damned_institute | Day 38: Patients' Library

Entry tags:

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

Matt got away from breakfast quickly, soon finding himself ushered towards the library in the process. He'd wanted to just sit in the sun room for a while, perhaps keep an eye on the bulletin, but apparently he needed to "try some other activities now and again." So very frustrating.

Speaking of frustrating... Matt froze a few steps after entering as he caught sight of Sen not too far in the room. The nurse shoved him in further so that he wasn't blocking the way for others. Swallowing, and willing himself to look as serious as he could, he made his way to the woman's side.

"You're devious," he said before she could even look up. "Don't think I'm not aware of what you're trying to do." He wasn't, really, but there was no way she could be sincere.

It wasn't too long before Robin arrived as well, and Ayumu took note of his pause before he actually approached her. His greeting, though, both amused and intrigued her. Did he really know what she was doing, or was he just claiming such?

He was clearly not unintelligent, so it was possible, but as far as she knew she hadn't given him any indication of her lack of sincerity. Perhaps it was just further manifestation of his insecurity or lack of experience; did he simply think that any woman expressing interest in him was "up to something"?

All those thoughts passed through her mind in an instant as she straightened, expression brightening with apparent pleasure at seeing him, though her welcoming smile faded just a little at his words. Ayumu tilted her head to one side, starting to look slightly uncertain. "Robin-han? What do you think...?"

She allowed her voice to trail off with a note of hurt to it. He'd kissed her and she'd welcomed it and to all appearances she simply didn't understand why he suddenly seemed to regret the action now.

Be strong, Matt. The change in the woman's expression and tone caused a lump to form in the young man's throat and he wanted to take back all he'd just said. That would be a show of weakness, however. He couldn't do that or she'd just keep taking advantage of him.

...If she was taking advantage. She had to be, right? "L-look." Stupid, stuttering voice. "We've only known each other a couple of days, so, I mean... it's just weird that you'd, you know." It was those damn eyes. He was already faltering miserably.

Was it really odd, though? She was a prostitute, after all. She might just be used to quick romances.

"That I'd...what?" Ayumu blinked once, pulling back from him even as she started to look even more hurt. "I thought that you...we...well." She lowered her eyes and drew back a step, clearly taking this as some kind of rejection and just as clearly upset by it.

Privately she wondered - if this was how he reacted when all she'd done was kiss him, what would have happened if they'd had any more time to spend up there the night before? If he was starting to get suspicious of her, though, perhaps it was for the best that she'd be spending the evening with Okita and whoever it was he wanted her to meet.

"Ah... W-what I mean is... I... we..." Oh man, he was slipping hard. This wasn't going to end well at all. Matt ran a hand through his hair, utterly at a loss as to how to handle this situation. "I-I shouldn't have..."

There were others in the room. He needed to calm himself down and stop looking like an awkward school boy. Taking a deep breath, he straightened up. "You're... using your feminine wiles on me. I'm not going to fall for this."

Edited 2009-01-11 04:15 (UTC)

He shouldn't have? Ayumu sighed inwardly; clearly he was more inexperienced than she'd thought, if he was having this strong of a reaction to such a small thing. The effort she'd already made had resulted in the expedition last night, which had certainly been worth it for what she'd seen and obtained, as well as what she now knew about Mello and his friend.

On the subject of Mello, though, she'd noted that the man himself had put in an appearance. He wasn't immediately in her line of sight right now, but she hadn't noticed him move on, and she'd heard an occasional page-turn nearby that she suspected was him staying within eavesdropping range. Mello was one of the more interesting faction leaders at the moment, even if he wasn't officially one of them - at least until the chaos in the Arts and Crafts division sorted itself out. And she needed to be close to his friend in order to stay close to him.

The accusation was entirely true, of course, but she wasn't about to just give in or anything. Instead she looked up at him, eyes wide and filling with tears. "I...I thought," she began, hand lifting to her mouth, before she took a somewhat shaky breath and turned away. "I understand. I'll...I'll leave you alone, then." Her voice trembled just a little toward the end, the last word fading into a whisper.

Shit. Now she was crying. She was crying and Mello was in the room now and he was making a total fool of himself and what was he supposed to do??

Leave him alone? Did he want to be left alone? Something told him Mello would prefer it if she did leave him alone. But... still... "Wait..." He sighed. He couldn't argue with a crying woman. He didn't know how.

Not sure if it was the best of ideas, he laid a hand on her shoulder. "It's just a bit fast. You know what I mean, right?"

Ayumu sniffed a little in the way one did when trying to hide the fact that they were crying, wiping at her eye in what she hoped was an unobtrusive fashion. With her back to him as it was Robin wouldn't be able to see much of the gesture, but if someone else was nearby (like, perhaps, Mello who she could now see lurking nearby) they certainly would.

Was Mello deliberately lurking nearby as some kind of sign to her or to Robin? Or both, perhaps. She still wasn't entirely certain what the relationship was between the two of them, but it seemed quite clear that Mello didn't want her so close to Robin. Well, this also gave her a chance to keep an eye on Mello so she wasn't terribly opposed to it.

Her head turned just slightly at the touch of Robin's hand on her shoulder, not quite enough for him to see her face, but it was a definite reaction. And she didn't try to shrug him off or anything, either. "I...no," she replied, after a moment's hesitation, now sounding confused on top of upset. "I thought you...liked me."

"W-well, you're very attractive," Matt said before he could help himself. "And you were coming on to me. Any warm-blooded male would have a hard time turning you away!" He let out an aggravated sigh, ruffling the hair on the back of his head. That didn't make him sound the slightest bit better. How had this happened, anyway?

"Just... Well, love at first sight is a bit cliche, right?" Or maybe it wasn't in whatever age she'd come from. As much history as he knew, he'd never read up much on romance of the period. "I mean, I do like you..."

