Day 38: Lunch

[beloved-less.livejournal.com]

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]

Comments

[notachick.livejournal.com]

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?"

[quickdrawbkiddo.livejournal.com]

"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?"

[notachick.livejournal.com]

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?"

[quickdrawbkiddo.livejournal.com]

"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."

[notachick.livejournal.com]

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."

[quickdrawbkiddo.livejournal.com]

"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?"

[notachick.livejournal.com]

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."

[quickdrawbkiddo.livejournal.com]

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.