damned_institute | Day 38: Patients' Library

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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

"Such is the life of a ninja as well," Jiraiya stated, understanding somewhat where Renamon was coming from. "The mission goes before all else."

He listened to her talk about theory, and nodded from time to time as he listened. The ideas were sound, anyways. Although he didn't like the implications.

"So they break our spirits until the cannot be broken anymore, then discard us like trash," Jiraiya summarized out loud. "It'd make sense, if they got some sort of energy from our emotions, particularly the negative ones, then get rid of them when they see no more use in them. Sometimes, they even bring people back."

He crossed his arms in thought. "Experiments and Special Counseling provide opportunities to mess with our emotions by hurting those that we care about, or forcing us to hurt them. And when someone close to you is taken, it's almost impossible not to feel something. Even if you block it out for a while, it'll come back to haunt you later."

Another moment of thought, and then, "Naruto and I appeared the same day, and then Kakashi and Sakura appeared here soon after that. If they thrive on emotions, it makes more sense to take multiple people from the same world."

Suddenly, an idea occurred to him, one that made him frown all the harder. "... It also makes sense to take children--the younger, the more emotional--but there would be a limit to how young of children they'd bring in. Younger children break faster, and wouldn't have much of a 'lifespan' in this place, except for some exceptions--either from breaking too quickly or getting killed by a monster. Which would explain why there aren't a lot of young children here. There doesn't seem to be an upper limit to patients' ages, but there definitely seems to be some lower limit. Unless they've taken small children, too, and they're simply someplace else entirely that's still threatening but doesn't immediately break them. It's possible there are other 'Institutes' like this out there."

Jiraiya decided thinking out loud was the best choice for that one--Renamon didn't mention anything about that in their theories before. It was something to consider, and he wanted her input.

[....0_0 I hate LJ. It ate my long post. Goddamnit.]

What Jiraiya was saying was perfectly in line with her own thoughts, and she nodded along. Nothing more needed to be said on that. The line about other Institutes, however, wasn't something she had considered. But it would waste focus if they spent too much time thinking about it. "Regardless of the possibility, the fact doesn't give us anything or hinder us more. It's possible that that is where the visitors come from. But I would rather focus on this Institute."

The rehashing of ideas would normally be welcomed; analyzing until something new appeared out of the turmoil. But after not being able to... do anything for Yukari, Renamon didn't want to be reminded of more of her failures. For the time that she had been here, she understood very little of how it actually worked. A handful of theories and ideas was worthless.

And then there was the matter of Jiraiya. The man needed to be cheered up, or at the very least, distracted. She bent over to replace the book in her hands, saying in a delibrate offhand tone, "So how does one come by the nickname 'Ero-Sennin'?"

He agreed with focusing on their own problem--if there was another place like this, there was nothing they could do to help those who were trapped there. All they could do was help those close to them. The others, if they even existed, were far out of range.

It was the sudden change of subject that took Jiraiya by surprise. He had expected to continue bouncing ideas off of each other, but Renamon had other ideas. Maybe she knew that Jiraiya didn't really feel into it at the moment. Or maybe she was just a brat.

Either way, Jiraiya replied with a nervous laugh, "It's a long story. Naruto coined it within minutes of meeting me. He's an uhhh.. unique child."

He was well aware that she unfortunately knew exactly what 'Ero' meant. And she knew about his adult books, to some extent. What Jiraiya didn't know was how was how she would react to learning more. Then again, she was a Digimon, and Digimon didn't have sex, so maybe it wasn't as big as an issue as it could be.

"It was soon after he recognized my novel," Jiraiya grinned a bit more. "And he never stopped calling me that, even after I told him my name. 'Ero-Sennin' grew on me after a while. Only Naruto calls me that."

Luckily, Jiraiya knew much better than to mention the exact nature of his novels just yet, or the fact he also got the nickname because he had been staring into the women's side of the hot springs when Naruto first saw him. If Renamon knew about that, her protective nature of others would likely cause her to rip his balls right off. Or break a few ribs. Or any sort of dozens of horrible, painful things she could do to his male anatomy.

"He's a loud child," Renamon replied bluntly. "I hear him every morning. He's very excited."

