.

[godsgift2man.livejournal.com]

Of course, Hiei's luck simply wasn't that good.

There weren't many people that Waka knew in Landel's yet; he simply hadn't been getting out enough to meet anyone, or at least hadn't really become familiar with anyone he'd met thus far. However, gods and demons he always remembered.

And so it was that an overly-cheerful tao master descended upon Hiei like a purple-hoodied plague.

"Bonjour!" he offered pleasantly as he dropped down onto the seat beside Hiei - in theory this should have resulted in a considerable impact upon the seat, but it was barely felt. Either the springs were quite good, or Waka was quite light. "These clothes are quite difficult, aren't they? Actually, I quite like this - " Long fingers plucked at the lavender hoodie he was bundled in. " - but this material is simply not suitable at all. I wouldn't make a horse blanket out of it." This was illustrated by a frustrated wave of the hand at the baggy jeans the prophet was wearing. "Your outfit is quite attractive, however! The devil's luck, n'est-ce pas?"

A casual observer would have written off Waka as having a death wish. A considerably less casual observer, however, might have concluded that the assault of cheeriness and compliment directed at an already surly demon was in fact a deliberate and very well-disguised joke at the demon's expense.

[entropy-effect.livejournal.com]

Naoya wasn't entirely too sure what was going on... But he was on a bus. Alone. That thought itself was somewhat disconcerting (because his brother would have put up a fight when it came to being separated and if he did...), but Naoya carefully pushed it aside in hopes to remain calm. His brother was smart, he would be fine. There had been two other buses, his brother must have been on one of the other ones.

Naoya nodded determinedly to himself, fighting back the urge to reach out and call his brother with his thoughts. He didn't know how much that ability could be used, it wouldn't be wise to overdo it. So that left the young man to sit quietly amidst the chatter as he waited for whatever was going to happen.

[bloody-howl.livejournal.com]

Arietta had no idea what had happened the night before. The last thing she remembered was calling out to Alfons as he went to enter that kitchen. Then she was waking up in a bed, in the same room she had found herself in the day before. This place was really confusing and Arietta hated it.

Now this morning that crazy nurse woman was forcing her into some strange clothes and coaxing her along to some huge yellow block on wheels. This place just got stranger and stranger.

She was given a small bag and dumped onto one of the yellow blocks. At first she hadn't wanted to get on at all, but the nurse had all but grabbed her and dragged her on. Either way, Arietta now found herself in the isle, amidst all the seats. She didn't want to sit with these people at all, and certainly not with all the talkative ones.

When she found the boy sitting quietly by himself, she mustered up the courage to ask, "Can I sit here?" Her brows furrowed, already thinking of the rejection that was sure to come. But she had to try, since she didn't know where else to go.

[boot-i-licious.livejournal.com]

The moment Rinali woke up in her bed, she immediately felt better. She couldn't say for sure what had caused her to feel so disheartened, but she didn't like it. If this was an example of the power the people who ran Landel's held, then they were in a lot more trouble than she first expected.

Still, with the coming of day she felt cheerful again. Things were going to be okay. The nurses let her wear something a little nicer than what she had been given inside the institute: a simple white blouse and a pair of blue jeans. She'd never seen clothing quite like the blue jeans before, but that wasn't nearly as exciting as the bus that they were guided to for their field trip!

She understood the concepts of machines that moved themselves, but this bus was obviously very advanced compared to her own time's technology. The thought of getting to go on a ride in it seemed like far too much fun. She was going to sit up front and ask the bus driver all kinda of inquisitive questions about how the bus worked, but then she saw Allen.

Right, she thought to herself. Remember you're mad at him.

She strode past him quite intentionally, but did not look in his direction. She ~was~ angry with him for hiding secrets and then spilling them to Renji. He was supposed to rely on her, just like she was supposed to rely on him. It was what friends did!

She found an empty seat towards the back and sat close to the window, gazing out. Hopefully this field trip was going to be fun. It would get her mind off of Allen for a moment, at least.

[blazing-general.livejournal.com]

Signum wasn't particularly happy with the mediocre results of the previous night's expedition- what was the point of having a strong, well-armed, combat-capable team when you never saw a hint of trouble... and didn't even make it halfway through your reconnaissance route, to boot? Not a worthy display.

The sour mood she was in wasn't doing much for her attitude towards their little expedition. Any hopes she'd entertained that leaving the grounds of the institute represented any kind of opportunity were quickly ground under the heels of more pessimistic logic. No, the institute always maintained its perfect control during the day. This little change of venue wouldn't affect that in the least. Give her the night, give her her sword. That was when she could make some headway.

She couldn't bring herself to care about the civilian clothes they were given for the occasion, either... or so she thought. The button-down shirt and slightly frayed slacks she'd been handed made for a fairly masculine outfit, but they suited her better than a lot of the prisoners' handouts, so she wasn't in much of a position to act above matters of fashion. Though she would to anyone who bothered to ask.

Apathy was a sentiment best displayed, she decided, from the back of the bus. As soon as she was free of the nurse's guiding hand she made a beeline for the rear of the vehicle and plopped herself down next to a young girl who looked much more enthusiastic about the whole charade than she could bring herself to be. She'd have to try not to bring her down with her, she supposed.

[steel-maiden.livejournal.com]

Ladies mind their mouths. That had been the nurse’s only response when Integra told her exactly where she could shove these clothes. Maybe it had been on par with a tantrum, and she should now feel ashamed for that display of unchecked frustration. But sitting here, on a children’s school bus, in the faded skirt and button up sweater they’d forced her into, her shame was only that she hadn’t knocked that woman’s teeth out.

Last night had been another failure, she was now dressed like a fool, there was a bagged breakfast in her lap that they kept chiding her to eat, and she wanted a goddamned smoke as she glared out through the glass to the sound of an idling engine. She kept telling herself that she’d only allowed them to do this to her for the slim opportunity to escape while in transport. Or even just to know what cities they were near here...anything.

It was truly pathetic. If this was really all it took to stop her, then maybe it was surprising that London had lasted as long as it did. The woman took a shaky breath, anger burning up into her throat as she rested her temple to the cool window. She would rather have died fighting if this was the only alternative. She was of no use to humanity here.

[madvampireking.livejournal.com]

While the prospect of visiting a city held the slim promise of a slim escape, Alucard was still in a sour mood. They were so close to the kitchen last night, and if only they didn't decide to wait for that other person, they would've gotten there, grabbed the metal and left.

They had forced him into a some kind of...woolen jacket with a hood. Not only was he unaffected by the cold, but the garment wasn't exactly the most attractive thing in the world. So when they herded him up into one of the buses, he simply shot the closest driver/nurse/the first staff member a glare.

Then, clutching his so-called breakfast -with all intentions to throw it away ASAP- he glumly marched up into the interior of the bus. At least Master was here too. Without hesitation, he made his way over and took a seat.

[small-fortune.livejournal.com]

[OOC: Waiting for SDS]

Well, that was jarring. Being warned about the nature of this place via the bulletin board and actually experiencing it were two different matters. His group had accomplished nothing, failing to even travel beyond Mark's daytime trips with the nurses, but at least he knew two more patients and was sure he'd recognize either of them easily in a crowd.

The morning's jerky start was made worse as the nurses came in with clothing. A teal jacket that Mark suspected was intended as women's clothing, tan pants that were almost wide enough to fit comfortably, and a white t-shirt. His mild protests for something else (maybe something nice and black perhaps?) were met with very polite and very vague answers which Mark deciphered into: "These are the only clothes we have which are short enough and wide enough for you."