He stepped closer to her but didn't move to touch her again. This was so many different shades of awkward.

He was right once again: Ayumu had certainly had sufficient training and practice to make it quite difficult for most males to not react to her. It was what she did, after all. But again, of course, she made no indication of such, as that was also what she did.

Robin was giving her mixed signals, though. It would probably help if she knew more about his background, to explain why he was so shy and how best to deal with it, but she thought she'd still be able to manage. She just had to be careful in her response (as well as stay mindful of the listening ears not too far away).

She slowly turned back around but paused halfway, giving him an almost cautious sidelong look. "I don't understand, then," she replied, though her voice was tinged with hope that perhaps this wasn't really a complete rejection. "If I like you and you like me, then...how is it a problem?"

Such terribly good logic that was. Matt raised a finger and opened his mouth as though to give an answer, but nothing came out. How was that a problem? Wasn't that how relationships worked?

Except he was being thoroughly manipulated, he reminded himself. She looked innocent enough, but she was toying with him. She had to be. And he was falling for her act at every turn. But if he said that again, she'd cry some more - and no one liked the guy that made the cute girl cry. Hell, he didn't like that guy.

He tried to take another calming breath. "It's... not. I guess." He'd just have to figure out how to take things slower so he could get a better gauge on what she was really up to.

Though he seemed to be agreeing with her, his initial hesitation and lack of enthusiasm hinted that he didn't. Not entirely, at least. Still, he'd at least stopped accusing her outright of trying to manipulate him, so perhaps there'd been at least some progress.

Ayumu turned the rest of the way back to face Robin again, but made no move to get closer or reach out to him. Her posture said she was still uncertain, with her head slightly lowered so that she was regarding him through her lashes. "That's good, then, right?" she asked, sounding almost shy.

Even as she dealt with her current issue, though, she was halfway listening to what she could pick up of Mello's conversation nearby, and becoming somewhat curious about who this "Ryuga" person was. If someone was going to try to kill him, he was probably interesting indeed. How many people did Mello know, and why? She'd seen him trying to spread his influence on the bulletin board already; how far did it already go?

Matt sighed, rubbing at his face with one hand. Mello would be listening. He'd probably get an ear full of it later. "That's... good, I guess. Yeah."

He'd go along for now. If it turned out she was sincere, he was a lucky guy. He'd just have to remain on his guard, so he'd be prepared in the event that she was actually leading him along.

...That was the plan, anyway. That hurt puppy look of hers was making things a whole lot more difficult. "I'm sorry, okay?"

Ayumu breathed out in what was almost a sigh. "Sometimes I don't understand you, Robin-han," she admitted, quietly, sounding a little uncertain.

Now that he was no longer acting quite so suspicious she relaxed a little, her expression no longer quite so upset despite her confusion. She brought the journal she'd had tucked under one arm up in front of herself, though, folding her arms across it as though it could act as a shield against any more accusations.

"Sometimes you act like you want to be around me but when I get close it seems to upset you." She tilted her head to one side slightly, giving him a mildly puzzled look. "Is...is there something wrong?"

At that, Matt could help but give a semi-nervous chuckle and rub at the back of his neck again, absolutely embarrassed by the whole affair. How did one easily explain lack of experience with women without making themselves look even more laughable?

"For a woman to show interest in me this quickly, it generally means they're after something," he finally stated. It wasn't as though Matt had much to offer, either. "If you're the exception to the rule, then, well, that'll be something."

"...oh." Ayumu hesitated for a moment, one hand shifting a little as though she wanted to reach out, before she closed it tightly about the edge of the journal once more. She was keeping that small distance between them this time, though it could have been because of the other patients who might potentially be watching or because she was still uncertain of the reception he might give her.

She glanced down briefly, then back up again, with a small frown. "Robin-han, it's...well, this isn't a pleasant situation for anyone," she offered, somewhat hesitantly. "It's strange and it's dangerous and, well, it's frightening. When I was lost and scared you were there, and you were handsome and kind and helpful."

Ayumu shifted her grip on the journal again, holding it a little more tightly against herself as she lowered her gaze shyly. "I don't know what I'd be after, apart from you."

Matt's head was bent down now from the process of rubbing at his next, face bright red. Ignoring the 'kind and helpful' part, because he was aware of how untrue that could be, ...he was handsome, was he? It really must have something to do with the difference in time periods. He knew that dangerous situations could bring about quick attachment, but that didn't make it any easier to take at face value.

What would she be after, if she wasn't simply interested in him for the reasons she gave? It could be any number of things. She was definitely new. It could just be that she wanted someone to protect her. Not everyone here was a fighter. If that was the case, though, there were far better people to go to - Kenshin, for example.

"That's, ah, very flattering." Matt smiled weakly. "I'm sorry, okay?" For now. He closed the small distance between them and attempted to give her a comforting hug.

Even with her head lowered a little Ayumu could see the blush on Robin's face. Even if he didn't entirely believe her, then, even if he still had suspicions remaining, it seemed that for now what she was saying was striking the appropriate nerves.

She did wonder just what he was thinking about, though, or what he thought it was that she was trying to get. It wasn't as though the patients had possessions worth stealing; even the items in the room upstairs didn't actually belong to them from what she could see. Did he realize that she was interested in what Mello was up to? Or was he up to something himself? No, she doubted that, on second thought.

When he stepped forward she made no motion to protest or move away. Though she kept the book in front of herself so that her arms crossed across her chest still provided a barrier of sorts between them, she relaxed at the hug, her eyes closing briefly as though she were trying to squeeze back tears. "I'm sorry, too," she replied softly. "I didn't mean to upset you at all. It's just...so different here."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Day 38: Patients' Library

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject