damned_institute | Day 28: Germaine Street

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Day 28: Germaine Street

Rhode didn't want to have to let go of Allen, not ever. It could be forever before she was able to be with him again! But the nurses were persistent in moving her off the big yellow thing, as was Allen for getting away from her. Even outside of the building, people were just determined to keep her from being with him! It wasn't fair!

Once off the bus and shivering just slightly from the crisp fall air, Rhode was handed a small booklet of what the nurse called "coupons". It took some explaining, but Rhode was eventually able to understand that the thin pieces of paper in the book were supposed to be used like money here. She wasn't at all accustomed to buying things for herself; that was supposed to be the Earl's job. When Rhode expressed this problem, the nurse only gave her a sad smile and patter her in the direction of the buildings.

"Why don't you go find something fun to do? There's a toy store just around the corner there. Don't worry about being alone though, we're all here to keep an eye on you. If anything happens, just come get one of us," the nurse explained, nodding to the staff members that were set to parole the town for any problems their more unruly patents could cause.

So, they were all going to be watched even though they could roam about freely? Rhode took a look back towards the yellow things but was unable to pick out Allen from the mess of patients. In a few moments, she probably wouldn't be able to find him at all or for the rest of the day. Should she just resign herself to that for now and use the small bit of freedom to her advantage? Being with Allen was important, and a lot of fun but...

She glanced down at the coupons again, smiled up at the nurse as best she could, and gave a quick, "Okay!" before running off as suggested.

A small bit of freedom was bound to make her feel better. Maybe she could use it to remind herself of how she was supposed to handle Allen Walker, an exorcist. This town did have a similar air to that of the Rewinding Town, after all.

[went here]

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Ed didn't reply, only running faster. As this guy seemed very fast himself, today appeared headed for disaster.

"About the same, just under it," she answered absently, then snickered at his comment, peering over his shoulder to see the coupons he was flipping through.

"Manicure, facial, and massage. Man, they're really pulling out all the stop. Now if there was only one in there for a drink at a pub, my life would be complete. I suppose I'll have to content myself with charming them out of the regulars instead."

He was quiet for a moment, still feeling slightly guilty, but also excited to take in the sight of this modern town. He nodded to Rinali, glad for the change in subject. If she asked later, he'd probably tell her, but for now he was just relieved that the feelings that ghost woman had left him with were beginning to fade.

"Um... I don't really know." He let his eyes wander down the main street. "Not that I've heard of." There were a number of shops to look at and they'd been given a number of coupons, half of which he didn't even know what they were. Facial or massage? He knew his Master often paid for such services, but he had a feeling he didn't want anything to do with something like that. The coupons for free food though, those were valuable.

"I guess we can just walk around and see what there is? Maybe see if there's a way out. If there's a town, certainly there would be residents who might listen, wouldn't there?" He wasn't sure he believed it himself, but it never hurt to try.

[From Here] (”http://community.livejournal.com/damned/246762”)

Finding himself back in familiar territory, Cloud walked down Germaine Street slowly to better explore the length of the street. It was probably as long as Kelley Street as well as most of the others he had passed by running south.

He stopped at the first street running back east and looked down it. It seemed like a main side street, and he wondered what kind of shops would be there. He glanced to the sign listing the street name and crossed his arms as he considered wandering back down it. He could continue south or wander this way. There could be a few side alleys to explore.

He supposed he had the time to do both. There was nothing else to do but explore… and wonder if his clothing could hide a hammer.

A bit different than what Aya had expected, even a curve of lips if a bit on the sarcastic side. Either he seriously couldn't trust Yohji or the man was getting better in lying.

"Been better," he said simply, studying for now. It was easy to push aside everything that was bothering him when he was presented with Yohji, the abundance of distress. Aya followed Yohji's gaze around, wondering who he was waiting for, and deciding that it was better not to ask after all. There was a chance the answer wouldn't be appreciated.

"We need to talk one of these days." Aya decided to drive straight to it, in case whoever Yohji was waiting for would appear soon. The thought came with a bit of frustrated sadness but he pushed it aside as fast as he could recognize it. "Somewhere less crowded."

Naoto escaped the bus actually...relatively calm, for a given value of 'calm' that encompassed Naoto's usual state of angry and frustrated. He wanted to find Naoya and try to get away from the nurses--they were everywhere, but with the patients outnumbering them, they couldn't keep an eye on everyone every moment, could they?

