damned_institute | Day 38: Lunch

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Day 38: Lunch

Soubi was beginning to feel the effects of a busy morning on a tired body. To make things worse, they were serving Tacos and Burritos. He could really do some with something a bit softer today. Blander. But it was hardly his biggest concern right now.

Having picked out his lunch, he looked for Ritsuka. He had to apologise, but these things usually ended up in bigger arguments, so, as could be expected, Soubi was a little nervous. Maybe they wouldn't find each other this shift. Maybe he had a little more time?

Soubi sat alone, being sure that his face was set in the expression that sent the girls at College the other way.

[He gots a Sheeny Beeny]

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The man was Japanese. Beatrix could add on an honorfic, but she wasn't in the mood to conform to another's culture. She felt like being the American she was.

"Indeed," she said in response to name, nodding her head slightly. "I'm from America, the country we're currently in - El Paso, Texas, to be exact. You are Japanese? I've spent many years in Japan."

An American? Okita didn't know where El Paso Texas was, but he assumed it must have been a very big city since Arlene said it like he would recognize it. Then again, Arlene probably didn't realize he was from over one hundred years in the past either, so that could be why. When she admitted to having spent time in Japan, however, that changed things quite a bit.

Anyone who spent time in Japan had to be treated with caution. There was no guarantee when or where she'd gone. She could have come to Edo, or be from the future and had seen this "Tokyo" place. Smiling as if nothing had crossed his mind at all, Okita seemed delighted to hear that Arlene had spent time in his country. "Oh, really? Where did you go?"

"Many places - Okinawa, Hokkaido, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Tokyo..."

Beatrix cut into her burrito, not bothered by the Mexican food at all. "I spent a couple years on one of the mountains." She looked up and gave Soujiro a small smile. "I traveled a lot, so it's hard to remember all the places I've been while in Japan."

Tokyo. Well, that certainly placed Arlene for him now. Tokyo and Hokkaido? Okinawa as well? Interesting names. He wondered where they were in Japan and what names he knew them under. The last thing he could do, of course, was reveal his ignorance to Arlene though, so he merely smiled and nodded. Suffice to say, she'd been all over and during a time when Okita had not been alive. A person from the future was far less dangerous than a person in the past, and if Arlene, a foreigner, had been able to travel freely within Japan's borders, she had to be very far from the future, indeed.

"You've been so many places I haven't!" he admitted, laughing a little as he continued to cut up the burrito in an attempt to at least eat something during this meal. "I've used to live outside of the capital, but I recently moved to Kyoto for work reasons. Haven't been many other places though - too busy, you know? Were you sightseeing when you went all over?"

"It seems so," the Bride replied. "Traveling was my release when I finally left home back when I was still young. I've been all over the world."

She had enjoyed traveling and still did. "If you ever get the chance, once we're free from here, I suggest taking the time to explore other countries; the world is a very interesting place." She paused, debating on how to answer Soujiro's question. "Some of it was sightseeing, other times it was business, both professional and personal."

She raised an eyebrow. "What line of work are you in?"

If only Okita had the time and the luxury to travel. He'd very much like to see the other han in Japan for a start. Or perhaps even China or the strange lands that the black ships were from. Ever since arriving here, he'd learned that the world was a far wider place than he first imagined and that it was even possible to travel off Earth itself. He had wondered, before he'd gotten sick again, if Hijikata would ever allow him to take a trip somewhere to rest, but in the end... well, things never did go well for the Shinsengumi captain.

"What a lovely hobby," he commented, picking at his food again. He ate enough to keep his stomach from rumbling, but nothing more than that. The food here rarely agreed with him and he didn't want to be ill at night. It was bad enough that Kenren and Homura knew he was dying, but if he showed any further weakness, they might leave him for someone else. Someone who was healthier and more useful.

The pause was a little suspicious, but then, Okita really had no place calling suspicions on other people. "You're very lucky to travel so much, even if it's for business! In my work, I'm mostly stuck to one place." Okita smiled and finished off a bit of burrito, finally setting his fork down. "I take care of the children of a friend of mine and teach a little on the side. Which means I can't take off all that often. But I do enjoy my work."

Something about Soujirou's explanation of his job set off a tiny bell in the back of Beatrix's head, but she chose not to call attention to it. She wasn't sure what it was that was causing that small alarm, but it was there. She made a note of it and would decide later if it was something worth digging into.

"Children are precious; I have a daughter myself." She offered a small smile again. "Moments with the future leaders and heart of the world are very rewarding. I'm glad to hear you enjoy it. What subject do you teach?"

At the mention of Arlene's child, Okita's face lit up. It had been such a long time since he'd been able to play with anyone, let alone a child. "What's her name? Does she look very much like you?"

Since the girl was not with her mother, Okita thought it wise to leave the 'can I meet her' question unsaid. He knew well enough how hard it was to lose someone precious to you, and losing a daughter to this place would likely be unbearable. Settling back, he laughed a little at himself and pressed his hands together apologetically to Arlene. "That does sound like I'm being nosey, doesn't it. I'm sorry."

But this is where it got dangerous, didn't it? If 'Soujirou' answered that he taught kenjutsu, his cover was all but gone. If he refused to answer, that was far worse. So what could he answer that would seem relatively harmless? "Animal care!" he said, giggling a little at the thought of his little pet back home. "I suppose you can't really call it teaching so much as showing people how to take care of their pets." And their vice-commanders, but that was a different story. "What sort of work do you do, Arlene-san?"