With little choice, terrible fashion and a very black mood, Mark was herded onto the last of the buses clutching his notebook in one hand and his breakfast bag (a single muffin?!) in the other. The disquieting memory of Gluttony from last night wasn't enough to keep Gorge from hoping for a buffet in town.

[ditched-again.livejournal.com]

It was rather disconcerting to be in one place one moment and an entirely different place the next - especially when he hadn’t used any of his abilities in order to do so. That was the situation the sword had found himself in after waking up back in the very room he and Ryuga had conversed in. The last thing he had remembered was teaching that ungrateful feline how to properly walk.

The ‘apparent’ nurse had entered in a moment afterwards, and he’d growled at her as she handed over a set of alternant clothing. It seemed to consist of a series of what seemed to be bright children’s clothing. After donning the bright yellow top, and the thick blue material, he found himself being ushered out of the room.

His eyes widened in surprise as he caught sight of the three large machines the moment they went outside, and he found himself wondering about the mechanics behind such things. Sure they had humans in his realm who had created quite a number of unique inventions, but it didn’t seem to be anything remotely close to this. There was suddenly a brown paper bag shoved into his hands, before the nurse smiled brightly and informed him to head towards one of the buses. He looked at her scornfully, but opted it was best to keep his tongue in check for now. The last thing he needed was to waste any energy on this useless bag of flesh.

Still holding onto the brown bag, there was a slight hint of curiosity to what might be within as he began making his way over to the last bus. He had to stretch his legs out a little higher in order to board the damn thing, but it was obvious that there were already many others inside if he went by the loud chattering drifting out through the doors.

The ever present frown was still marring his features as the incarnation unhappily walked down the isle. Glancing from row to row as he passed them, the sword slipped into the first available seat before his attention found its way over to the other short rounded human he was now sitting beside. He idly wondered if perhaps they too were originally some form of shield or weapon before he grumpily inquired, “Are you unfortunate enough to be trapped within that bag of flesh also?”

[lady-general.livejournal.com]

Celes was most displeased. Just as Larsa suggested breaking the lock on the door, she had lifted her flashlight to do so and then --

--then she woke up in bed. With a heavy sigh, she'd gotten dressed in the clothing the small nurse had given her: a strange pair of trousers in a blue fabric most often worn by the miners in Narshe called "denium", and a... soft pink sweater over a white button-up shirt (a color the general hadn't worn since she was a child) that certainly left little to the imagination the way it clung to the tall blond general. The black boots she wore were of a soft, leathery material, and made her even taller. Such a poor choice in footwear, Celes thought.

"Oh my," the nurse chuckled. "I'm afraid it's a little small, even for you, Miss Kensington. I'm sorry."

"Mm." Celes had replied with little humor and tied her hair back. She took the little bag filled with something she'd not seen before (the box of 'apple juice') and the muffin and lounged in her seat. Perhaps being away from the institute for a day would be a good reason to try and think of an appropriate plan for the evening.

[notaghostreally.livejournal.com]

[Will delete if you have other plans.]

Danny had been pondering what happened the night before while he was getting dressed. So, obviously something weird was going on in this place, it was likely haunted or something along those lines. He had no idea what everyone was doing here, though, and judging from Xelloss's magic, not everyone here was exactly "human." And best of all, he was stuck here, as far as he knew.

Great.

And now, here he was, grabbing a muffin bag and boarding a bus, wearing semi-normal clothes today. It felt nice to be wearing sneakers and jeans again, even if they were a bit big and ridiculously worn. His shirt, on the other hand, could've been better, and a little less blinding to the eye--neon orange and covered in some black, painted-on unintelligible logo.

He stepped on the bus and looked around for a seat. Virtually none. He sighed. This feels oddly like high school... With an annoyed look on his face, he finally settled on an empty seat next to a tall, blonde woman. He didn't notice how pretty she was though. The second he sat down, his cheeks flushed a bright red and he averted his eyes, trying to keep the situation from getting any worse.

