damned_institute | Day 40: Recreational Field

Kio's breakfast ended on a much happier note than it had started. However, for once the announcement truly surprised him. He blinked as his nurse came to pick him up. Recreational Field? But.. but if they had a greenhouse, he wanted to go there. The prospect of gardening was a truly liberating one, an island of joy in this hellhole. He thought about going to the Sun Room and lying down, but it occurred to him that he hadn't had proper fresh air since being here. With a cheery goodbye wave to Honey, he followed his torturer outside.

It was much better than he had expected. The sun wasn't too hot (what time of the year were they in, anyway?), so he walked slowly along the walls, fascinated by the size of the field. He wondered if Sou-chan was alright. He hadn't even checked the board. Well, if Soubi wanted to apologize, Kio would be willing to listen. The place was so crisp and clean. He had to think if anyone had ever gone over the walls. What was out there? Freedom? Or a different sort of monster?

Leaning against one of the walls, Kio took as much advantage of the sun as he could. He desperately wanted a lollipop. One was quietly nestled in his pocket, but he would need to wait until the nurses were busy with other patients before he tried anything. Soubi had gone to some trouble to get them, the least he could do was make sure they didn't get confiscated. So with bated breath, Kio waited for a shift in the mood. He was, for once, content. Not happy, but not going crazy either.

[Sou-chan! Team Loveless deploy!]

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"Well, that sucks." Junpei thought for a moment. Wait a minute...

"So, do you go over first or let her take the lead?"

"For the wall? I helped her up and then followed," Kaito said, choosing to leave out the part where his attempt to go up the wall solo had worked less-than-spectacularly. He made a mental note to find a real pair of shoes before the next time he tried a stunt like that.

"Why do you ask?"

A grin split Junpei's face. "You know.. she wears that really short skirt. Makes me wonder if when they gave it back to her here, did they give her a pair of those really cute panties she wears back home."

Talk of Yukari's (short) skirt instantly reminded Kaito of the lost opportunity last night to flip said skirt, just to find out how Yukari would react. And to find out the answer to certain questions about undergarments.

Obviously, Iori was a man of Kaito's own heart.

Still... something about the conversation had struck Kaito as odd, almost as if it was slowly turning into an interrogation. Maybe it would be best to proceed with a bit of caution.

"No idea," Kaito replied, answering carefully. "I didn't ask, and she didn't say. Besides, she was still wearing the institute uniform when we went over the wall, so it's not like I saw anything. How do you know what kind of panties she wears at home, anyway?"

"I share a dorm with her - opportunity, man. Opportunity. How I could possibly pass up a chance to find out? Sure, I got smacked a couple times, but it was totally worth it the day she had the frilly ones with the little hearts on."

Junpei wasn't as much of an idiot as he seemed. He had been watching Kaito the whole conversation and the line about not asking about the panties set off a bell in the teen's mind. Okay, so maybe it was time to stop being Junpei, Ace Detective, and start being the guy that might find a need to break Kaito's face in the future if he end sup hurting Yukari.

"Talk of those sweet panties aside, dude, I've got a serious question for you." He decided to wait to make sure Kaito had stopped picturing those awesome panties on Yukari and was paying attention to him.

From the sounds of it, the relationship between Iori and Yukari must've been a lot like the relationship between him and Aoko... He made mental note of the mention of physical retaliation on Yukari's part for future reference.

When Iori said he had a serious question, Kaito nodded. He'd thought that it was turning into an interrogation, but it seemed Iori was finished beating around the bush. "Ask away," he said.

"You gonna make a move on her?" Junpei was blunt and direct. "An ancient old guy from history says you're a good guy, but I need to know for myself."

That.... had not been what Kaito had been expecting.

Granted, he hadn't really been expecting anything in particular, but of all the questions that Iori could've asked, that hadn't been one that had crossed his mind. The question had caught him off guard, and to his dismay, it showed.

"Huh?"

Junpei crossed his arms, not particularly thrilled with the articulate response he'd been given. Obviously, Kaito hadn't been expecting the question, but that wasn't going to make Junpei let the topic go.

"I know her, Kaito-kun, and she's reacting like there's something going on between you. It might be a tiny thing now, but if you intend on making it something bigger, I need to know," he said evenly. "I'm not telling you not to, just keep in mind I'll be watching. She's my friend, so you know what that means."

It had taken until Iori started explaining, but Kaito's brain had recovered from the surprise now and was sorting through the information. Iori thought there was "something" going on between them, and he must have thought that "something" was "something romantic." And if Iori really was like the Kaito to Yukari's Aoko, he definitely knew what seeing a guy he didn't approve of moving in on her meant. It would've been like Hakuba getting close to Aoko.

"It's nothing like that," Kaito explained, shaking his head and trying to ignore the fact that he'd inadvertently compared himself to Hakuba. He and Yukari had both made it clear on day one that they weren't interested in each other, no matter how irresistible it was to tease Yukari with harmless flirting. "We... We've got a mutual understanding, I guess, but it's not... romantic."

That wasn't to say it couldn't turn out that way somewhere down the line, but Kaito had honestly never considered it before. Yukari was pretty, sure, and fun to tease, but he hadn't thought about her like that.

Still, it was probably best to reassure her protective friend, because he did know what that meant. "But if that ever changes, don't worry," he said, smiling. "I'll be sure to ask 'big brother' for permission."

Whether that something was romantic or not (though Yukari could use having a little romance in her life), didn't really matter to Junpei. He was glad, though, that Kaito got what he meant. He got it one hundred percent.

...Junpei was finding himself actually liking Kaito.

The serious look lifted off of Junpei's face and he grinned, tossing the ball back to Kaito.

"You don't have to ask me for permission, dude. I ain't like that," he replied. "'Sides, she'd get all pissed if I demanded that. But you get my point - you hurt her, I break your face."

He shook his head a little. "You're kinda cool, so I'm thinking I'm not going to have to worry about that. I've got some of the best stories of her. I'll have to tell you sometime," he added on.

"Yeah, I get it," Kaito confirmed, nodding once. "And if I hurt her, I'll probably deserve getting my face broken anyway."

Kaito's smile widened into a grin. "You're not bad yourself! I think I'd like hearing any stories you've got."

"I've got the BEST stories!"

Junpei glanced around, checking where Akihiko was, before saying in a hushed voice, "There's a surveillance security system in the dorms, with cameras in every room, even the girls' rooms." He grinned. "I happened to come across a way to access the recorded files." Mostly due to a glitch in the system and Mr. Perfect's ability to do anything he damn well pleased. At least he was nice enough to share.

The nurses started rounding them up for lunch then. "Aw man... I'll tell you some other time. Catch you on the flip side, dude!"

Day 40: Recreational Field

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