Day 35: Wicker Street

[mizuhomaiden.livejournal.com]

[from here]

The sound of the dog lead Sheena to a building on the corner of the street. Seeing the name of it and the animals in the windows, she giggled, imagining how if Colette was here they'd never be able to get her to leave. The sweet angel would insist on staying until she held and played with every single puppy in the plac eand given them all names.

She'd only been gone a day and already Sheena was missing the simple things she'd come to accept traveling with her companions. She put her hand to the window, smiling softly (if a little lonely) at the puppy that noticed her and started wagging tis tail and licking the glass right where her hand was.

[Awaiting a chance to run into a sweet-toothed warlord!]

Comments

[tranquil-seas.livejournal.com]

((From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/446582.html?thread=36392822), eventually))

Traveling down the new road--Wicker Street, the sign had said--Michiru was careful to take notice of as much as possible. Everything from the buildings and shops to the people running them. Most seemed friendly enough. Did they have no idea what was going on at Landel's? Or were they previous patients that had succumbed to the lies? Or even worse, were they working with the institution?

Michiru frowned and reached into her skirt pocket for the third time that morning, feeling the emptiness within. The familiar feeling of her henshin pen was gone and with it a certain sense of security. It wasn't until Ami had dispersed the assumption that Michiru was dead that the older senshi found its absence strange, even alarming. Some one at Landel's had it, but the fact that it was missing made her feel vulnerable. That wasn't a feeling that she was used to.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Michiru glanced up at the closest building. It seemed like a quaint, well-to-do restaurant. A quick look at her coupon book told her that she was eligible for a free meal at this establishment. The only problem was that she didn't have much of an appetite after hearing the true nature of this place...

[Lunch date with Kunzite~]

[vessavana.livejournal.com]

After his...encounter with Alita and Ami, Kunzite took to the village, and to his confusion was quite taken with the quaint nature of the place. Much of the scenery was so raw, so unaltered, that the swordsman could not help but take his time, examining the greenery, stopping to observe some of the more exotic flowers, and even sitting by the pond to watch children and other patients feed the animals. Slowly but surely, some of Shin's aspects were creeping in, filling in the void that Beryl's curse normally filled and which the swordsman took great delight in suppressing; with his normal purpose taken from him, one could say that this was only natural.

Being away from the institute didn't hurt, either.

As the sun reached the apex of its path across the sky, Kunzite felt his stomach churn in protest of the meager 'meal' he had been given in the morning. Reaching into one of his side pockets, the swordsman found the coupon book; the very first one advertised food at "Twin Pines", and though he did not know what, precisely, that meant, he nevertheless asked for directions and soon found himself in front of a quaint building. One one of the large windows, a taped-up paper displayed a list of different meals, presumably the various meals the restaurant was able to provide. Kunzite looked over each one carefully, narrowing down his choices to three or four equally-delicious-sounding options.

The swordsman suddenly froze, then turned his head toward the green-haired girl now standing at the doorway. Who... he thought to himself, ...I...I cannot match her energy to anyone in particular, but...there's no doubt about it...she's a Sailor Senshi as well... Kunzite stood up straight for a moment; if Ami's attitude about her identity was any indication, this one might not want her secret divulged, either. I'll play it from a different angle for now...

"Excuse me," he said, turning to her with a smile and an extended hand. "Am I correct in assuming you are from Landel's, as well?"

[tranquil-seas.livejournal.com]

The word Landel's caught Michiru's attention, even before she realized that she was being addressed. Turning to the stranger, she gave him a quick once over before returning his smile with one of her own. If she noticed anything suspicious about him, it didn't show in her expression.

"Do I look that out of place? I was hoping to blend in a little better." She gave a half hearted shrug, still smiling, and placed her hand in the stranger's. "I'm Michiru. And you are?"

[vessavana.livejournal.com]

Kunzite bent low and kissed Michiru's hand, remaining bowed as he returned an introduction. "I am Kunzite, Michiru-san. And I apologize if I insulted you with my comment; I thought I'd seen you at the institute before; if I'm not mistaken, you have only arrived recently, yes?"

The cover-up was a hasty one, but not totally unfounded; he'd not observed any new Senshi energy signatures since the night he, Usagi, Ami, and Alita had ventured into the darkness. Of course, being in close proximity of one of them helped him detect them, but it seemed, too, that the night helped to draw their energy to higher levels than normal. Ami had mentioned that she could not transform, however, even at night...perhaps, if they experienced the same kind of 'counseling' he did...

"Shall we continue our fledgling conversation inside?" the swordsman asked, walking toward the door and pushing it open with a minor flourish. "I get the sense you and I might have much in common..."

[tranquil-seas.livejournal.com]

Kunzite. He was a charming one, wasn't he? Michiru continued to smile, but remained wary. It was always the charming ones who were up to something. "I arrived last night, actually, and there's no need to apologize for stating the obvious."

She turned her attention to the building once again as Kunzite opened the door. Well, she still wasn't very hungry, but it was her intention to gather information. If nothing else she could pry some from this man, even though he was a bit older than her typical fare.

"Shall we continue our fledgling conversation inside? I get the sense you and I might have much in common..."

Michiru's smile turned a little mysterious. "Do you? In that case, how could I refuse a proper conversation with a gentleman?" Taking advantage of the open door, she headed past Kunzite and into the restaurant.

[To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/449885.html?thread=36660573#t36660573).]