Day 28: Main Street

[hajike-tobiume.livejournal.com]

[from here]

Momo headed down what she suspected was the center street for the town. She noted the various businesses as she walked, as well as the increased staff presence, and kept to herself. If she was going to be wandering around lost in her own thoughts, she might as well get a feel for the town.

Maybe she'd make a map once she had a better idea.

[to Kelley Street]

Comments

[norainu]

[from here]

Books tucked securely in his vest, Renji left the book shop. There didn't seem to be much left in the day, and he needed to speak to both Momo and Hitsugaya. He was also getting hungry; with luck, he'd manage to find Rukia so they could at least have a meal together.

He paused in the street for a moment, trying to remember where the park he was he needed to be heading for.

[whiteychan.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/245488.html?thread=18191856#t18254320)]

Hitsugaya's talk with Matsumoto had calmed him somewhat. He wasn't one very good at expressing himself, but when he did it was nice to know there were people who didn't care how he bumbled his way through it. He was still confused about the whole situation with Momo and the other girl, and it weighed heavily on his mind...so heavily that he didn't even notice Renji standing in the middle of the street as he turned the corner.

There were still a few people he needed to speak with before they got on the busses and prepared for night, especially Sora who had been quiet on the board left in the middle of town. He had hoped that everyone would find the board, but apparently that was not the case, and he needed another commander. Rukia would do well enough, as well.

The thoughts of the night's logistics cleared his head enough for him to notice Abarai just as he was about to pass the vice captain. Hitsugaya stopped suddenly and approached Renji. "Abarai-fukutaicho," he said calmly. The vice captain had known Momo from Academy, right? Maybe he would understand what was going on in a way her childhood friend couldn't...at the same time, no. Best not to talk about such things.

[norainu]

Renji turned, frowning, though he did also do a respectful enough bow. "Hitsugaya-taichou." He hadn't intended to talk to Hitsugaya first, but it seemed like fate had other ideas. "I was going to look for you," he said. "There are a few things... I think you should be aware of."

He was still hoping that Hitsugaya was entirely unaware of Artemis' plan to get self-defense lessons from a sadist.

[traitors-smile.livejournal.com]

[[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/247342.html?thread=18133038#t18133038)]]

Gin was somewhat glad to see Homura leave, but of course, as luck would have it, he was up the street off talking with none other than Rangiku. Well, he'd given her enough warning and he'd be a fool if he thought she couldn't at least take care of herself. Homura probably had more to fear from her than he did from him anyway. He smiled to himself and hurried on down the street.

There wasn't a lot of time left in the day, he was a little hungry, it'd probably be a good idea to find something to eat before the day was out, but it wasn't at the top of his priorities list. He wouldn't mind seeing what kind of things the town had to offer as far as shops and tools and the like. He'd have thought they might have been kind enough to provide their patients with maps as well as these ridiculous coupons, but at least they were outside.

[adorkabledragon.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/248410.html?thread=18255962#t18271066).]

Keman walked out of Tasty Burger, feeling rather pleased with himself. Not only had he gotten the chance to sample new and unusual foods, he had also made two new friends. Ryuuzaki, especially, was an interesting person, and the dragon looked forward to having another chat with him later.

It had warmed up a bit, and while it was still kind of chilly, he decided to take off his sweatshirt and soak up a little of this marvelous sunlight.

If he could only figure out how to get the stupid thing off.

He was half out of it when he got kind of...stuck. His head had somehow ended up in one of the armholes, and he couldn't see anything.

And that was about when he collided with something rather hard and bony.

"...Ow..."

[traitors-smile.livejournal.com]

Why was it that children felt the need lately to quite literally run into him? It was hard to tell the exact age on this one, though he was probably somewhere around the same age as some of the ryoka that had infiltrated Soul Society. Not a great basis for comparison, but it would do.

The boy seemed to be fighting a losing battle against a large grey sweatshirt. Gin sighed inwardly, but his smile never wavered.

"Easy there," he gave a short, but not unfriendly laugh, "need some help? Looks like y'stuck."

[gald_digger]

[From here]

Main Street's crowd was different than it had been just a couple hours ago. The man Anise had found loitering on the sidewalk earlier was apparently long gone. She could only wonder how many of the groups that wandered to and from shops were actual citizens of town.

But that didn't matter too much right now. Brimming with her usual enthusiasm, Anise started down the sidewalk with the newly acquainted doctor.

[reanalyze.livejournal.com]

"Ah yes, I'm sure the Post will have a great deal of information. A very good idea, my dear." Citan beamed as though quite impressed. What a strange young woman - in his experience, young girls who were sweet and brimming with energy weren't exactly the most clever of creatures.

[gald_digger]

"You really think so? I'm glad!" Anise giggled a bit. It was pretty flattering to be complimented on something like that by a doctor. After all, doctors were supposed to be really smart, right? Maybe it depended, but...

Now that she thought about it, it got her a little curious. "You said you were a doctor, right? What kind of doctor? ...If you don't mind me asking." Anise knew quite a few different doctors back home, after all. The specialists who tended to the sickly Fon Master, the Colonel who had previously studied to be an autopsist, and a few they met on their travels...

There were a lot of things that could be inferred about a man from his profession! His income, for one.

[usoppsenchou.livejournal.com]

[from Mystic Spa (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/248677.html?thread=18302309#t18302309) with Sai]

"Why don't you know your way around? Haven't you explored at all yet?" Sai had seemed a little dazed when he'd first shown up in the spa, although it was always hard to guess what the ninja was really feeling at any given moment. "Did that nurse just lead you straight to the spa? That's a weird place to pick."

Especially when Usopp had been waiting there, and the two had already had plans to meet today. Was this some sort of conspiracy? Did the staff want them to meet? No, it had to be a coincidence... after all, he'd wandered back and forth across town already without meeting anyone he knew, meeting with someone was bound to happen eventually. As for Sai's disorientation... the nurses could be liberal with the sedatives, from what Usopp had seen. Maybe Sai had somehow gotten on the wrong end of one. And maybe a massage would help a sedated patient relax even more..?

Stop grasping at random ideas. Think about the ice cream instead. It had been a long time since he'd had any.

[tsunagari.livejournal.com]

"I..." Sai's brows knit together again as he tried once more to recall the previous events of the day with little success. He crossed his arms over his chest as they walked, just thinking it over. "I haven't." And it was the truth as far as he could remember. The walk from the vehicle that had brought him to the massage parlor was a blur. He couldn't place anything he'd seen on the way.

And there was no reason to hide this information from his companion, was there?

"I'm sorry. I don't... really remember much of today, it seems. I think I was sleeping." It was the only explanation he could think of, anyway. He certainly felt well rested.

[usoppsenchou.livejournal.com]

That was weird, but it wasn't strange, not really. He'd heard other stories like that. "Maybe you were. I think sleep works in funny ways here. Well, fortunate for you that the nurse led you to the side of the brilliant explorer and adventurer Captain Usopp!"

Usopp headed down the road to the Tasty Burger, waving an arm dramatically as he talked and seeing if he couldn't get an expression out of Sai. "Once I led an entire army of blind soldiers down a mountain pass only wide enough for men to walk two abreast, and didn't lose a single one!"

That unlikely and rather abrupt tale was ended as they reached their destination, only a block away.

[Into the Tasty Burger (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/248410.html?thread=18305370#t18305370)]

[secret-orchard.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/244463.html?thread=18315247#t18315247)]

Since William was the one who wanted to go to the bookstore, Armand didn't think he'd have to goad the man to follow him. He refused, however to be the first one inside. He waited at the entrance for William to catch up. Perhaps he wouldn't go inside after all.

[small-fortune.livejournal.com]

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/244463.html?thread=18380527#t18380527) with SDS]

Even though he'd headed down the street with the intention of finding food, the bookstore they first passed tempted him to stop. He'd spent enough time on Barrayar to become jaded with the idea of printing on pulped wood, but the books inside might have some information that could be useful. Mark didn't have any coupons for free books, unfortunately, and the Landel's marked coupons would make it difficult to offer them as barter.

More importantly, as Gorge was beginning to remind him a bit more insistently, he was hungry. Though the first restaurant, "Tasty Burger," looked about as appetizing as he could expect from the almost defensive name. He eyed it dubiously. Maybe they could keep looking for the Twin Pines...?

"I don't suppose towns are covered in orange and black decorations and carved gourds where you're from," Mark mumbled. Then added the obvious, "Probably some sort of festival."

[ditched-again.livejournal.com]

There was definitely an odd look passing over the swords features as his gaze flickered from item to item. Vegetables with faces carved into it, the colours of orange and black strewn over each of the buildings in some fashion honestly was a little disconcerting. Was this a town where those not sound of mind truly lived? Perhaps Landel’s Institution was run by these same lunatics who carve faces into large vegetables.

“No, I can happily say that there are no such foul traditions where I’m from. The human race is a very peculiar race indeed.” The Star Dragon Sword uttered in reply while he trailed beside Mark. Turning his amber gaze over to his companion, he added in a grumble, “So where is it you wish to eat?”

[small-fortune.livejournal.com]

"Foul?" Feeling vaguely defensive of his own race, bunch of walking fleshbags as they were, he had to question that. "I've seen worse traditions." Though the faces on the pumpkins were eerie, almost skull-like in their primitiveness.

When they actually saw some skeleton cut-out decorations, he wasn't too surprised. "Maybe some kind of festival of the dead," he guessed again. To the sword's question, he added, "Not there," pointing at the Tasty Burger. Maybe if they couldn't find the other place. "Let's keep walking and try to find the Twin Pines. The end of the street doesn't seem far, anyway, we might as well see whatever else this street has on it.

[per-ardua.livejournal.com]

[[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/244463.html?thread=18356207#t18402287).]]

