damned_institute | Day 38: Patients' Library

The intercom rang out, disrupting what had turned out to be a rather pointless breakfast conversation, at least in Brainiac 5's eyes. He couldn't wait to put more distance between himself and Scar's blather of how logic, of all things, might not work the same way in this dimension. It was almost enough to make him believe that the man may very well have been a lion originally after all, as he'd never heard anything so very... ignorant and uneducated.

He quickly finished up the fruit he'd been nibbling on - he was no longer as hungry as he had been - and looked around automatically to see where Clark was. Unfortunately with the press of people around, some being led off to the library and others to the mentioned 'therapy sessions' - if that was what they really were - he had lost sight of the Kryptonian. Still there wasn't many places he could go, so Brainiac 5 would be able to catch up with him eventually to check on his condition and try and learn more about what had happened last night. That the Chapel had healed him - admittedly by passing his injuries to another - was interesting, but far more important in his eyes was what had happened to Clark and his powers. They hadn't been working correctly and that worried the Coluan boy more than he would normally have admitted. Without Clark's abilities... he wasn't sure what they would have to rely on in order to escape.

Another problem he would have to deal with was Grell... or, if he was to believe the notes on the bulletin board, the person pretending to be Grell. But that was going to require more careful planning before he made a move. Come to think of it, he had agreed to meet another in the library today on that same post that had sparked this whole mess. At least then he would have something of interest to look forward to, as he doubted any of the 21st century books were likely to be worthwhile to someone of his advanced intellect.

Following the nurses led him to what must have been the library; a reasonably large room filled with a range of archaic books on tall shelves, a few tables and chairs interspersed around the room. The Coluan boy couldn't refrain from wrinkling his nose in distaste as he entered the room, not liking the cumbersome books and the dust that he knew would have gathered on them; he much preferred the clean arrangement of his C.O.M.P.U.T.O. systems back in the Legion headquarters. It was much more practical then shelves and shelves of books on fictional worlds and dated information.

Trying to avoid as much of the room as possible, Brainiac 5 settled himself down on a chair to wait, keeping an eye out for a tall, dark-haired man with a red... something on his forehead.

[for Homura]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yuffie had been adding the twentieth book to her steadily growing fort when she heard footsteps. She glanced up quickly, hair flopping haphazardly over her eyes at the movement, not quite sure who was approaching -- it wouldn’t be Sagara, would it? He’d be yelling already! He wasn’t the type to play nice then go in for the kill, so -- Oh.

Kenshin.

The real one.

At his words, Yuffie dropped the book as though it was a hot coal. “Engagement?!” She yelped. “Wha-- Wh… Sanosuke? Y’mean, Sagara? What?” Her surprise appeared genuine, as did her horror. Eyes wide, she scrambled to her feet - clumsily, almost tripping over her budding creation-in-the-making. “What’re you talking about? I’m not getting engaged! That’d totally cramp my style!” She had no idea whether or not he’d actually believe that she was innocent, but she was nothing if not a great ninja, and, therefore, a great actor.

Besides. She wasn’t really lying, was she? Sure, she was pretending she didn’t have a clue what he was talking about, but it was true that she wasn’t getting engaged!

Kenshin's smile only widened as he watched Yuffie's performance, chuckling. It was an admirable attempt, but he wasn't at all convinced. "Oh, well then, this one must be mistaken. He was under the impression that there were two Sanos on the bulletin board, and two Himura Kenshins, because the one that responded was not actually this one. It was all very confusing."

He grinned. "It was a pretty good trick, though. Very amusing."

Crap. He wasn’t falling for it!

Yuffie wasn’t beaten yet, though. “I haven’t even looked at the bulletin board today!” she protested, gesturing dismissively with one hand. “If it is a trick, it’s not one of mine. I mean, come on, Kenshin! Are you crazy?“ It was so, so hard to hide the flash of smug pride that she felt at the compliment - it had been a good trick, hadn’t it? Ha!

Kenshin didn’t seem annoyed at all, but Yuffie couldn’t quell the urge to keep acting. She dropped abruptly, legs folding under her, and sat sprawled on the floor. She huffed out a long breath, affecting a look of almost petulant confusion. “Why would I wanna pretend that Sagara was gonna propose to me?”