"Her name is BB," Beatrix replied. "She has more of her father's looks, but we have similar smiles." The loving look in her eyes flashed a bit with something colder as her next words sparked her silent rage again. "They took her from me when they captured me and put me here. I don't know where she's at, if she's even being held within these walls. Should you come across her, she's five with long brown hair and an impish face. There are creatures here that seem to take the faces of others, but to know it's her, ask her what her favorite movie is." The Bride held Soujirou's eyes for a moment. "She'll answer Shougun Assassin."

She pushed the anger away and quirked her lip. "Her father let her watch movies little girls probably shouldn't. As for my work, I'm retired. I used to be a freelance contractor specializing in corporate downsizing and hostile takeovers." She chuckled. "Your job sounds much more fulfilling."

Okita didn't miss the rage in Arlene's eyes. It was only natural that a mother would be furious at any place that took her child, but something still felt off. There was a coldness that didn't exist in other people in the way Arlene looked - something that spoke of danger. Five years old, brown hair, impish face and a smile like her mother's? Well, that would be easy to find, considering the general age of the populace here. Nodding, Okita smiled apologetically at her. Even if he had nothing to do with her daughter's disappearance, he could empathize with her situation. "I'll be sure to keep an eye out for her. This place is terrible to keep children from their parents."

Whatever Shogun Assassin was and whatever a movie was, Okita had to pretend like he knew. So far there was nothing that had tipped Arlene off to his real identity so far as he could tell. Corporate downsizing and hostile takeovers were...far out of his league though. He could only assume that her job was something that required skill. "Hostile" skills at that. Interesting. Laughing it off, Okita started playing with his food again, pulling out the uneaten bits of burrito to see what was inside. "Retirement must be nice! I don't think I'll ever retire. There will always be children, you know? Now that you're not working though, do you get to spend more time at home?"

"Thank you," Beatrix replied, her voice softening a little. Anyone that found her daughter and returned her intact to the ex-assassin would have her eternal gratitude.

"I had just retired before being captured, so I can't answer that. My plan was to spend my time with my daughter. Work and other complications prevented me from spending the early years with BB." That rage slipped into her eyes again. "I will find her. Have you ventured into the basement, yet?"

Just retired, hm? Then that might account for the way the woman slipped back and forth between businesswoman and something else. It seemed like Okita wasn't the only one hiding behind a convenient mask of normalcy. "Ah, that's a shame. I hope that you'll be able to make up that time soon."

After all, Okita knew just how hard it was to live life without parents. He'd seen his sisters straining under the pressure of raising him, and then he'd experienced Kondou's adoptive parents as well. There was nothing that could replace the biological connection between a parent and child, no matter how hard everyone tried.

The sudden switch of topics startled him and he couldn't help but show it on his face. "The basement? No, why?"

"The basement currently holds my interests, but my associates and I haven't managed anything more than just barely reaching it," Beatrix replied, not bothering to apologize for the sudden change in topic. "I like to be prepared, so I thought I'd ask. One never knows what knowledge the person they're talking to has."

Associates? The basement? A businesswoman would never have a reason to go down there unless she was far more than the suit type. While Okita had not ventured down there yet, he knew what it was like from the reports he'd heard passing about on the board. People died in the basement and even more were severely injured.

Whatever job Arlene had really done before, it certainly wasn't business, unless it was the sort of business they used to do at the Masuya. "From what I heard of the basement, it's very dangerous. I'd be careful down there, Arlene-san." Although, the closer he looked at her, the more he recognized signs of a fighter. Her eyes, for one, the way she held herself, the callouses on her hands - small things that pointed toward someone who could handle herself far better than she wanted to let on. "And yes, I suppose one doesn't, but I've been keeping to the first and second floors myself."

"I appreciate you're warning," the Bride replied with a nod. "There used to be a lot of talk on the board about the basement, including that notice of certain death in the one area, but that is far from a deterrent at this point."

She gave a wry smile. "I like to think that I can handle myself with the aide of my associates." She wouldn't call them friends, except perhaps SubZero but there was something else going on there that she was pushing aside.

"Have your excursion beared any fruit that you are willing to share?"

What a clever girl. She'd carefully managed to steer the conversation toward information gathering in a most natural way. If she'd been talking to anyone else, perhaps they may have even dropped a hint or two to help her. However, Okita was, as always, on alert and when she seemed rather calm at the idea of deaths happening in the Institute, he knew that she wasn't a businesswoman anymore.

The merchants had always balked at death. It was a detriment to their profits as well as a highly unpleasant thing that none of them really ever had to deal with face to face. Sure, one's neighbor's friend might get hurt in a fight, but so few were ever murdered or killed that there was still shock in their eyes whenever a death was mentioned. Arlene was far more sure of herself and more composed than any normal person should be.

Well, at least he knew who he was dealing with then. "I'd think death is a very big deterrent. I certainly don't want to die here," he said, pausing his fork in its diggings. Raising his eyes, he looked at Arlene through his bangs, wondering just who she really was. A mother, certainly, but her business hadn't been the money kind. Sitting back, he stuck the fork in his mouth, sucking it clean of the bits of bean and cheese stuck to it before he started talking again. "I'm afraid my excursions, if they can be called that, would be rather boring compared to all the things you seem to have done. All the information I know is on the bulletin board as well."

Oh, Beatrix's line of work had definitely been the money kind; it was just what she did to earn that money was the suspect part.

"I have no intention of dying here, Soujirou," the Bride replied. "Yet, there is nothing I wouldn't do, nor any obstacle I will balk at in my attempts to find my daughter. I'm sure you're well aware of the things a mother is capable of when it comes to her child given your line of work."

She raised an eyebrow. "Boring or not, information on a board lacks something that can only come from a person who can relay it by word of mouth. I understand, though." So many people in this place and so very little trust. Being who she was, she completely understood this.

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Day 38: Lunch

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