Raine couldn't help glancing back as they left the park; what had that been all about? Well, she'd find out later. Maybe.

With little idea how much longer they had, she was barely looking at the rest of the town. She had a reasonably good idea of the buildings it contained, that was enough.

...so she just wanted to make sure they got time at the bookstore.

[1imited-edition.livejournal.com]

Rein followed mutely, studying Raine. She looked confused, to be sure, but... had she been hurt? And... what could she do, if she had been?

Questions she couldn't answer by thinking on them. "...are you... alright?" she asked quietly as they walked.

Even she felt it awkward. She didn't know whether she should be asking, after all... as always her empathy was lacking. It was one more thing that was easier with a master. But she needed to ask anyway if she was to learn...

[per-ardua.livejournal.com]

Raine really hoped Reinforce meant emotionally... that fact that she was in a lot more pain than this morning didn't show, right? "Wondering what we interrupted," she admitted. "Valyn said earlier he wasn't really interested in Shana, but that looked like her rejecting him, if anything." And considering how bad he was with emotions, no wonder he didn't want witnesses.

So, she wasn't the only (real) half-elf in Landels anymore. Their experiences tended to vary far more than those other races, she'd noted--consequently, she really did want to talk to Shana. Raine had been raised mostly around humans, having to learn about the other half of her parentage through books--all the while claiming to only be elven. She'd at least been mostly around elves for her first eleven years, but to be raised by another species entirely? She imagined it had given Shana a very unique perspective on the world, if nothing else...

[adorkabledragon.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/245151.html?thread=18270623#t18270623).]

After leaving Gin and Signum to their talk, Keman had gone into the grocer to check the bulletin board.

He left several minutes later, angry and more than a little depressed. That...that idiot, Valyn! It wasn't his fault. How could he have known that Shana would react that way? No one, not even Father Dragon, could look into the future like that.

He was doing his best to take Renji's advice and cool down, but it wasn't really working. All he could think about was all the hurtful things Valyn had said to him. Valyn and his stupid martyr complex.

Finally, Keman just...gave up. He didn't have the energy for anything anymore.

He sat on the curb, hugging his knees to his chest and looking thoroughly miserable.

[bewarethecute.livejournal.com]

[From here. (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/246475.html?thread=18417867#t18417867)]

The walk was a good thing for Ururu, since it gave her time to think. Thinking was important when it came to understanding, and to remembering all the things she had to tell Kisuke-san. The list was getting kind of long.

But now she understood all the talk about different worlds; thinking about tv shows about time travel had made her think of ones about parallel dimensions. Those weren't hard to figure out, even if they were called a fancy name.

The thing about thinking so much though (and only having a muffin and juice for breakfast) was that it made her very hungry. So Ururu started to walk a little faster, eager to get something to eat.

Until she saw the boy.

Ururu slowed as she came closer, the person sitting on the sidewalk looking absolutely miserable. Maybe it was it because he was alone. Ururu knew she didn't like be alone. So she walked up to him, standing beside the stranger a bit timidly. "Um, excuse me Mister. Are you okay?"

[adorkabledragon.livejournal.com]

Keman didn't notice the child until she spoke. Caught off-guard, he jerked his head up.

"Wh--oh!" He did his best to smile. She was so little! "I'm sorry, you startled me." The dragon stood and brushed himself off. He still felt depressed and angry and confused, but there was no need for him to take it out on the small human girl who was now standing next to him.

Especially since she had gone out of her way to see if he was doing all right.

"I've been better," he admitted. "I think my friend is very angry with me. It makes me kind of sad." Keman leaned down towards her and smiled. "But that's not important. My name's Keman. What's yours?"

[el-lolly-eat.livejournal.com]

From here. (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/248410.html?thread=17743194#t17743194)

L stepped out of the Tasty burger and began looking around for a place that might be able to provide him with something of value. As he looked, he spotted a nickel on the sidewalk. L reached down and picked it up, examining it closely as he held it up between his fingers. It was a little worn, but not so much that it would hinder the idea that was coming to his mind. Eventually he shoved it into the pocket of his sweater and continued on his way.

[el-lolly-eat.livejournal.com]

To here. (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/247283.html?thread=18436083#t18436083)

[sasuke-of-sound.livejournal.com]

Sasuke kept a hand on the wall as he turned out the door of the store, following the different walls until he'd managed a few stores away, back in the direction of the busses.

He'd been about to lean against the side of some store when the distinct sound of his nurse's voice rang over the street, sounding reproachful about something like wandering on his own when it could have been dangerous and whatever had happened to his new friend and it was time to go back, had he had a good time?

She put a hand on his back as she babbled, propelling him back to "those nice school buses, weren't they fun, Sean?"

Sasuke made noncommittal noises and kept his hands in the sweatshirt pocket. They'd probably be searched, but if this woman was the one doing it, he'd probably get away with what little he'd managed to snatch.