And here lead to another point that she was curious on. It was plain that he wrote books from his conversation with Kakashi ~~which also had other interesting points~~, but she had no idea what he wrote about. And for one to coin a name from a book....

Her brow furrowed a little as she considered that. "And how would one," she started, keeping her formal tone, "come by that nickname?" Her voice slid from formal to something else--not quite relaxed, but perhaps something close. She cocked an eyebrow. "What exactly was your novel about?"

Jiraiya actually laughed at the blunt reply. "He's definitely excitable. But you get used to it after a while."

The questions would have to be answered carefully, else Renamon might react badly. At the same time, he didn't want to lie to her, but to tell her the full truth now (of him being a pervert) would spell disaster. Oh, and she'd probably mortally wound him, too.

"Adult relationships," Jiraiya grinned. "And the drama that comes with them. It had adult situations--I was writing adult characters, so it's only natural that they occur--so it wasn't for kids. Naruto must have thought it only contained adult situations of the sexual variety--even though that's only a small part of being an adult, and not all adults are interested in it." Mild irritation was obvious even through his smile. "But it was a lot more than that. Many of the characters were ninja, after all. And ninjas are used to dangerous situations."

Part of him felt bad lying to Renamon, but she wasn't ready for the full truth yet. And Jiraiya wasn't exactly ready to die.

He grinned a bit nervously. "There's... other reasons why he calls me that, too, but that's something between me and Naruto."

"Hm," was her only reply, giving away nothing of what she thought on the matter. Renamon's human interactions--pleasant ones, at least--were only with children that hadn't even started getting interested in the 'adult situations' Jiraiya was referring to. She was resourceful on the human world at large; she had to protect Rika, after all, and one of the things that she would have to protect a young girl from would be sexual predators.

Dangerous situations with ninja, however, were more interesting to her, a natural born and bred fighter. She still remained quiet though; her silence as teasing as any words she could say.

"Hm," she said again, making it seem like she was considering something. "Perhaps then I should talk to Naruto."

Jiraiya's eyes widened a bit when she said she might talk to Naruto. His student had no idea how to be subtle! If Naruto said the wrong thing, they could both end up dead!

He caught his reaction quickly enough and then tried to laugh it off. "Ah, that's old news and pretty boring, so he might fall asleep on you if you started talking asking about that right away...."

Well, it was true that Naruto found his book boring, at least. The sequence of events that lead to Naruto calling him Ero-Sennin was not exactly one that Renamon should know just yet, if ever. She seemed very proper about certain things, and peeking in on the women's hot springs was anything but that.

Ah, Naruto! He could talk about Naruto!

"I did want to introduce you to him tonight, though, if possible," Jiraiya added almost hastily. "He's a good kid, and he's interested in meeting you, so..."

Her plan had came full circle, and it seemed to have worked. The man wasn't giving off an air of worry and frustration any more, and was simply concerned with not digging himself into a deeper hole. Perfect.

Unable to control it, Renamon laughed, bell-like, bringing a hand to cover her mouth. Flustering the man was so easy. Leaving her hand there, she smiled. "I'd like that. He probably needs a distraction after last night, and running errands is bland enough that he won't get into more trouble while keeping him preoccupied."

Renamon was laughing. Renamon was laughing at him. Jiraiya stared at her in awe, having not heard her laugh like that before, and not quite registering how his heart warmed at the noise.

"He might still end up going with his team, but he could probably use a distraction for a few minutes--" Jiraiya began to reply, then stopped abruptly.

Wait a minute. Wait just one damn minute. His eyes widened for a moment, and then Jiraiya was grinning.

"Speaking of distractions," he almost purred. "That was one just now, wasn't it?"

Jiraiya's now better mood didn't evaporate, though--it only grew. The only purpose for such a distraction would have been to distract him from worrying about Naruto. And it had worked. He had unconsciously let his guard down around her again, and she had been able to take swift advantage of it. Oh, she was a sneaky one--truly part fox.

It also meant that Renamon cared. Which was something, Jiraiya realized, that he surprisingly needed.

He also didn't need to hear her answer--he already knew it.

"You... are a brat," Jiraiya grinned wider. "I think I like you."

