damned_institute | Day 39: Sun Room [Fourth Shift]

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Day 39: Sun Room [Fourth Shift]

Yue was all too pleased to leave the cafeteria by the time lunch was over, even if he still wasn't satisfied that Fai was properly taking care of himself. It was clear that Touya hadn't accepted the answers he'd been given and intended to find out just what the guardian wasn't telling him, and being watched so closely was beginning to get uncomfortable.

It was clear that the truth would have to come out at some point, especially if they were going to be spending any amount of time together. Avoiding him was entirely out of the question, but at the same time Yue stubbornly refused to consider the idea of just outright telling him about what had happened in the last week. It was a dilemma indeed, and only served to make him even more irritable than ever.

How could he admit any of it? That he was weak and crippled, betrayed and altered by his creator? That he'd almost broken the promise he'd given in exchange for Touya's power? The latter he couldn't help but be reminded of every time he saw this Touya, who had only just gone through it, and would remember it even more clearly.

Fortunately Yukito was staying silent for the moment, although he could feel his other self's disappointment at being unable to speak to Touya so far, and it didn't make him feel any better.

In the midst of all this Yue was rather dismayed to realize that the nurse wanted to lead him to the music room, of all places: that was the room where he'd met the Sakura-who-wasn't-his-Sakura the week before, and needed neither the reminder nor the inevitable noise in that room. He abruptly halted in his tracks and refused to continue on. The nurse seemed initially disappointed, but finally agreed to let him stay in the Sun Room instead; the guardian found a corner in which to stand, arms folded across his chest and lost in his own ~~brooding~~ thoughts.

[for Sokka]

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"Mm hmm, do you know of them Sen-nee?" It might be possible, Sen did say she lived in the same area. She probably would have at least heard of them.

"I haven't met them, but Okita-san sounded really nice when I talked to him on the bulletin. I'd definitely like to play with him some time," he explained. Takashi might want to play too. How would a modern day kendo champ match up against one of the legendary samurai? It would be really exciting to see!

"Oh, of course I've heard of them. But do you really want to play with...with Okita-han?" Considering that Okita didn't really engage in practice with others, and for very good reason, Ayumu had to wonder if Honey didn't quite know what he was getting into. Even if the boy was secretly a martial arts champion, well.

She just shook her head a little, though, looking concerned. "Of course I've heard of them, but..." Ayumu glanced around, as though making certain nobody was close enough to listen, and lowered her voice. "I heard they're dangerous. Especially Okita-han."

Oh good, he wasn't too far off-base then, assuming the Shinsengumi were as notorious as the history books had said. It was kind of hard to think of Okita as very dangerous though, especially after how cute Haruhi had looked when she cosplayed him.

"Yup!" Honey chirped, none of the concern seeming to affect his good mood. He knew how dangerous it might be, but...

"Mm, well, the Shinsengumi stood for a lot of really great things," Honey explained, even though Sen probably knew it already. "They were honorable and brave and... well, I know Okita-san is an amazing swordsman, but I don't think he would hurt someone for no reason. So... if he says we can play, I'm sure it'll be okay!"

"They were? I mean...are?" Ayumu hesitated a moment, then laughed, a little embarrassed. "Sorry, it's still kind of hard to think about it that way. I...I'm used to living in Kyoto where they're roaming the streets, and to you - well, it's just a name in a book, isn't it?"

It really was difficult to grasp, that her reality was someone else's dull history. Or, apparently, costume choices. Not that anyone was going to be dressing up as her, or anything of the sort. If she did her job correctly, nobody would know she was there.

As for Okita...well, Honey would have to deal with that. Ayumu assumed the man would be wise enough to warn anyone who wanted to spar with him, if he was willing to do so. It was none of her affair.

"Mm, well I think so. That's what they taught us in class. And there's all kinds of historical dramas and t.v. shows that are based on that era," he explained. Things might be a little bit different living at that time though. It was full of fighting and danger, so he could see why Sen might not feel the same way about them.

"Yeah, I guess that's kind of true though. I only know from what I've read and heard about him, but I bet the real thing is different, huh."