[notachick.livejournal.com]

Failure. That was all he could think about. He had failed to find him, failed to rescue him, failed everything. He choked on the feeling, his heart ripping to shreds as his chest constricted - he knew needed to exact revenge or it would never go away.

Had he actually been taken, or had Hijikata gone home without him? Would the man do that? He would if Okita was no longer of use to him, but that couldn't be the case. Could it?

The memory of empty rooms haunted him when he woke up, barely acknowledging the nurse as she dressed him in plain Western clothing and gave him a sack breakfast. He didn't care about the town unless Hijikata was out there somewhere, waiting for him. He wanted to take his sword and shove it shove it into the woman's stomach, demand that she tell him where Hijikata had been taken, but instead he smiled politely at her as she took him to a giant yellow...thing. She had called it a bus and shoved him onto it.

Homura wasn't here, neither was Kenshin or that Kyouya boy, but that was probably for the best. He didn't want to see anyone he knew. He needed time to himself for awhile, to shove his rage and guilt and murderous intent deep down inside and lock it away. He could look for Hijikata in town - he would find him there. He had to lie to himself or he'd break and he knew it.

Sitting at the very back of the bus in an empty seat, Okita took the window and stared out it absently. Breakfast was forgotten for the moment, abandoned on the seat next to him. He would have marveled at the contraption or even whined about his clothing, but for now, he wasn't in the mood.

[raptscarecrow.livejournal.com]

All in all, Kakashi had survived his first night and was physically well off, so he couldn't complain, even when he woke up and found that the entire situation still wasn't a dream. He only stared at the clothes the nurse had brought -- a rather tight-fitting collared shirt with thick, horizontal green and white lines, a bright orange rain jacket that Naruto's usual attire would have envied, some tan pants that were about an inch too short, and bulky, uncomfortable shoes that he didn't like in the least -- before dragging them on. But it took a lot to dent his dignity, so he still didn't complain, and took his bagged meal and let himself be herded off to one of the buses.

A number of patients seemed to have already congregated towards the back by the time he entered, so Kakashi chose a window seat towards the middle. Besides being less crowded, it provided him with equal access to both ends of the vehicle, even if he didn't like having so many people at his back.

Leaving his bagged breakfast forgotten for the moment in his lap, he rested his chin on his knuckles and his elbow against the window as he looked out, deep in thought. This trip was as new to everyone else as it was to him, so there was really no telling what was in store. He half-expected another version of the nightshift, but if that was the case, there was already a number of potential allies all around him, and he had adjusted as well as he would to his body's new limits.

[godofflash.livejournal.com]

Yoruichi was not particularly pleased when, upon awakening in the morning, she found herself back in the room she'd been led to the night before. She was certain she had not returned to her room under her own power, and she found herself wondering what might have accompanied the relocation. She did not have long to dwell on those thoughts, however, finding herself chivvied into yet more unfamiliar clothing and ushered out the door, to the tune of dire muttering about inconsiderate layabouts.

While she was relieved to be out of the uniform - not so much for reasons of fashion or comfort as because it marked her clearly as a prisoner - the outfit she'd been handed was far from anything she would have willingly donned. The fuzzy, high-necked cream sweater and long brown skirt were both narrow enough that they would hamper her movement if she needed to run or fight, and the shoes were just enough too large to make her clumsier than was her nature.

Not for the first time, she found herself wishing she could simply transform herself into a cat and slip away.

Bagged breakfast in hand, she found herself bullied onto the bus - and then, mercifully, abandoned. At least, she reflected, there would be no one watching directly over her shoulder for the time being. She made her way down the aisle, stopping by one of the seats near the middle. The man occupying the window portion was unfamiliar, but under the circumstances this was something she considered beneficial.

"Do you mind if I sit?" The question was clearly rhetorical, as Yoruichi didn't wait for an answer before doing just that, perching lightly on the edge of the aisle seat.