"Perhaps," she said in response, her voice still holding a smile. "You catch on quick... 'Ero-Sennin'."

With a smirk, Renamon passed the man to walk into the next aisle, half intent on finding something interesting to read, half fully amused by the situation at hand. "That's good. I enjoy your company."

Sliding around the corner, she glanced backwards. "Though... a brat, Jiraiya? Surely you think better of me than that?"

Theories and information were well and good, but sometimes even the stoic Digimon needed to have fun and relax.

"Wouldn't be as old as I am if I didn't," Jiraiya smirked, although part of him silently prayed that she wouldn't start always referring to him by 'Ero-Sennin'--that was Naruto's nickname for him, and having a woman use it always made him worry that he was about ready to get the life beaten out of him for sexual harrassment.

When she moved to the next isle, he followed, enjoying the view. His heart didn't flutter at the words enjoy your company or something equally girly, but his step lightened a bit more. Jiraiya just smiled at her when she looked back at him.

"What, you can tease me, but I can't tease you?" Jiraiya failed to hide his amusemeny, furrowing his eyebrows as he put his hands on his hips, a smile tugging at his frown. "Now that hardly seems fair...."

"Ah, so you admit you are old. What exactly is your real age?" she teased.

This aisle seemed to be classics, and her attention waned. She put a hand out to trail across the spines as she continued walking, a long legged loose stride. "I tease you?" she asked in mock surprise. "Never."

She glanced back again, the smile in her eyes. "But you don't," she continued. "Think better of me?"

"I'm old enough to lie about it," Jiraiya grinned--oh, he'd probably tell her his age eventually, but he was going to have to make her work a little for it. "Oh, you don't? Maybe I'm finally old enough for senility to kick in. I must be seeing things."

He shrugged innocently at her last question, then brought a hand up to his chin as he pretended to ponder the universe very seriously. "Hmm. I was thinking you could have been an kunoichi in another life."

"Maybe you are, old man," she continued before stopping in the aisle and bringing a hand to her chin. "So you admit you're a liar and senile. Maybe you fit the stereotype, and are a pervert like your student says as well."

She paused a moment to make him sweat, before closing her eyes with a smile. Too easy to make him upset. "A female ninja, hmm. I most likely have the movement down. You should see me throw diamond shards. I'm a bit more accurate than with medical scalpels."

Jiraiya actually DID sweat. Massively. Until he realized she was only teasing and still had no idea just how extremely very ultimately close she was to the truth.

"I only said 'maybe'," Jiraiya protested feebily after he realized he was still in the clear, mostly joking in his reaction now. "I can't even get discounts yet!"

"You do have the movement down, and the intrigue," but the diamond comment made him blink, then laugh. "Throwing diamond shards? That sounds both painful and expensive."

Jiraiya figured it was some sort of technique almost immediately, but he joked about it anyways. It was nice to be able to do that with a woman and not get immediately labeled a pervert. He didn't even have to force himself to behave, as Renamon always provided intelligent conversation that prevented his mind from roaming too far.

"You admitted you were a liar. So I can't believe that you're not that old. Unless you'd care to enlighten me otherwise?" she asked innocently.

"Expensive, no. They're made from my energy, to simplify. But painful... yes. Extremely." Her grin had a bit of a bite to it this time, as she remembered good fights she had had. "But I digress. Intrigue? Please go on."

Renamon smiled again, thinking offhand that she hadn't smiled this much in... days. Maybe even more.

Ah, she was getting him closer to a corner with that one--Jiraiya decided to give her a slightly clearer answer. "I'm only a bit more than half a century old, I'll have you know!"

"Remind me to never offer myself up as the target for target practice," Jiraiya actually laughed, almost able to see the poor souls that ended up on the wrong end of her attack.

He continued grinning as he pretended to inspect the spines of the books for something to read. "Well, you're interesting. You don't give out too much information about yourself, and what information you do give only raises more questions." Like the fact that she was a Digimon. There's a lot I don't know about you, but yet I trust you anyways."

The way he stated it wasn't so much as giving her compliments, but more like stating facts. Renamon wanted a truthful answer, after all. The last part... just slipped in, though, and Jiraiya blinked in surprise.

He really did trust her, though.

"Ah," she answered with a smirk. "So you really should be wise." Renamon blinked her eyes lazily at Jiraiya. "Oh, and don't worry. I don't need practice."

Renamon didn't know if she was amused or if she herself was intrigued by his response. Most had mentioned things like that but none had went into details. She'd... have to think about it. "At least I'm interesting," she answered wryly.

But trust was a fully different subject. She bowed her head. "Thank you for trusting me." She straightened. "I... believe I trust you as well." As much as she could anyway. Renamon was never fully comfortable with anyone.

"I'm at least a wise guy," Jiraiya smirked back. "I didn't expect you to need practice, though."

Jiraiya shrugged in response, but was glad he hit the right note in his answer--she didn't seem bored by it, anyways; he could almost see those gears turning in her pretty head, even. "Interesting is always better--dying of boredom is always so anticlimatic. And makes for a horrible ending to a story."

He was surprised when she suddenly bowed her head, but looked pleased and a bit embarrassed. "That's good to hear, but ah--there's no need to bow...."

Normally, Jiraiya liked being acknowledged and respected to that extent. But it seemed weird, to have Renamon doing such. She wasn't his subordinate, and even if he was probably two or three times his age... It was just weird, even if it was just the tiniest bow of her head! And he wasn't sure why it concerned it so much, either. Not that he was overly concerned or anything...!

She smirked again. "I'm glad I kept you... interested, then. I'd rather not bore you."

This situation had a familiar ring to it, like a faded dream or something of the sort. Renamon had no idea why it seemed like she'd danced these steps before, but it remained in her mind... a comfortable deja vu. And a weird memory of snow.

The embarrassment was altogether too endearing. And too tempting to pass up. "It's how I am. Am I not to your liking?"

"I don't think there's any chance of that happening," Jiraiya answered truthfully.

And that's when Renamon decided to tease him again. It had been a long while since any woman managed to get him so easily flustered, but it had also been a long while since he had to walk a tightrope to make sure she didn't find out he had perverted tendencies. Most women could, at most, slap him--Renamon was actually dangerous, especially with them on equal grounds because of Landel's.

Which still didn't explain why his cheeks felt ever so slightly, almost imperceptively warmer, damnit. "Uh, n-n-no! Of course not! I enjoy being around you!"

Great, reduced to stuttering like a teenager, although he was more in fear of his life than about not getting any like he had been back then. It was a good thing Naruto hated books, because if he was in the library, he'd enjoy watching this FAR too much. And he'd never let Jiraiya live it down.

It would be too simple to keep pushing further and see what came of it. But she had more respect for Jiraiya than that.

Renamon let a smile grace her lips, and decided to let up on the man. "Relax, Jiraiya. I won't bite."

Jiraiya sighed and sagged a little in relief, very glad that he wasn't going to dig himself into a further hole. She enjoyed teasing him, didn't she? While he could understand why she enjoyed it, he wished that he could get her as equally flustered.

Although the idea of an exceptionally flustered Renamon nearly broke his brain.

He thought about her reply for a moment, and then grinned slowly, "But what if I like a woman that bites, hmm?"

She raised an eyebrow sternly. "Then I'd have to remind you that I am not a woman."

Though part of her was amused. Jiraiya was certainly less crass than Impmon, but at the same time, he was more brazen than the small Digimon. She wasn't quite sure which she prefered.

...Prefered? Renamon gave a small sigh. She had been a human for far too long already. She had no preference to people, only loyalty to those who earned it. Prefered, indeed.

She shook her head slightly. "So you're coming along to get weapons tonight?" Asking an obvious question to force a subject change. Very nice.

Jiraiya's bubble almost burst right there. It was true that Renamon was not a woman, originally, and there was a chance she'd not want to be with any being other than another Digimon, or anyone at all. Which meant that Jiraiya might have no chance at all with her.

But then she abruptly changed the topic. His eyebrows raised a bit at that. Well. That meant she was forcing herself to not think about that subject, which meant she could be interested despite her protest and was trying not to be.

Jiraiya honored her wish and let the subject slide, nodding at Renamon's question, "My group needs weapons, so I'll be there. Where exactly do you want to meet?"

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