He walked quickly down the street, passing a young man who looked like a reject from a hippie commune, headed...nowhere in particular. He couldn't find Naoya easily without their telepathic link, he would just have to look the old-fashioned way.

Yeah, that was expected. They'd all been better. Usually before they'd joined Weiss. Seemed they had a quota of pain and hurt to reach to be part of the group.

He remained still and let Aya study him, not making any attempt to break the other man's concentration. He had things to hide, they all did, but it hardly mattered when he was presented with Aya.

The words took him by surprise and he nodded dumbly in agreement before he found his voice. "I'm here now," he said quietly. "I'm sure we can find somewhere quieter now we're not in that place." It sounded pretty ominous and he couldn't quite suppress a shiver, his mouth going dry. This was it, he guessed. Were they finally washing their hands of him?

Katou was just in middle of an investigation to his pockets and digging up fuzz from the bottom of them in his corduroy jacket, such an interesting way to spend your time. Someone stormed past, and Katou could see a tall, skinny frame and black hair.

Kira?

The laughter that rose from his throat was a bit mad, hacking and yet warm and amused. What was he? A schoolgirl in love? He'd see Lucifer around in every black haired dude. He was worse than Mika-chan had been. What a fucking joke.

"Yo, dude... yeah, you, Mr. tall and handsome, I'm talking to you," he called after the makeshift Lucifer and speed his steps to catch up. "You happen to know where there's a shop or a market or whatever that sells cigarettes around here?"

Renji flinched when Daemon grabbed his shoulder; it wasn't from pain, since he wasn't injured there, just surprise at an unexpected touch. He backed out of Daemon's grip as quickly as he could once they'd moved.

He considered his options, hesitating before speaking. He knew that he was a bad liar, so he wasn't going to bother outright lying to Daemon. It wouldn't work. As he thought, he kept paranoid watch on the street; he needed to be aware if his captain approached, and ready to defend himself. Not really conscious of his own actions, he backed up even further so that he had the protection of a building behind him. Old habits died hard.

"Just had a kinda unpleasant surprise, is all," he finally said. He didn't like the feeling of being so indirect, but he also just felt weird talking about it, especially with people around.

"Oh yeah," Jack murmured. "Hey, I don't know, a massage could be as relaxing as a beer. If the masseuse is cute." He tucked the coupons back into his pocket. "Might be a bit early to hit the bar, though. Doesn't look like the kind of place where too many people drink their breakfasts." He grinned. He doubted that Max had meant to go to the bar so early, but it made for a good joke. "Sounds like something fun to do, though. Though you'll probably have better luck than me."

Arching his brows, Aya allowed a small 'hn' of surprise pass his guard. He'd been wrong? No company to wait? What was it then? Nervousness? Why not? Yohji probably was thinking Weiss would push him aside like a used rag doll. He snorted softly for his own thoughts and glanced aside himself, at the nurses and other 'patients'.

"Alright," he said softly, catching Yohji shivering as he turned back to look at the blond. "Where's your jacket?" he asked, almost reaching for the baggy t-shirt to pull it up to cover Yohji's bony shoulder better. But stopped himself just in time and instead wrapped an arm around himself. He was starting to feel the effects of the lack of apetite and having lost some blood, he felt practically anemic, cold fingers and tiredness.

"Why don't we go that way?" He pointed towards the end of the street, opposite from the direction most people seemed to be gravitating towards.

Naoto stopped short, whoever had called out to him...tall and handsome, what? Naoto really hated people some days.

"No, I don't." He'd never been here before, what was this guy expecting?

"Heh." Katou paused beside the tall and handsome, glancing up at him with a crooked grin. "I won't hold it against you."

Then he pushed out a hand towards whoever this guy was, Katou was willing to give him few points for free just for looking like Kira. "The name's Katou. What brings you to this Hell?"

"Naoto. And I wish I knew." It would be easier to get away if he just knew how he got there in the first place. Aside from dying, because he didn't think that was the reason. He wasn't used to shaking hands, but whatever.

Yohji nodded sharply, a faintly worried expression on his face now that that was decided. Maybe he should have avoided Aya instead, chosen a time when he didn't look too annoyed. "Uh..." he blinked in surprise and shook his head. "Jacket? Didn't get one." Not entirely true. They'd given him one but it was awful looking and he still had his vanity. He shrugged dismissively. "Its not that cold anyway."

He glanced over to where Aya had pointed and nodded, moving a little closer to the other man so they could walk together. "Sounds good."