"Well then," Kenshin laughed, still not buying her charade, "this one apologizes for the presumption." He was still chuckling when he bent to sit near Yuffie. But not too close. That would be improper.

"Boredom?" he suggested helpfully. "Even with the nights as exciting as they are here, the days do get pretty tedious. This one finds himself missing even the most mind-numbing of the chores that Kaoru-dono had him do."

And he missed Kaoru even more.

“Good,” Yuffie said, eyeing him reproachfully. After a long, long moment, she appeared to relax, her expression clearing; Kenshin definitely didn't believe her, and he was laughing (at her, she was willing to bet)… but he wasn't telling her off, and that was good enough for the time being “You better be sorry.”

When he sat down next to her, she offered a sunny smile. “Oh, I dunno,” she said flippantly, shuffling closer and leaning over him to grab the book that she'd dropped. “Doing the exact same thing, every day, all the time, under the watchful eyes of the amazingly interesting nurses? It's, like, totally stimulating.”

She sat back, but continued to lean against him lightly, just to see how he'd react. It was what he got for acting all proper around her. “Wanna help me build my fort?” She asked, her smile turning impish. She held the book up.

Kenshin was a bit particular about his personal space. He came from a culture where even husbands and wives didn't really openly engage in public displays of affection, and he wasn't entirely used to having young girls that he had only known for a few days lean over him like that. In spite of himself, he stiffened slightly, though he didn't let it show on his face.

"Oro? About as stimulating as washing clothes." Wait, no. He enjoyed doing laundry, so that was a bad comparison. "Or sorting seeds to plant."

Now it was time to play. "Of course, but you're going to need to widen the base a little if you want to make it any higher," he pointed out sagely. "Otherwise it'll collapse under the weight of its own magnificence, and you don't want that, do you?"

Edited 2009-01-11 23:53 (UTC)

It didn’t show on his face, sure, but Yuffie still felt it when he tensed. Only her supreme self-control stopped her from actually saying ‘tee-hee!’ out loud, or, better yet, letting her famous evil chuckle slip. That was reserved for special occasions, like pulling off a grand heist. “Nothing is as fun as being shepherded around like a bunch of lame-brained idiots,” she corrected.

She held the book out to him, reaching out with her left arm to grab another one for herself. “No way; this is a work of art! It’ll never fall down.” Kenshin did have a point, though… if she wanted to build up, she’d have to build out. Damn, where was Reeve when she needed him?! Wasn’t this stuff his area of expertise, when he wasn’t pretending to be a spazztastic little cat robot? He could probably turn a book-fort into a mini version of Midg--

Yuffie cut off that thought so fast it almost gave her whiplash, and for the briefest of moments, her smile thinned. A nanosecond later, she’d cranked up the ‘cheerful!’ right back to where it had been; to where it should be.

Edited 2009-01-12 07:12 (UTC)

"Very well-said," Kenshin agreed, still teasing. "Lame-brained idiots, indeed." It was crass and inelegant (much more so than the way he would have phrased it himself), but it got the message across quite well.

The rurouni accepted the book and added it to the weakest-looking part of the wall, still laughing. This was fun. Just about as much fun as he'd had since getting here, really. He missed being able to let loose and play. Even in the dojo, there were always chores to be done (not to mention making sure that his friends didn't kill each other). It was fun and often anything but peaceful, but it wasn't quite like it had been in the village so many years ago, with the children.

He was drawn back into the present when Yuffie faltered slightly. She was pretending like nothing was wrong, but there was no mistaking that look.

"Are you all right?" he asked gently.

If it was anybody else but Kenshin, she might have called that sarcasm. As it was, it was just Kenshin being an intelligent, prude-ish old man who had way too much teasing her. Rolling her eyes, Yuffie nudged him with her elbow. “Well, what would you call it?”

Speaking of intelligent, Yuffie figured that the red-head would be able to take the initiative from there. She snagged a few more books for herself, adding some where they were needed, and others where she felt like, just to see if they’d stay or fall. A little precarious balancing and a few well-aimed glares, and the books held… just. The activity itself wasn’t all that exciting, but it was fun in a peaceful kind of way - not usually her style, not by far. It was a nice way to unwind, though.

At his question, Yuffie blinked. “’Course I am!" She laughed. "This is fun, isn't it?"

Day 38: Patients' Library

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject