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]

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Jiraiya had called it right, because it seemed like Renamon was irritated at her blush now. It was good that she was aware enough of her body to get irritated--it meant she was adjusting. Although the expression on her face at that moment was definitely edging towards "cute".

His eyebrow raised as she spoke before walking into the next aisle, "Oh, you do, do you? What else do you know about me?"

She didn't even play at looking at the books this time, and simply turned around fully to stare at Jiraiya with a smirk.

"What do I know? Hmm...." She brought a finger to stroke along her lower lip in thought. "Depends on which conversation you want me to reference. The one with Kakashi, or the ones with your student."

The fact that Jiraiya couldn't know what she had heard amused her.

While Jiraiya had been aware that she had overheard his conversation with Kakashi, he wasn't aware that she had overheard at least one conversation with Naruto as well. Although it wasn't hard to overhear Naruto, considering how easy he made it... She wasn't kidding about her hearing being good. If other patients had hearing of a similar quality, then he'd have to be careful.

He let out a sigh, but then grinned a bit. "I can guess what you overheard with Kakashi. Now, with Naruto... It's easy to overhear him, really, so I wouldn't easily know which conversations you could be referring to...."

She tilted her head. "Yesterday, I overheard you talking about one of your student's teammates being gay--the one with the sword, I believe? As well as discussing Naruto's history. And a lot of teasing," she added, giving Jiraiya a patiently amused look. "Which it seems like you like to do.

"And this morning..." Renamon paused, trying to think back. She was preoccupied with Yukari that she hadn't devoted much attention to that conversation. "This morning I heard your student yell... once again... that you were a pervert. And then you hushing him that 'she' would hear. But after that I was... preoccupied."

Renamon raised her eyebrows yet again. "Should I be concerned that I am that 'she', and your interest is only as your student so loudly repeats?"

The Digimon was mainly teasing still, but she still had an offhand interest. If Naruto claim was true in any way, it would affect how she acted towards the Sannin. But, it depended exactly what was meant. And it still might only be 'just a nickname', odd as that may seem.

At first, Jiraiya looked amused. The one with the sword was a hilarious way to describe Sasuke, if he was actually that way. Which he probably was, considering Naruto didn't mention Aidou being thrown into the nearest wall followed by Sasuke freaking out, regardless if it was a kiss or not. It wasn't as surprising as he thought it would be.

And he couldn't refute the fact that it was fun to mess with Naruto's head a bit every now and then, because the kid just had great reactions to practically everything. But the comment about Naruto's "history" made him a bit more serious, because that was something only a few knew, and the kid was still dealing with it himself. It wasn't common knowledge.

When she began talking about his discussion with Naruto during breakfast, Jiraiya actually paled a bit. While she had only heard some of the discussion (which was almost too much), Jiraiya was relieved to know that she hadn't known the specific topic. Except then she said something that changed his mood entirely.

Renamon implied he was only interested in her because of her body. He was angry before he knew it, but he wasn't sure at whom. Or how angry he was. Just that he was angry, and that he--

"I'm not that kind of man," Jiraiya stated in an even tone, his expression closing up. "For me to be truly attracted to a woma--" Wait, Digimon. "--female--she would have to be special. Women with beautiful bodies exist anywhere. Women--and men--with a mind like yours are rare."

He almost glared at her but turned to stare hard at a spine of some innocent book instead. "If a man saw you only for your current body, he'd be a damned fool."

So many remarks Renamon could have made to what Jiraiya said. She could have made any sort of remarks, teasing or somewhat thankful, based upon what he had said. She passed on the majority of them, writing off a few, and putting a select group to memory.

A slightly wider blink was her only reaction. Coolly, she stated, "That's good to know."

Jiraiya didn't say anything in reply to that, forcing himself to read each individual title of the books on the shelves. It was the only way to cool his head. Even though he knew better, he was still as hot-headed as he was when he was half his age--it just took prodding in a certain manner to bring it out.

He reached up to rest his fingertip in the binding of one book, almost as if he contemplated taking it down to read--but both of them knew that he wasn't hardly even aware of the book's title. Renamon wasn't leaving, even though he practically told her he liked her. Which was frustrating, especially since she didn't feel the same way about him.

"Sorry," he quietly muttered out, knowing Renamon could easily hear him--he was just embarrassed enough to not want others to hear him apologizing; he raised his voice a bit louder after that. "Got carried away."

"You said what you wanted to say," she said in that same cool tone. "And from your emotional reaction, what you felt."

Which was the opposite of Renamon at the moment. The Digimon was like ice, as cool as her diamond shards. There was no way to guage what she was feeling, or if she was feeling something at all.

"So don't apologize." Especially if the man wasn't even going to come out and say it, much like the children they both watched over.

That sounded like a rejection, Jiraiya's first thought was. And he wasn't at all surprised--almost enough that it didn't sting. Or he wasn't going to let it sting, perhaps. Right now, that should be the least important thing on his mind. He needed to be there for his student.

And Renamon wasn't human. Digimon possibly were unable to share that sort of attraction, considering they didn't need to mate. And he was used to it, really--

"--It's not fair to you," Jiraiya stated finally, glancing slightly in her direction. "While my emotions don't care that you weren't human, it's not right to expect the feeling to be mutual."

Then, he finally really looked at her, and smiled, "... I'm fine, though. It's just been a long while since I reacted this strongly towards someone. That's all. So don't worry about it."

Her neutrality had been half-teasing still, as stoicism and silence was one of the best ways to get a person to continue talking. And that had worked. The man had made it obvious from his previous statement that he had a fondness for her... and from the emotional outburst, a large fondness. His stating outright that he had reacted strongly towards her added to that, making it less of a generic like, and more of a... what was the word that Takato had used? A crush.

Hm.

Either way, first of all, there was some clearing up to do. Renamon stepped towards Jiraiya, invading her own comfort zone by stopping a foot away. "Don't respond like that," she said firmly. "I am not a child, regardless of the age of this body, and my own... shortcomings with emotions are my own--not for anyone else to choose as an excuse."

Which he had, really. Used them as an excuse for her to not like him. Like it was a decisive thing, already finished. Renamon was annoyed, and let that emotion reach her eyes.

"If you are going to say you like me, do so. Don't play this game." She paused her speech, leaning forward a few more inches. "I will make my own decisions on who I do and do not like."

~~At least she was admiting she could like someone.~~

And suddenly, Renamon was invading his personal space, and she wasn't pleased. Which Jiraiya couldn't help but think was hot, even considering the seriousness of the topic on hand. Leave it to Jiraiya to be one who could appreciate the beauty of a woman while kinda-sorta arguing with her.

He put up his hands as if caught--which he basically more or less was. "Renamon, I--"

There was so much he could say in response to her words, and his heart lightened somewhat. She confirmed that it was possible for her to like someone. And she wasn't killing him for what he said, either. He was trying to be considerate, even if he was being stupid about the execution.

"--I do like you. But I don't want to put any pressure on you, so..." Jiraiya trailed off, looking rather embarrassed, hands still up as if he was being arrested. "I didn't mean to offend."

And with her so close, he could practically see down her shirt.

The warm rush of annoyance had fled, leaving her herself. She took a step back. "Really, Jiraiya. Do you think anyone could pressure me into doing something that I wasn't welcome to?" She tipped her head, softening her rigid expression into something that mimicked an invitation. "Perhaps you need to get to know me better."

Renamon wasn't shooting him down--she was giving him a chance. They would both see what came out of it. She half-turned, and took another step. "Tonight, then?"

Jiraiya sighed a little in relief. Renamon wasn't going to stay mad, or what seemed like mad for her. That much was evident--and it sounded like she was giving him a chance. But that still left some other things undone.

"Tonight, yes," Jiraiya smiled a bit, and then he followed her--as if he was going to let her walk away on that note. "I know well enough that you can't be pressured for something like this, but."

He paused for a moment in thought, and then shrugged, giving up, grinning a bit more, "But I'm being stupid...?"

She tipped her head as the man followed her, and gradually stopped to stare at him. As far as Renamon was concerned, the conversation was over.

The Digimon sighed. "Allow me to take care of myself and decide what is best for me. Don't attempt to do so for me." The 'it won't go over well', and 'it will end whatever this is before it even starts' went unsaid.

"Fair enough," Jiraiya replied with a soft smile--he could tell Renamon was at her limit for this discussion, and it was best to end it for now instead of following her around like some lost, lonely puppy. "I will see you tonight, then. I'll bring the loudmouth to introduce to you if I can."

It had gone over better than expected. She was at least giving the idea thought instead of vetoing it immediately. And that was better than the reaction he had expected. She hadn't even agreed that he was being a moron about this.

But he needed the time to think about it, too. Especially about how to not drop hints about his more perverted side until she was ready for that. While it would be nice to be together with her, he also didn't want to end up dead when she found out.

She nodded in return. "I'll see you then."

That she was actually looking forward to it was altogether surprising in itself. With a small smile, Renamon walked off to meet the nurse waiting for her.

Jiraiya returned the smile, waving to her as she walked off to meet her nurse.

As she walked away, Jiraiya couldn't help but think how hot it had been for Renamon to show her fiercely independent streak. That was what he liked in a woman. Confident.. and fiesty.

Still smiling, he went to meet his own nurse. So far, this had been a very good day.

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Day 38: Patients' Library

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