Day 35: Bus 2

[scarletspeedstr.livejournal.com]

Wally woke as the intercom crackled to life and was surprised to find himself back in his room. The last thing he'd remembered was feeling relieved at finally beating off those dragonfly-lizard things. There'd been that weird intercom message, then... he wasn't quite sure what had happened after that, but he was certain it hadn't involved falling asleep. He'd be half-wondering if he'd dreamed the whole thing if it hadn't been for the nagging ache on his back and ankle from where he'd been bitten. A quick check revealed they'd been bandaged, apparently while he'd slept. He wondered if he had Kal to thank for that. Maybe he'd get the chance to ask later.

He jumped as the door swung open to admit the familiar face of the nurse who'd woken him yesterday. "Up already, are we?" she said cheerfully as she busied herself pulling out clothes. A blue shirt and a pair of jeans were passed to him. Wally blinked, he hadn't been here long, but he'd gotten the impression that the grey-and-smiley-face combo was standard.

"Does this mean I'm being released?" he asked, hope creeping into his voice.

The nurse turned back to him, pity etched on her features. "I'm afraid not, dear." She smiled brightly as she continued, "but today's when all the patients get a special field trip into town! Won't that be a treat!"

Wally stared at the clothes, his mind working away. He'd been trying to get into town and to a phone last night before he'd been attacked. But if they were going in today, this might be the perfect chance for him to contact the Justice League. He smiled warmly and thanked the nurse as she left to allow him to change, then happily allowed himself to be led to one of the buses, picking a seat about halfway down and sliding in to look out the window. It seemed like today was going to be brighter than yesterday, at least in the area of possible phone calls and rescues. About the only dark patch he could see was that the contents of his paper-bag breakfast were going to be nowhere near enough to fill the yawning pit that had taken the place of his stomach, and even that was tolerable when he was positive he wasn't going to be here much longer.

"And you say that time goes rushing by, but it seems so slow to me, and you see a blur around you fly, but it takes too long, it seems so slow to me..." he sung absently.

[Oh Captain, my Captain~]

Comments

[tsunagari.livejournal.com]

"Have you tried the paper bags?" The ninja emptied the contents of his out into his lap before flattening it and offering it to the other man. He didn't know why Souji had brought pens with him on the bus, but it wasn't any of his business.

"I'm an artist of a sort, yes," he then nodded. He didn't have the passion behind his work that most artists did. His was more of a hobby than anything else, though he supposed it could be said that he enjoyed it. "Just something I do on the side."

[notachick.livejournal.com]

Okita smiled and shook his head, motioning for Sai to keep his bag. "Thank you for the offer, but you never know when that might come in handy, Sai-kun. It's best if you keep it."

It was a kind offer, but Okita wasn't about to take it. The bags could be useful and if Sai was an artist as well, then he might want to keep his drawing surface. If Okita got desperate, he could use the one he owned anyway. Reaching into his sweater, Okita pulled out a ballpoint and offered it to Sai. "Mind if I see what you can draw? I always like seeing other people's talents."

[tsunagari.livejournal.com]

Sai supposed the bags could have their usefulnesses, but he hadn't intended on keeping his. Perhaps he should? Paper was bound to come in handy when he least expected it.

Then Okita went and asked him to draw something for him, and the ninja smiled again. If he was anyone else he might have sighed at this. It was typical, hearing someone was an artist and having them doodle for them. Sai wondered what taste this man had in art.

He took the pen - not an item he generally drew with but one he knew the feel of all the same - and quickly sketched out the form of a large mythical cat. If he'd had his usual abilities, this would be the sort of thing he would bring to life to attack his enemies.

[notachick.livejournal.com]

Okita had plans for his bag already, one reason why he was wary to keep it close. The nurses patted them down before coming onto the buses again at night, but he doubted they'd care about a bag they gave the patients earlier, especially one so small. That and his wheelchair were two advantages he wasn't about to pass up.

Sai took the pen and Okita sat back to watch the man work. He liked seeing other people draw, especially ones who made an actual hobby out of it. His talents were reserved for annoying Hijikata by doodling in the man's haiku book. Making a little flip book along the bottom of it was always a good way to pass an afternoon. Sai, however, had real talent and Okita smiled as he saw the mythical creature take form. When Sai was done, Okita clapped in delight. "You have amazing skills! It looks very lifelike!"

[tsunagari.livejournal.com]

The image had taken all of a few seconds to draw out, speed being a key factor in Sai's ability to use his art as part of his ninjutsu. He could only smile back as Okita praised him, and he had a hard time reasoning out how the creature could appear lifelike when it was of a being that didn't actually exist.

"Thank you." The bag was placed at his side as he began on his breakfast, hoping to finish it before the buses arrived at their destination.

[notachick.livejournal.com]

Sai wasn't the best at conversation, but that didn't matter much to Okita. He had lived most of his life with Hijikata, after all, and that man's choice of conversation topics lately mostly pertained to troop movements and strategy. It wasn't the best way to spend an afternoon, but he'd learned how to pull out real talks from the otherwise stoic vice commander. "How long have you been drawing, Sai-kun?"

The buses had started up and now Okita felt his anxiety levels rising. He hated the bus. He hated it more than...well, a lot of things. Evil future machine. Sitting back in his seat, Okita gripped the edge of his seat with one hand as discreetly as possible.