"How unpleasant?" Daemon asked, his gaze narrowing slightly as his golden eyes slid over their surroundings - people and buildings. He hadn't missed Renji's edginess and wondered who was responsible. And how he should react to it. Letting the Sadist out to play was hardly a tempting thought today of all days, but if it was required, he would.

"Depends on what regulars you try and charm the drinks from," she retorted, shooting him a knowing sort of smirk. "Stick to the ones with curves. Or a man with fashion sense. I'm sure you'd have no problems there."

"And I never said there was anything wrong with a massage. Hey they're giving us free stuff, where's the downside to that?" She continued with a shrug and an impish expression. "Might as well abuse the hospitality while they're feeling generous."

"I guess it usually happens by dying." Katou shrugged, then released Naoto's hand in favor to push his back into his pocket. "But what the fuck do I know. Doesn't quite seem like the traditional kind of Hell."

"Which would make sense if everyone was dead." His roommate looked at him like he was crazy when Naoto had said that he was.

Naoto's hand found its way to his own pocket, in the front of his sweatshirt. "You haven't seen someone around your height with short brown hair and brown eyes, have you? I'm looking for my brother."

Again, Renji considered his options. Finally, he came to the conclusion that he really ought to warn at least someone that he expected to bed dead within the next couple of days, because someone'd need to keep an eye on Rukia, and he trusted Daemon.

"Uh... let's go over there," he said. If he was going to take his balls firmly in hand and actually admit to someone how screwed he was, he'd rather not have to keep track of an entire street while doing so. Without waiting, he made a beeline for a building that looked like it'd have somewhere to talk in it - and even better, he hadn't seen many other "patients" go that way yet.

[heading here]

"Hn." Aya arched his brows in faint disbelief but instead of arguing about it, he just pulled the stupid looking cardigan tighter around himself. If Yohji had been looking for a moment when he was not annoyed, it didn't exist in this place. His dislike for hospitals had not gone anywhere, only grown darker along the week he had been spending here.

When Yohji moved, Aya moved with him, starting towards the end of the street in calm pace, like he was in no hurry. In fact he couldn't have moved much faster.

Captain Jack laughed. "Place like this, I'd expect more men drinking than women, and small towns don't have too many snappy dressers. But I could get lucky, we'll see. It'll be fun either way." He'd just have to be careful, since the town really did seem small, and he recalled some ugly times in Earth's history and the things that'd happened to people like him. It was a hazard of the job, but that didn't mean he had to go looking for trouble.

He grinned. He was starting to really like Max. They seemed like two of a kind, really. So he'd have to be damn careful around her. "For certain. And I'm thinking some of the shops look interesting too, though I bet they'll be patting us down and taking any toys we get on the way home."

"Probably," she agreed ruefully. "Then again, I doubt there's anything interesting enough to be found around here that's worth risking more in-depth searches. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised, however."

She cast him a curious glance out of the corner of her eye. "So. When and where are you from? If you don't mind my asking."

She would ask if it came up again, but it wasn't a need to know so much as a need to be their for her friend that had caused the initial annoyance. For the moment, it was just good to spend some time with him.

The idea of a massage sounded like it could be fun, but she figured they'd get to it eventually. "We could do that," she agreed. While escape should be the first focus on all of their minds, it wasn't on hers. She wanted to escape, yes, but as long as she had her friends here, she knew it would eventually happen. Maybe that made her a bad person, but she didn't mind it.

"I don't know if they'll listen, though," she added after some brief thought. "Why would they take us to this town if the residents weren't on their side? They seem to be very careful about everything else, why be lax now?" Besides that, the army of nurses made looking for an escape seem impossible.

"We should try to use up these coupons while we're here as well," she added. Who knew how long the coupons would last for, or even if they would get to come back to this town again? Undoubtedly some patient or another would cause trouble for the rest of them, and they'd be banned from coming here. The logical course would be to play nice so that the nurses would let their guard down, making escape more likely in subsequent visits. But many of the patients here weren't particularly logical.

"We're born to die one day," Katou said carelessly, shrugging yet again, uncaring. "The ones who're alive, don't belong in Hell." He had died three times so he could check in for two more.

"Brotherly love, eh?" He grinned and started towards the street he had been walking before. "That description could pass for about half of the guys in my buss. And I was hardly close enough to see their eye color. But fear not, if your love is true, I'm sure you find your lil' bro eventually." And that said, he laughed, cruelly this time, thinking back to one idiot in love, who had raced across Heaven and Hell to find his sister.

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Day 28: Germaine Street

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