Well. Perhaps they did manage to make a difference after all. If there were so many dramas and...well, whatever a "t.v. show" was, then perhaps they'd managed to defeat the pro-imperialist forces in the end?

"Oh, I suppose so..." Ayumu considered that, then gave a helpless laugh and a shrug. "I don't know that anyone would really know what it's like if they're not actually living in it. I mean, stories never really manage to tell you everything."

She paused again, catching her lower lip in her teeth as she glanced around again. "But...I have to admit, I'm a little curious. What did they teach you in class?"

It was normal to be curious, especially when someone else knew something you didn't. It wasn't really fair to have them all come from different times like this, but would it hurt anything to tell her some of what happened? He'd already promised Okita.

"That's true. I think they based the stories off of a lot of historical records and um... one of the captains wrote about it too. But it's still just what a handful of people said happened, huh."

Honey looked thoughtful, resting his head on top of Usa-chan's as he sat. "Mm, if you want, I can tell you. Are you sure that's okay though? It wouldn't be like spoiling the end of a story, would it?"

"I..." After a second, Ayumu sighed and shook her head. "I really don't know if it would make a difference or not, to be honest. I mean - even if I know what happens, is it possible to change it when I get home, if it's already the past for you? If...if that even makes sense."

And she would get home, she promised herself, sooner rather than later. No matter what.

Her smile brightened as she waved one hand a little, as though brushing away such serious talk. "But still, it's not as though I saw much of what was going on. I don't really have much to do with it, except for living in the city."

Sen did have a point. There probably wasn't any harm in letting her know, so Honey tried to wrack his brain and remember the order of events from history class. He did well in all of his classes, top marks, not to mention his traditional family stressed the importance of history, so it wasn't too terribly difficult.

"Mm... okay. So the first year of Genji would be..." he trailed off, trying to think of where to start. "Did you hear about the Ikedaya Affair? I think it was in that year, wasn't it?"

"The what? No, I...I'm not sure what you mean." Whatever he was talking about, it sounded significant. Ayumu found herself suddenly feeling both apprehensive and fascinated: it probably wasn't a good idea to hear this kind of thing, no matter what. Knowing what was to come could distract her from what she had to do.

And yet, at the same time, how could she not find out more information, when it was offered to her so temptingly? A lifetime of habit, of gathering any and all information that could potentially be useful, told her that she couldn't just pass up the opportunity.

Hmm, so before Ikedaya, was what? There were some assassinations and some of the members broke rules, but that was probably the next major one. And the details were really hard to remember anyway.

"Okay, um... well I'm pretty sure it was that year. Maybe it just hasn't happened yet, but... there was the two groups, the Shinsengumi and the Shishi, right? Well the Shishi were planning a big huge thing where they were gonna burn down Kyoto! And um... they were at a place called Ikedaya, I think it was an Inn, but the Shinsengumi found out about it and stopped 'em!" That had to be one of the most famous battles of the Meiji era for sure. And it'd been re-enacted in so many different ways, it was hard to know what had really happened and what hadn't, but it usually made for a really neat story.

"After that, the Shinsengumi got a lot more famous."

They were going to...burn down Kyoto?

Yoshida Toshimaro. It had to be. So that was what they were up to. The plans she and Susumu were risking everything to find - and apparently they succeeded, if the Shinsengumi managed to stop them, or would do so, at some point in what was the near future for her. Or at least...one of them succeeded.

Ayumu pushed that thought from her mind and leaned in slightly, showing nothing but curiosity and interest for Honey's benefit. "Did they? Well, I can imagine so, if they'd managed to save the city."

"Mm hmm!" Honey nodded. It was definitely the most exciting part. After that, the group fought a few more battles, but kind of died out. It was tragic, which was why so many people loved the story. He wondered for a moment if there was anyone from his future that could tell which way the world might go. That would be interesting to hear too.

"But um, unfortunately, things kind of start to go downhill for them from there. They had to leave Kyoto, oh- but they ended up helping out with some other important battles too. So don't worry too much Sen-nee-chan, after Ikedaya, things should settle down a little bit in Kyoto. Just be careful."

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Day 39: Sun Room [Fourth Shift]

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