[idolism]

_{[after ragging on Allen over here]}

Aidou slipped down the aisle, not bothering to look behind him. He knew Akatsuki was following.

Buses were just the most annoying modes of transportation - there were trains and carriages and limousines for that sort of thing, and the rough movement just made him nauseous. He was already sleep-deprived. Adding in a sudden rush and abatement of fury, and he just wanted to drag his claws down a seat cover. Or Allen's face. Or a nurse's.

Or Alucard's, for that matter.

Giving a soft, disgusted sigh, Aidou stepped aside to let Akatsuki through, once he'd seemingly picked out the best seat available, sort of bodily removing others from theirs and taking their spots. "I can't stand window seats." As though it explained everything, which it technically did.

[always-a-victim.livejournal.com]

All he could manage was an apologetic look to Allen as he passed by, a look he wasn't even sure the other saw. Kain wasn't sure how they had managed to get to that point so quickly -- changing into his "new" outfit with a wounded shoulder had taken time -- but it looked as of their personalities just clashed badly.

With a sigh he slid across the seat to the window and pulled up the hood, tucking himself into the corner comfortably. His juice box and muffin stayed in the pockets of his jacket as he settled down.

With his face protected from the sun and Hanabusa's sight he let his eyes close.

[31st-of-china.livejournal.com]

He'd gotten the chance to map a little more of the place last night, but other than that, hadn't managed to locate that trap door he'd overheard about last night. Or do much else that qualified as useful. The last thing Sanzo remembered last nightw as feeling increasingly frustrated, and increasingly pissed off about the whole thing.

He woke just in time to hear the Head Doctor's spiel about what was essentially a damn field trip. As if they were school children.

This was new though. Sanzo couldn't even guess what whatever the hell was Landel playing at now. He couldn't be stupid enough to realize just how big a risk it was taking all the prisoners out like this, no matter how much security there was. For some, it was going to be too hard to resist the glimpse of freedom.

Sanzo was stuck here until he'd located the sutra in the building. This was just insult to injury. The change of clothes didn't make it any better, even if it was an improvement over the bullshit "uniform".

And then the monk saw the bus.

[quickdrawbkiddo.livejournal.com]

Beatrix was very unhappy when she awoke suddenly in the morning without having remembered going to sleep. She'd been with the teenagers and... She frowned when the nurse came in talking about the field trip and how she needed to get dressed and a bunch more crap she didn't care about. One look at this woman and the Bride decided she wasn't worth beating any information out of.

Besides, the intercom had said Martin Landel was going to be on this field trip. She'd behave just so she could see him and then kill him.

The nurse brought her a pair of faded blue jeans, a white t-shirt and an ugly brown and green flannel for her to wear, talking about how the Bride's height and general gangly build made it hard for them to find her something pretty to wear. Beatrix shrugged and put the clothes on, actually pleased with the choice given what else they could have brought for her.

Armed with a bag containing a muffin she'd refuse to eat and a juice box she might drink (if it was untampered with), she boarded one of the buses. Walking down the aisle, she spotted Mion, but her eyes were drawn to the Bride's own roommate just a little past the green-haired teenager. She continued past Mion, pausing to pat the girl on the shoulder with a bandaged hand and a smile, before she sat herself down next to her roommate whether Naomi liked it or not.

She turned to face the woman and snickered seeing what the woman was wearing. "I'd hoped to not see you ever again, but now that I have, I'm glad I did," she said. "Your outfit is so... fitting for a housewife," the Bride added on with a bit of a smirk. She still didn't believe Naomi was a housewife and didn't care one bit that her roommate knew she thought she was full of shit.

[fyeonly.livejournal.com]

Naomi glanced up, not expecting to be approached or spoken to. Not by anyone but perhaps L or Yagami-san, or maybe that strange Sheska girl. Yagami-san was on the bus, however, and Naomi was doing as she had been asked - keeping an eye on him. But as he was just sitting there, she was allowing her mind to wander.

It was Arlene, the woman from the night before. Naomi just looked at her, then out the window.

"Not a housewife," she said, ignoring the rising of her hackles. "Just a homemaker. I never made it to 'wife'."

[per-ardua.livejournal.com]

Raine woke up late, still with a severe headache; if she'd been treated in some way for the concussion, it wasn't doing any good. Her right arm was in a proper sling rather than the makeshift one Kratos had put on her, though. Sitting up didn't make her feel any better, and she was hit with a wave of dizziness (and slight nausea) when she did.

Almost worse than that was the discovery that everything was blurred--great. She could still see that Reinforce was gone, which did not make her happy; she'd wanted a few minutes to explain what had happened in privacy, so her friend didn't get the chance to worry much. Oh, well, she'd find her in the cafeteria... she put a hand to her forehead, wondering if asking for painkiller would get her anywhere.

A few moments later, a nurse came in--with a set of somewhat normal clothes for her. Oh, yes... the field trip. Raine shut her eyes for a moment, but got up without further prompting. Her balance was better, at least.

"Do you need help, Jeanne?" the nurse asked, as seemingly concerned as they always were.

"I'm fine," she snapped. She honestly didn't know if the staff's compassion was genuine, but she didn't really care, either. The top she was given, a blouse, buttoned up, so putting it on wasn't as painful an experience as it could have been; she even did it without needing help--or whimpering. Getting the sling back on was easier, but that managed to hurt even more. The pants were something thick and blue she didn't recognize, but again, she wasn't terribly concerned with her clothing, and at least she could get those on with just her left hand.

"Are you ready to go?" the nurse asked, back to being cheerful, after Raine had taken a few moments to get her breath back.

"In a minute." Her eyes still weren't focusing as well as they should; she really didn't like the idea of going around half-blind, especially now, and she'd seen a few patients wearing glasses. Where would they be kept--? She tried her desk drawer, for lack of better ideas, and opened what she'd dismissed as a pencil case. Sure enough... inside was a pair of glasses, much like the pair she had at home (and only wore when she couldn't avoid it). They didn't look like they would actually work, the lenses were too thin, but they'd be better than nothing. She fumbled them open, put them on, and blinked in surprise when she saw the difference--these might well be better than the ones she had at home. Light, so far comfortable, the same half-moon style she'd chosen a few years ago... maybe she would keep these on for a while.

"There, doesn't that feel better?" the nurse asked, opening the door to lead Raine out. "You wouldn't have that headache if you kept your glasses on, you know."

At least she pretended not to hear Raine's muttered response to that.

On any other day, she would have been interested to see an Earth transportation device, but considering how much she was hurting, she settled on merely glancing around before curling up alone in a seat. She wasn't sure she was up for real food, so she took out the juice box and occupied herself with figuring out how to open it.

[1imited-edition.livejournal.com]

Reinforce was spending her morning worried. She'd blacked out just as she'd cast her spell in the courtyard the night before, so she had no way of knowing whether the night had ended or the effort of casting itself had knocked her out. She appeared to be in perfect condition, but she didn't know whether Riddick had been so fortunate.

Her preoccupation meant she paid little attention to the process of getting ready for the institute-wide trip they were embarking on, and barely even noticed the new clothing she was left to change into, though in a better state of mind she might have applied Hayate's fashion sense to them.

But if she was dazed then, it was nothing compared to getting on her assigned bus and spotting the injured Raine. Not quite a crashing down of the world around her, but the sudden formation of a dangerous expanse of spiderweb cracks. She hadn't even thought about Raine. A few meters of hall alone...

Had been a few too many. One she'd promised to protect, she'd not been there for. Failure in a cause she'd taken up in her name the name of her master...

"What..." She advanced a bit unsteadily on Raine, looking every bit some sort of forlorn spirit. "...what happened...?"

She didn't even know why she was asking. She knew what had happened. She had failed her.